Happy New Year

I just love these new PJ's the kids got for Christmas. Hard to see in the pic but MB's have sock monkeys on them.

Yarn: BoboSocks colorway: Voodoo Child pattern: my basic sock. I love to have a pair of brand new wool socks to wear Christmas morning!

Hubby's new hat! Yarn: Dale of Norway Helio spruce and taupe. Pattern made up as I went along.

As you can see we all made it through Christmas. There was a lot less under the tree this year but the kids did not seem to notice. They both got the one thing they wanted most (zu zu pet for Bunky and a Lego set for MB) They were thrilled.

I am really pretty glad to let 2009 go. It has been a tough year for us. I have a good feeling about 2010. Happy New Year everybody! Be safe if you go out tonight. and Happy Birthday to my little brother! He is 35 today!

update

So Hubby's new hat is done,blocked,wrapped and under the tree. That was the last of my Christmas Knitting so now I can knit for myself. I finished a pair of socks yesterday. Now I get to pick a new sock project today. My sock yarn stash is getting a little thin. I have not bought any sock yarn since last Christmas. After we do our taxes might be a good time to refit the sock stash.

On to new projects: I got a huge bag of acrylic yarn from GAH and Mom so I pulled a bunch out and started a blanket for my Dad. Just a small one for his lap when he is doing the crossword. Hope this one doesn't take me a year to finish. I also started a new colorwork hat for myself. I'm not so sure I love the colors... It may end up in the 2010 gift pile.

I have everything ready for Christmas. Hubby and I decided to go easy on the gifts this year so we had a little extra to spend on food for a great Holiday meal. All homemade, no boxes. We both love to cook so it should be fun. I am going to make sweet rolls, applesauce, beer bread and black forest pie. Should be a whole day of family fun in the kitchen.
I had thought I would be working this Christmas but it has not turned out that way. I am glad to be able to spend this time with Bunky and Bobo. We have been baking cookies and making crafts. The cool thing is I managed to give a handmade Christmas this year. Well I bought stuff for the kids but everyone else got handmade. Feels pretty good

Just a short word on the political news of the day. I am starting to think I could run for the US congress. Seems to me you don't have to be smart. Just willing to sell you soul and your state to the highest bidder. Come on people... One side can't keep it together and the other side just wants to see our President fail at everything, no matter what. MB's Kindergarden class is better behaved than this bunch of well paid, overgrown children. On second thought I may just be too grown up to run for Congress. Oh and I have morals and ethics. Puts me right out.

Done!

And it only took me a year to finish it! The Rocky Mnt Log Cabin Blanket is ready to be shipped off in time for Christmas!

Christmas

Santa is showing off the finish Auction scarf. I love how this turned out. BunkyBobo's merino sock yarn.

Red and Green Center Squares. One for MB and one for me. BunkyBobo's Worsted, Pattern from knitty.
There are more of these hats but I sent them off before pictures. Maybe I will get pics after the holiday.

As for the rest of the holiday gifts I have added one hat to the list but I will make it no problem. I love that feeling. I wonder how long before I decide to add something else?

Somebody stop me!

So remember the Center Square hats from the last post. So I am almost done with #9 with at least 1 maybe 2 more to go! The good news is that all gifts to be shipped will then be finished. Teacher gifts are done, auction scarf is done, and Grandma new hat is all done. Grandma is getting a Malabrigo hat. I'll show you when its blocked. Then the only Holiday knitting left is whatever I choose to make for Hubby and the kids. Hubby is going to get a new hat. After 2 years of wearing his We call 'em Pirates hat his boss told him he couldn't wear it to work because of the skulls. He loves it because it is thick and lined. I have some DK weight wool in stash. I just need to find/create a chart for it.

Still looking for a job

More gifts done!

2 Matching Center Square hats for my Brothers 2 boys. The yarn is Cascade 220 and Patons Classic Wool. After a soak in the wool wash they are soft and warm. I have also knit this pattern for my Brother and Sil in different colors. I love this pattern. Super easy. Great hat.

The Birthday Cowl. Yarn is BunkyBobo's Worsted wool, left over from the gold shawl. For Grandma S.

There is more to come...

More Knitting

Top photo is the Christmas Auction Scarf. I love the graphic stripes. I dyed the yarn, 2 ply superwash merino. I really want to keep this one but I promised so off the the school auction it goes.

