Long time no post

Yes, I know...I have been remiss. 20 lashes with a wet felted i-cord if you must.

Well, Happy New Year everyone...a little late, but still heartfelt!

I have lots to write about, but little time to do so. Hopefully this weekend I can sit down and write a long entry, with lots of pictures of holiday knitting, class sample knitting, shop samples for stores that sell my patterns, etc. I am SOOOOO SOOOO SOOOOOOOOO ready to knit something for ME! Is that selfish? I think not. Every time I start something for myself it gets put aside and rarely finished. I have so many things on the needles it isn't even funny. Time to finish up some UFOs. And I am REALLY itching to start a new pair of socks. I have been collecting sock yarn at a rate far removed from the rate I knit socks. Cuz, like, I only have 3 pairs of socks that I knit and I have yarn for at least 15 more pairs.

My first UFO tackled is going to be Midwest Moonlight (why do I ALWAYS want to call this scarf Moonlight Madness or Midnight Madness? LOL) I have been working on it quite a bit and am about 2/3 done with it. I'm using a wonderful handpainted wool/silk blend that is like heaven to touch. I want to hold it so much (it's just too good to be true) Sorry if I got that song stuck in your head now :-) Anyway, I am in love with this pattern from Scarf Style, though the picture in the book does it no justice at all. I love the way the stitches seem to be drunk and all over the place in this scarf. It's like magic how you can knit straight across a row and have it turn out so wonky as it comes off the needles.

Anyway, off to bed, with high hopes of getting some test results tomorrow so I don't spend another weekend with bizarre thoughts going through my head of bizarre things going on in my body. Not knowing is worse than any kind of news that might come my way.

There must be a time warp!

Ok, seriously...there really canNOT only be 3 days left before the Christmas festivities are upon me....I mean really, how DID this happen? We are having Christmas Eve with my side of the family, here in this house, in a mere 90 hours. Am I even CLOSE to being ready? Hell no! Right now I am taking a break from some Christmas knitting....yes, I'm still knitting...and I'm almost done with this project, which then has to be felted. Crazy? Wait til you hear this! It's got to go in the mail ....out of state! HA! Funny, huh? And then am I done? Hell no! I still have at least 3 more things to knit. I have come to the conclusion that 2 of them will be New Year's gifts rather than Christmas gifts, but I have to at least get the one done. OMG.....WHEN???

So, I'm going to give those stress-filled thoughts a little rest....

Saturday evening the BeeGees got together and had our little Christmas celebration. It was SO much fun. Tamara put out quite a spread....about 72 different appetizers and desserts (only a slight exaggeration if you must know). We ate til we burst, the wine flowed freely, and there was much laughter and merriment. Tam provided us with Christmas crackers (not Wheat Thins, silly, the ones you pull the ends, there is a small explosion, and inside you find goodies....THAT kind of cracker) These are not the cheap (Cracker Jack prize) variety....these were the good ones....with REALLY nice prizes inside. Of course each one also holds a pink tissue paper crown, and here we all are, sporting them in good humor.

Cute, aren't we?

Front row, sitting: Kim, Tamara, Sharon A., me, and Tamara's immensely talented dog, Chloe.

Back Row, standing: Clare, Frankie, Sharon H., Linda (hiding behind Sharon!), Miri and Pat.

Missing BeeGee: Debbie....sniff... Thanks for a wonderful time, Tamara!

So, today I worked. What a day! Things were definitely hopping. Today is Kim's 23rd birthday (ok, another time warp.....). She came to have lunch with me at the shop, but it was so busy that she had to sit there and eat by herself, my lunch got ice cold while I helped customers, and 2 hours later I finally got to eat. Blech. I decided to keep the shop open an hour later than normal since it was so busy, and that was a good idea because there were several more GOOD sales during that time. Then I spent the next hour washing salt marks off the floor. So much fun. Hopefully the girls have just as busy a day tomorrow as I did today. It's a good thing!

You want to know another good thing? I'm off for 2 weeks! WOO HOO! Well, I may go in for a couple hours one day next week. After Thursday the shop is open only by chance until January 4th. We were going to close down completely but we'll be open....hit and miss...next week. I am glad I'm done for this week though....I need all the help I can get to finish up.

We are having Kim and Drew here for dinner tomorrow to celebrate her birthday. Then it's really crunch time....planning dinner and everything else for Saturday, and making sure everything is taken care of for Sunday. Whew! I'd better get back to my knitting so I can felt and get those puppies drying overnight ....so hopefully they can go in the mail tomorrow!

