2boysmama

Check out my new digs!

2005-04-04T18:53:00.000-02:00

I've moved! To a nice new blog here. Typepad is so much easier!

File under: Happy

2005-03-28T16:03:00.000-02:00

Oh, what a few days it has been! You, my dear reader, already know that Easter is my fave holiday. Let me just TELL you about my days of wonderfulness! Since there is so much the post would go on forever, I have decided to make you a list!

Wonderful things from the past few days:
1) I had the weekend off and got to spend entire DAYS with my family.
2) Mama brought the boys into the children's room at church so I got to listen to the entire Easter mass with minimal interruption (except from my sister!)
3) Buddy, my sister, and I watched part of Jesus of Nazareth Saturday night until everyone was just about asleep (this is one of my all-time favorite movies!)
4) I got to go to Elaina's, and we got our buns! Buddy's is Johnny, a French angora, and mine is Madchen (pronounced maid-chen) a small German angora hybrid.
5) We saw day-old lambs with their mama.
6) Mama made a praline French toast casserole that was awesome.
7) I got to spend hours in Great Yarns while hubby got his new truck. I had a GREAT time.
8) I knit my first whole sock, and it wasn't that hard!
9) I made one of Kate Gilbert's bunnies, and Baba loves it!
10) We saw my FIL and his wife and had a great visit, as well as a great lunch! Hubby and I split a piece of Carnegie's cheesecake with fresh blueberries and it was the best cheesecake ever!
11) Baba had his first Easter basket and had lots of fun!

So, about Great Yarns.... I just had a wonderful time there. They have lots to look at, and look I did! I was told to stick to a budget, so I had to choose very carefully. So, I purchased: for more Kate Gilbert bunnies, 3 balls of Berocco Plush. These are to make a hot pink papa for buddy, and a light blue mama for baba. Next, some Twisted Sisters Jazz handpainted yarn. I love the Twisted Sister's Sock workbook, so when I saw this I *had* to buy it. I also bought ANOTHER set of size six DPNs so that I could start my socks right away!
Lastly, I bought the yarn to make Pippa. Mine will be light pink, with a dark blue edging. I had planned on getting the Calmer to make Elspeth, but they just didn't have enough of the pink I wanted. I will have to get that later. I really like Pippa, too, though, so this was a good choice for me.

SO, what did my son tell me recently when we were watching Gilmore Girls? He wishes I would dress like Lorelai, because "she's a cool mom". Funny, I didn't think my son would want me dressing so *funky*! But, Lorelai wears a lot of shrugs and cardis and stuff, so hey, my knitting would work with that!!

Happy Easter!

2005-03-25T12:27:00.000-02:00

First I want to wish everyone a very happy Easter. THis is my favorite holiday all year. I have the whole weekend off and I get to go to church, so I am way excited. Tommorrow I am going to Elaina's to pick up buddy's french angora for 4-h, and hopefully a companion of the german hybrid kind for me!
My husband has been so wonderfully supportive of me. I just can't believe I am so blessed to have him. He helped me get the cages all scrubbed and ready, and built me a little platform so the German bun won't be on the ground. This photo shows the home for the German. The French's cage will be on top of that, it has already been removed to use in rabbit transport!

I finally took a look at my FBS and found where the extra stitch came in. Instead of frogging it back, I just knit it together with another stitch in the next row, and voila I am back on track again. I have decided to try to put this one to the forefront of my knitting right now. I screwed something up on one of my charts for Elsie and I am going to have to frog back several inches. That's not a big deal to me, but I hate to think of all the time I put into it. But I want to frog it so that it will look perfect, and anyways now I have the chart figured out so it should go easier.

I needed some mindless knitting to do for TV watching and knit night, so I started the heirloom bag in the new Rowan (37). I finished one side and started the gusset. I will need some help with the crocheting, but I have several friends who crochet so I am not too worried about that. I am knitting this bag from stash yarn, so it's being made with Lion Brands Microspun yarn, a microfiber. I like the feel of this yarn, but I think it would be even better in something lacy. It's just plain old boring stocking stitch for the bag.

This fabric is a reproduction from a 1943 print. I found it at Jo-ann's on their clearance rack for only $4. yd. I am going to make a wrap skirt similar to the one I made for Easter, but the shorter version. Unfortunately I can't show you the Easter skirt yet, as it is packed in the car and ready to go! I'll show you some Easter shots though.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Mama Mia!!