The other pic is 2 little felted monsters. I have these 2 bodies stashed in my knits o shame box. Some buttons for eyes and a little bit of felted yarn for the hair. The kids love them. Bobo runs around with his all day. I need to take some more pictures. I have 8 fo's sitting here to show you. I have knit 4 hats and 4 cowls in the last week or so. I am very close to finishing the gift knitting.

GAL will be here for Thanksgiving! I can't wait to see her! I have a box of BunkyBobos yarn here for her. Can't wait to see what she has planned for it.

btw I can hear Bunky reading The Lorax to MB. Very cute.

For Teacher

This came out so well I want to keep it for myself. The purple yarn is Frog Tree baby alpaca sport. The Grey is a dark grey alpaca I got at the Estes Wool Market 2 summers ago. Just 1 row stripes in the same triangle shape I have been knitting all year. It is soft and cozy. Bunky asked me to give it to her teacher for Christmas so off it goes. I do have enough grey left to knit another. I have a few other gifts done and a few to go. I really need to finish the scarf for the school auction and the Log Cabin Blanket before anything else.

Trade

Over the summer I dyed some yarn for my friend Kara. In return she spun this for me. I had dyed the merino roving. It is lovely and soft. Now that I see it I don't think I want to knit what I had planned this for.

Update

Well I was let go form my new job yesterday. I was told that I don't fit into their business model. WTF? 2 weeks in and this happens. It is for the best as I have had a bad feeling about it from the beginning. I kept my worries to myself, writing on the blog and facebook that all was well and I loved working there. I know the company keeps tabs on what their people say online and I did not want to rock the boat. I just want to work hard and help people see better. I don't want to be anywhere I am not wanted so I guess it is all for the best. I am on the job hunt again. Sure hope it goes faster this time. I really do want to work.
Thanks to my wonderful friends for supporting me. You know who you are and I love you for it! Knitters I will fill you in next Wednesday at WF.

New Job New Socks

I started a new pair of socks.Yarn is my BoboSocks in the VooDoo Child colorway. Rockin!

As for my new job, I love it. There is a bit of added stress of having the owner here and getting the place open but as of today we are open. I happen to have today off but will be there most of the rest of the week. The people are a lot of fun and the place looks great. Time to sell some glasses! I am excited to go to work. Gotta love that.

The kids are adjusting. They start afterschool program next week.

Home at last!

So after 2 long weeks of training in sunny Modesto California I am home. I will be working for Stanton Optical. We open here in Omaha in about a week or so. I will be working with the Doctor and selling glasses and contacts again. The people I will be working with are great and I think it could be a lot of fun. The store is still being built but they're really close. I'll let you know when we open.

California was sunny and beautiful all but one day. On the day in question people freaked out over a little rain (2" over the course of a whole day) and 30 mph winds. Here in the Midwest we laugh at weather like that. People were amazed. They were shocked to learn that there was snow where I was from that week. I was rather pleased to come home to find sunny warm weather had returned to the Midwest. Theres no place like home.

I did have a great day off with my new GM Stacy. We went to San Fransisco for a day of shopping in Chinatown. And lunch and more shopping on Fisherman's Wharf. My budget was tight so I did not look for yarn. I knew I would just long for yarns I can't really afford right now. However it was a great day. I love the feel of a big city. We saw cool local artist and old white guys breakdancing. We also got to see the invasion of the sea lions at pier 39. There were so many, the picture only shows about a quarter of them. This is becoming a problem for the boats in the bay. Many boat docks had a random sea lion just hanging out there. Makes me wonder what happened to their home.

I didn't have tons of knitting time, but I did finish Hubbys birthday socks.

off to Cali

So I got this new job and they are sending me to California for 2 weeks of training. I leave on a 6:00 am flight Monday morning. I just found out about this yesterday. I have a ton of things to take care of before I go. What knitting should I take? I'll be back home on the 18th. See you then!

Update

Man 2 weeks and no post. Lots has happened but the biggest news is I got a job offer! I am just waiting for the background check to come through. As long as that checks out ( and I see no reason it shouldn't) I will be back to working full time by the end of October! I can not even tell you how happy I am about it. I have been looking for full time work for 3 months. The kids are happy for me. This means that the family budget will open up a bit with more money for movies and fun things. I think over the last 2 years the kids and I have done just about every free thing there is to do in town. I hope to take them to pick apples next weekend. I love to go pick my own apples and have taken the kids every fall, they love it too.

As for Knitting: My Gytha sweater body has to be frogged and reknit as it is too big and the gauge is off. My problem is I knit my swatch flat and the body is knit in the round. Opps. I'll pick it up again in 2010. I have been in gift knitting mode for the last few weeks. Hubby's birthday socks are almost done. Also done is 1 of 2 teacher gifts, Fil and GS both have new scarves coming and Mil&LtCol's blanket just need i cord edging.

