BunkyBobo's Fun House

2011-02-15T10:20:00.001-06:00

pic of yarn is the better color. STR light in Blackbird. Sock pattern is Hermoine's Everyday sock. I love them much!

Pictures

2011-01-18T09:03:00.002-06:00

Daddy and MB
Daddy and his little girl

With Winston

Me and Bobo the Monkey Boy. I love this pic!

Me and my girl. Love this one too! the look on her face is just priceless!

We took these just before the holidays.

look an fo!

2011-01-09T10:29:00.002-06:00

Yarn is fingering weight superwash merino. Dyed by me. Soft and warm. It is for a teacher who is retiring this spring after 30+ plus years of teaching 4,5,6 graders.

Bad Blogger no cookie!

2010-12-31T18:41:00.002-06:00

Wow I have been a bad blogger this year! Never did get photos of the gifts I knit this Christmas. Oh well.

At the moment I have no new knitting started. I have been working on the 2 Neville sock (I knit the 1st this past summer). I think New Years calls for a new and just for me project. Time to stash dive for something to cast on tonight.

The kids had a great Christmas. Santa brought a bunch of board games and we have been enjoying them. Tonight I think its Clue and Sorry. Funny that my kids love these so much. I got the same thing when I was their age. Hubby has been teaching Bunky and Bobo to play chess. Pretty cute I must say.

I hope 2011 finds you and yours safe, well and happy! I will do my best to be a better blogger in 2011

start em young

2010-11-19T21:13:00.002-06:00

That's Bunky and Bobo pulling the spike tape from Hubby's last show. We took them to strike and they had a blast peeling tape off the floor. They had a great time running around the theatre and chatting with the cast. Bunky has already asked when she can do a show with Daddy. How many Mom's have a 6 year old who says things like "didn't my Dad kill you?" to people they hardly know? By the way did I mention the fact that the kids sat through the first 3 acts of Julius Ceasar? Not bad for 10 and 6. Not bad at all...

My Blue Hevan

2010-10-31T12:39:00.002-05:00

Done! Pattern is The Corrugator by Paula Smith. The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock med in My Blue Haven. Knit on a US 5 over 33 sts. I love it! This baby is mine. I made it to wear with my Saturday shirt at work. Used all but a tiny bit of the skein. Might not do another sock yarn scarf for a while this one took forever! In other knitting news I have cast on the 2nd sleeve on Mom's sweater. I should make some good progress today. I also finished up the last teacher gift this week so that's a load off right there. Next on the gift knitting list is Hubby's new hat. (He lost the one I made him last year.) and GAL's gift. She asked for a shawl. I think I have just the thing.

Time to cast on!

2010-10-12T10:12:00.003-05:00

Wow I have really let the blog get away from me. Anyhoo, life has been chugging along here. I have not had as much knitting time but I have managed to finish a few gifts and the first sleeve of Moms sweater. As most of the knitting I have done is gifts I can't show you. Sorry.

In sad knitting news I had to rip out my Juno scarf. somehow I must have snagged it and broke the yarn, big mess, very sad. I don't want to talk about it.

In better news Hubby's show opens this week so next week I can make it to knitting! This has been a tough one. He got home at 2 this morning looking grim. They have a preview Wednesday night, open Thursday. It always comes together in the end, the magic of live theatre.

Better go cast on that 2nd sleeve.

See more stuff!

2010-09-14T09:31:00.004-05:00

I was invited to a baby shower for someone from work so knit up 2 super soft baby washcloths out of some Knit Pick's Shine dk I had in stash. I need to give them a wash. I plan to wrap them up with some cute baby soap.

I dyed this up a few weeks ago I plan to keep this and knit a sweater for myself. The sun washed out the color a bit. It is really dark blue almost black in some places. I call it Tardis 10.yes I'm a dork. I love me the Doctor. I can't wait to knit this up after I finish Mom's sweater.

Here we have the grey socks. I really like them. The yarn is from Cascade. I think it is called Handpaints. It is a superwash merino nylon blend. Knits up very nicely.

