I need to floss...

Not my teeth...with my extensive dental work...not 
flossing would be tooth-a-cide.
I mean..embroidery floss.

Cause...48 dollars is more than I wanna do. ( freepeople boutique )
But aren't they CUTE!

I have about 9 pairs of 
black Mary Jane style shoes...
and a ton of floss.

I can have em for zero dollars.

ZEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

They also have a jaquard knit reindeer skirt.
And it's looking mighty cute...I forget
what it really is...has straps like suspenders.
I can do without those.
The front is a "sweater knit" panel set into a woven
fabric skirt...back is all woven fabric. It's mine.
I can make that so easily.
And the shoes.
They may be called "free people"...but the clothes
aren't...and I can do it for darn near free myself.
Well..at least simple sewing, embroidery, and knitting!

 

last time I'm going to try this...

 Some knitting...that Blogger doesn't want me to show.

OK...hat for my nephew( red)
Hat for his sister..modeled by my daughter ( blue and black stripes)
Mits for me

Red and Pink items are Paton's Classic Wool.
The blue, white and black hat which you can't really see is Lion Brand Magic Stripes.
It's a tasselded hat, and so cute that I wanted to keep it!
Since it was an easy machine knit( yes...you CAN use finer yarns on the USM...just be sure to keep those weights on the top edges...move them back up about everyother row.)..I'll make one for me.
Other hat and mits are handknit.
All made up as I went along.
Needle for red hat...mostly a size 5 Denise circular.
For the mits size 7 DPN's
and I think I used about 42 needles...and...hmmm...maybe 80 rows on the USM for the striped hat....I made a rectangle, folded it, used matress stitch to sew the sides.
Then I picked up stitches along the bottom edge for ribbing with a number 3 from the needlemaster set my sweet husband bought me.
After that, I made tassels, and sewed them on the top corners.

100 reasons...a challenge for artists.

100 REASONS CHALLENGE



The point of this challenge is to test and
improve your skills...



THE RULES:





1) Make 100 works of art, with each having
a theme as listed below. Each should have
ONE and only ONE theme to it.



2) No time limit, so have fun!



3) The art should be of your own ability,
so whatever medium you are most familiar
and comfortable with is allowed. Artwork must
be original and created by you, the participant.
Photomanipulations are fine, but DO CREDIT the stock
you use! Your work can be anything from crap
to great master pieces. Just have fun with it.



4) The list below is to be placed somewhere
in your or website for others to see that:

A) You are in the challenge.

B) What you have completed.



5) Make sure to update this list and check off
what is done and make a link to work as it is
submitted to your gallery.



6) In the comments for your artwork add
a note stating that it is
part of the "100 REASONS CHALLENGE" list and
state which ONE theme it is.



7) Now the good part... CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS!



THE LIST





1. Introduction

2. Love

3. Light

4. Dark

5. Seeking Solace

6. Break Away

7. Heaven

8. Innocence

9. Drive

10. Breathe Again

11. Memory

12. Insanity

13. Misfortune

14.Smile

15. Silence

16. Questioning

17. Blood

18.Rainbow

19. Gray

20. Fortitude

21. Vacation

22. Mother Nature

23. Cat

24. No Time

25. Trouble Lurking

26. Tears

27.Foreign

28.Sorrow

29.Happiness

30. Under the Rain

31. Flowers

32. Night

33. Expectations

34. Stars

35. Hold My Hand

36. Precious Treasure

37. Eyes

38. Abandoned

39. Dreams

40. Rated

41. Teamwork

42. Standing Still

43. Dying

44. Two Roads

45. Illusion

46. Family

47. Creation

48.Childhood

49. Stripes

50. Breaking the Rules

51. Sport

52. Deep in Thought

53. Keeping a Secret

54. Tower

55. Waiting

56. Danger Ahead

57. Sacrifice

58. Kick in the Head

59. No Way Out

60.Rejection

61. Fairy Tale

62. Magic

63. Do Not Disturb

64.Multitasking

65.Horror

66.Traps

67. Playing the Melody

68. Hero

69. Annoyance

70. 67%

71. Obsession

72. Mischief Managed

73. I Can't

74. Are You Challenging Me?

75.Mirror

76. Broken Pieces

77. Test

78. Drink

79.Starvation

80.Words

81. Pen and Paper

82. Can You Hear Me?

83. Heal

84. Out Cold

85. Spiral

86. Seeing Red

87. Food

88. Pain

89. Through the Fire

90. Triangle

91.Drowning

92. All That I Have

93. Give Up

94. Last Hope

95. Advertisement

96. In the Storm

97. Safety First

98. Puzzle

99.Solitude

100. Relaxation



Could any of these be translated through
knitting...or some other more tactile and 3 dimensional mediums?

