Is it a sleeve?

Here is Mia, modeling the Sparkle Plenty sleeve. Not many can pull this off, but doesn't Mia look gorgeous in her poncho?




We have all recovered from the hustle of the Thanksgiving holiday. My MIL visited us and Tippi made it clear she loved having her Granny visit!




Hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving. The countdown is on for Christmas!

I was just reminded by my 20 year 11 month and 15 day old son that his birthday comes before Christmas and he will be 21. :gasp: I feel so old.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A very happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

It's 1 year old!

Yup. My blog's first birthday was Nov. 13. I missed it. However.......

Unconscious Mutterings

Reconnect:: Modem
Gearshiift:: grind
Mania:: crazy
Manhattan:: drunk
First date:: too young
District:: school
Yearbook:: long ago
Breakup:: adios
Episode:: again?
Costume:: halloween

Play along! Go to Unconscious Mutterings.

There's a whole lotta sparklin goin on!

I sparkled in traffic yesterday.
I sparkled in my office at lunch too.
At breakfast this morning I sparkled with my coffee.
I even was prepared to sparkle at the DMV this morning, but I didn't have a chance.

Tonight, I sparkled at the dining room table with my husband!!




This is Dale 9006. I don't want to call it 9006. My friend Junie showed me this and I fell in love! I like how there are white lines going up - like rays of light. I have named this sweater "Sparkle Plenty" in honor of Junie's baby doll she had as a little girl.

I am doing the sweater in Dale Heilo with Indigo bought from Elann. I am making the contrasting colors in off white, light brown heather and medium brown heather. There will also be a light celery and medium celery color. Right now, I'm just at the stockinette stitch phase. Boring, but ya gotta do it to get to the good stuff.

I'm sending get well wishes to Junie! She has PINK EYE!

I'm going to go sparkle for a little bit and get to bed. I cleaned carpets and upholstery all day today. I'm exhausted!

3 years in the making

I knew when I saw it I just had to make it. I didn't know who it would be for, didn't know how long it would take, but I just had to make it.

That was 3 years ago. It was carefully packed away before the last move, carefully unpacked and put with the rest of my knitting things and has been languishing in the basket since. I finally took pity upon it and finished it. It is the Hooded Pullover from Paton's Weekend Retreat book. I knit it in Paton's Classic Merino, dusky lavender.




When I got it all put together I instantly knew who it belonged to - my sister, Marlys. This afternoon it will be wrapped and put in a package on it's way to Virginia. Wow. Hope she likes it! Wow. I'm glad it's done!!

My babies

Pardon the blurry picture, but sometimes you just gotta take what you can get. Here is my human baby (Kyle) holding my fur baby (Mia).

Boo!

It's a Rogue!

It has taken about a month, but I have finished Rogue. I made this out of Jamieson's Aran in chartreuse. I think it's a bit thick for winter in Northern California, but I'm glad I made it. I definitely will be making another one but a lighter weight yarn.

Wool is very forgiving and there are a lot of puckers and imperfections that I'm hoping will disappear. Here is Rogue, before blocking.

Full side view:



Here is the hood:




.... and the side....



What's next? My Iceland Lopi-along. Stay tuned for more specifics.

I'm busy!

I've been busy knitting up Rogue. I have had so much fun with it, I can't put it down long enough to take a picture or post anything blog-worthy. I am really going to be sorry when this is finished. By the time I finish most projects, I'm really glad to have it finished! But not this time. It's a nice relaxing pattern, yet enough cabling to keep me interested. I am knitting it out of Jamieson's Aran in Chartreuse. It knits up very thick which is nice. I'm hoping that when I wash and block it, it will soften up a bit. However, I think next time I will knit it so it's not so thick.

I've already got my next project ready to go. I got Lopi-ish yarn from Elann - Gjestal Naturegarn. I'm going to be doing Sigradur from The Best of Lopi. I'm not doing it in the colors pictured as my Rogue is about the same color. I have chosen winter blue as the main color with rust and cream as the 2nd and 3rd colors.

Enough for now - back to my Rogue!

I've got the blogger blues

I've been busily knitting away on my Rogue. I know I haven't posted pictures, but it's nearly completed! I just have to do the sleeves and block it. Pics soon. I promise.