In other news:

This is a very busy 2 weeks for us. 2 big events at the school and 2 birthdays. This weekend I will have 6 extra little girls here for a sleep over. I have a feeling it will be loud!

Hello again.

2010-09-05T18:01:00.003-05:00

Sorry to be away for so long but as you can see I do have some knitting to show off. Here we have Monkey boy in a new hat. Knit from Bunkybobos worsted wool. The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmermans gnomy hat from Knitters Almanac. I think it is super cute. Not sure who its for yet.

Below we have a new scarf for myself. Knit from Socks that Rock medium weight in My Blue Haven. Pattern is The Corrugator by Paula Smith. The close up shows the best color.

Back soonish with more.

Whats Up

2010-08-02T08:48:00.002-05:00

So it has been a busy summer here! The kids have been off doing all kinds of fun stuff this summer. Monkey Boy did not like roller skating at all. "It hurts my butt Mommy" He did enjoy bowling and spending every Friday at the pool! Bunky has been busy with her friends. My boss had given my a gift card for a pedicure so I took Bunky to the nail place and got both our nails done. She giggled the whole time. She kept telling the lady that tickles but I am not sure if she understood. She was a very nice lady and Bunky was thrilled when she was done with her bright blue nails.

Phoebe is visiting this week. She is pretty happy with all the laps around here. She just waits around until someone is settled on the couch and pounces. She can be found as I type this snuggled up with MB getting her belly rubbed.

I have no new knitting to speak of. Just plugging away on stuff. I'm in one of those ruts where you feel like you are knitting all the time and getting nowhere fast. I really want to cast on my EZ birthday sweater. Fall and winter look a lot closer this side of August 1st! I can not wait for handknit sock weather!

return to normal

2010-07-14T21:19:00.003-05:00

So the kids are back from their week of fun with Papaw and Grandma Susan. They had a great time. Bunky caught a trout and Bobo a little bluegill. Bunky even tried some of her fish for dinner. It is nice to have a few days of peace and quiet around here I feel better having them home. As a result I have not made much progress on Juno. I did manage to get Mom's Christmas sweater started (Mom knows all about this sweater so I can blog away about it.) Making good progress on the body, I broke one of my size 7 dpns so I will need to get a new set before moving on to the sleeves. It is another EZ seamless pullover. Mom asked for one when last winter when I made mine and the kids. I'd knit anything for my Mommy. Also otn is a plain sock. The kids and I have been going to the park so plain sock has seen a lot of knitting time lately. I have finished the heel/gusset/foot. Ready fro the toe. Yarn here is Cascades Heritage Handpaints. Not sure of the colorway number. The color in the picture is really good. This is a new to me yarn and I love it. Reminds me a lot of Shepard's Sock. 75%merino 25%nylon.

Today it became too hot outside to do anything but sit in the shade and moan. No park knitting this evening or this week from the looks of things. Might be less sock more sweater. Why do I always want to knit sweaters the the heat of summer? I blame Carin. She planted the idea in my head with her podcast Round the Twist.

Time to put the MK's to bed...

There are 32 days till the first day of school. Not that I'm counting or anything...

Catch up

2010-07-06T11:55:00.002-05:00

I finished the first Neville sock. I really like the way it came out. The earthy red color I feel suits Neville perfectly.

While everyone was away I wound the wonderful yarn Carin brought me from Spring Fling. It is Swiss Mountain Sea Sock. Silk, merino and plant fiber. Very soft and look at that shine! I cast on this:

Juno Regina Stole by Miriam L Felton. So far so good. Something tells me this will otn for a while as I really have to pay attention to every stitch at this point. I do love it so.

Improv

2010-06-22T09:45:00.002-05:00

Improv was my favorite acting class in college. Everything made up on the spot. Much more difficult than you might think but so fun. A great way to be creative. Same with this scarf. Just made it up as I went along. Fun!

Yarn is BunkyBobo's Superwash merino fingering weight. I gave up trying to get better photos of the color. We seem to have no sun when I have time off from work.

