Friday, March 31, 2006

we interrupt this blog for this announcement:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY!

i love this picture of mark. this is totally him. relaxed, and pensive, yet aware of what's going on around him. and in such a beautiful setting. i love you, honey.

and i won't be around tomorrow at all, it's MY birthday tomorrow, and i'll be busy (VBEG!)and i'm not flashing my stash either, i don't ahve that much room on the blog!

Thursday, March 30, 2006

hey nonni, nonni

yes, that's my secret pal, who isn't so secret. her name is yvonne davies, and she's from wales! woot! she has been the bestest pal ever, and i definitely nominated her for best pal. see what she sent me:
Once again, she sent me a Knitting magazine. i love this thing! the sock yarn is Lana Grossa, and none of the label is in english, lol. the soap is daffodil scented, with a welsh dragon on top. i don't think i'll ever wash with it! the (opened, lol) white package is dried strawberries covered in belgian white chocolate. these are extremely tastey! i don't know how she knew that i don't like strawberries with regular chocolate, but white chocolate is aces! this was part 1, because the other was kinda heavy, and she didn't want all of it to be late. here's the rest:

More later it's storming

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

a distraction

from the fact that i just started knitting after 48 hours of non-production, a meme i got from Deb:

Place an X by all the things you've done. This is for your entire life:
( ) Smoked a cigarette
( x) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
(x) Been in love
( ) Been dumped
( ) Shoplifted
(x) Been laid off/fired
(x) Quit your job
(x) Been in a fist fight
(x) Snuck out of your parent's house
( ) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Lied to a friend
(x) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country. (i live in nebraska, an yes, i've been to both sides)
(x) Swam in the ocean
( )Felt like dying
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(x) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party
(x) Gone roller-skating
( ) Ice-skating



3/17-19: Innis Sweater. not only is this a nice sweater, it comes in 4 sizes! gotta love that!
3/20: Cloche Hat. While the hat itself is simple, the story that comes iwth it is cute!
3/21: Vegas Knitting: A Knitting Game. This is fun! you pick 6 yarns, and then use dice & coin flips to determine waht you do. i think i gotta try this!
3/22: Merino Frappe Jacket. Another pattern named for the yarn. however, if done in different colors, i think this is kinda nice!
3/23: Infant Kimono. This is a nice pattern, but i always thought kimonos were wrap-arounds. this just ties at the throat.
3/24-26: Om Ankle Socks. interesting story, and interesting socks. will ahve to keep this one in mind.
3/27: Arches & Columns Lace Scarf. looks nice. and fairly simple.
3/28: Blue Sky Bulky Earflap Hat. i like htis. it's definitely interesting. might be something to do with my bulky handspun.

and, as lynne would say, here's your bleeding lot! (you do say that, don't you?)

oh, and here's another pic



any guesses yet? here's a hint. spinners covet this (at least ones who read marcia's blog do). i'm looking forward to playing with this (once i finish it, sigh)

ummmmmmmmmm . . .

i got squat. i haven't knit since sunday night. i feel like crap. i have been felled by that nasty thing called a sinus infection. hey carin & jen! have i got some colors for you!

and we are car shopping. the van ate ANOTHER belt on sunday, and it comes out that the pulleys are going bad. as much as i hate to say it, it's time for the little red van to go. my dad bought this van, and when he passed away, my mom sold it to me, because she couldn't drive it (she's only about 4'10"). the boys are upset with me because i'm going to trade it in. "It's Grandpa's!" i do understand, even if they don't think so. while it has become my van, there's still a little tiny part of my dad there. i know that's not all of him, but still. i kept his pliers holster (yes, there is a belt pouch for that!) because it was his. i'm odd that way. actually, i have more of my grandmother here than him. i miss him, and so do the boys, but maybe it's time to move on.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

cross your fingers




well, hot damn! i got pics! the blue & purple booties (which went in the mail this morning) were part of a buddy project with dottie from AC4C. A4A is doing a "midwife" project, where the midwives who are going over to afghanistan to help teach afghanis in rural areas good prenatal care/post natal care will pack hat & bootie sets for newborns in their luggage. these are wonderful women to be volunteering some of their space like that! the green set is also for the midwife project. itgirl had some alpaca she didn't like the color of, and sent it to me. that's the olive color. the other green is some left over quatro i had, because i wasn't sure i'd have enough alpaca to finish out a whole set.

