How I join yarn by Blue

I survived the knitting of the hat!!! HOLY MOLY! I did it! It is felting as I type. I will actually finish something BEFORE a deadline. The Denise needles ended up being great as I could take out the extensions as I decreased. I switched to dpn's when the circs were a little unweildy, I haven't used them much but it worked out pretty well. (Although I did lose a needle and have to rescue stitches.)

We saw Fiona Apple & Coldplay the other night, GREAT concert and we had a blast. It was also nice having some kid-free time and a hotel room all to ourselves. No waking up with kids, no sharing my food, AND sleeping in. I got a lot of knitting done on the trip there and back.

Taking a bit of a break

from the Olympian knitting to work on the magic scarf. Since it is BELOW ZERO and we got a bunch of snow-although not nearly as much as the East Coast had. Still though, with the windchill it is like -23 below zero out there. IT IS REALLY, REALLY COLD AND FREEZING. And then I called my sister in CA who had to rub it in that it is a little cool there at 68 degrees and she is running her a/c in the car. PUNK ASS BRAGGER!

The cold is reaffirming our decision to get our butts to CA, except when my sister had to wait TWO hours at the URGENT care office today. I suppose that could happen here in Iowa, but really not likely unless the Urgent Care doctor also delivers babies or something.

Yeah, that whole warmth thing seems to be winning though. Must.finish.my.scarf.

And I'm off! FINALLY! The hat so far, on top of a lovely picture drawn by one of my daughters. I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, this color is Mist. 

Here is the closeup of the hat so far, see my nifty decreases?  

I mean really

I should've realized way ahead of time I would be my own worst competitor in the Knitting Olympics.

After finally settling on the right length of circular needles and casting on the right number of stitches I thought I was off and running. Until I fell on a hurdle. Instead of actually comprehending the pattern and joining the cast on stitches and knitting a row, I cast on and went straight to row number 2. AAAH! No wonder those M1's were so tough.

So NOW I have frogged and am casting on ONCE again. Then I will need to obsessively recount the stitches to make sure that I have the EXACT RIGHT AMOUNT and then FINALLY I will hopefully be on my way. HOPEFULLY.

Bad Blogger, bad!

The yarn Olympics have begun and I haven't even CAST ON yet! Heeeeelp! The bag for Grandma is still on the needles I need and I have been working to finish it. My left arm is NOT cooperating though, the tingling has been increased lately and it just does not want to follow the commands coming from the brain. But it's the Knitting Olympics so it will just have to.

Now, I'm off to furiously ready myself and the kids for dinner out with my family. Wheeee!

Your Linguistic Profile:

80% General American English

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

So I took pictures

but they were really dark and I was way too lazy to retake them or try to lighten them so all you get is text.

I am knitting away on my super easy purple comfy shawl, and SO CLOSE to being finished. I am still undecided on whether I will just be done, or add some sort of crocheted edge to it. I could always add an edge later though, so maybe I'll try it out for a bit first. (Of course you know it will then become one of those things I think about doing but never get around to.)

I also worked a bit on my grandma's bag, as I will need the needles for the KNITTING OLYMPICS! WOOHOOO! I am going to be making a felted hat, my first ever and I am way excited. I had the urge to look for something even more challenging, but then I remembered that I tend to take on too much and maybe I should just stick with the challenge at hand. Afterall, the pattern does involve counting.

I am also obsessed with Crazy Aunt Purl's blog. I've been reading from the beginning and I am absolutely enthralled with her. Hilarious, smart, moving, and just cool. I want to be her when I grow up. For now I will settle for obsessively reading her blog, I'm up to October. p.s She's also a member of Club OCD which makes me even more in awe of her. She's a member of the club! And likes yarn! And cats! And lives in a cute house in CA!

So, what do you do...

when you live in Iowa where it gets cold and your computer desk is next to a drafty window AND you have a whole bunch of delicious chunky yarn? You knit up a shawl for yourself!. I'm following this very, very easy pattern from Lion Brand using Wool-Ease chunky-the same yarn I am making the magic scarf with. I am not adding the fringe though. It's knitting up quite quickly in spite of a few mishaps that may or may not have been caused by the aforementioned Dyed in the Wool. It's just for me to wear at home so I'm not too worried about those little mistakes. Well, except that I might worry a little bit about knowing it's not totally right, but hey it gives it character, eh?