Father's Day

2010-06-20T11:01:00.002-05:00

To my Daddy,

You taught me to be Strong, to treat people the way I would like to be treated, to stand up for what I believe in, to speak my mind and to love unconditionally. Thank you. I love you. Happy Father's day!

To my Hubby,
Thanks for being a great Dad. Thanks for loving me. I love you. Happy Father's day!

To my Grandpa's Dale and Frank. I miss you both. I tell my kids about you all the time. I love you. Happy Father's Day!

What a mess!

2010-06-06T09:07:00.002-05:00

I am just so sick about this whole oil leak thing. What I want to know is what kind of Asshat drills a well like that without knowing how to shut it off? How greedy do you have to be to do something you know could cause great damage? When are we going to wake up to the fact that sooner or later we are going to have to learn to do with out oil? There is only so much out there folks. I don't think we can afford to destroy the oceans and other wild places to get it. Not if it means you can't swim or fish in the Gulf of Mexico for the next hundred years. You big oil boys thinking about that? or are you too busy counting your money? I wonder how you sleep at night?

Maybe I will keep this one

2010-05-29T20:38:00.002-05:00

The Multnomah shawl again by Kate Flagg

I gave the last one I made to Grandma S at Easter. She really liked it so I took it off and handed it over. So I made myself a new one.

Yarn is 100% superwash merino fingering weight dyed by me.

Update

2010-05-15T19:40:00.002-05:00

So I can not find the scarf I just showed you. I think/hope it is in the house somewhere. Bummer

Still not tons of knitting. Gonna start a plain sock for work knitting. I had to rip about 5 rounds of me Nevill socks due to chart failure on my part. Note to self. get row counter.

Speaking of work and knitting. A very sweet old lady came in yesterday to pick up her new glasses. Her daughter had brought her in. She was wearing a lovely hand knit sweater. I asked her about it and she said she had knit about 20 of them over her lifetime. I showed her my hand knit socks and made her day. She told me she can't knit much now due to hand issues. She misses it. Her daughter thanked me for being so nice to her Mom. Made my day too.

That's all for now. Carin is coming over for the Doctor, Amy, River Song and the Weeping Angles. Not to worry Shells. I'll bring you the dvd next knit night.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T09:17:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning to find the kids had slept in and today was just like any other Sunday morning. Happy Mothers Day! We will all go to a cook out at the theatre after the show this afternoon. Should be fun.

My wish for this Mother's day is that all us Moms learn to embrace each other. We are all so different and can learn so much from each other. I have long felt we Women are harder on each other than we need to be. So on Mother's Day embrace your Mom and remember all the things you learned from her. Also embrace the other Moms you know and remember you have learned things from them too.

To Hubby, Bunky and Bobo, Thanks for making me a Mom. Every day with you is its own adventure. I love you.

Knitting!

2010-05-04T09:03:00.002-05:00

Here is the dipped infinity scarf. It is blocking right now. If I ever knit another of these I would use fewer colors. Finished scarf in almost 9" wide.

I think this pattern is called Sockhead. Bunky asked for this hat so who am I to say no?

How Phoebe spent spring fling

2010-04-24T19:00:00.004-05:00

I found a new friend while my Mom was off at the Loopy Ewe's Spring Fling! I have been spending a lot of time getting petted and spoiled by Monkey Boy here. MB feeds me and get me water, but best of all MB likes to give me treats. as you can see I am getting lots of hugs and lovin.

I love hugs!

We went for a little run this evening. I love running! I also tried to paw my way into Mom's car but the lady said Mom is not hiding in there so I came back inside for a belly rub and treat. Mom comes home tomorrow. I think I will miss my new friend Monkey Boy.
I know he will miss me.

Working Mom

2010-04-23T19:57:00.003-05:00

Not been much knitting going on around here lately. Work is great and I am really enjoying it but it has cut way into my knitting time.

Working at this optical place is turning out to be a lot of fun for me. I like the clients and the Doc and S are great. I am eating better and taking better care of myself. Seems I may have forgotten that work can be rewarding and even fun if you are lucky enough to enjoy what you do. Who knew going back to work would make me feel so much better? I feel like a better Mom too. Pretty fair trade for a bit less knitting time.

