The Knitter's Restaurant

We've Moved....

2011-06-22T23:52:00.001-05:00

It just made sense to put the blog and website together...so The Knitter's Restaurant can now be found at http://www.beverlybochenek.com

Some Steps Down the Road

2011-06-20T15:44:00.004-05:00

I am slowly moving back to working in my office. For one thing, the computer connection is faster than the laptop - which is freaky considering how much older it is. Two, it's my office and I want to get away from using it as a yarn hoarder area and get back to using it as an office where I can be more isolated and concentrate on what I need to do. Third, well, I don't need a third, but Mr. Honey uses my laptop when he wants to go on line. He won't upgrade his laptop with the necessary equipment to use the wi-fi going through the house so he uses the laptop sometimes when I am using my laptop but not right in front of it. My going back to my office will bring some guard against resentment. And banishment - his, not mine.

OK, so you want to see it? It is almost a scarf that would not end and it's not as long as the pattern called for. The pattern says to make it 140 inches long - I'll wait until you divide that by 12 and get more than 11 feet long and then wonder who thought that up. This is made with Cascade Magnum, a hefty hank with a hefty price of $20. This is two of them and is a little over 70 inches. It would take two more - $80 as a base price if it were sold without any thought of making any money on it. Warren Buffett might do that but no one else will.

Coincidentally, we met someone new at the Sunday knit get together. Jean joined us for the first time and she is working on the scarf with the fiber the pattern calls for and she's doing the entire length. She is also doing the Master Knitter's course from the Guild. She's brave on both counts.

It is stunning in the picture and stunning in person. I have to put it away because it is all wool and susceptible to all that can happen to wool.

The thing that is on the needles now is a snake. A snake from a book of knit toys. It's a book with some fun patterns and I am going to be able to use up some of the stash because it's a long snake...and I can make it longer if I want to. Great fun!!!

Here She Is!

2011-06-18T17:41:00.004-05:00

Ignore the big person, the star is nestled in his arms. This is my nephew, Mike, I got him when I got Joe. Not complaining - he's quite the guy.

That little sugar plum is Bridget, his third child, second daughter and hereby declared to be my sweetheart. I love Megan (his eldest) and Jason (his doppelganger) but Bridget is going to belong to me. I think it was sweet of them to have a baby for me - a baby they will pay for, provide for and keep - but who belongs to me. Mazel Tov to the happy family and I will be over soon to get my baby (and bring her back when she needs changing.)

In knitting news, I am almost finished with the 'leaf' scarf. I started it a few months back and put it away because it uses size 13 needles and Cascade Magnum yarn which is really bulky and untwisted. It does work up quickly but it also works up heavy. The scarf in it's original pattern is more than 10 feet and I will do that but with a less expensive yarn - not to mention a lighter weight. But it is beautiful and I look forward to the photos. I don't want to spoil it with a teaser. OK, I don't want to mess with it until I have to; that thing will hurt a small child if it falls on them.

I know this will cause some of you to cringe but it's just six months to Christmas. I am using some Etsy guides to improve my store and traffic and this is the time to start thinking about and working on holiday gifts. It makes sense, especially if you are in one of the crafts that require some time. I was going through some books to find something I could point to and say 'gift' and the first thing I came across was an afghan that I started to make a while ago but I am going to start over with a nice chunky weight fiber. I went to the even better organized yarn stash and found I have a ton of this particular fiber so away I go.

Tomorrow, after church, I get to spend time with a couple of my peeps at a new place to knit. I should be able to work on the afghan because it's done in squares with a relatively easy cable pattern. Should be fun!

The Princess and Prince of Piece(s)

2011-06-14T20:02:00.005-05:00

You all know I love me some Mr. Honey but one of the things that keeps this thing working is that I don't work with him. We used to work for the same company but we very rarely crossed paths - though we crossed long enough to catch each other - but if I had to work with him on a day to day basis I don't think it would be the best thing for either of us.

However, Kenny and Renee seems to make it work. They run the shop The Pixel Prince together and they don't seem to have tired of each other. Now grant it, they haven't been married that long so they are still in the 'You're pretty." "No, you're pretty." "OK, but you're prettier." phase of their relationship but it works for them and I want them to be happily married and working together decades from now.

The duo makes buttons, magnets, notecards and more. I, for some reason I cannot explain, love maps of the world and they have several of them for sale. They are of a cute size but I want a really big one. I have absolutely no place to put it even if I had it so it remains a dream for the moment, but if I find myself with some spare wall space, I am going to get my wall map and I am going to ask them if they can make a big one for me.

The couple have been on Etsy since 2009 and already have more than 1000 sales. If you ask them the secret of their success - Renee says they love having satisfied customers. They combine that with great customer service and persistence and the creative outlet it provides and you have yourself a business that generates lots of customer contact.

This would be a great shop to go to if you want to buy a little something for a whole bunch of people. You can get 25 customer made keychains for just $42. Think of that for family reunions or weddings - what a great wedding favor, huh?

Check out the shop and have a laugh at some of the buttons and if you have a mind to, let the happy couple know you stopped by the shop by liking an item or two. It's a fun shop and a fun time.

The Three Graces

2011-06-13T13:16:00.002-05:00

A knitting update - I have put a sign up box for my mailing list - I don't expect knitters to sign up - it is more for folks interested in designbcb - buying knitted items. There will also be discounts and giveaways and more information. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please have them sign up.

Also, there are more hats coming off the needle and I am averaging one new per day in the shop. I am up to seven sales for the year - which is really poor - but they've all come in the last six to eight weeks. I've been looking at the stats and the traffic to the shop is up over last year and the last months but it's still a little low on weekly and daily tracks. I think the new pictures with the wigs has improved the look of the site and also because there are items being placed or renewed on the site everyday brings the shop higher in searches.

As you can tell, I've been concentrating on the business side of things. Hopefully, business will pick up.

These are the three graces. My nieces. My brother's daughters.
Eboni is the eldest and I met her when she was two years old and she's a lot nicer than she was then. To be fair, we were new to her and at two years old she didn't want to be around a bunch of new people. Erica shares my middle name and a bunch of other qualities - one thing she has that I don't have is a brain - the girl got a free ride to ASU and just finished or is almost finished working on her Masters' - just like her sister. Anesha is the youngest and I just met her. My brother insisted I met her at some point during my engagement/wedding thing but considering she's thirteen and we've been married fifteen years, I'm thinking that wasn't possible. Then he said I must have met her when I spent three months in AZ before and after my father's death - Nope. Managed to miss her. But not this time we had just enough time to take the picture. I will get to know her better the next time we are in the same place.

Beautiful little women. They and the two other nieces not pictured. Generation next for the women in the family is in good hands.

Happy Birthday, Bridget

2011-06-12T17:42:00.002-05:00

I would place a picture of the birthday girl, who's birthday was actually on Friday, but I don't have permission from her Mommy or Daddy. Though she did send me a photo of Bridget next to a photo of Jason on the day he was born to compare how much they look alike. But to be fair all babies look like big wrinkles when they're born. In our family it's just a question of a light wrinkle or a dark wrinkle depending upon which branch of the family tree is bearing fruit.

They say we regret the things we have not done and the birth of a baby does make me regret in small measurement that we didn't get a new one of our own. But Mr. Honey does not know the meaning of regret and has never waivered from his non-desire for babies. He is a great father and an outstanding uncle but he is happy not to have walked down that road.

I watched a movie last night called 'Mother and Child'. I don't know if it was a movie that was shown in theatres - it had the star power: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, S. Epatha Merkeson and Jimmy Smits and Amy Brennaman. It turned out to be a powerful movie about three women and their experience with motherhood. If you have Starz look for it in the movie demand section.

One woman had a baby when she was 14 and her mother had the baby put up for adoption. One woman wants to have kids and she cannot so she is looking at adoption and her husband is with her except when his mother interferes. He leaves her because an adopted baby is not a baby of his own. The third woman was put up for adoption and leaves a very isolated life except she has a POV that is not entirely respectful of the rules. It's a pretty obvious movie but it doesn't stop Annette Bening and Kerry Washington from giving outstanding performances.

Bridget is born into a loving family. She has an older sister who is eager to have her around and an older brother who would rather have a football but can adjust well enough to having a sister instead. My nephew and his wife wanted a family and have gone through some trials in order to bring these little cherubs into the world and they are fun and cute kids who we don't see often enough.

I am happy and excited for her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. She is the fifth grandchild and the second girl. It's still a little weird seeing the little boys and girls I watched grow up have children of their own but that's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it.

Happy birthday, Bridget and welcome to this crazy, wonderful family.

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

2011-06-08T13:12:00.004-05:00

So we are disappointed, disgusted, not surprised by another politician. Every step we take forward we go two steps back and because we want quick, simple answers people are looking for a quick solution there are folks saying to resign. Not every offense is a death penalty. He was stupid and piled the stupid on but it isn't a resignation offense. I don't think the congressman in NY should have resigned but that was his call...wait, what is it with NY Congressmen?

Never mind.

I've been really busy: I've been learning a new program for photo editing, knitting up a storm, studying other folks shops to gain some new insight to my shop, knitting some more. The first phase of the yarn sort is done - and the weather in Chicago has turned to stymie. This is a sample of the soap saver sacks I made. How many did I make? I think there are seven. They were quick and they were fun and I needed a variety of them. They are, of course, being sold in the shop.

I was busy making caps (hats, tams, lids, rasta, whatever you want to call them. There are a plethora of them around the living room. I made this one last night and because was a little afraid of running out of the skein I eliminated about three lines of the instruction and I like it better than if I followed the directions to the letter. (Let this be a lesson you - sometimes less is more.)
I've been putting things up in the shop as the first thing to do on my work list. The first thing used to be write a blog post and that has to, sadly, go down a peg because as much as I love writing to you - it's ain't a money maker and mama will eventually need new yarn. OK, Mama won't need new yarn for about a decade but you know how these things go, once there is a dent in the yarn stash it's going to disappear at an alarming rate - I hope.

There is also still an afghan being worked and some stuff that has yet to be photographed. Believe me when I say there is a lot. I am keeping track of what I have going on and I am almost at 100 items and June just started. This is also counting a set as one item. individually, way over 100. This is the first time I am not thinking I won't have enough for the craft sales starting in October.

There is still much to do and we have baseball games to go to! I have also been watching my Cubs tank feeling hopeless. Cubs fans have learned to find that silver lining but this year is really horrible.

I hope your spring is going well. Yes, with all this heat it's only spring. Summer doesn't get here for another month - looking forward to what that will be all about.

I am going to go enjoy some cool cantaloupe - I loves me the spring and summer fruits!!

Dabanga!

2011-06-06T15:48:00.008-05:00

I like color. I like blocks and splashes of color. A hint here and a surprise there I am so far from being a fashion maven that it isn't made by Dabanga, an artist from Mozambique who has a shop on Etsy: Dabanga on Etsy . It is a little block of color that I am so fond of. I can see wearing these with a black dress and having them provide the focal point and interest.

Dabanga has been making jewelry for about twelve years, though she's only been on Etsy since 2009. She likes working with a wide range of materials: pearl,leather and even copper and from the looks of her items, she certainly knows what to do with them.

Look at this earring. Is it not gorgeous? It was arl, leather, copper - this is nice. It's more than nice. I enjoy the little extra added to her pieces to move them out of a comfortable symmetrical look to pieces with a little added something.

She says that making jewelry is the equivalent of putting music and lyrics together. I get that. I feel the same way about my needlework. There are words and music flowing through the instrument of needles and hooks and the yarn. Sometimes if I really working in the quiet, I can hear it.

I love how the color or the shape moves the piece. I have a fondness for simply elegant things - probably because I'm such a goof but I like simple, clean lines and Dabanga's pieces are elegant drops of color.
I firmly believe that we are given many gifts and that one of the greatest gifts we can give in return is using what we are given for the betterment of the world.

The changes don't have to be big or dramatic. It can be simply loving making beautiful jewelry pieces - running elements in your hands and using instruments to create little masterpieces that will find their way to someone's wrist or ears or neck. Dabanga is a talented artist and her creations show an elegant spirit and fine hand. I have to admire that.

Visit her shop for more of her jewelry and let her know it if you appreciate her work. All Etsy pages have a contact link. I'm sure she'd be happy for your feedback.

15 Years In the Making

2011-06-01T12:47:00.004-05:00

This is the first item made with my anniversary yarn - well, it's the second, the first thing I frogged because I didn't like it. But this hat I like a lot and I made it this morning (read late last night) while watching Prince Caspian. Get this: I started it at the beginning of the movie and I was done before the end of it. It took less than one skein of yarn. And the skein was 197 yards.) The fiber is
Universal Worsted Weight LP. It's self-striping - didn't know that. The photo doesn't do it justice. I showed it to Mr. Honey and he said, "Hey, that's really cute!" It looks like it's a color pool but it really isn't the color rows are close together. I really had no idea it was self-striping. Really pretty. 15 years because we've been married that long - get it? OK, no said I was a comedian.

In the interest of full disclosure, I stopped writing this post to go watch something on the t and v and while I was doing that, I completed another hat. I am beginning to think my progress relies on the that particular bit of media and that frightens me just a little.

Remember I told you a while back I joined Crafter's Choice? I joined because I got 4 books for 99 cents which turned out to be four books for $11 because they put the price of the books in the shipping. Still, it was a good deal and I was going to fulfill my obligation of buying one book and then get out. Well, I have fulfilled that obligation by purchasing three books. There was a deal. I could have purchased the one book for $12-$15, 2 would have cost me $30 and three cost me $33. So, I purchased three and am waiting for them to arrive. Once they are safely within my walls, I will cancel the membership and be done with it. I will also tell you what the books are when I have a chance to look at them!

I have a prayer shawl and an afghan on the needles. I also have in my head the second Sit and Knit for the year. We will be making caps for patients and the Cancer Treatment Center of America - Chicago. I do have a great book called Craft Hope. I find this book very inspirational and it has given me some ideas and starting with the caps is a good one. I will be spending some time getting that idea together for a fall Sit and Knit so we can make holiday caps for the patients. My goal is to have 100 caps done on the day because the center goes through 100 caps a week.

It's windy today, but it's beautiful - go out and take in the air.

Color Everywhere

2011-05-30T13:06:00.002-05:00

Blessed Memorial Day -
I am the wife and a daughter of war veterans and the stories they tell - or try not to tell - about their experiences makes one wonder why we don't do all we can to stay out of conflict. Unfortunately, we all know that is not possible. Sometimes a fight has to be waged. But that is why countries created rules of engagements and boundaries about what we will and won't do to each other when we are captured. Trying to put civility in an uncivil act.

As a child, I had an unquestioning loyalty. I remember being the one to get the flag and hang it outside on Memorial Day. I looked up in the encyclopedia on the proper way to hang the flag and I was very careful not to let it touch the ground and to check it to make sure there were no frayed edges. I remember it being fun and patriotic. I remember being surprised we had a flag.

I don't cringe when someone burns the flag. I know some folks think it should be illegal but here's my thought: I would support it being illegal if when I was born my country gave me a flag from the Government Office of Flags. If at the time of my birth my country claimed me as a daughter and gave me a flag they would have the right to tell me how it could or could not be used, including destroying it in protest or wearing it like a swimsuit. I actually think we should do that. We should make American flags only on American soil. They should not be massed produced on foreign soil. They should come from the Government Office of Flags and they should provide one, free of charge, to every citizen born and naturalized.

But as long as I have to buy it - and pay taxes on the purchase - I get to do with it what I want.

And I am not less of a citizen because of it. I believe in the freedoms my husband and father fought for. I will defend your right to disagree with me and claim you as much of an American as I claim myself to be - heck, I'll even give you the edge. Because that's the reason the sacrifice was made - so we have the right to be disagreeable. So you have the right to bear arms and I have the right not to. So I have the right to love where my heart wishes and so you can wish everyone had the right to marry. Even the wish for some folks not to be able to marry (you're wrong about that, by the way, but it's your right to be.)

If you ask my husband how long he served he will tell you the years, the months, and the days of his service. He was not a career serviceman by any stretch. He was drafted in and when he was discharged he never looked back. But he and my father both served their country at a time when being a black man in the armed forces or serving in Viet Nam were not easy because the country as a whole did not appreciate it. But still they served.

For those who have served our country - thank you so much for doing what I don't have the courage to do. I would hope I'd have your back but there are no guarantees of that. You do have my thanks and my heartfelt respect and awe for what you and your families do because a soldier never serves alone.

My prayers and best wishes to blue star families - I hope they all return safely. And also to gold star families - the ultimate sacrifice can never be truly appreciated but we try.

Have a blessed Memorial Day.

Team EAOC

2011-05-27T21:31:00.002-05:00

I have the great pleasure of being part of the Etsy Artists of Color Team. Being part of a team means supporting team mates and having a place to get and give support. There are other groups I joined but it was really hard to keep up with all of them and in the end, I went with EAOC because it feels good.

I am going to feature some of the other Etsy Artists of Color because they are talented and because I want to support the handmade movement. My hope is that you will take a moment and check out the people behind the artistry as well as the work itself. I have a little sneak peek at some top stuff from Team EAOC:

Proud Mary Earrings by Hilari I loves me the purple, I loves me the earrings, how could I not loves me these purple earrings?

Chunky Infinity Scarf by Jarvis gift Take what I said about purple from above and put it here. Plus, this scarf is so unique and funky!

See what I mean? You can find beautiful items like these all through Etsy. Just enter Team EAOC and you will find gifts and things you can spoil yourself with - you'll even find some of my things!

Have a great weekend. It is Memorial Day on Monday and my thanks, prayers and best wishes to those who served and are serving in our Armed Forces.

Loving It

2011-05-26T15:08:00.004-05:00

To that group out there that's trying to get rid of Ronald McDonald - get a life. Get something that resembles a life. You know what? Get a job while you're at it so you have something to do when you get a life.

Ronald McDonald makes your kid fat? Really? Big Macs don't kill people. People eating a thousand Big Macs kills people. That's probably not even true. The point is this: If there were no Ronald McDonald there would still be people eating there and taking their kids. Geez.

In knitting news: This is why we love the wig! I retook photos of the green and red crochet slouch and it look so much better with hair. This isn't to say that bald isn't beautiful because it is - just not on a really white styrofoam head. I think it's a big improvement over the way the pics were done before. It also helps that Mr. Honey built me a stand. (I actually have two) where I can mount the head and turn it around. Just makes everything better.

And while I am in a ranting mood: What's the big deal about Newt Gringrich and how he spends his money? This is one of the stupidest non-issues there can be. If the man makes enough money to cover buying $500K in jewelry, then that's what he gets to do. Some opinions are if he has that kind of personal debt how can he handle the country's money? That's an apple and orange comparison - not even - it's like comparing apples to horses.

First, president doesn't sign a check or open an account and has levels of different folk to go through.

Two, one is personal and one is business. I have had oversight of budgets and did control where money went and how it was spent and I was always under budget - can't claim that in my personal life. The difference is one set of money is mine to do as I liked and the other was entrusted to me. I can spend my own money in any way I want within the limits of the law. So can Gringrich.

Three: He paid it off. He got an offer to have an interest free account for a year and took full advantage of it and paid it off before the interest was due to hit. I have the same deal going with one of my creditors. If I want to use it buying bubble gum, I get to do that and as long as I don't default, you don't get to say anything about it.

I'm pretty sure I'm finished rambling, at least for today, here is the hat that is going to Australia. I did tell you I have a hat headed for Australia, didn't I? I got a special order for a hat and the person who is getting it lives in Australia! Be impressed. Not with me but that it's going to Australia. Wonder how she found me.

Tonight is date night and all I want to do is sleep. No I mean sleep.

The great yarn sort continues but I admit to having stalled it a little. I am sorting between full skeins and partial skeins and I keep running into more yarn. The fabulous Melissa wanted to know what I was going to do with all of it. I don't know. Right now, there is a serious moratorium on fiber purchases and I see a lot of square type afghans in my future.

The End of the Wor....

2011-05-21T19:11:00.003-05:00

Damn. Still here. That's good news.

This morning I was at Central United Methodist Church in Skokie where the United Methodist Women and the United Methodist Men of our district had their first collaboration: a seminar and workshop on Domestic Violence that covered hetero couples, same sex couples, teen, date and senior abuse.

My BFF, Billie, was the keynote speaker and is quite qualified to be so and the world being as small as it is, she knows the conference president from the grade school she went to where she did her internship for her Masters.

The conference had some great information; not great as in wonderful, but great as in big: for instance in Chicago, the police get 593 calls reporting domestic violence

a day. Imagine how many more were not reported.

Domestic violence is the number one cause of death of pregnant women. Because someone who doesn't have a conscience to not hit a woman isn't going to gain one because she's carrying his child.

1 in 4 people experience some kind of domestic violence: man, woman, child, teen, senior. If you're sitting in church or if you are at work, if you go to a game and there are at least ten people there, three have been abused. If you're one of them - there's help.

Kids tend to exhibit the behavior of their same sex parent or present adult. The media can't be blamed for all of it. Some kids are watching a reality show called their life and they are acting out at earlier ages.

Because the world didn't end today, I want to make sure everyone knows there is a National Domestic Abuse Hotline and the number is 1−800−799−SAFE(7233).

New and Improved

2011-05-20T17:46:00.005-05:00

Notice anything? That's right, she has hair. I am looking for ways to improve the store and I thought the heads would look better with hair. I also am giving thought to changing the mannequins themselves but truth is, they are expensive and the wigs were less than $25. I have this long, curly one and a short, really curly one. I even put them on and I look horrid in the long one but cute in the shorter curly one.

In case you might be thinking that it doesn't make a difference if the mannequin has a mane or not, I invite you to take a look at a photo of the very same cap on (possibly) the very same mannequin sans hair. The one on the top looks like Angelina Jolie the one on the bottom looks like Angelina Jolie entering Witness Protection.

There will be some photos reshot and we will see if it improves anything.