Yarn and this... Heaven indeed. 

Me, myself, and I

Some rollergirls, a finally quiet house, yarn, and a glass of wine.
Aaaaaaah. I'm having some Dyed-in-the-Wool "unchangeable"
(2003) Delicious, and slightly different, perfect for yarn
girls everywhere.

As a yarney type I was happy to see this wine when a friend
started carrying it in his shop. It's especially great to knit
or crochet while drinking it. Unless, of course, you drink a
lot of it and then it doesn't do a whole lot for whatever
project you happen to be working on. ;)

Because I have a hard time sticking with one or two, or even a
few projects at once I had to cast on another! A shawl from a
Lion Brand pattern, using Wool-Ease Chunky in the same loverly
purply blend as my hat and scarf. This is knitting up quickly,
and I can't wait to have it here to wrap up in when I'm a
little chilly.
I skipped over another shawl type pattern on the site. I
*think* I could do it, but I'm not totally sure and now I am
thinking it could be an excellent project for the Yarn
Olympics. Wheeee! The days are passing quickly and practice
time is dwindling. *chattering teeth biting fingernails*

After staying up last night

to finish up laundry and make sure we had the appropriate number of shirts, pants, socks, and underwear for the kids to be dressed this morning (and making my first bloggish button) I woke up groggy and tired this morning.

The husband and I did breakfast and got children dressed and polished and shined and ready to go. Of course this includes rousting them out of bad, no easy task in itself.

The husband takes the children off in the car to school, and I stay here with the youngest and the sick one. I call the school to let them know sick one will be home today.

"Well, there isn't school today."

Yes folks, I've done it again.

Go Team Sybermoms Yarn Whores!

Because we're entering Yarn Harlot's 2006 Knitting Olympics!

Are we crazy? YES, OF COURSE! Especially me as I am a fairly novice knitter, gah! Fellow Sybermom Divy and I are heading up the team and we've decided to make breast cancer our theme and more importantly those who've been affected by it our focus.

I'm thinking I will do a hat of some kind, I haven't knitted a hat yet, and it should prove to be a challenge, we'll see. I really should do a little training, eh?

Pictures? You want Pictures??

Replacement Bag #6, which is felting as we speak!

This bag is for my grandma, I am really, really loving it. 

My newest project, the Magic Scarf from Crazy Aunt Purl's blog. I've been wanting to make a scarf to go with my hat and this is perfect!

Extreme closeup of the dishtowel. See all those purls and knits? 

The dishtowel in moss stitch. It is really not attractive and I keep thinking of frogging it. But man that's a lot of stitches. And it would still be useful, right? 

This is the new star blanket I'm working on in Wool-Ease sportweight. I'm liking it. 

Too funny.

Guess what my five year old has been studying in school?

Mice. Yesterday he came home with his colored mouse pictures, today a mouse mask and a pop up mouse. It's really too much lol.

My poor little guy is still sick.

I thought this afternoon that he was on the mend, but he commenced with the vomiting and diarrhea again tonight. Poor thing. After my couple Blue Moons last night I ended up being awake most of the night with him. I am very, very tired today and really wishing my other children would crash so I could do the same. I so hope he is able to get some rest tonight and is feeling better tomorrow, poor thing.

On Friday my family-parents, sisters, and bil and I are starting a Biggest Loser thing. We're giving ourselves an incentive and putting money into the pot for the winner. Wheee! I am really not so good at the whole consistent exercising thing-even though I used to be a runner-and am more horrible at not eating stuff that's bad or fatty or whatever. Twelve weeks. Twelve weeks I have to get myself back into shape.

I need to make a plan for how to do it, one that I have a chance of succeeding at. But first I am taking myself out for a nice yummy dinner and not worrying about any of it. I've got to send myself off right!

Well then.

The mouse was the least of my worries. We've now moved onto cramps and a sick little boy. Vomit and diarrhea oh my! A few Blue Moons for me tonight, well deserved, I might add.