I have known about this challenge for some
time...I only now have the sudden urge to do it.
As for painting..I may go weeks with no ideas...then
full paintings appear in my head all at once...and in
multitudes!

This was originally found on a deviantart journal...I
don't recall who the journal belonged to.
 

trees?

I get freakin' weird ideas sometimes.

I wanna make big white papier mache trees.
Ones with no leaves.

I wouldn't mind making them water proof 
and putting glitter on them, etc..and decorating
 them with snow flakes and using them in the
 front yard.

I am a bad girl..I not only bought more yarn. But I also
bought the entire first season of Star Trek Deep Space 9
...for over 50 bucks.
I shouldn't have...
my Mom might need that 50 dollars for a bounced
check or something..or just because she "feels restless"
Which basically means "give me money or I'll sit here and
tell you how depressed I am... capped off with how everyone
abuses me."


No really..I love my Mom.

I do wish she didn't eat 4 times more than
anyone else in the family.

I knitted for Christmas.
I also left my camera batteries and
charger at my sister's house.

In addition to finishing the other mitten for Becca,
I started a pair of cabled fingerless mitts for me.
They're pink!
I'm not using a pattern.
I think I have actually used a pattern...
hmmm
I made "nautie"
That's one reason I don't slam out FO's like other people.
Most things I have a formula for..and they go quick enough.
Other things...alot of swatching. Alot of trial and error.
AFTER alot of sketching.
But the fingerless gloves...that's easy.
I just picked up my tools and let 'er rip.

Yanno....I see all the time on Amazon and
other places where books are reviewed...under
the knitting catagory...
the reviewers feel the need to say.
"This is not a book for beginners." ,
quite often.
It sounds to me like they are saying.
"I know this fact because I myself am an expert."
and
"As an expert I can and will say what books
are suitable for beginners."

I would love to think it's just a case of an
experienced one wanting to steer the innocent
newbie away from the perils of intermediate
writings.
But...
there is rarely a reference to a book that IS good for a
beginner.
And there is generally reference to all that they can do in
one form or another


Now..if that doesn't make you angry...

What is it with yarn snobs!?
What really cracks me up...acrylics that
are acceptable if they are put out by some
"fashionable" company.
What also cracks me up are "fashionable" yarns
that are pure crap!
No..I'm not the world's biggest fan of Red Heart Super Saver.
But...acrylic in general, has it's place.
And people who knit with it...and who knit with Lion's Brand, Red Heart, Paton's, Caron's....STOP LETTING YARN SNOBS MAKE YOU FEEL YOU SHOULD APPOLOGISE!



 

loony moony

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Hope your holidays were fine. 

Well..mittens ofcourse.

So..What do you do when you make a hat and
 a scarf that match?
Yes..you make mittens.
Since this daughter will stick her
 hand in damn near anything, 
especially if it's cold and wet....
I decided felting was in order.


Conversation with daughter numbers
 one and two just now.
It begins with yelling and crying.

Becca: I'm sorry! blughber, hoody, 
booboo...ACCIDENT!
Me: Huh
Becca: Accident, garbledty, mishy-mash,
 foozle..I said ACCIDENT!
Me: Please state the nature of the 
medical emergency 
Becca: I don't know!
Crying has long since stopped...that
was Donna
doing the crying by the way.
Me: Donna...are you still alive?
Donna: No
Me: ok, then.

Children are indeed like tiny drunks.

Interesting how my Mom always
is saying things like

"If you want to buy me a gift..." And then
points out some expensive item.

Or.."I see something I like"

Thing is..I don't know why she
is always assuming
that I'm trying to find her a gift.
Or that I'm scouring the universe
for something she likes.

My feline is being an ass..
plus I have a cold and
a nasty kidney infection/stone

so..I'm going now.

I actually have alot more pics.

I get in these moods...

and it's better for me to just show a pic.

Scarf and hat.
Scarf is machine knit with hand finishing. 
Hat is handknit...mittens in the works.
Yeah, yeah
I showed these already...
but not totally finished and blocked.

The child wanted short fringe...just seems so wrong.
But...she is my first born.
 



First born and I also made soaps and bath bombs last week!
We put marbles in some....looks sort of weird, but feels
kind of fun
in the tub.



