Come on over for coffee!

A month or more ago, I mentioned I was having coffee-maker problems. Thankfully, the company that makes the brewer, Keurig was nice enough to FedEx me the part that I needed and I was back in business. Well, my friends, the past few weeks have been tough for a girl just trying to get her caffeine because we had a new problem. Seems that now, the pump in the maker is on its way out so instead of getting an 8 oz. cup of coffee, you'd get practically a giant shot of espresso. (I think I failed to mention this is one of those one cup brewer deals, that comes with the little k-cups of coffee grounds you pop into the machine, hit the button and hot coffee in seconds.) So, I'd run the coffee through the filter a second time and get sort-of a real cup of coffee.

I finally called them about a week ago (in all my free time) and said, hey ya'll this is kind of starting to suck. So, I descaled the brewer (which basically means running vinegar through it) and then I poked around with their little tool to make sure there were no clogs that I missed. And still no dice.

So, the nice people at Keurig told me I had two options: 1) buy a refurbished brewer for $50 or 2) get a new brewer + some coffee for $100. I went with the new brewer (that they shipped for free) because with my luck, on day 91 of a 90 day warranty, the thing would blow up. So, this one has the real 1 year warranty, it was half off and I am happily brewing. And this one is so much cooler! Easier to get the water in, nifty loading mechanism (I'm a little bit of a gadget freak) and three sizes of coffee: cup, mug and travel mug. Rock on! So, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by for a cup! We'll be glad to see you!

This woman still has a job???

Okay so my mistake in listening to NPR today because it just gets me nuts. I like NPR, it's just that when I hear confirmation of my wild thoughts I get more revved up.

So, there's this organization called "America Supports You" started in September 2004 to yes, support the troops. It's supposed to be some sort of grassroots effort to show the troops that more of us are with them and against them. Like so many things the government has ideas about, this is so much better in theory. One of their more goofy projects is to text message positive messages to the troops (which they admit is actually supposed to be two-fold, supportive message for the troops and feel-good experience for the sender). The guy doing the story for NPR couldn't get anything but a "no comment." Hello? Here's one of his quotes:

"And I wouldn't have had time to test their online "message to the troops" system, which apparently edits out all political content, with the exception of sentiments in praise of President Bush, finishing the job in Iraq and criticisms of antiwar protestors. Those comments are left in." Love it.

Oh, and by the way, the private PR contracts they are using to promote this cost $2.7 million in its first year. If only they had just made a comment, he wouldn't have kept digging. Oh and he tried to send a text message which did not get posted anywhere. It's in some hard-drive somewhere doing zero good for anyone (except maybe the sender). You've got to go to NPR to read at least part of the story.

And guess who is in charge of the program? Remember when there was a televised video conference a year or two ago between Bushy and the troops? There was a woman who got caught making the troops "stay on script." You probably remember this, it was hysterical and just the beginning of many such blunders. This woman is still employed. I'm amazed the administration didn't kick her to the curb. Guess it was easier to bury her in the pentagon with this pet project.

And my favorite part is the way they are talking it up to the kids. Putting their propaganda in Weekly Reader. And even that is backfiring! It would be funny if it weren't so sad that we're wasting money and resources on this.

Here's the Thing

I believe that if you want to serve in the military you absolutely should do it. I support the Troops no matter where we send them. I think they have the second hardest job in the world (after being a mommy), and I think they get crapped on a lot. I do believe it should be an informed decision to join. That especially for 18 and 19-year-olds that don't have a lot of other options, the opportunity can be a good one, but it should be a decision tempered by the reality of our situation.

But, I don't agree with this war. I don't believe the whole world wants democracy no matter how great it is. I don't believe that the Arab world can have a democracy the way we have democracy because of basic cultural differences. And I believe we need to get out ASAP.

What burns my butt is hearing about the military recruiting tactics of late. The National Guard in New Jersey landed a Black Hawk helicopter at Audubon High School and flew the Principal and some teachers to Fort Dix to show them what new recruits could expect. First of all, how the hell much is that costing us as taxpayers? Second, did they show them the movie Black Hawk down while they were there? I read the book, I saw the movie (actually I read it before it was a book when it was a series of stories in the newspaper) and let me tell you, this is war people. They may not be showing us the flag-draped coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, but that doesn't make those children any less dead to their parents and friends and extended families. Third, did they shoot at the principal and teachers? Did they blow up any bombs right next to them? Cause that's a lot more like what they can expect these days.

And it used to be when you joined the National Guard, you did things in country that had nothing to do with getting killed. But, not so anymore. Oh, yeah, the military is a great deal...you get all this education, you get a good pension, blah blah blah, and you also have a higher chance of getting killed now (for what exactly I'm not even sure at this point) than in a very long time. I'm not trying to call this Vietnam, cause it isn't, I'm just saying that all this propaganda the military is doing to recruit is nauseating. It's nothing new but it's nauseating. And if the draft weren't such a politically bad idea, they would bring it back tomorrow.

It's contagious!

These dishcloths and washcloths are dangerous. I can't seem to stop knitting them. I did this one with leftover yarn from the other ball band that I did plus the leftover from the basic dishcloth. And FYI on the basic dishcloth because people have asked, I don't think this is a pattern truly owned by anyone. I've seen it in a dozen different places, all with different attribution that runs the gamut from husband's grandma to such-and-such a company. So, I don't think I am in trouble by reprinting here:

Materials:
100 yds. Worsted weight cotton yarn (such as Peaches ‘n Cream)
Needles: US # 8
Yarn needle for weaving in ends

CO 4 sts
Knit 1 row across.
Begin Increase:
K2, YO, K to end of row.
-Repeat “increase row” until there are 45 stitches on the needle.
Begin Decrease:
K1, K2 tog., YO, K2 tog., K to end of row.
-Repeat “decrease row” until there are 4 stitches remaining on the needle.
Bind off:
Weave in ends.

I actually used # 7 needles because they were handy at the time. I was thrilled that I could actually use the leftover yarn from one of these babies as my contrasting color for the ball band (color A) and have exactly enough to do it. Very cool. The green was my color A from my first ball band cloth, so I had just enough of that to do this one. I've increased the number of cast-on stitches to 50 to do a face/washcloth for myself.

And with the fabulous Maggi knits linen I picked up at Sit N Knit last week, I'm also knitting myself a linen face cloth. How great is linen to work with? Definitely my new favorite yarn. I have some Euroflax also, but I am saving that for the hand towels. I'm almost finished with the 50 stitch facecloth so I will post that later. The linen will probably be a few more days.

Sunday morning wrap up

I feel like I need to get back to some of ya'll on the comments about the dishcloths etc. Jeri, the yarn I used for the purple dishcloth was a el cheapo Sugar and Creme from our local AC Moore (that was on sale for $1 ball; I want to wash dishes with something pretty, but I'm not washing with anything expensive!). I think Michael's and/or Jo-Ann Crafts carries it also. It's funny about the other dishcloth with the pooling. So many people can't stand pooling with their sock yarn or whatever variegated yarn etc. I think it's kind of nifty. One reason why I don't particularly care if my socks end up matching or they look more fraternal. I think they are more interesting that way. Then again, let's be honest, I just like crazy socks.

April, I missed most of the Lamont/Lieberman debate. Forgot it was on until it was almost over. I have a hard time watching them truthfully because both sides end up looking like such holes. The presidential debates were a great example of that a couple of years back. J., the fact that Bush has any contact with the reality of his situation has to be coming from Laura because the volume of nicknamed yes men that surround him certainly aren't helping his cause.

Donna, the Euroflax sale was awesome! 30% off on the Chunky and Worsted. I needed the Sport weight for the towels from Mason-Dixon, but decided to just go with the Worsted because it's pretty darn close. And I picked up some other linen to start some face cloths and see what happens. I can't get over the difference between what the ball feels like and what the finished product feels like.

Oh, and Jeri, are you from Philly or Baltimore? I only ask because of my relatives in both places that say "warsh," I love it!
And I know I usually wait until the beginning of the week to show you what's blooming, but this is sort of a special case. I cannot for the life of me remember what the name of this flower is. But it is spectacular. I don't exactly love the angle of this picture, though. I had a similar one bloom the other day and had no idea the bloom would only last only one day and since I missed getting a shot of that one, I took a pic of this one immediately this morning when I saw that it had opened it's amazing petals. I just planted these guys in the spring as bulbs so they are a new flower to me. Somewhere in my gardening notebook that isn't well-kept I maybe have a record of them. Wish I had taken better notes this time! Had no idea the show I was in for. Amazing they are even more delicate than irises.