I've been doing lots of book reading and listening, working on purses, needing to sew on a pocket and felt, and I started another star blanket, this one with Wool-Ease Sportweight. The others I've made I've used Lion Brand Chunky so this one is a slight bit more labor intensive. No worries it's just for us at home anyway so I can take my time. Mindless crocheting rocks.

So I go back to use the bathroom off of our bedroom, flip on the light AND...

there is a mouse in our toilet. WTF?!?! I mean, he's not like a cat, he can't cling to the edge to drink the water! The mouse is swimming in the water, can't get out.

So, Joe said what are you doing? I tell him about the mouse, I am fascinated, just watching this mouse. A fairly good sized mouse, cute, except that he was swimming in toilet water. So Joe says FLUSH IT! Joe hates mice. HATES THEM. They really don't bother me all that much, except this one was impeding my ability to use my toilet. I contemplate the flushing, asking Joe if he thinks it will go down. After all, we don't need a mouse-clogged toilet. A mouse IN the toilet is enough. He says of course it will FLUSH IT! with a little more urgency.

I wrestled with this again, I mean come on, the mouse is cute with his big eyes and he's already stuck in the toilet. (I wondered if he was a stupid mouse who really thought he could go for a swim and get back out or if he was a mouse just prone to accidents, as I am, and was just having a really shitty day.)

His day got worse. I flushed him. Poor mouse. I then worried about him coming back up. No one wants to sit on a toilet and have a mouse come back up, right? So, I flushed a couple more times. (Of course I waited a little in between flushes as I really did not need to overflow the toilet and then have to clean up toilet water and a mouse.)

I am a mouse killer.

p.s. Thank you God for not letting this happen to me last night when the bathroom light was burnt out and I would've sat down with no warning.

If you haven't been

to Ms. Venus' recently enlivened blog now is the time! You must go check out Fred the Stripey Frog who is on his way to my house as I type. Isn't he the best?

Apparently

sewing machine frustration makes for a renewed interest in i-cording. Who knew?

I just wanted to use my sewing machine.

I think I am cursed when it comes to sewing. Every time I try to use my sewing machine-we're talking 4 or 5 times over the past couple years I've had it-SOMETHING is or goes wrong. My latest problem is children who think bobbins are great fun to swipe and play with and break and lose.

This was the problem the last time I attempted a sewing project. So, I went to the store and bought a little kit with bobbins in it. I should've been set for tonight. I cannot find the kit. Anywhere. Did I imagine my trip to the then brand new Michaels store which had the same crappy service it did in the old building? Was I only dreaming that I studied all the bobbin options carefully before choosing the little kit with the most stuff for the best price? Or has the kit been officially sucked into the black hole that is my house?

Tonight I wanted to try to make one of those handy rice heating pouch thingies. Armed with fabric, rice, and some encouragement from Boxy I was raring to go. It should've been simple. My big worry should've been sewing over a rice grain (thanks again for that tip Box!). Instead I was back in the same awful WHERE IS A DAMN BOBBIN?!?! hell I had been in before.

I did not give up then. I was determined. I would have a picture of my little rice pouch to proudly show off in the morning, I had to! So we moved onto handsewing. Yeah, I suck at handsewing. I always always always tangle up the thread at some point and make a general mess of things. Where to go from there? I would sew/bind it with YARN! GENIUS! I can work a yarn needle people. Yarn is my friend. I may hate sewing in ends but I am proficient at it! I found some yarn, one of metal yarn needles and folded and pinned one side of the pouch. Things were looking good. I COULD do this! My new yarn binding of the rice pouch would be a hit. It would take off, showing up in blogs everywhere!

Yeah, right.

So the fabric is a little thick to be pierced by a yarn needle and it took me about fifteen minutes to do a couple stitches and suddenly I was out of beer. I certainly wasn't in the mood to pop open a bottle of champagne and the one beer I had consumed was definitely not enough to numb the pain of my fingers and thumb where I was pushing on that damn dull needle. Or to soothe my wounded crafty pride.

Everything is now packed up into the handy rubbermaid box I have decided to organize my sewing stuff in. If I do find that elusive kit I will promptly add it to the box so I know RIGHT where all sewing related things are. It's not like yarn and crochet hooks and knitting needles that need an entire corner of the house, right?