Blogger is pissing me off...everything is pissing me off.
Hence my reference to moods.
I know TV Land had better not have Star Trek on right now
after having it on at midnight last night.

I'm really just pissed at Bill.
Really pissed...cause..
I love him so much?

And he went ahead and risked his life driving out of
state in bad weather...well..it seemed alot worse
at the time..
when I asked him not to.
Asshole...making me worry
like that.
Not bad enough for him that I will
spend my old age alone...
he has to risk leaving me even earlier.
Shit...now I'm crying.
Gotta go....hate when I'm like this.

Hey..I'm also making the coolest ...maybe it's a shrug?
It's for me. It's gonna have lace ups here and there like a corset
does.
Not to worry...
I know what's a real corset.
I remember when Bill wanted to
buy me this dress..
sigh...
and I feel bad about yarn.
The dress was 500 dollars.
And we weren['t even engaged!
True...we've been together for YEARS...
and had been before we talked about
marriage.
Me: "I love you" Click. I then hung up on him.
Next day I call back.
Me: "Erm...hi.."
Bill: "Hi"
Me: "You still want to talk to me?" "Not scared off are you?"
Bill: "Huh?" "Are you kidding?!"
"You know I love you!"
Me:"Well....I didn't actually think you MEANT that!"
Bill: "I LOVE YOU!"
Me: " Me too"
Bill: "So...what do we do now?"
Me: " Do? We don't DO anything"
Bill: "Oh"

And then we said goodbye for that moment.
Phone goodbye, yanno.
I learned later, that the diamond I wear now had already long been purchased by that time...with hopes on his part, that one day...

Several years later...

Me:
( written)
I love you.
I don't want to live with you, but
I want to marry you.

Bill: ...alot of crying...and laughing...and
saying stuff about how he had always hoped..

The next month when the ring was ready...

by that point he already had it at the jewelers...the
stone that is..having the ring made...which took forever...
and ruined his little Christmas surprise of asking me first.

yes...

the next month..

he officially proposed.

We met like...back in 86?

We're lucky we lived long enough...geesh!

Unbelievable the things that man has rescued
me from..and put up with from me.

Drugs, affairs, smelling like a vets office,
bitchy moods, having not one..
but ..
two children with another man.
Disorganization, messiness, and mayhem..
my obsessions with knitting and art.
My tantrums.
Sigh...ok


he can go to West Virginia.

But TVLand better not fuck up tonight.
Star Trek and knitting is my sanity.

And Bill, ofcourse.

Oh...the dress reminded me of all that..
or I thought of the dress because of the shrug...
and it's corset like laces.

The dress was a corset dress...
I made one of my leaps in explaing all of that.

Real men knit.

I'm about to slap Blogger in a minute.

Let's try this post again.

Picture:



That's MY real man knitting.
Well..he's casting on.

Here  are some more.





 

Was hoping that I remebered how...

I hadn't done coragated ribbing in ..years?
Hell..I can't even spell it.
I will use the spell check thingy though..

Anyways...cheap yarn for experimenting...
yarn I wouldn't ever wear on my body...or put
on my kid's body.
HER sweater however...my first real machine
knit...
is going to have cora-whatever ribbed sleeves.
It's a variation on "Nothing but a T"
On Magknits.
Oh go Google..you can do it.
I was way proud of myself for making an invisable
hem..on the machine!
And I'm a beginner at this machine business!
It was tedious...but not too difficult.
I had to hang each stitch from the tail of the
sweater, onto the needles with the stitches next to be knit.
And then I knit the next two rows manually...
juuuusssttt to make sure their were no mishaps...like
carriage jams.

The scarf I made in finally enhanced with
hand crochet AND knitting along the sides
It's in the wash, right now, and will be blocked
properly next...then fringe added.
I kind of overblocked the first time..oopsy.

OK..next..
sock number one for number one daughter.


It's a perfect fit...
how did my 6 year old get to have
such large feet!?
I'm not crazy about the yarn.
I like the colors..and the self striping..
but the self patterning seems a bit lame.
I also wish I had knit it on a size 2 instead of size 2.5 ( 3 mm)
Oh well...

I ran out of stuff to say...

I wish I had this evening to myself. I want to paint.
But I am going to go buy a ball winder thingy.
Yay.
I am wondering if I HAVE to have a swift if I
use a ball winder?
I dont want a swift.


 

I thought by now..

It's the holiday season, I guess....sigh..
Robin's death still stings.