2005-03-21T15:25:00.000-02:00

OK, it has been crazy around here the past week. I hate craziness. I like calm and quiet. That, it has not been.

Let's see: the good:

1) I got a package from Sicily!!! Wendy sent me the most AMAZING yarn stash! There is "a whole animal's worth" of a great beige yarn (as my friend Elizabeth said). It is enough to make a cardi or pullover. I am still deciding which to make. This yarn just has the greatest texture to it!
Next, 2 skeins of Grignasco soft kid in beige. What a nice soft yarn this is. Maybe good for a fuzzy collar on cardi? HMMM....
Then there was three skeins of a beautiful dark blue lambswool angora. It is not quite navy and feels great. This need to be made into something that I will wear right against my skin!! Wendy also sent a package of beads which are not shown. They will make pretty stitch markers, just trust me on that one. I put them somewhere baba couldn't get them. Unfortunately a lot of times my "safe" spots are even safe for me because I can't remember where they are!

2) I arranged a swap with Chelsea, my former SP3! She had gotten the Rowan 37 and did not like it. I wanted to get it, so I asked if she would like some handmade cards and stationery to swap. She said yes, and I rec'd the Rowan book already! There are some beautiful things in this one- I want to make a lot of them! I have made Chelsea a bunch of cards, I am sending them out today or if I can get hubbie to send via UPS tommorrow, so they can get there quicker. I didn't do the stationery yet, because I want to make a few different designs and let her pick one. It is fun making stationery for another person! Oh, I don't actually make the paper, I just do the designs. You'd be surprised how much you can do, though, with some stamps and ink, fibers and markers.....

3) Since buddy moved downstairs, I now have a sewing room! His twin bed is still in there, and it makes a perfect place to put my blocking board, and gives me a place to lay out pattern pieces. Right now I am working on my skirt and blouse for Easter. I found Amy Butler fabrics and patterns thanks to Brynne and SWIM. I am in love! A friend from work really likes the designs too, and I am going to make her one of the handbags. She likes the Chelsea, and I like the Madison.

Today I downloaded patterns for the first time- what fun! I ordered the plain knit bucket hat from Bonne Marie Burns, and the Bunny! from Kate Gilbert. What fun it was to order patterns from a designer, knowing all of the money goes directly to them! I thought the bucket hat in child's size would be great for spring in a cotton. And I had to order the bunnies once I saw them! I think Kate Gilbert is an awesome designer, and I love her sense of color.

There are signs of spring popping up. Today it is about 70 degrees and sunny. I love warm sunny weather, but I don't actually consider it warm until we break 80 degrees. But we are getting there! My pear tree is blooming, and so are my lenten roses. I am going to get the soil and assorted amendments to plant my beautiful valentine's roses this week. I am so excited that it is getting nicer out!

I also had fun yesterday, while at work, we had a little slow time between emergent/urgent surgeries, so I taught my friend RUSS how to knit!! He was so excited, he is making a garter stitch scarf to start out with. I gave him big wool and big needles so that it would be a good "quick" project. Let him get some instant gratification, so he'll be hooked. He was so stoked when he had knit about 4 rows and could see progress!

Click this link for a funny bunny Easter Greeting:
http://www.grayace.com/dex/bunny.html

Knitting my bit

2005-03-17T14:32:00.000-02:00

After reading Margene post about the Dulaan project, I thought what a great idea, to knit up some hats for children who are not as fortunate as my own. I dug through my stash and found threee balls of "Luxury Cashmere" purchased at A.C. Moore which I thought would be great for hats. Now, the name is a little misleading, it is only 6%cashmere, but the yarn DOES feel wonderful. I have knit up two hats and have one on the sticks. One of the bears is modeling since Baba is down for his nap right now.

The bear is wearing Baba's Easter vest. I am really happy with the way it turned out; It looks great on Baba and he loves to wear it! Since it is made of nylon, it is machine washable, but it really feels nice.

I have worked on Elsie. We had our knitting night last night but I forgot to bring my camera. It was a real shame because we had 3 dogs there! Penny is Melissa's dog, and she has a new housemate who has two dachsunds. I was in heaven sitting on Melissa's couch, with Penny curled up between Stephanie and me, and then Linus on my lap, and daisy on the top of the couch behind my head. It was wonderful to be surrounded by the doggies and have lots of lovin!

