Tuesday, November 29, 2005

It's a three thing~~

Why is it they say things happen in three's???? And it's true!!! Well sort of~~
First the garbage disposal flings a blade ~~a few days later the laundry room floor has a stream running through it~~wtf???? After fiddling with the faucet connections to the washer I realize that if it was coming from the connections there wouldn't be soap flowing across the floor!!! The flipping washer has sprung a leak!!! OMG!!! What next???? I shouldn't have even thought what next~~I put something in the microwave and walk down the hallway and I hear this groan~~what on earth was that???
Go back in the kitchen to see the microwave has nuked it's last leftover!! Dead~~
unbelievable~~this can't be for real~~
The last straw is this thing~~~I expect at any time it's going to go. Notice I already have had the terrible 3's so I'm literally praying that this thing holds on.
It's not sounding real good~~ as a matter of fact it sounds downright scary at times!!! It sounds like something speeding up out of control then slows down again. Sunday night we couldn't do anything ~~have cable connection but couldn't get to the internet or get email even tho it said we were connected. So frustrating~~I finally said the hell with it and went to bed at 2 and left it to DS to figure out. He worked on it to 4 and finally we were good to go. It still sounds bad tho~~
Now KK doesn't use this at all so you know what his feelings are if this goes, right??? It's the least of our worries at this point! Well, some of us stay home all day and this is our connection to the real world~~guess what is more important to me??? Clean clothes??? Nuked food???Garbage??? Or blogging???
Did I mention the dishwasher???? Won't even go there~~~I told Kk what can you expect other than the microwave we bought everything when we built the house ~~30 years ago in May!!!! It's just the timing ~~everything at once and at Xmas.
DD still had her microwave from college and it works great~~it's so tiny you can fit one bowl at a time in it and it's purple!!!! Makes a statement in my country kitchen!!
Ok~~done ranting on to knitting~~ doing really good!!! Started Kk's socks and decided on the waffle pattern and I'm liking the way it looks. I do think I'll have them done on time.
Remember the 50's slipper pattern??? In the rug yarn??? Finished two pair of those.
have another project over half done but can't spill the beans here!
I thought I'd like a real tree this year and then said the heck with it and brought the artificial tree in yesterday. It was so warm I finished putting some yard things away ~~stopped the pond~~cleaned up some dead plants and leaves.
Went out for awhile today and met up with Heather at Timmy Ho's for coffee. We were going to tackle teaching her the magic loop but she wasn't in the mood. You know how that is if you don't really feel like doing it nothing will go right. We made a quick stop at the lys and walked out without buying a thing!! Yeah for us!! Have you noticed that some stores are so overrun with funky that they seem to have forgotten the basic down to earth knitting?? Can you say "Reality check?" We wanted to go to NY Knits last weekend but didn't make it~~neither of us had the ambition to drive all the way there!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was very nice~~went to DD's for most of the day and had a delicious dinner~~lot of wine!! Then on the way home stopped at friends for cocktails and turkey chowder!! It was terrific! Got home about midnight and crashed!! Kk had to work on Friday and I did not leave the house!!
No "black Friday" shopping for me!! That's how I've been getting so many FO's done!!
Staying home and staying off here!! lol~~
Right now I'm
Off to watch "House" and knit~~

Friday, November 25, 2005


For your pleasure!!

awwwww~~~think she knows she's not allowed on the furniture??

Three down~~DD for Xmas!!

Two down!! These are for me!!

One project down~~are these great or what??

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Knitter's Christmas Eve

KNITTERS CHRISTMAS EVE

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,
"Move, Ashford! Move, Lopi! Move, Addi and Clover!
Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore! Move Froelich --move over
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,
"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,
For the first time I thought I might really get through.
He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

Friday, November 18, 2005

Two in a day???

