California Sunshine is done!

Wahoo! I finished a blanket in about 10 days! I only worked on it only on the train. This is my first yarn recycling project. Tee hee - I'm being green. I'm using some yarn that was already a perfectly good feather and fan blanket. When I made the blanket I was proud of myself for mastering the feather and fan stitch - but I was not really loving the blanket.

However - since I seem to have stolen the baby blanket mojo from Ms. Urbanknitrix I ventured out and made yet another Big Bad Baby Blanket out of the feather and fan blanket. I was surprised in the way it came together. So here is some California Sunshine for you! I was gonna give this to my neighbor who just had a baby boy but Mr. Knitfloozy said that it's not a good color for a boy so now I have to see who else could use some sunshine in their lives for a baby. So how come orange and yellow are not colors to wrap a boy in? What ever I may have to just sneak it over there anyway with some blue beanies for the boy. Hmmmm....more small projects...Nope I won't do it - justify my starteritis. It's gonna have to wait.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Holidays! Enjoy your family! Love your family no matter what!

Commuteritis? Starteritis? Which is it?

Is it considered Starteritis if you only work on the project during your commute to work on public transportation? See what had happened was - I have started several projects while on the train. The problem is - when they are not portable anymore - they get relagated to knitting while watching TV. Well since my hours are kinda squirrely and I don't always stay awake through a whole show - do I really have Starteritis or is it Commuteritis? Hmmmm.....inquiring minds want to know. yeah yeah yeah - I know it's just an excuse to start yet another project. Can I help it if they all look so purdy? No I can't and you can't fault me for it either. Yeah - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Curlicue

Have you ever stopped and looked at your knitting and realized that something is actually taking shape in your hands? Just having a knitting moment while working on the Curlicue by Oat Couture. Sometimes it's hard to trust that the pattern is going to do what it says - but I am amazed almost everytime when a difficult pattern takes shape. I give you the beginning of my pink Curliecue.

Holiday Season

Well well well....the holiday season has crept upon us and well....I have no anxiety about unfinished holiday presents. Why? because that kind of pressure is/was ridiculous. We (most knitters) love the idea of giving our knitting away to others - not just at Christmas time. It's hard to hold on to the things we knit during the year for those we love. A spring scarf seems silly to give someone when it's 32 degrees. Anyway - my latest project is one of knitters gluttony. I have a feather and fan blanket I just don't like. I have decided to turn it into a big bad baby blanket. The thing is - what parent is gonna want an orange and yellow blanket? I'll just have to see. I''m calling this one California Sunshine. Hopefully I will be able to give this one to someone who just appreciates the idea of a handknit soft and squishy warm and cozy blanket for the newest little person in their life. Oh yeah for the gluttony part - I've also started the Curlicue Blanket. I will admit all of the WIP's for my New Year's Post complete with photos and estimated time frames for finishing them. Ha! will y'all be able to admit to your starteritis? I challenge all of you to admit all of your WIP's and see who has the most, who will finish first and NOT I repeat NOT start anything else until all of them are done.

Happy Turkey Day!

I seem to have contracted starteritis again….I’m working on the Circle of Friends Baby Blanket in the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I seem to have a gift for knitting baby blankets because my knitting mojo won’t let me knit anything else. Once projects become non portable on the train – I put them down. I’m too ashamed to show how many projects I have going. I haven’t even put them all on my Ravelry project list. I tell you it’s just so easy to be swayed by all the pretty pictures you see on Ravelry. It doesnt help when you already have yarn designated for projects that seduced you in while in said yarn store you were only browsing in. Don't act like I'm the only one this happens to. *Big Sigh* The Circle of Friends Blanket is a great way for me to practice the Continental way of knitting. I was taught by a thrower so that’s how I knit. It’s weird for me to hold the yarn in my left hand and knit – but it seems to be a little faster than the English Style.

I have to confess….that is not the only project I’ve started. I started a hexagon blanket called Bobby’s Garden. However – I am using sock yarn. So if you have any left over Koigu PPM (or it’s equivalent ) that you don’t know what to do with (or don’t want it)– please feel free to send it to me. Shoot me an email chicknit@gmail.com and I will send you my address. I want to see how long it takes me to make it thru this particular afghan and will post photos as yarn arrives and becomes part of the blanket. I was inspired by The Heathen Housewife on her Mitered Sock Yarn Blanket and found the hexagons on size one needles more fun. Call me nuts – I’m sure it will take a year or more to complete this one. But the squishy warm blanket at the end is worth the time! What are y’all working on? Do you have starterisit too? Please tell me I'm not the only one with this dreaded disease...