Until then, I'll hopefully have pictures up of knitting and da cats.

Button, Button - Who's Got the Button?

I do! I do!

For my fellow ASOF'ers, here are the buttons for the Lopi-Along or the Iceland project of your choice. Please PLEASE copy them and save them to your own site. If you could please leave comments and let me know which one you are using, I would really appreciate it!

Condiment Queen

Uh huh. That's me. I'm the Condiment Queen. My drawer at work is filled with all kinds of varieties of ketchup, mustard, hot chili, salt, and pepper, and ketchup. It's mostly ketchup. I go to McDonald's or Wendys often. I'm sure it's obvious. When asked if I would like ketchup I say, No!" But it never fails - there is ketchup at the bottom. Sometimes a handful of ketchup packets. I just can't seem to throw them away, so I toss em into my drawer.

What in the world is the difference between ketchup and fancy ketchup??? One ketchup packet I have is from Wendy's. It has a picture of the Heinz ketchup bottle on the front. It says "Heinz Tomato Ketchup". It's ingredients are tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavoring. The other packet is the fancy ketchup and is clearly from McDonald's. It has the McDonald's logo on the front and says "Fancy Ketchup". It's ingredients are tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, and natural flavors. It does not mention a name brand, however, it says it is made in the USA for exclusive use by McDonald's Restaurants. So, the plain ketchup has MORE ingredients than the fancy ketchup. By not having spice and onion powder it is fancier than the one with those ingredients?

If the Big E ever happens while I'm at work and I get trapped in my office, please by all means search and rescue the others first. I will most certainly be able to survive quite a while because I have been squirreling away these condiments. With the red ripe tomatoes in the ketchup and all the corn syrup I should survive the Big E nicely!

Introducing......

(drum roll, please)..... Alan and Alan!

Or, is it Alan in Alan. Maybe it's Alan on Alan?

For those who haven't been reading my blog, this sweater didn't have a name. It's a Dale of Norway pattern with no name. I couldn't possibly knit something that didn't have a name. Since it was for my husband Alan, what better name than, Alan??! (I wonder how many more times I can use the word "name" in this paragraph?)

And a close-up of Alan in Alan....

In case you couldn't tell, he's Scottish. Yeah, I love him anyway. :-)

I absolutely LOVE this yarn. It was made from about 2100 yards of Bendigo Aran wool. Stitch definition is GREAT and the wool is very very soft. I converted the called for crew neck to a V-neck. Other than the fact that I asked him to model this for us during a heat wave, he is very happy with this sweater. If he's happy, I'm happy.

Hot stuff!

Wool is hot when it's 90+° outside. Fortunately I'm still struggling along with Alan's sleeve, so I don't have a pile of wool sitting on my lap.

Poppy says, "Do whatever it takes to stay cool!"

My partner in crime

I certainly have no shortage of desired new projects hanging around. Lately I've been very good in staying focused on finishing my projects and NOT starting another. I'm about 1/4 of the way done on Alan's 2nd sleeve and was looking forward to getting it done, blocked, and put away. However, a small package arrived from my partner in crime the other day. It contained small bits of various colors needed for the Interweave Knits Floral Felted Bag. I fondled the colors and oohed and aaahed at them. All I needed was to get the background color. No biggie. But, could I resist? For the moment, yes. I found the background color I wanted and that was it. I just had to cast on. My intentions were good but it was just calling for me. I have been feeling very knitty lately.

One down, one to go

.....sleeves, that is. One more sleeve and I'm finished with Alan! I just finished the ribbing and am now working on the sleeve and have started the increases. I am always surprised at how quickly sleeves go.

On the school scene, my baby started 8th grade yesterday. He came home excited about one of his new teachers, his science teacher. It always makes me happy when he likes one of his teachers. Maybe there's hope for him yet??!

I plan on enjoying my last week-and-a-half of my summer before school starts on September 7. I'm only taking 2 classes, one of which is done on the internet. I'm starting at ground zero so I'm starting off with English 1A and Introductory Algebra. Betcha I'm the oldest one in the class! Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to finishing Alan. I need to get going on the Oregon again. Don't know why, but it's lost it's "umph" for me. Maybe because I know I have to go back and re-do the front and neck bands? I'm looking forward to starting my Rogue, though. I'm doing it in Jamieson's Aran chartreuse color. Yummy.