This is my sockpal000za sock. i had to rip and restart, because i couldn't figure out where i'd stopped (i had stopped knitting on it for almost 2 weeks!). when alison said it was 6 weeks, i realized i needed to get my fandango back in gear. so here it is again. i'm a tad bit farther along than this now (about 5 rows) but the yarn is just lovely! it's from here. Marie also dyes yarn, and this is some of her stuff, called majestic. i love the color so much i ordered another skein just for me! i'll get to it some time in this century (i hope).

And here's another peek at what i got in the mail. it's good, trust me!

Friday, March 24, 2006

a lot of stuff running through my head

i've been thinking alot lately, and i'm beginning to think that war does a lot more harm than good.

i've been listening to Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. now, i don't know if he was in viet nam or not, or just did some prodigious research, but this book touched deeply on the experience of the viet nam vet, and the protestors as well. and just from my own reading, and listening to vets who will talk (and they are few, most won't talk about their experiences over there), i've come to a few conclusions.

viet nam fucked a lot of people up. agent orange. napalm. white phosphorous. the traps set up by the viet cong. the atrocities done by both sides. mai ling (i know i'm spelling it wrong, but i'm trying, ok?). the tet offensive. i saw a movie once, a few years back, called, We Were Soldiers Once, & Young. once again, i dont know how realistic it was, but god, it gave me new appreciation for jungle combat. i'm beginning to think the people that died over there got out easy. the cancers. the flashbacks. the nightmares. the suicides. the men & women who are unable to function as normal human beings. i wonder, if you took a poll, how many homeless people are vets.

and then there's the gulf war. my little brother is a gulf war vet. he, too, refuses to say much about his time in the sand. and there are ramifications of his time in Iraq. his short term memory is absolutely for shit. his saying is "i've slept since then." if he has slept since then, the little things do not stick in his mind. he learned to smoke in Saudi, while waiting for the ground war to start. now, bob is an asthmatic. not a good habit to pick up. and he's having a hell of a time kicking it. and he knows lots of people who have similar problems.

and then there's the iraqi vets of today. i read a piece the other day about a man who lost his right eye, and 80% of his short term memory. his wife has to remind him of appointments. he can't even carry a notebook or palm pilot to remind himself because he loses them. and he's had to have a medical discharge. can't have a soldier who can't recall if he's fired 2 shots or 3, eh? i also saw a piece where there are 26 marine amputees who have returned to ACTIVE DUTY! i'm sorry, but there are some balls, there. one man lost both his hands, and while he can no longer have combat duty, he is teaching new recruits martial arts. and there are several officers who have lost legs, etc, who have returned to active duty. while this is inspiring, i sometimes wonder if it was necessary. these men are scarred for life. i saw a piece a few months back where one man lost an arm, and a leg (i'm not real certain on those details, it's the next bit that stuck with me) who tried to commit suicide because he couldnt' see how he could be of any use to his family. fortunately, he was saved, and is now undergoing therapy. and there's aprogram where they build houses for vets for free (kind of a soldierly habitat for humanity). but the cost. i don't know anybody who hasn't at least known someone who lost someone over there. they just named a street for a young man who died the same day his son was born. and he never knew.

i know i don't make political comments, as a rule, but felt i had to say this. is the cost too high? body armor is saving more and more soldiers, but now they're getting more life-changing injuries. paralysis. loss of limbs. loss of mind. is it worth it?

and i still support every soldier whereever they are. it's not their choice to get sent out to war.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

blogger sucks

take that, guys. i've tried to post pics a couple of days, and it's not responding. sigh. anyway, so, i've got the booties done for my buddy project, i've ripped and restarted pomatomus for the sockpal000za, and i'm tired. whew. i need sleep.

you might be a redneck if the three little words you whisper to your wife at night are "pull my finger." (ok, my dad could fart at will, i suppose that makes him a major redneck, lol! and as my son is my father's spitting image, i suppose that makes him a redneck too. um, i'm in the middle! let's hope it skips a generation!)