Yes We Did!!!!

So did y’all Barack ya vote? Or did you have a McPalin experience at the polls? I don’t care who you voted for – I just wanna know did you vote? We went to do the early voting thing and lemme tell you it was quite an experience. We drove by City Hall on Sunday and decided to come back on Monday and found that the line for early voting was around the block! If we had stay we would have been there at least six hours or more.

We went back on Monday morning and were happy to see the line was not as long as the previous day. Well we had a heck of a time in the maze that is the bowels of City Hall. On Monday the line was started inside the building instead of around the block. Not so bad right? Yay!!!! ( I’m not really a germophobe – but why did my purse have to be man handled by the security chick who was really just doing her job but becoming a little to intimate with my purse and my knitting.)

Nevertheless – there was quite a bit of excitement in the air as people lined up to vote. It was interesting the way the voter volunteers kept the lines from full view of the voters. I think they wanted to discourage voters from giving up on the whole process because of the perception that the lines might be too long.

The wait was approximately three hours to vote – but because there happens to be so much artwork on the walls and plenty of “people-watching” to entertain us – it wasn’t that bad.

I was really happy to see people from all walks of life there for one purpose. There was a homeless woman who said she was so excited that she couldn’t wait to vote. There was a handicapped lady in a wheel chair that left because she said the lines were too long. I was dismayed when I saw her later on hanging out doing nothing but smoking cigarettes in the rain. How come we don’t have a special place for handicapped folks to vote? Yeah I know I thought about it when I saw her later on. I saw old, young, tall, short, Black, White, Chinese, Latino, Philipino, Samoan, Cuban, etc. I saw the united nations of the people here to vote. I saw people here who are tired of the status quo and the same old mess from our government. If you did not vote you missed an opportunity to make history.

A Broken Clapotis!

Has this ever happened to you? You're cruising a long in your knitting project and happy with the progress and then BAM! You find a mistake that you can't fix! You have to start from the beginning. I tried hard to fix this mistake in my second Clapotis to no avail. I had to frog it all and start over! sacreblue! (I'm sure I spelled that wrong!) Oh well such is the life of a knitter - rip it out and start from the beginning. It just makes you a better knitter! Yeah - that's the ticket!

Continental Style Knitting

Ok y'all I've been wanting to learn how to knit continental style - so I watched the videos on http://www.knittinghelp.com/. It was pretty easy except that I learned how to hold the yarn in my right hand not my left. The stupid thing is I'm left handed and way back in the early 70's when I was learning how to write - the teacher kept putting things in my right hand - so now the only thing I do do with my left hand is write. Anywho - I have the hang of knitting with my left hand continental style. I said I have the hang of it, I'm not quite good enough at it yet. I was feeling all confident and things until I tried to purl continental style. That became a big tangle of yarn and I had to frog a whole row of my second Clapotis. Ok I liked it so much that I decided to make another one. Anyway - I'm gonna hafta practice or just purl english style. Has anyone else tried to knit contienental after knitting english style for a few years?

Oh - the first Clapotis was done in Koigu PPM! This has to be the best yarn to knit with - its very squishy!!! I was supposed to be knitting the Big Bad Baby Blanket in this for my cousin - but since it wasnt blue as they requested I opted for the Clapotis. It took me about four weeks because I only knit it on the train during my commute. It's always kinda funny to see people's reactions to me knitting while standing up on a bumpy train. May I say my legs are a lot stronger and getting toned. Ha! I knew there was a reason to stand up while knitting. Now um if you attempt this style of knitting - dont stand next to someone seated because well - you could end up in their lap. And lets just say that can be embarrasing and funny all at once.

This second Clapotis is being done in Lionbrand Microspun in a Lilac color. It's almost blue but not quite purple. This one is for a very special person at work who has shown me so much kindness that I could not help but make her this shawl. She is a fireball who reminds me very much of MamaC and she is in love with my tuna. Whenever I make tuna I bring her a bowl to take home. She's got a special place in my heart. Just another wonderful person who reminds me daily there are still nice people in the world.

Im still here...

I have finally finished my first Clapotis!!! I am oh so excited and hope that the recipient will like it as much as I do. I may have to make one for myself. Pictures to follow later.

A Couple of New Projects

Whew! It's been awhile since I've posted anything. I'm still knitting, commuting and sleeping a lot. So I'm in the middle of making my first Clapotis and got all excited because well I trusted the pattern and made some significant progress and look what I found - a hole!!!! Argh!!!! I am in the process of painstakingly tinking back about six rows and hoping for the best. It was truly the KnitFloozy's fault for not securing the loose ends. Oh well.