But what kind of surprises me, is how much 
I am missing my Dad this last week. 

I mean..I miss him all the time.
But I thought after two years, that the
crying was over.
I thought that voice in my head was
always screamimg
"I want him back!" ,
had finally shut up.
But I hear it again.

Bill lost his Mom about a year after I lost Dad...
he still cries sometimes.

Maybe it's normal, then.

I still can't come to terms with death in general.
The very idea outrages me.

What the hell do we work so hard for anyway..?
Just for it all to be over and forgotten so soon..

But I work even harder as a response.
I keep hoping to leave behind enough of me in
tangible form, so as to not ever be forgotten.

But...

I will be.

cute intarsia!

http://www.swakknit.com/

This place has some awesome patterns ...You just have to see for yourself. I am inspired.

Well...he'll kill me, but I am going to show off Bill's first knitting. I'm so proud!



And next we have his guage swatch for his first real project...a dishcloth...well..we decided that the swatch is also a project...a coaster ofcourse.
Even though it's just a dishcloth, I am having him approach it like it was a sweater. Planning, swatching, following a pattern that I am writing for him based on his guage. The dishcloth will teach him how to follow a knitting pattern, as well as how to follow written instructions for a stitch pattern...and how to manually do it...getting used to the switches of the yarn from front to back.
That was why I had him do those few squares on his first swatch.
I have to say his speed has increased dramatically...as well as how long he can knit at a session, before being mentally worn out.

Anyways...the guage swatch! Not too bad for cotton, and being a beginner.


And now show and tell for me.

On the USM...this was the first thing I made...basically it is a rectangle..I made it into a bag to hold Bill's juggling balls.



Next..I made Becca a scarf to match the hat that I made her...hat is handmade, and took two days...plus finishing.
Scarf...took two hours....still needs hand finishing.
Not to brag...but the hat actually has nicer, more even stitching than the scarf...hmmm...



Well..I have other pics...but they can wait.
I am going to change the main blog pic...
it has nothing to do with knitting, I just like it.
It's my bedroom window.

I wanted to love it...

 And I did!
I did!

I love it!

See post below...

Anyways..weird..I kept having the carriage jam.
I would knit a row...a row and a half..and bam..
everything would just stop.
Then I felt my hand relax when for some
reason my mind wandered...and the carriage
...which was getting ready to jam...whized
through the row.

Seems the trick to this thing is to relax.

I made a 12 by 13 square in no time..(an entire
ball of dishcloth cotton.)
after I had figured it out.
It took a couple of hours to figure it out.

What is the point of knitting

Yup...
I know for many,
many knitters, the whole point of knitting 
is to make something by hand....or to enjoy
the process of knitting.

I have to say that I do enjoy that process.
I wouldn't make socks by hand,
when I can buy them for 2 dollars..ready made,
if I didn't like the process.

But alot of times, the point of knitting for me,
is to have something that is knitted.

Alot of times, that something isn't the most
interesting thing...
or like the 270, it takes forever.
like when your daughter asks you to make her
a 48 inch wide Supergirl cape..at 6 stitches to an inch...

Yup...you know what I did.

I bought a USM.

I am hoping that now I have some
power to
quickly knit the things that dont
take tons of thought,
and can put more time into lace,
cables, and fair isle.
The machine is supposed to do
these things,
but I want to do them by hand...
Specifically, I'm getting interested
in Shetland Lace.
Now maybe the kids can have
their cardigans( and capes!)
I can have my scarves, and wraps.
Also I can do more charity knitting.
AND...I will also have more time
for socks, and lace.

Let's hope I am not one of the people that HATES
the machine.
Seems to be 50/50...it's loved, or it's hated.
I wanna love it.

As for it being plastic....
I have many plastic things, that have been
used like crazy for 15-20 years.
They still work.
Plastics aren't all crap.
Geesh...metal also breaks, and
can be very cheaply made.....

As for machine knitting not really being knitting..
The Kntting Guild of America disagrees, it would seem.
True...they aren't talking Ultimate Sweater Machines
in their Masters Course for machine knitting....
but they dont say machines are out.

We shall see what happens.

Comfort shawl...

 for Amber..Robin's daughter.



Garter stitch on needles too large for the yarn
to make a soft, floppy, warm...and quick fabric.
Crocheted shell stitch for an edging...which
looks pretty interesting in a boucle yarn...and fringe.
The fringe is a joke that Robin and I had...well...
part joke..part understanding.