What i'm reading
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (book tape in the house)
Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz
The Wolves of Calla by Stephen King
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (booktape in the car)
The Sweet Potato Queen Big Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner by Jill Conner Browne (god i love this woman! can i be her when i grow up?)
have a good day!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

do the math

ok, so i had 4 inches monday, and i had 4 inches tuesday. i think it snowed one more inch after we left, so that's 9 inches all together. still not bad considering parts of western nebraska got upwards of 20". snow, indeed.

i am a lazy ass. i have no pics, and not much else. i've been doing buddy booties for a4a, with yarn that one of the ladies from ac4c sent me (apparently she likes making hats, but not booties, lol). this is for the midwife project they've got going on. i did use the alpaca in combination with some cascade quatro i'd ordered at the end of december to make another set, so i'm up to 3 full sets.

i am going to have to face up to it. i can't find the pomatomus pattern, and alison announced that there's 6 weeks to go. oops. time flies, eh? so, i'm going to have to print the damned thing up again, and get my little fandango in gear. can i knit 1 2/3 socks in 6 weeks, considering i'm not used to working on 1's? we'll have to see.

you might be a redneck if your city hall has wheels.
. . . putting yoru dog to sleep involves a warm bowl of milk and a bedtime story.
. . . you list tick removal as a skill on your resume.
. . . your city's name is misspelled on the side of both police cars.
. . . you can count the highway stripes through your floorboard.
. . . your truck has more lights than your house.
. . . your address is spray painted on your front door.

and i'll catch y'all on the flip side.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

snow, my ass

school was cancelled yesterday. daycare closed at noon. everybody was panicking. and the meteorologists missed it so freaking bad! i think we got a sum total of FOUR LOUSY INCHES! i had to take vacation time, because mark couldn't leave work because it is his snow week, and they were predicting the snow to hit hard again around 12:30-1:00. hah.

now, today, i understand no school. what little snow we got yesterday froze, and we got 4 inches this morning, and it's still snowing. but please, people! this is insane!

anyway, here's a little more teaser of what i got last week. never mind, blogger is being an ass.

anyway, ig otta scram, i don't know if i'm taking sean to daycare or not!

Monday, March 20, 2006

a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer, down your pants

ok here's the song:

and here's the dance:

Chocolate math.

1. decide how many times you'd like to eat chocolate per day, but more than 0 and less than 10.

2. take it times 2

3. add 5

4. multiply times 50 (i'll wait)

5.subtract 1756 if you're still waiting for your birthday; subtract 1756 if you have.

6. you should have a 3 digit number;









the first number is the number of times you'd eat chocolate per day.
the second is your age.

and you guys can figure which one is the seltzer (which one gives you more fizz)

i'll be back later, i had to come home early because sean's daycare closed at noon, and mark ahd snow duty, so he couldn't leave early.

Friday, March 17, 2006

political commentary

i know, i don't talk politics. there are plenty of blogs out there who do so, and i'll leave it to them to discuss things. however, i had to talk about this.

My mom is 78. she is on medicare. while the prescriptions she gets are expensive, she can afford them (she's on 7 or 8 meds, i can't remember right now (look at the time, please!)). however, i think she should take advantage of the prescription drug plan. there comes the rub. i put it off for a while, because she wasn't worried about it, and i havne't had tons of time to investigate. now i know why. apparently, there's this corollary, which, after april 1, allows the insurance companies to add or drop meds as they see fit, after having been frozen since october 2005 (and this benefit didn't become available til jan 1, so half that time was lost!). and they can do this on a monthly basis!