I also made a Big Bad Baby Blanket in Cotton Ease. If you've ever used this cotton you know how squoosy (yes i know it's not a word) the yarn is and it just gets softer with every single wash. I made it for the newest member of our family - he's not here yet. Don't you just love making baby blankets? I do - mostly cos the mama's appreciate it sooo much.



I also started one of one of those eco grocery bags. Yes I have another set of WIPs that I may actually finish by December. What are y'all working on?

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Now playing: Vaughan Mason & Crew - Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll, Part 1
via FoxyTunes

Granny's House

GrannyLorinne 019, originally uploaded by missthg.

This is the house were many Christmases, Thanksgivings, pies, cakes, cookies, laughter, tears and joy were had. Why is the place special to me? A family that has a great legacy was started here. This is where my GrannyL spent her life raising her children, who are my Father and Aunts & Uncles. They all now have families of their own and we are a group of cousins who are a force to be recokened with when we are all together. We are loud, boisterous, fun loving group of people. We sing together, we laugh together (to the point of tears), we pray together and most of all we love each other. I'm only writing about my whole family because our beloved GrannyL was laid to rest recently. She provided us with much love, entertainment, spankings, wisdom strength and most importantly a love of God. GrannyL will be sorely missed - I could tell you stories - but you'd need to be a family member to understand the significance of the story.....I will miss her more than I can even begin to explain.

Dsylexic Pattern Reader

Is it me or are some patterns written in a language other than english? I'm currently working on the pattern BYOB from Knitty and I'm feeling pretty stupid. I had to start from the bottom up because the part for the handles just don't seem to make any sense whatsoever to me. I know that I am not a stupid person - but for whatever reason - its not clicking in my pretty little head. So what am I gonna do? Exactly what a good KnitFloozy does - we ask the LYS for help and hope they are not as cornfused about it as I am. We shall see.... And in case you're wondering - a KnitFloozy who loves bags is making hers in red because - well - it must match her favorite pair of peeptoe pumps...

Say it Aint So

You have new Picture Mail!, originally uploaded by missthg.

Hey folks! I'm still around. I'm still knitting. I'm still trying to buy food for my family. Most people don't know it - but I could eat tuna fish sandwiches daily. And I make a mean bowl of tuna. Since I make it so often - I always buy the larger cans of tuna - in water of course - oil just tastes to fishy! I know it sounds stupid but if you ever get a chance - compare the tuna in oil and the tuna in water. Anywhoo...look at the price of this jar of mayo that ususally lasts me about two months. Not a big deal. But the last time that I purchased a jar of mayonaise that size it was not $9.59!!!!! I'm pretty sure that it was somewhere south of $6.00. While three dollars may not be a big deal for one jar of mayo - imagine all of your groceries going up three dollars each! Do you know what that does to a knitters yarn budget? Ok I know knitters and budget in the same sentence is just an oxymoron - but y'all know what I mean. How are we supposed to to feed our families and purchase yarn to knit! Thank goodness for the fore thought to hoard yarn before gas became ridiculouly priced!!! Now all of those dreams of making blankets for family members may come true. I can't afford to buy anymore yarn thanks to the overpriced gas in these parts!

Superhero

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You are Wonder Woman

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You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Guess Who Turned 45?

Gotcha!  I'm not 40 yet - but I did have a good birthday!  I am blessed.  My health is good. My family is good! We have our aches and pains - but you know what - we are alive!I still have living grandparents - which makes us five generations still on this planet.  I'm still in my right mind.  And most important - well I thank God for another year!  Sing a long with me now - Happy Berfday to ya - happy berfday to ya...happy berday!!!! 

 

I must be in a knitting rut.  All I can manage to produce right now is more and more dish cloths.  And then - only the ball band clothes. Sooner or later my knitting Mojo will return.  Hey Bean - what kind of lace pattern did you have in mind?  Maybe that will start my Mojo on it's journey back!
 

Big Girls...

Hello Knitting World! Yes I'm still working on the cotton ease baby blanket. One last row of squares to knit and then the border!!! Wahoo!!! There is light at the end of this tunnel. I was beginning to think there was none. Well I'm sure I'm not the first to cheat on a project. I needed some small gratification so I worked on a couple of ball band cloths. What can I say - I need the variety. Hello - my name is KnitFloozy and I will never be a monogamous knitter.