I am working on a shawl for the kids school Holiday Auction. I will also be doing a Christmas stocking for the auction. GAH has made the family Christmas stockings since before I was born so I have never knit one before. Should be fun. If you would like to donate an item for the auction leave me a comment. All money from this event will go to buy another mobile computer lab for the school. Our gaol is a computer on every student desk so we need to raise a lot. The school has 2 portable labs and the computer lab so only 3 classes can use them at any one time. the more portable labs (class size group of laptops) the better. The auction will be all handmade items.

The rest of the holiday 09 knit list is not too bad. I have a few hats to do and a cowl for someone Hubby works with. Not too bad at all.

This new job means I will need a new wardrobe. I have not had to wear anything but jeans and t shirts for the last 10 years so I need to go out and buy a few things. So all shop items are still on sale!

1969 Was a good year

Today is John's 40th Birthday. Happy Birthday Baby! You see him here in A Man For All Seasons. He played Cromwell the villain. He was brilliant. He doesn't read this so I can tell you that even though he told me not to have a party for him, I am going to invite some of his friends to join us at the lake for Bunky's birthday. Shhh its a secret. But if you are local and want to come leave me a comment with your e-mail, I'll send you the details.

Birthday Sale!

Both Hubby and Bunky have birthdays this month. So I am lowering all the prices in the shop. Buy a little yarn and make a little girl and her Daddy very happy on their birthday!

Update

So we are 3 weeks into the new school year and the kids are loving it. MB loves kindergarten. His teacher says he is doing well. Bunky is very happy in the 3rd grade. She has more homework this year which she does with little drama every night. So far anyway.

On the job front: I had an interview last week. I hope to hear from them this week. Don't want to say to much until I know more, but the job sounds like a good fit for me. Fingers crossed.

In knitting news: I am now working on the i-cord edge of the log cabin blanket. I took care of the loose ends before I started the i-cord. There were tons of them. I figure this way when I finish the edge it will be done. I am rather pleased with the way it came out. Also otn are some new socks for Hubby, yet another Batkus and Gytha sleeve one.

In theatre news: If you are local try to get to the Dowtown Space (BlueBarn Theatre) and see Hubs in Richard III. One of my all time favorite shows. In fact the first Shakespeare play I ever worked on. I was part of the crew. We were dressed as beggars and our job was to remove all the dead bodies. I fell in love with the techie side of things on this show. Its not everyday that you get to behead someone on stage. Fun little bit of creative problem solving. It was freshmen year in high school.

Well I'm off. Hubby and I are taking the kids to the lake for some fishing. I plan to sit in the shade and finish that sleeve.

Bunky's new hat

You may recall that I knit Bunky a new scarf this spring. Well here is a hat to match. Made up the pattern as I went along. Sorry to say I knit this so long ago I am not sure what I did. Yarn is BunkyBobo's Worsted in the Bad Pantsuit colorway.

How Green is my Gansey

The green gansey socks are done! 2 nd sock took forever nut they are done and I love them. I had meant to give these away but I just can't part with them. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy colorway Happy Forest. Pattern is Lighthouse Gansey Socks by Anne Hansen. When I knit the first sock I put the heel in the wrong place. The lighthouse part should be on the front of the sock rather than the side. I repeated the mistake on the other sock so its all good.

In other knitting: I picked up the RMLC blanket again today and worked on the first boarder. I want to get this out of the way before I start the rest of the christmas knitting.

MiL's birthday scarf

Here is the Baktus scarf I made for Mil. Yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy In the Vino Colorway. I love this yarn! The color is very hard to capture. I want to buy every Dream in Color colorway there is! I have made this scarf 4 times now and I keep giving it away. I will be making at least 3 more as I think this would make a great teacher gift.

In other knitting news: Gytha is coming along. I am knitting the first sleeve then I need to finish the back and 2nd sleeve. I hope to have it done for sweater weather.

I am also working on the 2nd green gansey sock. These have been otn forever. I will be happy to have them done for this fall.

In BunkyBobo's news: I got a bunch of yarns back from SS09 that I will be listing next week. The gals at Whole Foods on Wednesday night got first pick but I still have lots of pretty sock yarn here.

One last thing for the knitters: My friend Carin of Lime&Violet fame has a new video pod cast all about her knitting life. Please check it out.

