It's done!

Here is the finished blankie for Monkey Boy's birthday. It needs to be blocked but all ends are taken care of. He loves it. He asked me to wrap it up so he can open it on his birthday. In hindsight I would have made it a bit bigger but oh well. The garter stitch border takes forever but is well worth it.

Black Friday

I just read a story about a Wal Mart worker who was killed this morning by the crowd of people at a store in New York. Really people is a good deal worth that? It seems people just kept running in even when the emergency crews were working on the poor guy. Is this what the holidays have become? I sure hope not. I hope everyone who was in that crowd gets nothing but coal in their stocking this year.

I did take the kids out to Michaels this morning around 10:30 am. It was a zoo but not as bad as it might have been. I got what I needed and got us out of there as fast as I could.

In knitting news: The blankie is almost done. I have 120 stitches left on the needle, 16 stitches to knit to bind off each one. Should be today.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. This year has been hard but I have much to be thankful for.

I am thankful that my kiddos are happy, healthy and safe. It is a joy to be their mother and watch them grow

I am thankful for My Husband who loves me despite the fact that I can be a little nuts

I am thankful for my friends both old and new. You guys make my life rich in so many ways

I am thankful for my family. Mom, Dad, Aunts and Uncles. I have learned so much from all of you.

I am thankful for my online buddies. You guys keep me sane

I hope you all enjoy your Holiday. Eat lots of good food and enjoy lots of good company.

Facebook

Yes I joined yet another networking site. My cousin Aaron invited me to join facebook a while back so I finally took the plunge. I have found many of my High School friends already. It is really fun to see pictures of them and their family's. It is hard to believe it has been so long since I have heard from them. When we were in school together the web was still a dream and we had to learn to use a typewriter (do they even make those anymore?) I think the Internet is the biggest time sucker ever created.

In knitting news: I am still working on the border of the blankie. I put it aside yesterday to work on the socks. I hope to have it done before the holiday weekend is over.
Other than that I got nothing

In politics: I saw on the news today that our Government has taken on 8.5 trillion dollars in bail out related debt this year. Where does this money come from I wonder? China? I am starting to think we had all better learn to speak Chinese soon. What comes after a trillion anyway?

In family life: Bunky is feeling a little better today. She slept well and ate this morning. She seems to be on the mend. Monkey boy talks everyday about "when I go to school" I am glad to see him so excited about it. I have a feeling it will be harder on me to see him go to school that it was with Bunky. He's my last baby and he is growing up fast. I miss the days of baby snuggles but I don't miss the sleepless nights and diapers! Life marches on weather we want it too or not.

Bail Out

I have been watching the news about the overnight bail out of Citi Group. I am just so sick of my tax dollars going to rich people. Why not help some of those small businesses everyone says are the life blood of our economy? Not only does Citi get a bail out but the dummies who messed the company in the first place get to keep their jobs and huge paychecks. If we are saving these companies with tax payer money I feel the morons who made the mess should have to pay. It is starting to feel like the government just does not care about us middle income families anymore. If I hear that we can not raise taxes on the rich one more time I may scream. January 20th can not come soon enough.

In other news: MB Blankie border is well under way. I have about 1/4 of it done so it will be done on time.

What is it?

This is one of the things I saved from the dumpster last year. I think it is a Lute but I have no idea really. We have sold a bunch of stuff from there and done better than we thought we would. I can't find one like it on line. It says Rhapsody on the top and has 8 strings. Other than one broken string and the fact that is so out of tune. It is in perfect shape. Hubby could to tune it if we knew what to tune it to. I have a feeling Two Sock Knitters might know this one.

in blankie news: I am at the point where no matter how long I knit the thing does not seem to get any bigger. He is a little kid so it does not have to be as big as Bunky's. I plan to knit nothing else till its done. Two weeks no problem.

Wish I was there

Here is yet another shot from our last trip to the rockies. There is a great little picnic area there and lots of paths for hiking. It is just so peaceful there. It has been a mad house here the last few days. I had a ton of stuff to take care of for the PTO at Bunky's school, and as always plenty of parents to complain but none to help out. This is my biggest problem with PTO. People want stuff to get done but they don't want to give a few hours to help out. Grrr.

So enough of that. I have added 6" to the blankie. I have one more color stripe to knit then the last black stripe and the border. I hope to have it washed and blocked by MB's birthday. Should still be doable. I also put some time in on Hubby's socks yesterday. He now informs me he would like a new hat also. I have not added it to the holiday knitting list yet. Lets see how things look after the blankie is done. Who knows I may have time. There are after all about 34 knitting days left till Christmas.

Christmas socks

This is Hubby's sock. I should be able to get these done by Christmas eve. That's the start of the first heel. Of coarse I have not touched these in 3 days now due to the blanket. I only have about 50 more rounds to knit on the blanket. There are however about 1200 sts on the needle right now then I have to bind off this thing. Just keep knitting. I am rather upset with myself about the deadline knitting. I had finished early! Then I go and change the rules. I guess it just would not be the Holidays without some stressed out gift knitting.

