scarves

I finished these about a month or so ago...

Dayflower Scarf (pdf file) in Cascade Sierra color 03 (off white/cream color). LOVED this pattern, it was my first lace project (and first time knitting with Sierra) and definitely a good one to start on. I'll make it again.



Argosy scarf using Knit Picks CotLin in Kohlrabi. I liked the pattern, but I doubt I'd knit it again because it took FOREVER to knit on the size 4's.

Christmas knitting part 2

This is my mom's Christmas gift, the Lacy V Scarf in Malabrigo Worsted Natural




these are my dad's Christmas present, Fiber Trends Felted Clogs. I made the Men's medium size. I think they still might be a bit big, but better than too small, right? I used Paton's Merino and I think the color was chesnut.


Felted front view


Felted back view


pre-felted

Gretchen's birthday dress

I knit this dress based on Anouk (second time using this pattern). I used Knit Picks Merino Style wool in Hollyberry. Again I seamed the sides together and instead of doing the neck shaping in the pattern I did 6 rows of seed stitch and then made braided straps by knitting 3 i-cords on each side.

Flutter-by Socks

finally done!

happy birthday!

my sweet little girl turns one today. at 8:40 pm if you want to be precise.

where did the time go? it doesn't feel like its been long enough for a year to go by. I'm including my favorite picture from each month.

and for milestones, Gretchen can now:

• walk, mostly still with a little help
• climb stairs
• go down stairs
• drink out of a sippy on her own
• says "hi" "uh oh" "ma ma" "mah" (for blowing kisses)
• blows kisses
• waves
• claps her hands
• wants nothing to do with baby food which is a tad of a problem since she doesn't to eat a lot of "adult" food

Operation SEND Christmas

my husband's National Guard unit is trying to gather a bunch of items to make Christmas packages to send to every soldier from Central Kentucky who is deployed for the holidays. if you'd like to help out, I'll be at Rebelle next Sunday afternoon, depending on where you live I can pick stuff up, or items can be dropped off at the Armory near the Airport. The FRG (Family Readiness Group) is getting together on the 17th to put the packages together to mail.

here is a list of suggested items:

First and foremost- they LOVE getting pictures, letters, etc... from anyone.
Second- Pocket-size, travel-size, and sample-size are ideal.
Third- no chocolate, it will melt
Fourth- we cannot send pork, porn, or alcohol

DRINK ITEMS

* Gatorade drink mix
* Individual drink mix to add to bottled water (Crystal Light, Koolaid, Equate from Walmart, etc)
* Coffee
* Tea
* Hot cocoa mix

FOOD ITEMS (MUST be sealed!)

* Gum (blister packs preferred)
* Candy
* Mints
* Lifesavers
* Individually wrapped snacks (small sizes)
* Peanuts
* Sunflower seeds
* Dried fruits
* Trail mix
* Canned fruit (single serving fruit packs IN CANS such as cut peaches, applesauce, etc.)
* Fruit roll-ups
* Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars, breakfast bars, granola bars
* Poptarts
* Crackers/ flavored snack crackers
* Peanut butter
* Beef Jerky (Certified and labeled USDA Grade A)
* Canned Tuna, sardines (Choose flip-top lids whenever possible)
* Beef Slim Jims

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS

* Eyeglass cleaning wipes
* Eye drops
* Blistex
* Chapstick
* Vaseline
* Nasal drops/saline spray
* Foot powder
* Odor-eaters for boots
* Socks (that can be worn with combat boots)
* Boot laces (72" for combat boots)
* Baby Wipes

OTHER

* Pocket-sized Bibles
* Magazines and paperback books (Choose from subject matter that most would be interested in. Donate from what you have already read.)
* Movies (DVD or VHS) (Also, some you have already watched) (Of course, new is also terrific!)
* Duct tape (military green, tan, black, navy)
* Electrical tape
* Super Glue
* Ziploc bags (quart size bags are in greatest demand, sandwich size greatly needed, also 1 gallon size or 2 gallon size can be used)
* Mailing Tape (We need this to get the boxes overseas!)

Christmas knitting

reading Allison's blog today reminded me I need to make my Christmas knitting list, so here goes nothing.

• Mom- some sort of lacy scarf using Malabrigo natural
• Dad- felted slippers in a brown, not sure which yarn yet
• niece- Sarah's "I love my denise kit" market bag
  
• a few pairs of fingerless mitts for Michael's bus driver, bus monitor, and teachers. (any other suggestions?)