My daily therapy

You know the saying - you can't please everyone. Well, that certainly holds true for me at work. I just can't seem to get everything done at a pace that is satisfactory for everyone. By lunch I have turned into a beast. Fortunately I can close my office door, eat my lunch and knit a few rounds of whatever I have thrown into my bag. Right now it is a pair of socks knit from yarn from my stash - Fortissima Colori in color 545. They're knit on Clover Takumi 2.25 mm.

This is one reason why I love knitting. It calms me - it soothes the savage beast in me.

My new sweetheart

I finished my Sweetheart hat! The design is by Anne Featonby. I knit it in Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift in colors Crimson (525) and Shetland Black (101).



This hat was SO much fun to knit! It would be a great project for someone wanting to try their hand at fair isle. It was a great project as a break from my Oregon Cardigan and my husband's Alan aran.

Well, back to the aran. Thanks Anne for a great pattern!

Let's all say, "Awwwww"

Okay, I admit it. I'm a proud Aunt. Around the 4th of July I taught my niece to knit. I didn't hear much more about it and thought she had given up. However, to my surprise she decided to make a little blankie for their new puppy. Today my sister-in-law, Kris, brought her girls Elizabeth and Katylee to my work and we had lunch. During lunch I showed Elizabeth how to cast off. Did I remember to bring the digital? Yepper! Miss this opportunity? NEVER!

Here is Elizabeth proudly showing her knitting. Sister Katylee is in the background modeling her Cheshire Cat grin. Mom is hiding on the left. She thought she missed the camera - sorry Kris!



I think she did a spectacular job! It got me thinking about the very first thing I knitted. I knitted this awful dishcloth out of cotton. I wanted to think of something that could be used and wouldn't turn in to this dust bunny collector shoved under my bed. I made a dishcloth. Elizabeth made a puppy blankie. We all started with something. What did YOU start with?

Couldn't resist

Yup. Another quiz. Being that I married a Scotsman, I figured this was the closest to finding out how Scottish I am. If anyone knows of a Scottish quiz, I'd be happy to take that one too!





Jolly good, wot! Anyone for tennis? That'll be ten ponies, guv. You're the epitome of everything that is english. Yey :) Hoist that Union Jack!

How British are you?

this quiz was made by alanna

What kind of sheep are YOU?

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

What is it?

What weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces and has no arms?




Why, Alan's Alan, of course. I just cast on the first sleeve. Hopefully it won't take too long to get this finished. For those who don't know, this is an unnamed Dale of Norway pattern. So, I gave it a name. Alan.

My next textured project is Rogue! It's of Jamieson's Aran in the chartreuse color. This baby is gonna be mine - all mine!

As you can see from the top left of my blog, I'm feeling rather accomplished today. I have managed to get the basic blog necessities up and running. All the bells and whistles will follow, such as a new header at the top and my works in progress completion section. I learned a lot about HTML and spent nearly an entire day learning as I went. Of course, I would be a horrible person if I did not extend a sincere thank-you to all of you fellow bloggers who gave me help. Thanks Jen for the lesson on how to center. Hey! When you're just learning something as rudimentary as centering it's a BIG deal!

I finished the El Tigre socks and have cast on another pair in Opal, one of their millions of colors. Another thing I need to do is to get all of my links back up that link to my finished projects.

That's about it for tonight. The picture for tomorrow night will be one of the Oregon in progress.

Here's another close up of Alan's Alan for the road....



Tomorrow is Monday. Try to have a good one!

You've come to the right place!

Yes. It looks different. My old blog was having problems. Some posts were not showing up and my graphics were all askew.

It will take some time but I will get all of my surf ring buttons back up. Please bear with me.

Thanks!

Blog catch up

I'm still here. I've been busy knitting and working. I have managed to get quite a bit done on Alan's Alan. I've finished El Tigre socks and have cast on another pair.

Also, I'm working on Estonian Lace scarf from zephyr in the ruby color.

Pictures will be posted this weekend. I promise. Until then, use your imagination.

2 steps forward, 1 step back

That's what I'm doing with my Oregon. I picked up the stitches for the sleeves and just didn't like the fact that the "v" was pointing the opposite way as the rest of the sweater. So, I frogged it and cast on for the sleeve to be knit from the cuff up. I'm happier doing it this way as I can then knit the facing for finishing off the sleeves much like I do when I do Dale sweaters.