It's not Just Me

Last night on Larry King, there was an "exclusive" interview with W in which Larry asked him about Lieberman. Something to the effect of, "You like him don't you." And the President basically said that he wasn't going to go as far to endorse him because he didn't want to give Lieberman the "kiss of death" (And I think I am accurately quoting him). How bad is it when you're the President and you know your endorsement could sink someone? Bushy is dying for Joey to get re-elected because of the hawk factor. Nauseating. Really. Nauseating.

The Basic Dishcloth

Why it took me so long to get this photo on? It's those darn kids again. :)

The weather here is finally beautiful, some might say spectacular today so Mimi and I are headed to the park to play with our friends. And if I am lucky to work on another ball band dishcloth from MD. And I have to get to the sale over at Sit N Knit because they have the Euroflax on sale. Want facecloths and guest towels!!!

Needleworks in Newington

I meant to post this sooner, but kept forgetting. Needleworks in Newington, CT is going out of business by the end of July. The entire store is 50% off. I'm hoping to get there tomorrow and will let everyone know if and when I do what's left of import!

3 Relatively political comments (cause you know you've missed them)

1) Ken Lay died today. I know the coroner said severe coronary heart disease (after all, he was living in beef land and he wasn't buying cheap steak with all that money), but isn't it ironic that it happened right after they asked him to turn over the $182.2 million in assets? I think Bushy boy, who used to call him "kenny boy," probably slipped him some secret government pill to make it look like a heart attack. And no, I don't think there was a second gunman.

2) Has Lieberman lost his freaking mind? I love how he slipped it in over the holiday weekend that if he loses the August 8th primary, he plans on petitioning to get on the ballot as a, get this, "independent democrat." I'm not sure if it's an oxymoron or just mere redundancy. As the party is slipping away, and we have the possibility of taking back the senate, he comes in to just screw everyone over. (Don't forget, no donation is too small, put a dime in the piggy bank over at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and get my buddy Robin off of my back *smile*.) I don't know a ton about Ned Lamont, but let me tell you this, at least he had the good sense to say he would back Lieberman if Lamont loses the primary. Because the last thing we need is to split the vote in November. Remember that little election a few years ago where Nader wouldn't back down and support Gore? Think it can't happen? I know nothing about the Republican candidate, but how pissed would you be if some Repub snuck in there because of stupidity on the part of the hawk? I'm sure as the next few months wear on, this is going to make me nuts.

3) I've been a little quiet on the front of wire-tapping us everyday citizens. But, I heard an interview with Martina Navritalova (my apologies if I have spelled that wrong because I am her new biggest fan) and she made an excellent point. Not just because of what she said but because of where she comes from. She basically said that we need to get upset, very upset. Because the deal is she knows what it's like. She knows what it's like to call your parents and hear the clicks and know that someone is listening to whatever it is you want to say. Not right. And the difference here . . . we can't even hear the clicks. Be very afraid.

Look mom, it's an FO!

Yes, finally, something in the queue that got finished. Yep, the dishcloth from Mason-Dixon. I have not yet decided if the colors are too garish, but seriously, it's a dishcloth...do the colors really matter at all? As this is the first of what I can only imagine will be many dishcloths to come, it's hard to tell if I really love it, but I have enough yarn left over that I can switch the A and B colors and see what that combo looks like. I think the colors pooled in an interesting way.

Enough of that, I've got to take a pic of the finished strip of the blanket, but it's currently in the room where Mimi is asleep so wild dogs couldn't drag me in there!

And for those of you who might be asleep at the wheel, the new Knitty is up today! And man is there some weird sh!! on there. You'll see. Some nice things as well, especially the pair of socks knit with handpainted yarn...once I finally finish the Blue moon Socks, I'll actually get to a new pair with my own hand-dyed yarn!

Me, I'm off to wash dishes! (and by the way, what the hell is blogger's problem today?)

Happy Fourth of July!

I've got some knitting pics I have yet to take to show you actual progress on knitting, so in the meantime, I figured I would include my weekly "what's bloomin' in my yard" for you to enjoy:

I start with the clematis because this baby was a hard fought gain. Clematis isn't exactly difficult to grow. You have to have the right spot though and after two failed attempts in the same spot, I figured it was the spot. Turns out I just needed my Pappou (grandfather) to plant it, which he did for me three years ago, and I must say, now that we are established, this little sucker is quite the showy bird.

These lillies are dumb-luck lillies because they are blooming on the first try without any interference from the wildlife in the area. I have some in a barrel also, that for the first time in three years might actually bloom if nothing eats them over the next few days. I'm still skeptical, but I must say, my combo of wasabi and crushed red pepper flakes seemed to be the right deterrent for whatever the hell was so interested in eating them. Damn you wildlife! I like these because they are white instead of the usual orange you see so much of around here.

And now we come to the problem children, my delphiniums. I'm on my third year with a lot of these girls. They are lovely. I have them in varying shades of blue and purple and also in white. I love, love, love them. However, the rain (yes, the 19 out of 30 days we had in June) was rather unkind to them. As was my neglect due to the rain. I didn't get my butt out there in the nice weather to stake them and so I had a ton of falling over blossoms that (darn!) have ended up on my kitchen table. At least we are getting to enjoy them rather than seeing their pretty little faces in the dirt. I'm hoping that if I can stake the remainder, I might have a shot of seeing some kind of blooms relatively soon that I won't necessarily have to cut and bring in. If not, I'll just be patient for the gladiolas.

Finally, I include a picture of the fabulous hydrangea. I couldn't these guys if I tried. They are lovely, they bloom for two months and last year, upon cutting some blossoms, they lasted a month in a vase. I've never had that happen before so I am really in love with them for that. I even got my other bush to bloom for a second year in a row. These guys belong on a greeting card or something because they are just too lovely for words.

Off to finish my ball-band dishcloth from Mason-Dixon!

Mimi's third birthday

I almost can't stand it. Our "little one" turned three yesterday...seriously, where did the last three years go? I must say, she has been completely adorable. And it didn't' hurt that yesterday she told my grandfather that this has been the best birthday ever . Way too cute!

We had her birthday party at our local Gymboree (done by the fabulous Felice) and though we had almost too many kids (the more the merrier, right?), it was great. She's really into Cars right now, so that was our theme. I'm off to knit more on Aden's blanket, I almost have the third strip finished. I saw him today for the first time in months and he is getting so big!

I heart Knit Picks

I opened up my mailbox today, excited, as always to see the new Knit Picks catalog. I confess, I don't order from them a ton, mostly the yarn I use when I am dyeing yarn. But, they always have great ideas, and occasionally I jump in on something.

Anywho, the first two pages . . . they have crafted their own set of really cool interchangeable needles. Now, I have the Denise needles, and I love them. I use them for tons of projects. I love just having the cables around to hold projects that are on hold so to speak. My only issues are sometimes, the joins aren't perfectly smooth so certain yarns can get caught up (not ever snagged so far, but caught up) and also that they don't go very small in size. The size part seems to be the nature of the beast. But, I will say, Denise has amazing customer service. Before my LYS carried the extra lengths, I faxed them an order and it was on my doorstep in what seemed like 2 days or less. Love that.

And now the new kid on the block interchangeables, well, I'm just going to have to buy them. They look so sleek. They look like Addi's but interchangeable. What could be better than that? And of course, price is pretty darn awesome for a starter set. I'm hoping you guys will take a look and let me know what you think, if you think there are any drawbacks to them. And, seriously, they are purple , well the cords anyway, it's like they were made just for me. Sigh.

Why I love knitting (the first of many columns)

I'm over at a friend's house for dinner and we pull out our knitting afterwards. She's working on a poncho for one of her daughters and had never knit in the round so I needed to help her get going. About the third row in said daughter comes in and starts watching me knit. She's not saying much, she's seen her own mother knit and she's eight-ish years old. But, then I switched to working on Aden's blanket and all of a sudden she's fascinated by the changing color blocks, the softness of the yarn, all of it. Doesn't matter that her mother is knitting a chair away. This is exactly why I had Cindy teach Sugar Bear to knit, because me teaching her initially would not have gotten her very excited.

And this is one of the many reasons I love knitting. I love watching a kid get excited about it. I can remember when I was little and my mom taught me to cross stitch. I remember the joy of it. And I think that's why I am so addicted now! Because it brings back that joy to me every time I pick up the needles.

So what gets you going about knitting? Also, if you comment, tell me where are you from...I don't mean address, just give me a state or territory or country. I keep some track on sitemeter, but I saw someone from Ireland today and I thought wow! is someone from Ireland really reading my blog????