VOTE!

okay everyone, get out and vote today!

I'm beyond ready for the political season to be over. I dislike the negative tv ads I see every other commercial (mostly in the Senate race). As a conservative voter I dislike it being assumed that I'm a bigot, racist, or other such things because I am not voting for Barack Obama.

Everything seems a bit easier when an election is not looming in the distance.

As for me, I'll be voting for Bob Barr the Libertarian candidate in hopes that the Libertarians gain ballot access. This way people will be able hopefully have three options instead of having to choose the lesser of two evils.

good juju socks

So I scratched the Rainbow socks, it just wasn't looking right with the yarn. I went searching on Ravelry and found these Flutter-by socks! so darn cute. I've finished the first one and I'm about halfway done with the second. unfortunately they did not bring good juju to the Red Sox, so for now its GO PHILLIES!




I've also been working on my friend's baby gift (even though the baby is already here, the gift won't fit her until next winter). unfortunately cannot post photos here since she checks the blog occasionally, so for all you Ravelers out there, check it out on Ravelry. I just updated the photos tonight.

speaking of hats...

I just finished knitting Miss Dashwood for Gretchen's winter hat. its absolutely adorable and I'd knit it again in a heartbeat. the picot cast on was a royal pain in the butt though I might add. I used my beloved Malabrigo in Violetas. I'd been holding onto it for a long time, knowing I wanted to make Gretchen something with it and its the perfect yarn for this hat. I want one for me...

these are the best pictures I could get as she wouldn't sit still like a typical 10 month old. I'm also trying to figure out the new camera. once I get better pictures I'll post them.

Good Juju socks

Its baseball playoff season again and as most people who know me realize I will be glued to the TV watching the Red Sox play. On Ravelry the Red Sox group is doing good juju socks for during the games. I'm in need of a sock fix after knitting many many hats in the past few months. my contribution will be Rainbow Socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi: Rainbow. I bought the yarn for myself on my birthday specifically for this pattern.

Argosy

here's the start of the Argosy scarf

hats

I just finished these hats the other day. The pink one is Odessa in Knit Picks Andean Treasure: Wild Rose Heather and the Green/Tan one is A Hat Fit For A Boyfriend in Knit Picks Andean Silk: Lettuce and Cinnamon. It was my first time knitting with alpaca and I'm hooked. its so nice and soft.

My newest project is Argosy which I'm knitting in Knit Picks CotLin: Kohlrabi.

kid pictures

must get new camera

seriously. my camera sucks. it randomly decides whether or not it will upload pictures to the computer. one day it works, the next it doesn't. argh!

so I've been working on a bunch of hats for a friend, all kid sized. I also knit my first lace piece- a scarf. I bought more yarn of course. must stop that though.

today is Michael's birthday. I still can't believe he's 4!!!

Gretchen can have pigtails in her hair now and its just too darn cute.


Vine Lace baby hat for a friend who just had a girl




dayflower lace scarf


finished baby dress blocked and with buttons

finally!

my camera has not been all that cooperative lately. so here's the yarn I purchased in the last while. some it I spoiled myself with for my birthday since just about everyone in my life forgot it (brothers, in laws, husband...) Tomorrow I'll hopefully update on projects, but don't hold your breath!


Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock: Rainbow


Trekking XXL


Cherry Tree Hill Supersock- Martha's Vineyard


Cascade Sierra


Cascade 220 Superwash- black


Knit Picks Merino Style Wool- Iris


Knit Picks CotLin- Fiesta Pink


Knit Picks CotLin- Key Lime

1930's wife

45 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

44 things...

Learn 44 things about your friends, and let them learn 44 things about you! (But only if you want to...no worries if you don't...)