Also, I am going to have to frog the bands as well. I need to pick up the back of the neck stitches and knit up about an inch and then do the bands again. The back of the neck is much too low. This is my plan. Whether or not it will work remains to be seen.

I'm watching some buttons on e-bay that will just be perfect with this. See?

I know, I know!

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry. I've been busy having a life. :-)

I got the front bands of Oregon done and the back neck looks awful. I picked up the stitches of the first sleeve and all seems to be going well with that. I've been asking for help on from the KBTH group regarding suggestions for the neck band, but so far no responses. Anyone else have suggestions or problems with the back of the neck being low? If so, please contact me!

This post will have to do until I have more time.

Potpourri Blog

So, where did I leave off? Oh yes, last weekend my husband was discharged from the hospital just in time to get us home, showered, dressed, and to my daughter's graduation from UC Santa Cruz.

While sitting in the hospital with my husband I managed to finish my Fiona bag, which was my birthday present to myself. I followed the pattern, but I changed a few things. I didn't make the cell phone pocket as long as my cell phone is a really small one. Also, I lined the inside of the bag as well. Here you can see a photo of the outside and the inside. I didn't feel like dumping my purse, so pardon a peek at the contents inside.






Didya see the cute sheep pin above the flap?

Fortunately this weekend has been a lot more sane than the last two weekends. I have had a nice time working on my Oregon Cardigan. The colors are magnificent!!



I only have about another 3 inches and the body is finished.

Well, that's about it to bring my blog up to date. Of course, Alan still is in the basket waiting patiently. I'm having too much fun on the Oregon to stop!

My, how time flies!

Wowzer! Lemme see where do I start?

Last I had written, my husband was in a bike accident. We returned to the doctor to check up on his fractures and they found cellulitis in the opposite leg. Of course, straight to a hospital bed he went with mucho IV antibiotics on board. He wasn't a happy camper but once he realized this could spread to the point of losing his leg I think he seemed a little more compliant. I guess the given nickname of "Peg Leg Pete" didn't seem so funny anymore.

The hospital sprung him merely hours before my daughter's graduation from UC Santa Cruz. We rushed home, showered and dressed and zipped on down highway 17 and over the mountains. I can't believe she's all grown.

While spending time in the hospital with him I made myself a Fiona bag. This was intended to be a birthday present to myself, but with the accident it was slow going. I made the cell phone pouch on the side not as tall as my flip phone is much smaller. I lined my bag as well.

I was so glad that he got home because that meant I could pick up the Oregon Cardigan I've been trying to work on.

I will post pictures of my finished Fiona and progress on Oregon in the next few days.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yep. It's my birthday. My age? I'm 29 and I have some Enron stock for sale too.

My hubby was in a bike accident yesterday and broke his patella and has numerous scrapes and cuts. I've spent a nice afternoon reading through my birthday presents.... books! Here is what my family has given me for my birthday. They're all WONDERFUL additions to my library.








I have been working on the Oregon this afternoon and it's nice to just be able to knit. I took today and tomorrow off work to enjoy a nice few days of doing whatever I please.

Alan bought the ingredients to make an incredible chocolate cake. He insists on going into the kitchen to make it for me. However, the orthopedist said that he is to be non-weight bearing and to keep his leg straight. The brace keeps it straight, however, standing in the kitchen making a cake is NOT considered non-weight bearing. Of course, we won't mention the elbow he can't move or the fingers that have been crushed and have bandages on them.

So, I'm off to make my birthday cake. Quickly. Before my husband decides to be more noncompliant than he already is.

I'm such a happy birthday girl!!

Four Sons

Roger.
Charles.
Maynard.
Marlowe.

Those were my Grandma and Grandpa Ray's four sons. I don't remember my Grandma and Grandpa Ray as they both were gone before I was born. However, I have pictures of them and stories retold by my family.

The Rays were a close family and Grandma and Grandpa loved their boys! Being a mother of 3, I can only imagine the emotions when their four boys served in World War II. Yes, all four. They all returned home safely.