However, I am not going to have tons of time for dyeing yarn so I am going to close the Etsy shop. At least for awhile. I just need that time for something else right now. I think next Saturday will be closing day. Get it while you can!

dipped infinity scarf

2010-04-20T09:29:00.004-05:00

I have been obsessed with this pattern for a while now. I kept looking at other knitters finished scarves and just had to make one (or 4 you know me!). dipped infinity scarf by Laura Chau. Yarn is Knit Picks Palette.in :rainforest,teal,tidepool,calypso,whirlpool,marine,bluenote,and jay.. Pattern is well written and really easy to follow. Perfect for mindless knitting.

Pictures to follow

2010-04-13T09:23:00.003-05:00

The Baby Cardi and cap for MMM. I sent these off with Mom.

Mom Dad and the kiddos. Bunky looks thrilled to death. We did have a great time with them here. The kids even raked the yard with Grandpa.

Monkey Boy really likes playing with Grandpa. They are good buddies.

All the news

2010-04-11T17:08:00.002-05:00

Wow so much has happened around here in the last week I will just give you the rundown with photos to follow.

The show I am working on War Paint opens in 4 days. My stuff is ready to go. I feel good about it. Hubby is very good in this. If you get a chance go see it. It's a great show.

I finished my baby hat and sweater for MMM. Pictures to follow

Mom and Dad were here. We had a great visit. Pictures to follow.

We have a clutch of baby bunnies living in the brick box around our light post in the front yarn. We have not yet seen Momma Bunny but she would not be around during the day. We counted 4 babies. We are staying hands off until we know if Momma is coming back.

I start my new job in the morning.

I got daycare all taken care of for the rest of the school year and this summer.

Bunky and I got Hubby to watch Doctor Who so now thanks to my dear friend Carin we are all Doctor Who nuts. New series starts next Saturday here in the USA. 7:00 pm here.

JOB

2010-04-07T17:02:00.002-05:00

so in case you miss the tweet I got offered an optical job today and I took it. I start Monday. This works out really well as my folks will be here this weekend and I tech the show this weekend. Funny how in one day my life has gotten very busy. I like busy. I'm good at busy. I'm happier when I am busy. I can't wait.
By the way this is a big nation wide company with a good reputation. The GM told me today that she has only had 2 people leave in the last 5 years and one of those came back. For those of you in the know this is nothing like the last company I went to work for. Right next to Sunday knitting meet up!

Possum Watch

2010-04-03T09:26:00.003-05:00

Friday morning before I took the kids to school the dogs chased this little guy right up a tree in our backyard. Poor little possum was so scared he/she stayed up there all day. Bunky took this photo around 6:00pm. The teenagers in the park saw her and started throwing stuff at him. Hubby had to use the big voice to get them to stop. The kids kept an eye on him until 10:00 pm and he was still up there. He is gone this morning. The kids are glad he got away. MB was worried somebodies dog might get him. I told MB I was sure the little possum was digging in some trash can last night looking for his dinner.

Hermione's Strange Brew

2010-03-29T09:12:00.003-05:00

Note the sunlight! These are Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. Yarn is Socks that Rock med in Strange Brew. I love them! Pattern is super easy to modify. I used 54 st and a slip st heel.

Update

2010-03-26T08:33:00.002-05:00

With the kids out of school this week I have not gotten much knitting done. I have also been busy with a lighting design for a new show at the Shelterbelt. This is my first design in about 4 years so I am enjoying it. I always love getting back to production work. It charges my creative batteries in a way nothing else does. Light is not an easy medium for an artist to work in. For one thing you need a space and lights and something to light. So I rarely pass up the chance. This show is NOT for the kiddies. I told the gals at knitnight they were welcome to come see it, However I also warned them: Hubby stars, and well I will just say that if you do see the show you will see all of him. (yes I mean all of him) so fair warning.

Now I am going to take the kids to the park and enjoy the sunshine. I hear we are going to get rain this weekend. Joy!