I will now soothe myself by continuing to work on a felted bag. Knitting in the round. Easy, soothing, and purposeful. Something I can DO! Unlike sewing.

More words

No new pictures today, although I do have some cute pics of the Blue Kids I need to upload when I get motivated.

Thanks to the loverly Boxy I have found a new resource for audiobooks, and once the kiddos are all asleep I will be knitting and listening and just plain enjoying myself. For now I am blog reading and knitting. Well except right now, as I took a break to type something here.

In the yarn world I am i-cording for the last of the six purses, and working on the bag for my grandma. It's funny how much I loved i-cording in the beginning and now I have to make myself do it.

Today the littlest Blue decided that he must make pancakes. Thankfully his cooking skills are limited to spreading dry pancake mix ALL OVER THE KITCHEN. His brother then decided to sweep up-all done while I was in the bathroom, of course-and spread things around just a bit more. I was extremely happy that no water had been added as I was able to vacuum it all up and the just a little wiping up of the leftovers. Ah kids, always surprising. ;)

My fil stopped by today and was PAID for the shawl I made that he gave to my mil. Of course I asked for pretty much just the cost of the yarn, but he gave me a bit more which was very nice of him. Wheeeeee! I also sent along the gift bag filled with the beach bag as we haven't had a chance to give it to ourselves. I hope she likes it. I am always nervous of what people think of the things I make them.

Now I am off to look at moving links (actual relocating, not emotional) with my friend V while I knit and eventually ipod away. Wheeeee!

Maybe I should

turn this blog into an occasional picture of knitting/crocheting filled with short asides blog? The body of the purse I was working on is done, it's just down to a pocket, a handle, and felting.

I just killed a spider. I know it's not exciting, except if you are a close friend, my husband, or my therapist and then you would get the actual gravity of this situation.

I'd like to thank my husband, my children, my closest friends who put up with all of my rambling and craziness, my therapist, and my medication. Thank you, thank you all so very much!

Why do the people

who make commercials think we want to actually hear people biting and chewing their food? We don't. It's gross. It's unappetizing. It makes me want to hurl my remote through the television screen except I control myself and just mute the fucker or change the channel.

Seriously commercial people, we.don't.want.to.hear.it.

Ipod & Knitting

Now that we have an XM Satellite Radio(thanks mom and dad!!) I am able to actually use the Ipod Mr. Blue gave me for Mother's Day. Aside from knitting/crocheting while watching Law & Order, my new favorite is to listen to the Ipod*, knit, and read blogs. I love reading blogs, especially yarny blogs. At the moment I am immersed Crazy Aunt Purl. If you haven't read this blog you really have to. It's what I wish my blog could be, if I weren't a midwestern housewife with serious organization issues and had better writing skills.

Yesterday it was in the 60's, today we got snow. Big giant flakes of snow, and it even stuck, except on the patio and sidewalks which is actually really great unless all the melted snow freezes overnight and then we are screwed. As if the school drop-off/pick-up line weren't enough of a crazy fiasco. My 3 year old was extremely excited over the snow as he thought it meant we'd get to have another Christmas soon. GAH! DASH THE THOUGHT! I gently let him down.

My sister's purse is all felted up, and dried, now I just need to assemble the handle and give it a little trimming. I REALLY like how it turned out. Pictures to come, I promise!! My mother-in-law loved the shawl and wore it out to dinner on her birthday. Apparently she kept saying "How does she do this??!" I am, of course, happy to pretend to be modest while in reality proud and gloating and impressed with myself. ;)

Now I am working on a repeat of one of the six purses as a friend asked to buy a purse for me for an emergency Christmas gift. After the big purse order reprieve, I was able to sell one and still have time to make another in it's place. You can see it in the picture above. I've worked with a lot of color combos that aren't necessarily my favorites, it's funny how weird it seems not to be making something in colors I really enjoy, or even mostly enjoy.

And now, back to the blog reading.

*In case you are a freak like me and interested in stalking, err.. looking closely at the details of other people's pictures/lives, Blink 182-I Miss You is what was playing on the Ipod at the time of the picture. Right now I am listening to Sheryl Crow-Strong Enough.