I have started my great yarn migration. I went into the office and starting sorting through my yarn. I am separating full skeins from partial skeins and thus far, I have about ten of those ten gallon bags full of yarn - about half full skeins and the other half not. The good news I didn't expect to have so many full skeins and I also didn't expect to find so many natural fibers among the acrylic. There are some nice blends and I found myself getting excited again about my yarn stash. This is a good thing because if you recall there was so much up there that it was depressing because I didn't know what all I had.

There are still bags to go through and then the boxes downstairs but this is a great start. Of course, because I am sorting the way I am for every one bag I sort, I get two. But at the end of the day, I will be able to see what I have in my stash for something like an afghan and so I will know if I have enough.

Mr. Honey walked into the bedroom this morning and reminded me not to forget the stash in the car. I told him it was already sorted so it could stay where it was for the moment. He later suggested I get a yarn stash tree. A branch like thing from which I could hang my ten gallon bags of yarn.

Ha. Ha. That's the sense of humor I told you he had. Have a great weekend!!!

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-05-18T12:26:00.003-05:00

Let's just jump right into it, shall we?

Butterfly Bib by Lovisetto - Leaves me speechless.
Love Mug by claylicious - I loves me the handmade ceramics and this little cutie would make a great knickknack!
Sea Shell Poncho by Benivision New shop on Etsy with lovely knitted items. Go and be inspired!
Necklace by Classic Keepsakes - love that color. It would be brilliant against either a black or white shirt.
Love you, Dad Rock by sjengraving - Dads need love to and this rock would be a great reminder for everyone.

Here is my anniversary gift - 20 skeins of Universal Yarn. There are two different types with two colors each - I hate the word 'colorways'. I have no idea who thought that up but it seems a little pretentious to me. I've tried it - I may have even written it and I can't stand it. I've heard people say it and I cringe. Color. Nice, solid good word that has been good enough for centuries.

I don't know if I told you that Mr. Honey transported the cache back from Phoenix in his suitcase, sacrificing the pillow he brought with him, to do so. Yes, he is a darling man and really should not love me as much as he does.

But he does. So better for me!!

Soap Pouch by Mountain Girl Soap - Simple, clean. Just like I like it!
Leather Earrings by katrinshine - So, who really thought we would make it through a list without a pair of earrings in it?....
Italian Tote by Chic Leather....or a tote bag?
Queen Bee by Classic Keepsakes - OK, is anyone else creeped out or is it just me?
Popcorn Scarf by Beemaya - Fun with fiber! I have some of this kind of yarn and haven't done a thing with it yet - but the time may come!!

So, that's the list for this week. I have completed a crochet newsboy cap and a market bag and I am about to do the hat in another color. I've put a poncho up in the shop. I need to get more items in there. I hate to say it, but you know what is almost six months away - time to start looking at the gift knitting!! Just saying.

Donald Duck(ed) and things I hoped we learn

2011-05-17T12:25:00.002-05:00

At least that farce is over: listen, Donald Trump never was going to run for president....never. That's why he jumped in with the birther nonsense. It was a sure way to get publicity and it was a sure way to make sure he wasn't going to win because he would never make it in the general because of his comments.

I think he was surprised when he shot up in the polls - of course, I am wary of polls - I think pollsters tend to ask the folks where they are most likely to get the answer the people hire them to get want to have. So they asked a bunch of people who didn't like the president if they liked Trump and they did.

Lesson 1: Realize we live in a 24 news cycle and that means where there is no news, someone will create it. Even if it means interfering the second cousin of the the niece's daughter's son daycare nursery assistant to get it.

This also means if someone is sitting on a pedestal it is not news that people like them. It's news when people want to knock them off.

That's why Barack Obama got great news coverage when he was running. Not because he was the great hope, but because he was the great hope running against Hillary Clinton. Raise Obama to knock off Clinton. Unfair to both, but hey, it's news.

He wasn't going to run because it meant revealing information: like his finances. For all the talk about his billions - he doesn't have that much money. Oh, he has a lot, his bankruptcies protected his wealth and added to it while discharging income for other people. But he's not a billionaire. He's Paris Hilton with bad hair. Family money combined with appearance money makes him rich. But that claim he was paid 2 million dollars for his 'genius'? Really? Is that the going rate for genius - 2M a year? The cast of Friends was paid a million an episode. Joey must be a freakin' Mensa candidate.

It also meant pulling his family back into the spotlight, including Ivana and Marla; just what we need, Dynasty 2012. I don't think he expected it to have the impact on his son and his son's charity work. His daughter, Ivanka would have been tormented as well. It's what happens and he would not have been able to stop it. Tiffany would have been hounded and seeing she's a teenager who has stayed out of the publicity that would have turned her world upside down.

Lesson 2: Know a showman when you see one. Seriously? When have you ever heard of anyone in any presidential administration calling DT to Washington for business advice? Don't you think that kind of genius would have been tapped by now? Buffet gets called. Gates gets called. Jobs gets called. Whenever you hear of the great, billionaire business minds getting together, and they do, you never see that name. But it could be because they're intimidated.

He definitely wasn't going to run after the release of the birth certificate. He was so proud he got it released. Sure, how much you want to bet someone in the White House went up to the President and said, 'Release it now and we can use the Correspondents Dinner to our advantage.' The timing was just too coincidental. People were running all over themselves saying he got the certificate released as if that was the goal. The goal was to see if there was something on there and it turned out there wasn't. Though some news outlets said smudges and lines made it suspicious. Not only did Trump get his ass handed to him by the president in front of a live audience where he dare not get up and walk out, it was handed to him spanked and with a brand new diaper.

For the past few years we've seen nastiness like never before and it all starts with us. We need to be a better informed electorate with higher standards for ourselves and those who work for us. We have to stop being so easily moved one way and then the other. We also have to stop defending ground just because someone is a Democrat or Republican or a Liberal or a Conservative as if that has any value at all. It doesn't. We don't even know what we're defending half the time. We're defending ideas and we don't always care if the idea is good. Sometimes if the idea is good but the other guys says it then the idea is bad. We bring this madness on ourselves.

I don't know how we walk back from the precipice but maybe the first step is to stop walking towards it.

Ball Parks and other things

2011-05-16T05:59:00.006-05:00

I did not take pictures at the Sit and Knit. I do not know what I was thinking because there were about two dozen women inside of Pleasant Home - the weather was yucky so we couldn't even be on the veranda - and we were all knitting chemo caps. We ended with about 26 of them and because I am a little obsessive, I will make four more and make a nice round 30 to be distributed to wherever the wonderful Vickie, whose idea it was to make chemo caps, would like them to go.

But I did not take a photo. I did, however, take a photo of Chase Field when we were in Phoenix.

To recap, we have this idea to go to a Cubs game in a new park until we've hit all the National League Parks. We are not obsessive about this so we don't have to do it all in one season - though last year we did sit next to this couple who were visiting all the ballparks - American and National League - in one summer. They were young. We are not. I don't think we were ever that young. That is a couple that loves baseball and ballparks. We are a couple that loves the Cubs. Room for us all.
So far, we have been to Miller Park in Milwaukee, The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati - before you get your nose twisted because you think they've named their park the only one with any patriotism you should know Great American is an insurance company, so it is the company that has the patriotism jones not the ballpark. PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Wrigley Field in Chicago and now Chase Field in Phoenix which stands on the ground where my parents' church once stood. The church is now down the street.

When Wrigley Field is your hometown ballpark it really isn't fair to compare other parks. There is a feel to Wrigley that has yet to be duplicated. A lot of that is because Wrigley, Fenway and the late, great Camden Yards, are the granddaddy parks. Wrigley is the second oldest park in the bigs. There is something about that park.

The other parks are more modern and more techy and that's not always a bad thing. I really love the inside of Miller Park. I love the outside of Great American ballpark, they have the best plaza. (and cheap parking.)The view from PNC is amazing because they have the bridges and it is literally downtown and they have some friendly staff folk. I haven't discovered what I love about Chase. My brother works there but that's not really about the park.

On the knitting side of the house, I am almost done with this. Mine is in lime green and made from Lily Sugar and Cream. I, of course, tinkered with the pattern because seed stitch drives me nuts unless it's for an edging and I don't have to do more than ten stitches of it. I once made an entire top of seed stitch and I wanted to hurt the pattern maker and the person who would eventually wear the top. Since no one purchased the top my frustration has not been appeased.

After the bag is done - which requires a trip to Joann for some D rings - I will start on the newsboy cap from here. The cap I made for the Sit and Knit was from this book. The beret was listed to take an hour to make. That was about right and I was talking to folks the whole time.

I am up early - I went to bed before midnight last night - and decided the way to have the quiet and house to myself was to be up before Mr. Honey. I took a walk, albeit ten minutes, and then sat right down at my laptop, even the dog is still asleep. It's a really nice start to the day. This and some knit/crochet - what could be better?

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-05-11T12:51:00.002-05:00

I will share a strange/funny encounter on the trip at the interim...

Tote by by Bayan Hippo - I love simple and elegant and this is it. I would love using this as a knitting bag. Of course, I love using anything as a knitting bag.

Crochet Necklace by lovely crochet - Believe it or not, the first thing I thought was this would look great with something skimpy like beachwear. Someone tell me i'm not crazy.

Crochet Flowers by Anne Marie Breiblog - These are just so darned cute and cleverly made. They would go great on a knit or crochet tote bag!

Comfort Cat by Marjii - I dare you...I dare you to look at this cat and not smile.

Technical Tote by ribandhull I love this tote bag - such a surprise!

So, one of the funny things that happened coming back home. My bag was going through the screening when the agent stopped it and called over her teammates and they said: "Is that a full tube of toothpaste?" They asked, "Who's bag is this?" and I said it was mine and a guy asked if I had a big toothpaste in the bag. And I said yes, so he pulls it out and I make the comment that it came with me and after a pause he said, "Well, it's not going back." and they pulled it out and he handed it to the woman and believe it or not, they start giving each other high fives and saying, 'Good catch!'

That's not the whole story - but the list must be completed

Dinosaur by sage12888 - the happiest little T-Rex in the world!

Shoulder Bag by arton crafts - Now, come on, I know this list is tote bag heavy but that's never happened before and I'm thrilled with it!

Neck Wrap by tortilla girl - This is some lovely work in a misty, beautiful color!

Scarflette by Kerrera Skye - This is so funky and wonderful especially for teens. I love the button and the way it's worn.

Yarn by Color Shift Yarn - These are some beautiful color progressions! I dye some of my own stuff and this gives me ideas!!

So, to finish the story...they are congratulating themselves on finding toothpaste and I am watching them thinking how they really don't have much to do. One agent takes the tube and throws it away in a waste basket at her feet.

Really? Why on earth would something you remove something as being unsafe and then throw it away right there? I was about to mention that when I decided that was not a good enough reason to be arrested. But isn't that strange?

While you think about that, think about visiting your local shops - chains are great but a local shop needs your love, too. Even if you purchase just ten percent of what you get from local retailers, that's a great boost to the economy and the synergy and karma for everyone!

Under Control

2011-05-09T10:03:00.003-05:00

I broke my resolution. I purchased yarn. I cannot blame the fabulous Melissa - though she was with me - she actually tried to stop me. She didn't try very hard but she did try. Even the store owner tried to stop me.

I purchased seven skeins of 100% merino yarn in a lovely shade of blue originally priced at $16 per skein and on sale for 50% off.

I am flawed. And happy.
But I have to say I am happy and I am also feeling guilty. I no longer carry my credit cards because it is just too tempting. I need to stop myself before I get too far out of control. This is a real fear.

This is the lace crochet slouch and it is off to a new home in Portland, Oregon. I am thrilled to have another sale. I was lamenting with Melissa on how i can increase my sales. She gave me some really good suggestions and Mr. Honey gave me some of the same suggestions so I should probably listen to them.

I am going to take pics of the projects I have on the needles. Well, one of them because it's a scarf made of Cascade Magnum and it's an awesome pattern. The other two are stash busting afghans and it's all squares and that's kinda boring but the one with the Cascade is really has an impact.
So I am off to prepare and ship the cap off to the west. I hope your week is a great one with people to love and work to do!

I Think..Therefore I Have A Headache

2011-05-07T09:25:00.005-05:00

The world may be back to normal. I went to bed at one of my normal times and I got out of bed before Mr. Honey. This means he has to make the bed because the rule is the last one out makes the bed. For the past three years, that has been me but now that he is back, it should be him because I am up in the wee hours. Except that's not how it's been working. He's been getting up because he was still in the work habit and for some reason, I've been staying in bed later. But today, I was up and out and he was still in bed. This leads me to believe that Superman is doing that thing he does where he goes into orbit and reverses the turn of the world.

There are some stories from the road - some cute, some not so much and I will be sharing them over some of the time. I downloaded the photos I took and the first one was this one from the first game we went to on Friday night. Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs. I did remember to take some photos outside of the stadium to prove which stadium I attended - you know, in case I run for office and have to prove I was there.

Chase Field is the latest in our 'visit every park where the Cubs play' series. It is a little slow going. So far we have Wrigley (which shouldn't even count since it is the home field) Milwaukee - which has the friendliest folks, Cincinnati - which has the best plaza outdoors, Pittsburgh - where the yarn is not taxed. That makes the baseball experience even better and now Chase Field in Phoenix. My brother reminded me that Denver (where he lives) is also a National League Park. Which I needed no reminding of. The way my mind works, I wanted to do the division teams first and then expand and the only reason we did Phoenix was because of the anniversary thing. In truth, on our anniversary the team was in L.A. and we were headed there but decided to spend time la familia.

There are also some new knitting books in the library - did I mention that already? I brought back two from Phoenix and two more made their way home yesterday from Half Price books which was right next door to Tuesday Morning where a friend of mine sent me an email saying they got an alert that Tuesday Morning was having a good yarn sale. I went to check out the yarn sale which was not good. It two shelves with remnants tossed on them. Not that I needed to purchase yarn anyway because I have that resolution thing where I am not purchasing yarn (except for the exceptions to the rule) so I walked out of Tuesday morning fiberless and walked right into the Half Price Books and purchased two books for more than half off. I can put a moratorium on book buying as well since I don't have that many years left on the planet to do all the patterns I want to do and once I leave the planet, I think I will have the capability of knitting whatever I want from memory.

OK, I did kind of break the rules about not purchasing yarn but I did it before I left. And I did come home with 20 skeins of yarn newly purchased in Phoenix - but that wasn't me, that was Mr. Honey - he bought it.

I'm dancing as fast as I can.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-05-05T15:18:00.004-05:00

Anniversary week continues! Mr. Honey and I went out last night for our anniversary dinner after coming back Monday night from our anniversary trip and since tonight is our regular date night, we are going out again! He has renewed my marriage contract for one year (I usually ask for and get a two year extension. This year I went for the one year which means he is locked in until 2027) and I renewed his contract so he is locked in until 2012.

In our travels in Phoenix, we drove past a craft sale (outdoors of course) we didn't stop but it made me think of looking to see what handcrafters in Phoenix are making!

Mojito Soap by Wild Herb - I actually saw this display as I was driving past the craft show! Looks even better up close!

Pocket Watch by The Enchanted Locket - This is unusual and lovely and the rest of their products are interesting and eye catching.

Salt and Pepper Cactus by Dark Horse - I had to select one thing for the list but they have some really cute stuff!

Classic Casual Hat by Buygail - Royal Wedding anyone? Had to better than the one Beatrice wore!

Cut Wood Earrings by Water Horse - These are so lovely and I can't believe they're wood!

So, I logged on to my sister's computer and I saw an order for a Glee hat but the buyer wanted a 'deep scarlet' read cranberry color and she wanted the flower smaller, so Monday night when we got back I put it on the needles and by 3 in the morning, it was done! This is a really good color for this hat and I didn't think there was such a thing as a really good color for anything - some things don't look good in certain colors. I think this is easily the best one I've made! Nice to have some work waiting for me when I got home!

Teddy Bear Beanie by Polkadotposh - one of those things that make you go 'humph.'

Blue Cameo earrings by Lilajo - These are unusual. Wonder how heavy they are.

Pineapple Shawl by crochetgal Forgot crochetgal lived in the area. If I'd remembered I would have contacted her for a recommendation for a LYS. As it was, I went to two - one was out of business and the other I put a dent in Mr. Honey's credit card.

Pendant by germandicollection - I love this piece because it dresses up and down and still holds it own.

Proud Peacock by Bellina Creations - This is worth a trip back. How lovely is this?

I am still recovering from the trip. I am falling asleep at the laptop! But still I am astounded by the talent. I wished I had stopped to view the crafts and if I wasn't meeting my family for the plans we had for the day, I would have. But the great thing is I am certain there will be other shows.

In the meantime, I am grateful to be back home and grateful and thankful that my family is well and we had this time together. It's been years since we've all been together and I know Mom and Dad were glad to see it!

Hello From Phoenix

2011-04-28T22:06:00.002-05:00

I have no photos to share with you right now because I left my camera back in the hotel room. I haven't seen my sister in five years.....five years. My great nephew is twice as tall as the last time I saw him. My brothers are here and my older sister's plane was delayed twice but she should be here soon. It's a sibling family reunion!!!

Nicole asked a question in the comments and I need to answer it - OK, she asked several and I need to answer them all.

Question 1: Do I stay with the trusty knit stitch? Not always. I did in the one that's pictured in the last entry but the stitches can vary however you decide.

Question 2: Do I stay with the same needle size? Again, you can switch it up anyway you like and that would really make it interesting because the larger the needles, the lacier the work. I don't know of one where I changed the needle size.

Question 3:Do you use whatever yarn suits your fancy? Indeed I do! What I will do is take an empty bag - like a huge storage bag - and go through my stash and just fill it up with whatever I put my hands on (unless I am going for a certain color then it's whatever yarn of that color I put my hands on) then I pull one out, use it for a few rows, then put it in another empty bag, and use another one.

Question 4: Do I follow a pattern? I look at a pattern then do what I want.

The fun thing is to do what you want how you want. There really are no knit police or we all would be in the knitter jail - just do what you feel like doing - if that means following a pattern, then do it!

I am going to have a soda and spend some time with my sister and brother. I will take some photos and show them when I get back because I forgot to bring the cord that will let me upload them - hey, it was a good thing I remembered the camera!

What's Up With That?

2011-04-26T12:55:00.003-05:00

I am in an uncharacteristically bad mood. I woke up with a headache and I went to bed frustrated because...well...I'm not quite sure why.

I know I was feeling a little put out because I stepped away from writing something yesterday and when I came back - a scant few minutes later - there was a man sitting at my computer. My knitting/crocheting didn't go at all well and I always feel a little funky before I go away from home.

I was trying to get myself out of it and then I remembered a line from 'Kingdom Come' which I am going to paraphrase. Sometimes you don't fix things that are wrong sometimes you 'just let it be broke a little while." I am not going to try and talk myself into feeling better. I also will not try and stay in this bad mood. I am going to let it live and see if there is something else within me that will either encourage it to stay or move along. That will tell me a little bit about myself.

Today is my free day. The day I can eat whatever I want and I've already had my sugar fix and I think I'm good. I've finally gotten myself into the groove of it and it is going rather well. Not quite three weeks and the results have been good. Must thank the fabulous Melissa for inspiring me onward.
This afghan, the Bohemian Throw, was 'sold' to the church and given to a wonderful woman named Mary who is moving back to her home in Virginia after being in this area for about 40 years and our church for five or six. Mary has one of those gentle spirits that make you know there are really nice people in the world - and you're not one of them but may consider it for the future.

I am also getting prepped for my next sermon which is to be delivered on May 22 and will be centered on 1 Peter Chapter 2:5-10, especially vs 9-10. Being a chosen people. We are still in the Easter season - the time of sacrifice, resurrection and ascension. And perhaps that's what I am mentally going through. It will be better. Maybe this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow. But it will be better and that's enough to know.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-04-25T10:19:00.002-05:00

It's an interesting morning so far - Mr. Honey is home and there are three police cars outside the house - though the two event are unrelated. But something is going on next door at the newlyweds house - that can't be good.

Atutudes Twilight TuTu by Atutudes. I don't really know if I like the tutu or the mannequin. Either way it make the list.
Original B&W Art by Sometimesiswirl. This is one of those things that just hits you. Don't know why. But then, don't need a reason why.
Angel and Owl by artbykatya I like the colors of this. As always, I am in awe of folks who can paint and draw. My paint by numbers kits come out looking like a Rorschach drawing.
Handmade Shea Butter Soap by Soap Deli - Besides looking really cool, I just got a book on making soap so it's on my radar.
Red Riding Hood Heart by Classic Keepsakes - I was just thinking I had made it through half the list and not a piece of jewelry in sight and this smoky red beauty showed up!

The cars are still there but the bride just showed up and she and my neighbor went into the house with the police. Boy, Wisteria Lane comes to Chicago. In other news, our Easter service was really good. We are slowly getting more folks into the church and the service itself is really meaningful. I feel more spiritually involved and considering I don't have a great attention span, that's pretty good.

Mustard Yellow Bag by marbled - Not a tote bag but then I never said I loved only tote bags.
Nuage Cowl by Tickled Pink Knits - Cowls are cool (and warm) I like this because of the simple texture.
Quartz and moonstone earrings by aubepine I have a pair similar to these in a different color. These would catch the light and be fabulous!
Crochet Doily by Crochet Style - see, this is the kind of talent that makes you want to go up and slap somebody.
Peridot earrings by Annalis Jewelry - and they come in green, too! Brava!!

Well, the cars have gone, the street is clear and it looks like everything is back to normal. Duke was outside the whole time and he wasn't barking like a banshee so whatever it was didn't excite him and so it probably wasn't much of anything - as much as that can't be anything with three police cars and a half dozen police officers - most of them female, by the way.

I completed another square and another slouch beret. Today I am working on crocheting a bikini - yes, you read it right - I am crocheting a bikini. Live in fear.

Eighth Day

2011-04-22T12:12:00.005-05:00

I want you to close your eyes and imagine it is day eight. The very first day eight. You've created the world and you're coming back after the first weekend. Day eight. Close your eyes and view the world you created.