My One Skein Pal

I've been a real slacker on this one. A) I am a slacker because I haven't sent my package for June out yet and hello, it's the end of June and B) (Far worse), I got a lovely package in the mail from my pal and didn't post about it yet. Clearly she is paying close attention to the blog and sent me yarn in "my colors" and flower seeds. Lucky for me, due to all of this unbelievable rain, I still have a shot at sowing these little guys this year. That would be the only good thing about the rain that never ends. Talk about an inconvenient truth....where I am from, outside of DC in Alexandria, VA, they have had such severe flooding that they had to shut down part of the Beltway. Think Belt Parkway, think Long Island Expressway, think LA Freeway and whatever the one is in Atlanta that screws with everyone. This was a major deal to shut down part of this highway where construction is already hell as they build a new bride that is already obsolete. And, of course, FEMA is all over this one, screwing it up as they go. Amazing how this agency actually worked under Clinton, but I digress . . .

Bottom line is my secret pal rocks, another one from CA (love you CA girls, transplants or not (I mean transplanted location not boobs ladies, oh right, those would be implants)). Can't wait to see what next month brings.

I'm going to pick out the one skein yarn for my pal right now! Stash here I come!

Who knew?

I have to laugh about finally getting into the Knitting Blogs web ring. I got over 100 hits today which is way above average for me. I now am honored to be one of 1000 knitting blogs! We'll see how many of you stick around. The fun thing is that you guys are sticking around to read the blog for longer stretches at a time. Either I'm getting funnier or you guys are really bored.

Madonna, Madonna, Madonna

Wow, wow, wow and did I mention WOW ? What a night, what a concert (thank you April), and what an amazing experience.

A little of my Madonna history: My first album ever was Like a Virgin (remember when they were albums?). I can remember where I was when my mom gave it to me after school. I can remember that the "bad girl" down the street already had it and that my mom got major cool points in my book for getting it for me. I'm pretty sure it was fourth grade.

I wanted to be Madonna. I wasn't sure what she was, but I knew that was what I wanted to be. She had all the boys, she had the best clothes, she got to wear as many Madonna bracelets as she wanted to (of course, I did too until my mom found out what they "meant.") I can remember watching the video for Dress You Up in My Love (when MTV actually played music) at my great aunt's house in Philly (Cable had not come to Virginia yet unless you were really wealthy) and dancing around the room like a fool.

I wanted to be her for Halloween that year, but someone else at school was going to be her so instead of being a copy of that girl, I went with Boy George as my costume. There's a story there too, I'll tell that one another time.

And last night, seeing her live for the first time (as I was too little for so long and then for a while never considered spending "that much" for concert tickets) . . . I was so right to want to be her. Emy, I am sure you can attest to this. As April said, she commands your attention. Whatever you say about her, she always knows who she is, even if it changes from time to time as part of her evolution. And she doesn't take any crap from anyone. I admire that most of all. Not to mention, I'll be working out a lot harder the next few weeks because at 47 she has a better body than most of us will ever have in our lifetimes. She is one taught muscle. As are her dancers who are just remarkable (and really, really young).

So, that's my ode on Madonna for this morning.

I have actually been knitting. Working on Aden's blanket from forever ago. Have to get it done. It's one of those, knit in strips, multi-color deals. I think I had a picture on the blog a while back. Anyway, it's kind of hanging over me, though not in a bad way, and it's time to get it done.

Okay, friends, time to get my butt in gear and get some work done!

Snap it up

Astrid is having a big fat sale on Opal and Regia, so if you are finding your stash wanting in the sock department, click on over there and get some goodies. Plus, she sends Dutch chocolate with your order, what could be better than that?

I'm trying to contain my excitement because I have tickets for Madonna tomorrow night. The problem is, I think my fellow attendee is in the process of canceling. I think I would go see her even if I were on my death bed. I was too young to see her when the whole Like a Virgin thing happened, have wanted to see her ever since, and now I have my chance. I'm almost ready to go by myself if I have to!

Picture Day!

Finally, I am back at my own computer and can download all of the great vacation shots. I warn you, the fishing shots are graphic. Just so we're all clear, these guys were all catch and release (some of them were not so smart and became the benefactors of multiple catch and releases, but they go on to swim another day). I'm not showing you all of the fish anyway, lest we all get bored and click, click away.
I think I mentioned that we hit the National Zoo also. Such a great zoo, I mean, it's not San Diego, but it's still very large and they have some incredible exhibits. The zookeepers showed considerable interest in keeping Sugar Bear and Mimi, but I told them that at least until it is my decision to send them back to the zoo, I would keep my little animals on hand. I may regret this soon as it's early and I am already inundated with "what can I do questions?" Sugar Bear had a field day putting her hat on all of the statues and making me take pictures. I love her sense of humor and her sense of art :)

The last picture today requires a wee bit of explanation and is bound to offend someone. Lake Anna is a very rural community. When I got up to buy bait at the local general store/bait shop/gas station/health department, I walked in to a cloud of cigarette smoke. The woman behind the counter who was making breakfast sandwiches had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth with an extraordinarily long ash on the end (granny ash). This gives you the idea, I think of what the area is like. A couple of towns over from my mom and dad's place in Mineral is a town called, I kid you not, Bumpass. If you don't believe me, look it up. So, my parents were at Wal-Mart buying treats for the kids and they came across these fake teeth that seemed to have a good fit at Lake Anna. I only wish I had been wearing them when I bought my bait. Those are our friends who live at the lake year round in mom's neighborhood. It's fun for the girls to play with their two boys because each girl is only a month apart from their respective boys. (God, I need more coffee after this marathon vacay).

The fish was THIS big

Little known fact about me. I love to go fishing. I think there are actually a lot of similarities between fishing and knitting. It's a solitary pursuit. You must be patient. It takes some skill. And sometimes it can be so god dam$$d frustrating that you want to pull out a shotgun (even though you don't believe in firearms) and fire directly into the lake to get that carp (the equivalent of throwing your knitting needles across the room sorta kinda).

While at Lake Anna the past two days, I fished my heart out with the girls. I even caught my own bait fish (much to Sugar Bear's enormous chagrin--doesn't bother her that pigs get slaughtered for bacon, but god forbid I use baby trout to catch other fish)with a net and some bread. Had my nightcrawlers and lures and everything, it was a beautiful thing I tell ya. Caught three catfish. Pictures to definitely follow on the biggest one of those (about eight pounds). Caught a blue-gill. Caught a bunch of silvery fish whose name I am not sure of. Caught two small-mouthed bass. All in all a good day.

But, it was the fish who got away FOUR times that was the bane of my existence as a self-respecting fisherwoman. Carpy.

Day one at the lake he got a lure and a rather large hook. Day two we saw him swimming around with said hook in his mouth, very Goth. So, I began again to try for him. Two separate times, the swivel opened up and he got two of my hooks. But it was the last time that really piss## me off. He took the hook, the bait, and almost me. I wish I could demonstrate online the way in which I had to try to get this fool fish out of the water. I kid you not that if the catfish I caught was eight pounds, this sucker must be ten because the fight he put up was enormous. The closest analogy I can think of is the movie Grumpier Old Men when they try to get Catfish Hunter at the end. This fish is entering into mythic proportions for me. And he will be mine . We're headed back the beginning of August and he is going to be mine. I'm buying a new pole and I am not messing around.

Needless to say, no knitting has been accomplished this week. Perhaps today on the drive home. Not while I am driving of course :)

Vacay craziness

I've been gone since Friday and have finished four, yes a whopping four rows of knitting. Ergh. I chose to drive down to VA on Friday instead of DH, due to the fact that I didn't want the trip to take twelve hours, but that meant no knitting. And we have just been running like crazy people since then.

Sugar Bear and Mimi are having a joyous time with their grandparents and I am enjoying seeing my friends and soaking up as much free babysitting as possible. We had an awesome trip to the National Zoo yesterday and I have great photos, but currently no real way to upload them. Double rats!

I really need to vent about Six Flaggs and their outrageous employee positions, but no time right now. Will definitely get into it later. My apologies for any crappy spelling, my grandfather's computer has some pop-up issues right now!

Blooming this week

Just so you can see that it has finally stopped raining here (and is rapidly approaching the 90 degree mark), I thought I would share with you some of what's going on in the garden. Look for Toady in the lettuce, he's almost completely hidden! I harvested a ton of lettuce this morning to take to VA for my mom and family. Can't beat totally fresh lettuce. I'm a little bummed because I know that some of my bulbs, etc. are going to be blooming over the next week and I may miss them, but hopefully there will be something left to photograph at the end.