My other project of the week, a beach tote for my mother-in-law's birthday. I'd wanted to make her something and it dawned on me that a beach tote would be great as she and my father-in-law travel to the Caribbean every spring. It turned out pretty well and I am impressed with myself. ;) I made it with Sugar 'n Cream, using a Lion Brand pattern that I modified just a bit. 

Here it is, the super secret SHAWL, who knew, right? I failed miserably at getting a good picture of it, this will have to do. 

Finally!

After having to frog around 10 or so rows TWICE the super secret project is just about finished!!! Wooohooooo! Pictures coming soon.

Let's just say...

that unraveling 10 rows of ladder yarn after having to figure out where in the hell I had gone wrong was not the way I wanted to spend my late Friday evening.

Thankfully I took my kiddos out to dinner and for ice cream earlier and while slightly stressful as they got tired and crabby, overall it was a wonderful way to spend a Friday night.

As revealed

in comments the super secret project is being made with a ladder yarn, Caron Fabulous. I really like how it feels, it's soft and filmy and just all over neat. The only trouble is that at times I get confused on stitches as it's not easy to sort it all out. I am also totally in love with the colors in it, I am using Mother Earth and the colors in it are gorgeous.

As far as the purse I am working on the i-cord handle and then a felting we will go! I need to throw in a swatch using the red, black, and light grey, to see if the red bleeds into the grey. I used the light grey on another purse and a blue color bled into it. I'd hate to end up with a red, black, and light pink purse. ;)

Happy New Year!

Why is that when I was a kid the years seemed to pass soooo sloooowly, and now as an adult they just about fly by?

I had a blast on New Year's, my sister's birthday is New Year's Eve so we always have a good time. With both of my sisters and their husband, boyfriend, and my little nephew man here it was great for our family, all of us siblings together. My sister decided she wanted to rent a limo to cart us all around for the night, we went out to a very good dinner and then to see a great local band. It was a great feeling to just hop into the limo when it was time to go all over and we all had a lot of fun. Yay!

The husband left very early New Year's Day for Florida to see the Hawkeyes play in the bowl game. I have been VERY jealous, and he called with lots of updates. In spite of Iowa losing he is having a blast, the punk. He'll be back tomorrow evening and I will be happy. Between Christmas and New Year's and all the family and going and craziness and winter break things have been NUTS! here. The house is trashed and I am tired.

Still working on the super secret project that it is great for variety and I love the way the yarn feels all knitted up. I still need to make the handle for my sister's bag and then felt it and voila! it's done. Wheeee. That's it for this very non-exciting post.

I have a pounding headache. And a cold. I am tired. My kids are insane. Calgon take me away.

I am making progress on my sister's bag though, thank goodness. My head is stuffed up so sound is all magnified and these children are so stir crazy it is really insane. How much longer for Christmas break? lol

Shhhh, it's a secret! 

Here is my sister's purse I am madly crocheting away on, wheeee! 

The New Year is almost here

The holidays are flying by.

I am working on my sister's purse, her birthday is New Year's Eve. We'll see if I can magically finish by then. ;)

Merry Christmas Eve!

I hope all of you have a very happy holiday!

For some reason

I was a day ahead on the whole Christmas thing. I had thought Christmas was on Saturday, wooohooo a reprieve!

The only gifts we have left to get are for one of my sisters and Joe's brothers. Oh and all that wrapping. The plan is to get the hosue cleaned tomorrow and start on the wrapping, wish me luck!

I finished the black and white hat, I'll have to post a picture, and I've started the shawl, I love the colors of the yarn I've chosen.

When weather men try to be funny I'd like to smack the crap out of them. WE DON'T WANT YOUR FUNNY, WE JUST WANT THE FORECAST MOTHERFUCKER!

Apparently I only needed to bitch about the camera to get it to work. ;) Here's an extreme close-up of the sixth bag, which is still blocking. 

This is the hat I made for myself. The picture isn't the greatest but I am going with it. It's purple with bits of red, I love it. 

A close-up of the flower, upon posting I am thinking I should've messed around more with it in Fireworks. Ah well. 