Lace scarf

2010-03-19T09:20:00.002-05:00

So I finished the Falling Water scarf for my friend KG. I am pretty excited about how it came out. I can't wait to give this to her next month, I think she is going to love it.

More Socks

2010-03-12T09:03:00.002-06:00

My friend Carin was knitting a great pair of socks at knit night this week. I liked them so much when I got home from knitting I printed the pattern, ripped out the scarf I had started and cast on a pair for myself.

Monster Chucks

2010-03-09T18:41:00.002-06:00

Both made from sock yarn scraps in less than an hour. Too cute!

Ride around Sally

2010-03-08T09:32:00.002-06:00

Plain socks in Socks that Rock lightweight. Colorway Mustang Sally. This has been my knit night/pick the kids up from school knitting. I love them. The color is more red than you see here.

For this pair I cast on 64 st, knit the ribbing and about 15 rows of leg then decreased to 60 for the rest on the sock. Guess what these socks don't fall down inside my boots!. Thanks to Carin for the yarn. Are you watching Round the Twist? You should be.

Look Ma! Lace!

2010-03-05T09:22:00.002-06:00

This here is the Falling Water scarf. Knit in a new base yarn I have been playing with. Yes the color is right. I love the look of the orange but this is not a color I wear well. I think this is going to be a gift for my friend, the outgoing PTO president. The school colors are orange and black so this is the perfect thing. As for the new base yarn it has a very tight twist. The pattern really pops. I like it. I have some in the pot right now for a christmas gift I am planing.

Invaders from Space!

2010-02-26T21:21:00.003-06:00

Here it is! My 2nd EZ yoke sweater of these Olympics. OK so it is 2 kid sweaters but still, Go Me! He is a little kid so this worked up super fast. He loves it. I did the neck bind off a little too tight. I will see if blocking helps. It is soaking now. MB is very excited. He hopes to wear it to a party tomorrow.

Olympic Update

2010-02-26T17:55:00.002-06:00

So I have been madly knitting away at MB's Olympic sweater. I just did the first yoke decrease so I should finish up in time. He has decided it needs to be done in time for him to wear to a birthday party Saturday afternoon. He keeps saying things like "Mom don't you want to knit now?" and Mom the Olympics are on you need to knit!"

New colors

2010-02-25T09:32:00.002-06:00

no name for this one yet

Beautiful Boy so named for a John Lennon song

Pinky so named for Pinky from Pinky and the Brain

Big Bang Burger Bar a revamp of a favorite of mine.

All but no name up in the shop now

Olympic Love Sweater

2010-02-24T18:28:00.003-06:00

Here it is! Bunky's love sweater. Seen here unblocked. After the picture I gave it a good soak and laid it out to dry. Yarn is Valley yarns North Hampton in eggplant. After finishing this up over the weekend MB said I had to make him a sweater to so I have cast on a pullover for him. Halfway through the 2nd sleeve. Space Invaders for him. I think I can have it done by the end of the games. I think that's a Gold for me!

A curling note

2010-02-20T15:08:00.001-06:00

After my last post both the Mens and Womens USA curilng teams have won. 2 for the Men and 1 for the Ladies.

Olympic Update

2010-02-19T10:50:00.002-06:00

So I have the body and one sleeve knit for my Knitting Olympics sweater. I feel good about it. Pretty sure I can finish on time. The whole family has really been enjoying these Olympics. The kids loved the snowboarding and skiing events. Hubby and I have learned all about Curling. NBC ran a great ad that featured the last USA mens curling team that made it sound pretty cool. As it turns out it is a really interesting game to watch even if teams USA are not doing well.
We had a nice visit this week with Mil and LtCol. Ltc skis so I learned a lot about that sport I did not know before. We all agree that in a way the winter games are more fun to watch. In almost every event the risk of really hurting yourself is so high. Very exciting!
On a knitting note: I have seen so many knit hats and scarves and mittens I would love to make during the games. Has anyone else noticed that pom poms on the top of ski hats are back? LtCol loves the team USA moose hat. I think I know what he is getting for his birthday. The USA women's snowboarding halfpipe team had a great hat too.(I also really loved their snowsuits! I want that plaid jacket).