Lt. Col's new ski hat

A really warm ski hat for Lt. Col. He loves to ski and this should see a lot of action. Yarn is Knit Picks Telemark, one ball of each color. I made up the chart. I used the chart from Hello Yarns blog. its the same as the We Call 'em Pirates hat I mad Hubby 2 years ago.

School Starts

Well its the first day of school. As you can see Monkey Boy is very excited to start kindergarden. He was bouncing off the walls all morning. Bunky is glad to be back with her friends. I am sorta at a loss as to what to do with myself. I have already finished, washed and blocked the colorwork hat for the Lt Col's birthday. I also read the paper in peace and had a nice coffee. Its strange for 2 years MB has been with me almost everywhere I go. The house seems too quite. I wonder how long it will take for me to get used to it.

Books!

I found this list out in blogland and thought it would be fun to try. Lets see how many I've read shall we?

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X I'm a dork, I have read everything he ever printed
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens X
Total: 8

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (most) X
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
Total: 4
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy I tried once may try again
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams X also read the rest of the series
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame X
Total: 5
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy tired to read this too once
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma - Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X
Total: 5
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood X
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan X
Total: 6
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert X
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley X
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Total: 4
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas X
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac X
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding X
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X
Total: 5
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker X
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X a childhood fave
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante X
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
Total: 4
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistr
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Total: 3
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
X 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams X
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas X
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X many many times for many many classes.
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo X
Total: 5

Wow 49? I do love the classics. I would add the following to the list.

1 The Mist of Avalon- Marion Zimmer Bradley
2 Everything by Edgar Allan Poe
3 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?-Philip K Dick This was made into the movie Bladerunner. While I love that movie trust me when I tell you the book is way better.
4The Godfather-Mario Puzo again way better than the movie and the movie is one of my all time faves.
5 The Giving Tree- Shell Silverstein Really all of his books are great, but I love this one the most.

What 5 books would you add to the list?

Handmade

Well August is upon us and that means I need to start thinking about Holiday gifting season. I have not knit as many gift projects this year as I did last so I really need to get crackin'. I love this planing stage. Its so fun to make list and gather patterns and yarn.

Sock Summit is this weekend. I hope everyone has a great time. Be Sure to stop by booth 808 and see the folks at Knit-a-Bit. They have BunkyBobo's yarns as well as many other great yarns. I can't wait to hear all about it.

13 days left of summer break. Back to school here we come!

A new scarf for Bunky

Top pic is before we got her hair cut. See the bangs? Bunky cut those herself. 2nd pic is finished scarf and post hair cut. This cut always looks super cute on her. Scarf is the Batkus pattern again. Yarn is ON line Supersocke that GAL got me last summer. Yeah for machine washable! I knit this pattern before out of Wollmeise. I love that scarf. Gave it to Mom. It will be a great addition to her wardrobe this fall. This means I need to make a new one for me so I cast one on in Dream in Color Smooshy. Hubby saw this and said " oh is that for My moms birthday? She would love that color." Guess I will be making at least 2 more of these. I don't mind too much. Mil loves her hand knits and this is a super easy pattern.

Richard III

pic here is John (hubby) and his pal Scott. They have been in so many shows together. I have watched Scott kill John and vice versa so many times I can not even tell you. Most times there is a sword battle first! Show here is Much Ado About Nothing. before Bunky was born. Don't you think they could be brothers?

So Hubby is doing another show. It is about time as he was starting to really miss the theatre and it makes him crabby. He will play Buckingham in the Brigit St. Brigit production at the Blue Barn Theatre. The show opens in about 5 weeks. In other Hubby news. For the Love of Amy opens in Omaha August 28th at the Rave theatre (westroads new movie theatre)



In knitting news: I finished Bunky's new scarf last night. Gaytha is stalled for the time being while I knit up something for MiL's birthday. What that something might be I have no idea yet. I am thinking about a dressy scarf if some kind. Something super soft and machine washable.

I went to knit group last night at Whole Foods. This is a great group of gals, many of whom are knitting projects with BunkyBobo's yarns. So fun to see. I really must bring my camera next time. I have worked it out to always have Wednesday night off so I can go every week.



In case you are wondering 19 more days till school starts. (including today) MB has his new backpack, pencil box and lunch box all ready to go. Both kids have a new outfit for the first day of school. MB still needs his eye exam and Dr visit. He is not looking forward to the doctor, Bunky told him his shots would hurt.