Yup, two projects finished today!! Hooray!! Course I can't take any pictures to prove it~~dead batteries! I'll post some tomorrow tho~~batteries are charging as I write this!
Now I have to post/confess all the WIP's~~
3 pair of socks
1 sweater~~ok I lied already~~two sweaters but one doesn't count--it's for summer
4 scarves
1 mitten--one finished
1 I-cord handle needed for felted bag
Seems like I'm forgetting something?? Can't think what it could be tho~~so all together I had 12 projects~~including the two I finished today!
I frogged Ella decided I didn't like it in the Schaffer yarn. I swear I'm going to take another picture of it and have you all give me ideas!! There is a picture somewhere here way back but I can't remember exactly where. This yarn is driving me crazy!! It's a wool/silk blend and I haven't liked anything I tried with it. Not to mention how expensive it was!!
So all these projects need to be done asap!!!
Winter had finally hit!! Snow has been falling all day~~very light but everything is covered and the temp dropped to the 20's!! What a change in a couple days!
I really need to find a nice handpainted yarn for the multidirectional scarf. The pattern is made for variegated yarns and they are my favorites!
Oh, hell's bells I just remembered a couple more things I need to finish! Last year I found the old pattern of a slipper sock that I made when I was learning to knit as a kid!!! When I saw it I knew it right away!! I can remember knitting them and my mom would sew them up for me! How cool is that?? I remember making them out of rug yarn of all things! Last week we went to friends to play cards and she brought them up! Her grandmother used to make them for her~~out of rug yarn too!! Do you even know how hard it is to find rug yarn anymore?? Joann's had a little tiny area that I walked right by and would never have found had I not asked the sales lady for help!
You used to be able to get some really nice colors but not anymore~~black,white,tan,rust,red~~I think that was it. Anyway I told my friend I'd make her some. Sunday afternoon when DD came over she saw them and loved them!! OMG!!
They are goofy lookin~~you can whip a pair up in a couple hours and it's one size fits all! So now I'm making few pair of those! Hate the colors tho~~wonder what else I could use? I'll try to scan the pattern tomorrow so you can check them out!
I need to go knit on a scarf!! So that's enough rambling!!
Off to knit~~

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Soggy Day!!

It was wet and windy all day today! The temp. is dropping too~~caught part of the news and it's snowing in Buffalo!! I mean real snow~~the type that sticks! Not doing that here. We're about 30/40 minutes from the city and the weather can be so different.
KK and I didn't let it ruin our day tho~I woke up to "hon,wake up, breakfast is here!" I'm like huh?? I was really out~~he scared the heck outta me!! There he stood all smiles with a plate in one hand and coffee in the other!!! Now this was a first and after 36 years who woulda thunk it??? Breakfast in bed!!! Eggs, and toast with honey spread just the way I like it!! What a way to start the day!! I thought it must be the crack of dawn and it was 10 a.m.!! He'd been up waiting for me to wake up!! Definitely a keeper!!
We had a nice tho wet day! Finally went to Joann's to check on what they were doing about my sewing machine. Course the "boss" wasn't there. So left all my info~~again and they're going to call me~~won't hold my breath!! They'd better call tomorrow or KK will be up there in full fury!
Went to Barnes&Noble since we were right there~I love that place! Pulled up a seat right at the fireplace and had my Mocha Latte with Raspberry syrup~~~ummmm, soooo good!! They are definitely getting ready for the holidays the shelves were packed. A lot of new knitting books~~don't I go up to the service desk when we first get there and ask if they carry Modular Knits?? The clerk looks it up and says "yes" there should be a copy~~I'll show you. As if I didn't know where the knitting books were!!
Anyway, don't we walk over and there they are~~stacked right in front!!! I swear they did not have it a week ago!! Quite a few other new books too~~Yarn Harlots second book was right up there too! I decided to treat myself to one~~so I picked the Modular Knits. I haven't even looked at it yet~~I'm saving it for when I can sit quietly and drool over it!
We then went to Olive Garden and had the lunch special of soup and salad. The perfect lunch for a rainy day! The soup was so good I wish I could have eaten more!
After lunch we popped into Circuit City to check out the stereos/speakers. Then off to Michaels. I picked up some sock yarn to do the MD scarf~~I really liked the color but it is acrylic~~yarn snob showing! I did buy it the~~I'll save my opinion until after I see how it works up.
Once we got home I helped DS clip Houston~~yuk! He's so matted again and he hates to get clipped. Poor guy is getting old and just wants to be left alone. You can tell he feels so much better after getting trimmed.
Once that was done I got out my Irish Hiking scarf and sat with KK, watched TV and knit!!
I joined another kal!!
Lisa is having it.
You have to confess how many WIP's you have and the goal is to have Naked Needles by the first of the year!! I'm up for it~~I'm driven!! Now to count all the wip's!!!
Off for a snack

Miss Me??