I'm amazed that the irises bloomed at all because I was a naughty girl and failed to move them in august when I was supposed to and split them rather clumsily this spring. I had so many that I had to divide them up into at least 10 clumps....that's what years of neglect will get you!

The white begonia (which I must say is totally spectacular) I started indoors over the late winter early spring and I thought that perhaps I wasn't going to have any luck with them. And then voila! The blooms started appearing last week, but didn't open up until this week. Very cool.

Lucy, resident genius

I know somewhere I have a picture of our cat, Lucy that I could post. Somewhere. Which basically means that I can't find it and can't get off of my a$$ to take one right now, additionally, she's eating so not in the mood for a photo. I completely forgot to post about this earlier so here I am now. But, I digress...

Last night at 2:49 a.m. I heard possibly the loudest MEOW ever, followed by a couple of smaller meows. I sat upright in bed because only recently has Lucy been allowed to wander the house at night. She's a mostly outdoor cat, except in the hell of winter here in CT when it would be inhumane to leave anything remotely alive out in the world. She usually lives in our oil room, but now I've grown progressively more attached so I let her roam around. Again, digression.

So, I hear the meowing and think she is on my bed (again, a new phenomenon for her) and realize within seconds that no, she isn't in my bed but the MEOW was loud because she managed to do it right next to the "baby" monitor in Sugar Bear and Mimi's room (we never used these things when they were actual babies but now that they are on the other end of the house, it makes me feel at least a little more secure; yeah, right). Smart ass cat if you ask me, making the meow right into the monitor. Then the next sound was Sugar Bear whispering, "Lucy, knock it off." Followed by, "Maaaaaahm, Lucy won't stop scratching at my covers." Right-o.

So, up I go to get rid of Lucy at which point I realize that Mimi is now awake as well and there is no getting either of them back to sleep without me. After 45 minutes of us all laying there pretending to be asleep, we gave up and came down to my bed. Of course, they went to sleep but not me because I had that damn Backyardigans song in my head from the Secret Agent episode (if you don't have kids, this is lost on you right now, but if you do, I hope you too will suffer the Sneaking and Hiding disease I had last night at 3:30 in the morning).

I must have finally gotten the song out of my head because I clearly remember having a dream after that in which I was hanging out with Rod Stewart and his latest chippy, explaining to him that DH and I often laugh about the fact that we used to have Beatles songs stuck in our heads and now it's the Backyardigans.

Can you tell I haven't had coffee in two days?

The Best Dye-o-Rama Buddy Ever

That's right, be jealous, I have the best secret pal ever from Dye-o-Rama. I got some truly spectacular yarn in the mail today from Emy. I only wish that I had time today to take a picture in better lighting to do this yarn some true justice. If you click on her site, she has a really nice picture of it. And how cute is all the stuff in the package? Emy rocks! I think it goes without saying she is a Virgo :) Now I just have to find out when her birthday is!!!

And look at all the cool, color-coordinated swag it came with! Love the mini photo album, looking forward to taking all the candy on my VA road trip (We leave tomorrow) and who doesn't love a purple pen. And I can't wait to use the bath teabags. She knows I have kids!

I also want to give her a little plug, if you are into stamping or are just curious about it you need to check her site Stampin Up! Stamping with Emy. The card she sent was adorable and of course, stamped by herself!

I will not hold it against her that she went to William and Mary, but rather congratulate her on not killing herself. She should know what I mean! Go JMU Dukes!

Alpaca envy

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am writing the newsletter for my local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), George Hall Farm. I showed up with the kids yesterday morning to speak with George's nephew about the newsletter and was greeted by the site of 4 beautiful Alpacas recently shorn and looking so totally adorable. Sadly, my camera was charging at home so I didn't get any shots of them (one of them is named Flanders, I just love it), but I promise to do that soon. The farm is awesome, chickens running everywhere with guinea hens, their little chicks all over the place. I even spotted two Angora rabbits though that is one fiber I am not currently coveting. Interesting that at least so far, the Alpacas only have bottom teeth, but they have an apparently wicked kick with their cloven hooves. I'm going to see if at some point, the woman planning to spin it will either let me watch or purchase some of the final product. I'm becoming an Alpaca stalker.

The agony of De Feet

Seriously with this padded heel on these socks. Due to the fact that I had to knit the other portions of the stockinette on 0's I started to do the heel on 00's. Now that I have a nasty case of arthritis and carpal tunnel, I'm switching back to the 0's. It's a negligible difference which is a very good thing as I am way too lazy this week to frog out the approximately 10 rows I completed on the heel in the smaller size. Have you frogged anything on 0's or 00's lately, hell on earth with the dropped stitches. Even tinking out hurts my head to think about. I do love the padding of the heel though so I should not complain too much. It's all adjustment on my part. And, at least I will not have to make the same mistake when I get to the second sock. Trying to finish the heel tonight so that I can keep on rolling. That or to finish the Top Secret Project .

I've decided to nickname the kids for the purpose of blogging, though it's not exactly like I am hiding their identities when I post pics of them. Daughter number one (aka C) will heretofore be known as Sugar Bear and daughter number two (aka S) will be known as Mimi (short for Screaming).

More on yesterday

I really have no idea why it is that I am knitting these socks on such small needles. The first year and a half of my knitting (remember, I have only been doing this since spring 2004), I was the girl who always had to go up at least 2 sizes for what seemed like every single project. And the suggested sizes for this sock were 5's for the cuff, 2's for the foot and 1's for the heel (an approximation of what the pattern actually says). I had to do the cuff on 1's. I'm doing the first part of stockinette on 0's and now I think I will have to do the heel on 00's. I've lost my mind. Really, it's only because I have never done anything on needles that small, my hands just feel a little man-hands in the process. Meaty. In fact I could seriously injure someone with the 00's. Way pointy on the ends. I poked myself putting the stuff away last night!

And due to the fact that I am unable to stop talking about super-girl-daughter-number-two and her amazing pull-up adventures . . . she did it again last night. The girls are having some adjustment issues this week because my grandparents and mother were here all off last week so they had mucho attention compounded by the fact that this is callista's first week off from school. Last night was the "I'm going to pretend I have to barf so that mommy or daddy will take pity on me and let me sleep in their bed" night. That was a no go. C came crying downstairs (and hour after they were supposed to be asleep) that she was afraid that S was going to yak all over her. When I went upstairs to see if there was any legitimacy to the claim (since it's been going around school), I picked up a hysterical S in the hallway to find naked buns in my arms. In the middle of her hysterics, I say, "Wait a minute here, you have no pull-up on" and she, waiting for my reaction, bursts out into what can only be called maniacal laughter. She's the laugh with your whole body kind of girl, so needless to say, I laughed with her. It's really hard not to.

Blog rut

But, I swear I am coming out of it. First, let's start with Anne Coulter. Not like she deserves any more print, but for the love of God she is Satan. I don't think I really need to say anything more than that. Anyone who has the balls to criticize 9/11 widows, clearly Satan. Damn that liberal media.

Second, and more importantly, I bought new dye colors today. Haven't yet had the chance to try them out but I can't imagine them being anything but fabulous. I still have 1 lb. of yarn plus I also have a skein of merino left over from Knit Picks. I am hoping to get on this this week, but who knows? This is C's first week out of school, so anything can happen!

And on the daughter C front....she had her "Recognition Ceremony" on Friday as she gets ready to move from Kindergarten to first grade. It's a slightly big deal because if she was in a public K, she wouldn't be eligible for first grade for another year because her birthday is in January. We're very proud of how hard she has worked. The reading, the math, she's doing good work!

I've been happily working on my Rockin Sock Club Socks. I finished both cuffs just in time for my circular needles to arrive from Astrid. I'm doing the socks on size zero. It's shocking for me really as I have not done anything that small before.And I think the heel I am going to have to do on double zero's. Clearly I have lost my mind, but I am glad that for the first time ever I took the time to swatch for gauge on socks.

I also had quite the accident at AC Moore. I have no idea how all of this yarn ended up in my cart (though I suspect that the $1/ball had something to do with it). And what pray tell am I going to do with cheapsh$$ yarn?
Those faboo washcloths from Mason-Dixon Knitting. If you don't have this book, get it already, I'm tired of singing its praises.

I'll post some garden pictures tomorrow. I was too sad when I went to my strawberries and saw so many that had literally molded on the vine I couldn't bring myself to go much farther. That's what ridiculous, endless amounts of rain will do for your crops. The peas are fine and we had those in a delicious salad of our lettuce last night. (And our toady is back in our lettuce, happily burrowing away to stay cool).