Are there flowers? Water? Is it a lake or an ocean? Is there a waterfall? Are there trees lush and green? Grass that won't ever need cutting and a expansive, cloudless blue sky?

Where's the canyon? You didn't create a canyon? This is why, as often as we play at it, we are not really God. Only God would think to create a canyon and make it as vastly beautiful and breathtaking as that hole in the ground in the place we call Arizona.

Before God (or whomever) created us, he created a place for us to be. We were given a place to plant our feet. We have something firm holding us up while we reach for that which is above us. Hard to imagine we are all on a ball floating in a sky surrounded by a bunch of other balls circling a huge ball of fire and heat.

The same sky and wind that brings a refreshing drizzle can create an awesome tsunami. The heat and light that brings forth our food can also ignite a blaze that with all our technology still takes weeks to bring under control. It works in balance with itself and the time continuum is altered only when man does something to make life easier for ourselves.
The creation of the Earth is the single most awesome thing that ever was.

Before God created us He created a place to put us. A place that we were commanded to take care of because in doing that we would be sustained. God created neither house, sidewalk or street, but a home nonetheless that carries his breath within it. Just like us.

And so we should care for it. We should do what we can to preserve and maintain the first thing God ever created and found good. We may not be able to take ourselves back from the technology we've created - and in truth, none of us want to - but we can be conscious that when we take oil from the earth and replace it with nothing, we have changed the construction of our home. Since we cannot do with it then we should use it efficiently when we drive or heat our homes.

We can all do something to sustain and protect the air, the sky, the sea and the land. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture. Turn out the lights. Take public transportation a couple times a month. Plant a salad and patronize stores that feature locally grown fruits and veggies. Really, something we do can be altered and done in a way that sustains the earth and doesn't put us out at all.

Earth does not come in generic form. It is our duty and our privilege to take care that the beauty of the first day is there on the last day and that we don't hurry that day along because we did not do what was commanded of us.

Stand in the rain. Hug a tree. Happy Earth Day.

Sigh...

2011-04-21T13:40:00.003-05:00

There is a new crochet hat sitting on the ottoman waiting to be photographed. In fact, there are several things waiting to be photographed. Yesterday I was logging in my completed items and making a list and I found some finished projects that I knew were somewhere. I also found some yarn.

I am just not in the mood for the photos - wait, I did promise I would show the completed homespun afghan: When I completed the afghan and went to fold it up, I discovered a hole. I think it happened when I was cutting ends and I cut something that should not have been cut. It took some clever mending for me to fix it. The hole was in the light blue section - do you see the hole? No - you don't see the hole. It appears what I did was cut the join when I ran out of yarn - what a dip - and I crochet/knit it all together. After I tried different things like Tunisian crochet and regular crochet. The picture really does not do the colors justice - I've done this afghan maybe three or four times before and this one is the most stunning. It's also the smallest, making it more of a throw than an afghan.

Mr. Honey has given his notice at his job. Working three years after being retired has worn thin. So starting next week he will be home.

Help me, please.

He will be home. When I wake up - he will be there. No more quiet mornings. He will be here. No more leisurely listening to my radio in bed and padding off to the bathroom when I feel like it. He will be here. He will be at my laptop so I will have to fire up the computer in the office so I will have a place to work.

Now, we all know I love me some Mr. Honey - but he's coming back and changing around the calm atmosphere I have developed. I don't quite know how I am going to handle it. This adjustment will be harder on me than it will be on him. Perhaps I will have to visit more knitting places.

I just got a package with my books in it from a craft book club. There's a story there and I can tell it later.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-04-19T12:35:00.003-05:00

I can't even begin to tell you about this week. Twice I've woken up and thought it was Saturday. I have only three sales for the year and I'm piling up finished objects! I think it's a good week - it's always a good week to show what artisans are up to:

Newsboy Cap by Captured Imagination - These are just cute - not as cute as mine, of course- but cute.

Beanie by Lusted to Wander - I can just see this on a little head looking good and feeling fine!

Crochet Floppy Hat by Green Valley Crochet - I would love to be able to make this kind of hat. Maybe one day. In the meantime, this one is pretty nice.

Flower and Bee Necklace by Eclectic Bijoux - I like this because so it's so whimsical.

Rose Turquoise Earrings by ildikojewelry Love the color, love the length, love the look - and isn't that what you need to love about jewelry?

Like I've said, I've been busy this week. I'm in that mood to do more than one project at a time and this is what I've accomplished:

Who knew making leaves would be so much fun and also so satisfying? I don't know if it's because I have that little voice inside my head that says it might not be as easy as it looks or what. I don't know but I loved making these. I have the pattern memorized so I can whip these out wherever, whenever. That's a fun thing. What am I going to use them for? They can sell as embellishments and that's how I am going to use them. I already have several ideas....

I also finished the homespun afghan but will place that pic up at a later time - don't want to show you all the goods at one time.

Let's finish the list.

Infinity scarf by Miss Priscilla Pomeroy - It's lovely and it's $150.

Shawl by Vara - Crazy, Sexy, Cool!!

Red Cherry Earrings by Room of Your Own - I'd eat them but then I couldn't wear them!

Crochet Pin by By Sweet Mom - It doesn't have to bling to be bling. This is fiber bling.

Cowl and Glove Set by reflections by ds - I don't work with mohair much but this is a beautiful set and the pieces would look lovely on their own.

It's rainy and cold today. I wonder what it is we're doing to the earth - taking things out without putting things back. While I ponder that, you can shop locally - and handmade - and not only will that help the economy, it will help the planet. It's the only one we have.

Back To The Future

2011-04-15T11:28:00.003-05:00

We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday last night and they have changed their menu and their atmosphere a little. They are going towards being just a tad more upscale while staying neighborhood and family.

That burger was really good. It was an Alpine Swiss Burger. They do a nice burger at this particular RT and I had green beans and onion rings as my sides - it is not my fault they covered the vegetable with a really good, crunchy, tasty covering. I ordered it because it was a veggie. There are some new desserts on the menu and I was salivating over the cupcakes but I did not have any. One day a week I can eat whatever I want and that day is Monday. I will not be returning to RT to get the cupcakes - I had to think about it before reaching that conclusion.

I did return home and did some knitting. I made some progress on strip 3 of the afghan. I think with this afghan there are usually six or seven strips and it is likely to go that way again though I am doing something a little different. I am not making the strips the same width. I thought I'd play around with that a little so I have attached the first two strips already and I will have to measure when this one gets attached.

While working on the afghan (and watching Prince Caspian) I felt the urge to have some crafting success so I turned to ~~crack~~ crochet and I came up with these little beauties:
I also made double thick scrubbies to go with them. I just tickled myself all to heck last night (this morning) making them. I actually had a smile on my face. I imagined placing them out for sale at the craft shows (that are coming up in just six months - I better get a move on!) and people gobbling them up. I happily returned to my afghan after working on them.

Today I am working on one of the squares afghan and I just happen to be doing a crochet square and while I am enjoying it, not the high I got from making the super scrubbies. I am actually looking forward to having both hands filled with a needle.

There will be things to do this weekend. I am attending a concert by a wonderful pianist - Chulei Wang at Concordia University and Sunday we are knitting in a bar - don't tell me tough girls don't knit! I am looking forward to going to a new place and knitting in public.

The weather is supposed to be all over the map this weekend. Despite the conditions of the sky, I hope your spirits are all sunny and warm today and over the weekend!

We Take Them Where We Find Them

2011-04-14T17:26:00.003-05:00

Don't ask me what I've been doing today cuz I don't know. I remember making myself get up - I went to bed before midnight, which on my planet, means getting out of bed nine hours later. That's right. The earlier I go to bed the later I wake up. I cannot explain this myself.

I know I went to the store. I purchased my breakfast, lunch and snack meals for the week having run out of all of the same. (I had a very good week diet wise. So much so I was in the bathroom every couple of hours the past few days. No, the blood sugar levels are fine and I actually have been eating more roughage and protein, less of the simple carbs and processed stuff. I need to drink more water - odd given how close the bathroom and I have become this week.)

I've hardly watched the t and v and I've knit just a couple of rows of the next strip in the homespun afghan and yet here it is in the early evening and I have no idea where I've been.

I did, however, while watching Loving Leah, fringe the poncho:
I said I would like it better once I put the fringe on it and this has turned out to be the case. So I will accept this feel good moment.
Let me just give a shout out to the Joann people. They have redone some of their fiber. This one is called Sumptuous and it is a knock off of Lion Brand Thick and Quick. It costs the same as the national brand but you get 1.5 times more yarn and it's rather nice to work with. I'm saying if they get a worsted weight yarn that can give I Love This Yarn a run for the money, they will have something. ILTY is truly great but Hobby Lobby keeps raising the price. They need some competition! Joann could give it to them.

Tonight is date night (Ruby Tuesday) and then I will come back and hopefully get some knitting in while watching shows recorded to the DVR and a movie before going to bed. I'm sure this has been a good day - if only I could remember it!

Petals, Petals, Petals

2011-04-13T11:23:00.003-05:00

These are just so cute! Miss Marge called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to make some kind of flower for the greeters to wear at church. I didn't understand it but Miss Marge told me to do it - so I did. We started the greeters this last Sunday and last Sunday morning I made two of them. Put a safety pin in the back and I wore one (because I was a greeter) and gave the other one to the other greeter.

They were a hit. I don't understand that, either. But they are awfully cute and I can see using these as embellishments for afghans, tee shirts, you can even string them together to make a necklace. The colors just make you happy - OK, you may be more normal than me - they make me happy.

The poncho is off the needles and I need another skein to do the fringe and it needs to be seriously blocked. I expected it to be longer and it fits the mannequin perfectly but somehow it still doesn't look quite right. But maybe after the fringe and the blocking. I will take the photo of it then. Another afghan has taken its place.

So, on the needles: two squares/blocks afghan and the homespun afghan - I've moved into an afghan phase, I guess. There are now 12 squares completed and even though I am continuing with the squares because I am doing two block afghans I am getting really eclectic and not keeping the squares from one book assigned to one afghan. I am going to mix them together and create something altogether different. Cause that's how I roll.

Donald Trump? Seriously?

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-04-11T12:52:00.002-05:00

We will not be visiting a particular city today - though I am curious about Fairfax, Green Bay and Houston - but instead, I'm feeling a little bit of wanderlust and looked a little hither and a little yon for this week's top ten:

Dragonfly Charm from shareliving I like these because I can imagine incorporating them into my knitting/crochet. Either on a square in an afghan or as an embellishment on a hat or scarf.

Tea Pot Charms by mksupplies I can definitely see these on tea cozies or mug cozies. What? It's not my fault I ran into two charm stores.

The Cheese Stands Alone by beanforest It was really hard to pick which one of these I wanted to feature. If you want to have some quick laughs, check out the other buttons in the shop!

Groomsmen ties by toybreaker The motto of the shop is 'ties that don't suck' and they hold true to that. There are some beautiful ties here that would make any Father's Day instantly better.

Crochet Beanie by hblackberry - hunh.

I am oh so glad to be back in the house (I will not venture into my backyard with taking my keys unless I know Mr. Honey is no where in the domicile!) I've been a little hat crazy lately and now that all six of the heads have a hat on them my momentum may have been broken a little. I just put a poncho on the needles yesterday. So now I have a poncho and two afghans going - I also had to make some flowers for church yesterday and I knocked those off and want to do some more because they were fun and quick - I told you, crack crochet - I am working on the homespun afghan today. Nice to be busy!

Toddler Bling by dara43 - OK, these are too cute!

Mustache on a stick by maro designs - again, hunh

Rosette Vintage Earrings by bazaar latino - OMG, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!!

Scrabble Cufflinks by Cuff links - Come on now, know someone who's an English Teacher or involved with words?

Love Potion Necklace by mylavaliere - This is vintage, retro fresh and intriguing. I would absolutely wear it!

There it is! This week's top ten list. Just goes to show you it takes all kinds to make a crafty type of world. The weather is cooler than the last couple of days but they were too warm for the season. This is just about right and I'm really sleepy! Didn't sleep very well last night so hopefully I will make up for it tonight. If I don't fall asleep right now. Which I can ill afford to do because there's so much on my plate this evening - including cooking dinner!

Well, maybe a little nap.

Details

2011-04-09T17:28:00.003-05:00

These little things matter. These two hats were made in 24 hours. I started the one on the left at about 2 yesterday afternoon at StitchCraft and finished it at about 5. The one on the right was started this morning and took about 2 hours. The same pattern using the same size hook. So why the yarn difference and why is the one on the right looser and slightly more slouchy than the one on the left?

Cotton. The difference is cotton. The one on the right is made of cotton. It went across the needle much more smoothly - and I used an acrylic hook to slow it down a little. If I were using an aluminum hook it would have been sliding all over the place.

This also tells me I should go down a hook size when using cotton and trade that J hook in for an I hook - perhaps just for the decreasing and brim parts.

I had the urge to use up the Homespun yarn that's lying around and I tried making a hat with that but it came out big enough to fit the Stay Puff man so I started another afghan - the kind that has always sold. The first strip is already done and I know it's going to be gorgeous.

Today the weather is beautiful and I decided to go out and crochet the above hat. I loved sitting in the fresh air. Mr. Honey came out and played with the dog for a few minutes and then went inside. When I was ready to come inside, I went up the steps and tried to open the backdoor.

Locked.

Not the first time he's done that. So I walked around to the side door.

Locked. Rang the doorbell.

No answer.

Looked out front. My His car is gone.

I will not mention the name I called him but it was neither Mr. nor Honey.

Did I mention I needed to go to the loo? He arrived a few minutes later and noticed the look on my face and when I asked him if he thought it was a good idea to lock me out. He said: "I did? I'm sorry, honey, I really didn't mean to do that."

How does that work? Let's see: I never go out of the house without bringing the dog in but the wife is in the backyard with the dog - right then, I'll just lock up and go.

I think we need to have his levels checked. I tell ya, if he wasn't such a good Mr. Honey the rest of the time I'd be checking nursing homes.

Crack Crochet

2011-04-07T11:41:00.004-05:00

It's a little dark but obviously it's a hat. The thing about crochet is that it's so quick. This took less than three hours so why not make them? You get an accomplishment fix fairly quickly and that calms you down so you can get on with the more involved stuff. Crochet is crack. You pick it up and it seems innocent enough and you get that first project done in a small amount of time and you have to do it again just to make sure it wasn't a fluke and before you know it, you're hitting the hook for a quick rush to a finished object. You can justify it by saying you will pick up the needles and knit but it has you and you both know it. I repeat, crochet is crack.

I want to tell you about this past Tuesday night. We are still doing the Lenten Soup suppers on Tuesdays (I've attended two of the four we've had and I intend on going to one of the two remaining.) This Tuesday we were at Elmwood Park UMC where my newest friend Audrey Molina is the pastor. Her husband is also a pastor and together they delivered the message on Tuesday evening going back and forth between English and Spanish - they moved between the two languages with beautiful ease. Some of our members are not fluent in English and I love hearing different languages. I took French in high school, you know, just in case the Parisians took over Chicago.

In any case, they talked about how the kingdom of God is already here and it is up to each of us as individuals and as a community to put that kingdom into action.

Every time you feed the hungry - you live in the kingdom of God
Every time you forgive - you live in the kingdom of God
Every time you lift someone up, every time you lend your heart, your hands, your service - you live in the kingdom of God.

And that God, who was above us and then among us is now within us.

I am in awe of those who obviously live their faith - mainly because I so obviously do not - but seeing their passion and connection with that entity that is both higher than us and within us - just calls to that void within me to be better.

Each time we live the kingdom of God in action, we let God out just a little bit more. Whether that connection comes through Buddha or the Baha'ullah or Christ Jesus, God out in the world and God in the world has to be better than the world without God. It has to be better - even for those who don't believe in anything.

It was a great and inspirational night and I understand a little better why I'm so drawn to Audrey's spirit - which is gentle and lovely and so very well connected with her husband's passionate spirit. I wish you could have been there.

The soup wasn't bad, either.

Back on the Block

2011-04-05T13:56:00.004-05:00

Another block has been completed. I think it's number 12 - might be number 13 - there was another completed that I do not count because it is horrendous - even more horrendous than the one I did that I do count. This one has no cuteness about it. I am artistically challenged. Wait, that's a lie - I don't have enough skill to be artistically challenged. I do not have that gene, germ, synapse whatever is is that people have that helps them become artists. I do not possess it and it clearly does not possess me.

I am a mature woman. I know not all talents are given to all people so this serves as only the means which God is telling me not to apply to the Art Institute or even fill out that match book cover with the advertising 'can you draw me?' when it doesn't matter, if you say 'no, i can't' and send it back, you'll get an acceptance letter. You would. I would get a note saying 'thank God, we would have felt bad taking your money.'

The block is call Bobble Lace because there are bobbles all over it outlining the lace pattern. I am surprised it took only a couple of hours - I would have had it finished by the end of Prince Caspian but I had to take out a few rows near the end and redo them but it was finished only a couple of minutes after.

It was too early to go to bed - a decision I regret as I fall asleep at my laptop - and I looked over a cap I crocheted the night before. I looked it over and decided I could design a slouch beret. Really, how long would it take me? I had an idea in my head and all I needed to do was to start crocheting.

I finally crawled into bed a little after 2 (my usual time but I was tired. Brain freeze. Thinking at that hour of the day is unadvised.) I was up and dressed by 9:30 this morning and came downstairs to finish it off and this is the result though you can't see all of it. The back has similar lace like at the brim with the double crochets in the middle. And it can be slouched or worn like a flapper. I even wrote down the pattern. Now all that is left is to get it tested on Ravelry to see if it makes sense and then I can type it up with the last one I did (the Glee hat) and start selling both of them.

Yeah, that's all. I don't know what gets into my head sometimes but it would be nice if common sense made an appearance. Just on odds it should happen a couple of times a year.

What if it happened already? Did I miss it? Nah, I would have blogged about it.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-04-04T14:19:00.002-05:00

I know the last time I wanted to visit some place for the Top Ten, it was Denmark but I decided to stay stateside this time and visit Detroit - if Eminem can do it, so can I.

Gold Tear Drop Earrings by LadyKJewelry - It's not my fault we start with earrings. These are simple yet stunning.

Nautical Silver Earrings by elisadezignz. Oh, it seems we have some really good jewelry makers in Detroit. It would be wrong of me not to show you what there is and I like these. They're nice and shiny.

Multi Color Turquoise Necklace by StyleKittie - Hey, it's not a pair of earrings. It is a colorful necklace that I can imagine on my neck!

Angel Bead Charm by Silver Heart Studio - I can see this being used in my needlework as a charm on a square or being used as a stitch marker.

Bridesmaid Tote by Memorable Weddings - Now, this is pretty clever. Your bridesmaid tote can hold the spare pair of flats, makeup and other stuff your girl will need for the rehearsal and the big day.

At least one more square has been added to the pile and I finished an 'L' shape shawl and a crochet slouch. i did another count to see if hats had started to outsell every thing else and the answer is no. Afghans are still the thing that sales the most. Hats are second but prayer shawls are coming up fast - who knew? I am thrilled that my afghans sale but they do take some time to be created. (I now have two going - the blocks and one that reminds me of a honeycomb.) You gotta give the people what they want.

The second half of the list finds us leaving Detroit for the great city of Eugene, Oregon. (So many cities, so few days to blog!)

flower Beanie by nixie made - The hat is really cute and the kid is looking like she wants to be somewhere else.

Shabby Flower Garden by Now and Then Quilts - Anyone who can make a quilt has my respect but making one like this is really great. This is vintage right off the bat!

Butterfly Tiara by Butter Kisses - Completely bohemian! This would look good with jeans or with a flowing dress.

Granny Square Bedspread by Forever Design - Can you imagine the work? Neither can I. This had to be started in 1968.

Moon and Stars by bongo beads - Who uses quarters for these? Well, I guess when you sell one you've made it back and more!

If it is at all possible, remember to at least look at local artisans for gifts and other items. Nothing sparks the economy more than patronizing local businesses. What goes around the neighborhood comes around the neighorhood!

I Think This May Stick

2011-03-31T12:26:00.002-05:00

I decided to straighten out my office...pause while you laugh and try to get out "What..again?" without disrupting your respiratory system too much...done? I actually made some progress...pause while you pick yourself up off the floor.

I moved all the yarn bags, boxes and totes to one side of the room. They literally almost reach the ceiling. You know I am not going to show you that. But when I look at the other side of the room, I can actually see the carpeting. (This is not necessarily a blessing.) There were boxes that did not hold yarn, that I remember, and I decided that each morning from now until Doomsday I would go in and take care of just one thing. This morning was a box and I didn't think it had much in it so I went in the office with the idea of just picking up the box and taking it to the trash.

I should have taken a picture of what was in there: besides the copies of three movie DVDs I didn't even know were not sitting with the rest of the DVDs were some knitted items: a child's poncho, an adult sweater (small), a baby sweater (thought I sold it) a scarf - garter stitch, must have made that one a long time ago - and a book with patterns I didn't realize was missing from my shelf.

You know you are really into something when you have stuff you didn't know you should be missing. As it turns out, it was a good thing I went through the box and just didn't throw it out. One day I would have remembered something - probably the book - and would have made myself crazier wondering where it was. So, i guess I'm really into this knitting/crochet thing if I have so much stuff I'm surprised to see some of it.

I completed another square and it looks nothing like the photo - I mean nothing. The designer would have me drawn and quartered for wrecking their design. I do not have a sense of - whatever sense you need to be able to make flower petals in chain stitch. I do not have that kind of talent. It took me most of the day to learn how to chain stitch let alone try and get it to make flower petals. The square is cute in a 'this has no meaning or resemblance to anything that has a meaning ' kind of way.

It's not a flaw - it's a design feature.

Whew!

2011-03-29T10:59:00.004-05:00

I did a count of the blocks I've made for the afghan I am producing and I was a little astonished that the number is ten! Ten blocks have been made already. That means the afghan is nearly 1/3 done, right? I did say thirty blocks didn't I? Don't make me go back and look. I am having a somewhat lazy day.