So I went to visit my MamaC (my mother) and GrannyFr (Grandmother) on Sunday. (Thanks for the chicken & salad MamaC) Let me tell you - when the elderly speak - you always want to listen. They have some gems for you to put in your pocket and use later on in life and some you need to heed now. And then they say some of the funniest things that leave you speechless because - well - there is just nothing else to be said.

I was showing GrannyFr how I made the the cotton ease baby blanket and she asked me a few more questions about it and said - well - I think I could knit again - I stopped doing that a few years ago.

Somehow or another the conversation shifted to weight. You know with the elderly - the conversations change at the drop of a hat so you just roll with it and act like you know what's going on. GrannyFr said "You know - when I was younger - I wanted to weigh more than I did - because I was so skinny. The girls in my high school wanted to be skinny and I wanted to be fatter. What was wrong with us? My mother told me - you are never gonna be fat so just let it alone. The most I've ever weighed is 160lbs and that is because I was having a child." Seems harmless enough right? (In my best southern belle drawl) I know I'm not a stick figure - so I'm not concerned about the direction of this here particular conversation.

However - Mr. Knitfloozy who was outside playing with MamaC's dog happened to step in the door at that very moment and as GrannyFr was getting up off the couch asked him "Don't you like your women big?" He looked at me and MamaC and PapaC and ChickenusWingus and we all started laughing. I had no words for him or a snappy comeback. He almost fell over - he just didn't know what to say. GrannyFr turned around and said "I guess I rocked his cradle." We laughed even harder. Poor thing - I just couldn't rescue him from that one. PapaC made us laugh even harder because he said, " I can't hear that well anymore - but I heard that loud and clear." It was all in good fun. I guess when you're 85 you're allowed to say anything you want with no repercussions. I'm still chuckling...

Ruby for Keiv

ravelry 022, originally uploaded by missthg.

Isn't she just fabulous? A friend in a faraway land sent this beautiful hand knit scarf to me all the way from Keiv! I was sooo excited and to scared to wear it. I mean does one wear a scarf so beautiful all willy knilly? I should think not! It was cold one morning and I grabber Ruby off the shelf and boy o boy is she warm and squishy all at the same time! I was oh so grateful that day to have such a lovely warm scarf. Many compliments to the hand knitter who made this! I'm just not that' talented. Ok - it's more like I'm far to lazy to knit such beautiful lace....Ok more like to chicken....

103 Degrees and it's not summer yet!

Yes you read that right!!!! It's 103 today on May 16th in Antioch. When I went to work this morning at 7am it was only 68. We've been experiencing a little heat wave this week. I on occasion say the sugar melts in the rain but I now know that it melts in extreme heat also. I have some one more section of the baby blanket to finish and then weave in the ends. Think I'm working on it in this heat? Absolutely - why - cos it's time to move on to a new project. I'm really trying not to have starteritis...sometimes it's just better not to tempt fate with starteritis....But if you want some temptation and you live in Northern California try this place. They have fabulous fried chicken sandwiches. I am picky about food and I dont eat every one's fried chicken - but this place has fabulous fabulous food. So what you see is the Cotton Ease Baby Blanket that has one more row to be knit and then the border. But what you don't see is the millions of ends to be weaved in!!!! I will not let the weaving in of the ends stop me from finishing this no longer portable project. Hmmm what to knit next? Socks?" Probably. It's too doggone hot to knit anything else!! No I have no idea at this point. Probably more dishcloth sets....

Happy Mama's Day to all you Mama's out there!

Happy Mama's Day to all you Mama's out there....

I'm still working on the blanket from the previous post - but you know there has got to be something said for actually reading the pattern and it's instructions all the way through before actually starting the pattern. I'm a complete just dive in and start knitting the pattern. Well i don't thik i'll be doing that anymore. This cute little baby blanket is gonna become a wall hanging. Why? Ms. I can knit anything without actually reading the pattern used the wrong sized needle!!!!!!! It said to cast on with the sixes and knit with the eights! Can y'all see my blond roots showing? I feel like a complete idiot!!!!! Lucky for me I have enough yarn to actually make another - ok I have enought yarn to make about six more of these. Yeah - I know - that's a whole lotta cotton!!!! I love the Lion Brand Cotton Ease and well you know...when you shop on eBay you can never buy just one skein of yarn and well...I have quite a bit of Cotton Ease. Such is the life of a knitter.