I haven't posted in almost two weeks??? Doesn't seem possible!
Are you starting to feel the pressure??? Come on, you know what I'm talking about~~that Christmas frenzy!! I was~~but I've got it under control now~~I'm knitting BUT only what I feel like knitting!! I'm trying to put a block on my wandering mind~~it gets carried away with too many ideas!!
I even joined a KAL~The Irish Hiking Scarf~~cables of all things!! I'm really enjoying working on it! I'm using a light worsted Alpaca in cream~~it's soooo soft!! I originally was thinking of gifting it but as I'm going along I'm becoming attached to it! I'll try to get some photos tomorrow.
For awhile there I was really completely disgusted with knitting~~nothing was turning out the way I pictured it in my minds eye. The tried and true remedy??? Socks!! I should take my own advice~~which I finally did after a few project flops!
DD's socks are almost finished~~just have the toe to finish up on #2!!
I do have a couple other things for Xmas to do but can't mention them here~~certain people read this so they'll have to be a secret!
Our knit shop A Knitter's Corner is having a 15% off sale this Thurs. evening!! I'll be there!! I'm sure there is something I must have.
I've been looking for a new book ~~it's called "Modular Knits" by Iris Schreier ~~I tried to find it at Joann's and AC Moore with no luck. Did I tell you about the multidirectional scarf I was working on?? It's a really neat look ~and a easy knit once you understand the concept. Did I mention that I frogged the whole thing?? The pattern was great I didn't like my stitches way back at the beginning and knew in my anal way that it would drive me nuts not to fix it! The pattern is free when you join Iris's yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multidirectional. Now I "need" the book for all the other patterns!!!
I was wondering how come no one ever "steals" my button?? It's a perfectly good button~~a cute photo of Sophie~~I know if I told her that her picture was all over blog land she'd be excited!! In case you're wondering, yes we do have some interesting conversations while she's lounging on the futon next to me while I'm cursing, I mean figuring out a pattern! She's not much for words but she always lends a paw!
Well, it's getting late and no knitting got done today. I'm going to get to bed and hopefully start out early tomorrow with KK and get our errands done so I can get some serious knitting time in!!
Off to sleep~~

Saturday, November 05, 2005

I'm here!

I'm in a major knitting slump ~~do you ever pick up the needles and nothing turns out right??? Well, that's what's happening here! It all started with those Opal mittens and went "to hell in a handbasket" !!!
I tried a couple scarves and hated them~frogged~I'm getting really good at that frogging thing!!
I keep looking at yarn and nothing "talks" to me! I go to bed and all these thoughts are running through my head as I'm trying to fall asleep ~~by morning??? GONE!!!
Maybe it's time to relax and get back to socks?? I liked knitting again when I was just thinking about socks~~not worrying about handles felting right,sweaters fitting,finding the right yarn.
Socks are useful,and warm(major plus for me) get to buy really nice yarn that you couldn't afford if doing a large project, socks are portable, magic loop makes for fairly quick finishing~~need I say more???
Oh yeah, it's a lot easier to blend enough yarn for a pair of socks into your stash than it is for a sweater!
Enough said!!
MY SP6 sent a pkg!!! That cheered me up! There's a photo~~and do you see sock yarn???? It must be fate! She included the cutest candle it's a ceramic acorn and it smells wonderful!! A tube of Aveeno hand cream is just what I need for my purse,and the cutest book of puppies! I love it all~~thank you SP6!!!
Almost forgot~~have you ever tried to peel the foil off of melted chocolate kisses?? Take my word for it it's not easy! KK saw me and said "just throw them out" there was no way I was giving in without a fight but unfortunately I lost! Chomping down on a piece of that foil was like scrapping fingers across a blackboard!! eewwwwww!!!
A couple of those photos are from last Sunday when KK and I went for another foliage ride! Other than being in the middle of nowhere and I needed a restroom ~~immediately it was a nice day! We went to the casino in Salamanca and had the buffet ~~it was soooo good!!! Prime rib and shrimp cocktail~~~what more could you ask for??? I could barely stay awake on the ride home.
Off to check my stash~~~

SP6 Package!!!

Just hanging out!

Look at those trees!

Alleghany State Park

Such a pretty spot! Near the border of NY and PA