We had some fun over the weekend - but let me not talk for the fabulous Melissa, the wonderful April, the charming Chantal, the lovely Laeh and the beautiful Pilvi. I had a great time hanging out with them on Sunday and as it turned out, we hung out all day with nary a man in sight.

We met up at my church to head out to the Morton Arboretum to participate in 'Lichen It' which is part of the Arboretum's Unframed Art display. We gathered (with a couple dozen other crocheters) in a room and created lichens (pronounced likens.)Lichens are fungi and algae that live closely together and help each other survive.(Per the website.) We made ours from crochet rope in purple, yellow and red and they will be sewn together and then artist Carol Hummel will dress a tree from trunk to branch tip with them. The installation will be in May and will stay up until November. That was a fun two hours and I have a pang of guilt which I am trying to rid myself of because we were supposed to stay there at knit together but we called an audible to go visit a new yarn shop. Now going off to a yarn shop is nothing new for us - we've done that before as an impulse - but Pilvi couldn't go because she lived very close to the arboretum so she hung out there to knit and I feel guilty that we left her.

But we did.

We traveled from Lisle to Chicago - not a bad trip but not a short one - to visit Windy Knitty - a very spacious, light filled shop. It was very comfortable and welcoming, the yarn was deemed reasonably priced and the fabulous Melissa said she found fiber there that she had not seen at other shops. It's a place we want to go back to and we are hoping to add it to our Sunday afternoon outings so that would be another area of the city where StitchCraft can rule!

From there, we headed back to my place so we could get the yarn I packaged up for the charming Chantal but forgot to put in the van and we went to eat - for some strange reason, none of us had sufficiently nourished ourselves that morning. At Elmwood we ate and looked at the books Melissa, April and I purchased. (Melissa got her via mail and April and I purchased ours at the shop!)

After that, we were ready to for bed - all before 7pm - we're rockers for sure!

To top it off, I received some good news from one of my buyers: the hat I made and sent three weeks ago finally arrived and she loves it!

Perfect ending.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-03-28T12:22:00.003-05:00

There's some funky stuff going on in Etsy land. I intended to find shops in Denmark but the site is having some bugs - instead, I just went searching through the treasuries to find ten things that got me going:

Hey Necklace by pianobenchdesigns. It's just cute and if you're stuck on a train, you should have something interesting to read.
Peacock by Onike8 - Unicorns are still my favorite but peacocks are right up there!
Messenger bag by Rustic Leather Co. The ULTIMATE knitting bag!
Knitted Necklace by hogen birk knitwear - I saw this made on Knit and Crochet (Now, Today, Whenever.) Looks good here, too.
Map Letters by Little White Dog I'm amazed at how people can recycle or repurpose things and making decorative letters our of old maps is unique and fun!

NOTE TO ALL BOOK PUBLISHERS: CRAFT BOOKS SHOULD, BY RULE, BE SPIRAL BOUND! Part of the reason this square beat my butt was because the book was little hard to manage. I couldn't put it on the scanner to copy the page and the book is too thick for the clip on the light so I had to count the stitches on each row. If the book was spiral bound, I would have had other options. I really had to trust the pattern would come out looking as it was supposed to because I used a post-it to track the rows. It's only in taking the photo that I see it did come out almost right. I did some improvising on the top, bottom and sides so I wouldn't drive myself intarsia insane. I really like it!

Back to the list!

Washcloth and Soap Sack by indulgent creations - These simple things can be so cute!
Crochet Brooch by Nothing But String - Gotta love it when someone in your field can do something that has 'wow' impact!
Stoneware by mudpie2 We received a piece of handmade pottery as a wedding present and I would have loved to receive this!
Antiqued earrings by pinkingedgedesigns I was actually looking at something else in the shop to add to the list when I saw these - drooling!
Funny Cowl by NonnaLia Funny, yes, but you must love the creativity and her other items are lovely as well!

There you have it! This was a really diverse list - and that's because it came from the treasury listings on Etsy which are created by individual buyers and sellers - so it's the best of what others consider the best! No matter how it came to be - this list is a great sample of the artistry out! Go support it!!

Decisions, Decisions

2011-03-24T13:43:00.004-05:00

I spent the morning languishing in bed. i woke up at my usual time and I was still tired so I lay in bed and thought about stuff. Stuff I wasn't doing with my days that I could be and stuff I could be doing and just about stuff. I am not sure I reached any conclusions but I do know that while spending time with the core folks of my knitting group that I had a good time last night. Being with people who mutually enjoy each other is a great gift and it was during that conversation listening to the fabulous Melissa explain how she has a plan to get herself moving again that I found the inspiration to continue moving myself.

I would take a photo of the item on the blocking board but it's really quite nondescript. We are getting new members in our church and the pastor wanted to know if I would make some spa cloths to be part of a welcome gift. I put this before my knitting group on Sunday and they thought book covers and book marks would be a good idea. I put that option to the pastor and she wanted the spa cloths.

So I made the book cover. I already have spa cloths made. I thought it would be a fun thing for them to have both. They take only a few hours to make and it does help go through the stash so as far as I'm concerned they can have the spa cloths with the book cover and everyone can be happy. I can even attach a bookmark to the book and make a trifecta!

The next square in the afghan is something of a challenge. It is intarsia and has some detail in it. I admit to being somewhat scared of it but I am going to go through with it. The block with the cables and beads is about to come off the blocking board and it does look better blocked - but we knew it would.

So, just to be clear I am working on:

2 book covers - 1 already made (just needs seaming)
4 spa cloths - 3 already made
an intarsia square

I have no idea what I'm going to do Saturday.

Progress

2011-03-23T13:05:00.005-05:00

I'm not quite sure what to make of this: I received some sales lit in the mail to switch my cellphone company to one called Credo because they are a progressive phone company and because my old cell phone company may have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to tea party and other candidates...

who knew owning a cell phone could be a social statement?

In any case, my real concern is that AT&T is set to buy T Mobile and I really liked T Mobile and have had it from the days they were Voice Stream so I am a little concerned because I used to work for AT&T - that came out wrong. My working for them made them a better company and I left it in better shape than when I came in.

I finished knitting the cable block without cable needles and I am not sure I will use one again - except when doing big ass cables a needle may come in handy. I am in the process of sewing in the beads - can you see them? Of course, blocking is going to make this look a heck of a lot better.

My next decision is whether or not to add some simple stockinette blocks to break up the pattern blocks. The 42 Square afghan uses a common color around each square to break up the patterns while the nanny square afghan uses the granny square as a common block to break up the other patterns. It gives them a different look - one more artsy and the other more rustic. I suppose if I combined them it would make the piece rusty - which I'm
pretty sure I don't want, either. You know, both of those afghans are really pretty. I have an idea of which style I am going to choose - if you'd like to voice your opinion or guess which one I'm going to take, please feel free to comment.

God's Sense of Humor

2011-03-22T22:25:00.002-05:00

Saturday was a great day. I made out my schedule and did just about everything on it. I was really psyched about it and looking forward to the next day...but God made me humble.

i haven't been on schedule since. Church. Knitting in Evanston - all enjoyable and fun but they took time from the schedule. No problem. It was time well spent. There was Monday.

Monday. When Mr. Honey walked in the door and announced we needed to do our taxes. 'Doing our taxes' is a euphemism for 'sit and the computer and put in the numbers I tell you.' It usually takes about an hour or so but this year there's a bug in the tax software and it took nearly all day. Mr. Honey also expressed surprise at the amount of money I made last year. He said he saw me working but he didn't know I made that much. Now, this would be something if it weren't for the fact that I made less than I made last year and he didn't seem at all surprised then. I am wary he may be trying to pull a Scott Walker on me and use this as a means to take away my collective bargaining on the amount I get every month.

The hat in the picture sold (YEA!)but I didn't write down the pattern. It looks pretty straightforward so I hope I can recreate it. I search books and notes for the pattern and can't find it. However, I did ship it off but I can't relist it until I know I can do it again. I actually sold two hats because my friend Victoria's mother insisted on paying me for the second hat I made her daughter. I was protesting until she explained she didn't want her daughter thinking everything would just come to her without cost. That's a smart mama.

So today - finally - I got myself back on track at about 9 this evening. I worked out for the first time in three days. I was going to do it earlier but the routine I wanted to do is On Demand on cable and the service went out for about three hours (yes, I paid the bill - I checked) it went out because of the storm.

I got some knitting done and I am working on another square from the Block by Block book. I was knitting it while watching an episode of Knitting Daily and Eunny Jang showed how to cable without a needle (How the heck does she hold her yarn like that?) and I am working on a cable block so I tried it and I really like it. It does speed up the knitting! Now see, taping those episodes have some merit!

I will be with my group tomorrow night at the mall and it should be a great time. I have to figure out what I want to take to work on and I have a funny feeling it should be the welcome gifts I need for the new members joining the church: bookmarks, cup cozies and spa cloths to go with the baby blanket for the baby being baptized - at least that's done!

Block Head

2011-03-19T13:28:00.004-05:00

That bobble lace block on the needles was giving me fits last night. I was coming up short on stitches even though I was certain I had the stitch count right. It took me three tries before I figured out I was reading the pattern incorrectly and not doing one of the stitches in the bobble. Once I had that figured out (which didn't involved too much swearing, I swear!) it has been pretty smooth sailing. The project is coming along nicely. There's a block missing - it's on the blocking pad. It takes about 5 minutes to do the right side row of the block - the private side is purl across (except I am knitting the first and last stitches because I'm a rebel.) It's 16 rows and has to be repeated four times. I am two rows from finishing the second repeat so I should be able to get this done during the free time I have today.

I wanted to have six squares done before I start the put together phase - there's no real logic behind my logic it's just what I decided. I am going to frame each square in green then slip stitch them together. The final size should be about 60x72.

I am also looking for ideas on what to make with my Nuro Kureyon. I have maybe a dozen balls in two colors that would work together. I want to be able to do small projects because I want portions of the proceeds to go to an agency helping on the ground in Japan. I am thinking fingerless gloves. I've never used the fiber before but it looks beautiful in the skein which means it probably knits us beautifully as well. If anyone has any ideas on small projects that can be used, I'd love to hear them!

Fiber Fill

2011-03-18T14:13:00.003-05:00

I am designing a simple baby blanket. It is so far in its infancy (get it? baby blanket - infancy?) it is not yet worth taking a picture of. It involves stockinette and bamboo stitches and some embellishments to be added when the blanket is complete.

I am also working with another square from Block by Block. It would be square number six and it's going to be a little lacy. The living room is becoming filled with finished objects and I am in the midst of cataloging all the items from this year and previous years. Some things are being held out because they will be placed aside to be donated, So far, it's two scarves.

My neighbor returned my stuff. I gave her two bags of my items from 2010 and before saying she could take two or three things and I got back one bag with stuff and an empty bag. Not quite sure what all was taken but the preliminary count is : a pillow, two shawls, a baby blanket and at least one afghan. I won't know for sure until I do the new inventory and there are some things still in the van. Even with all that gone, I have a lot of stuff left. I need ~~this stuff~~ these treasures to find loving homes and that means I will have to go the donation route. That sounds like it's something I don't want to do and that's not true. I want to do it and I am going to do something like the Red Scarf project except I don't want to be stuck to a certain color.

How do we do it all? I guess what I really want to know is how we do it all well? I have no idea but continue to plug away - I suppose there's room for more prayer and faith - if I can remember it.

I hope your weekend is great. I will be with my knitting group on Sunday in Evanston. We have a couple of new members in the group and I look forward to meeting them soon. We've had a third day of nice weather...Spring officially comes this weekend. I'm breaking out the grill!!

The Never Ending

2011-03-17T11:05:00.001-05:00

I never celebrated St. Patrick's Day much...wear green, say 'Top of the Morning' that type of thing. But fourteen years ago whatever celebration I had for that day really ended because I lost my mother on St. Patrick's day.

Since that time, I have moved from the day being one of sadness to going back to my traditional non-celebration of the day - though I am not wearing green today. I don't have a lot of green clothes and I am just lazy enough not to go looking for them. But I have a Celtic Sun Catcher so I'm feeling pretty Erin Go Bragh.
Instead, this day has come to symbolize the beginning of that never ending circle that is the relationship with my mother. At her death, we were close so we always be close.

She will always be that mother insisted we not change our plans to pay homage to her illness but keep on doing what we needed to do to pay homage to our faith that everything would happen that was supposed to happen when it was supposed to happen. So as I continue on I'm not really without her - she's behind me and because I am a woman of faith - she's ahead of me. This relationship has changed but it has not ended.

One of the pleasures and joys I have is watching my friends with their mothers and their daughters - I love it when Betty, Julie, Hannah and Maddie are in the same place at the same time. And when Gayle, Cindy and Rachel are sitting at the same table (Rachel doesn't sit very long) it's a thrill for me. MY sister-in-law still has her mother so when she's up here it's her mother, MaryKay, Katie, Erin, Abby, Ella and Grace. In my own family: Carole, Kate, Kayla, Jasmine; Vel and Nic.

I am not envious at all of those relationships. The one I have with my mother is full and complete and my prayer is that they are all like that or become that. It's not until you have no choice about how the mother/daughter relationship works that you understand what you held or what you let go.

I miss my mother everyday but especially today because I haven't quite navigated this new phase of not having her dimensionally here but I am working on it because there are really no good alternatives to getting on with it and because there is so much she would have me do. She was really a woman of powerful faith. And I am her daughter.

Top of the morning!

Shake My Bootie(s)

2011-03-16T15:25:00.002-05:00

Come on now. Give it up for the cuteness. Not a bad ~~first,~~ ~~second,~~ third attempt. I found these to be something of a challenge and the lifeline saved me. There was an instruction that's akin to a turning row where you knit the stitch on the needle with a stitch several rows below and that was kind of awkward until I decided to place a lifeline at the beginning of the turning section. That made it easier to find the place to pick up that second stitch - yes, I know, once again I am a frickin' genius!

This might be interesting to do again in a more stable fabric. Even though this Cuddle Muffin is supposed to be DK weight and the booties were designed to be done in sport weight, the DK still seems kind of 'soft'. I think it might be worth doing in a cotton or a light worsted just to make them a little more solid. On the other hand, they are booties and not boots so maybe it's just me.

I am also on square number four of the book and I am still having fun. Photos of those will be coming when there is a more substantial number to be shown - just for the effect of it all - you know.

I saw some old friends last night (old in the sense we've been friends for a long time not that they are long in the tooth - though some of them certainly are that but far be it for me to say. It was a Lenten supper and it was held at our church. There will be one each Tuesday until Easter. It's soup, dessert and a program. This year, we will focus attention on the new country of South Sudan and study a book called, A New Way of Seeing by Gregory Pierce. He was there last night and gave a talk regarding the book and it's premise that the Kingdom of God is here and now and we can plug into the eternity of it today. I found him to be very funny and insightful and it's a small book so there should be no problem getting through it. I am only going to attend four of the seven suppers but I'm thinking I won't be left behind.

He presented the Lord's Prayer in a way I had never thought of before and it has gotten me to thinking about how we do relate to God and Heaven as if they are both far off instead of closer. It should, I think, make me change my behaviors if I thought the Kingdom was a lot closer than I think it is now.

Food for thought.

New Kid on the Block

2011-03-14T10:33:00.003-05:00

The fabulous Melissa has had this book for some time and we have ooohed and aaahed over it. I have wanted it for some time but just couldn't bring myself to spend the $30 on it...then through the magic of technology, there was a coupon off one item at Borders and this beautiful book made its way into my home for the magical price of $17 and some change.

OK, this is a lesson in discipline and order for me. There are some really beautiful creations in this thick tome of 150 squares and most of the squares are stockinette with a little embellishment but they make those stockinette squares very textural and interesting.

Now, I know in the past that I have wanted to start something and go completely through it and it has sometimes happened and sometimes not - OK, more times not - but I really want to do an afghan with these squares. I've already knitted a couple of them and since they are basically stockinette, they come out the same size which is 11" square so I would really need just 30 to make an impressive sized afghan.

I already know there are three squares I won't be making: the seed stitch square (can't stand the repetition of the seed stitch. I could change it to a double seed stitch.) The garter stitch - it's too stretchy which is why I won't be making the rib stitch square.

But for the most part, I want to make these squares. I definitely want to make enough of them to make the afghan. I'm not putting pressure on myself, I just think this would be a great project and it would be nice to Julie/Julia the book.

Yes, I get bored. I get distracted. Something else calls my attention and I get forgetful. But I can do this. I can focus on it --- oh look at that bird outside.

I have some rewriting to do on my Glee pattern and it's on my list as well - not that it will take me away from knitting the blocks - laser beam focus, I tell ya. I wrote it up knowing the decrease section was a little snarky and sent it off to be tested and the tester came back and said the decrease section was snarky but was a real help in getting it straight. She made some suggestions to fix it so I am going to have to redo it in my language. She was very thorough and helped a lot.

We had a full Spring like day yesterday. Odd such a gorgeous day coming on the heels of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. Nature is quite an amazing thing - beautiful and lethal at once. I add my prayers to all who have prayed for guidance, peace, comfort and the sprinkling of blessings and miracles.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-03-12T14:18:00.003-06:00

This week finds us looking in the state of Wyoming in Cheyenne and in Colorado in Colorado Springs for our list of items I think you should know about and shops you should click:

Coconut Lime Soap by BungalowBathBody - It looks really pretty and will probably scent the whole house the first few days it's there. Then you can use it!
Bitty Bunny Ears by puddintoes - c'mon, if you don't think these are cute, you either don't have a uterus or don't know anyone who does.
Earth Witch Scarf by Ssheilah I have no idea what an earth witch is but she'd look cute in this scarf.
Wood Vase by Cindy Drozda I like the rustic vibe and the clean look!
Sun Catcher by Newmoonglass - you know those banners folks hang outside - which I totally don't get? This is a suncatcher version of that.

I've had my second sale of the year this week! This was also a custom order, which shouldn't be a surprise, everything is now a custom order. I am already planning a sampler sale. How does this help the stash busting goal? I'm not sure that it does. But it does allow those people looking in my shop who say to me: "Does it come in ____ color?" to order the item and have it made in the color of their choice. There are other benefits but we need to get back to our trip out west.

Punk Rock Princess by Nahvrianna - These are so cute and will the babies running around, I can see a lot of these going!
Backpack Buddy by menwy74 Cute seems to be the order of the day and this little keychain brings a smile and a chuckle.
Chandeleir Earrings by Craftygal - Oh these are two pretty, I mean, too pretty!
Snow Boot Baby Shoes by Playing with Fiber - OK, you know that uterine uprising I was talking about a few days ago? Still having it!
Sterling Silver Pendant by Firefallstudios - Simple and beautiful. This would look great on just about everybody.

I realize there's a lot of baby stuff and needlework stuff - that's just how that goes! I certainly didn't plan it, the artisans in those two cities work in those media. Don't fret, I am sure the earrings and tote bags will return in short order.

With the rising cost of fuel and all the unrest in the country and the world, shopping local is a worthwhile endeavor to taking part in the community and saving the planet. Perhaps, in a small way, it will help us to calm down. That has to be good for all of us.

Uterine Uprising

2011-03-09T12:51:00.004-06:00

Babies are abounding! Cheree had Johann last year, Erin is about to have her first, Michelle had little Dani just twelve days ago, Toi (pronounced Toy) is expecting her second in July and we are having a baptism with little Jaden in a couple of weeks. I am using that as an excuse as to why I have been compelled to knit these: I know I said a few posts back that I had the urge to make a baby sweater and I don't think I knew myself why the urge was strong and then I put together how many babies were coming into the world and I am willing to join the two of them together because knitting is life and life is knitting - especially where babies are concerned. Oddly enough, the sleeves on the green sweater are actually red but I am finding I like the orange sleeves a lot - almost enough to make me cast on another sweater. I do plan on doing another one - just in cotton for the Spring and Summer seasons.

I am so thrilled for all the new parents! Babies are cool - especially when you can have all kinds of fun with them, get them jacked up and then send them home with their parents!

We have a crocheted bedspread on our bed. It was created by one of the women from my mother-in-law's craft group. I found it years ago at their annual craft show. We have a full sized bed and this spread covers it nicely and they were selling it or just $40. I jumped all over that and I do believe that helped get me back into crafting. I've been looking to try and make one of those rippled bedspreads myself.

I started it this afternoon. I have a pattern and I am using scraps to further clear out the stash. We'll see how far I get before I want to pull out my hair. It's 231 stitches...not 230; 231. That last stitch is important.

Today Is International Women's Day

2011-03-08T12:39:00.003-06:00

I celebrate women! I enjoy being a woman and i admit that a great deal of that enjoyment comes from enjoying men - but it doesn't necessarily follow that if you are a woman you love men - but I do.

When I look back over the years, I have always had a small group of really good women (girls) around me. They tell me the truth and love me anyway. They have been funny, smart and beautiful - some of them all at the same time. The cadre of women I have around me today are powerful, strong and passionate. It is hard to keep up with them and it's a blessing they let me hang around them.

No matter what your relationship with her, your mother was the first person with whom you were a couple. Some couples stay together for a lifetime, some breakup and some have staying power and a powerful relationship. In the end, I have no complaints about the way my mother raised me. There were some mistakes but she raised me right enough to see them and at least think about changing them instead of staying stuck and blaming it on her. Being a mother isn't an easy thing. You have to balance the love which is often impractical and a barrier to the raising of a human being that will enter the world. Ready or not there we go.

Being a daughter has it's own share of angst. We learn what it's like to be a woman from our mothers. Our mother may also be a wife or a single parent, an employee or an employer. We want to stick close to our mothers until our hormones kick in and then we think she's the strangest person on the planet. A few years later, we amaze at how much smarter she's gotten and by the time we have kids of our own we want to be under her wing again. She is our first teacher of womanhood because we will choose how we will be just like her or how we will never become her. No matter how far we may run something in us is like our mother. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is our choice.