Oh, and one more thing....I got a package in the mail today from my dear friend Jane. I couldn't help my excitement....I had to open it. Inside was one thing that I kind of expected, and one thing I definitely did NOT expect. The expected....a wonderful repeat of last year...a calendar with each month featuring one of her wonderful photographs. Jane is quite a talented photographer, and each time I get correspondence from her it is written inside a card that has one of her photos on the outside. I treasured her calendar last year, and this year will be more of the same. The unexpected? A beautiful, oh-so-soft baby alpaca scarf that I have around my neck right now just because it's so wonderful. It's in the most beautiful shade of turquoise, and if I could get a decent photo, you'd see it below. But at this time of night, nothing will do it justice. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a decent shot of it and post it right here. Take my word for it....it's awesome. THANKS JANE. Love ya! MWAH!

Jake's been knitting

Here's Jake as he went off to school this morning, sporting the scarf he finished knitting yesterday. He started it Thanksgiving weekend, and I am so proud of him for finishing it. All morning we both kept saying "Thanks, I made it myself!" so that it would come naturally to him when he started gathering compliments at school for his cool new scarf.

I'm doing a lot of knitting too, but most of it cannot be shown here. It's that time of year, don'tcha know? SHhhhhhhh....................

Ornaments

This weekend Romeo is kicking off the holiday season with a village-wide Open House Weekend. We changed the window to reflect the change from fall to winter. That's always quite a job but it looks really nice. Sprucing up the shop was in order and things are looking quite festive now.

We decided to have a couple "Make & Take" workshops today at the store. Here is a picture of the Cookie Cutter Needle Felted Ornaments that I taught the workshop for . These ornaments are so fun to do. Easy with great results, especially after embellishments. I dyed the gold, brown and green roving. The pink and purple came from my stash. I really had a good time making these, and I can see myself making a LOT more of them. I just need to get my hands on a good selection of roving colors. I bought a tub of 40 holiday cookie cutters last week at Michael's with my 50% off coupon, so I'm good to go. Wouldn't these be a nice added touch, tied to the top of a gift? Or enclosed in a Christmas card to someone special?

Want to make some?

Here's what you need:
Cookie Cutters of your choice
Felting Needles
Wool roving in assorted colors
Foam block
Embellishments.....such as buttons, beads, etc.

Place cookie cutter on top of foam block. Fluff your roving by pulling small tufts. Place evenly into cookie cutter, making sure to fill to the edges, and keeping cookie cutter pressed onto the foam.

Start poking the roving with your felting needle. I start out with the 36 gauge needle, and then use a 40 gauge later on if I have some detail felting to do, such as the 'icing' on the gingerbread boy. Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke and then poke some more. Pay attention to the outside edges so that when you remove the cookie cutter the edges will be firm. When it looks like your ornament is starting to look more solid, remove the cookie cutter, and gently peel it off the foam. There will be lots of fibers that you have poked down into the foam, so when you turn over the ornament it will be fuzzy on the back side. Use your needle on this side now, cleaning up the fuzz. Keep felting on one side and then the other until you are happy with the appearance and feel of the ornament. You can clean up the edges by poking sideways into them, but just be careful of your fingers! Those needles are sharp and they WILL make you bleed. If you've poked enough, you will have a solid piece of wool felt.

Now add your embellishments. The gingerbread boy was embellished with thin white wool yarn for the icing, and small bits of colored roving for the eyes and buttons.Use your imagination to make each ornament a work of art. Add a hanger of your choice. Have fun!

Kim's Raglan Cardi-Cape

My friend Kim has a new pattern. Isn't it cute? Perfect for fall! Get your pattern today at Knitting Matters.

While you're there, browse around her site. (Aren't those mini sweaters just the cutest? Make some up to hang on your tree, or tie onto holiday gifts!) There's lots of helpful information that Kim has spent a lot of time gathering for this site. And watch for new patterns....I'm sure she'll be getting creative again real soon!

Stuff happens

Yes, I know it's been 2 weeks since I said a word. 2 whole weeks since my birthday celebration. Lots of stuff going on here. Stuff that leaves me little time to blog, and stuff that also leaves me little desire to.

