Under the Weather

In addition to having tons of errands and a little work to attend to today I seem to have picked up some sort of tummy bug. Ugh. I hope to be back with some fun pictures tomorrow. :-)

Monday Mail

I know, I know...it's Tuesday. But I wanted to show my special yarn from Susie yesterday all by itself. It definitely deserved not to have to share a post with other yarns. :-)

Other yarns did arrive yesterday though and without further ado I present...
Sock Hop in Midnight Hour.

Socks That Rock Lightweight in Cotton Candy.

And last, but definitely not least, Prism Lace Wool in Periwinkle.

I was reading the Harlot today and she wrote about using more yarn than you bring in. I think it's a stellar idea. Unfortunately, it's not working for me. Yet.

Sunshine Susie

I've been having a bit of a hard time lately. I won't get in to it here, God forbid I admit things aren't all rainbows and lollipops. It's really sad when you can't post something on your own blog without getting half a dozen nasty comments or emails. The emails and anonymous comments really get me. I mean, if you're going to waste your time and mine being completely rude and obnoxious at least have the balls to leave your name or post publicly to the blog so everyone can see what kind of a person you are. And before you tell me I'm rude and obnoxious for posting my feelings here, please let me remind you that this is my blog and that you have a mouse you can easily use to click your way to someone else's blog that you find less offensive.

That wasn't what I wanted to post about. I want to post about Susie. Dear, sweet, kind, loving, amazing Susie.

She sent me this today.

For no reason other than that it was singing my name. I can't even begin to tell you how this brightened my day. Thank you so much for the incredible yarn and more importantly, for being you, Susie!!! God bless. :-)

Bailey Bunny

That's what this little gal will be called when she is finished. She will be part of Duder's Easter basket this year. I think they're going to be great friends. She is the Bunny with Hoodie pattern from Fuzzy Mitten. If you love knit toys you've got to check out her patterns. They're incredible!

Happy Ending

As promised, I've made a real effort to spend some time each day with Duder doing something she loves. Yesterday we made these...

This is Larry the Leprechaun. Mine is shown here hanging from the living room door. Duder, Darcie, and Dan hung theirs on their bedroom doors. Too cute.

In other news, I received a package in the mail today from my swap pal. She really came through and I appreciate her doing so very, very much.

This will become a pair of socks for Bran. Thank you, pal, from the bottom of my heart. :-)

At the End of My Rainbow

Duder loves to do crafty things. She pointed out to me the other night in the middle of a minor meltdown (she was WAY over tired) that I don't play with her as much as I used to. She said I spend too much time doing housework these days. (I know several people who would beg to differ with that statement.) So I promied that I would make a better effort to spend more time doing Duder things each day. Yesterday I poked around on Nick Jr for a few minutes and found a really cool game. She and I colored Spongebob and his pants after lunch and patiently waited for Dan and Darcie to be done school so they could play too. I'm always amazed when the kids have such a blast with something so incredibly simple. 2 pieces of paper and all 3 of them played for a little more than an hour and laughed like crazy the entire time. There's nothing better than the sound of happy kiddos. Duder declared yesterday the best day of her life. I had fun too. I got to be the blindfolder and the spinner.

Now that Valentine's Day is over Duder's focus is on St. Patty's Day. So I looked around online while she was in school this morning and came up with some really neat ideas.

The kids and I made this after school today. They all traced their hands on the construction paper and cut them out. I made the cloud, stuffed it, and assembled the hands when they were done. Now we have a rainbow so the leprechauns can leave a pot of gold next month when they visit.

Worth the Wait

Dudes, I have been waiting a really, really, really long time to get me some of this:

It's Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop in The Beat Goes On. And it's everything I thought it would be and more. I can't wait to cast on. I love that it comes in 2 hanks. Now I don't have to agonize over splitting it equally to knit some toe up socks so I can use every single bit of this precious yarn. I'm a little light headed just thinking about it.

I also bought this skein of STR Lightweight in Jingle Bell Rock from another Ravelry user. I told you Ravelry is addicting. ;-)

My New Friend

I'm absolutely loving the Swallowtail. I won't bore you with pictures tonight because I really don't have much more done now than I did yesterday. But I did spend some time with it and did make a little progress. It's still lovely and I'm still entranced. :-)

Silky Sweetness

I got this silky sweet Rown Kidsilk Night from Jenifer a couple days ago for a swap we did and I've been petting it since it arrived trying to decide just what it should grow up to be.

It finally spoke to me (after browsing Ravelry for a bit) and said it would like to become a gorgeous Swallowtail Shawl. I agreed and cast on.

It's still just a wee little baby right now but we'll be spending lots of time together helping it grow. Jenifer said this is one of her favorite lace yarns and I can see why. It's knitting up into a fabulously squishy fabric. Yum! Thanks again Jenifer!

Valentine's Day Lovin'

Well, here is the majority of my Valentine's Day present to me...

From The Loopy Ewe:
5 new sock patterns and 2 new shawl patterns.Paca-Peds Heels & Toes in Carribean Chocolate and Paca-Peds in Singin' the Blues.More Duet Skinny. This time in Frosticle, Spring Glen, and La Donna.