If you have a sister(s), I hope you are also lucky enough to have a sorority. My sisters and I are close and I rely on that closeness when I am afraid to try something new or am tempted to do something wrong. Within my sisters' care, I am free to be the baby sister. It's a great place to go back to. Though we are seven and ten (I think) years apart, I never felt left out.

Some of the girlfriends I have today, I have had since I was five years old and at a new school. I am still in touch with friends from grade school, high school and some previous jobs and there are the friendships formed from church, the knitting group and theatre.There have been laughter and tears, joys and sorrows but this is a group of women for whom nothing is impossible.

International Women's Day is a day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women. This is the 100th celebration and women as a class in society have made great headway and we still have ways to go.

If you're a woman, congratulations, I don't know what it's like to be a man but I'm having so much fun as a woman that it's something I don't wish for.

If you are a man and you have a woman who loves you, then you are endowed with one of the first blessings God gave to mankind.

If you are a woman and you love a woman, celebrate the achievements that women have made including the achievement that allows you to be who you are. There is still a road to travel but you have sisters around you who support you.

Celebrate the special gift of being a woman!

Sshhhh..It's Coming

2011-03-05T11:11:00.004-06:00

I don't want to tempt the Fates or maybe the Furies - are the Fates and the Furies the same? I don't know how anyone kept the Mt. Olympus personnel straight. Either way, I don't want to tempt anyone who can change the weather - especially since they are saying the 's' word is going to make a reappearance. This has been unusual weather, the winter as furious with the snow coming earlier than usual and all that 's' last month. But I do believe Spring is coming.

Which is probably why I shouldn't show you something I knit up a few weeks back: Did I show this to you already? I'm too lazy to go back and look. OK, let me say for the record that crochet is fun. In some ways it may be funner (I know it's really more fun) than knitting. Before I get thrown out of the 'Knitting Rules' club, let me assure I am not abandoning my first love. There's much more about crochet I don't know and I don't believe I am interested in learning to jump over to the 'I used to be a knitter' side of the aisle. I don't even think there is such an aisle. But crochet has a great many benefits to it that makes it a great companion to the knitting. A sidekick. A Robin to a Batman. A Batgirl to a Robin. Did you notice there was never a Batwoman? So when she turned 50 she would still be Batgirl?

The living room is becoming filled with finished objects. I am going to have to go next door and retrieve my goods. I gave them to my neighbor because she wanted items for an auction and she didn't know what she wanted - now the auction is over and she hasn't brought them back yet and I need to get them so I know what's no longer there but also so I can begin to pack away the items from this year. Next time (if there's a next time) I will take the time to make the decision. I was too busy this year.

Wish for Spring to come, my friends, I know it's only March but aren't you ready?

Late At Night

2011-03-04T21:35:00.003-06:00

I took something of a nap this afternoon. There I was going along with my day when I found myself really tired. Naps are not something I do. Mr. Honey does one every day. He comes home, eats, if it's Friday he will go to part one of his grocery shopping, and then he takes a nap. Usually lasts about four hours. If I am really lucky, Duke will go upstairs and nap with him and I have the entire house to myself with the strange comfort of having both boys home but out of the way.

But today I found myself upstairs doing something and then I was lying in bed and I told myself if I could count to 100 and not fall asleep or lose my place then I would get back up. (I couldn't do it - in fact counting to 100 was a tip my Mom gave me to lull myself to sleep.) I was awake when Mr. Honey came back and he got into bed and it was a mere hour later when he turned that I knew I had to get up. One, I was in bed for almost two hours and I didn't sleep well, and two, that turn meant the snoring was about to begin. It can throw off airplane tracking so I had to get out of bed.

Turns out naps aren't for me unless I'm sick. Good thing to know.

Look at what I made. It's more than you think. Yes, it's another Glee Gnome Hat but this one has a detachable pom-pom and what's more it has a pattern to go with it. I stayed up last night and knit this while writing the pattern. I then requested two knitters from the Ravelry testing patterns group to see if they could follow my instructions to whip it up. (Except their instructions were for attaching the flower like in my first hat.) We'll see what happens. If I can clear up the instructions, it will be the second pattern I sell. I will also be putting this one up in the shop as a special order.

The second baby sweater is almost done. I have to do the second sleeve, block and put together. That will leave me some time to try and get my friend Victoria's second hat done. Don't ask me why I am making another hat for her because I don't have the answer to the question. I suppose since I will be knitting anyway I can spare the fiber and the time to bond with a great kid.

It has been raining all day. It stopped long enough for me to take pictures of the cap but the rain has been almost non-stop. I am not complaining because this could be snow - which they are saying we are going to get a light dusting of. My flowers are poking out there heads on the side of the house so I guess Spring or something like it is coming.

I'm looking forward to it!

The First

2011-03-03T12:26:00.004-06:00

My version of Quinn's hat from Glee. I saw the photo but couldn't tell if it was a button or a flower so I made this big ass flower. It sold the first day I put it in the shop - but there's another listing up. I have to write the pattern for this one. It took me a few days of looking at the photo to figure it out. I think I told you in an earlier post.

I finished the baby sweater, too. I started it Wednesday after we went to StitchCraft and I had it to show off Sunday at Evanston. I have another one on the needles and it will be a little different. It's the green in the back. The heart is in red and the sleeves will be red with a little green heart of the sleeve. I am going to offer it made to order in the shop. The Coordinating Sweater is the body and sleeves all one color and The Contrasting Sweater will be the body and sleeves are different. I did one front in intarsia and the other in duplicate stitch and though intarsia was easiest to manage, the floats are a pain. I am also thinking about what other motifs I can put on the front that will be more gender neutral - though I have no objections to either gender wearing this soft, comfy bit of goodness. Maybe and ice cream cone or a cupcake.

Feel free to let me know what you think - but remember - it's a baby sweater so keep the idea small.

Actually, that photo has a lot crammed into it. The completed sweater, the sweater WIP, the box for me to send the Glee hat in. My, that ottoman is an office on wheels.

By the way, I did a smaller workout today because the leg is still a bother and I got through it just fine. I have to practically start all over and build up my time but I think it will go pretty quickly and now that the weather has turned to the better, I can add walking! Yeah!

Happy Birthday, Darling Girl

2011-03-02T10:11:00.003-06:00

This is our girl. We had no idea what we were getting into. I was nineteen when she was born and I didn't do any of the work. it wasn't until I was older that she came to us.

My sister was changing her life and she needed to move and Nic didn't want to go and my sister asked me if I would look after her.

Me? You sure you want me? You want me to be responsible for a teenager? But how can one say no? That first moment when my sister was gone and she walked in the door, all the responsibilities hit me. How the hell do you people do this from the time they're born?

It's not like we didn't know each other - Nic was always my child - my sister just birthed her for me. I used to go and get her on the weekends and we would just hang. When my other sister asked me to come to Maryland and stay with her kids while she and her husband were away, I took Nic with me and we explored Washington DC. We sat in the park and fed birds out of the palms of our hands. We took the Metro to the Smithsonian (most of it.) We both saw the White House for the first time together.

But this was a little different. I was responsible for her. I couldn't just be the fun one. There were rules and boundaries and when the time came to discipline her. Well, thank God, it was just one big time she did something that completely crossed the line with me. Both Mr. Honey and I decided we needed to deal with it so when she walked in the door, he did exactly what I expected - he went upstairs to hide. She's been his kid for fifteen years.

She's provided us with some hilarious moments: like when she got a speeding ticket and wanted to go to court to fight it. She wanted the judge to know she was speeding - just not as fast as the officer said.

She went to college at some design institute and needed help with her homework assignments. We went to the zoo, we went through some of my old photographs - OK, I basically did her homework for her. And the professor sent her a note saying her assignments had become very creative.

She changed colleges every year and after about three years of that, I told her she had to graduate from whatever school was next. DePaul. Not too shabby. Then she went on the get her Master's. She's a Phoenix.

And proud moments. I was very proud of her when she did go to court for another reason. There was a serial killer/rapist running around the Chicago area and he held a gun to her head in her backyard and robbed her. This guy murdered his male victims and raped the female victims and somehow she escaped that but she held herself together when she was on the stand and when the defense attorney said to her: "He didn't hurt you." She was very firm when she said, "Not physically."

That's my girl.

Not being known for her patience or her tact, we were surprised when she said she was going to be a grade school teacher. I'm still surprised at that. When she said she was moving to Seattle, Mr. Honey wanted to write to Congress and get the western half of the United States declared foreign territory. When she said she was driving with a friend out there, we set such strict rules that we thought she wouldn't go. instead, she just followed the rules. Like call us every three to four hours. Let us know where you are when you stop.

She called to say they had just left Buddy.
"Who's Buddy?"
"The city; Buddy."
"What state?"
"Montana."
"Spell it."
"B-u-t-t-e."
"You're going to teach kids?"

You could have wiped us off the floor with a towel when she left and Mr. Honey worried about her every mile of the way though he tried to be really cool about it. He taught her how to take care of her finances and the day she called him her other Dad you'd of thought he was a body builder the way his chest poked out.

She's all settled in her town and her job. She has friends and hobbies and is enjoying herself. I haven't told her I have the premonition that she will be a wife and mother in a couple of years - she doesn't read the blog so I'm not worried she'll find out from me.

The important things are that she's healthy and happy and we didn't mess her up in those formative teen years.

And today is her birthday.

Spring Season Has Begun!

2011-03-01T14:13:00.002-06:00

The Cubs have lost their first two pre-season games. So the perfect season will not be.

Note to Albert Puljols: you turned down a 10 year $200 million contract. Let me give you a reality check - no one on the planet is worth $200 million. Considering that you will be 41 - way old in baseball years - that's not a deal you turn down. With workers demonstrating in Milwaukee, you don't turn down the amount of money that would pay them all for several years. You get $16 million a year now - you should play one year for free.

Here's the other granny square hat. Poor little Styrofoam head can't handle the rasta. It took a lot to try and keep her upright when the cap was on her head. I need one of those heads that have hair. I've said that before. I say it again because I still don't have one.
At our Wednesday get together and the one we had this Sunday the wonderful Melissa and the endearing Chantal had some orange Sugar N Cream Cotton which I just fell in love with. Chantal would not even think about letting me have it - I asked - and I knew better than to ask Melissa. This morning when Mr. Honey took me out to breakfast I asked him to drive me over to Micheal's so I could get some of the goodness for myself. Now I have three balls of it along with two of a nice blue I didn't know they had.

But these are the small skeins so I am wondering how many scrubbies I will be able to get out of them but I am filled with happiness that I have them and I know where to find them if I should want them again. I was so tempted to buy the self striping cotton yarn but saved that for a later time. (This is why we have husbands...)

I believe I will be finished with my special order hat today - the gnome hat inspired by Glee. I made one last night that turned out more skull cap but it's really cute and it serves as a nice cap - especially with the flower I put on it. I am writing up the pattern and I will take a photo a little later. I want to finish the other cap first and write that pattern and do a two-fer.

Tomorrow is the kid's birthday. Mr. Honey mentioned it at breakfast today. 33. Where does the time go?

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-02-28T10:05:00.003-06:00

This week we travel to the beautiful city of Baltimore, MD. My sister lives in Baltimore so it seems a good place to visit some of the local artisans and see what a little east coast flair!

Silver Hoops by Appleblossom86. I have actually purchased earrings on every trip I've made to Maryland. Funky earrings - one a pair of clocks and the other the most expensive earrings I own. I guess I like the stuff they do.

Crocodile Stitch Shawl by Bonitapatterns I don't know what's better, the shawl pattern or the fabric used to make it - both are stunning.

Tote bag by Bibi1990 - This is a cute tote bag - and you know a bag don't even have to be cute for me to like it - but this one is!!

Spring Fling by Cat's Soft Stitches - babies have to be stylish!

Ocean Breeze by Marian Ruth - Sometimes it's the simple things that have the most elegance and this design in this color is simply elegant!

I am certified for another year as a Certified Lay Speaker. I learned a lot in the class and I am still thinking about it a few days later. We were in Evanston last night with the knitting group - six of us at Close Knit LYS. We thank them for staying open later for us. It's a nice cozy space and they have a nice selection. If you're in Evanston, they are on Davis street. In fact, they are on Davis Street even if you're not in Evanston.

Burst Earrings by doxallodesigns - Did I mention how much I love earrings made in Maryland?

Turquoise Purse by An Original by Peggy - It was hard just picking one item from her shop but it's the color that drew me in.

Stained Glass by terraza glass - again, it was hard to pick which one of the items to select. There's some beautiful work there and I can see more than one in my house!

Asian Inspired Earrings by Love Salt - These are lovely. It's not my fault there are so many good Baltimore jewelry artisans.

Felted Bath Balls by Raw Olive What a nifty idea to use left over yarn and then recycle after the original intended use. Goes from spa item to cat toy in just a matter of moments.

Baltimore is one of the those places where you can find vendors almost anywhere. I really like it for that aspect. It has many personalities and a great place to explore. If you can't make it to the right side of the country then skipping through these shops might prove a great alternative.

I hope you have a good week! Don't forget to take time out for crafting!

Blessings Everyday

2011-02-26T17:09:00.002-06:00

This is the new collage of item's I've made for the year. The last one had 24 photos and this one has 28 and if you don't know how to use Picasa to make and alter photos, let me tell you it's a nice, free tool to have.

The wonderful Melissa snapped at me Wednesday night because I had what I felt was a real dilemma. If i sell a set of 5 face scrubbies - which the marvelous Chantal loved - did I make five things or one? Miss Vicki and I were pursuing this question when from across the table came a "Oh God!" OK, so I gather she doesn't think it's an important thing. I believe the word 'competitive' was bandied about.

I cannot explain why I think it's important but I do keep track of what I make over the year. So, I am going to count it as five different things because they are full projects and they didn't form themselves.

I spent the past two Saturday mornings at Lay Speaker Academy and can I tell you what a wonderful class it was. This year I took Advanced Preaching taught my Rev. James Preston and the man was born to teach. He clearly enjoys it and gives instructive, constructive criticism that will go a long way to making us all better preachers.

There were great people in the class and there are some churches who are very lucky. Maurice and Audrey stand out to me because they had the best presence in the pulpit. Audrey is a new pastor at a church a couple of blocks from my house and I look forward to visiting the church again to see her in service.

Maurice and I were in class last year and we bonded again this year. He gave a sermon (we all did} which reminded me of my father. That doesn't happen very often and I so wish to count him among my friends. Audrey, too. She's a sweetheart and it's impossible to have too many sweethearts in your life.

There was snow out there - imagine that in February - and I am ready for Spring. I am hoping to be here when Spring arrives. I am going to have to get a complete physical and I want to do that in the late season.

Tomorrow is a full day at church and some afternoon knitting in Evanston. In the meantime, I have to put together the sweater pieces which have been on the blocking board since yesterday and then decide what's coming next. I am looking at the intarsia afghan look at me and I have a special order hat that needs a second draft - maybe I'll work on those next...or not.

Hey, I'm competitive not decisive.

2011-02-23T10:27:00.002-06:00

Here's something I didn't think I could do with granny squares:
I've done this cap twice now - once in the green seen here and I have one done in purples. It's really a lot of fun. What am I saying - most everything we do in knit/crochet is fun.

Did I tell you the fabulous Melissa took up crochet a few months back and is well on the way to being a crochet fiend? I kid you not - her first real project was this vest thing which involved some intricate work. The wonderful Vickie is proud of us.

Yesterday, I finished six things. A scarf that the pattern said should take about four hours to crochet took about 2.5 and then I made six face scrubbies out of cotton just to see if I could read the picture I saw of them. They were fun to make so I kept going until there were five of them...then I went to bed because I didn't think I could explain to Mr. Honey why staying up to crochet face scrubbies was different and somehow not as logical as the other reasons I stay up knitting and crocheting.

The date has been set for the Fourth Annual SIt and Knit - May 14. If you are in the Chicago area and want to sit on the veranda of a beautiful mansion in a park setting, then grab your needles and hooks and come on out. Miss Vickie will be heading up the project this year and it's chemo caps for Loyola Hospital! I am hoping spring will be truly here by then. Last year, it was a little cold so we were in the dining room in the mansion instead of outside. It is so much better outside!

Tonight is knit group and once again we will be at the mall in the Food Court. I feel as if I haven't seen them in a while even though it was just a few weeks ago. I think it's because I was laid up. As much as I love just being able to veg and knit, the human contact thing is rather important. And even though I was in class on Saturday with a group of very inspirational people, sometimes you just need your homies around you.
I will be seeing my homies this evening and I will have my baby sweater project in tow - that's right, I am going to cast on a baby sweater. I haven't made one in - probably years. It's for a small baby so I will have to have another project ready just in case I finish this one off before tonight. Though I don't think I will.

Mr. Honey is hovering which means he wants to use my laptop with the faster connection than his dial-up. We have the same Internet provider and for just $5 more a month, his laptop can be upgraded but he doesn't want that. Go figure.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-02-22T00:37:00.002-06:00

So, last week's Top Ten were folks who had not yet had a sale on Etsy and this week we are focusing on artisans from Akron, Ohio. Don't try and understand it - just go with it!

Valentine Hearts Earrings by Decorate the Diva. They were made for me - she just didn't know it when she did them!

Bow Head Warmer by Noodle Noggins - It's a little retro-fresh and very cute. I can't wear hats or headbands but this would look great on those who can!

Ice Skaters by Renie Britenbucher It was hard selecting which painting to include but the colors won out on this one!

Giraffe by Peachy Paws I love Giraffes! If they add a unicorn they will officially rock!

Owl Hat by Cozy Crafters I aspire to this level of cuteness!

So, I was so sick Saturday night and all through the day Sunday. I finally felt better at 4 in the afternoon. I was so bad Mr. Honey said I was crying in my sleep and I woke up with a headache and some serious nausea. I started to get a little scared when I got the chills but taking my temp it was only 95 which is low from my normal 96. I slept most of the day away after taking some pepto and aspirin.

The good news is I felt better Sunday evening and staying off my feet all day made my leg feel a great deal better and I was able to have a small workout Monday morning. Scary.

Now after that ray of sunshine, here are the final five!

Chubby Pitcher by NSpottery I love pottery. I tried my hand at it as a child and soon realized I had no talent for it whatsoever.

Dog Snood by Frogge Dog Shop - disturbing on so many levels.

Sexpot by JMNPottery - Put my last two comments together...

Fun at the Circus by Kye Bags - leave it to a tote bag to bring us back to normal. This one is fun!

Anouk Cowl by EStar Knits I LOVE this wrap and I can imagine it in all kinds of colors. It is simple and yet very classy and classic.

So there's some kind of talent in Akron! If you know any Ohioans you can let them know they have a town featured! It was fun looking at the talent in another city...I may have to make this a regular thing!

Did you hear? My great state (and some say my city) is hosting 14 renegade senators. Goodness gracious!

Sum of All Parts

2011-02-18T14:59:00.003-06:00

Depending on how you want to count, I have completed 26 - 33 items this year. It would be 26 if you counted a set as one item - I know there are 25 things shown here - I didn't include one of the hand puppets - but are the golf club covers 3 items or 1?

I dragged my leg outside with the rest of me to take photos - the first seven were taken yesterday - overcast days are great for photography as I said. Overcast days, especially using a digital camera, will make colors run more true. On a sunny day, I wouldn't get purple hats; I would get blue ones. That is a source of irritation for me. So, there's a tip for photographers - use an overcast day to advantage in taking your photos.

I am fully aware I would not be able to produce so much,eh, produce if I had young'uns at home. Of course, if we had kids immediately they would be tweens and would be ignoring us now so perhaps I would have time. But the kid we did help raise is in her 30s and living on her own on the upper left coast so again, I have time. (We got her when she was in her teens - young enough for us to mess her up, get strangely attached and cry like rivers when she moved, and thank God we didn't mess her up after all.)

I love this craft. As much as I turned my nose up at crocheting - which I learned first - I am glad to have picked it up. At least nine of the things I've done are crocheted. The joke is on me. Ha. They both help soothe me but in different ways - freaky. I would explain the difference here but I'm putting it in the book. (Hey Julie!!)

Right now the finished objects are occupying the chair and the top of Mr. Honey's snow thrower box. I was asked to donate items to a school auction and I am trying to decide what items from last year I want to give them and that will free up the storage space for some of the new stuff. Incidentally, if you know of a school or other organization who needs items for a sale, raffle or auction, let me know and I will be more than happy to contribute. I have more than enough for any show and the shop and I don't want to lose track of the giving component I started out with.

I hope your weekend is great! I will be limping off to Lay Academy training - I have to reluctantly admit to really hurting the limb. I walked half a block when we went out to breakfast this morning and I was looking for a vet to put me down. We're supposed to have a little snow over the weekend and then pop right back to sunny - I hope you fare as well!

Yadda, Yadda, Yadda

2011-02-17T10:57:00.003-06:00

I need a head with hair. I put slouch hats on a hairless head and it looks like something that would only fit Gigantor's mama. It fits my head comfortably and I don't have much more hair than this head here but it would still be useful to have one that has a mane for instances just like this.

Woke up this morning and there was very little pain (note how I phrased that) and I thought this would be the day to test out the leg with just a little workout. I really miss the feeling that a workout brings so I thought just easing back into couldn't hurt.

I was wrong.

Not even 30 seconds into it and I was limping towards the easy chair. I relayed this info to Mr. Honey and he said something akin to my being a kook and it serving me right for not waiting. But exactly what would I be waiting for? I gave it a shot and didn't push it past a reasonable point. I think that was the right thing to do and maybe tomorrow I will get to 40 seconds. I am willing to take the baby steps.

I have two more hats that came off the needles. Both crochet. Both slouches. And I still have some more pics to photograph. Today is a good day for photography. It is in the upper 50s and overcast. I should get to taking photos today though it is another thing I will not push too much because it means stairs. But there is a cute granny square hat I want you to see and some other hats and a two toned gray cowl.