I got some really pretty pre-planted flower pots. Yes that's what I wanted instead of the roses, birds of paradise or other various flowers! I wanted some plants that would last longer than the flowers in the vase. I forgot to take photos of them before the sun set today so I will add the photos tomorrow.

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Chasing Butterflies

Hey! Did I let the whole month of April go by with no post? I supposed that I did. Well spring is here and it's just wonderful weather! With the exception of a few days here and there it's been sunny and bordering on warm.

ChickenusWingus turned 12 in April! Wow time has really flown by. He reminds me daily that he is almost as tall as me. Like that's hard to do since I'm only 5"3'. He is a really smart kid and will be President one day. I'm a proud Mom - what can I say about a 12 year old who gets good grades and calls him himself a jerd - a jock and a nerd. His term - I didn't come up with that one. He's got a million of them.

I've knitted just a few things as my time has become limited. I was nursing a bruised ego for about the last two weeks because I did something so silly I'm almost embarrassed to tell anyone - but now that I think about it - it's kinda funny - ok maybe only in my twisted mind.

I was coming home from my long day at work and doing the usual transistion from BART train to my car and was chasing the butterflies through the parking lot. O.k. not really chasing the butterflied but enjoying the end of a long day. I had on some khakis a white t-shirt and my cute little baseball style keds. So picture me with my cool new red (is there any other color for a KnitFloozy) Jordana Paige knitting bag walking down the sideway and all of a sudden I'm on the ground. Now how I got there is still a mystery to me. I was just walking along and started stumbling - and the whole time I was thinking I'm gonna catch my balance and hope that no one saw me. Nope that was not the case. Not only did I fall all the way to the ground - but I landed on my stomach on the curb rolled on to my right shoulder and managed to knock the wind out of myself. Let me tell you it must have been one heck of a sight! Arms and legs in the air cute red bag and all contents of said red bag all over the concrete and the Knitfloozy trying to catch the next breath which at that moment seemed impossible. There were about 10 folks whom I am very grateful to helped me up - including a BART station agent. Several ladies offered to drive me home, call mr. knitfloozy and or do both. After I managed to catch my breath and make an incident report to the BART station agent I sat in my car and cried for about five minutes cos it really did hurt to fall on this 37 year old shoulder and hands and knee. I started my car and drove home to work on this really easy blanket. I know it looks like a hot mess right at this particular moment - but it will come together in the end. It's called the Cotton-Ease Baby Blanket and it's pattern is very portable at first. Not sure how much longer it will be portable. I am not crazy however about weaving in the ends of this thing. I do know that I will make another one as I have lots of this yarn in my stash already. I plan to replace the green squares with orange squares next time. Once you get the hang of the pattern it just flies by. The lady who created this pattern said that knitting backwards saved her a whole lot of time. I tried it and for me it's a lot easier to just do the purls.

Oh yeah - if you're chasing butterflies of your own - try not to land on your shoulder if you happen to be as clumsy as I am...

Mason Dixon Mitered Update

I almost forgot - I've started re-working my Mason Dixon Mitered blanket in two ways. First I doubled up my yarn to make it thicker. I chose not to use cotton which I am now regretting but I will finish this as a baby blanket as not to commit to the king size blanket I originally anticipated making. I am also using Kay's no sew mitered squares. This turns out to be one of the best ideas for making the mitered blankets. You just build one miter at a time and well you will have to sew a few together but not nearly as many if you didn't use this method. Scroll halfway down the pageto the May 10, 2006 entry and you will see the very long but helpful tutorial. I copy and pasted this to a word document and saved it and referred to it when I moved through the process. Instead of throwing the yarn away from the first ones that I did - I just went ahead and re-knit them into the square you see. Now that I've only got an hour or work left on the Argosy Baby Blanket - I will continue making the squares for this baby blanket and post when I get finished with this. Wow I tell you I don't think I'm suffering from starteritis anymore. Does this mean that I am cured? Probably not. But I'm getting better? Has anyone found a cure for this yet?

She's Alive!

Well, well, well. The Knitfloozy lives! There has been quite a bit of commuting going on, very little knitting. I have however been working on my WIPs from the beginning of the beginning of the year. This is Argosy Baby Blanket I thought I would never ever finish!!! When I finish the edging that prevents the curling that you see there will be a more artistic looking photo of the wonderful blanket. I will however never knit a baby blanket on size six needles again. It's just seems to take too long to get to the end. I did good though!!! I didn't start any other large projects in the mean time. I did the ball band cloths on the train because this blanket became to big to be portable midway through the project so I only worked on this in the evenings and weekends to finish. Now I just have to find a baby to give this too!