Major Roger Ray, served in England and France as a pilot on a Martin Marauder B-28 bomber. He completed 62 missions. He held several well-deserved medals and citations, among them the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded May 11, 1944, the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Air Medal with ten oak leaf clusters.

Sgt. Maynard Ray was a radio operator with the 20th Air Force ground to plane radio communications with B-29 Superforts. He had been stationed on Timon in the Pacific area.

Sgt. Marlowe Ray (my father) was stationed at Yusku, Japan before occupation forces. He was discharged November 24, 1947 and recalled into service March 1951. He was with MacArthur's First Calvalry on his first hitch. He was then stationed at Topeka, Kansas, 90th Maintenance Squadron, Forbes AFB, Topeka, Kansas. My mother joined him and found a clerical job at the base.

Captain Charles Ray, Jr. entered the service as an air cadet February 1943 at Creighton University, Omaha Nebraska. In 1944 he received his wings. For a short time he was stationed at Romulus Field and was sent overseas in June of 1944. He served in the Air Transport Command and flew a Curtiss Commander C-46.



My dad, Marlowe Ray



Roger Ray and Maynard Ray



Charles Ray, Jr.

Boy a lot has changed. Where there were B-28 bombers and C-46s, we now have B1 bombers, DC-10s, and 747s. Hand-written letters to home that sometimes took weeks to arrive have been replaced with the internet and e-mail.

Technology has changed the way we live and the way we fight wars. But the love families have for their loved ones has never changed. It's important to remember the service men and women who gave their lives so you and I can continue to enjoy the freedom that we enjoy in America. However, we need to remember there are other sons and daughters who are currently fighting for our country too.

In honor of Memorial Day, it is to the four Ray boys that I dedicate this blog post.

Ragna swatch and photos

I finished the Ragna swatch today in the Black Water Abbey yarn in rust color. The pattern says to use size 8 needle which I did in the pink heather. The fabric was.... eh.... and when I washed it I was greatly disappointed. It bloomed and I lost some of the detail in the side cables, although the plait still looked okay.

I did the swatch today in rust on size 7 needles and after washing it still bloomed a bit but I think the tighter gauge kept a lot of the detail lost on size 8 needles. The fabric is perfect and the gauge is right on the money. Before on size 8 it was a tad off, but I would have been quite happy having it a bit bigger.

Here is the swatch I did today:



Nice, huh? I think this is a winner for Elsebeth Lavold's Ragna!

Now.... on to the Oregon. I am pleased with its progress and it's moving along quite nicely. As noted earlier I put down Alan for a while as I needed a change. I was ready for some color again. Here it is:



And to show you the color that is totally amazing to me, here is a close up. These are the colors that attracted me to Oregon the first time I saw it:



That's about it for now!

I'm still here!

I haven't blogged in quite a while so here's a catch-up post.

I finished the front of the Alan sweater and it's turning out very well! I have started on the back. Getting rather bored with it, so have put it aside and picked up Oregon again last night. It's amazing how many different colors there are in this sweater and how many different subtle shades of the same color there are.

I received several one ounce skeins of Black Water Abbey Yarn to swatch with. I swatched the pink heather using size 8 needles for Elsebeth Lavold's Ragna sweater. I just about got gauge, perhaps a little bigger. I washed it and was disappointed that I lost a little of the stitch definition in the smaller cables. The plaits, however, turned out really nice. The color of this yarn is incredible! Today I am going to do the same swatch but this time in Black Water Abbey Yarn color Rust. I will do it on size 7 needles this time. I just love that sweater so I'm determined to go through my stash and find the yarn that will work the best for it.

Still working on Mom's Bedjacket. After I get Mom's Bedjacket and Alan done I will cast on for my sister's Abalone sweater. However, none of this is in stone and these plans could change at any time!

I will post pictures of the above progress when I can.

You are a Dubliner.


What's your Inner European?
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Weekend update

I managed to begin the front of Alan's sweater this weekend. It certainly is different going back and forth instead of around on the circular. I figure I'll be done with this in no time!

This weekend was the annual Osugi Birthday Bash. Jennifer and Sydney's parents, Kim and Richard, throw this incredible birthday party for their girls. They are 2 years apart and Jennifer turned 7 and Sydney 5. As usual, there was a ton of most excellent food. If you leave this party hungry it's your own fault! We won't mention the birthday cake. This cake is ohmigosh incredible. We loved it so much that we had the same bakery make our wedding cake.