i went to the website so i could see if i could figure out which ones to at least present to my mom. my mom has a computer, but mostly uses it to play solitaire. i dont' think she's ever gone online voluntarily by herself. i entered all the meds i could recall (7) and clicked on the find formulary. and up popped TWENTY-SIX different companies. and this is with 7 meds! can you imagine if it were with 2 or 3? and the disgusting part was that none of them have any kinds of links to which pharmacies they cover! now, how am i supposed to help my mother make an informed decision when i can't get all my information? i don't want to do eeny meenie, and mess things up for my mom. what the fuck do i do? GAH! and i thought i had a headache before!

i suppose the political part of this is the fact that it sounds distinctly like this was mismanaged from the gitgo. and it's not getting any better/easier. and most of these people don't have access to a computer, to help ease their decision making. i did use the website, and was still thoroughly confuzzled.

i like to think i am a semiliterate person, and can navigate your standard website with much alacrity, and little angst. hah. bullshit. (dare i say it?)BLARNEY!

these fuckwits have a bajillion choices, with a trillion options per choice. fuck me to tears, this is insane! i've read reports that while many people want bush to shove off the deadline past may 15, he's refusing because he thinks "it will all work out in the end (paraphrase, gang)." obviously, he's not depending on this to cover George #1 & Barbara. i wonder if we got up a letter-writing campaign, it would work. who's game?

because this crap is getting gamier and gamier by the second.

JEN! READ THIS!

i don't know waht else to do, lol. my friend jen has been major difficulties with her comments. i think part of the problem is her email is bouncing, but i can't contact her any other way except through my blog and blogs i know she frequents.

JEN! IT'S YOUR EMAIL!
lol, i hope she sees it, other wise it will wait until i see her at sit & knit, lol.

other than that, all i ahve right now is this on st patrick's day!

erin go bragh!


2/23-24: Angoli. This is a doily type square. it's gorgeous! i'm keeping this one in mind if i get a yen for thread crochet. and i do do that once in a great while (hence the huge flurry of snowflakes i crocheted a few years back)
2/25-26: Alpaca Men's Gloves. Very nice. kinda funky with the dark finger tips, lol. i may have to talk mark into letting make me a pair of them for him.
2/27: Sushi Roll TP Cover. um, yeah. toilet paper cozies. this is funny, though. i won't be making it, but hey, it's better than the "bed dolls" i've seen lingering on the back of toilets.
2/28: Flowerpot Flourish. another cozy. this one for a flower pot. the one they've got is used to hold hooks and small scissors. at least this, to me is more constructive. if you used it on a working (as in potted) flower pot, it would absorb the water overflow if you used cotton. right.
3/1: Fur Stole. ok. first off, i do't like the fun fur yarns, much. second, it's a tiny "shoulder" stole. how's that gonna keep me warm? (i'm a tad bit bigger than just my shoulders, lol). third, the timing for this one. March? i could understand september, or even august, but march?
3/2: Aurora Afghan Square. this is very pretty, particularly in the colors (i used to hate purple, but as i've grown older, i've discovered that while i cannot stomach the bright neon purple, the deep dark "royal" purple, and plums appeal to me. pastels? blech).
3/3: Crimson Capelet. sigh. capelets again. i'm sorry, but these seem like fashion faux pas to me. the only place i've ever seena capelet is in my favorite LYS. i swear, all the ladies are required to wear something knit, when they work. even if it's just a little belt. i like it, because i get to see lots of stuff in action. but a capelet? to each his own, i say. if you want to crochet one, by all means go ahead, but dont' ask me to wear it?
3/4-5: Peekabo Periwinkle Afghan. this is cute. it's worked in layers, from what i can tell (i scanned it quick, i'm getting tired, lol!)
3/6-7: Poke Bag. according to the description, "poke" is an archaic word for bag. so this is a bag bag? also, if a poke is a bag, what's taht make a poke bonnet? a one-bagger? (i'm too funny, stop me!)
3/8-9: Bear-Ghan. this is a baby blanket where a bear is also crocheted on the end, and of course, it's done in fun fur. still, it's kind acute, and much easier than trying to sew faux fur (i've done it, ask me later)
3/10-12: Girls Linked Poncho. not quite sure hwo it's linked, but it's darling fir little girls (thank ehaven for little girls. . . goodness, i sound distinctly like rex harrison at the moment (anbody recognice the movie? (yes, i've actually seen it!)))
3/13-14: bumblebee box. this is the one nice thing about crochet vs knit. if you knit a flat bottomed tube, unless you used the tightest gauge, and gave yourself carpal tunnel, it wouldn't stand up. single crochet is like armor. and this is kinda cute! make a nice little ring box for some little bug-mad child.
3/15: St Patrick's Tissue cover. not saying a word.
3/16: Custom-Fit Doggie Sweater. Boonie (my SIL's dog) has a knitted doggie sweater from me. maybe i should knit him one as well (except now he lives in georgia full time, will have to ponder that one)
3/17: this is a big surprise. are you ready for it? Ready? 4 Leaf Clover. anyone shocked? surprised? dismayed? (i like dismaying people, lol) it's a nice set up, though, and not like your regular shamrocks.