My faith in the kindness of strangers has also been restored - to often we hear of peoploe having things stolen or they've left things on the train when commuting. I left my cell phone on BART and the gentleman who found it proceeded to call everyone in my phone until he reached someone to tell me that he had it and wanted to return it. (So if I you got a call from a stranger it was him calling you to see if you know me) I received several email messages from folks saying “uh Knitfloozy – you left your cell phone on Bart – here is the contact info for the guy who found it.” I was shocked and amazed cos I never loose my phone - it seems like it should be attached to my head I use it so much. I must have been knitting when it fell outta my pocket - I mean what other reason would I loose my phone. Any who….I got my phone back in a few days and he said he returned it because someone did the same for him a few days ago. So yes there are still kind and wonderful people in the world.

More recently there was a knitter on the Monthly Dishcloth group that I am a part of and lost everything in a fire. She shared this with us because she thought that her fellow knitters would understand her loss. Her family and pets are safe. They are all happy in their rented house until the reconstruction of their old house begins– of all the things they had in the house that her husband missed her hand knit dishcloths when washing the dishes. I mention this because every single person on the list wanted to donate either yarn, dishcloths, needles, etc. I was really touched by the generosity of all the knitters across the country. I to sent her some dishcloths. I’m sure she will have enough to warm her new home.

I have no idea why I've been knitting matching sets of my take on the Ballband Warshrags. I guess it's quick and easy on the train ride to and from work. I suppose that CHP would not look kindly on me knitting while sitting in traffice. I dunno - something about paying attention to the other cars around me and moving along without hitting the person in front of me. Is there a law against knitting while driving? Probably......somebody let me know if you find out if it's illegal to knit and drive and I won't do it....

How was your Easter Celebration? Mine was great - Went to church on Sabbath/Saturday - heard some good music and good words. Went to brunch on Sunday sponsored by a local radio station and ate until...well - let's just say that I didnt feel the need to eat until about 7pm that night....A funny thing happened while I was there. They were giving out movie tickets to a movie I hadn't seen and I tell you some where deep inside my competitive spirit came out and took over. The host announced that there was something that you could find in your purse ladies....a library card. The first person to bring me one gets the movie tickets and the CD. Now Mr. Knitfloozy was laughing and asked why are you looking for your card? You don't have one. Let me give you some background - everytime I go to Costco - I have to get a new card cos I've lost the previous one or if we go shopping - I manage to not have my ATM card with me. Well while the competition got hot - I pulled out my card - ran up the stairs to the stage - in stilletos mind you - pass up another woman trying to pull her card out her wallet rounded a whole table full of women looking for their cards ran up the stairs and claimed my prize. Mr. Knitfloozy was in shock - I actually had a library card in my purse. Don't ask me the last time I used it - but I had it. We had a good laugh over that one and will go to the movies next week. It was really a classic moment in my life. He said he's never doubt me again.

Hearts of Seven

Hello again....in my hasty move and packing up all my yarn - I managed to loose my Los Monos Locos (The Crazy Monkey) Socks. It was heartbreaking to realize that someone in my house may not have known what that tangled mess was and threw it away. Hopefully one day I will run across them again one day...*sigh*....To relieve the pain of losing the monkey socks I have started these. They are called the Seven of Hearts. The pattern is easy and delightful to knit. But the thing is....I managed to skip a line in the directions about turning the heel and ended up with a tube. So I frogged the first sock and ended up doing two on two circs. This process is not as hard as I thought it was. It's easy as pie. I really thought that it would be hard or that it would be confusing. The confusion is only in my mind. I hope to be done with these by the end of the week. If you get a chance to knit any socks in Koigu your feet will definately feel spoiled. This is the best yarn to knit socks with.

A side note for the kindness of people in the world. Last week I was riding the train home and was very sick. Another passenger noticed that I wasnt feeling well and ask me what was wrong and when I told her she sat with me rubbing my back for three or four stops and rubbed the back of my coat until she got off the train. She will never know how much that was truly comforting to me. I was made sick by an eggroll I had no business eating but that's a story for another day...Anyway - that's another point scored for kindess!

Finally Some FO's

Wahoo!!! I have finally finished a couple of things. Ok maybe one and partially another....I finally finished the Noro Silk Garden Scarf for my Mom's Birthday. I will be shipping this out in the mail to her today. Happy Belated Birthday Mom!!! The Argosy Baby Blanket has about three more sections before it's completed. I will never ever knit a baby blanket on size six needles again. It's pretty - but I have learned my lesson. This one doesn't have an recipent yet - but hopefully someone will have a baby soon and be the lucky recipient of said Argosy. How many wips have y'all finished?

