Should They Stay

or should they go?




So the scarf kit I purchased over the weekend is from the same store I had a less than satisfactory experience in some time ago. I'm trying to remember if I told you all about it or not but I have no idea. I think I purposely block out the things in life that make me crazy. You see, we spent an entire day one weekend driving around aimlessly trying to find this damn yarn store in the middle of nowhere. It was pouring. Buckets. Of cats and dogs. And we had all 3 of the kids with us. Who knew we had set out for a trip to a yarn store. But the ads I had seen for the store were amazing. Well worth getting lost for hours in the pouring rain with 3 kids loudly protesting a trip to a yarn store. It was supposed to be packed to the rafters with more yarn and other knitterly things than you'd ever find in one location. But when we got there the cupboards were bare. Seriously. They had very little inventory. Not enough of one yarn to knit even a baby blanket. Hardly any needles. Very few modern patterns. I wondered if I was in the right store or not. I politely asked if there was another floor or stock in another area since the ads I'd seen made the store look much larger and much more full of merchandise. In fact, they advertised an extensive list of yarn lines and patterns that they didn't even have a quarter of. The sales woman was very snippy and rude and told me that they have the largest store with the biggest inventory in the entire state of NY. I knew that simply wasn't true since even the little hole in the wall LYS here in Saranac Lake carries a larger inventory than they had. Nope, that was it. A few minutes later a man walked in and the clerk loudly told him I had asked if there was another part of the store I was missing. He got rude and started swearing. I placed the few things I was going to buy back in their places and walked out of the store empty handed. I emailed the store that night or the following day hoping to get some sort of justification for the obnoxious behavior of the clerk and her friend but was pretty much blown off. I vowed to tell everyone I knew about the store and hoped with all my might that they would be out of business soon. Obviously I didn't get my wish.

My problem? I really, really, really love this scarf kit. And they are the only ones who sell the kit. It's their yarn and their pattern. Even though I bought it at a different store, I'm still supporting that nasty store back in Woodstock that I'd still love to put out of business. What to do, what to do? Should I pull up my big girl panties and get over it? Should I return the kit to the store I bought it from? Help me decide.

My other little problem is trying to decide if I want to keep going on these socks for my dad.

It's the Thuja pattern from Knitty in Bearfoot's Tamarack colorway. I personally love the pattern and the yarn but given the fact that my dad thought the cabled socks were "womanly" I'm wondering if he'll think the same of these. I'm currently working this on a US 2 Addi over 52 stitches. If I keep going I'll definitely have to go down to a 1 once the leg is completed. Do you think there's enough stretch in that rib to not increase the number of stitches I work for the foot?

Can't wait to hear your advice on both topics. :-)

K, My Name is Kerry

and I come from...

Ok, so I don't come from a place that starts with K but I sure as hell went shopping and bought some...

KA cable needles. Oh, and a few other things too. Like an Addi Turbo to start another Chevron Scarf. Yeah, I'm that addicted. An Addi Lace needle to start the Fiber Trends Angel Lace Shawl pattern I also purchased. Then there's the Claudia's Hand Painted Silk Lace that will become the shawl. There's also a great green Alpaca Sox for Bran and some Schaeffer Anne for me. Also for me is the Gems that will become some fingerless gloves. For me. And an incredible Woodstock Wool Company scarf kit. For me. (I must go Google this company now to be sure it isn't the same one we visited several years ago that not only employs, but is also owned, by some of the rudest people on the face of the Earth. I hope it's not because I really love the pattern for the scarf and really would hate to have to return it. Will let you know tomorrow if it stays or goes.)

Happy, Happy Birthday Baby!

On January 29, 2003 my littlest princess was born. Here she is just a few hours old in her daddy's arms. I'll never forget the look on his face and the tears running down his cheeks the second she was delivered and he saw her. We've been madly in love with her from the time we found out we were expecting her.



Here she is on her first birthday. Every kid has to have a good ole chocolate cupcake to celebrate their first birthday, right?



And her second birthday. In the box one of her presents came in. She played with the box more than she played with the toy. Isn't that typical kid fashion?


And with Mickey on her 3rd birthday. I'd like to say she had outgrown tormenting the poor cat by the time she turned 3 but that would be a lie. In fact, she still torments him now.



And last year when she turned 4. Eating breakfast in her summer nightgown. The kid refuses to keep clothes on so I consider myself fortunate to have even summer clothes on her in the dead of winter.



Today she is 5. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. She's kind, smart, and hilarious. Really. Just this weekend she was giving my dad all kinds of grief for giving her money for her birthday. She demanded to know why it was that they had to give her money instead of buying her presents. My father explained that they'd rather give her cash so she could buy something she wanted and so that they wouldn't have to return something that she might not want. She got even more disgusted, put her hands on her hips, and said, "presents are a very important part of the birthday experience." Yeah, her papa was speechless.

Her shirt says here comes the sun shine. Very fitting. Oh, and there's the new sheep I bought to replace the lost one. She came into the dining room with her hands behind her back. I asked what she had and she held it out. She played with it for the better part of an hour. Honest.