Knitting through

My cousin left behind a husband, 4 brothers, 
many cousins,
 a Mother...and three children. The boys are
18 and 20...her daughter is 14.
She is very lost right now...never again will
she feel her Mother's embrace.
The shawl I am knitting for her is a poor substitute..
but it's all I have.
Some of the shock has worn off..
there is still disbelief over the event...
but I do indeed accept it as real.
Very real, and very tragic.
I can't seem to stop the outbursts of tears,
just out of the blue, they begin.
Beautiful Robin Gail is...gone...gone by her own hand.

 

Robin

My cousin Robin is dead  at age 37 from an overdose 
of blood pressure meds, cocain, alcohol , and
misc other drugs.
I ...have nothing else to say.

"I'll stick to my knitting."

That was the second part of Bill's statement, 
reflecting his opinion of crochet.
I thought that learning crochet would help him a
bit with the issue he is having in holding the working yarn.
I guess, it's my issue. His tension is fine...he just goes so slow
and looks so uncomfortable, with the needles anchored on his leg,
pointing to the sky...and his deliberate wind of the yarn when he
is making a stitch.

The first part of his statement about crochet...

"I HATE crochet"

I have never heard him say he hates anything
except for when people call him, "Will", "Willie", or "Billy" .

oo...and he "HATES" brussel sprouts...but who doesn't?

By the way...an interesting tidbit for the argument over knitting being art or not...and yes..I have had it more than once, with more than one person.
I was looking at Grove Art Online today...accessed through my local library's website. Here is how they describe themselves.

"Grove Art Online comprises the full text of The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner (1996, 34 vols) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, edited by Hugh Brigstocke (2001)."

There is an entry for knitting..an entire page in fact. If the DICTIONARY of ART, defines knitting as art...then..well...so THERE!

What's with me lately..

I am not the best knitter in the world...but
 lately my work has been really loose and sloppy.
That ribbing is a disgrace...and ...bleh...the whole thing
looks like crap.
I think I will frog it and go down a size or two in needles.
The wool is sooo pretty.
Look at that color!
It is kind of  overly crisp in hand and not very soft...
and the store had one ball.
So I thought it would be great for mittens for Donna.
It doesn't look it, but that's a really tiny mitten.
She almost never can wear store bought ones,
since her hands so so small.
I knit for about a size 3 year old...tried it on her
while she was napping.
One thing I can say....the mitten fits perfectly.





Um..I painted some...



 

Yay...she liked them!

Well....the owner Purrpower on Craftster liked them...
kitty looks like she wishes someone would please
put the lid on the box.


It doesn'y really appear that the other sweater wearers
are any happier but owner is.

More detailed pics below




They DO however like the catnip toys...as Darlene aka "Puurpower" said...maybe a bit too much. ;)


Also well recieved was the clipboard...she said the painting looks like one of her kitties named Appolo.





I'm so happy she likes them. I can be so slow about things...but
I have to take care of the kids first...
and with all the illness, etc...well...plus it's winter knitting time for the family...so...yeah...slow..
I hate it, but try to make up for it by doing as good a job as possible...
She was very sweet and said only two sweaters would be fine..
but she has 4 cats. So..I wanted to make 4 sweaters.
We agreed on 2 for the swap..and two more to follow.
I had about every kind of problem possible at swap time, and
was lucky to be able to send the two sweaters as well as some
mini kitties.
I wanted to be sure to make up for that!
I make up for things by painting...I'm weird, I guess.

9 inches( repeat post from another site...but warrants repeating)

A cap 9-11 inches or an afghan square 9x7 can make a difference. Maybe it could even help save a life. I dont guarantee it, but isn't it worth a try?

People love to cry how the world is unfair. I'm not saying that can't help...it is the passing of information in it's own way...and knowing about a problem, can be the first step to fixing a problem.

But sometimes, DOING is needed too. If you have always wanted to help but thought one person cant make a difference...you're wrong.
One person...and 9 inches CAN.

Well..it's Saturday....but I posted on Sunday.

I dont have much to do, yanno?
So, I thought I would write another 
facinating blog entry.
I found some 3mm DPN's.
What's with calling both 3mm and
 3.25 mm needles size three?
Frugal knitter call em size 2 1/2.
That just makes alot more sense to me.
Anyways, they are only $ 6.50! 
AND they are 10 inches!
I really was wanting some longer
DPN's.
Since I use size 3 the most...well..
I have wanted to use size 2 1/2...
but all I can find is size 3.25 mm...
anyways..I am going to get those
2 1/2 needles and now use those for most of my socks.