Anyways, about Elsie, she is coming along. Rather slowly lately, because I was just too sad to want to knit much. But last night I cast of for one of the fronts, so that I could just chat while knitting. Here is what I did:
Obviously, not much knitting going in! We were too busy eating, admiring Melissa's newly re-upholstered chair (she did a great job, with some help from Stephanie), trying to re-arrange her decorating on her..... We always have such a wonderful time. Our group is just a great bunch of ladies who all get along so well, and there is always fun and interesting conversation. Oh, and I am getting to know a lot about the historic Wilmington area, and who owns which house, and when they were built and for who, and so on. But the conversation goes something like this "you know, the white house down the street, gay Phil lives there...."
"no, not that gay phil, gay phil that lives with mike..."
"oh, THAT gay phil....."
Am I getting to know too much about their neighbors?
Oh, btw, the fabric under the progress on Elsie- I am going to make Stephanie a knitting bag. She came to knitting night with her stuff in a plastic "patient belongings bag." I told her that was skank and I was going to make her a knitting bag!
On the rabbit front: I talked with the vet, and Georgie had a rising E. Caniculi titer. E. Caniculi is a parasitic infection that may or may not have caused his demise. The only way to know for sure would be to do a necropsy, and I just couldn't bear the thought of that. You can read about the infection here. Anyways, I told you that when we got George there was a very nice French angora there that Buddy liked. We are going the day before Easter to pick him up from Elaina. I am going to see if she has any of George's relatives available. The rabbits will have new digs, in metal cages in my garage. I know that sounds bad but it isn't, really. I will be able to check on them very frequently, they will be protected from the wind, rain, and sun. I am going to attempt litter box training so they can be inside more. Georgie could only be inside while he was in my lap, which was actually a lot. I loved having him in after dinner and combing his hair. The french angora that Buddy is getting is beautiful, and he will be able to show him for 4-h since he is a purebred.

I have a little decorating to do. We let buddy move from his upstairs bedroom down to the guest room, so I bought him a couple posters to hang on the wall (A chopper from West Coast Choppers, and one of Lindsay Lohan) so that the place will feel more like his own room. But now that he will be downstairs, I can move my craft table upstairs to his room, which will be the guest room. I am going to put my sewing machine up there, and I am so excited because I have a lot of projects that I have been putting off because I dreaded sewing in my closet! I can even set the table up to have the view of the pond while I sew. I am so excited about that! I will have to show you "my" room when I am done!
This is one of the projects I am excited about getting done- a sheer blouse to wear over a cami. I think it will look so chic!!

Oh- one last thing- are you having trouble reading my text? It shows black to me but I have been told it is blue. Is it readable?

Springtime visit

2005-03-10T16:09:00.000-02:00

My mother in law is coming in today from Buffalo to visit for a few days. This is the only woman who had enough patience to help me learn how to knit. She helped me with the sweater that I have posted, the light blue and white one Baba was wearing. There was no way I could have made that without her!

I did do a little knitting last night. I am almost done with Baba's Easter vest- I just need to pick up the stitches and rib one armhole, then block it. I think it will look very nice on him.

I started on the chart for Elsie, and it is going slow, until I get into the groove. I am enjoying working with the Jaeger luxury tweed. It is a little scratchy, so I am glad I am making a cardi with it.

I had tried to order the yarn for a tank from Viking Knits from Jimmy Beans, but I found out they ran out of it. So I will be buying the yarn tommorrow when we take Mama to Southport. There is a great shop there, Angel Wing Needle Arts.

Thank you to all who posted about George. I am still really upset about his loss. I will definitely get another German. He was not successful breeding before he left, but my breeder does have some of him relatives. God, I just miss him so much. We did destroy the hutch he was in (wood) and the next buns will live in wire crates and inside of my garage. I would rather have rabbits in there and park in the driveway, anyways!!

Hubbie has the next few days off while his mama visits, so I am enjoying spending time with him. I can't wait until I can stop working every Sunday and take back the sabbath!

George W., R.I.P.

2005-03-09T16:36:00.000-02:00

I am so sorry to say that my beloved big bunny George W. has passed away. He got sick last week, and even with expert nursing care, he succumbed to whatever it was that made him sick. I am still waiting to get the results from George's blood tests to see if we can find out what made him so sick. The wonderful Dr. Jaffe did all that he could, and he told me that he knew I did everything possible to save him.

George was sick for a week, and I knew Monday night that he would not make it. I brought him to bed with me and just laid him on my chest and petted him and loved him. Buddy was with us too. George knew that he was loved.