I saw the new Harry Potter movie. I thought they did a really bad job on this one. All the pieces so important to the end of the story were left out in favor of teenage romance. It just proves my point: the book is always better. Bunky really liked it. She is reading HP year one right now and seems to be enjoying herself..



In job search news nothing yet. I was offered more hours where I am now so I have that to fall back on. more searching to take place later today.

Update

Knitting: I have the body of Gytha done to the armpits. I'm knitting the left front now. Still enjoying it. I also started a new scarf for Bunky. Scarves are very in for tweens right now. Bunky told me so while shopping for school clothes. Well I can make scarves. She seems pleased with it.

In other news: I am looking for a full time job again. Monkey Boy starts school with Bunky in a few weeks. Siting at home alone all day is not something I'm really cut out for. The kids understand and are all for it. I am nervous and excited about going back to work. Wish me luck.

Gytha

These are Moms Birthday socks.Finished them up the other day

I started a new sweater! Gytha from the Twist Collective. I love this sweater. I hope I do it justice. I have the color work finished. The rest of the knitting on this sweater looks pretty simple. However I have never made a sweater that then had to be sewn together. I have quite a bit of knitting left to do before I worry about that. The yarns here are mostly from stash. The main color is Galway worsted wool from PT. I like this yarn. The price is good (total spent on yarn $21.00) yardage good and lots of colors to pick from. I figure if I like the way the sweater turns out I can always knit another. Maybe hand dyed.

Look! Knitting

I finished this up on our trip. The pattern is from Folk Shawls.( I think It is called simple garter st shawl. I returned the book). The yarn is BunkyBobo's Hand Dyed worsted wool. About 800 yards. I wanted a warm shawl for fall and when we are in the Rockies. This is perfect. Big Warm Wooly.

Jimi!

3 colorways for SS'09 inspired by Jimi Hendricks. Hey Joe(red and black), Purple Haze and Voodoo Child. These will not be in the shop, you can only get them at SS. I love Voodoo Child. It came out just like I saw it in my head. Very cool.

A few other notes:
Michael Jackson. Yes he died too soon and it is very tragic but wall to wall news coverage is just out of control. Did we have this much coverage for the Pope or Mother Tressa? Crazy. MJ's was a Rock and Roll legend anyway but his death gives him automatic legend status. See I have a theory about Rock legends. You can earn your legend status with great music or you can win it by the manner of your death. If a rocker died from something drug related (Jimi, Janice, Elvis) they are a legend. If they die in a fiery crash of a plane of some kind (Buddy Holly, Stevie Ray Vaughn) Legend. If a rocker is murdered (John Lennon) legend.

I hope you all have a great 4th of July today. We have gloomy skies this morning, but Hubby and I both have the day off. We hope to grill out tonight and spend some time just hanging out with the kiddos.

Updates

Wow so lots is going on and I have not blogged any of it. I would show you finished knitting if my camera battery had not died or I could find the cable for my crackberry. Its been one of those kind of days. I have new knitting and yarn photos to take but see above. I will fix this little problem today.

The Sock Summit yarns were all done until I heard they were having a contest. Have to see what I can come up with for that. I did 3 colorways you can only get there. I was listening to Jimi Hendricks that day. Can't wait to show you.

Above is Monkey Boy and Jan, Moms guide. They are good buddies. Jan got to meet her first horse on our trip. A 30 year old Belgian named Fred. The boss cowboy at Snow Mountain Ranch was just in love with Jan. He loves dogs and wanted Jan to meet his buddy Fred. Neither one of them seemed to care one way or another.

Creepy Queen

So I got a email today from a writer for Creepy Queen Magazine. They featured my yarn in their latest issue. Check it out! I'll wait...
Pretty cool right? I had not heard of this site before this. I love it. Always cool when people feature indie artist. Thank you guys so much!

And we are home

We had a great time on our trip with Mom and Dad. Bobo has taken to calling Dad The Grampster. The Grampster, Grandma and Jan love the Rockies as much as we do. I will have video for you soon. We saw Moose! 4 big ones. Very cool.
More to come. I have to unpack and work tonight.

Colorado Dreaming

When ever we go to Colorado we try to find a reason to stay. This time the dreaming has started before we even get there. Can you tell we love it there? By this time tomorrow we should be seeing the mountains. Can Not Wait!

For knitting I am taking the cotton wrap I started just for this trip, 2 pairs of socks in progress, yarn for 2 more pairs of socks, an almost finished fair isle hat of my own design and yarn for some fingerless gloves. Should be plenty. and I have some sock scraps to knit into squares for the blanket of many colors.

