Here a cable, there a cable,

everywhere a cable...



This is the second sweater in the Bow Wow pattern that was commissioned. I like the blue much better but must admit that the yellow really grew on me. Especially once it was finished. This one is knit in Cascade 220 The Heathers. It's still worsted but this one feels thinner than the yellow so it has a softer drape which I really like. Surprisingly enough, I got the same gauge with the same needles as I did with the yellow. I took this with me to the NYS Track Sectionals yesterday. My little man did really well. He beat his best distances in both shotput and discus. Very cool. Anywho, the back is almost complete now. The cables are awesome!

Tea 4 Me

I have a confession to make. I'm like a little kid when the mail comes. I wait all day long for the familiar sound the mail truck makes. I get excited when I hear it on its way back from the lake because I know it will be coming to MY house next. It doesn't matter if I'm not expecting anything in particular because there's always the chance that there could be a surprise. That being said, imagine how thrilling it is for me when the UPS or FedEx dude pulls up to my house. You know it's got to be something good when they show up because they never bring bills or junk mail. No Sir E. Bob. No junk for them. Just the good stuff.

So when I heard the UPS dude pull up the other day I ran for the door. I threw it open and found a brown box gracing my porch. Hmmm. I didn't remember ordering anything from Republic of Tea. Maybe it was for the neighbor. Nope. It's got my name on it. Hmmm. Then I saw it. The fine print on the bottom of the label telling me this wonderful package was from my KTS3 pal. Whoopee!!! I ran back into the house with Duder hot on my heels. She wanted to know what was in the box and if it was for her. Nope. Not for you this time littlest princess. This one's for me.

Holy crap that's a lot of tea! Lots and lots of yummy tea. Just for me. (Oh, there was Passion Fruit Papaya too but I opened it yesterday to brew a pot.)

Thank you so very much Kelli for the awesome package!!! I can't wait to try the rest of them. :-)

Dose of Duder

So the littlest princess (also known as Duder) begged to go to Wendy's after the track meet tonight. Anyone who's ever had the pleasure of dealing with a tired toddler will surely tell you to take the choice they're offering instead of taking them to the dining establishment of your choice. So we went to Wendy's where she ate her entire chicken kid's meal (this is HUGE for her since she eats like a little bird) and then requested ice cream. I decided to get everyone settled in the van and then get the Frosty's at the drive-thru. I presented the options to Duder...ice cream in the van or no ice cream at all. I'm sure I don't have to tell you which she chose. So we cleaned up our table and headed towards the door. I stopped to dump the garbage while everyone else headed to the foyer to hold the door for us. At the beginning of the line was a large group of kids from Canada. Since I don't speak French I can only assume they were discussing amongst themselves what they were going to order. We had to part our way through the crowd to make it to the doors and as we did I heard my littlest princess say in her biggest most confident voice ever, "BUENOS DIAS!" I laughed so hard my shoulders hurt and I saw stars. When your world is limited to 2 languages and you know it's not one you must assume it's the other. Now if we could just get Nick Jr. to come up with a cartoon that teaches French.

Sunshine Cables

I just finished this little yellow cabled sweater yesterday. (Please note the kid is in her bathing suit and not her underpants. LOL) Actually, to be honest, I finished knitting it almost a month ago but didn't sew the seams until yesterday. I'm so bad about seaming. I always put it off and I really don't know why. Because it's really not that bad. I guess it's just that I much prefer the knitting part.

I really loved this pattern. It's Bow Wow #152 QK by Minnowknits. I knit the size 2 (which is why it's so small on the littlest princess) for the lovely lady who commissioned me to knit sweaters for her grandsons. I will be knitting a size 6 in navy (I think it was navy) really soon. This one was knit in Cascade 220 and was so much fun. The cables keep it interesting enough and it goes really fast. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the 3 needle bind off for the shoulders and the way the sleeves are picked up. I think the sleeves would have looked much better had they been sewn in instead of picked up. What do you think?

Pure

as Milk & Honey.




I finished these socks for Bran made from Lisa Souza's Sock! yarn in Milk & Honey on Sunday and he wore them to work Monday and yesterday. They fit him perfectly (7" cuff with the foot knit 'til it measured 9.5" before starting the toe) and he loves them. The yarn was an absolute dream to work with and I'm looking forward to using it again. Bran's looking forward to me using it again too. So long as it gets knit into socks for him. ;-)

I made some awesome oat bars at the beginning of the week that everyone (including the pickiest kid in the house) liked. Here's the recipe:

1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup honey
3 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups slivered almonds

Heat the peanut butter and honey in a large non stick pot over medium heat until runny. Add in oats and almonds and stir until oats and nuts are completely covered. Press into a 9"x13" pan. Cool. Cut into bars and wrap in tin foil. Store in a plastic zip lock bag.

You're not supposed to have to store them in the fridge since the ingredients are all natural but I like them when they're cold. Plus, the peanut butter I used needs to be put in the fridge after it's opened so I'm assuming the bars should be too. I love these in the morning because they're very filling. In the afternoon when I want something sweet these totally satisfy the craving.

Mommy Survey

I found this survey over at Knit and Purl Mama and thought it was fun...