1. Do you like blue cheese? absolutely not.
2. Have you ever smoked? never touched any of it.
3. Do you own a gun? yes
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? grape
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? depends on the type of appointment, but generally not.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? yum! especially nice and burnt on the grill.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? A Garfield Christmas
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? chai or hot chocolate in the winter, milk in the warmer months.
9. Can you do push ups? hah
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my turquoise cross that was my grandmother's.
11. Favorite hobby? knitting
12. Do you have ADD? nope
13. What is your weight? umm....
14. Middle name?? Elizabeth
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? 1. must finish rearranging. 2. tired. 3. need adult conversation.
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, milk, soda
21. Where would you like to be right now? somewhere there are adults to converse with
22. Name three people who will complete this? whoever wants to
23. Do you own slippers? no
24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? UK Blue!
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheet? wouldn't know...
26. Can you whistle?? yes
27. Favorite color??? purple/oragne
28. Would you be a pirate? nah
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? none
30. Favorite Girl's Name? other than Gretchen- I like Adelaide.
31. Favorite boy's name?? other than the Michael and Tristan- I like Alexander
32. What's in your pocket right now?? a penny
33. Last thing that made you laugh?? Gretchen trying to crawl
34. Best bed sheets as a child?? I had these way awesome glow in the dark star sheets my gram gave me. I had a hard time giving them up when they were too worn to use anymore.
35. Worst injury you've ever had?? 5 stitches in my right index finger from a soup can lid. don't ask.
36. Do you love where you live? so so...I'd prefer to not have the neighbors I have, the house I like. the area I love.
37. How many TVs do you have in your house?? 1
38.Who is your loudest friend?? my brother Ben
39. How many dogs do you own? zero
40. Does someone have a crush on you? ha, yeah right.
41. What is your favorite book?? my general go to book is "Christy"
43. What is your favorite sports team?? Boston Red Sox. wooooooo!
44. What song do you want played at your funeral? not sure.

ugh!

ok. so I started knitting a baby bunting to keep for a baby gift. no biggie, right? not so. first I found a counting problem in the pattern (its not online), but figured it out and fixed it. I ran out of yarn and had to order some more from KP. got that in the mail today and started on it again tonight. get to the part where I'm binding off for the neck. apparently there were more counting problems because I didn't have enough to bind off. I'm so over this. I think I'll just end up frogging it after all this. bah!

I'm still here, I swear!

so its been a fairly busy week. husband is gone with the National Guard for just shy of two weeks. he left Monday so we're on day 5 of no daddy around. I'm going to try and get to posting some knitting stuff tonight if I can.

and how sad is it that I had to purchase more cords for my Denise needles because I had too many projects going on?

baby dress

I absolutely love how this came out. I started out making Lorraine Major's Quick Baby Sweater, then I decided that I loved how it looked in this yarn that I'd knit it longer and do some increases and make it into a dress. I'm completely in love with it and think I need to size it up so I can make one for Gretchen. (used KP Comfy yarn, color is Ivory)

day to day crap

M starts preschool in a little over a month, so I've been taking him for his pre-school evaluation things. like the pediatrician and the optometrist. yesterday was the optometrist. took FOREVER. M being only 3 would not cooperate which is understandable. then the doctor decided to put the drops in to dilate his pupils and it only worked in one eye so he looked pretty freaky with one pupil really dilated and the other normal. ends up that M needs glasses. a normal range for a 3 year old is +3 in both eyes. M's left eye was +1.75 and his right was +4.75, so he was avoiding using his right. so to even them out we get glasses. went over to the glasses place this morning to pick out frames for him and they do look cute on him. just waiting for them to be ready to pick up. I'll be sure to share some pictures or you can see him at the picnic wearing them. so that's been fun.

husband bought a motorcycle with his bonus money from the National Guard. its actually a good purchase since if he uses it every day for work then it will save us half our gas money each month! we're still looking for a car/van/station wagon to drive the kiddos in and think we might have found one. just waiting to hear back from the lady.

that's it here.

books

These are the 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users.

Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish. Add (*) beside the ones you liked and would (or did) read again or recommend. Even if you read them for school in the first place, put !! next to the ones you mean to read...someday.




Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion !!
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice!!
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Iliad
Emma!!
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner!!
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West *
The Canterbury Tales (intend to finish)
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault's Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo*
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility !!
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's Travels
Les Miserables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short history of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit*
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

pictures galore...

been awhile since I've posted pictures, but have lots to share, so enjoy!


Stocking hat from Knit Hats, made from scrap yarn.


hat of my own, just winged it as I went along, same with mitten. made from Malabrigo in Cosecha. still need to knit the second mitten.


Jake's Cable Beanie made from Woolbearers Alfresco


Odessa Hat made from Plymouth Dreambaby


another hat of my own making, used Bernat Softee Chunky in dusty rose. used a brown ribbon.


Fetching in Knit Picks Merino Style- Nutmeg
going to redo the top of the mitt as I don't like the CO and its really short on my very small hands.


bibs!