And I have to get my a$$ in gear because I am also doing the newsletter this summer for our local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, George Hall Farm. I'm sure that I'm going to overextend myself on this one, but it's for a good cause!

The big reveal

I'm so psyched...my Dye-o-Rama pal, Carriereceived her package yesterday. And she liked it, she really, really liked it. I'm thrilled that my first swap went so well. You can click on her name and see her adorable blog called Knit-Whit and a great picture of the package that I sent her (of course, I forgot to take a picture of it before I sent it). It's been in my blog column for a while, but I couldn't say who she was, just in case she stumbled across me. I don't love ruined surprises. I can't wait to see how the yarn knits up for her!

What's with the blogger spell checker not working for me for days? My apologies for any bad spelling folks. Half the time I blog, I don't have my glasses on so I am squinting like a mole at the screen and therefore miss basic misspells, even when I proofread. And this used to be my carreer. Oy!

Gay marriage (again)

Is it me or is it just absolutely silly that we even have to talk about this issue? The senate voted down the moronic amendment to the Constitution today by a measly vote. One vote. I'm amazed anyone even had time to show up for voting whilst worrying about whether or not the FBI might hit their office in their absence. (I'm not even going to give myself the opportunity to go into a full-blown digression on this one, you can thank me later).

I spoke to my grandfather about this issue today. He's 81. And a democrat. And one of the most honest, upstanding people I know. And in his typical, non-judging fashion, he said, hey "I don't really want to watch two men kiss but who really cares if they want to get married? It has nothing to do with my life." Exactly.

First, there is the argument that if they are allowed to get married, it will undermine the instituion. Cause you know, the institution has been doing so well on its own these past few millenia. There's a lot more freaky sh$$ going on in hetero marriages than probably 99% of homosexual relationships. Gay marriage could only improve the numbers if you ask me. It would probably lower the divorce rate.

Second, why now? We're talking thousands of years of gays coexisting with straights. I'm Greek, we invented the "gay thing." Oh, right, I forgot, while our young people are dying over in Iraq, our economy is going to hell again, gas prices soaring, Iran trying to go nuclear and well, you know that little immigration problem, I totally get why this is our biggest problem. Hell, it's the biggest problem facing humanity isn't it?

Third, I think it was a Senator (again, who are these people?) who made the suggestion that next people will want to marry their pets or their kids. Do I even need to make a comment on this one ? I'm just trying to figure out how people like this make it out of their houses in the morning. They must have some kind of helper standing by. "Good morning sir, don't forget to take your enormous ego, your sense of entitlement and your bigotry with you to the senate floor today. Wouldn't want the other boys laughing at you."

Kid logic

S took off her pull-up again last night somewhere right after she went to bed. When asked why she felt the need to take off her pull-up her response was, "I was singing and dancing in my sister's bed." Obviously. I. am. not. in. the. know.

And the monsoon rain is back. Cause that's just what we needed.

"Still a genocide"

Was the title of a recent Washington Post article about Darfur. I won't go so far as to say that the peace agreement meant nothing, but is the tiniest of baby steps in what will be a journey of giant steps. Please consider emailing Bush today (because you know how forgetful he can be when he thinks we aren't minding the store) and tell him he must keep up the pressure. You can also forward the information to your friends so they can sign also from that link.

If you are interested in the Washington Post article (the only real newspaper :), okay so I am partial), click here.If women and children being raped and slaughtered on a daily basis doesn't get you to take action, what will?

Technical Difficulties, round two (aka Comcast is a big fat stinker)

Seriously, my cable connection was out again today (maybe yesterday by the time I actually get to post this as I am working offline. So I have no idea if anyone is talking about the cuff of the socks. I can’t post my weekly, what’s blooming in my garden shots. IÂ’s all terribly frustrating. I’ve run around all day like an absolute lunatic. It’s amazing how much I am getting finished around the house when I can’t obsessively check my email, sitemeter, KR and other people’s blogs! Arrrgghh!

I really want to go to the Fabric Place in Cromwell. I’ve got chairs that need to be recovered. They were kitchen chairs and now they are just a mess (or a PWT dream depending on your point of view; I’m thinking of doing a post just on abbreviations because I realize that sometimes I use abbreviations that ya’ll just don’t get). I want to get some sort of (unless it’s hideous looking) indoor/outdoor fabric because the chairs are wicker and now that they are no longer in my kitchen, I think outdoors is the place for them. I also have to recover the random chair that my MIL gave me right after we got married. I never loved the fabric colors, but then one of the kids got something on the fabric which I could not remove so, might as well cover that while I am at it. I’ve never been to this store before but have heard great things. That will have to be my DIY project for the week.
My Yiayia is in town so she can help keep an eye on S while I get some things finished!

Well, since I can’t blog, I must knit (and go through back issues of cooking light for the past five years in an attempt to make room for more yarn).

And good news, I actually got my butt to the post-office and mailed my Dye-o-rama swap sock yarn! I cannot wait to see what her adorable blog has to say about it!

Update post comcast screw-up Thought I would throw in a couple of garden pictures to brighten the text. Enjoy.

Two cents

I've had a lot of on and offline discussion about the sock cuff. So, I thought I would weigh in here and invite thoughts and comments (please people I won't bite) about it. BTW, I am almost finished with the second cuff, hope my needles get here soon. Though, this week will actually be a week of DH sweater work (have to finish that front!) and I am almost finished with the Top Secret Project. No reveal on that one until August! Stay tuned, but I digress...

Some people love the buttons on the cuff, some people not so much. I like the buttons as I think it really sets the sock off. My friend, Kelly, wants to knit them for her fiance (I know, I've already told her she can't knit them until she is actually married, only 19 more days to go on that front) sans buttons. And I know Holly in CT is interested in them without the buttons as well. I'm thinking you knit the cuff as written until you get to the part about the button-holes. Skip that and you also may have to/want to skip the picot edge. If you wanted the edge I am guessing you would just somehow sew it together just behind the edge. Without the edge I am thinking you just blanket stitch it up prior to picking up the stitches to do the rest of the sock. I could be totally off on this as I don't have the pattern in front of me.

Linda???? I'm thinking you would have the best idea of how to do this w/o the buttons and/or edge.

No knitting to show off today....I've been cleaning a closet and doing laundry. Necessary but no fun.

Technical Difficulties

Due to the incredibly vicious storms that blew through here Thursday night and early Friday morning, I had no internet service yesterday. Had not power for almost 12 hours either, but you know the computer was the bigger deal. We have a generator, but not everything is attached, blah, blah blah. Anyway, I finished my first cuff of the Socks that Rock and am working on the second one now. Too cool! I completed my first picot edge and my button holes (though I opted out of the one row button hole) look nice if I do say so myself. I started looking at buttons for the sock, but I'm not sure yet what direction I want to go with those yet. Something funky and fun I think to match the mood of the socks.
I can't wait to get started on the actual sock part, but I have to get those needles first! The WS looks very cool to me. The purls almost ended up making a rib pattern (whether or not they were supposed to is another story). And I just love, love, love the colors, don't you?
I've got to get my butt to the post office today to mail my Dye-o-rama pal her yarn. Enough already with the procrastinating! Can't wait to see what she says about it and what she posts about it on her blog. I've got to get moving on my One Skein swap pal also. Have to pick out the skein for June and start thinking about what I will make for August.

Play a dirge

I'm an animal lover. Not to the point of any kind of activism, but in general I love animals. Even the wildlife around here for the most part. The squirrels, foxes, turkeys, Canada geese, and the deer all friends for the most part. But, it seems that the wildlife and my car just cannot get along this week. I've managed to kill a chipmunk and a squirrel this week. I must say that I didn't feel very troubled about the chipmunk. While I wasn't aiming for him, one less chipmunk around here just means safer crocus bulbs.

I did feel a little bad about the squirrel, though. Mind you, this could not have been the smartest squirrel in the pack, he actually ran into my car. I kid you not, I saw him run right into my right front tire and heard the thump. I've never had that happen before with a squirrel, I don't think I've ever hit one.

I used to have a bird problem. I don't mind them, in fact, I love seeing them in my birdbath (we had to take the birdfeeders down because there's a black bear in the neighborhood and I am not trying to encourage him hanging out with us and the kids). But, there was a period of about three years around the time I was in college when it seemed I hit at least a bird every few months. They were literally flying into my car (a big red VW Golf affectionately called The Big Red Shoe because it resembled Clown footwear). And then one day I was on my way back from Harrisonburg, VA, home of many, many chicken farms. I was behind a chicken truck and I still can't quite figure out how this happened, but a chicken landed on my windshield and bounced off. Really? Yes, really.