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? No
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I was so excited but I was afraid my now ex husband was going to be mad. We had only been married a month and hadn't planned to start a family for several years.
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 18
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I took a pregnancy test.
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? My parents.
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? No, I wanted to be surprised.
9. DUE DATE? June 23, 1991
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Not morning sickness, night sickness.
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Macaroni and cheese (the blue box please) and hot dogs.
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Nothing that I remember.
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Male
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? I had wanted a little girl but was thrilled with my little man. I love having had my son first. No matter how many other children we have they'll be blessed with a big brother.
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 22
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? I had 2. One here in our town for friends and family and one out of town for my ex's side of the family.
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? They were both a surprise.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? No.
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, NY. Same hospital I was born at although it was called Saranac Lake General Hospital when I was born.
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 10
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? The ex.
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? The ex.
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? C-Section
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Not until I had to be knocked out for my section. I went through labor (most of which was hard) without drugs. I was very proud of myself for that.
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 9lbs
26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? July 11, 1991
27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Daniel Joseph
28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? He'll turn 16 this July 11th. Seems like only yesterday when I held my sweet baby boy in my arms for the first time and in less than 2 months he'll be DRIVING. Sigh.

Coffee Swap Queen

I received the most awesome package from Laura for Knitter's Coffee Swap 2! Just look at all the incredible goodies she sent...

A gorgeous hand stamped card, a super mug from her school to drink the coffee (Green Mountain Breakfast Blend which is my fave and Columbian Supremo from The Candy Basket that is to die for) she spoiled me with, 2 yummy (so yumy that the kids even helped eat them) different kinds of biscotti, and yarn. OMG the yarn! First, Laura hand dyed some awesome sock yarn just for me. Can you believe it? It's so pretty and I can't wait to try it! Then there was Cornucopia (the purple yarn) from Kollage which is 100% corn. 100% corn. It's incredible. I've never heard of it until now and can't wait to try it too. I checked the Kollage website and it has great stitch definition. And last but not least, 3 gorgeous blue hanks of Touche cotton/rayon which will make a great tank for the littlest princess. Or maybe even a bikini. She would love that.

Thanks again so very much for the great package Laura!!! It really was such a pleasure having you as my partner!

Yo Adrienne

I've always wanted to say that! LOL

A little birdy reminded me a few days (or so) ago about the Polar Sol Joy contest I had. I completely forgot about it with all the other things I've had going on. Since I said I would choose my favorite entry I've decided to choose Adrienne for reminding me of the contest and Shelley for saying that she would unravel it all on the floor and roll around in it. I've often thought of doing this myself but as Shelley has pointed out it would take way too long to untangle the mess I would make. So for now my little fantasy of having a romp in the yarn will remain just that, my little fantasy.

A Little Q & A

My hostess with the mostess for the Summer Dishcloth Swap has asked us to post the answers to the following questions...

What is one baked item you love making or buying and why?

This is a really tough one since I don't make or buy baked goodies very often. I guess I'd have to say my favorite would be cinnamon streusel or coffee cake because it tastes good.

What is one item you love to knit and why?

Socks are my favorite because they are so portable and because they can be knit with awesome, expensive yarn more cheaply than a sweater with the same yarn.

Favorite outdoor activity and why?

Totally depends on the season. I love snowmobiling in the winter, swimming in the summer, and walking in the spring and fall.

Favorite way to relax?

On the couch in front of the TV with my knitting. :-)

I don't have time to post like I want to about the coffee swap or the red and blue junkie swaps but do want to send a HUGE thank you to my pals, Laura, Debb, and Sonia. You ladies are absolutely amazing and I love the packages you put together for me! THANK YOU!!! I promise a proper post soon. :-)

Swap Slut

Wonder how many hits I'll get with a title like that.

So I'm really loving the swap deal. They are so much fun. As most of you know, I help hostess the Secret Pal exchanges. They are a blast. But they also last 3 months and sometimes you just need a little instant gratification. So you turn to the great coffee, tea, and dishcloth swaps that are out there. And don't forget Swap-Bot. I signed up to do the first 2 Yarn Junkies Unite swaps. The first was the color purple and was great. The second was red. Before the second started our wonderful hostess Sandy (please keep her and her family, she has kids, in your thoughts and prayers) found out she might have cancer. She assigned partners and we finished out the swap. The swaps were so much fun that I decided to take them over so I listed swaps for the rest of year following the guidelines (more or less) that Sandy had started. We just started the blue swap for this month but you can find the info for next month here. If you're looking for something a little less time consuming that doesn't require the larger dollar committment that Secret Pal does this just might be right up your alley.

In knitting news, I started a pair of socks for Bran in Lisa Souza's Milk & Honey Sock! yarn. I have to tell you that I wasn't sure that I was going to like this yarn since I've fallen madly in love with all the other great sock yarns out there that have a really tight twist. Man am I glad I tried it. This stuff is awesome! I thought it would split because it's not tightly wound but that isn't the case. And it's so silky soft and smooth to knit with. Bran can't wait until they're done and on his feet.

I've also taken on some commission knitting for a super sweet lady. She dropped off yarn and patterns last Wednesday for about 8 little sweaters. I've got the first almost finished and can't wait to get to work on the rest. I've not taken photos yet but promise to soon.

Track season has started once again and Short Man is doing a great job. He does discus and shot put and loves it. His score placed second for shot put in the meet last night and third last Thursday. He volunteered me to score last night and I had a blast. It was so much fun to be right in the middle of the action. I can't wait to do it again. It's hard to believe he's almost 16. We've had a truck for him for almost a year now. Bran has been driving it and the two of them have been working on it getting it ready for him to take over in July. Last Tuesday night Bran was rear ended on his way home from work. The truck isn't as pretty as it was. Once I got to the scene and knew Bran was going to live my heart sank for Short Man. I was so sad that the truck was wrecked. We're now trying to decide if we're going to fix it or sell it and get him something different. He's such a good little man. He never once asked what kind of shape his truck was in(Bran was still at Urgent Care), he only asked how Bran was. It makes me so proud to have such nice kids.