What i'm reading:

see the last post, except add
Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) by Jill Conner Browne. this woman is a godsend. i gotta find me a sweet potato queen chapter. and for those who were asking me last night at sit & knit, it's www.sweetpotatoqueen.com
. go check it out.

i'm off like a herd of turtles (and not crocheted oens like i made steph)

Monday, March 13, 2006

good god!

you guys gotta goose me about posts, i kept thinking "i need to post" and then forgetting. oy
this is the wizard sweater. didn't it turn out darling? i did learn that seaming wiht this yarn is tough. it broke 3 times, so the next sweater will be in the round as much as i can swing it.
This is a skein of my own handspun. it's part merino, part some nasty crap that i got burnt on on ebay, and part some green stuff that i don't know the breed of, because i bought it so long ago, lol. i'm trying to use up the nasty crap (i've got a whole bleeding pound of the shit), but since i can only stand to spin aobut 1/2 an ounce at a time, i'm cutting it with the merino. there's 76 yards on this skein. it's a bulky weight, and will make a nice vest for a4a. iv'e got another skein almost dry, and that's 52 yards. i'm going to wizard a vest for this too.
Believe it or not, this is the beginnings of the peacock. no, i haven't gotten any further. my first attempt at the first chart immediately failed, and since i was tired, i tinked that row, and immediately put it down. i will NOT have to frog this thing, if i can help it. i don't think the yarn would take it. And this mystery box will have to wait for next time. i'm bushed, and behind in my calendars.