For those of you familiar with Little Caesar's pizza, they had a commercial very similar to this and when it happened to me I thought, that had to be where the ad guys came up with it, it must have happened to one of them. Cause you can't make this stuff up. I couldn't eat chicken for weeks. Because when it bounced off my windshield, it landed hard in the emergency lane on I-81. Not like he was on his way to live at a country club, we were in Wampler country, but still. Not the nicest image.

Apparently, my karma has decided to run over the rodentia instead of fowl. Thankfully, the kids haven't noticed either time, but my luck on that front is only bound to last but so long.

Dyeing success!

Yesterday, I spent time dyeing on my own while S napped. The results were a little strange. I used for the first time the fingering weight yarn from Wool2Dye4. Nice yarn, sold by the half pound (or pound I think). I didn't realize until today that I failed to do the first step yesterday as I was in a hurry. I didn't soak the yarn in the water/vinegar mixture. Anywho, I was back on the Kool-Aid bus and did this interesting green/brown/yellow mix. There's some white in there also but I realize now that was due to the fact that the yarn wasn't saturated to begin with. I wasn't thrilled with it in the cake....but it swatched very nicely. So much so that Callista wants me to knit her some socks out of it. Surprising because purple is nowhere to be found. And it actually came out sort of self-striping. Interesting.
But the real success was today at Linda's when we finally got around to using the acid dyes. She purchased the dye from Dharma Trading Company. We had a bunch of colors. She went first with russet, chartreuse, chestnut, and a red whose name is escaping me. It definitely came out looking like an autumn leaves kind of colorway. We basically laid saran on the floor and squeezed the dye onto the yarn then wrapped the sections, stuck it all in a bowl and microwaved. For mine we tried it a little differently. The colorway was sky blue, violet, chartreuse, and emerald. It was interesting this time because even though we soaked the yarn ahead of time, it was really hard at first to get the dye to stick so to speak and i can't really figure out why. Might be that the yarn was upright in ziploc bags......yes, it was easier to take six bags, stick a u-shaped section into each bag and then squeeze the dye. Some collected in the bottom but it was easy to just squeeze it up onto the rest of the dye.
Then we microwaved that yarn, rinsed, spun and we ended up with the yarn cake you see here (I took the pictures from two angles so that you could see more of the colors). The chartreuse came out really neon. I was kind of surprised by that. The violet I actually ended up overdyeing because it didn't come out dark enough the first time. So I whipped up some more dye in a mason jar and just re-dyed that portion. I'm going to keep this colorway for myself. And I am going to send the purple, green, yellow combo to my dyeorama pal because I think that she will probably like that the best. At least I hope so. I've got to get her some goodies, and she has a pup, so he's getting goodies for sure! Can't wait to see what my pal comes up with for me!

Quickie

Just a drive by post to say that I dyed yesterday and today and will post pictures of the interesting results later. Yesterday not too fabulous, though it looks a lot better swatched up and today awesome with the acid dyes. Also, found yet another toad...wonder what we are doing to attract them????

It's hotter than hellfire here, hope you are cool wherever you are!

Busy little beaver

I was a good girl and started my socks last night. And here are the first three inches of the cuff to prove it. I can't believe how many people who are already either finished with the socks or almost finished with the socks according to the Sock Club KAL. I'm loving the linen stitch and already thinking about other ways to use the stitch. I'm thinking towels. Or maybe a tissue box cover. I have this sick need to make at least some of what I knit more useful and something I can see in the house at all times.

I got up early early this morning to get outside and do something, anything. I finally felt well enough to do more than complain about my head. So, out the door to lay down the grub ex in the yard, the meadow, every last ever-loving bare spot of grass that I could find. Cause those little bastards are everywhere, which also means that I have moles, cause they are eating the grubs, just not fast enough :) Took an hour and at eight a.m. it was hotter than hell, or I should say more humid than hell. Rotten. But, I pressed on. Got some hosta and some hydrangea moved to their new homes (right before the deer end up eating all of my hosta, I figure I'd like to see them at least). The girls were happy today in the yard because we found two ladybugs, an inchworm (yes, we sang the song), and this pretty cool toad. He's living in a stump from an oak tree we had to cut down due to proximity to the house. There's a nice hole in the middle of rot where it's shady and damp and the perfect toad house. He's quite the jumper, and I know that because I picked him up and the little bugger tried to get away from me multiple times.

And I weeded, I weeded a whole darn lot. The problem for me is that my garden beds are way too big and daunting. After five hours in the garden (granted, not all of them spent weeding), I only had weeded the front of one of my major beds. But, at least it's done, I put down the weed preventer and hopefully at least the front of the bed is good for another month. I'm dreaming a bit here, but I have to after all those hours. The strawberries are really ripening nicely, the broccoli doesn't look great, but there is still time and I have some hopeful looking carrots. We'll see. But, when I saw this clematis bloom today, I had that "it's all worth it moment."

Here's what's growing at my house

Since that last post was so text heavy, I thought you deserved flowers for putting up with it. So, here's what's currently blooming at my house. The first azalea I only include because it's one of the ones I vented about earlier, one of six that the deer chewed on all winter because I was a fool and didn't wrap them. I point this out because as you can see, all bloom and no leaves.
And just to prove that the deer are selective (and stupid), here's one from the front yard that I wish they would have touched because I have decided that regardless of the fact this color is currently existing in nature, it shouldn't.

On to more beautiful things, like my Beverly Sills bearded iris. I planted these suckers two years ago, and this is the first year they look decent. Sadly, something, a child, a pet, or an interloper stepped on one of the other stalks that had three potential blooms on it. Despite me bringing it in and trying to nurse it towards a bloom, I think the shoot was broken too early and I am going to have to give it up and throw it out.
I also have these fab hot pink rhodies in the front yard that are making me want to get my dye out and try to duplicate it. I'm thinking gloves because nothing cheers me more on a winter day than hot pink (well, maybe a hot toddy). When I was growing up in Virginia, we really only had rhodies in a sort of bland lilac but I loved them not knowing that someday I would have access to these hot pink ones.
I also have some bleeding heart that's on it's last legs but still divine, some sort of mystery creeper with delicate white flowers (definitely not phlox, but probably in the family) and a bunch of other darlings waiting to join the party. There's this enormous clematis bloom just kicking in to high gear that I can't wait to photograph when it is at its peak. Tomorrow I must fertilize and weed (ugh!), but now I am off to start the linen stitch cuff of the socks!

The curious incident of the pull-up in the nighttime

I've been sick since Tuesday with this cold from hell that is going from bad to worse. I'm also not a great patient, so it probably is me saying it's worse than it is. I've been doping with Zicam Extreme Sinus (the equivalent of firecrackers going off in your sinuses: painful but effective) and DayQuil/NyQuil depending on the hour. I confess I have medicine head and this week has not been the greatest for my decision making skills.

However......

Last night, I was getting the girls ready for bed. Daughter #2, S, is not quite potty-trained. Mostly it's a #2 issue and I'm starting to panic a little because she is going to school in the fall, and we just aren't there yet. She'll be three in July and this just seems to be taking an extraordinary amount of time, not to mention effort on both of our parts. But, I digress.

So, I am getting the girls ready for bed. S goes to the potty, C goes to the potty. I put a pull-up on S and put her in bed. I go off to do something and see that it appears she has gone again in the pull-up (unusual, but whatever) so i take that one off, I throw it out and then I put the new pull-up on her. Reading, snuggling, prayers, whining, and they're in dreamland.

I wait for DH to return from his evening trip to Home Depot. We watch some TV, I continue on my now endless quest to swatch correctly the Socks that Rock pattern of this month. Seriously? Seriously. I am getting to the point of madness on these little f'ers. I have the linen stitch to 30 stitches on size 1's and I think that is just going to have to do so I can start these darn things. Besides the 0's and 00's won't be arriving from Astrid until sometime next week.

Again, I digress. Around 11 ish I am ready to go to bed, hopped up on Nyquil and I decide to honor my promise to the girls to move them into our bed to sleep. I admit it, I know the snuggling and the wanting to snuggle us is going to be coming to an end here, sooner than I want, so I take my opportunities when I have them. I go up, C wakes up enough to walk down the steps (which was pretty hysterical because she looked like one of my roommates in college after a night on the town all wobbly and babbly), and I am carrying S in my arms. I lay S down in the bed and realize she has no pull-up on. She's naked as a jaybird under her nightgown.