Part 2

Yes Kelly, there is a huge cliff beneath the truck. I think if the accident didn't kill me I'd have died of a heart attack when I saw that drop off.

Thanks for sharing this with me Sandie!

Part 1

I know I was supposed to treat you all to pictures of my stash from yesterday but I got this email from a dear friend and I just had to share it. It's coming to you in installments and you're never going to believe how it ends. See that truck down below? It was travelling from the right of the photo to the left when it went through the guardrails, flipped end over end across the culvert and landed right side up facing the opposite direction it was originally coming from.

That's it for today folks. You'll have to tune back in tomorrow to see how it ends. You really don't want to miss it. (I feel like I'm running sweeps week on my blog or something...don't miss tomorrow's exciting episode of As Kerry Knits. hehe)

Fudge

We took a trip to Albany this afternoon and I thought all the way down about what I would post. It was going to be funny. And witty. We stopped at Saratoga Needle Arts on the way and I bought a little yarn. I took pictures from the cell phone to show. We had dinner and got back in the van to continue on to Albany and I tried logging in to Blogger from the cell phone to post my funny, witty post. And I couldn't get in. Seems Verizon doesn't trust Blogger enough to let me in from the cell phone. So what do I have now? Nuthin' but a pissy attitude. I'll have pictures tomorrow. And maybe I'll be funny and witty too. But I doubt it. ;-)

Oh My! You're HUGE!

Is exactly what I said when I opened my package from Simply Socks and pulled out my very own hank of sKNITches! It's 420 yards but damn it feels like twice that amount. I chose the Mint Mocha Latte color and it looks as good as it sounds. I can smell the mint. I also got a hank of Classic Elite's Alpaca Sox to try. I think my dad will love a pair of simple black socks. Oh, and another sheep tape measure since I can't find the one I previously had. I have a feeling if I checked the kids rooms really well I'd find it. My three kiddos find nothing more amusing than pulling the tape measure out of the sheeps ass and watching it get sucked back in.

Copy Cat

That there is An Unoriginal Hat. As soon as I saw the pattern from Yarn Harlot I knew I had to knit it. I used Catalina Yarns Painted Lady that I got at Adirondack Yarns. It worked so well with the pattern. This is such a quick and easy knit. And I have to thank my hubby for modeling it. I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled he was about it. LOL

Melissa - If you click the yarn tab at the top of the page in Ravelry and enter the yarn you're looking for in the search box it'll show you a page (if you're not specific enough in your search you'll get a page with all the yarns for a manufacturer, if that happens just click your choice to get to the main page for the yarn you want) which has other tabs at the top. If you click the stashes tab at the top it'll show you what everyone else has in their stash. The people who are willing to sell or trade what they have in their stash will show first and there is usually a little envelope you can click on to get in touch with the person about buying or swapping. Don't say I didn't warn you about this being addictive. ;-) Could you please leave me a link for your chevron kal? I'd love to look at it.

Mail Call

I finished this up for my dishcloth swap and got her package in the mail. I hope she likes it.

I also got lots of goodies in the mail yesterday.

Some gorgeous lilac Zephyr for my Spring Shawl Surprise.
And some Koigu for a chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I found these 5 hanks of Koigu on Ravelry. Not only is Ravelry dangerous for those of us with startitis, it's also dangerous for those of us looking for yarn.

I'm All Heart

I knit these up last night for a dishcloth swap I joined. The pictures are really crappy. There's a heart in the center of the red one and the white one has a total of 9 "quilted" hearts on it. The designers have awesome photos on their blogs and you can see them and get the pattern by clicking the links. Since we're swapping near Valentine's Day I thought it would be fun to knit some dishcloths with hearts in appropriate colors. My pals favorite color is blue though so I'll also be knitting a circular cloth in shades of blue to include in her package.

Kelly - I've mostly used worsted Lamb's Pride held double for the soles of the clogs I've knit and they seem to be holding up really well. If you wear them on carpet though they won't last as long as the friction wears the soles much faster. We have all hardwood so there's no issue here. I think if I had carpet I'd buy the leather soles Fiber Trends sells to prolong their life. Hope this helps! :-)

Good Sports

If you didn't watch the Giants play the Packers last night you totally should have! It was an incredible game. I was right on the edge of my seat. I have to admit I thought there was absolutely no way NY was going to make a 47 yard field goal. Especially after missing a 36 yard kick not too long before. But they did it!!! Now they're off to Arizona to take on the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I can't wait! February 3rd can't come fast enough. Then the Daytona 500 comes just 2 weeks after. I'm getting lightheaded just thinking about it.

I finished the Stulpen Fingerless Gloves (scroll down for the English version) up last night watching the game:

Here's a close up of the cables:

These were such a great knit and I can't wait to make more. They went really quickly and are so super cushy. Love. Them. These will be gifted to a special lady at Duder's school. I hope she likes them.