2/23: Easy Hat. i'll say, easy! it's doen as a square on a knitting machine. goodness.
2/24: Icelandic Silk Boucle Scarf. icelandic silk? i didn't knwo they could grow those kinds of caterpillars there! it is pretty though, but a very simple double moss stitch. almost non-pattern.
2/25-27: Inca Inspired Adult Vest. this is nice. looks like it's done with worsted yarn. i could do this for a4a, or do it in acrylic for Dulaan. one to keep in mind.
2/28: Double Diamonds. This is a lace pattern wehre the diamonds are outlined twice making for a nice contrast. this is nice, and a definite keeper.
3/1: Mexican Knitting Tote Bag. i dont know why this is called mexican, other than the color inspirations. it's done in short rows with heavy cotton. i suppose you could use lion kitchen cotton or sugar & cream. this is actually kinda cute, and imay just make one for my SIL for christmas (stop reading right there, woman, don't get any ideas!).
3/2: Basic Hat. This is done with different weights, so while it's easy as pie, it does give guidelines for more than one weight. a handy thing to have.
3/3: Elegant Slipped Stitch Mesh Scarf. this is pretty, and the pattern looks interesting. but it's in ribbon. i've worked with ribbon once, on purpose. not an experience i'm likely to repeat willingly.
3/4-5: Bottom Up Circular Seamless Baby Booties. all the ladies at AC4C oohed and ahhed over this pattern, especially with the special dulah project going on at a4a. these are your typical "stay on" booties, lol. almost (and i do mean almost, nothing is proof against a determined baby, ask the boys about leashed baby bottles, and spilled milk) kick proof.
3/6: Short Simple Cape. mega easy. damned nigh on a non-pattern, except for the increases in strategic places. oy. and wool-ease at that.
3/7: Slip Bead I-Cord Jewelry. very cute. i liek this. it would make good gifts for young girls.
3/8-9: Fingerless Gloves with Eyelash Trim. very nice, even down to individual fingers, but did they have to put shredded muppet on the cuffs? there are uses for this stuff, but i dont think this should be one of them. sigh.
3/10: Little Flowers Cowl. named for yarn. non-pattern. nuff said.
3/11-12: The Traditional Pixie Hat. this is a simple fold-up brim stocking hat. what makes it special is the recycled silk yarn. however, there's no carry-along, and i don't think anyoen bothered to tell the designer that the recycled silk yarns tend to grow, and by the time the model got out of the photo shoot, she was probably using the hat as a sun screen, as it had grown past her shoulders, and had converted itself ot a poncho. sigh.
3/13: Lacy Shawl or Poncho. this is interesting, but how do they get 2 balls of opal sock yarn to stretch far enough to make this? it's done on 13's. is that why? i'm confuzzled.
3/14: Intertwined Cables Scarf. oooooooooooo, i'm impressed. this is very nice. and since it's got a ribbed middle section, it's started in the middle with a provisional cast on, then those stitches are picked up, and knit the other way, so the ends match. i'm keeping this one in mind.

you might be a redneck if you have season tickets for the tractor pull (hell those things have jet engines, i CANNOT imagine plowing a field with them!)
. . . you would rather yoru son have his own hunting show than become a doctor (yeah, right, i'm not a babe winkleman wannabe, i'm a sweet potato queen wannabe wannabe! now THAT'S rednecked!)
. . . a night on the town includes city jail.
. . . your bathroom towels are also your bathroom curtains. (hmmm, interesting thought for a towel rack, my bathroom is so small i have to leave to change my mind)
. . . your burglar alarm is a vacuum cleaner plugged into a motion detector (that's not rednecked, that's ingenuity!)
. . . you've ever watched a tornado from a lawn chair.
. . . you paint your garage with a paintball gun. (they used to call that impressionist art!)
. . . you were ever fired for shooting spitballs (ew!)
. . . you've ever rolled your riding lawn mower (um, yeah.)
. . . you skip school but bring back a picture of your deer and you are excused (i grew up in a town like that!)
. . . you get your daily requirement of fiber from toothpicks.(that you've chewed on with your tooth!)
. . . there are naked lady mud flaps on yoru town's fire truck.
. . . your wife puts candles on a pan of cornbread for your birthday.

What i'm reading.
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (booktape in the house, i had to wait 2 months for this!)
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (booktape in the car). this is good, but i have to pick & choose when i play it because it's "earthy" in spots as well.
Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz. i haven't read mr koontz in 15 years or more, but my SIL recommended it, so i'll give it a shot.
The Wolves of the Calla by STephen King. yeah, i picked this back up again. it was overdue, so i turned it in, and then immediately requested it again, lol. i swear i'm gonna finish this bugger!

ok, gang, i'm Done (there's my d, so ;P)

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

it was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny

rust colored baby sweater. no pics, my camera was acting weird the last time i tried to use it, so i charged the batteries last night. we'll see if that was the issue. if not, away to best buy we go. gotta love those extended warranties.

i learned something valuable about this yarn. the next sweater i do with it will be in the round. it broke on me 3 times while i was seaming this sweater up. i can't imagine trying to seam a larger sweater. so, in the round, and possibly top down, if i can swing it. i'll have to dig out sweater wizard and see what i get.

by the way, that program ROCKS! all i had to do is plug in chest size, and how i want it made, and gauge, and it spits out all i need! of course, the decreases were a bit bizarre on the back & front & i adjusted those. the strange part was the front matched the back when i knit it, but when i was seaming up the raglan seams on the sleeves, i had to make adjustments because the front was . . . too long???? it still looks cute, and i'm sure some afghani baby will be kept wonderfully warm (as long as they wear something under it, it's kinda scratchy, lol). it looks like maybe 3-6 months. someone is gonna have to tell me, once i get a pic posted.