Still working on a million projects at once. I have the jacket sleeves going. I have one clog still 'almost done'. I have another B-4 bag ready to come off the needles (still need the handles) and into the washer for felting. Still plugging away on the Silk Road shrug (oh how tired I am of that endless ribbing!) It will be good to finish one of these projects, one of these days!

Halloween was fun. We had an absolutely perfect night for Trick or Treat-ing. I was walking around in my short sleeved shirt. The 8 o'clock siren had barely gone off, ending the festivities, when the rain started. I'm so glad it held off because it was so beautiful up until that point.

Jacob was a Halloween chocolate chip cookie. He had a milk mustache, and we wrote "Got Milk?" on his cheeks. We walked with Jake's best friend (and his mom), and they got caught up on all the things they don't get to talk about anymore since they aren't in the same class this year. They were so cute, just slowly strolling down the street chatting, while all the other kids were racing past them to get MORE CANDY MORE CANDY MORE CANDY. The candy was way down on the list for these 2 buddies who just were happy to spend the evening together. Isn't it great when your child finds a friend like that?

Happy Birthday To Me!

Here are some knitting related items I got for my birthday when we celebrated last night (even though my birthday is today...but I have to work all day and teach tonight.....you get the picture)
First is this very cute snowman whose body is a ball of yarn and it's holding knitting needles. It's adorable, but I'm wondering if he/she is thinking of knitting herself into something else! LOL
This came from my mom and dad. How cute is this? And I wonder what Coco thinks of it! Mom said there was also a Santa with a yarn body too, so I might just have to go get him to keep this one company.


Next is this book that I had on my amazon wish list. My sister Diane sent it to me. I haven't had a chance to check it out thoroughly, but I do know there are some very funky looking garments in this book. I don't know that I'll make anything that is in this book, but I DO know that I'll be inspired by some of the ideas and will make other things.


Then there are 2 pairs of Born clogs to show off my hand knit socks. Not that I have that many pairs of hand knit socks, but I plan on having many more. They are so comfy and I'm glad Jane told me about them, because I had never heard of Born shoes before. I have big and wide feet and I have such a hard time finding shoes to fit and that are comfortable that I tend to just live in my Etonic Trans Am Trainers that come in a wide width and I know fit. So I keep buying the same shoes over and over and over. When I found a pair of Danskos at the thrift store last year and they fit me, I at least had another pair to switch off with. But I'm not a shoe girl, and don't go looking for shoes. When my old Etonics are looking sad, I just hop on over to Meijer and get another pair. When I found the Danskos, at that time I hadn't heard of them either, but they fit, and when I saw they were from Denmark I figured they were good shoes. Did some research online when I came home and found out I had gotten quite a deal for $5.00!

I got a few other non-knitting related gifts too which are just as worthy of mention...a pair of beautiful purple suede gloves from mom and dad. Kim and Drew gave me a Johhny Depp DVD and a candle from BBW/White Barn that I have been wanting for a while. Every time I go to the mall I have to go into White Barn and sniff the Buttered Mashed Potatoes candle. I know...it's weird. What a scent for a candle. But I can't help myself...I just stand there for 5 minutes or so, sniffing the candle over and over...then I leave. Now I can sniff in private. I have it sitting next to my computer right now so it can waft over to my nose. Mmmm.........

New Project

Back in the spring when I was visiting Diane, we each picked up a denim jacket with the intention of cutting off the sleeves and knitting on new ones. Well, Diane got hers done a long time ago and I finally just started mine yesterday. I wasn't loving the whole process of getting the stitches started (by poking holes in the denim every 1/8" and pulling a loop up through the hole and putting it on a needle) It was very tedious and time consuming. But once I got it done, the fun began! Pick a color, knit for a while, knit the same amount of rows on the other sleeve, and switch colors. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I have decreased quite a bit already, (30 stitches from the amount I started with) but you'd never know it by looking. The sleeves still look really huge to me. I guess because the opening was large to begin with....maybe I should have decreased more drastically right away. I don't know. I think it will be fine.

Up for a contest?

Pop on over to Kim's blog, check out her Knitting Matters site, comment on it, and be put in the drawing! Go on, you know you want to!

Busy Weekend

I worked Friday morning, then went home to finish getting ready to be one of the "local designers" featured at an Open House at Heritage Spinning and Weaving in Lake Orion. I had my beaded bookmarks, personalized beaded pens, a few other pieces of jewelry, some eyeglass chains, and my 2 patterns for sale. It was a fun evening, and I was supposed to be there for the Saturday session too, but was unable to make it.

