Back in the Saddle...

Somewhat! A new day dawns and I've started over on The Big Guys hat, started another pair of Mitts for Miss J, and got these done:

Okay, technically this is still a "maybe" for me since it does bias to one side a bit. Knitting or crocheting anything LENGTHWISE does this to me every single time. It doesn't matter how careful I try to be when working the beginning and ending rows, I guess my tension is just all over the place - so my projects tend to "tilt".

Pattern: Acacia Scarf
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Eco in the Ocean Colorway
Size I hook. (Crochet)
This took just a bit more than one skein. I may add fringe later so I'm glad I have the extra skein around. This might still go to my Mom one day, or something similar. She's like me in that we tend to run "WARM" most of the time, so simple "airy" scarves are definitely more our thing.

I also went back to what's been a "happy knit" for me (you gotta feel the love ya know?):

Pattern: Simply Simone by Elizabeth A. Cote (Coteknits on Ravelry).
Yarn: Bernat Baby Softee & Bernat Jacquards in Pink.
Size 5 & 6 needles (I needed to go up a size due to my tight knitting).
What can I say? These are just too cute! When Elizabeth asked me to Test Knit these for her I jumped at it because A) I love knitting preemie hats and B) I can always use more for The Yarn Bowl Challenge. Her pattern is just adorable and so easy to knit up. I just love these.


Pattern: Simple Simon
Yarn: Bernat Baby Softee & Bernat Jacquards in Blues
Size 6 needle
These are the medium and large sizes. Cute. Just. too. dang. Cute.

Tomorrow is knitting meeting day. I'm going to take The Big Guy's Hat to work on, it's simple ribbing so hopefully I can't screw that up too bad while I'm gabbing instead of paying attention to what I'm doing.

Happy Knitting!

What the Heck?

Or: "I'm Giving Gift Cards For Christmas!"

Mom's Scarf: Frogged. (3rd time)

Richard's Hat: Frogged.

Jessica's Mitts: Frogged.

I don't know if the wording in the picture is readable, but basically I read the pattern wrong and started the thumb gusset WAYYYY later then I should have. Welcome to my pond! Somebody please catch him and make him go AWAY!

I went back to preemie hats. They don't disappoint. They're my saving grace right now or I'd be dumping ALL my needles in the trash! Grrrr!!! (then running out to grab them again).

Maybe it's just that it's summer time. I'm loving the long days and warm sunshine too much to be inside knitting. Even when I'm in pain (like all the time) it's just been hard to not want to be doing other things. Maybe. Maybe Not. Any excuse sounds good to me now because it CAN'T be that my knitting sucks! I really think the "pressure" of Holiday Knits is already messing with my head! Yikes!!

BUT! School starts back in ONE MONTH! Happy Dance Time! Who's counting down the days besides me??? Anybody???

Happy Knitting!

PS: Note to Deborah! I can't reach your profile on blogger to email you back! Are you on Ravelry? I posted a response on the blog post you posted on. Hope we can talk more! It's okay that we're on opposing teams for the Yarn Bowl Challenge, we're California Girls at heart! LOL Hope to hear back from you!

10 On Tuesday

(Pic: Some of the gang ready for a night out back in the 80's *notice the 80's hair?* I wish my pics were better, I had to scan them.. Julie & Rhonda, Don't kill me k?) (Ps. I'm the shortest one....always!)

Today's topic is one I can sort of manage. It seemed easy at first, but geez, there are WAY more than 10, that's for sure! That was one fantastic decade for me, I met my BF Julie in the early 80's, graduated in the middle, had my first real jobs, had my own apartments, met my soon to be hubby, and got married right before the decade ended (1989)!

So here's just the tip of the iceburg:

(Just some of my) 10 Favorite Songs of the 80's.

1. The Promise - When In Rome (Me & Hubby's Song)

2. White Wedding - Billy Idol

3. Don't Let The Sun Go Down - George Michael/Elton John

4. Straight From the Heart - Bryan Adams

5. Love Bites - Def Leppard

6. Every Breath You Take - The Police

7. Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats

8. You Got Lucky - Tom Petty

9. The Politics of Dancing - Reflex

10. The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

We went to a lot of concerts back in the day....Julie, remind me which ones we went to K? I need a "wayback" machine desperately. We listened to almost every kind of music there is back then, and hit a LOT of clubs dancing to it....fun, fun, fun....those were great times.


We had a BLAST! Wouldn't trade the 80's for anything.

**Check out more lists here.

Summer Daze

There hasn't been a lot going on in my knitting world lately. Or I should say, not as much as I wish there was! (Preemie hats are on temporary haitus). It would be nice if I could say it's because I've been out skydiving, water skiing, or mountain climbing, (I WISH) but it's only because of my usual health issues, having a harder time with some inflammation, and trying new meds for some relief.

I definitely have a few things on my "to-do" list for the holidays and want to get a jump on things, but that may have to be a "let's wait and see" thing. Slowly but surely I did manage to get my Red Heart Socks done:


Red Heart Heart & Sole Sock Yarn - This says it has Aloe but I personally didn't notice it like I did in another yarn I used a long time ago.
Colorway: Spring Stripe
68 st cast on
I just love this colorway for some reason. I only wish it had more of that bright pink in it. I just washed them and haven't worn them yet so I'm not sure how they'll wear. They aren't as soft as I was hoping, but I still love the colors.