Purple Rain Socks

2010-02-15T08:26:00.001-06:00

Socks that Rock mediumweight. color Purple Rain. 56 sts on 2.75mm. these knit up super fast. The dk weight yarn helps. I love them! Soft and smooshy.

The torch is lit!

2010-02-13T08:51:00.002-06:00

Just want to say a few things about last nights opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. I loved it. I thought it was very well done even if a huge set piece broke at the end. I have been there. It sucks but they pulled it off really well I thought. The use of light and projection was stunning. Lighting design can make or break a show like this. Whoever did last nights show is a true artist. To paint with light and motion. Nicely done. Also does anyone else want to visit Canada now? What a beautiful country.
I have a feeling knitters all over are knitting the team USA hat and sweater. Me? I want those red mittens!

I worked on my sock most of the evening. Once the torch was lit I knit 3 rounds on the sweater and went to bed. I think I worked out the charts. I will have to add 4 st to the body to make it work out right. I hope I did all the math right.

In other news: Mil and LtCol are coming this week for a short visit. It will be great to see them. Its been too long. Also in the news: MB lost another tooth. He was very excited.

New Yarns for the Shop!

2010-02-12T09:54:00.004-06:00

Spun Sugar. very unlike me but I like it I think this color would make a really pretty baby sweater.

Sedona

Yarn and Tam

2010-02-09T08:41:00.003-06:00

Above is the yarn I got for my EZ Fair Isle Yoke sweater. As you can see the color in the upper left is far too green. It will be replaced. I see many swatches in my future. Bunky's sweater is coming along. Nothing exciting to show yet. Below is the hat I knit for Hubby's castmate. The pattern is Tam of Rassilon. I understand this is a Dr Who thing. I have seen the old Dr Who but not the newer one so I couldn't tell ya. I did however enjoy knitting this. 2 nights tv knitting. Yarn is Cascade220. The red you see is the plate I blocked it over.

Dear Mother Nature

2010-02-05T09:07:00.002-06:00

You see every 4 years we have this thing we call the Winter Olympics. I love the Winter Olympics. I love the skiing and snowboard events. Well this year we are having these Olympics in a lovely Canadian city of Vancouver. The problem is they do not have enough snow. They are bringing it in by the truckload. Now we here in the Midwestern United States have tons of the stuff. There is more falling from the sky as we speak. I think I speak for all of us when I tell you we mid westerns would be thrilled to donate our snow to the Vancouver Olympics. They need it more than we do right now. So if you wouldn't mind...
Thanks,

sweater update

2010-02-04T09:13:00.002-06:00

My plans to knit a fair isle yoke sweater have been put on hold. As soon as I finished the last sweater Bunky asked for one. "purple with hearts and stuff" I happened to have yarn in stash that fits the bill perfectly so I cast on a sleeve last night. The yoke will have hearts and peace signs. Peace and Love Baby! Peace and Love. I love that kid.

Also last week Mom asked me about a sweaters worth of yarn we have both had in our stash for a while. She would like a yoke sweater with white patterns. I'd knit anything for Mom so that is in the queue as well. So my plan for the Fair Isle yoke is to knit it in the fall. EZ's 100th Birthday is in August. Perfect time to start myself a new sweater. Anyone else want to knit an EZ sweater this fall?

As for other knitting: LtCols 2nd sick has a leg needs a heel,foot and toe. Dads blanket is on break time. I took a cue from my friend Lorena, I am knitting on it one weekend a month. This way I am not too sick of it and it still gets done.

In Shop news: I have a shipment of base yarn due in any day now. Watch for new colorways very soon. Any old colors you want to see again?

Houseguest

2010-01-31T09:38:00.002-06:00

We have a house guest, Phoebe. As you can see she and Bunky are good buddies. Phoebe has learned that Bunky is her go to girl. she also learned to ring the bell on the front door if she really needs to go out now.

The kids love Phoebes little sweater. It has been so cold out we put it on her before she and Bunky went out to play in the yard.
Winston is not to sure about the new girl. He has yet to decide if she is staying or not. They get along fine but he is keeping his distance.