Still Working on one of my Many WIPS

Hey Folks,

I haven't forgotten about y'all. I've been working on one of my many WIPS. I started knitting a heart lace baby blanket - but me and the pattern just did not get along so I frogged it in favor of the Argosy Baby Blanket found here. I started this pattern a long time ago and just couldnt get my mind wrapped around it. I decided to take the advice I'd given to my new knitting student...just trust the pattern. How many times have you started knitting something and thought well if I just change it here - then it will work there. Ha! I had to learn the hard way that this is most unacceptable. Sometimes the people who write the patterns know what they are doing. I just knew Vyvyan had made a mistake in the pattern and just dropped it into the frog pond. Well low and behold due to mucho user error that pattern and I have become friends. We are knitting down the second page with I believe four more sections to go before finishing. I will post photos later as the camera seems to have disappeared on me.

By the way - I moved and in the move I got a knitfloozy's dream My own room for yarn!!!! Yes you read that right - I have a whole room - just for yarn. And mr. knitfloozy was shocked at the amount of yarn that has been amassed in four years. I think that means that I am on a yarn diet for awhile. I did tell him that sock yarn does not count as stash and got that look. You know the one - "Sounds good honey but don't buy anymore yarn until you've used this up". Such is life....

Cheating on my current WIPS....

I'm trying so hard not to cheat on my current projects but I feel like it's as effort in futility.  Apparently I have mixed emotions whenever I finish a project so I start another so my needles won't feel lonely.  Speaking of which – I have more warshrags than I know what to do with.  I didn't realize that I made so many.  I suppose I will have to share them with my family.  Family if you're reading this you may get some warshrags in the mail.  Please do not think they are too pretty to use – they are for warshing the dishes!  They are 100% cotton – and when you wear them out I will make you another one.

 

When I was working on the Brooklyn Tweed Noro Scarf I bought a pair of Rosewood needles on a whim.  I was seduced by the warm texture of the needles and the newly purchased skeins of Noro that I purchased for the scarf. (This is why I am not to be trusted in a store full of yarn and needles.)  I know I'm not the only one who likes to touch the yarn and sigh when I feel all of the different textures – isn't it easy to get excited by new yarn? Never mind all the other stuff in the storage closet that excited me to at one time and has now lost its lustfulness.

 

  Well that love affair is over.  I kept thinking that I could use them with every yarn – NOT!!!!!! I tried to make yet another warshrag with them and the cotton yarn kept grabbing the needles and gripping them so tight I could barely move the stitches across the needles.  Not to mention after using the KnitPicks Options – I was spoiled by the slick texture and the short needles.  I felt like a complete klutz with my fancy needles. The ends kept getting caught in my long sleeved shirt.  I had the complete look of an idiot with pretty sticks and yarn in my hands.  I may have to start using them as hairpins or even worse….decoration. 

 

Currently on the needles……Noro Scarf (Brooklyn Tweed & Black Dog Designs), yet another ball band warshrag, Mason Dixon Mitered Blanket (square #20), and a blanket I can't seem to remember the name of at this particular moment that may be frogged in favor of a simpler mindless pattern oh yes and one Los Monos Locos Sock – hopefully I won't succumb to the dreaded second sock syndrome.

 

Cheating....Is it really cheating?

Hello again knitting family. I had a busy weekend. My youngest son M did one of those things that drive all mothers crazy - he and his cousins made plans for them to spend the night without involing Moms.. Normally this is ok – but I wasn’t thinking when I said yeah sure M – R & S can spend the night – by the time I got home – it was four kids they added another neighbor kid for a total of four kids - (and I forgot that I had to work) - leaving the boys and Mr. KnitfChick behind. Four people under the age of 11 and him. This was hilarious – while I was working and yes I was working not knitting, he was at home entertaining them on their new Wii system. I came home and thought it would be chaos but he had it under control. While they were doing this:

I had a chance to work on my monkey socks – so far I’m at the end of the foot and almost ready to turn the heel: and completed a kitchen set for some family. I seem to have gone nuts making ballband warshrags. Yes I said warshrags. I love these things!!!! And I wasn’t cheating on my New Years Knitterloution. Is is really cheating? Ok I was cheating…I even started another scarf. You know the cool one on Brooklyn Tweed’s site. The stripes are coming out pretty good and I wish I had chosen a brighter color for the second set – but oh well – I can always make another.