I also continued work on the intarsia ~~afghan~~ bedspread. The first strip is all done and one square from the second. I have decided this will not be rushed. I am using gigantic bobbins which are a really good help. I fill it up and I always have some left over and I am making leaves for the falling leaves ~~afghan~~ bedspread. I now have 17 of the 200 plus I will need.
Do not mock- the journey of 1000 steps yadda, yadda, yadda...

Getting On

2011-02-16T11:47:00.002-06:00

Here's the first go round with the beret little Miss Vickie wanted. There's actually another one I finished yesterday but didn't photograph as of yet. (It's on Mickey Mouse's head.) I am going to take the pic just not today. There's yet another hat on the hooks but that's a grown up hat.

The leg is better still. I was really determined to workout today and when I woke up the first thing I felt was pain. Not a lot. Not overwhelming but just enough to let me know I am going to have to ease back into the workout routine. Bummer. I didn't want to lose momentum. I would love to go out and take a walk but the truth is I think I would make it to the corner - three houses away - and scream for Mr. Honey to get the car. I've been trying to walk 'regular' and it hasn't quite happened.

I haven't had a sale this year. That's another bummer. I have a lot of finished projects and I still need to have some more photos done so I am not blaming anyone but myself for the lack of sales. I need to put more items that my history shows will sell - my hats and afghans. At the same time, I have to prepare different items for shows that we do. With all the stress at trying to stay relevant and making this work, I would still rather deal with this than go back into corporate life. I'd rather make my own corporation. At least I know this stress is mine.

Those of us living in Chicago (and surrounding area) are watching the snow disappear. I actually see the ground. We are headed for the 40s and 50s in the temp and I am ready for Spring. I am also ready for the Cubs to announce their new radio color guy. My hope is that it will be either Mark Grace or Rick Sutcliff.

I want my leg to heal so I can get back to my normal laziness. This enforced laziness just doesn't work for me.

This Week's Top Ten List

2011-02-15T12:22:00.002-06:00

I thought I would do something a little different for the Top Ten List. I pulled these items from shops on Etsy that have yet to have a sale. I remember what it was like waiting for my first sale and I didn't know if anyone would be able to find my shop let alone buy anything so I went in search of folks who have yet to experience it - perhaps you will be the first for one of them!

Big Blue Pendant by I Fly the Circus. It's unusual and cool. Every piece tells a story!
Leaf Earrings by Kim's Vintage Design. Hard to choose between the earrings and the crochet hats she has on sales. In the end, earrings won because I can make the hat myself.
Dog Wedding Collar by Sunshine Critters. This gets kudos because the dog posed for the photos. A Doberman no less.
Berry Breakfast Tea by Sands Tea I LOVE breakfast tea and this looks like it smells and tastes good!
Randall by Ted E. Graham. Seriously, price is the only thing keeping this shop from scoring. If they could find an economical product to blend with the high end, they would be jumping from all the business.

So, the leg is getting better. I had every intention of working out today. I am bummed because I've worked out every day except the last three. One was a scheduled day off and these last two because the leg hurts. I came downstairs and took the stance to work out and my leg wanted to take itself off my body and hit me in the head. So maybe tomorrow.

In the meantime, I did finish the beret prototype Vicki wanted me to make and it came out cute. It's too little for my head so probably right for her. I am not sure about the slouch factor. I will take a pic and show it to you later and hopefully I will be able to see how it fits her on Sunday and then make what she wants in the color she wants.

Whimsy by Patchwork and Pocket - because the love of tote bags never end.
Forever After by Sanders Pride - I don't know. I just like it.
Beach Wedding Decoration by Beachy Wreaths - So unique. I wouldn't have even thought of it!
Shadow Tree by SAllard Photography I love the strength and grace of the photo.
Hipster Brief by Emiliana Underwear - Don't you want to track it to see who pays $30 for them?

There you have it! A little bit of this and a little bit of that. As always, I am blown away by the talent all around us. Take a tour of some or all of these shops and give some support to our small businesses and their owners!

Broken Things

2011-02-14T11:40:00.003-06:00

Mr. Honey thinks I've broken my leg. Since I am walking on it, albeit in pain, I don't think that's the case. Falling down the stairs is no fun...but almost falling and putting your entire weight one leg while holding on to a railing with a big knitting bag on one arm and a digital camera in the other with a small child behind you is less fun than falling. If I had fallen I probably would not have hurt myself but chances are good I would have hurt the child and the camera - much, much worse.

Yes, I sacrificed myself for a child. This child: my friend, Victoria, who is wearing the hat I crocheted for her. The deal was I would make her the hat if she would then be the model for my kiddie hats. She has since put in her order for a complete hat wardrobe with a strong emphasis on a beret (red and orange)that has a great slouch in it. She also wants a matching scarf.

Ah, the young. They think fiber grows on trees.

She says the slouchy beret will 'make all my friends jealous' which, of course, is what you want your friends to feel. Heaven forbid such feelings should be saved for those we do not love.

I actually do not have a pattern for a child size beret with or without a great slouch - I do have a pen, paper and calculator and I have adjusted an adult size beret that I can make and see if it fits - not too concerned about the color right now just want to see if it works.

In the meantime, Mr. Honey has provided me with his walker from when he had his Sciatica
and i am hobbling along as best I can. I tried to workout and i am here to say that one shouldn't try and do that when one has hurt their leg within the last 24 hours. Tomorrow will be soon enough to give it another shot. Luckily, the hands were not hurt in the process so the knitting can go on. I finished a gray on gray cowl that I started last night and I will get a photo of that as soon as I can manage it. I'm going to be perched in my chair for the better part of the day and so I should get a lot of things done.

Ibuprofen is a God send.

Contacts

2011-02-12T18:11:00.003-06:00

I would go to sleep if it weren't for the fact I'm wearing contacts - and it's only 6 o'clock. I was up before 7 this morning because I had to go to a United Methodist Women training session - I was one of the trainers. I didn't need to get up before 7 because a continental breakfast was being served at 8:30 and the real stuff started at 9 so I could have gotten up at 8 - but I wanted to make sure i did my workout.

You read that right - i wanted to make sure I got in my workout.

And I did. I did my workout, took my shower got dressed and went on the church and I still got there for the breakfast portion of the day - just barely. The important thing is I wasn't late for the main event.

Now, I've been home for about 5 hours and I've nodded off I don't know how many times. I haven't knit much today. I did manage to make another leaf for the afghan but that's about it. I did get in some crocheting during the morning when the featured speaker was speaking. It was very interesting but crocheting seemed to be a natural thing to do and I didn't distract or disrupt her or anyone else.

i did manage to pick up a new book on the spiritual side of crochet called Contemplative Crochet. I will let you know what I think when I've read it. It is a book in the UMW Reading program so it actually counts towards being recognized for completing the reading program.

Yesterday, we met someone new at the knitting group get together. Her name is Bilvi and she is from Finland. Lovely lady; experienced knitter (did you know they teach knitting in school in Finland?) She has been in the US for a couple of months having married a man from Chicago. So, she's new to marriage and new to the states and wanted to meet new folks. She's funny and insightful and we voted right then and there to keep her - now if she votes to keep us we will see her at the Friday gatherings.

I am sore after the workout. I got through the first phase of muscle breakthrough but there are more muscles to go. Plus, I've worked out for 6 days straight. I don't have a workout tomorrow so i can give the body a well earned break. I see a good night's sleep in the near future and the weather is supposed to be really nice tomorrow so I also anticipate good things should I be blessed with a tomorrow.

I hope you have a great weekend.

A New Day

2011-02-10T12:12:00.003-06:00

I have not driven since before the snow storm. I think the last time i was behind the wheel of a car was in January. That may change today. Mr. Honey and I take turns driving when we go out. I have the even number months and he, of course, has the odd number months. But when the blizzard made the streets funky last week, I declared that he would be doing the driving. The snow is still on the ground - lots of it - but it's in a pile not scattered over the place making existence somewhat snarky. So, tonight I am certain I will have my driving duties back. Also, it is colder than a gravedigger's you know what but the sun is shining and the day looks bright making it one of those beautiful winter days.

The workouts continue but I have to protect my recorded episode of BEST Step Workout because FitTV has disappeared to be replaced by Discovery and it's dull, dreary programming mostly about being pregnant with some other circumstance (I'm pregnant and 80 years old) and emergency room medical reality stuff. Seriously? Not interesting in the least for me. I was down for the count a few days last week because I wasn't feeling well and when I came back to my workouts, my legs were like two lead balloons but I am working out longer every day and my legs still feel like two lead balloons but that's because my muscles are sore - which is a good thing.

The knitting and crochet continues - of course - and here's what I'm working on: the intarsia bedspread is coming along well. I had one of those moments where it wasn't my favorite project of the moment and because it was my only project I was in danger of ripping out my already short hair. To combat this, I decided to start making the motifs for the falling leaves afghan. I thought it would be really cute to pin them to the blocking board and when the blocking board was full to steam them all at once. Of course, the entire afghan calls for nearly 200 of these and they won't all fit on the board at once but the premise still works. Also, you may be able to see just a snippet of a brown yarn in the intarsia photo that's being crocheted into a cowl. I saw this pattern and thought of this yarn and when I found the yarn - while looking for something else - I started working on it. The fiber is I Love This Yarn and even though the price has gone up $1.50 in the last couple of years (I know it's not a lot; it's the principle!) I still have to count it as the best economy worsted weight yarn.

Working on these other items had the desired effect - I miss working on the bedspread so I will go back to that one. It probably won't be the last time we're on the outs - this will require several strips.

We are in the midst of a cold snap but it will change over the weekend and we will see at least a 30 degree change in the weather going from single digits to over 30 degrees. I hope to be back tomorrow showing some finished object or another. In the meantime, back to work and crafting!

My 500th Post

2011-02-08T18:00:00.004-06:00

This is my 500th post - which really sucks considering this is the start of my 4th year. I can't even double my efforts for the year because blogging more than once a day is, well, obsessive. it would be even more obsessive than I normally am.

But let me show you what I worked on during the Super Bowl: They are circular spa cloths. Like the soap sacks, I think they would be great to have personally and I think I can whip one up for myself. The thing is, they are surprisingly quick to make taking less than 30 minutes. These are not blocked and I imagine the lace would look even prettier once that's done.

The stash busting intarsia ~~afghan~~ bedspread is going well. I am almost done with the first strip. I was working on it this morning when Mr. Honey walked in the room and said it looked nice so I know I am on the right path with it. This is going to take some time to get done. The five strips for the original pattern will turn into six or seven strips for the bedspread. The most interesting thing is that I am using the big bobbins and it's really fun. I will take a photo later - don't feel like doing it now.

Whoever made God angry should apologize so this snow can stop - or at least stay in the east...

The Top Ten List

2011-02-07T12:39:00.002-06:00

It's amazing what you discover when you Google yourself and read some feedback. It seems there are some that really liked my Top Ten list and wonder what happened to it. I didn't make a conscious effort to stop doing it - it slipped through one of the cracks in my head. But the good news is, I pulled it out and put it back on the schedule. So, for the first time in 2011 - Here is the top ten list for the week!

Organic Snake Skin Bracelet by amodernphilosophy. There's something about this bracelet. I looked at it and found myself imagining wearing a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and kickin' back but still looking like a lady.

Comfort by Elizabeth Bauman. I like this painting, and her style, because it reminds me of the style of paintings in England in the mind 1400's. I think there's an argument to be had as to whether or not she's comfortable because she looks mad or concerned. But she looks concerned while leaning back on an animal - so I guess she's comfortable enough.

Lady La Muerta by ash2ash Yes, that is Mrs. Death on a cameo.

Neckwarmer by amolliesboutique This is just plain cute and since Winter will until July 23rd this year; it's best to know places where we can find cold weather gear.

Valentine's Hearts by Amelias - they look nice and creamy! I bet it feels really good on the skin.

I have started my office as Social Action Coordinator for Chicago Northwestern District of the UMW. My first order of business was to bring attention to the bills in Congress that tried to redefine rape as 'forcible rape' because, you know, the non-forcible rape is fine and now we have to wage a fact against the bill that says if a woman enters a hospital in such condition that an abortion saves her life, the hospital doesn't have to give her that procedure nor do they have to direct to a facility that does. So, if it is their decision, they can allow her to expire - which kills her and the child.

But hey, it's not an abortion.

And then there's the bill that changes a person who has been raped from a victim to an accuser.

What is this assault on women? And why does the legislature think this is a top priority?
In any case, let's get back to the more pleasant top ten:

Unicorn Trivet by A Garden Cottage - I loves me the unicorns. It almost doesn't matter what it is.

Mesh Hat by Add Some Stitches. This is just a very cute hat and works very well through the spring.

Blue Lapis Lazuli Earrings by Margo's Originals OMG - my ears itched when my eyes showed them these earrings. I love the color!

Child's Poncho Set by Crocheted 4 Kids - Get them in handmade early so when they are grown they will not stray from it!

Spice Cowl by Little Bird Design - these things are just cool!

So, there you have it! The first top ten list of the year. I encourage you to shop your local handmade artisans to see what they have for you!

90 Days

2011-02-05T10:32:00.003-06:00

It is 90 days until our 15th anniversary and there are some things I want to accomplish by then. I am hesitant to say it aloud - as aloud as one can get typing but I think you know what I mean:

Type two pages a day to complete one of the books.

Keep up my knitting - such a task - so I can earn a trip to Hobby Lobby for worsted weight & cotton yarn and a LYS for some luxury stuff. This, of course, will be an anniversary present.

Continue and increase my workout calendar and make big inroad to my fitness goals.

You can feel free to ask me about any of these goals as a way of keeping me honest and motivated.

Want to see my soap sacks? If the answer is no you should leave the room: This is another one of those phenomena that goes with why the dentist's kids have bad teeth and the hairdresser's kids have funky haircuts. The knitter has been saying for the longest time how she needs one of those soap thingys that hold the soap ends so they don't end up all over the soap holder turning it into a slimy mess. This same knitter has looked over patterns to make them and never put the two of them together. She finally makes them for sale in the shop and until this very moment didn't think of knitting up a few more for personal use.
Tell me that happens to you as well.

The snow will be with us for a while even as we warm up to the low to mid thirties in a few days. I wondered out loud where all the water was going to go and Mr. Honey with scientific smugness enlightened me with the fact that 20 inches of snow only amounts to two inches of water.

I told him then he wouldn't mind if every house on the street took their 20 inches of snow each and put it in our basement.
Ha.

Snow Daze

2011-02-04T11:05:00.005-06:00

Here's the backyard. Yes, that's the Adirondack chair almost covered with snow. Mr. Honey swathed a path for Duke which Duke appreciates as a launching place to try and get on top of the snow banks so he can snow dive. Dumb dog. I know he thinks it's fun but I think he's got a $3000 pin in his leg that I don't want to see matched with another one in the other leg.

I don't know if I showed you the ruffle scarf. Looks more festive in the picture. Looks more warm and cozy in person. Looks fun in person and in the picture. This was my second introduction to short rows and wrapping stitches - we first met on the baby bibs. It is the short rows that causes the spirals or ruffles that make the scarf look like it's one long row of Pringles.

I wish I had my camera when we went out for our date night last night. The piles of snow all over the place made the city look like a maze. What I found amazing was how clear some of the roads were. What I found unbelievable was how many streets were not. Driving through the Chicago streets, the main roads were clear and the same driving through River Grove. When we hit Maywood (where i grew up) some of the streets weren't even shoveled which meant people had to walk in the street. Not too much of a problem except the street was 1st ave which is a extremely busy street that actually runs quite a distance. Seriously, how do folks get out of their houses? How do they expect to get their mail? There were houses that still haven't been shoveled! I don't know how many may be empty but there were lights on in some of them. Wonder what that is all about.

I started a new afghan. This one will be a stash buster - I pulled eight skeins out to start. It is an intarsia pattern - a little more about that later and how you are to blame - the pattern calls for the center square to be the same color so I asked Mr. Honey to name a color.

Turquoise.

And then he smirked - until I pulled out a skein of turquoise yarn and then he walked into the bedroom defeated.

i used my trusty color wheel and pulled out some corresponding colors and I am on my way. Now, I am fully aware of the simpatico we knitters all share. So I am wondering why NONE of you dropped me a note saying: You really want to do that intarsia afghan again? Think of all the ends that will need to be woven in and think about how much you don't like that. That's why you never really completed it before. Don't go near it. Do something else.

But there was nothing. No one said anything. And I am into it now. So I start each session weaving in at least seven ends so it doesn't get out of hand by the time I finish the seven strips.

I have also been doing more slouch hats so I have that to fall back on when i can't make ends meet! Get it? A little finishing humor.

Never mind.

The Big One

2011-01-31T12:56:00.003-06:00

They say a blizzard is coming. They say we should expect more than a foot of snow. This is Chicago - you can't even bury a body here in just a foot of snow. A foot of snow is nothing.
Oh, wait..they changed it to 18 inches - now that's the start of something.

Today is sunny and bright. I feel as if I should make a trip to Joann, Michael's and The Woolly Lamb since they are all on a line with each other and stock up since we will not be able to move out of the house for the next few days. I have already asked Mr. Honey if he is prepared to call in Wednesday morning and he just shrugged it off. I remember he drove me to a hair appointment when there was a foot of snow on the roads - not just on the sidewalk - but on the road. He can make it just fine.

I still have the urge to shop, though. The fact that I have $3.18 in my wallet is just a minor detail. The fact I have more yarn in my stash than any of the those stores is non-consequential. That I have a resolution to break the stash is a bothersome nag on my integrity gene.

Here is the camouflage hat. I like the slouchy-ness of it. It's kinda cool in the camouflage and can probably come in handy in the snow that's coming our way. Don't tell me there hasn't been climate change that's man made and not good. 30 states will have snow on the same day. It's fascinating and scary.
I have another slouch hat on the needles. The Camo is in cotton the one on the needles is acrylic and in purple.

I crocheted a teen slouchy hat for my 13 year old friend, Victoria, I told her I would make it for her but she would have to let me take pics of her in it. I will see her on Sunday and hopefully I will be able to show it of. I made the smaller size cuz she's little, so hoping it will fit her head.

I'm hoping the weather prediction will be off and we don't get socked but if we do then I am hoping since we are entering February that it will be the last big storm we see. I hope you're safe wherever you are and if you're in a warmer clime, think fondly upon the rest of us.

Going Home

2011-01-29T13:23:00.003-06:00

I admit there are times when I don't know what to call my posts. I suppose I could wait until I write it and then think of a name but why should I be logical? So when I don't know what to name my posts, I give it the title of the song that's playing on my computer media player and that's why this one is titled Going Home. I could now try and make the post fit the title but that logic things comes into play again.

My drool of the day is this knitted shawl. Lovely, just lovely. Yeah, Yarncolture!

I'm project - less. That isn't to say there aren't some wips lying around because there are two afghans and some other stuff that's not done yet but I don't feel like picking those up. Thus, I am project - less. I did a lot of photos yesterday and while today isn't as sunny as yesterday, it is a little warmer, or rather, not as cold. Believe me, there's a difference between the two and if I have to explain it that only means you live in a warmer climate and I'm not sure any explanation would suffice.

I was thinking about doing some more stuff in cotton. More spa stuff - maybe something for Valentine's Day - for couples. It's a thought. I like working with the cotton - didn't think about it much before cuz I thought all it was good for was washcloths and I didn't put too much thought into that. But since I made the soap bag and the slouch hat, I have to say it's a good medium. The wonderful April gave me a pattern for a bikini and that's made of cotton and seems like a lot of fun to create.

Then there's the 100% Pima cotton fiber that I have about two dozens skeins of. I still don't know what to do with that. The swimsuits would look good in those but this stuff is thin! I think any liner would have more depth than the fiber. On the other hand, it is DK weight and there's stuff I can do with that, I am sure.

A cold seems to be making its way through the house. I have a sore throat and now a runny nose and Mr. Honey insisted he had a fever this morning when he languished in bed. He was supposed to make dinner last night and instead he stayed in bed with orders that I 'eat his leftovers' from our date night. No, don't think so. This morning, when he is usually out of the bed before me on a Saturday, he was in bed until after 10. He said he felt warm so he must have a fever. I told him he would feel cold if he had a fever but I offered to get the thermometer and take his temp.

98.6 on the dot.

When I told him what it said, he pulled back the covers, got dressed, went grocery shopping and is at this very moment sitting in the dining room eating chicken noodle soup and potato chips. To be fair, he does have some congestion and a cough. But apparently the lack of a fever ended all plans for the pity party he was planning with me as the party planner.

I was so looking forward to that.

Supernatural

2011-01-28T09:59:00.002-06:00

My drool of the day. My brother-in-law and his wife gave me a painting for Christmas - now hanging in the dining room. I went on line to try and find it for sale so I could share it but no such luck. But I did find this little bit of art that I think is great.

The fabulous Melissa was expecting she would be the subject of at least a section of my post yesterday because I ~~threatened~~ ~~warned~~ told her that would be the case and then I didn't post yesterday because stuff happens.

But had I posted about the fabulous Melissa it would have been because she has been cursed with Finishitis. That is the condition when you get near the end of a project and you just want it over and done. She is working on a Christmas present - before you stand in awe of her organizational skills, let me point out it is for Christmas 2010 and not Christmas 2011 - she is putting together squares of an afghan. This is one of those ugly duckling patterns. It wasn't that impressive when the squares were on their own but she placed some together during knit night Wednesday and it was really impressive but she is ready for that thing to be done.

I am glad to know I am not the only one who suffers from this and I am glad I was not in the throes of the disease so I could enjoy seeing her go through it.

The hat in the photo was the hat I started Wednesday night and finished it yesterday. Crochet is fast. I finally got to use the green yarn that has been in my stash since the beginning of my knitting phase. I don't even remember the brand name. It's somewhat stiff but if I steam it, I think it would ease up somewhat.

On the needles right now is another slouch hat that I am making in cotton. I am making it in Camouflage and it should look really cute - I guess I don't want to use cute as I am making it with a guy in mind. But guys don't mind being cute do they?