We arrived at the party today and like every year I quickly scan the masses of kids for Sydney and Jennifer. Unfortunately we only get to see them once a year so it's a challenge to find them as they have grown! Each year they have the coolest toys for the kids to play with and this year it was bubbles. Oodles and oodles of little toys that produce millions o'bubbles. Of course, I have to remind myself that I'm the adult and I just watch the kids. But I get to have fun by taking pictures of them.

Tonight I'm not going to put up a picture of one of the cats doing a cutsie belly-up shot or of a sweater in progress. I have something that is much more adorable.... Sydney (left) and Jennifer today at their party.

I thought it would never get here...

...Friday that is. What a week it's been!

I'm not going to blog again until Sunday afternoon at which point I will post a new picture of whatever I'm working on. It will probably be Alan. I'm ready to split to work either the back or front. I think I'll get the front out of the way first.

In case you haven't done so, you really need to see these books. I just checked them out from the library and are now on my wish list. (Hint to my husband there.)

The Best of Knitters Arans and Celtics. There are a lot of yummy things to knit here.


Knitting in the Old Way. This book is definitely for the advanced knitter. It shows in detail how to make any kind of a sweater to fit anyone. This is a definite for any knitters library and it certainly is my #1 wish on my wish list. Do you think my husband will get the hint?

I hope you all have a terrific weekend.

I'm up to my armpits in Alan!

Well, I will be in about 2 more inches. I have now knit 16 inches of "Alan" and will separate for the arms in another 2 inches. Here... I'll show you:



Wanna see a closeup of the stitches and bobbles? Hey, save your comments on my bobbles - I'm a bobble virgin, okay?



I don't know if it's burn out, but lately I haven't felt much like knitting. So, I've spent my time organizing my books and patterns, and might go through my stash once again to re-organize everything.

I did get my "pretty in pink" gift socks done and the recipient was thrilled.

I'm still chugging along on my mom's bedjacket. It's done in stockinette stitch so it's rather boring. However, it's a very small and short jacket with three-quarter sleeves. If I would just sit and do it, it would be done in no time. But as I said earlier, I feel kinda "blah" about knitting right now. If anyone else ever feels like that I would LOVE to hear from you. Is this something that needs therapy? Will my knitting libido ever return to its normal passion? Hmmm... I wonder if they make a drug for people like me when their drive for knitting has gone limp..... :gasp:

I watched the Sharks vs Calgary game tonight. Tsk tsk tsk. They lost. They're down 2 games to 0. Even Poppy was upset - he just couldn't bear to watch the last period.



Well, knit on everyone! Someone around here has to. :sigh:

My wonderful day

My daughter is nearly 23 years old. She is my oldest child and only daughter. This evening she was going to a formal dance and I was privileged to help her with her hair, dress, and makeup. I clipped roses from the garden and made some boutonnieres for her date and a few other friends she was meeting.

I realized that other than her wedding, I probably will never have this opportunity again. I savored every minute of it. I remembered all the prom dresses I made and the nights up late fretting it wouldn't be done in time. The nights spent up awake worrying and hoping that she was safe and sound.

Next month she graduates from UC Santa Cruz and she is a grown woman now. As her mother, I am so proud to have her as my daughter. Of course, I am proud to have my two sons as well.

I love being a Mom and I couldn't ask for 3 better kids! Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

One done one to go

Well, I managed to get one sock done and the other started. However, I sewed a skirt for myself and got other things done too.

I took this picture of my baby, Mia. Is she gorgeous, or what? Mia thinks she is!

I'm in the pink!

Can I do it? Can I actually start a pair of socks and have them finished this weekend? Yep. I believe so. I started a pair of socks last evening in a pink and white variegated wool. It's from Joslyn's Fiber Farm in Sheep's Gift. I'm don't know of the name of the colorway. These are going to be a gift. Fortunately, the recipient has little feet (adult little feet).

The San Jose Sharks play against the Colorado Avalanche. If the Sharks win, they move on. I figure there will be some quality knitting time there.



Can I do it? Stay tuned!