So on the Knitterloution tip – I finished the green ball band warshrag I was working on. I made four more squares for the mitered blanket and added four more inches to the Noro Scarf. And for the first three of you who responded to the Pay it Forward – send me an email at missthg@yahoo.com so I can forward your handmade gifts.

Fw: Public transportation is a drag…

*disclaimer - this is the grumpy evil twin sister who had a long day posting*

You know most of the time I can stomach ride public transportation with no problems commuting to work. I don't mind when folks sit next to me as long as they can keep their body parts to themselves. I don't like for men to sit next to me because they think they need to sit with their legs wide open. Rude!!! It's not enough room in the chairs for all of that. Someone needs to put out an etiquette book about how to use public transportation. I digress…. Last night my evil twin sister came out. I got on the train with 50 of closest commuting buddies – all of us minding our business, reading, sleeping and or knitting (ok only I was knitting). The train moved down a couple of stops with no incidents – until it got to the 12^th Street stop. This is the stop where the train's capacity is tested on a regular basis. After all the folks get on the train and get settled – and no one sits next to me - I think cool it will be a quiet ride home. I do not have my bag in the seat next to me – it's in my lap. Well in walks one more commuter. She eyes my seat and is thrilled there is a seat on the train – as would be anyone who's had a long day. I see her and think – she is really not going to sit down next to me. The thought came to mindI because she is a person of substantial size - (and I am not skinny minny myself) more than I think is humanly possible for both of us to be in the seat. Well you guessed it – she sat down in the seat. While the laws of physics amazed me as she sat in the seat – she did something really stupid….she asked me if I could move over a little to make room for her in the seat. Yep you read that right. I asked her where the f*ck do you think I'm going to go? I swear it slipped out. My co-worker was sitting in front of me and he burst out laughing – as did the gentleman next to him. I did not mean to embarrass this poor woman – but how much more room did she really think I could make without getting up? How does one have the nerve to ask when you know you need the seat to yourself? After my initial reaction I started to apologize until she started talking….I didn't care about her day (it wasn't a bad one)…I didn't ask how it was and I certainly didn't want to smell the cigarette she'd just had and feel her side pressing my side for five stops. Yes I was happy to be sitting next to the window where the fresh air was being piped into the train. I think this was the one time I just wanted to be able to blink myself away I Dream of Jeanie style.

By the way – I was working on the purple entrelac scarf ….

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is going around the internet and it seems to have just begun within the last month. I found it here and decided that I could also pay it forward. Many people have spent time showing me how to do things and doing things for me not expecting anything in return so now it's my turn.

Pay it Forward is based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?!Please, be a PIF

New Year Knit-a-lution!!!

Happy New Year my knitting family!!!! It’s 2008. Well family it seems that I have developed a bad case of starteris again. It’s been asked by a fellow knitting sista how many WIP’s I have going right now. Well…here they are in all their glory. Let me list them for you:

1. Warshrag - from the Mason-Dixon Knitting in Key Lime & White Cotton
2. Mitered Blanket – again – from the Mason-Dixon Knitting – Caron’s Simply Soft
3. Irish Hiking Scarf – Patons Soy Striped Yarn found here
4. Plain Garter Scarf – Patons Soy Striped Yarn - cast on 15 stitches and knit to your heart's content
5. Entrelac Scarf – Lavender Microspun found here
6. Los Monos Locos – Koigu found here
7. Noro Silk Garden Scarf Found here
8. Fiber Trends Easy Knit Baby Blanket Collection 2 -found here (I had to pay for this one) all others were free.

My knitting shame has now been displayed for all the world to see. Yeah right – I’m not really ashamed – I think I’m doing better than I was – I think at one point that I had about 12 projects going – so now that I am down to eight and I think I’m doing alright. Anyway – I do have one finished object to show you. It’s the Big Bad Baby Blanket! I started this awhile ago and I started finally finished. It was really heavy towards the end and I almost gave up because of the weight. I used six of the 14 oz Bernat Cotton balls – which it was stiff to knit with – but once I washed and dried it – it was really soft and ready for someone’s baby. I just haven’t decided who’s baby yet. Could just be decoration for the couch - cos I think the weight of this blanket may trap a child underneath it! LOL

In the spirit of the 2008 – I will finish all of these lovely project before I start anything else. Y’all stop laughing!! I really mean it. Let’s see who else can do it!!!! I challenge all of you who read this blog to complete all of your current WIP’s before starting anything else. Anyone willing to take this challenge on and report on your progress?