Here is the first bag where the flower will go. You'll have to use your imagination as the flower will be felted and a taaad bit smaller. 

Okay so it's Christmas time,

and I'm sure any readers would understand this time of year being busy. Right?

Still no pictures of the bags. :( My digital camera is doing all sorts of weird things and not taking pictures or holding a charge, grrrr. So no before pictures of the last three bags, and I also forgot to take before measurements. Sigh. If all fails I will resort to a cell phone pic, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell what the picture is of.

The bags are all felted and blocked and some just need their handles assembled. I am also adding a flower onto one of them for sure. My aunt decided to use them as birthday gifts for the year, you can imagine how relieved I was at finishing them so close to Christmas and feeling horrible and wondering exactly how much overnight shipping would cost and then finding out I could relax just a tiny bit. Whew.

Up next are two bags for my Grandma and my sister, and Arenne and Abbie have requested their own, especially when they learned I could add things like flowers to them. lol. I have to say at this point I am pretty bagged out, and am very glad I didn't commit to any other Christmas projects. I am determined to make myself a scarf to match the hat I made myself that I promise to take pictures of IF my camera cooperates at some point.

As for the non-yarn news, I am actually more ready for Christmas than I have been in the past as far as buying gifts goes. Wrapping is an entirely different story and I predict the same process as last year where I decided Santa gifts should not be wrapped! Wheee! I am hoping to finish up the shopping tomorrow and who knows when the wrapping will take place as I am working in the evenings and the kids will be off school starting Wednesday. If only the 3 year old could be distracted for me to get them done Wednesday but we all know that is impossible.

My sisters and family are coming into town at the end of the week, I am SO excited. I think I will steal the baby and take him home with us. I can't wait to see how much he has changed and hear him screech in person. Why is that now I can just laugh at the screeching? With my own I really wanted to invest in some earplugs, but with the nephew it is the CUTEST THING EVER! Probably like all things baby and child-related, I can send him home. ;) I can't wait to be able to see my sisters in person again and just have some really good family time.

I somehow have got to get more in the whole holiday spirit thing because it feels just like any other Monday except that I have more to do in a week. Hard to believe Christmas is THIS WEEKEND. Gah and someone light a happymerryjoyfulholidaychristmas fire under my ass, please.

Still no pictures

Soon, I promise. I know they are the most exciting part. ;)

In the meantime, check out Guster, one of the best bands of all time.

A felting we will go!

It's felting day for two of the bags, I've finally finished sewing their pockets on. I don't know why sewing on the pockets seems so tedious to me. Probably because I feel like they should be done but then I've still got to do that part.

This time around I was smart and wrote down the bags dimensions so I can re-measure after felting and see how much they shrink. It should be interesting not only to know for future projects, but also because I have some knit and some crochet and I can see if there is a difference in the finished projects.

I'm working in the evenings starting tonight so pics will have to wait.

Silly head kids. :)  

I love my kids. :D 

My uncle's brother

passed away this week. He was 54. 54 years old, with children, and grandchildren, his wife, his parents, brothers and sisters. It was sudden and he was too young. It's still unbelievable that he is gone, even though I attended his funeral today. Still unbelievable. My heart breaks for his entire family, his friends, and for those of us who considered him family.

Bag Order Status

I am now on bags 5 & 6. One knit, one crochet. This way I can alternate for a little variety. I still need to make a handle and pocket for bag #4, and then felt 2, 3, & 4. My plan is to do that on Monday, and finish up these other two bags and get them all done by the end of the week. Let's see if I can actually do it!

Next up are bags for my grandma and sister, for their birthdays. I already have the yarn. Thankfully it's different colors than I've been using. I REALLY want to get started on the cabled backpack from Knitpicks, but alas it will have to wait. I also am dying to make some socks and felted hats. I do need to make a hat for Mr. Blue, so I'll throw that in there somewhere.

I think I could sit and knit and watch Law & Order all the time.

Bag #4 so far. It was feeling a bit men's sport sock to me, but hopefully as I add the rest of the colors that image will leave my mind.  

Here are the two squares I made for the Sybermoms Warm Up America blanket(s). In Bernat Denim Style, I just need to weave in the ends. I'd love to get these purses done so I can do some more squares.