Here are Pat and Miri when they stopped by to pick up a few pens, etc. These are a couple of my knitting buddies from the Thursday night knitting group at Borders. Tamara came too, but she wasn't here for the photo op. I guess I should have taken another one...sorry Tam!

The reason I couldn't be there on Saturday is because Kaitlyn was getting ready to go to her first Homecoming Dance. Oh boy, here we go. Why did they move 9th grade to the high school? I'm not ready for her to be in high school. And going to the homecoming dance. With a boy. With a boy who is a junior. Yikes..... Gotta keep a close eye on her....

They had a good time though, and that's a good thing. Memories in the making....

Today we did some stuff around the house that has been nagging at us yet remaining undone. Stuff like gathering clothes and other stuff for Goodwill. Gathered from many locations. Drawers, bedroom closets, coat closets, here there and everywhere. Threw away a lot of stuff too. Then....Laundry. TONS of laundry. Got the flannel sheets and comforter on Jake's bed because we've had some mighty chilly nights lately. Took a ride this afternoon to the cemetary to visit my MIL's grave. She passed away in April and her birthday was Thursday so it felt right to go. I love how we can see the big angel statue from her resting place. When we got home I baked an apple pie (we picked apples on Thursday). We ordered some broasted chicken for dinner because it was getting late and I didn't feel like doing another darned thing. I am going to go watch some TV in a few, and knit a bit. I am in love with Jo Sharp Silk Road. It is easing its way up to the top of my all-time favorite yarn list...right next to Noro Blossom.

Contest entry

Pitiful as it is, here is my entry.
(photo taken in the early morning sun...wow, can you believe the size of the shadows that socks can throw on the deck?)

Jane is having a contest over on her blog. Take picture of all the socks you have knit (that you still have in your possession or can get your hands on) and send her the link, and she'll put you in a drawing for one of several beautiful sock yarns.

I hesitate to even submit this paltry entry, considering Jane has a drawerful....I mean drawer FULL of beautiful handknit socks. The photo doesn't show all of the pairs she's given away. If you go to her sock gallery you'll see that she has knit 25 pairs of socks just so far this year. Yowsa!

And if you're wondering about those 2 balls of Wildefoote at the top of the photo...I included them because Jane asked for photos of all the socks you've knit. Well, she says "finished socks". Those 2 balls were once socks I knit. And finished. (but then frogged because they were too big) So I decided to include them. Maybe I should just find the post that shows them before frogging.... Ok, here they are. Look at the above photo...who knew that those 2 little balls of yarn could produce socks THIS HUGE??
I'm still working on getting just the right size....my beach socks are just a bit big too, but I can live with them. My next pair I am definitely going to make a bit smaller. And someday this pair will once again become a pair of socks ....that fit. Looking at this photo again reminds me of how much I loved this yarn. Maybe I will reknit these socks before tackling any of the other dozen or so sock yarns I have gathered recently...


I'll finish by saying that if you haven't checked out Queen Kahuna's Crazy Toes & Heels book, you really should do so. She has revolutionized the process of knitting socks.

And don't forget to check out Lynn's great sock patterns here.

A week or so ago I was emailing with Edna about my Bloom Shawl pattern, Blossom yarn (and how it is my favorite of all time) and a few other things. Edna has a store in CA and was going to be knitting a Bloom Shawl for her shop, and had been trying to order some Blossom when she was told it was discontinued. She told me this and I started freaking! NO MORE BLOSSOM? HUH? But then, I thought about it, and wondered why they would come out with several new colors just to discontinue the yarn. Maybe just the colors Edna wanted were discontinued?

YES! That was it...she emailed me back and said she had misunderstood, it was just some of the colors that were discontinued. WHEW!

Meanwhile, because I had voiced my extreme fondness of the lovely Blossom, Edna sent me a little package. It arrived a few days ago, so cutely wrapped in turquoise and orange. I was a little perplexed by the little pin on the ribbon that said "baby", until I opened the card....which says "that was almost us....2 cry babies...hope you like this color... very subtle" . Isn't that sweet of her? She said it was a little something from my "not so secret" secret pal. I am going to send her a little something in return. Now I have another skein to add to my growing stash of Blossom. I have over 20 now, in various colors, which will eventually become a throw. I'm searching for just the right pattern before I get started. Any ideas?