The socks, by the way are knit on 2.75mm dpn's. The yarn is Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Galaxy Color. Colorway 1552. The wonderful knitlady sent me this yarn last year. The colors pool and stripe to form galaxies. Its kind of awesome. The yarn is a wool/nylon blend so it should wear well. knitlady I miss you! You still out there?

And now I must go knit on the blankie.

A Blankie for Monkey Boy

I have been knitting for 2 whole days now on this. This is Monkey boy's Birthday blankie. He asked for a round blankie like the one I made Bunky last year. "But no girl colors" I may be pushing it with the purple but that is what I had in the stash. One stripe black one color. I hope to put a black border on it but I may not have enough yarn. time will tell.

Because of the blankie I have not touched Hubby's socks. I will get them done in time to go under the tree. I will. I have 36 (I think) more days. I have about 11 days on the blankie.

Hestia-- Greek Goddess of Hearth and Home.

Going to the shop today.

Done

Here are the socks. I kinda love them. The colorway knit up as I had hoped. These are mine!

Bing Bang Burger Basket Weave

Yarn is BunkyBobo's Superwash Sock

Colorway Big Bang Burger Bar

Pattern: I made it up as I went along

Sock #2 just needs a toe.

Also started a new pair of socks for Hubby for Christmas. I guess I just added to my Holiday knitting. Oh well I have time and he is worth it.

What does the sun look like again?

Still no sun here. I can handle the cold but a little sunshine would be nice.
Yesterday Hubby came home early and told me I had a flat tire. No way I had just been driving and it was fine. Well sure enough I hit a screw in the driveway and the tire was flat as could be. The nice dude at Wal-mart said He thought it could be fixed but the screw was too close to the side wall and store policy won't allow him to fix it. Then he says he does not have the right tire in stock and I will need to buy 4 new tires. Yeah right buddy. I told him to forget it and left. I am sure he thought he could get me to buy new tires I don't need. Oh yeah Good times! Hubby says he will take is somewhere to get it fixed.

In knitting news: I had to rip back my February lady sweater. I found a mistake that I just couldn't live with so I will start again after the holiday.

In shop news: there is not much, The merino worsted is soaking. I have not had any sales in a while. I blame this on the bad news about the economy we see every night. No one is buying anything right now. and everyone is hurting. I hope the Government people stop messing around and fix something so people stop losing jobs. GWB seems to be an empty suit now. Counting the days until he can go back to Texas. It can't happen soon enough for me, Maybe Obama can get something done.

Still no sun

There is still no sun to be seen here in the heartland. I thought I saw a bit this morning but by the time I dropped Bunky at school it had gone. Bummer.

I was at Miss Violets the other night and she is having another one of her clear outs. Books, yarn craft stuff you name it. I came home with some purple worsted wool and 2 skeins of lace yarn. What am I thinking? I am not really a lace knitter but the color is so pretty and I'll try anything once. I think I will let it sit in the stash for a while. Maybe I'll use it for vacation knitting next summer.

With Holiday prep well underway here I can report that not only is my gift knitting done but the only people I have to shop for are the kids and Hubby. No kidding, everything that needs shipping is already here waiting for gift wrap and a trip to the post office. I rock! Truth be told I have been gift knitting all year. This worked out great for me. Sort of a one gift one project for me kind of thing. Makes for much less knitting related stress in the fall. I highly recommend it. I can now spend all winter knitting whatever I feel like.

I picked up some undyed worsted wool today to dye up for the shop. I hope to get on that this weekend. Anyone have a colorway request?

New colorway

Hera: Greek Goddess of marriage, women and childbirth. Appears with peacock feathers often. Her symbols are the sceptre, diadem, and peacock.

I have another colorway to show you but we have had no sun for days here. Maybe later today.

Bad Blogger no cookie

I didn't post yesterday, bad blogger no cookie for me. I have been knitting away on the Big Bang socks and not much else. I did go out to Miss Violets place last night to see what she had in her stash sale. She has so much sock yarn but I was good and didn't buy anything. I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money right now.
I did pick up 1000 Yards of purple worsted wool for $8.00. Big spender I know. Not sure if it will be something for Bunky or part on Monkey Boy's blanket. Time will tell.

New colorways

The green/blueish one is Poseidon Greek God of the sea.

The red/purple is Ate: Greek Goddess of foolish acts.

Ate is up in the shop now with Poseidon coming later today.

Phat Fiber

Jessie over at Phat Fiber put up a post about the samples I sent her. Go check it out!

Brand new bag

It went for 70 and sunny on election day to 35 and gloomy by Thursday. Gotta love Nebraska!

I have been busy though. I snagged 2 pairs of hand knit socks on something and now have socks to mend. I don't really know how to do this so I have been hunting the web for a good video or something to help. Anyone know of one? I have struck out.

See this bag? It is the Rio from Jordana Paige. She sent it to me to review on the chum. I love it. You can read all about it here.

Mine is red. Thanks Jordana.