We buried him yesterday, in the garden. I am going to get a bunny garden statue to place at his grave and will probably plant a real nice flower there too.

Buddy seems OK, but I feel so sad. George was the nicest bunny. He was so sweet and loving.

I haven't done much knitting, with all of this going on. I am almost done with Baba's Easter vest. Elsie has just sat around, resting in the knitting basket with FBS.

bummer

2005-03-04T15:05:00.000-02:00

This is just a quick post. George is sick. He is at the vet's right now. I have been sick with worry over the last 3 days. I have done so much for George, including giving him subcutaneous fluids (Thank God I am a nurse!) I brought him in today because I just don't know what else to do for him. THey are doing X-rays and a lot of blood work, urine and fecal tests, the works. If you are a praying person, please pray for him.

I have also been having trouble with Buddy. We started going to counseling and it is helping him. But he could also use prayers!!

I hope to post soon saying how strong George is again. And that Buddy is doing much better. But in the meantime please pray for us! Thank you

Whole lotta nothin goin on!

2005-03-03T15:30:00.000-02:00

Well, I set out today to break out some new springy digs for my blog. I thought I was doing everything right- I read blogger knowledge, printed out my color charts, and there I went. Put in a million different colors. Every single time- nothing. GRRR!!!

We had knitting night last night. No pics because I rushed home to care for George. He's sick :( I had a long talk with my breeder, and we are pretty sure he does not have wool block. I have been hand feeding and watering him since yesterday afternoon. He was very weak but seems to have more pep now. Although he is still definitely not himself. Please, if you are the praying kind, pray for him to get well soon! He is living inside now, and will be until it gets warm out. Which hopefully will be soon, I can't stand much more of winter!

While sitting by Georgie's side, I did manage to get a little knitting done. I started Elsie, and I decided to add 1" to her ribbing, to fit me a little more comfortably. I finished the ribbing for the back this AM, and can start on the cabling and moss stitch (seed stitch). I love moss stitch and I love cabling. Oh, by the way, I used a new cast on technique, too! I have only used long-tail cast on so far, but yesterday I broke out one of my reference books and used a knitted cast on. I like it!

I am also going to be making a vest for Baba to wear to church on Easter. I already told you how important Easter is to me- I want him to wear something special! This is another stash busting project, I bought the yarn for this about 6 months ago. It is nylon but it feels great- kinda suede-y. And should be very washable! I can't show you the pattern because I am sort of making it up from the "style your own kid's knits" book.

I also decided to get *serious* about the flower basket shawl. I broke it out yesterday and found there's a mistake in it. I need to pin it up to my nice blocking board and look it over stitch by stitch to find out where I added one! But I think I will be able to do that, with these great $1 magnifying glasses I got at Tar-get!

Here is a pic of Baba wearing the handed-down lederhosen. His daddy is swiss, so when we had Buddy, we got these as a gift. They will be cherished forever! This was the first time baba wore them, he liked the little bell.
He may be wearing them for a wedding- my little sister is going to get married. I am not jumping for joy. But hopefully Goober (her boyfriend) will straighten out (he has a habit of stiffing her & being untruthful).

Be sure to keep an eye on Elann. My friend got their newsletter with yarn samples and they are going to have some great yarns soon! Also, the Jaeger luxury tweed I am using to make elsie is on sale at JimmyBeans!

I don't have time for the nervous breakdown I deserve

2005-02-28T22:54:00.000-02:00

Recognize that quote? It's Julia Roberts in Something to Talk About. I always loved that line!

Just in time for the end of February, and for Alison's fix-it February, I present to you, my dear reader:

This is another knit to love! I am going to try to put a single crochet edge on the neckline and armholes. I am going to ask my friend Elizabeth to help me do this. She has helped me to try to learn crochet, and even gave me that learn to crochet book for Valentine's. But I want help on hand, I don't want to ruin my loverly vest!!!

Oh, did you happen to notice the bag I am holding? Why, yes, it is a Sophie! I made her up in no time at all!! This is a beautiful bag and one that I am sure I will make again! Here is a pic of her pre-felting.

In the last few days, I have also finished two hats. The first is NOT a good hat. It started out as a hat for a friend. I think it looks horrible even on a cutie babe!

I did much better with the second one. THis is a LATE Christmas present for my friend Aaron. He will be going to med School in PA next year so this should help keep him warm!