I have the flu...am I making ANY sense at all?

I think I'll save this as a draft
go do the SuperGirl chart for my
oldest girl's pink and white sweater.

SUNDAY

DAMN IT! I did all this work on finishing this post
..and Blogger couldn't complete my request...
and it's gone!


ok...
I have something to add anyways.
I could pretend I had added it..
you wouldn't know the difference.
But I'm honest.

I found some size 2.5 DPN's at Joann's!
They are plastic....my least fav material ...
(inspite of my beloved Denise set.)
And they are only 8 inches...but that's still a bit longer
...and I think it'll help when I'm doing hats.
I got a pair in size 13 also.
I am aquiring quite the needle collection..
as in I have the Denise set
AND I have a two needlecases full.
That makes me sooooo happy.


( Actually...pitured here..it doesn't look all
that impressive! Oh well..I have a few circs too? )

I wish I had a set of bamboo interchangables.
That would be...well...
The thought is making me all hot and bothered.
I wonder if I could call up my hubby and have him
talk some knitting with me...

( He has been sick all week...I haven't had any action.
So forgive me, ok? And anyways...isn't he cute?
He says I made him better looking than he really is...not true.)


Now onto Supergirl.
I use www.microrevolt.org/knitPro/
to make my charts.
I do ALOT ( often HOURS worth of 
work prior to the
 initial chart being made) to them
after, because they have
so many color variences.
But I still give credit.
I am NOT going to use 58 colors in achart...thanks.
Sorry..can't share the chart for this one...copyright issues.
But here is what I will knit for my daughter's sweater.
The yarn is more baby/bubblegum
pink than here...but Photoshop wasn't cooperating.



Wow..it posted this time..in spite of
getting the same error message.
Lets hope the link I made works too.

Look Ma...no flap!

I did indeed use my hands...and Mom doesn't care.
But I couldn't think of a better title.

A short row heel...

Why doesn't everyone do this?
It's way nicer!
Perhaps like me, they thought it was something really
difficult.

By the way, my answer to the holes...
cause the wrapping just so doesn't prevent them
...unless.. 

yes...there is an "unless"...

You have to pull the holy heck out of them as you knit the next stitch after the wrap.
I mean PUUUUULLLLLL.
HARD.
Like.."I can't hold her together much longer Captain!"...that hard.
So hard you think you could break the yarn.

Blogger is being an ass..I just barly squeezed these pictures in Captain.
Dont push her any furthur.

( you gotta use your best "Scotty is in my head again" reading voice for much of this post....you can do it.)

Ofcourse I need to edit.
I think something is wrong...
Would it KILL me to use a pattern?

I cant figure out what to do now. I dont make a gusset do I?

Off to look at socks patterns featuring short row heels.

because I really like it...

old one of mine

 

kind of done

Donna's sweater.
I still need to put all the buttons, and weave in some ends.
But..it's kind of done.

Model( Donna)is home sick from school today.

Sweater is not intended to wear with PJ's.

My Mom is too much.
Seriously..I love my Mom, but...
Well..I could see myself doing the Mother Daughter version of that old blog "Why I hate my flat mate."
Or whatever it was called.

Food messes and filth are ok...but knitting being left around is shameful and slovenly.
She hopes for the day that I will stop painting, because she thinks it's too messy.
And has tried to get me to move my studio to the garage.
I reminded her that HER car is parked there.

I might also say that I own this house.
I support my Mother.
I buy the bananas and oranges whose peels she leaves around.
I buy the socks( and make!) that she uses to stop a bloody nose and then leaves laying here, there, and everywhere.
I buy the insulin syringes that she insists on never thowing out...much less never thowing out properly.
But this time took the cake.

I said something about needing to get back to work on Donna's sweater because sweaters dont knit themselves.
She says something about how she would have a whole bunch of sweaters if they did.
So I ask...
"Mom..would you like me to make you a sweater?"
She looks at Donna's bulky knit sweater with distaste and says.
"Oh..no...that's ok...I like my sweaters to be a little more refined."
WTF?

I reminded her that sweaters can be made in all sorts of ways and that this one is this way intentionally...but still..WTF?

Somehow though...just as boxed Mac and Cheese will always be superior in her mind over homemade, and canned soup so much better than my soup....
A machine made sweater from Wal-mart says love far better than one of my unrefined homemade ones.

And she sews....

Oh yes..her view on sewing verses knitting.
And my releuctance with sewing( ok...fear)

"Well..some people aren't meant to sew. It takes alot of presicion. Some people are just meant to knit..and you do that very well."