On another note, I didn't have a workout scheduled yesterday and the first thing on my mind this morning was making sure I got up and got my workout in right away so i didn't fall off the wagon. It takes about three weeks to make a habit something that sticks and I wanted to make sure it stuck. So, I got up and did my workout and my thighs are talking to me. It's a good feeling - used to have this feeling a lot but it took more of a workout to get it. The muscle breakthrough didn't happen during this workout but maybe next time. I'm thrilled I stepped back into the plan. Yeah for me.

I am hoping to get some shop quality photos done with the pile of finished objects I have so I can get them into the shop. That's my goal for the weekend and I have more knitting/crochet to do. Today will be the warmest day of the next seven days - a whopping 33 degrees - and the sun is shining so now is the best time to get those photos done and to move the car from the side street to the front of the house. I'm sitting in the living room with the blinds open and sunshine is streaming in. Makes that snow look like I could almost like it. Almost.

Have a great weekend!

Cuteness

2011-01-26T11:19:00.002-06:00

So, here's the hat I was working on yesterday all finished and cute. There's a newsboy cap that also almost done.

I woke up this morning moving like a 70 year old. A 70 year old that's in bad shape. I know some 70 year olds that put me to shame. I figured it was because my workouts are all ganging up on me and making my muscles sore - which means a muscle breakthrough is just around the corner. I gave thought to not working out today but I have no workout scheduled for tomorrow so I did my workout today like a dutiful little darling and I feel so much the better for it.

Before I forget, this my drool of the day. Maybe because the color is similar to the hat I made just yesterday. I will get into making infinity scarves for all seasons. It's on my list and you know how that goes.

Did you watch the State of the Union? I watched it and the response(s. I didn't think any of the speeches were that great as far as oratory goes but the SOTU isn't an oratory speech. It's really more of a report so great oratory it wasn't but that's OK. It was different than the usual long wish list. This one seemed more rooted in reality and was really short on depth dealing with what we have in front of us. That's probably a good thing. What I took away from it was that it would be really hard for the Republicans to attack. So they attacked the president instead.

I don't dislike Republicans - I've voted for Republicans. I don't love Democrats. There are Democrats I haven't voted for. But at some point, they're going to have to change the game plan. The lack of job growth lost the house for the Democrats. It's what we do in this country. If progress from the president isn't what we like, we throw his party out of Congress. Happened to Regan. Happened to Bush. Happened to Clinton. If Obama isn't elected for a second term, it is almost certain the House will move back to the left and if the Republicans keep delaying true details instead of broad strokes, it's possible we will get that rare thing of both branches belonging to one party.

Didn't the Republicans make it seem like once they were in office that jobs would follow the next day? And yet, there is no job plan and businesses don't seem to be placing job ads all over the place. Huh, imagine that.

And Michelle Bachmann? What is with people trying to rewrite history? So much for her presidential aspirations. Who is she gonna run with - Haley Barbour? So the founding fathers eliminated slavery, did they? Sally Hemmings turned over in her grave and slapped Thomas Jefferson for not telling her she was free.

God, I hope she doesn't knit.

Give In To Me

2011-01-25T11:19:00.003-06:00

I have ended the little pity party I was throwing for myself yesterday. I was going through my books and out dropped two little ones that I forgot I had. They were both on slouch hats - one knit and one crochet. Instantly I felt better. I did. These two little gems were in my library and I put them at the end and their turn came.. I have this little beauty on the hook and I am looking forward to making a newsboy cap (not in the slouch books but an old favorite standby.) Just like that the mood has changed.

It looks big (well, it is a slouch hat) but I've tried it on and it fits fine so when someone with, you know, hair, puts it on the fit should be just right.

Let me completely change directions and tell you about the chicken piccata I made last night - it was my second attempt and it was delicious! Butter should have its own church! That sauce served over pasta is one of the Heaven's best dishes. OMG, that stuff is good. Ever since I ordered it at Maggiano's a few weeks ago, I've been wanting to recreate it - and I knocked it out the park last night. Now the trick is to not make it too much. That won't be a problem because Mr. Honey usually gets to pick what he wants me to make the three days of the week I cook - no, I don't tell him what I want on his three days - and he will bring home the chicken cutlets when he wants them next.

My cooking library is far more advanced than his. He does a couple of chicken dishes, a couple of pasta dishes, and a couple of pork dishes. I think he may have ten dishes in his repertoire. I, on the other hand, have thousands because I will visit http://www.allrecipes.com and l will pull out a new recipe a couple of times during the year and try them out. Just like knitting, I won't completely follow the pattern. There are very few duds on that site. I just love it and that's where I went to find a recipe for the chicken and I took the best of several and made the dish that has delighted us both. I have a little left over from last night and that will be my breakfast/lunch/snack this morning.

Are you going to watch the State of the Union? I always do and I listen to the response from the other party. This evening we will have two responses. I admit to being much more interested in Michelle Bachmann. I can't tell if she's Sarah Palin's Mini-Me or Eve Harrington to Palin's Margo Channing. She certainly seems to have jumped in the void left by Palin's fall from popularity. I will also be interested in seeing who the 'prom dates' are as Republicans and Democrats sit together and who will be sitting next to Joe Liberman. Grumpy Mitch McConnell has said he's going to sit in his usual seat. I think Barney Frank ought to sit next to him and hold his hand.

I'm Still Here

2011-01-24T15:06:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a week since I've been here....some of you may not be able to forgive me, hence, the two less followers that were there just a week ago. It's been an interesting week of recovery and thinking.

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

I don't know how to tell when I've grown up.

I was also trying to do something with Yang ribbon yarn and I tried something three times and it hasn't worked so the yarn is now back in a ball and I have nothing on the needles.

Nothing? You say. What about the shawl that never ends. It's ended. Cuz I stopped it. Now, not only do I not want to complete it. I'm actually bored with it. I did manage to make another hat and two hand puppets. I tried taking a photo with one hand and the puppet on the other and it was really bad so I will have to wait until Mr. Honey gets up from his respite and he can be the puppet. So no photos of anything today.

I also did a ruffle scarf - so it's not like I've been idle.

The big thing is that I've worked out just about every day - six days a week. I'm waiting for the temp outside to hit 35- 40 and I can add walking to my workouts.

The easy chair is filled with items I've made since the beginning of December. Here's the list:
Lion puppet
Ripple afghan
ruffle scarf
Frog puppet
turquoise scarflette
turquoise fingerless mitts
brown slouch beret
green slouch beret
variegated beret
child's poncho
soap sack - which i forgot i made
turquoise hat
golf club covers
crochet hat
purse with bead handle
four baby bibs
and several squares
blue bohemian afghan

Apparently, I like knitting and crochet. Maybe I can do something with that when I grow up.
Yes, there is a snow blower in that box cuz Mr. Honey wanted a snow blower to handle the snow but he feels the snow we've gotten wasn't sufficient enough to use it - even though it was sufficient enough to use the other snow blower. Don't ask me. I just love the guy.

All Over the Place

2011-01-17T11:35:00.003-06:00

This has been the week of all weeks. Hard to believe that the shootings in AZ happened just a week ago. With a 24 hour news cycle, we've heard so much that it seems longer than just the week. Then Sarah Palin. Then the President's speech. Then my car being towed. Then my friend's husband passing.

And knitting through all of it and finishing a ruffle scarf and thinking the shawl that never ends will really never end.

My friend, Vivian, is the president of the Chicago Northwestern District of United Methodist Women. I met her because she came and recruited me into the group. She is almost impossible to say no to. She has fire and spirit and such faith. Her husband had been sick with stage 4 cancer and we had a meeting at her house this past Saturday morning so she could stay near her husband who was in great spirits but weaker. Treatments were no longer an option and he wanted to be home.

We had a wonderful meeting Saturday morning and left her house at about 12:30. Yesterday morning she sent an email to say he passed that afternoon. I am not worried about Vivian who is standing firmly and gracefully in the arms of God. We gave her a prayer shawl Saturday morning as a way to take care of the caregiver. But she is strong. And while we know there will be tears; there will be no regrets for the life he lead and the one that now changes with his absence. She is a child of God and knows where to find her strength.

So, Friday my knitting group met and the bookstore. We usually park across the street because the parking lot is free. It is still free but with the new year came a three hour parking limit. We stayed for three hours and ten minutes. And the cars that were parked there were gone. I called Mr. Honey who came and got us and drove us to where the cars were and $194 later....OK, this so isn't going to happen again.

I've said before I didn't vote for Barack Obama (didn't vote for McCain, either.) I knew McCain was not who I wanted and I was too involved in Chicago politics to be easy with a very green state senator who surrounded himself with a group of Chicago party players. I remember the speech he gave in 2004 and I turned to the person next to me and said, "They're going to run him for president in the next election." That was no great pronouncement.

But he has surprised me for the exact same reason Sarah Palin does not: he is showing a skill in growing into the job and he is showing that while the change that was promised isn't coming in this thundering, sweeping way that the country imagined it would, he just might be making inroads that weren't there before. If you look at his list of accomplishments, it is impressive.

The speech he gave Wednesday hooked the country at different places. For me, it was when he changed what was on the paper. The original text was: "I want us to live up to her expectations." But when he paused and then said: "I want to live up to her expectations." and you could hear that something in his voice, for me, I felt what folks had been feeling during the race. How he has handled himself throughout the three years and how he handled this situation is impressive.

Can anyone imagine he was not thinking about his own 9 year old? Can anyone imagine that his daughters have not received threats? There are so many things we don't hear about but we know the threats to the president's safety has gone up since this election and I don't think it is unreasonable to think that some of those threats were directed toward his family.

The tone was perfectly set to make us think about the tone of general discourse that has been around the country. It's been almost game like. One upmanship and making sure there were winners and losers and not connecting with the fact that the decisions that are made affect real people. Nastiness as a management style. Even though the president made it clear that the incivility was not caused by one specific person, we now have the opportunity to make sure that if this should happen again there will be no opportunity to try and make the connection between action and rhetoric.

Which brings us to Sarah Palin. What a shame to blow that opportunity. There was no way that there would be no question about political rhetoric especially given how much of it she uses. Someone was going to make that case even if the conclusion was wrong. I get the anger of being singled out for something you didn't do. I have someone who lies about me at every chance. But if you're going to pretend to be running for president, you're going to have to pretend to be presidential and this was a moment that could have moved her up in the minds of people but that message was so off base and so offensive that all we could talk about was how she purposely upstaged the president on a national day of remembrance and how self centered she appeared. I never thought she was running; it was a way to keep herself relevant. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if she did run just to keep herself on a stage that the GOP is going to move her off of. If she doesn't want to become a joke she needs to figure out how to gracefully exit that part of politics and make her living in political media instead of trying to be a serious contender for public office.

There's talk about the Republicans and Democrats sitting together at the State of the Union. It is a great step to make. It will be harder to cry out and act out and it will help move it back from the hurtful atmosphere it is to a more grown up event even if there is disagreement on the issues. I am hopeful we will hold ourselves accountable for the behavior we control and the behavior exhibited by those we elect.

And what an inspiration Gabrielle Giffords is. She talked the talk and walked the walk and her progress and recovery is a model of strength and truth and power. I fully expect her to return to her office one day and I cannot wait to see that day come.

This is a new week. I am hoping to have a more stable week and I hope we can all get our balance back. There will be times of imperfection but that's OK. We just have to make more perfect moments. Just a few more here and there until it's a habit then maybe we can move toward the King promise and the nation can be judged by the content of its character and not the color of the states.

Sigh

2011-01-11T15:03:00.004-06:00

This is now officially the new shawl that never ends. It is beautiful, it takes concentration and skill and I am so glad to be doing it - but it would be even better when it is finished.
There have been some miscounts but I've been able to track them down and most of them occur within the first three stitches of the row so in essence, they don't really affect much but are being fixed anyway.

I've needed to have another break from the work because my mind was turning into gravy and unless Mr. Honey's mind was turning into mashed potatoes, there doesn't seem to be any need to make brain gravy. So during that second break, I managed to make these petal baby bibs (there's only one shown but there's another done and another one on the needles) and the beret was also done.

I can't tell you when this shawl will be done. I work on it daily and I count the rows and I see the count increase every time but when I put it down and look away it's like a row disappears and just comes back when I do the count. It is supposed to be 72 inches across and I've only got half way through. I started it on the 3rd and had to start it again on the 5th so it's not like I've been working on it for the last 5 days. But, come on, you all know me, five days is forever when I'm not working on an afghan. So this is slowly wearing on my psyche. Of course, it's one of those things, you know, the guy got half way to his destination and decided he couldn't make it so he turned around and came back. I think I'm halfway home so I might as well keep going. I am rethinking this as a thing I want for a bridesmaid. Could you see me having to do five of them? Maybe better suited for just the mothers.
I am pleased to say when i went downstairs to do some stash shopping that three of the boxes were practically empty. I am certain if I took the time to combine them the contents would fit nicely in just one of the boxes. So it seems I was further along than I thought I was. Perhaps when we get to the May date the stash will be almost history. At least the stash in the basement.

A girl can dream.

Twilight Zone

2011-01-09T14:49:00.005-06:00

So, I decided I needed to take pics of the projects that are finished and will find their way into the online shop and I have that wonderful camera that has the fancy settings including the face recognition setting. I wasn't surprised when it focused in on the face because it looks like a face. However, I was a little surprised by what happened next.

I took the picture, then the screen flashed a message that caused some pause because the message said:

Blink detected.

Ponder the possibilities. It happened three times in a row. it could have been the cold weather. But I've been very nice to this head ever since. Just in case...you know...it she blinked.

Not only did I take photos of the hat, there's a neck warmer, a child's poncho and an afghan. There's a lot that can go into the shop so the fact that the shawl is taking longer and everything else is taking longer isn't driving me as crazy as it would if I didn't have them. Of course, that's not necessarily a wide margin.

I'm working on baby bibs. I have some cotton yarn and I want to use it up and baby things are something I need to work on. I also need to....purchase some DK weight yarn...to do baby booties. But before I break the resolution, I have some DK weight yarn from when I purchased a lot to dye. So, I will use that first. Hopefully by the time I get to it, it will be time to purchase yarn again. I will be going back to the shawl today. I had to take my eye away from it because it requires so much concentration.

I am also working on other things: a StitchCraft newsletter, a reworking of my website (don't quite know what I want it to be) and sticking with the resolutions. My brain is a little fried but it is part of fear facing.

My drool of the day is this scarf by badanartisan. It's funky and retrofresh. Check it out and give the girl some views to her shop!

I'm going off to the knitting needles and the shawl and baby bib. Hopefully, something will get done today!!

See What Happened Was...

2011-01-05T11:49:00.004-06:00

Happy birthday to my sister, Carole....I got involved with a lot of stuff because of my sister: I did theatre (not the theater - those are movies. I haven't done a movie - though I did do a commercial)because of my sister. I took French in high school because of my sister.I didn't think boys were yucky because of my sister...OK, that part's not true - I never thought boys were yucky.

My sister is a world traveler and an educator and still manages to be fun. She is one of my rocks - keeping me grounded and one of my pillars - encouraging me to reach. I still feel like a baby sister when I'm around her and that's not a bad thing. There are worse things in the world than being a baby sister - like being a baby sister without a big sister like her.

I can so thoroughly explain why the square afghan is not going to be made for the family Christmas on the 22nd...

Now before you start on me about not being focused or lazy or any of those other things I want to state emphatically that it was not either one of those.
As you may recall, I said there were other things that also needed to get done and I wanted to make sure there was enough time to get those things done as well. After thinking about it, I decided I needed to at least get started on those things so there would not be this mad last minute rush. Besides, there are now a dozen squares so it's not like I'm a slacker. I've been working on this:
I think this would make a gorgeous gift for the mother of the bride/groom for a wedding or for a new mother. It's kind of easy to get lost in the pattern and I have a couple of times. That's two days worth of work that I may have to frog and start all over because I'm bothered by the rows where the count was off. It is so true that lace work is best done with the t and v off. I will have to work on this without the visual distraction. But here's the good thing; it took two days to get this done, the redo will be much shorter, I will probably be able to get this amount done - correctly - in half the time because I am more familiar with the pattern. Some good will come out of it. The time is not wasted, it was used in study.

So you can see why working on this might delay the squares? But wait, there's more: I've completed these:
don't tell me you don't think these are cute. I know cute when i see it and these definitely are. I did one of the numbers with intarsia and one with duplicate stitch to see which one was easier - duplicate stitch won out though I was a little rusty on the technique but i still like the results.

See? I wasn't being a slacker and I am still working on the squares (there are even two sewn together and two more on the blocking boards) but I needed a bit of a distraction - you know how that goes when you're working on a long project. You need to turn your head just a little so when you train your vision back on the object, it's with a new focus. How about that for spin?

Day by Day

2011-01-01T07:58:00.005-06:00

I was reading older posts (I sometimes do that just to see what I was up to) when I came across this photo under a posting called 'Nine Day Afghan'. The idea was that I would complete this afghan in nine days by doing a strip a day then sewing them all together.

It took 20 days. Still not bad considering how big that afghan turned out to be. But that's not the thing that got me. That post was done in 2008 - February 2008. Almost three years ago and this is one of those instances where I know the fate of this afghan.

Eventually the afghan made it into the shop where it remained. I blame the fact that it did not sale on my lack of marketing skills - I blame the fact for very few things selling on my marketing skills - it's really a stunning piece. But no one purchased it. So Joe selected it as the afghan to give to our neighbors for their wedding present.

So the afghan is next door. Now would be such a great time to put a photo of our neighbors with the afghan - alas, I did not know I was going to be writing this until I started writing this and could not plan. It being 8 on a Saturday morning, that happens to be the first day of the new year, I'm thinking it's not a good idea to stroll over with my camera and ask for one.

Somehow this reminds me of when Mr. Honey moved out of his parents' house. And moved right next door. We live next door to the house he grew up in - the same house the afghan now resides in. I'm sure it's cosmic though I cannot quite explain how. It would be more obvious if he knit the afghan but still...

I hope they enjoy that afghan. I can remember the work that went into it and how proud I was to tackle something like that on my own. The first time was a group effort and all I made was a strip of it. Come to think of it, I may not have been asked to do a strip at all. Memory fails. But I did all of this one and it's next door hopefully keeping the newlyweds cozy. Maybe they'll let me visit.

Happy New Year - 2011

2010-12-31T12:22:00.003-06:00

Yes, I know, there's about 12 hours til the New Year but haven't we already started looking ahead? Don't we wonder what this new year will bring? We know that only the calendar changes yet we do entertain the notion of change and new beginnings.

This year passed unbelievably fast. I made resolutions for this year and I think it would be fitting on the last day of the year to review what I said I would do starting the first day of the year:

1. Don't buy any yarn unless it is to match up with yarn already in the stash which is being used immediately on a project.

I am giving myself a B- on this. For the most part, I stuck with that and stayed within the exception guidelines. But there were a couple of moments where I did not - like a couple of days ago when I was in Joann looking for buttons. I didn't find any buttons I liked better than the ones I had but I did notice Joann has redone their brand yarn and I saw the new Love Bug yarn (new to me) and I thought, 'Bridesmaid shawl' so I picked up a couple of skeins. Though the intention is honorable, that was not in the rules, so I score down a little.

2. Do projects which require the use of scrap yarn - such as squares or leaf patterns or learning how to make that darned elusive granny square.

Well, score a big whopping A on that one. Not only did I make several square afghans, I also made several granny square afghans. Didn't do a thing to harm the stash though.

3. Stay out of temptation's way by not going to yarn stores.

Flunked that big time. I've been in yarn stores more this year than any year past and I'm happy to break that rule. I said back then Melissa would laugh at me for making this resolution and would work towards my demise and in fact, she introduced us to a couple of new yarn stores this year - enabler to the core. She just can't help herself.

So the new resolutions for 2011:

Face my fears - I have a much greater fear of success than I do failure. Given my age, I really don't have that much time to live to my potential so starting today instead of waiting until the magical 1-1-11 gives me one more day to move forward.

Finish the books I'm writing and find an editor to look them over.

Kill the stash - a holdover from mid year this year and still worth doing. I would like to replace stash shopping with real fiber shopping when I start a project and given how fast I knit and crochet that could be a fun outing several times a month.

Get back into shape - hard to believe I was a high school and college athlete. Can't go way back there but can do way better than where I am now. No magic numbers - just improvement.

That's enough to keep me busy for more than a year, but I'm giving it a shot for the next 366.

Whether or not you make or break resolutions, I wish you every good thing in the coming year - the love and joy of family and friends, the appreciation of the laughter of children (yours or someone else's)the comfort of a warm bed and a good book. Warm and breezy summer days, the willingness to help someone in your community, the country and the world and the peace you desire in your soul.

This is the only 2011 we'll get - let's make it a great new year.

Movin'

2010-12-30T10:54:00.002-06:00

It occurred to me you haven't seen the hat. Well, I knew you hadn't seen the hat, I just got around to taking a pic of it. A cute accomplishment.

I'm getting ready for the New Year. I was going to ask some folks to come over and put some feelers out but Mr. Honey has other plans that involve me but no one else. So we are doing things his way for NYE considering he followed what I wanted to do for Christmas - he really enjoyed himself at Melissa's and they ooohed and aaahhhed appropriately at his cake - which was supposed to be a trifle but I'm over it.

Yesterday there were four squares done and now there are seven complete - we are trucking along down the afghan super highway - can I get it all done by the 22nd? Still remains to be seen. One of the fun parts about doing this afghan is I am using all my square and pattern books to make them - except for the Great American Afghan and the Technical Afghan books - one because Melissa has one and because the squares will come out too big for this afghan so I can't use them. But I have pile of five books and I alternate between them and so there are some crochet squares thrown in. All the knit books I notice have garter stitch and stockinette stitches in them and one book says the stitches can't be used for commercial purposes - seriously? Do they think they invented garter and stockinette stitches? Yeah, try and defend that in any court of law.

I took another look at the bag I made and I do think it's cute - though I will still make another one for the shop - but it 's got the cute working.