This gives me pause. As DH mentioned to me earlier in the day, there was a pull-up failure during nap time and she ended up leaking all over the bed (oh, and BTW, she's in panties the rest of the time just nap and bed time with the pull ups cause I don't love cleaning pee out of beds). I think to myself, "Self, I know you put a pull-up on her because I have such clear recollection of putting not one but two pull-ups on her prior to bedtime." Hmmmm....but as I am doped up on Nyquil, I really don't care enough to go up and figure out what happened to the pull-up. I put the third one on of the night and off to dreamland.

My curiosity overcame my laziness this morning and I went up to their room to discover a completely ripped-off pull-up on the floor next to the bed. So, no, I'm not crazy and I did put it on her.

But, this would explain why at one point after I put them to bed, she proceeded to scream bloody murder to try to get me to come upstairs. Naturally, I ignored it, and for the first time, not to my peril because thank the Gods, she didn't pee in the bed even after three hours of being au naturale.

Oh, and C woke up with pink eye, but hey, it's all par for the course right? After all, it is a holiday weekend. Hope you are enjoying yours.

Swatch this!

I have swatched both the linen stitch and the stockinette stitch twice already for my Socks that Rock pattern of the month. I'm getting a little irritated because I just want to start them already!!!! But, at least, since the yarn is so awesome, I am getting joy out of the colors and texture. I bought some size 1's today hoping that at least one of the stitches will gauge up correctly on those because after that I will have to order if I want to get smaller needles. Luckily there is a great online source (overseas) that has less expensive Addi's and fast shipping. So, if you are looking for teeny needles and want them quickly, go see Astrid.

A promise for a photo of the head scarf later. DH is finally home long enough to take one for me!

the Spring Cold

I think I made it through the entire winter without a cold. Had the stomach bug a couple of times to make up for no cold, but to the best of my recollection, no cold.

And now, full-blown, kill-me-now cold. Which is why no entry yesterday. I'm hoping to post later a pic of me in the finally finished Chevron Scarf that I am using as a head scarf. Have to figure out a way to make it so the darn thing doesn't keep slipping off of my head.

And I am swatching up the linen stitch portion of the socks I am knitting from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. An interesting swatch to me because for the first time, I have to use smaller, not bigger needles. Guess after two and a half years, I have finally loosened up in my knitting.

Just a thought

My ball winder ought to be called a ball buster because that's all it's been doing to mine the past few days (pun very much intended). As if the problems with the swift of a week ago were not enough, now my ball winder is ganging up on me with the swift to cause more havoc. I'm happily balling my Socks that Rock yarn when the ball winder literally flies off of the kitchen table. It's got to be me. Because I've never heard of this happening to anyone else and yesterday I had to hold down the base of the winder while I wound with the other arm/hand. Thank God there was no food nearby because if I had gotten food on the Fairgrounds yarn, someone would have had to die at my hands for me to feel justice.

The squeeze bottle yarn

Yet another go at dyeing yesterday. This time with the squeeze bottles and some Wilton color. I wish the picture did the beauty of the yarn justice. I used leaf green, violet, and golden yellow in a very small amount. I would say less than half a teaspoon. Probably more like a quarter of a teaspoon of the Wilton gel. Put it in the bottles with some warm water and then added vinegar (I had already soaked my yarn in vinegar and warm water). Linda was over again and she helped me figure out the how of what we wanted to do.

We planned on using Saran Wrap to lay the yarn on, then squirt the dye onto the yarn. We realized after the fact that instead of me laying out three big sheets of Saran, we should have had individual strips of Saran going around in a circle (underneath the yarn) in order to individually wrap each color section. But, I actually got kind of lucky the way I did it. When I added the vinegar to the violet, the squeeze bottle contents seemed to turn navy blue which was strange and unexpected. The golden yellow, stayed golden yellow, and the green was pretty damn green.

We saturated the yarn with color, gently tossed the Saran-wrapped yarn into a plastic container and into the microwave it went. Two minutes on, two minutes off for 10 minutes or so. And the blue went back to purple as you can see and I only had one section of gold that looked a little tie-dyed because of how it was laying in the Saran. A little bit of green in the gold, but not a big deal.

I think I want to call the yarn either Iris for it's natural namesake or Jerry Garcia Iris because of the tie dye!

I've almost finished with the chevron head scarf, and I am very happy with how it is turning out. I'm only making it as long as I want it because the pattern is just too long for what I want it for. The Koigu was an expensive but nice choice and I hope to post a picture very soon of me wearing it.

I think I'll go wind up my Socks that Rock yarn because I just can't wait any longer! Too pretty!

My amateur dyeing tips

As I round out my whopping fourth skein of hand-dyed yarn, it's time to impart some wisdom about the dyeing process.

1) Start small and simple: use kool-aid (several packets if you want brighter colors and use WHITE vinegar as the fixative) to try your hand at this. And use the mason jars/microwave method. It's faster than the stovetop and so far I see no appreciable difference. You can also drop-by-drop brighten it up with food coloring (the dye bath). You get great bright colors that would be cute for socks or kids hats/scarves.

2) If you go the Wilton icing colors route, know that those are very volatile in that what color you think you are going to get might not actually be the color that you get. Like when we did the squirt bottle/Saran wrap method--I chose green, purple and golden yellow. By the time I added in some vinegar, the purple looked navy blue. After cooking in the micro, it looked deep purple and once dry, it was actually a nice color of purple that looked good with the other two. And also, with Wilton less is more . Somewhere it said to use 2 teaspoons of the stuff and that was how Linda's came out looking like psychotic clown hair. (no offense Linda, I only say that because you've said worse about it). The second time around that she and I did yarn, we used 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon with much prettier results .

3) If you are planning on doing a multi-color yarn, long skeins seem to be the easier way to go, that way you can put a little bit in each jar, if you go the jar route. Or you can stretch the circle of yarn out nice and wide for the Saran route and even make tiny stripes if you want to do self-striping sock yarn.

I'll add more to this list as I think of more tips.

Back on the Dye

After the dyeing/wrapping debacle of last week, I felt I needed to redeem myself. Friday afternoon while S slept, I took my opportunity. This time, I wanted to try the Kool-Aid method but not so pastel like it turned out the first time. Didn't love that. I took my 100g of yarn and wrapped it into a somewhat longer hank and cut it in half (well almost half; forgot to use the scale and ended up with a 40 g/ 60 g split, but whatever). Then I mixed up my Kool Aid with some warm water and some vinegar (mind you, no scientific amounts). I used lemonade, cherry and mountain berry as one color, and then orange. I also revved up the yellow with some yellow food coloring and the orange with a couple of drops of yellow and a couple of drops of red food coloring and voila! I was ready for the microwave:

I confess this part wasn't very scientific either because I was ironing some shirt in between. But, basically, I would heat the jars for 2 minutes, let them cool for about 2 minutes and then repeat. I did this at least five times, but the real indicator was that when I started to lift the yarn out of the jars the water was heading towards clear (love what a great fixative vinegar is). I also made sure to use a small syringe to fill in the color where it didn't seem dark enough (the parts that were out of each jar and still receiving color) because I didn't want there to be too abrupt color changes. And the result is what I am calling Sunfire.
Sorry for the gratuitous picture of my azalea, but since it is the healthiest one in the garden right now, I couldn't resist. I have azaleas in all stages of bloom right now, many with blooms and no leaves (damn, those deer!). And the lily of the valley are in full bloom now, unbelievable fragrance, but I digress.



I have to figure out now which skein to send to my dye-o-rama pal. I was thinking maybe the first skein in the blues and greens, but since she likes bright colors, I am thinking that though this is an undersized skein by 10 g, maybe I will send this and a little something else. Thoughts?

These socks rock!

Due to my extraordinary hangover yesterday, (which I can't quite figure out why it was so bad) I was unable to blog.

But, I am back and have to share with you that I just got my first shipment from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and their Socks that Rock club. I opened up my package and found the following:

Love the binder that holds all kinds of great info and a really cool free pattern. I have a Socks that Rock! button which I am sure C will confiscate immediately. The bumper sticker that I will have to find a home for (really I should give it to my best friend, who is not a knitter, but is dedicated every day to wearing mismatched socks). The cutest mini-skein of sock yarn and of course the sock yarn in Fairgrounds! Awesome! I'm going to have to swift this yarn up immediately to enjoy the yarn cake all the more.

I'm psyched to see how awesome the other shipments are. I also have some dye work to show, but will have to get that in later as I promised C she could use the computer! (spellchecker isn't working, so my apologies if my internal spellchecker screwed up in this entry)

Da Vinci

I'm really not going to rant about this, but I will say the following:

Remember when Dan Quayle started talking about Murphy Brown being an unwed mother and ended up looking like such a schmuck because Murphy was a fictional character?

Insert Catholic Church for Dan and Da Vinci for Murph. 'Nuff said.