I will not call my Mom a bad name. I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.I will not call my Mom a bad name.

ok...done.

As for the sweater..I am especially pleased with the short row shaping done on the collar/back neck...I dont know what it would be called...it just seemed natural to do that. Gave it the baseball jacket look.
Also am pleased with the sleeves..knitted in the round, directly onto the sweater. And the heart...nice for no chart what so ever.
Entire sweater was a wing it project...no written pattern exists.




 

Just a sleeve and button bands..

then I am done with Donna's sweater!
( I also need to sew on the buttons)
Now if the warmer weather holds, I can 
get her coat to a seamstress this week to replace the zipper.
I dont know how to do that. I do good to sew a straight
line.
The zipper isn't broken, it's just a POS and slides down.
The coat is in good shape, so I figure it'll be perfect if I
can just get the zipper fixed.


 

21 inches of cat..

( 21 inches from neck to butt..that doesn't include his head!)
So cat is making a leap for my desk 
which is holding my keyboard and my coffee. 

I do this sort of "catch" while he is in midair, and
he sort of convolutes his form into a half circle,
and lands that way...feet splaying at the last moment.
I feel like an ass.

But he has this habit of putting his long frame in the middle
of everything I do.  
When I knit, he lays on it.
When I sew, I have to nudge him out of the
way of the needle...the MACHINE needle.
When I cook, he wants to see everything I am doing.
When I paint, he lays on my painting or pallette..
unless it's oils..he hates those.
But when he wanted my attention AFTER the strange
kitty acrobatics episode, he just sat on the floor
and looked up and purred as loud as possible.

Pictured Above:
Here he is laying in the middle of one of my work areas...yes...
I am messy.
No..I don't really mind it ...much.
No..we don't eat at that table.

childhood fantasies

"You wanna a peice of meat!?"

That has been a sorce of giggles for a few years now.
Ever since Becca thought that the phrase being parodied 
by a cartoon character was that instead of "You want a peice of me?!"

She would shout that at me when i would tell her to pick up
her toys or any other undesirable maternal command.

I have never been very tolerant of her challenges to my
authority...but that one was just plain funny...
especially since she was dead serious... black eyes flashing..

"You wanna a piece of meat!?"

She'd get so mad when I would start laughing and request a steak.

Anyways...that's the tough girl phrase in our house, as far as the girl's are concerned...
They still aren't quite sure why it makes me laugh.

I bought Becca something today that she has been begging for.
Wings..

They flutter and play a tune while strapped onto the child's back.
She has been so ill, I thought a bit of cheering up was in order.

So...if you buy it for one child...you buy it both.

Donna has had a blast with hers.
She put them on and went fluttering and tearing through the house.
She came around the circle formed by hallway, livingroom, and dining room...stopped, said "GRRRRR!"
Then with wings doing their angelic dance, and heavenly tunes along side of the wing action, she says...
"You wanna piece of meat!?"

Becca was pleased...played with hers some...but feels too crappy to indulge in any wild childhood fantasies.
She took them off after a few moments, and asked when she would be 4'9"
Maybe she wants to grow bigger than the cold that is living in her nose and chest.

At least she didn't ask me this time what would happen if someone put a flower down the toilet.

In other news.


I have added to my stash...I have added ribbon yarn.
pretty ribbon yarn that makes me feel all tingly.

And no..I am not a yarn snob...Lion Brand is good enough for me.
I dont mind any yarn...so long as it isn't crispy.
That super sparkly stuff ( greens and purples) IS crispy...and wasn't cheap even marked half off of list. Bill had a great idea.
I was going to use it as a bag...he offered the suggestion of making a long "sash" that could be a scarf or a belt...or a whatever.
He probably wants to tie me up with it.
One can only hope. ;)

Oopsy...I should leave out any and all BDSM references, shouldn't I?
Nah....if you can't handle it, go to another blog.
I am the submissive knitter. And I bet I'm not the only one.

And yeah..I'm not all that submissive in everyday life.
Go figure.

If it's me then fine...