Sorry about the lack of interesting post lately. I hope to get back to more regular posting when we get back. See you in about a week!

packing up

So the kiddos and I have been busy getting everything ready for our trip. I am pretty bummed because I checked the weather forecast for our week in Winter Park. They are calling for temps in the high 50's low 60's and thunderstorms the whole week. The idea of being stuck in the condo with the kids and my folks for a week is not a good one. We don't go to the mountains to sit in the condo. Please weather gods please not 8 days of storms. Please let us have a little good weather to enjoy. Please let there be some sun so the kids can swim and we can hike and fish. Pretty Please? The weather here at home has been pretty wet since school let out. The kids have been stuck inside so much they are driving each other crazy. Please Mother Nature give us a little break. This is the only vacation we get. Please don't ruin the whole thing.

The Tony's

Did you see the Tony's Sunday night? I thought it was a pretty good show. The Mamma Mia cast was pretty bad though. Did you see Bret Michaels get clocked in the face by one of the flying set pieces? This is why you should always pay attention to the crew. The stage is a dangerous place. Looks like Bret learned that the hard way. Oops.

13 Years

13 Years ago this month Hubby and I were married. So what do I get for my wonderful Husband of 13 years? I knit him a new pair of socks! I love you babe! here's to 13 more.

Heres a little guy we met in the Rockies last summer. 2 weeks from right now we might just meet him again.

This last week just flew by. I have been busy keeping the kids from killing each other. We had a few rainy days so we stayed in and played video games and watched movies. The last few days have been nice so we have played in the park and backyard with the dogs. I have a new almost finished sock to show off but no pictures yet. and new colorways for Sock Summit. Did you see Yarn Harlot today? I feel really bad for her and Tina. I am sort of glad there was no way I had the money for it anyway. I think my friend Meg got the classes she wanted. Have fun Meg and please tell us all about it!

Vacation planning is also going on. The budget is tight so we bring certain foodstuffs with us because the price is so much better here. Meat for one and charcoal. It also mean remembering what I left there over the last 3 summers. Lucky for me I have a little red book that I have taken with me every time I have gone out there. I know that the kids have pool toys, floaties, coloring books,paper and markers already out there. We also paid $3.70ish for gas last summer. We will see if it is better this year. Vacation knitting is harder to plan I keep adding things. The cotton wrap thingie is in the log cabin blanket is likely out, maybe... Who knows at this point. I keep changing my mind.

Summer is here

So Bunky is out of school and summer is here, for us anyway. That means our trip to the Rockies is 3 weeks away. The picture is the view from the condo porch. I will have a week to sit with a glass of wine and knit and look at it.(with Mom!) I can't wait. So, like every other knitter in the world I am enjoying planing my vacation knitting. I will need sock knitting for out by the pool and on the go, A scarf or something for drive time and something warm and wooly for the chilly evenings. I always pack way more knitting than I need. (you know you do it too!) But what would I do if I ran out? What if I ran out of yarn in the car 6 hours from home in the middle of nowhere? Well that won't happen to me! Think 2 pairs of socks,2 scarves and a shawl is enough for a week? Maybe I had better pack an extra skein of sock yarn just in case? maybe 2

City update and socks!

pay no mind to my lilly white legs. Yarn here is my new BoboSocks base (not in shop yet) colorway: Punk. Love them. These are mine all mine!

So after I called the city about the letter and got no help I talked to the inspector who sent the letter and he could not tell me what we needed to fix. He said he would have to come back out and check again because he does not keep notes he just writes down the address and send out a letter. So he cam back out and checked. He called us back to say we took care of it already. I have not touched a thing in the yard this whole week. Who knows maybe he had the wrong address. What really has me mad is they wanted me to file an appeal and pay a fee to do so. No way I am going to pay anybody anything for their screw up. If you get one of these letters from the city please make sure they have the right house before you pay anything. This feels very scammy to me. I wonder how many people pay for an appeal they don't need?

In other news: MB and I went on a field trip with Bunky's class yesterday. MB was great all day and most of the 2nd graders were nice kids. I did hear one kid tell her teacher to F you. I could not believe it. I have met this kids Mom before when Bunky had her birthday party 2 years. I told the Mom this child is not welcome in my house. She mouthed off to me and tried to stick her gum in Winston's tail. She also hit MB while at the party. The Mom tells me that she just can't control the kid. All I know is if I had done something like that my folks would have killed me.