The scarf I started for my Mom has been on vacation too. I've had a hard time trying to find just the "right" pattern for the yarn I chose (Malabrigo Sock). I've printed out tons of patterns, but when I try knitting a swatch, I change my mind again. I know the right one will come along, or I'll have to switch yarns at some point.

I didn't make my last knitting hookup date, I had completely forgotten it was Father's Day weekend!! We went to the in-laws so I hope to make the next meeting.
So, better late than never:
Happy (Late) Fathers Day Big Guy!!! We love you!

Rain Rain Go Away....

PLEASE!!!!!

I know people around here are used to these storms, but OMG. This has been happening ALL summer! If you're lucky enough to just be HOT and DRY, I really think you have a lot to be grateful for. Yesterday we even had tornado warnings to add to the party too! Lucky! Lucky! Today is more of the same, LOTS of rumbling, rain, and constant warnings for severe weather. Where's that magic genie bottle to get me out of here....

Not much knitting going on. I did dye some yarn the other day but have yet to wind it. I had to do it twice because I don't measure things (my bad) so I had to reset the dye by heating it again. It worked thankfully. I also didn't use my gloves so I had blue fingernails for a couple of days. That was kind of funny. I haven't worked much on my socks, and haven't worked at all on my preemie hats. But my knitting meeting is this weekend so I'll take them with me and try to get something done. (I hope, I do tend to have more fun laughing and gabbing)...

I didn't participate in WWKIP day, there was only one event I knew of but it was too far away. So I did the next best thing and went shopping for yarn (Hobby Lobby). I'd just placed the LAST item I wanted in my basket when their power went out. (Pitch black! Thank goodness for cell phones!) We left to eat thinking it would come back on but when we got back it was the ONLY store in the whole shopping center that was still out so they just closed shop. Luckily, my hubby is a sweetie and drove me clear across town to the other one. Needless to say, it made for a LONG errand running day and my body cursed me for it with the fibro/AI pain.

Well, if you're nice and dry, ENJOY! And if you're Knitting! ENJOY!! Send me a postcard saying "Wish You Were Here!"

10 On Tuesday

Ten Favorite Things to Do During "Me" Time

(Since I don't have much of a life I seem to have more Me time than most I guess. Here's what I came up with.)

1. Knit

2. SLEEP (because it's so hard to come by)

3. Read (my library rocks)

4. Go to my Knitting meetings (the best bunch of ladies)

5. Take a hot bath (ahhhhhhh)

6. Walk (love to be outside when it's nice)

7. Play my Nintendo DS (my crosswords game is a blast)

8. Ride my bike (doesn't hurt my joints as much)

9. Clean house or declutter something (I know, that's an odd one but I like order)

10. Shop for ANYthing but groceries or kids school clothes (anything knitting related makes my heart pitter patter).

Happy Tuesday!

Doing What I Can

Well, sometimes you just have to hang in there, even when you don't feel like it.
My Auto-Immune-Fibro junk has body slammed me (again). It's been a rough few weeks, my pain scale is really high. I don't think I've been this bad since the summer of 2007. I haven't been able to go for my walks but the regular occuring evening thunderstorms have made me feel less guilty about that, plus my legs wouldn't hold me up even if I wanted to go. It's also terribly humid, not a great time to be outdoors for people who already feel like crap. I have two doctor appts next week but honestly, my hope is waning that I'll ever get any answers, or any meds that actually DO something to help the pain. I guess I'm just feeling tired of hearing the same ol' stuff. Sigh. Trying to keep good thoughts.... trying...trying....trying....

I'm barely knitting, but I did manage to start my Mom's scarf for Christmas. I hope I can get it done in time. I want to try to do one 20-row repeat a day so I should make it by then! Thank you Dawn for helping me with the pattern.

I'm using some dark brown Malabrigo Sock yarn (which looks like just a black dot on my screen). It's got subtle shading and varigation to it, so I'm thinking this will look so pretty worked up this way. I hope I like it once I have more to see!

I'm also working on my other project, this is from Sandy as posted on Ravelry: "The University of Alabama fans at Serendipity Needleworks in Tuscaloosa, AL have challenged the University of Tennessee fans at The Yarn Haven, here in Knoxville, TN to participate in their 2009 Yarn Bowl Challenge. This is a competition pitting knitters and crocheters supporting the Crimson Tide against those who knit, crochet and cheer for the Tennessee Volunteers. Between now and Saturday, October 17 we will be making preemie caps to see which team can make the most caps. I hope you’ll want to join us as we seek to win this challenge and help high risk infants at the same time. At the end of the Challenge, the caps will be divided equally between the 2 shops and we’ll be able to donate our share to the East TN Children’s Hospital for distribution in their neonatal intensive care unit. So, Vol fans, are you ready to start making preemie caps? Caps must be made of very, very soft yarn that is washable. They must be between 9-12” in circumference and 4-5” in height. I will need to have the caps delivered to The Yarn Haven by Friday, October 16 as I will be mailing them to the Alabama shop the next day. If you need a pattern or have any questions, then please PM me. Come on Vols…let’s help out these little Tiders and little Volunteers!"


So, here I go:

I'm on my 18th one so far. The first 10 I had already made and was planning on donating anyway so the timing is awesome for me. My goal is two a week, I'm slightly behind right now with my health issues, but they're so fast to make I hope to catch up soon.

That's it. Just simple knitting. No socks right now, the scarf yarn is enough tiny string for me at this point. Happy Knitting. Ooooh, here comes another storm. Time to get cozy.