It's one thing if I'm the one that's sick.
But I freak out ...quietly, when my family is sick.
I have this masochistic desire to take it all away
 from them.
 To bear the pain, and sniffles.
Yeah...whatever.
I'm also sick...but trying to hold it together for 
everyone else.
I really worry when Bill is sick. He is 67.
I dont think about him being older when I look at him.
But sometimes that fact is hard to ignore.
Or I should say the fears related to that fact
 are hard to ignore.
Will he just suddenly leave me one day?
Yea...he'll leave me one day.
You accept that when your mate is 30 year older 
than yourself.
But will I get to prepare?
Will he just get pneumonia and be suddenly gone?
Or will it not have anything at all to do with age, and
 be my biggest fear....

that his shitty, reckless driving is one day going to be
 the end of him 
and about 12 other motorists. 
The one thing he has to reckless about in life
( other than marrying me...what was he
thinking then?...geesh...)..and he has to make
it an activity done in speeding traffic.

I will not mourne my husband before he is gone.
.I made the mistake of doing that with my Dad.
I will not think about how I will miss that smile
one day, and
the smell that has said "man" to me for the last
20 years.
I will cherish that smile, and that smell now...

just as soon as my nose clears up.

EDIT:

How could I forget my good news!
The cops are pregnant!
Well..the female part of the cops is pregnant!( my neighbors...both Westerville's finest).
Since I saw here last September at the Westerville event "Cops and Kids" being repeatedly dunked in the ...that dunking game thingy...

all in the name of teching children about safty and the police in general...

I gained a huge respect for her.
I wasn't very nice when she came to my door two days after I had moved in, with what I thought was an agenda. Sign me up for the neighborhood political scene.
I refused to allow her to list my name , address, and phone number...
in spite of the amazing cookies that she had baked.
I did design art just for her in the form of a "thank you" card.
But still..I later regreted my attitude. Anyone who will go through that kind of wetting, has some substance.
She will make a fabulous Mom.
Anyways...what this all really means?
I have a baby to knit for!
Oh YES!
YES!

And it's a girl.
Oh double YES, YES!

erm..here is the card graphic that I made for her( as well as for my family room)....she has probably thrown it away...



Can you believe that I used to feel bad for making a pic that had no meaning behind it? What the hell is wrong with liking color, form, line...and all the trimmings...for the sake of those things alone.
Like I said..I dont appologise anymore.
And if I dont want to make a statment...then I wont.

Baby girls knits...sigh...

I'm excited!

boo!

( ghost face painted by me)

Damn I'm tired. Sick kids, halloween, cupcakes made for my daughter's classroom party...that she was too ill to attend.
We pumped her up with meds so she could do a bit of trick or treating.
Maybe it was a poor parental decision, but it broke my heart to think that after marking each day off on the calender all month, talking non stop about how fun it would all be, how much she loves seeing and talking to all the neighbors( beggers night around here has a block party feel to it...it's fantastic.)I just couldn't stand to break HER heart.
She came up with the spooky princess idea all on her own...she elected not to bother with make up...a sensible choice.
Isn't she beautiful? When I look at that face, I see the whole world.


And her sister...the child so pretty that it makes me worry, wearing her poodle hat. I also knitted wrist bands and ankle bands so she would have a "poodle cut"


This is a better view of the hat.( edit...not so better..the pic was cut off, but you should be able to see it by scrolling down to an entry made last week, or just clicking the pic. I ofcourse would prefer you scroll down. ;) )


Anyways...in addition to that stuff, lots of work. Painting and knitting

I made something for myself! A pony tail hat!



I have never in 20 plus years made something for myself.
Then I fell in love with this yarn made by ...Red Heart.
It's called "Rag Doll". Described by them as roving wrapped in a fringed thread.
It is beautiful yarn but was oily and I had to wash it before I knit it so I didn't get hives.
After all that handling, I had to make something for myself. I caved over pretty colors.
Why is it a ponytail hat?
Because I made a hole in the back for my ponytail.
I was extremely pleased by that.

Other details...hmmm

my own pattern, colorway is "Wow", and I used 10 1/2 circular and DPN's.

And last but not least...a couple of painted pumkins!


Whew...alot of pics. Sorry if you are dial up.
Have a great day, night, stardate, whatever.

love the idea of the seal..

but ofcourse I need to make one all on my own..but this one works as a nice place holder until I return from the library.
I better git...now!

Seal can be generated at says-it.com

edit: hmm...it hurts my eyes now...might need toned down. I'm a bit color starved atm, and can tend to over do.

1000 words...?

I always wondered about this thing...what are the words?

Oh hey...guess what. I have a head that is larger than what is considered average for a man.
Oddly..I always thought I had a small head.
I have a bigger head than Bill....at least in circumference...his is 19 and a half..mr skinny head.
But loooooong. :)
Perhaps I shall study phrenology one day.