This has been the house of puke & choke, i swear. sean threw up AGAIN yesterday, and then informed me that if he threw up he couldn't go to school. how convenient. he hates school. and now today, liam has a fever, and has enough snot to float the titanic. oy. i don't have a cold, thank god, and i did my flu thing, so i think once i get these guys healthy, we may have made it through winter fairly well.

2/15: Misique & Fizz Poncho. a fairly simple pattern (not quite a non pattern, it's got a small number of increases) but the main feature, once again, is the yarn. imagine that.
2/16: Opal Knit Belt. This is a double moss pattern, as far as i can see, and just some straight knitting with fringe & beads, and 2 d-rings to make it into a belt. an interesting way to use sock yarn (this is double-stranded) but i don't think i'd use my sock yarn for this. i don't wear belts anyway, lol.
2/17-19:The South Slocan Scarf. This is gorgeous. a very nice lace pattern, and a nice story behind it. I'm gonna try this one
2/20: Trio Bolero. i would like to know why so many people can't come up with original names, but have to use the yarn name to name their patterns? yes, this is made with trio yarn. it's a nice pattern though, with a little fun fur double stranded for the edging. not a bad pattern.
2/21: Thumbless Baby Mitts. I'm glad i'm not a baby, having my thumb trapped like that would drive me crazy! these are fairly straight forward, and have i-cord to prevent mitt-loss.
2/22: Victorian Beaded Tea Cozy. well, it's interesting, i'll say that much, lol. it's made with pony beads & Plymouth Encore. it's for a 2-cup pot, if anybody's interested.

and now i gotta scram and get sean to daycare, and liam to his sick care

Friday, March 03, 2006

the lord knitteth, and the lord froggeth

as do we mortals. i absolutely could not get gauge on that stupid t-top sweater, so i frogged it after having knit 10 inches. and, as i sat here trying to figure out what to do with it, i realized, "you dumbass, you've got sweater wizard!". so i played. i knew my stitches to the inch and rows to the inch, so i plugged those in, with a 20" chest (i think it uses EZ's percentage system), and my pattern choices, and voila! i'm a good 5" into the back of a raglan pullover. i wanted to do top down, but iw as unable to find my size 6 circs (they're all over hte house, i'm sure), so i'm doing it flat and will seam it when the time comes. meh.

nothing done on pomatomus, ileft it at home today because i'm frightened that the needles will get broken in my travels. sigh.

they're having a special "midwife" project for a4a this month, where they're sending hats & booties for newborns in afghanistan, as the midwives from here go there to train women in small, out of the way places, that don't have access to adequate medical care. these woman are packing the sets in their own personal suitcases when they travel over there, to give to new mothers for their little ones. this is amazing. so, i'm sacrificing my sock yarn to the cause. itty bitty baby socks and itty bitty ribbed hats all around. it'll be cute.

sean had a bad week at school so he's lost his video games for the weekend, and liam has mucho homework to catch up on (again) so he's not playing until he's caught up. this means that i'm not going to hear blasts and explosions all night tomorrow night. yippee!!! this may or may not be good, as then i can't watch movies in the bedroom with mark, because the boys will be knocking all night, lol. "mom, can we change the channel?" "mom, liam's bopping again (surfing)!" "DAD, SEAN TOOK THE REMOTE FROM ME!". kids. gotta love em. although i think i'm beginning to understand why some species eat their young.