In knitting news: I have been making plans for my next 100 Years of EZ sweater. When the yarn arrives I will show you. I may be crazy.

Icelandic Yoke

2010-01-26T09:04:00.002-06:00

Here it is. Icelandic Yoke Sweater, for my 100 Years of EZ project. Yarn was from stash. Knit right from the book. Just like she told us to.

Above you see the short rows at the back of the neck make a big difference. If I make another I would make the yoke a little longer and add a 2nd set of short rows at the base of the yoke. As you can see below. It fits almost too well. I am not wearing the proper undergarments. A good bra would improve the fit.

The great thing about knitting this pattern is I feel like I can really make it my own. It's almost like a good play. A really good play can be done in a hundred different ways. Each company bring something new to a classic work. Its what makes theatre so fun to do. So this sweater is my by the book production. I am planing a fun hand dyed production for future staging

100 years of EZ

2010-01-23T09:34:00.005-06:00

knitting: I have a body and one sleeve done on my Icelandic Yoke Sweater. The pattern is right out of Elizabeth Zimmermann's book Opinionated Knitter. August, 9, 2010 would have been her 100th birthday. It is far too hot in august to knit a wool sweater so I thought I would do one this winter. I am knitting the pattern just as she wrote it using the color patterns she gave in the newsletter. So far the kitting is mindless. All the fun with this sweater is in the yoke and this baby is knit from the bottom up.

Because Elizabeth Zimmermann is a knitting hero of mine there will be a few more EZ projects this year in honor of her 100th Birthday. I want to knit more sweaters. I have yarn in the stash for one grown up sweater and maybe a baby sweater. 2010 is the year of the EZ sweater for me. I am thinking hand dyed fair isle too. fun!

In other news we had Bug over the other day when the kids were out of school. The kids all get along so well. They had great fun out in the snow. I had to drag the girls back inside. Bunky wants to know when they have their next day off so Bug can come back.

MB on the other hand has a cold. His fever is down this morning but he is still feeling icky. He is laying on the sofa watching tv. That's when you know he is sick. When he is not running around like a monkey. I'm watching him.

Multnomah Shawl

2010-01-19T12:01:00.004-06:00

Multnomah Shawl by Kate Flagg. Yarn Dream in Color Starry. Colorway: Nightwatch.

Turned out very pretty. Easy to knit. Used almost the whole skein. Would be nice if it were a little bigger but its no big deal.

warm hands

2010-01-18T09:50:00.002-06:00

It gets a bit chilly down by the pc so I made these up for Hubby (above) yarn is leftover from my last pair of socks (below) also made with leftovers. These were mine but Bunky now has them. Yarn: BoboSocks

Haiti

2010-01-15T11:09:00.003-06:00

The pictures coming out are just so sad. I hope that Haiti can recover. I just want to say that those who are using this tragedy to criticize out president are just plain scummy. If folks like Rush would read the history of Haiti they would see why we must help they now and why Europe must as well( I know Europe is helping, just saying). Have you been watching Yarn Harlot's Doctors without Boarders donations tally? Holy yarn money Batman!(647,000 is the last number I saw)
We are a great bunch aren't we? The press likes to talk about teachable moments. Its something I do with my kids. This earthquake has been a teachable moment here at the funhouse. Kids have lots of questions and I try to give the best answers I can. I am thankful to see that I can show them that we are doing our best as a country, a whole world really to help these people. Gives me hope for the future of the planet. Bunky is worried about the pets and Bobo wants to send toys because the kids there have none. I am one proud Mom.

Carin's yarn

2010-01-14T23:12:00.002-06:00

Before the holidays my friend Carin asked me to overdye some yarn for her. I said sure and she gave me 1400 yards of a beautiful 50/50 wool alpaca dk weight and some green and blue dye. I looked at her Raverly page to see what shade of blue/green she already had so I could give her something different from what she has already knit but she would love. You can see what she thinks of it of her webcast Round the Twist. She in turn gave me this:

Socks That Rock lightweight colorway Mustang Sally. I so love it! Below is the other yarn I got from The Loopy Ewe. Lornas Laces sport Amy's Vintage Office. I just knit myself a pair of socks this color so I this may be MiL socks. not sure yet as I love it so much.

another snow day!