AI: So I thought Adam should have won, Kris is good just not as good imo. I have read alot about how people did not want him to win because he may be gay. Is it really ok to be a bigot if you only hate gay people? Come on people this is the USA remember? All men are equal. Not all straight people. It seems to me that it has become fashionable to hate gays now. Seems dumb to me. What really has me pissed is the Don't ask Don't tell thing. Have you heard about LT Dan Choi? served 2 tours in Iraq and wants to go back an expert in middle eastern languages, kicked out because he is gay. The men he serves with want him to stay. Obama better fix this. He made that promise and it is one of the reasons I got on the Obama Band Wagon. If we really believe in equal rights for all this needs to be done soon. and no separate is not equal. Lt Choi is just one case out of many, I have a friend who was dismissed this way and it almost killed him.

One more thing before I jump off the soap box: people in the public eye need to remember this thing we have now called video tape. See it records what you say and plays it back for the world to see. We can tell when you are lying and when you flip on something. We can review the tape. It would be wise to remember this fact.

Are you kidding me?

So yesterday we get a registered letter from the city telling us we have to cut "weeds" that are on out lot location "yard" Eh What? the only thing they could be talking about is the tree like things on the fence line in the back. There is stuff there but it is all on the city side of the fence. We would have to go to the park to cut it down and I ain't paying for that. When I call the number on the letter, which by the way gives us a week from today to comply of have to pay a large fine. Anyhoo when I call. the person can not even tell me if they are talking about the park weeds or my front lawn. I can not talk to someone who knows something because they only work until 3:30 and I got the letter at 3:30! Needless to say I am not a happy camper. I have been told that I can call at 7:00 am Monday morning and talk to the guy who send the notice. I will keep you posted.

So question for you: For Sock Summit. Should I send colors I have in my shop or new colors? The event is in August so fall colors?
Also I would like to send knit samples too so people and see how it knits up. Anyone want to pick a color from the shop and knit me a sample pair of socks? I will be happy to credit the knitter/pattern with the socks for all to see and ooooh over. Knitter picks the pattern? I need them by early July. I can offer you only the chance to show off you sock knitting skills to many many knitters. What do you say? Any takers?

Some stuff thats been bugging me

So this week has been nuts around here. I had an extra day care kid this week. She is sweet and gets along with MB really well. Her parents failed to tell me it was only a one week gig.

Monday afternoon I picked Bunky up from school and everything was just fine with my truck. I went outside 15 minutes after we got home to see how Hubby was doing with the repaired lawnmower. The back window of my truck was smashed into a million tiny pieces. Here's how it went down
Me: "what the hell did you do to my truck?"
Hubby:" What do you mean? you drove it last"
me: "It was fine when we got home"
Hubby: "well then how did it get smashed?"
me: "maybe you hit a rock and it flew through the window?"
Hubby " Are you sure it was fine when you picked up Bunky?"
me" Pretty sure I would have noticed if the back window was not there when I was driving."
Hubby: "Are you sure?"
I nearly slugged him. Long story short. $250.00 later ($250.00 I don't have) I have a new back window in the truck.

I am very sick and tired of people trying to say torture is ok. We as a nation have tried and put people in jail for waterboarding. (yes I looked it up) It is against the law even if the Pres or VP says its ok. It makes the whole country look bad. The way I see it there was a war crime committed here and we must get to the truth of it. We deserve that much after being lied to about the reasons for the Iraq war. Now it seems the point was to find connections that were not there. Grrr

Miss California: Please shut up and go away. No one took your right to free speech away. but you have to remember that every person in this country has that same right. If they want to use it to say you are wrong or dumb or too skinny they can. This is the USA Sweetie it works for everyone. I saw part of the press conference the Donald gave about letting this Miss CA keep her crown. He said the world listens to beautiful women. Does that mean that only beautiful women will be heard. and who decides who the beautiful women are? the Donald? What a slime.

In good news I have been asked to send yarns to be sold at the vendor market at Sock Summit! I am so excited that someone would ask me. There will be tons of knitters there from all over. Squeeee! So head over to the shop (link in side bar) and buy some yarn so I can buy more base yarns. Thanks

Knitting: I have knit a fair bit lately but not much I can show right now. Soon

New Colorways

Booby Trap

Did you ever see the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Well in the movie Jessica Rabbit has a booby trap that comes out of her dress. If you have never seen this movie you are missing out. Pretty funny.
Black and Tan
I have a vague memory of my Moms brother drinking black and tans when I was a kid. A black and tan (as I recall) is Guinness with a pale ale on top. Served in a pint glass. To be honest is sounds kind of gross to me but I am not a beer drinker. I do like the color though.