I think I see a little sun out there and I have a new colorway to show you. Lets see if I can get some good pictures.

For my Grandma

The red socks are my Grandma's Christmas gift. They are thick and warm, sure to keep her toes warm in the cold Chicago winter. The green is my Lighthouse Gansey sock. I love it! The pattern is very well written and easy to follow. It is hard to get a good picture of the pattern but trust me its cool. The orangey red one is a sock I started to have something simple to knit in line at the polls. You can't really tell from the pic but there is a basket weave type pattern. The yarn is my own BunkyBobo's hand dyed, colorway Big Bang Burger Bar. 75% wool 25% nylon. Not as soft as I would like but it should hold up well. I knit most of this watching the returns last night to keep from chewing my fingernails off. They may get set aside as I knit socks for the kids for Christmas. I know I said I was done with gift knitting but kid knitting is always going on.

By the way: Monster Boy is now known as Monkey boy. MG is now Bunky Girl. For some reason she doesn't want me to call her Monster Girl anymore. She likes Bunky better so Bunky it is.

Monkey Boy wants a knit blanket for his birthday. His birthday is in 5 weeks so I had better get started. I don't see myself getting it done in time but we shall see. I have to get some yarn for it. He says it must be round like bunky's and blue, green and black. Gotta love a guy who knows what he wants.

A new day

After this post this will be a knitting blog again.
Last night I saw something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. As I was watching the coverage of the party in Grant park all I could think was this is big. This is one of the moments in history I will always remember. To see young and old black and white together in the park weeping with joy was a wonder to behold. I was struck by how Obama seemed to understand the history of the moment and the weight of it on his head. I hope his call to action was heard, and we may as a nation move forward into the 21st century with a new sense of pride and commitment. America only works when we all work together and there is much work to do for all of us. He can not do it alone we must all keep fighting if we really want a better world. I feel like for the first time in my life we have a leader that will lead us all there. I have hope and pride in my country today like I have never had before. What a great time to be alive.

However California shame on you. Prop 8 goes against everything America stands for. I will not be going there anytime soon.

Thanks you all for putting up with the political post. There are done now. Back to the knitting and yarn talk.

Today is the day!!!

I just got back from the polls. I had to wait about an hour to cast my vote but it was worth it. Never in my life has there been an election like this one. I feel like this is what it must have been like for my Dad when he campaigned for Bobby in the 60's. I feel like I am standing at a crossroads of history. This is the day my country can chose to change for the better, This is the day we all stand up and use our voice to say we will not put up with anymore Bull Sh*t. This is the day we chose to move forward. This is the day we show the world what America is all about. Today there is hope for a better world for my kids and all of our kids, This is the day we have all the power to bring real change to our country.

So please, if you live in the USA and you are reading this. Please I beg you get out there and vote, Wait as long as it takes, don't take no for an answer, cast your vote. The very life of our country depends on it. The future of our children depends on what happens today. Please, please, please go vote today. Even if we disagree on who to vote for please go vote.

If you are an Obama person, don't think for a second we have this thing in the bag! GO VOTE!!!

Phat Fiber

I was asked if I would like to be part of Phat Fiber. Phat Fiber is a box of fiber and yarn samples that will go out once a month. Fiber artist from all over are sending in samples. The first box will be available in January. I have made up 40 little mini skeins of yarn and some Bunky Girl Lip Balm that I will be sending out tomorrow. I can't wait to see what will be in my box. You can check out the Phat Fiber Blog to see what kind of things have been sent in already. Jessie will post over there when ordering starts. Check it out. I am so honored to be among the artist in the very first Phat Fiber box.

Also just a small reminder to my USA readers. GO VOTE tomorrow! Really go vote. It could be the most important thing you do all year.

Part time work

Started a part time job today. It will be fine I'm sure. Today was crazy busy which was good because I hate standing around.

In knitting news: I finished a pair of house socks for my Grandma today. Only took me a week to get them done. Fastest socks ever.

In shop news: I had a sale over at Yarny Goodness! First one. I was starting to wonder if it would happen. I really need to send her some more stuff. Pam has tons of great stuff in her shop. Go check it out.

Lame post today I know. I will have fun news for you tomorrow.

Bit Part Demon

"I'm that guy you see in every horror flick.

You may not remember me, I come and go too quick.

You wouldn't know my name, I hardly ever speak a line.

If the hero kills a hundred demons, I'd be the forgettable number thirty nine.

'Cuz I'm a bit part demon, a small time misfit. I'd say you'd be dead by dawn but I don't really mean it.I'm a threat to no one, the other deadites make fun of me."

Hubby sang the song Bit Part Demon in the Halloween show (lyrics above) Well Demons need horns so Here is what I came up with. A knit beanie with big ole horns sticking out. The horns are plastic. The get up worked great on stage. If you are a fan of the Evil Dead movies check out Evil Dead the Musical. It is super funny. Youtube has lots of fun clips of the show.

November is National Blog Posting Month. Last year I managed to post once a day in November We will see if I can keep up this year.