Tomorrow is NYE and the weather is supposed to be between 40 and 50 - heat wave!! We're talking about putting things on the grill and freezing them for later. Not a bad idea. For the NYE dinner, I am thinking spaghetti and catfish. This plan may be nixed by Mr. Honey because it is his night to fix dinner but we will see.

In the meantime, I am feeling a little peckish so I need to eat something and get back to the knitting - I have a goal to reach and I also need to make something else before the 22nd for a gift and will need all the time I can get.

I suspect I will post tomorrow, but in case that doesn't happen let me wish you and yours a safe and festive celebration of the coming of 2011. May your wishes and good intentions see the light of day.

Less Than Desired

2010-12-29T11:39:00.003-06:00

So, I had this idea these cute little bags would be great for bridesmaids. Order them in the color you want to match the dresses and the girls could be consistent while still having a little purse that could carry the keys, lipstick and cell phone. It needs to be blocked and lined for the entire cute effect to come into play.

it's cute enough and I will finish it out but I need another one to place in the shop - it's just kind of - dull. The next one I make will be in a lighter color - a color a bride or bridesmaid could see using.
That makes the eighth item I've made this month. Really cooking with gas before the New Year.
I have four squares done for the afghan and I figured out the afghan needed to be 56 squares. If I can get it done, it will turn into a Christmas present but that means I would have to get it done in the next 25 days. That would be quite the trick - and treat - since I have to work anyway might as well give it a shot.

I'm going to give credit to the speediness of the knitting to the signature needles. I know I am normally a swift knitter and I think they have sped up the knitting a little but there's no denying the squares are being finished faster. Since my hands and the fibers are the same, got to give it to the tools.

I've already used a skein of yarn and have another one started and I am starting the third skein because I need two colors for the next square. If this goes well, it won't just be a 56 square afghan, it will have some personalization because I am going to add names of the family members who will receive it. Wish me luck cause this will be a challenge!

Riding the Rails

2010-12-28T11:37:00.004-06:00

So, Christmas morning came and Mr. Honey went off the church as he normally does and I took that opportunity to wrap his Christmas presents. He wanted books - so he received the books he asked for which were financial/economic books so I thought the fun thing would be to wrap the books in the Business section of the newspaper - we need to recycle where we can.

Now, over the past few years, Mr. Honey has brought home these beautiful gift boxes from Menard's so we don't wrap presents anymore because the boxes takes it to a new level but I've still been known to not wrap a present. So this year, I wrapped them in the business section and then put them back in the Amazon box they came in and close it back up to make it look like I didn't even bother wrapping them.

When he came back and he said it was time to exchange presents (I didn't prod him too much) I handed him the box and he said, 'No wrapping?' Which caused me to go into fits of laughter which he didn't understand until he sat down and opened the box.

So obviously I was going to take the title of Christmas Prankster.

He handed me a box that was bigger than a box holding three sets of the world's most awesome knitting needles should hold - and he even put a yarn cord around the box as the ribbon.
I open the box and there's yarn! And I said, "You got me yarn, too!' (Notes: 1. You got me yarn. 2. You got me yarn, too, so there better be something else in the box.)

I look at one of the labels on the yarn and I think - "They don't sell this yarn at Knot Just Knits.' Then I look at the other yarn. It's my yarn! It's yarn I already own. I take the skeins out of the box and there at the bottom is a wrapped package - of one set of needles.

OK.

As I put the yarn aside, I see another set of needles buried in one of the skeins.

That's better. So I have two sets of Signature needles. It does not escape me that I have three sets of Signature needles on my wish list but I am happy with two. (After I ask him if he left anything on my wish list and he said no.)They are beautiful and luscious and I have to explain to Mr. Honey why these are the gold standard.

Later that day we are headed to the fabulous Melissa's home for Christmas Dinner. We are outside when I reach into my bag - and there's the third set of needles. He chuckles madly and says he snuck it in my bag when I wasn't looking and considering I was knitting in the morning and using the bag, he was surprised I didn't notice.

So he gets the Christmas prank award.

Mr. Honey anxiously waited for me to use the needles and my next project called for size 5 needles instead of the 8,9, 10 that I have - so I disappointed him yesterday. But today when he walked in the door I show him I had finally cast on with them and again he wanted to know why they were so good and my reply was they move like a car on rails. Handcrafted. Hand polished. Smoother than Tiger Woods both on and off the course. And beautiful color and balance. It doesn't speed up my knitting that much but the stitches are better - they are more even and I have not split the yarn once in several hours of knitting. My hands have to get used to them, my hands started to ache when I started using them but that went away after a little while. I have already decided I need a set of size seven needles for the smaller projects that I do - and I will get that pair myself as opposed to wait for the anniversary gift.

My initial thought is that these are nice needles to have. They are holding the worsted weight yarn I have without any slippage and yet they yarn moves very smoothly. I am curious how they will handle a slippery yarn. There's a definite difference between them and the needles that we're used to buying. If you can get a pair (or three) they are nice to have in the tool box.

I hope your Christmas was great. We had a really good time and last night we went out to dinner with my brother-in-law and they gave me a beautiful painting by Jonathan Green - a Gullah artist. It's was some very nice icing atop a very nice cake.

This is the time of year we start thinking of New Year's resolutions - I am still committed to getting rid of the stash and I've completed seven things this month (I made a cute little bag that just needs a lining) and I have a squares afghan on the needles - the Signature needles. I hope you have a safe and festive celebration - whatever that means to you. And let's all look towards making 2011 something we can share and be proud of!!

Whatever..Whenever

2010-12-24T14:35:00.006-06:00

My drool of the day comes from astrid naturals and is her Shea butter soap. Have you ever had Shea butter on your skin or used it on your hair? OMG! Maia sells it in different fragrances and at a great price. Check her out!

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I didn't think I would get around to writing today but it has been really quiet around here - except for now because Mr. Honey is in the kitchen making dessert for us to take over to the Fabulous Melissa's...but the phone hasn't rang and the dog hasn't been barking too much. Pretty quiet, so after clearing out 200 of the 1900 emails I have in my in box and starting a hat to match the gloves and scarflette in the picture, there's room to post.

I have made five things this month - which is a pretty good month - I should actually be able to squeeze the hat in before 2011 hits. The scarflette was supposed to be a scarf but I just didn't want to make it anymore and decided since cowls and little mufflers were in, I could shorten up the length and it would do just fine. I wrapped it around my neck and it was warm!! So, there you go.

The gloves are reversible - you can wear the, with the knit or purl stitches showing. The hat will be a cute hat with a tail and a pom-pom. Then i think I must get away from the blue. Green, yellow, hey, gray's nice. Something must take me away from the blue!

Mr. Honey is sooooo busted. At StitchCraft Wednesday night, Marion and Robin told me they knew what I was getting for Christmas because they were in Knot Just Knits when this man walked in and said to the shop owner that he needed to buy the items off his wife's wish list. I told you a few days ago that there are three sets of Signature Needles on my wish list.

While we were having dinner on Tuesday somehow the conversation came around to knitting needles and he wanted to know why I thought they were so special. He had already purchased them. They were in the house. They are in the house now. Somewhere. They are the precious and I am Gollum. I have not told him I know. I am sure he will want to relay his conversation with Marion and Robin and I want him to have his fun.

But if I knew where they were - I'd knit with them while he was sleeping and put them back. Just like what I used to do with gifts when I was a kid.

Once again, let me wish you and yours a wonderful holiday. I am thrilled beyond measure that there are those of you who will be surrounded by generations - parents, grandparents, siblings and children. You are living some of the most precious memories you will ever have. I look back on those days now and see the wonder and special feelings of love, grace and blessings that go into a Christmas Eve/Christmas Day dinner.

We can never go back to those days - too many are gone - but the memories mean so much more. I can remember the laughter. I see the smiles. I can recall the moment I was at the 'big' table with the adults. I remember helping Mom get the good china out of the cabinet. It only happened twice a year. And waking up to a house that smelled of turkey roasting, chitlins, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler.

I remember Dad - who I'm missing a lot today - bringing home the real Christmas tree and the whole house smelling like pine and we put those gigantic painted Christmas lights on the tree that would never pass safety standards today and pulling out the green and red tree holder and steadying the tree.

I remember the arrival of my maternal grandparents from Louisiana - Cherry with her chewing tobacco (and Sanka can) and Herman with his pipe. We knew it was Christmas when Granddaddy pulled out his change purse. A quarter was magic.

This evening, after church, I will head over to my sister-in-law's house and spend time with her and most of her kids. Again there will be three generations but this time I will be one of the elders. That's what happens when you grow up.

Make some wonderful memories tonight and tomorrow.

Funky Town

2010-12-23T13:42:00.003-06:00

My drool of the day: Lemon Calendula soap by Angelic. I have to have a bar of handmade soap in the house. The stuff is sinful and when the one I have now begins to run out, I will make my way over to Angelic's shop. Have you tried homemade toiletries? It had to be what Eve used. My goodness, if someone local makes some of this stuff, you owe it to yourself to try and it and if they don't, start with Angelic - you will be so hooked!

I took the Deep Blue Sea afghan with me last night to Tamale Hut Cafe to be with my knit crew (April and Melissa - where were you??) In the midst of knitting a row, I decided I didn't like. Well, I decided I didn't like it before then but I changed my mind. Now I really don't like it so I cut it off and it is in the middle of being frogged.

My posse (Vickie, Robin and Marion) looked over the colors and we picked the ones we thought would work best and I tried to start over but just decided the colors were not going to work with this particular design. Worked very well for the Bohemian Blue not so much for this one. Thus, I have started a new project - a hat and scarf set using the ton of blue I purchased thinking I was going to use it all up in the afghan and thus not adding to the stash.

Let this be a lesson to you - I don't know what kind of lesson but I am sure there is one in there to be had. The hat and scarf are things I've done before and it should be a relatively quick knit. Even though I have started the scarf over already because there are more stitches than there should be and because it's a lace pattern, it's a little hard to correct so it's better I should just start it over.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and it has been decided we shall go over to my sister-in-law's house. But when I think about it, Mr. Honey will be going over to her house. I will not be able to join them. She is having dinner early (around 4) which means dinner won't be ready until 5 and I have to be at church at 6 to rehearse and then we have our service at 7. Since her house is about 20 minutes from our house and moves me away from my church - the logistics just won't work. So I will send him off and hopefully he will remember to bring some Christmas dinner back home to me.

Tomorrow is also the date my father died. In the past, I've missed my mom more than my dad, but this year I feel his loss more acutely. I don't why that is but I don't think I'm going to try and figure it out. There's nothing wrong with missing him so it's not a problem i need to fix. I just want him to know that I am missing him and I think of him every Christmas Eve but this one I'm feeling a little more than usual.

I hope you are surrounded by family or if not that they are within an email or a phone call's reach. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Easy Does It

2010-12-20T13:40:00.003-06:00

Does it make you uterus ache? Just a little? Me, neither. But I do think it's really cute and I think it came out really lovely and it's not even blocked yet! This little darling is for a two year old. Can you imagine it in red with a heart or green with a shamrock? (Note to self, find a shamrock motif...)

We don't have any two year olds in the neighborhood any more - at least I don't know any who are that young - so I can't try it out on anyone. (Another note to self: get a toddler doll.)

Duke is wearing his dog coat and it will have to be redone. The pattern is written for a dog that doesn't run...into bushes. Mr. Honey looped a collar through it and we have other thoughts on how to change it up - he does look hot - whatever the canine equivalent of hot is and he already knows that when we pick it up it means freedom for him and perhaps he can stay outside in the snow and cold a little longer. In fact, when he wants to go back out after we've called him in, he will avoid us taking the coat off.

I had selected a shawl to do next with the idea I would market it as a bridesmaid's gift. I did a swatch (pause while you pick yourself up off the floor) and the yarn I used wasn't right for it. It came out to thick. I didn't find this out until after I purchased five skeins. So instead of the shawl, the skeins, which happen to be a shade of blue, will be used in another blue afghan.

This one is a take off on the amber waves afghan which I've wanted to do for years. Since the blue bohemian didn't kill off as much of the stash as i thought it was going to, this should do it in for sure. it requires double stranding or the pattern just won't work and it's coming along very quickly - the original pattern wants size 15 circulars but the only size 15 circulars i have are from my interchangeable needles and one of the few flaws it has is the larger needles are very short and kind of uncomfortable so I am using my Clover bamboo needles and they are working like a dream. The yarn isn't slipping away and it isn't sticking and the work is going relatively fast. I get to work on it for a couple o hours and hope I make some really good progress. it would be nice to get it done before year's end - no pressure - ten days. It's not like I'm cooking Christmas dinner. We are leaving that to the fabulous Melissa who has invited over to her joint. We are bringing wine and a dessert. Mr. Honey told me what he was making but darned if I can remember what he said. I might hand him the recipe for Trifle that folks made last week at church - that stuff is angel's food! They made it with brownies instead of angels food cake and even the angels came down with their spoons!

I'm off for a couple of hours of blissful knitting and probably to watch some of what has been recorded on the DVR. I will take a photo of the Deep Blue Sea afghan for the next posting!!

Leave Your Lights On

2010-12-17T11:44:00.004-06:00

My drool of the day is this necklace by Amber Nicole Designs. Love the color. Love the design. Sigh. I need to be rich.

Mr. Honey has been on a go out to breakfast tear this week. We went out for breakfast twice. I remember my mother-in-law telling me something a long time ago. She was married twice (and engaged in her eighties!) and she used to be a homebody. She didn't want to go out or do things but in her second marriage that all changed and she said to me, "If your husband wants to go somewhere; go."

So, I went out to breakfast twice this week with my husband. During the second breakfast outing he wanted to know what I was going to do now that all the shows were over. First, I am waiting for the check to arrive from the last show so I can close out the folks who participated.

Second, I told him of my thoughts, idea, plans for 2011 and getting ready for January, February and March. I am working on a poncho for a kid: I am thinking towards outings with the little one (female) and thought a cute poncho might be a nice item. I am thinking I should embellish it with some sort of motif but I don't know what would go on the front of a poncho: puppy? heart? Then again, there's nothing wrong with something simple, elegant and plain. I know I will be pulling out the pom-pom maker and adding at least two of those. It should be a relatively quick knit. I started this one last night and I should be able to kick it out by tomorrow - it's for a two year old after all, how big can they be? I am thinking of making a version for Valentine's and St. Patrick's Days.

I started fleshing out the notes for the sermon on Sunday. Believe it or not, I am pretty shy so delivering a sermon is a difficult feat for me. I really love doing it but I love it more when it's done.

I hope this weekend before Christmas finds you ready for the holiday. Christmas Eve is one week from today. It will mark the 9th year of my father's passing. I have a portraits of my father and mother on the top of our china cabinet. They are young and they are beautiful and they are watching. They were beautiful even as they aged and they watched us as well. I do not believe that has ended. But I am saddened. I know next Friday will be a bustle of activity as we prepare for the Christmas Eve service so it's this moment in time I think of my dad and miss him.

I am going to work on the kiddie poncho and hopefully put the finishing touches on the sermon and kick out another page of the book. That will round out the day and begin the weekend quite nicely. This month is messing with my mind - it's the 17th but it's also the third Friday of the month - isn't that weird?

Turn, Turn, Turn

2010-12-16T13:25:00.002-06:00

My drool of the day is the crochet tree from Akuadesigns. I can even see putting some ornaments on it. Cute!

Can someone please explain to me why I am thinking about knitting a pair of socks? Fear not, I am not in danger of actually pulling out the one skein of sock yarn I've had in my possession for more than a year and whipping up a pair. I just want to know why I've been thinking about it.

There are some things which should not be considered: Brett Favre in a Bears uniform....President Palin....me knitting another pair of socks. Though of the three, the socks is the most likely.

I am giving the sermon on Sunday and I will be talking to Ecclesiastes 3:1-13. It is a familiar passage; to everything there is a season. A time to be born, a time to die; a tie to sow, a time to reap, and so on.

It does not escape me that this time of year is crowded for us. There's Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa - holidays that are there for everyone. But also it's Mr.Honey's birthday in October and my birthday in November. It is my mother's birthday in October. It is also the time of his mother's passing right before his birthday and my father's passing on Christmas Eve. In the midst of all the celebration are moments of sadness.

But the text in Ecclesiastes says there is a time for every purpose under Heaven. There will be a time when it is necessary for a myriad of things to occur. But it also says God has placed the idea of eternity into our souls and we will never know all that God has done and will do but we are to be happy and do good while we are here. So while there may be a time for hate, war and sadness to be, they are not to be of equal measure to love, peace and joy. As we prepare to put away this year with the celebration of lights, the coming of the Christ child, and the beginning of a new year, it is understandable that there will be moments of sadness and regret. There will be that time of missing those who are gone but the good news is we also have the happiness of knowing they were here. That joy does not diminish.

Rhapsody In Blue

2010-12-14T22:22:00.004-06:00

This is my drool of the day. They are Antique Lace Earrings by Beyond Jewelry. Now that I had all my hairs cut, it gives me the chance to wear big earrings that make me feel great!

I ended the throw a few inches early because I just couldn't do it anymore. I was ready to move on. The truth is, I was ready to move on a couple of inches before I stopped it but kept going until it was at least the same size square. I could wrap it around me so it's not so bad and I'm looking at the photo thinking how lovely it is. What you don't see are the sequins I tied into the fringe. Peacock blue sequins in every eighth fringe. Happy with it I am.

But here's the thing. I know I said it was a stash buster and that I was noticing some skeins were getting smaller. I turned the lights out and I guess that meant it hooked up because it doesn't seem like I nicked the stash at all. I have a bag of blues.

The foundation for 2011 is being set. I won't be adding anything new to the shop until 2011 and I am pushing out the old items! Miss April doesn't understand why I am not content with having the clearance items. She doesn't get that I want the entire store to be new. I'm not sure either other than I want the slate as clean as possible. In order to make that happen, I am really discounting what's in the shop right now.

I sold about ten items during the show so I still have a good sized inventory that I would like to see go to good homes and I have two afghans ready to start the new year. I am looking in the pattern books for items that would be connected with January - March. So that would be some winter items, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day and the beginning of the Easter season. Looking through the pattern book I noticed a scarf that I can do in red that would be a lovely, soft gift for Valentine's day. I'm thinking of adding heart charms on the edges. It's a lovely lace pattern and I think it would make a beautiful gift for a new girlfriend or someone who loves red. I'll show it to you when it's done.

I Have To Admit It

2010-12-13T22:12:00.003-06:00

My drool of the day is from another knitter. I love it! Go and visit and take a look at the beautiful work yarncoture does.

OK, so there we were last Friday at Knot Just Knits and I was talking to the owner
Elizabeth when she mentioned Signatures Needles. I knit for a little while with Signature Needles during the yarn crawl. Those things drive like they're on rails and it was a pleasure for the five minutes I had them.

Elizabeth sells them. She has them in a cute bucket and I had a bunch of them in my hands. I wanted them. But they are expensive. They are $37 a pair. I think they may be a couple dollars less at Loopy but I had them in my hands. She had the long and short needles and I found three pair of short ones in sizes 8,9 and 10. I think a pair was even purple.

This is why we have husbands. And this is why Melissa thinks I am spoiled.
So I am. I called Mr. Honey and told him I wanted Signature needles for my Christmas present. Now that in itself does not make me spoiled.

The incredible Marion said to me I would have to decide which pair I wanted. I didn't understand her statement. The wonderful Vickie looked at Marion and said, 'I don't think she'll have to decide that.'

I admit he spoils me. Which isn't quite the same as admitting to being spoiled but it comes close.

The Pleasant Home sale is over and we didn't do as well as we did last year but we did over $400 worth of business. That's about $100 less than last year but everyone sold at least one item and the amazing April had the first five sales of the day. Marion made a strong showing the last weekend and Vickie sold a hat. I managed a few more sales myself so I am pleased with it.

Right now, I am in the midst of reducing the current items in the shop and prepping for 2011. Believe it or not, I am looking at patterns to make for the spring. Miss April has me thinking like a businesswoman.

Let's see how long that lasts.

We Interrupt Our Scheduled Program....

2010-12-11T14:44:00.005-06:00

I am working on Duke's dog coat. I was working on the Blue Bohemian Blanket, but that has to be put aside in order to make a coat for the baby.

Let me explain.

Last winter, yes the winter of 2009, Mr. Honey suggested I make Duke a coat for the winter. 'Yeah,' says I, 'I will make him a coat." I pulled out my doggy sweater/coat patterns and decided I didn't like any of them - at least not enough to put down whatever I was knitting at the time and make him one.

The next thing you know it was summer. So there was no need to make him a sweater/coat cuz the one Mother gave him was fine. Except summer leaves, in Chicago it leaves approx. 1 week after it arrives, Fall comes in for maybe 10 days and then winter is here again.

So Mr. Honey suggested I really make Duke a sweater/coat. 'Yeah,' says I, 'I will really make him a coat.' I pulled out the book again and considering the same patterns were in the same book and I still wasn't in the mood, I didn't stop working on whatever I was working on.

Then Mr. Honey delivered the ultimate insult to a knitter. He placed on my laptop an open catalog with a set of dog sweater/coats. Three of them for less than $30. Mass manufactured and looking...cheap. He said he was going to order them and wanted to know what I think.

Passive aggressive s*%t. That's what I thought. i told him I would look at it and let him know and the catalog somehow disappeared. I did not harm the catalog in anyway, I swear. I can only surmise that Duke somehow got a hold of it, saw the coats, in a variety of colors including camouflage, and somehow ripped it to shreds.

Now that the kid has had his eye surgery and he is a little up in age, I think it would be a good idea if he had his own coat. I would have taken a photo of it in progress but I didn't want to. I want you all to see it when it's done. As you can see, I've done it before and it's really cute and should do the job just fine. Duke has taken a look at it in progress and doesn't seem to mind it too much. He may have something else to say when he figures out he has to wear it. But I am going to leave that discussion to him and Mr. Honey.

My job is almost done.