From All Spun Up:

L-O-V-E

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

(Sorry the top of the heart got cut off, my stupid scanner doesn't seem to like to scan an entire image for some reason.)

I'm Loopy

A Loopy Groupie at The Loopy Ewe, that is! How exciting is that??? Wanna see my 6th order?




There we have 2 Monica Jines sock patterns, an incredible glove pattern I can't wait to start, Seacost Handpainted Yarns Panda in Sugar Plum (1 of my gifts for becoming a Loopy Groupie. Can you believe that??? What an insanely generous gift!!!), Great Adirondack Silky Sock in Maple Leaf, Ivory and Chinese Red Shi Bui to knit the gloves with, and Butterscotch Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock for one of the new sock patterns. I also received the great see through tote and the sheep calendar in my order as welcome gifts. And some kisses that got eaten before the picture was taken. Sheri really goes all out. I am so totally blown away every time I order. I always have my orders within a few days. They are always wrapped so nicely in tissue paper. And the best thing of all? A handwritten note from Sheri thanking me for my order. If you've not checked them out you really owe it to yourself to get over there right now. Just don't say I didn't warn you about it being an addictive site.

L-A-Z-Y

Well, I didn't quite make it to my post for Tuesday did I? I went in to lay down with Duder and I didn't get back up. Until now. And now I'm wide awake. Damn bladder.

I wanted to let everyone know that the Yarn Junkies swaps for the next year are now all setup over on swap-bot. I had several requests to keep this going and it was pretty fun this past year. There were some flakes who didn't send anything to their pals at all. As we all know, 1 flake is always too many but as things went it wasn't all that bad. Unless of course you were one of the ones that didn't get your package and then it just plain sucked. I'm hoping we don't have any this year at all since I tried fairly unsuccessfully to get angels for the people who were bailed on. Poo. Anywho, if you're interested in continuing or if you're new and want to sign up you can go check out next months swap here. The swaps are listed in the knitting and yarn catagories if you'd like to look for other months.

Leslie - The chevron that I showed yesterday is (or will be) a scarf. It's knit with 4 balls of Koigu and should measure about 78" when it's finished. So far I'm still totally in love with it but I can see how Starfish would have fallen out with it. 78" in fingering weight on size 5 needles definitely requires a committment. Hell, it'll take longer to knit than Brittany's marriages have lasted.

Shelby - The pattern is in the Last Minute Knitted Gifts book. Love this book! There are several great patterns although I think it would be worth the price even if it were bought for the scarf pattern alone.

Sandie - The only sweater I've knit in fingering weight yarn is the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. It works out to a newborn size and was a complete pleasure to knit. I don't know that I'd have the paitence to knit something larger although with some of the incredible sock yarns out there it might not be too bad. :-)

Chevron Craze

I have a feeling these things are totally like potato chips. You can't stop at one. It's much bigger now but I've been too lazy to take a current picture. I can't wait to cast on with the Louet I got at Sue's last weekend. It's going to be gorgeous.

Tiny Thuja

Doesn't look too bad does it? I started out with the size 2 needle and decided it was a little too loose for the heel, foot, and toe. So I went to a size 1 (2.25mm) when I started the heel flap and have just continued on for the rest of the sock with the size 1. Instead of decreasing back down to 52 stitches on the gusset I only decreased to 64 stitches and it worked great. I showed them to my dad last weekend and he loves them. I'm almost ready to start the toe decrease now. I hope to get to that tonight or tomorrow.

6 Months

It occured to me that I've not posted a picture of Dexter since he was a fluffy new puppy. He was 6 months old on Thursday and he's still just as sweet as he was the day we brought him home. Except when he's chewing things. Like the living room carpet. Or the remote control. Twice.

There he is. All 68 pounds of him. He's not speaking to me right now. We didn't quite see eye to eye on the carpet and remote issue. I hollered. He hopped up on the couch for a nap. He clearly could care less that I'm not happy.

Napolean Creams

My sweet friend Diane includes this recipe in the wonderful sweet trays she makes at Christmas and we all fight over who will get them. She was kind enough to share the recipe with me and I thought I'd share it with you before I go make a batch of them. Hopefully they'll turn out as good as hers do. Wish me luck!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup margarine
3 tbsp. milk
1 3 3/4 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar
1 6oz. package semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. margarine

Combine 1/2 cup margarine, cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla in a double boiler on medium heat. Stir until margarine is melted. Add beaten egg. Stir about 3 minutes, until thickened. Add graham crackers and coconut, mix well. Press into greased 9x9 pan.

Cream together 1/2 cup margarine, milk, pudding mix, and powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy and spread over crust. Chill until firm.

Stir chocolate chips and 2 tbsp margarine in double boiler over low until melted. Cool slightly and spread over pudding layer. Chill until set.

Pentathlon

Has anyone heard of the Sock Knitters Pentathlon over on Yahoo Groups? I've requested membership and can't wait to see what they're up to. It sounds like a lot of fun. I just hope I'm not too late for the first pattern. If anyone has any info or an opinion I'd love to hear it!

Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts with "C"

Ok guys, I'm so totally in love with Cookie A.'s sock patterns that I decided to start a swap over on swap-bot. Although I already own her Marilinda and Twisted Flower patterns, I'm hoping that if I swap with someone else I might be nudged to ACTUALLY knit one of her patterns. If you're interested in the details go check out the swap page. The Loopy Ewe has quite a few of her patterns as well as some awesome yarn to go with. :-)

Perfect Pair

Are these not the most perfect yarns you've ever seen?

They are Duet Sock Yarns Skinny in Neon Love and Tranquil Abyss.

I got these at The Loopy Ewe and I am in love. Yum. I had originally ordered one of them for a swap I joined but when they arrived I just couldn't part with either one. I'm weak. Ok, borderline pathetic. But seriously, could you give one of them up?

Hank's Place

First of all...how about that game last night??? Holy crap!!! I honestly wasn't holding out much hope after the Patriots made that last touchdown. I didn't think there was anyway Manning was going to make it back down the field. But he did. DAMN!!! I only wish we had put some money on the game since Bran called the score about 2 weeks ago. Maybe I'd be writing this from Acapulco right now. ;-)

Ok, on to what you're all really here for...

Wagtail Yarns Sport Weight Kid Mohair Yarn in Dodger Blue. I have no idea what I'll do with this but it was too gorgeous to pass up.

Some Louet Gems which has been handpainted by Cherry Tree Hill. It's the fingering weight and the colors are (from left to right) Blueberry Hill, Moody Blues, and Winterberry. Blueberry Hill and Winterberry will become another Chevron Scarf and Moody Blues will be socks. I think.

Some gorgeous Schaefer Anne in great masculine colors. I think the one on the left will be socks for Daddy and the one on the right will be socks for the hubby.

And last but definitely not least...

I bought 16 of these gorgeous little babies. I've already started playing with an afghan design. I can't tell you how much I love working with this alpaca. It's just as smooth as butter. And won't clog your arteries. Doesn't get any better than this.

S is 4...

SALE!!! At Adirondack Yarns. Which is where I'm off to in just a few minutes. Sue's offering 20% off all yarn purchased in the store and 10% off all yarn purchased online. If you should happen to buy something online don't be put off by the shipping charges. The website is still fairly new and Sue's having trouble with the shipping. She said the rates seemed quite high online but is still only charging actual cost. If you want to know the correct total you can give her a call and she'll be happy to tell you what it'll be.

STASH!!! Which will be growing when I get home from the sale today. :-) Pictures tomorrow. I plan to buy some alpaca to knit into an afghan.

SUPER BOWL!!! I can't wait to watch the game tonight. GO GIANTS!!!

Smokin' Good Time

Thank you so very much to all of you who offered advice and opinions on what I should do with the scarf kit and sock. I've decided I'm definitely returning the scarf and will write an email to the company to let them know I returned it and why. Just to refresh their memories.

I've also decided to keep going on the sock for my dad. I brought it to breakfast with me this morning and got a big thumbs on it. I went down to the size 1 needle when I started the heel flap and will finish the sock off with it. I think the fit will be just fine. He has pretty narrow feet but instead of doing my usual every row decrease through the gusset I'm going to do it every other row instead just to be safe. I think it'll work out fine.

In other news, my 16.5 year old son is at his very first sleep over tonight. I was shocked. He and one of the other kids from football went to dinner tonight to discuss all things Super Bowl. He called when they were done and said they were going to go put gas in the truck then asked if he could go spend the night to hang out and watch a couple movies. They were also going to go litter the yard at the medical center with pink flamingos for the art club. His friends dad is the head of the art department at the high school and I believe the flamingos go in the yards of the supporters of the department. They are such a great family and I'm so glad they've become such great friends. I have to admit it's a little odd having my little man out at a friends house. Darcie is at the asshole's house this weekend so it's really quiet here. Thank God Duder is here to provide a little noise and entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment...on Tuesday night we went over to my parents for cupcakes to celebrate her birthday. My mother put some of those stupid trick candles in her cupcakes. She blew a couple times and of course couldn't get them to go out. Darcie asked if she could blow some out and Duder screamed at her. She told her she had to blow out her wish by herself so it would come true. Too funny. What wasn't so funny was when we had finally got them out and sat down for the cupcakes, I realized she had cinged her hair on the damn candles. I got a little excited. Which got her a little excited. Ok, a lot excited. She jumped out of her chair and started running in circles smacking the top of her head screaming at me..."How could you Mommy??? How could you let me catch my hair on fire??? How come you didn't out it out??? Do I have any hair left???" I don't think she'll ever forget her 5th birthday. I know I sure won't.

Go Ahead, Make My Day

Leslie sent me this yesterday and I was completely blown away. I met Leslie when I first started blogging and I am truly blessed for having her in my life. Thank you Leslie for making my day and for being such an incredible friend!

In addition to Leslie, I'm supposed to list 10 people who make my day.

Sandie

Marguerite

Stephanie

Robin

TheAmpuT

Dave

Jody

Shelby

Laura

Velma

Everyone on this list (and Leslie too, don't forget Leslie) inspires me in some way or another and they totally deserve this award. :-)