Oh, Leslie answered this question in the comments yesterday but just in case you missed it, the pattern for the clogs is the Fiber Trends Felted Clog (AC-33) pattern and it's one of my favorites. I've knit lots of them and they've always been well received. The pattern looks way more complicated it than it is because there are so many lines. It really is quite simple to knit and there are absolutely no errors in the pattern.

Clog Dancing

I bought some Noro Kureyon about 2 years ago specifically for a pair of clogs for Bran. Then it got lost in my stash. Yikes. That's scary isn't it? It is to me. Anywho, I dug through my stash shortly before our anniversary searching for the Noro I knew I had. Way at the back of the closet in one of the bottom bins I found it hiding. I brought it out and knit it up into these:

My hubby loves them. Don't his feet look happy?


I wasn't crazy about the way the Kureyon felted. It took forever. And as I'm sure you can guess, it felted much more slowly than the other yarn I used for the sole and trim. Oh well. He has no idea the trouble I had and quite honestly, he wouldn't care if he did. He's just happy to have some new clogs.

I Want To Love Him and Pet Him and Call Him Baldy

Several weeks ago my mother called all excited. She asked if Brandon could see the HUGE bird that was out back in the tree. We looked and looked and saw nothing. I went back to the living room and a minute later Bran hollered that it was moving. I ran out to see what the fuss was about. There was definitely a bird in the tree out back. And it was definitely big. My mother insisted she and my father thought it was a bald eagle. I didn't agree. I thought it was an owl. Brandon got the binoculars out.

As Duder says, "HA, I was right!"

The strangest thing about this (other than the fact that 3 grown adults mistook an owl for a bald eagle) is that in all the years I've lived here I've not once seen an owl. I can't even remember hearing an owl. This was definitely a treat to see.

We've affectionately named him Baldy. You know, just so my parents and Bran don't feel so bad. ;-)

In My Room

We did a little construction over the holidays. Dan built an incredible platform bed for Darcie with storage bins underneath. We moved some things around and freed up a lot of floor space in her tiny room. She loves it. We have a hard time getting her out of there now.

He also built a wall between the dining room and kitchen. The dining room is now our bedroom. Do you hear that? Our very own bedroom. We haven't had our own room in almost 5 years. It's small and our laundry room is right off it but it's all ours. With a locking door. I'm in heaven.

SO, that means the little monkey now has her very own room as well. And guess what? She loves it! She plays up there for hours on end. She cleans it at night before she goes to bed. In her own bed. Where she sleeps most, if not all, of the night. Her toys have been moved from the living room. There's no more mess. It's amazing.

His and Hers

And Hers
I saw the brown sock yarn and eBay and immediately thought of Bran. Then I saw the pink and thought of me. And when the Barbara Walker book came through one of the swap lists for only $10 I couldn't resist.

MMMalabrigo

Duder asked for a new hat and mitts this year so I dove into my stash and pulled out some Malabrigo. The mitts are an old classic pattern I found here and the hat the Fiber Trends Ear Cozies pattern that I can't get enough of. Don't worry, Duder hasn't been freezing since I knit these at the end of fall but am just getting around to posting about them now. I also ripped the hat back after taking the picture because I realized I hadn't knit it long enough. It fits great now and she loves the set.

Send Sweaters

I seriously need some help. This fingerless mitt addiction seems to be as bad as my sock addiction. This is the Stulpen pattern and it's lovely. These will be a gift for nice lady at Duder's school. I hope she likes them. I'm knitting them in Frog Tree sport weight alpaca. What's not to like, right?

Right Hand Mitt

I can't stop knitting fingerless mitts. I want to knit them for everyone I know. Fetching truly got me hooked. I'm knitting up this pair of Honeycomb Fingerless Mitts in Willow sport weight Louet and I love them! They work up really quickly on size 2 needles and are so very pretty. These will be for Darcie. She requested a couple more pair of mitts in addition to her Fetching so I thought it would be fun to knit some different patterns for her. She loves this one too and can't wait until the pair is done so she can wear them.

Just Call Me Angel

Here are the angels from Christmas Eve mass.

I'm sure you've probably all guessed by now that Duder is on the left. See her little purple sweater peeking out from under the sleeve of her costume?

The plan was that they would all walk up to the alter together and then turn around so we could see their smiling little faces. Yeah, they forgot to turn around. And for most of them it was their first time being in the procession and standing at the alter so they really weren't smiling. They certainly were mesmerized though and Duder can't wait until she gets to go back up front for story time again. :-)

Butterflies & Bumble Bees

I finally finished the little Baby Bees Sweater I started for Duder way back in June of 2005. How pathetic is that? It was finished in November so it took 2.5 years to get this thing done. In my defense, I foolishly started knitting it in Red Heart so it could be easily thrown in the washer and dryer. What a moron I can be sometimes. I don't know why it is that I insist on knitting things for the kids in acrylic when I know damn right well that it's going to drive me crazy to knit with it. LOL

She really loves her sweater and has worn it alot since I finished it. She even wore it to mass on Christmas Eve under her angel costume.

This was the day after I finished it. We were getting ready to leave for school. She wasn't picking her nose, she was giggling. I think. ;-)