Gold shawl thingie

Here is the start of the gold shawl. The pattern is from the book Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. Easy pattern for tv knitting. The color in the photo is pretty close. Hubby likes the color. I'm not sure if I like it or not. We will see when the knitting. Its wool so I can overdye if I hate it.

I am working on the shop update. I hope to have it ready this week.

Merino Roving

Dew Kissed Grass

Sweet Tarts

Punk

4oz merino rovings for the shop. I want to reshoot the pictures. I have 2 more still drying. Black and Tan and Ranger. Drop me a comment if you want one before I list them.

In other news: The kids brought me breakfast in bed today. An untoasted English muffin with butter and a glass of milk. They were very cute about it. Bunky does not have school today. I hope the sun comes out so we can go to the park. Seems like a good way to spend my birthday.

This and That

I have sewn up the Log Cabin squares and picked up stitches for the boarder. I really like the way it looks. I may try to make another someday for me. Need to work on a good way to knit the squares together as I go.

I dyed up some worsted I had intended to knit into a shawl. I'm not sure I like the color. I am thinking I may knit the shawl and then overdye it. I will show you when its dry.

Monkey Boy has a black eye. We have no idea what he did to get this black eye. Seems like he woke up with it the other day. He seems to think its no big deal.

At the park the other day one of the girls called Bunky fat. This child then told her I must be 400 lbs. Bunky was more mad that someone made fun of me than she was about the fat comment. For the record Bunky has gotten two inches taller this year but not gained weight. I think she is fine. Seems this is the age when girls start picking at each other. So far Bunky has let most of it just float by her. She is a sweet and thoughtful kid. I hope they are not too hard on her.

I am very excited to report that Mom and Dad will be joining us for the Rocky Mountain Adventure this summer! MIL and LtCOL are happy to let my folks use the condo but Mom and Dad didn't want to go without us. The kids are planing all the things they want to show their Grandparents, LtCOL has an extra fishing pole for Dad, and I am planing the menu. The nice thing about the condo is we can cook most of our meals. The kids are looking forward to the pool and killer playgrounds. The trip will also give me a chance to knit with Mom.

I have a huge amount of new yarns and rovings to post. I hope to get the pictures today and have them listed very soon.

A new Supreme Court Justice. It should be no surprise I think a woman would be a good idea. I have been reading up on some of the names being floated about. I will be very interested to see who is chosen. I have a feeling this will not be the only opening Obama has to fill.

Amercian Idol. We think Adam is going to win. Unless they vote him out this week like Chris Doughtry.

May Phat

Here are the tiny skeins going out in the may PhatFiber box. St Crispins Day and Summer Lovin. Go check out the PhatFiber blog. Jessie is giving away great stuff every week.

Bunky is fine she is just really washed out in this picture. We are a pale people. Anyway here is The Big Orange Thing I knit for Bunky's teacher. The yarn is wool with sari silk spun in. I can't find the tag. Orange and black are the school colors. Bunky seems to think she will like it.

In other news: I cast on a lace stole with the laceweight yarn. It hates me. I had to reknit the first repeat 4 times because I keep adding extra k2tog. I did not enjoy it at all. I just don't like knitting laceweight yarn. I may try again but not for a while. In the mean time I am sewing up the lc blanket squares. 4 more to go.

Update

We had 2 really nice summer like days last week which I wasted playing outside with Monkey Boy. Yep. Got next to nothing done just had fun with the kiddos. Pretty great. Well I am paying for it now with a pile of yarn and knitting to take pictures of and no sunshine to do it in.

Knitting: I am knitting the last square for the Log Cabin blanket today. I hope to start the border soon. I also finished up a hat to go with Bunky's new scarf and started a new hat of my own design.

Shop: I dyed up more St Crispins Day and Lady MacBeth the other day. I am also working on some merino rovings. I hope to do a big update in time for my birthday.

Speaking of birthday. It's next week. The kids made me write a list of presents I want. Monkey Boy keeps reading it to himself. He has been carrying it around with him. Pretty cute kid that one.

Phat April

Here is the PhatFiber April box. Theme was Eco/Green. There is lots of pretty fiber and yarn in there!
A close up. The knit one really shines, and the locks are very soft.

I love the button. I put it on my knitting bag. (ok well one of my knitting bags. I have like 8. Shut up you know you have at least that many!) And I was lucky and got a pendant from Designs by Tami. I love the little sheep with the funny nose.