what i'm reading:
Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice
The Gunslinger by STephen King (book tape in the house)
God Save the Sweet Potato Queens by Jill Conner Browne (i'm serious, you really need to check these out, they are FANDAMNTASTIC!)
The Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings. i'm actually almost done with this. liam snagged it out of the bathroom one day, and read the whole thing cover to cover, and says he enjoyed it. of course he tells me this AFTER i've already shipped off #1 of hte series. so i've ordered it through paperbackswap.com, and i've told him to hold off on the others til he's read the first one.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I didn't mention this last time, but howmany people know this bookw as written in 1936? kinda frightening, in a big brother, 1984 kinda way.

believe it or not, i don't have a booktape in the car at this moment. i finished the sweet potato queens book of love, and haven't gotten a new tape out there yet. i will tomorrow (evil grin).

i PROMISE i'll do calendars tomorrow or sunday.

ahve a nice day

Thursday, March 02, 2006

you guys slay me!

i post about sock patterns, and ask advice. i get 4 comments. i post and ask advice about my hair, and i get 6! anybody notice that one of the words in the title of this blog is "knitter?". i'm just saying.


anyway, i decided to do the pomatomus sock pattern, and have continued apace. however, i don't have pics, i'm too frigging lazy. it's coming out nicely, but i'm a tad concerned that it's not going to be big enough. i did swatch (unphoto-ed as well), and i got stitch gauge. i did not get row gauge, but that's somethign i'm willing to live with. and yes, i know it stretches immensely. but it seems smaller by quite a bit than the jaywalkers. i'm confuzzled. i'm going to keep going for now, and then try to put it on waste yarn, and slip that sucker on. it's made with 1x1 twisted ribbing that has been manipulated to a faretheewell. and the pattern says it stretches a ton. here's hoping.

and i finally cast on a sweater for a4a. a simple guideposts t-top sweater, but i'm using the rusty red wool i got in teh swap 2 weeks ago. speaking of swaps, one lady who took my bag of charcoal gray yarn with colorful bits, came in with more yarn last week because she felt bad she hadn't anything to swap 2 weeks ago. she handed me this big bag of wool boucle in "dirt" colors, and said "take it, i feel bad about taking your yarn!". goodness. such angst. such strife. ok, i took the yarn, lol. i'm thinking another a4a. we'll see.

and y'all need to go check out jen's blog. she's a shakespearian kind of gal, but an enormously funny woman. she's a doctor (toxicologist, please correct me if i'm wrong, carin or jen?) at a local hospital, and between her and carin (a nurse), we (being the knit group) decided to come up with a line of yarns that would be handspun (by me) with colors and names from medical conditions. contusion. abrasion (although we have to discuss this a bit, it's supposed to be self-striping!), necrotizing fascia (sp, ladies?). these all, when you forget the oogy medical bits, are interesting colors. all i asked is that i be presented with the colors themselves, and not the conditions that these colors arive from. rabbitch's breast badger comes tomind at hte moment. ugh.

and y'all need to go check out www.sweetpotatoqueens.com. i'm serious. head on over now. i've been listening to the Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love, and it's an unimaginable riot! i mean, how many women do you know that not only can RECOGNIZE a possum, as it's tail end is hangingout from under your bed, but TACKLE getting the fucking thing out of her house? before it decided it's bladder was full enough (almost direct quote, L&G). and tons of things that may or maynot be construed as advice. and i guess it's incredibly hard to become a queen. however, there are wannabes, and wannabe wannabes. i'm going to be the first wannabe, wannabe, wannabee, before i scrached liam's eyes out. ok, well, i won't do that, but PAY ATTENTION BOY, IT DOESN'T GET ANY EASIER AFTER THIS.

sorry, that was a segue into the child's deplorable timeline work habits. if your first class in the morning is math, and you have absolutely no time from when you walk in the door til class convenes, do NOT do a number of things. Do NOT piss off the teacher. this is the beginning of HER day as well. do NOT wait until your in a bumpy car on your way to school. and do NOT lose your pink personalized pencils (that's from me). these are a consequence of not getting work turned in on time. don't like it? TURN YOUR HOMEWORK IN WHEN IT'S DUE, AND LET US KNOW DUE DATES! THANK YOU!

ok, enough ranting, i'm worn out, andi'm going to bed EARLY!

tootles