2010-01-07T09:08:00.004-06:00

Here we have LtCol's socks. I finished the above sock last night. The yarn here is Dream in Color colorway: Chinatown Apple. I think its manly enough. Pattern is a 4st basket weave in the leg and a plain foot. LtCol likes to hike in the Rockies so these should be perfect. His birthday 9 months away so plenty of time on these.

Above is Dads Log Cabin blanket. I'm just making it up as I go along. The basic idea comes from Mason/Dixon Knitting. Unlike the Rocky Mnt Log Cabin I did for Mil and LtCol, this one is knit in one piece. No more of this sew the squares together crap for me thankyouverymuch. The plan is to knit on it till I can't stand the sight of it and call it done. The yarn here is from a big bag of random accrylic I got from Mom and GAH and GAL. as a side the note the RMLC blanket was a huge hit! Mil and LtCol took it with them to the condo.

And now for the me knitting. Above you see the Multnomah shawl.

Done is Dream in Color Starry Nightwatch. Hubby got me a Loopy Ewe gift card for Christmas! The color in the pic is not that great. it is a deep blue and has a silver strand in it. very pretty so far. I do love me the Dream in Color! I have a few more garter rows than the feather and fan bit.

this is the 5th snow day the kids have had in what is really 3 weeks of classes. As I understand it we will now have to make up time somewhere. I had better ask about that when the kids go back to school. We have a ton of snow here. The drifts are as tall as I am and I have run out of places to pile it. I hope the city does not have huge problems when this starts to melt. It could be very bad.

2010

2010-01-04T12:11:00.002-06:00

Wow another new year! I have decided that this year I am not going to look back at the old year. I'd rather not thankyouverymuch.

I will however look forward to the new year. I look forward to going back to work, I look forward to more fun with the kiddos, I look forward to more work with the PTO and or course more knitting.

So far the knitting plan for 2010 is:
A log cabin blanket for my Dad. I have this started already
Socks for Lt Col. I have not made him socks yet and he deserves some. I have these otn now as well. I'm using the Dream in Color Chinatown Apple yarn for these.

Socks for Mil. Something machine washable
Socks for GAL, and Hubby
A Baby sweater or 2 for my cousin m3. I have one knit. I love it so much I want to knit the same sweater in 2 larger sizes.
Sweater for me. I am thinking of a red Zimmerman system pullover.
Hats: I have 3 colorwork hats I want to knit up. All of my own design

Not a ton really. But you know me. I will add many things to this list over the next 51 weeks or so. I have yarn in stash for all of these projects. Wonder what new yarns will come my way in 2010.?

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T07:56:00.003-06:00

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

2009-12-23T07:43:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-12-12T12:06:00.003-06:00

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

2009-12-07T10:37:00.003-06:00

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!

2009-11-22T08:55:00.002-06:00

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!

2009-11-17T12:04:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-15T08:26:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-11T10:14:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-09T16:46:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-07T08:39:00.002-06:00

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

2009-10-27T12:04:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-10-20T09:04:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-02T19:56:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-28T12:43:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-14T08:47:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-09-08T16:16:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-07T09:18:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-29T09:40:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-25T19:37:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-22T11:02:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-18T16:12:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-17T10:59:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-08-13T22:40:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-04T12:04:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-01T11:17:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-30T09:26:00.004-05:00

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

2009-07-26T10:41:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-19T10:01:00.008-05:00

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

2009-07-12T22:04:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-07-04T10:12:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-29T11:43:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-27T12:58:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-22T10:51:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-13T10:33:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-11T11:59:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-09T09:13:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-04T10:07:00.002-05:00

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.

2009-06-01T08:54:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-30T09:12:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-24T09:25:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-05-21T09:33:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-05-16T09:25:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-15T09:02:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-07T08:56:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-06T11:00:00.004-05:00

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

2009-05-04T08:36:00.003-05:00

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.