YAWN

I have been feeling sort of "blah" about knitting lately... Tonight I knitted the ears of Shaun but that's about it. I watched the Stanley Cup playoff games between the Avalanche and the Sharks. I'll actually be in bed asleep before 10!

Last night I didn't do much knitting either. I don't know if it's burnout or what....

I have been putting other energy into getting signed up for my fall classes at San Jose City College. Yep. I'm headed back to school to see if this old dog can learn some new tricks. After finishing up my general ed classes I'll go to San Jose State University for my BSN degree. I figure it'll take about 6 years. Any knitting I do will be done before I go to San Jose State. I have a feeling that once I start nursing school there will be no time for anything else as I will be working part time as well.

So many projects - so little time. On the other hand, once I finish nursing school and start to work as an RN - I'll be making more $. More $ means more yarn. More yarn means more knitting! What a wonderful thought. Only my knitting comrades know the excitement this brings. Well, my hubby does too, but I think he's cringing.

Goodnight y'all. Happy Thursday to everyone!

Bedtime post

I was cruising around the net reading blogs and found this. This may answer many things.......


What Finding Nemo Character are You?
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90 degrees

That's the temperature as of 5:15 p.m. "Alan" is big enough that it sits in my lap when I knit. The last thing I want sitting on my lap is wool. I already put Oregon away and it's wool too, so I'm not getting it out either. El Tigre socks are wool too.

So, I dug out a new project. It's a simple one, though. I'm making Shaun. Being a Wallace and Gromit fan, I find Shaun irresistable.

Trading Places

It's not that Oregon is boring - it's very entertaining. I have been a little under the weather for the past few days and my brain and eyes need a vacation. Here's a picture I took before I put it away.



Time to bring "Alan" out to play. :-)

Icky sicky week

I seem to have some sort of gastrointestinal funk going on. In spite of feeling like blech, life pretty much went on as usual this week until this afternoon it came to a screeching halt. I just couldn't handle the nausea. I won't go into the other accompanying symptoms but I won't be going to work tomorrow.



As you read in my last post I went to San Francisco with my family to meet my niece. I took tons of pictures, but this one I took with my knitting blog and the readers in mind. This is a bronze statue called "The Shaking Man". It is outside the Sony Metreon. Yes, you see it correctly. The guy has 3 pairs of hands and 3 fpairs of feet. I don't know about you, but it's the hands that impress me the most. Can you imagine how much knitting we could all get done if we had 3 sets of hands? That would mean all my current works in progress would be just about done!

Speaking of works in progress, I haven't picked up "Alan" in quite some time. I am enjoying working on the Oregon so much. I haven't been bored yet and it's coming along well. I'll post an update sometime this weekend.

I now have a website! There isn't much there but it will be a continual work in progress. I have links on the right side bar to my completed projects page and my future projects page.

Happy knitting everyone and I'm SO glad tomorrow is Friday.

Big weekend

My niece, Lindsay, was in San Francisco over the weekend so we all went to visit her. We had a wonderful day with her. Needless to say I didn't get much knitting done over the weekend. I captured the key events of our day here.

My yarn for my Mom's bed jacket arrived today (Thanks Val). So, I have yet again put two projects I love doing away for now as I want to get this bed jacket done.

For now, "Alan" is on hold. :sigh:
For now, my Oregon cardigan is on hold. :sigh:

Perhaps this will motivate me to get my Mom's bed jacket done. Fortunately it's not that long (just to the waist) and the sleeves are just below the elbow.

That's it for now. Have a terrific Tuesday y'all!

Henry VIII

No, it's not a new sweater I'm working on - it's a PBS special Alan and I watched about a week ago - about Henry VIII and his wives. I took a little quiz and found out I am Catarina of Aragon. Sure, right.........





Which of Henry VIII's wives are you?

this quiz was made by the groovtastic ghouls at Spookbot

Oregon and Alan

I am so thankful for my enabling friends on the KBTH group! Putting "Alan" aside for a while and beginning a new project was hard for me to rationalize. I posted my dilemma on the KBTH group and they came through for me. I was told that it is important to work alternately on projects of different yarn weights and needle sizes, to avoid repetitive stress injury. Of course, who am I to argue with that???!?

Without further delay, here is my progress on Oregon:




Poppy has been watching television and is exhausted. He says, "Goodnight!"