What do you mean there's no coffee?

Those of you who know me know that I am a one-cup a day girl. I don't ask for much, I just want my one cup of caffeine in the morning. I have to watch my intake of caffeine because I have IBS and caffeine has a major negative effect on my gut. So, it's one cup and I'm happy, just enough to take the edge off the morning and deal with the beginning of the day. Because, let's face it, I'm no morning person. Kids who get up at dawn have not changed that for me.

And then I go to make my one cup on the way out the door yesterday morning (we have that awesome one-cup Keurig brewer that does coffee and tea or just hot water and it makes my life so much easier because I can make one cup without fooling around with a pot and grounds and all that other crap) and my coffee maker is broken. There's a little needle that pokes a hole in the bottom of the k-cup (Which holds the coffee and acts like a filter) and the damn thing isn't punching holes in the bottom of the k-cup, so nowhere for the water to go through and make coffee.

I know, it's just coffee, and truthfully, I think it's more of a mental addiction than an actual physical one, but I want my coffee and I want it now. Mind you, it's not like I don't own other coffee makers. In fact, at one point, my husband and I were really hardcore, grind the beans at home, searching for the perfect bean for the perfect cup kind of people. We own, and this is no exaggeration, at least 7 coffee makers. We have at least three four-cuppers. We have the Barista Utopia from Starbucks that had more problems than actual cups of drinkable coffee; it should have come with an actual Barista for goodness sake. There's a cuisinart that was crazy expensive and worked but was a pain to clean. And then we have all the other crap ones in 12 and 10 cups that we got at miscellaneous linens n things type stores.

I could obviously make a cup of coffee. I have the equipment. I even have some ground coffee in the freezer that my mom drinks when she is here. But, did I make coffee? No. Did I get out of the car in the pouring rain to go into Starbucks? Well, I didn't actually do that either (even I have my limits for coffee). But, I did go through the Drive Thru at Dunkin. And it was a good Latte, let me tell ya.

The new part is winging its way to my house right now. For the sake of my readers and the safety of my children and husband, let's hope it gets here soon.

I'm Dyeing here

My friend Linda and I signed up to do the Dye-o-rama together. Yes, my friends, there really is safety in numbers. How the two of us got through today without imbibing gratuitous amounts of alcohol is beyond me.

I got to her house with S in tow around 11 a.m. with my paraphenalia--mason jars, latex gloves, Paas egg dye, and of course, yarn. She already had some yarn and some food dye (Wilton icing colors) to try. So, first we say, okay we need to get our skeins into really long skeins to get the dyeing going. She starts winding on two chairs, I start winding on two chairs, and by now it's probably about 11:30 a.m. She begins to get really tangled. Within five minutes of that, I too am in a wicked mess. Around 2:30 p.m. ( four freaking hours later) Linda has finally balled up her yarn so that she can now go back to the chair situation and actually wind the yarn around the two chairs. Not me! I'm still trying to untangle and it's time to pick up the kids.

I go pick up the kids at our school, she goes and picks up her older daughter to take her to Hebrew school and not until 5:00 p.m. am I ready to start dyeing the yarn. In the meantime, she gets home from her errand and starts dyeing her yarn, in what we hope will turn out as some sort of autumn colors, a green, a copper and a peach. Let's just say, that is not what she ended up with as you can see on her above referenced site.

I chose to do mine in the microwave instead of on the stove and I ended up with these colors using the Paas egg dye tablets. One color was supposed to be deep purple but ended up a weird mix because I accidentally put a purple tablet in with a green one. Whatever, it kind of looks cool. Darker than my initial Kool-Aid fiasco, but clearly not yet at the brightness I am looking for in the end. She's got the real acid dyes for us to try next, but important lessons here folks:

1) Take your undyed yarn and for the love of God and your own sanity, swift that sucker into a ball before you try to stretch it out on two chairs.

2) And, perhaps, though we were both loathe to think of this, do a swatch if you are unsure of the brightness or exact shade of color cause you don't want some horrified sheep showing up on your doorstep saying, "How could you, you lover of yarn, you yarn whore, create such a monstrosity as this?"

Dear Dye O Rama Secret Pal

I've been remiss in posting the answers to these questions on the blog because until I checked my secret pal's site, I had no idea that I was supposed to! Can you tell I'm new at this! Thank God I saw my pal's site cause she doesn't like self striping yarn and I was going to send her some of that! Whoops!
Here goes:

Your favorite colors? purple, blue, pink, bright green (no limey crap)

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? I would say for socks definitely fingering

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? multicolored

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? variegated would be cool, really I don't care, cause I'm a yarn slut and will take anything (though anything is not meant to mean "red heart" :)

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? whatever

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? My daughter's eyes

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? like the secret pal idea and love the excuse to dye yarn!

General yarn/fiber questions:

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? yes, only once

If so, whatÂ’s your favorite dye and method? not sure yet as it was only once

Do you spin? not yet (I still enjoy spending time with my family)

Have you knit socks before? yah, you betcha

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? other patterns too (see the Chevron scarf)

What are some of your favorite yarns? Koigu, Rowan Cashsoft, Opal Haguebutte, Koigu, Regia, Knit Picks, and did I mention Koigu

What yarn do you totally covet? amazing cashmere

Favorite patterns? hmmmm, anything I can knit?

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? in wrap style (I believe) there's that cashmere shawl poncho thing, to die for

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? like circs best, and i admit, yes, the addi's do make you knit faster

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I'd probably be Koigu

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Hot Tamales

WhatÂ’s your favorite animal? Hmmmmm...when I was little it was rabbits. I love dogs. Yeah, I'll go with dogs

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? Cal, Golden Retriever 100 years old, only kidding he's 12, he just acts like he is 100; Lucy, domestic feline, about 3.5 years old.

If you were a color what color would you be? Purple, really great purple

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone elseÂ’s)..soft long-sleeved tshirt, not too tight, not too loose

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Irises "An iris is like a woman in love . . ."

Do you have a wishlist? yes

The embroidery

I am such a proud mama. I'm not sure why this year's pillows are so much smaller, but check out the braid stitch and all the new detail!

I've been working on my top secret project a ton. I don't know if I disclosed this before, but it involves 1800 beads. I had not done beadwork prior to this and I love it. Though it's kind of heavy, I really like how it is turning out. I just have to find someone at the end to help me with a sewing portion that I do not know how to do myself.

I'm also thinking about changing up C's dress a little more. I have already decided to knit in some beads at the bottom of it instead of doing big ribbons. But now that I know how to do a Latvian braid, I am thinking that maybe I will do a little Latvian braid at the bottom of it and then work the beading in somehow. A little knowledge in my hands is a dangerous thing!

Happy Mother's Day

Though the weather was extraordinarily crappy, it was a great Mother's Day. Went out to breakfast and dinner and had the ultimate family nap! With all this rain, who wants to do anything but sleep anyway? My girls picked out the most beautiful flowers. Funny that on their own they picked out my faves, irises and hydrangea. Just beautiful.


In addition to the amazing flowers, C embroidered me a spectacular butterfly pillow. I don't know how to embroider, but to me it looks as if it is really difficult and especially for a 5 year old. I think I'll have to take a picture of the pillow she made last year, and one of this year, to really do it justice, because WOW has she made progress in one short year. I told her she now has to teach me to embroider.

Hope you mothers, grandmothers, godmothers of human and furry children alike, and all of you who have been like mother's to people had a wonderful day today!

Candace Eisner-Strick

If you don't know her name, you should get to know it. I attended an awesome workshop with her today at Sit N Knit in West Hartford. She was kind enough to teach us her workshop, "25 Tips and Tricks of the Trade." It was a good six hours of instruction and I am truly exhausted.

But, there were so many "lightbulb moments." We learned to knit backwards, we learned to do some really interesting ways to increase and decrease. We learned something called the Latvian Braid, which I assure you is easier than it sounds, but not so easy towards the end of six hours of instruction. We did the invisible cast-on which I wasn't very familiar with, a two-color cast-on and too many things for me to remember right now. I've got to get out my notes to really do all of it justice. Imagine cabling without a cable needle!!!

The good news is, if you don't get to one of her classes, you can at least buy one of her patterns from your LYS. Demand that they carry her if you don't live near WH and can't get to Sit N Knit. She has this line of yarn, Merging Colors, that is really amazing. Of course, I had to buy one kit. What I really want is some of her sock patterns (I think the store will be getting them soon). The socks are too fun! Amazing use of color in the design.

I'll post some pics tomorrow of the kit. And I have to post a picture of the most adorable mother's day present ever from C.