Not much else going on here in my knitting basket. I have been so stressed lately, and knitting=stress reduction, which is why so much has gotten done. But now I think I will try to check out FBS again and see if I can get her to behave for me. SOMEone should behave, right?

Have a great day and check out the new Magknits!

Some knitterly thoughts

2005-02-25T17:05:00.000-02:00

I have been thinking lately about how my knitting skills have progressed, as well as how the way I think about knitting has changed.

I have been very excited about learning new things. And I remember when I first started Marilyn I thought "Am I really going to be able to make that?" Well, I learned about decreasing and what looks best for which edge. I learned how to cable. I think I finally understand how to pick up stitches and knit. And, I am really happy with my finishing of the sweater. I attribute that to my wonderful chibi!

In the beginning of that sweater, if I made a mistake I would either 1) not know how to fix it and have to frog, or 2) decide that I wouldn't fix it because it wouldn't be that noticeable. By the end of the sweater though, I felt comfortable with ripping something to get it just right. I figured out how to bring a dropped stitch back up the ladder. And I also thought a lot more about the construction of the garment and how everything would look together.

I have also thought a lot about choosing the right projects for ME. I ripped my Klaralund, and the vest I am making is making me a lot happier. I know that it will look much better on me and I will feel better about myself when wearing it! I feel great about Marilyn; she doesn't accentuate curves but at the same time she doesn't make me look frumpy. I really started thinking about this concept after noticing how our favorite skinny rabbit always looks good in what she makes. There are others in the blog world, too, that seem to make things that fit them so perfectly, like Ei, and Lynne. So now, when I look at my pattern books, I try to envision how something would look on me, and would it accentuate the good, the bad, or the just plain ugly?

At our last knitting night, Brooke told me that she thought I was so productive. I told her it is just because I knit every day. Truly, I don't remeber the last time when I did knit at least a few rows in a day. Probably when I had the flu, but then I think I slept about 20 hrs out of the day so that doesn't count. So actually, I think I am pretty slow. But I enjoy the process. It relaxes me after a stressful day, and believe me with my 10 yr old and the problems with my car, the stress has been high lately! (side note- my husband is hopefully trading in my car this weekend. Wish me luck!) Something about the rhythm of the stitches, and seeing something "become" before your eyes. I think about the knitting, but not very hard. I guess it is a bit like meditation, although studies have shown that meditation can make you depressed whereas studies only seem to show positive emotional side effects from knitting.

I guess all this is to say, I love knitting!! I hope you all do too. I am hoping to finish the knitting of my vest tonight, and then seam and finish over the weekend! I have fabric for a nice sarong skirt and a shawl collared, short sleeve blouse to make to go with her. And I may even knit the sophie and felt it to go with my lovely Easter outfit.

Have a wonderful, thoughtful, and relaxing day!

I am in love with Marilyn!

2005-02-24T14:50:00.000-02:00

Here she is in her fixed up glory!

I may actually take out the bound off edge of the neck and make it a wee bit longer. But even now, I LOVE her. I felt so great to be able to say "I made it" when she made her debut at work Tuesday! She is just a wee bit itchy (the mohair in my yarn) but I absolutely loved wearing her. And she is WARM. So I won't get to wear her much longer this year. But that's OK!!

The Geste is making great progress. Here is the beginning of the front:

See that little "sock" over the ribbon yarn? It is so slippery I didn't want my ball to unravel. So I put some stockinette over it, it's the kind that you can use to put bandages on joints like a scraped knee. It works perfectly!

Next up after Gesta will be my cardi from Jaeger (see previous posts about it). I am really looking forward to making this one. It has a shawl collar and some cables, as well as buttonholes, so it will be a learning experience for me. I also need to work on my FBS. I purposely took a break from that one. I just got tired of knitting the same rows and ripping them. I figured a break would give me a fresh look at it.

Speaking of future projects, did everyone get their Interweave Knits? I am in love with the vintage cardigan and I will probably try to make that too. It is SO pretty.

OK, just a shortie little post today, I have some vegetable chowder to make for tonight's dinner (recipe given to me by the wonderful Knitster Mellissa!) That girl can cook!

A (sort-of) finished Simply Marilyn

2005-02-21T14:50:00.000-02:00

OK, so it is technically finished. Here is simply Marilyn, in all her finished glory:

So, this is why she is sort-of finished- I don't like the neck. Although you do decrease after you pick up stitches, the neckline is just way too wide for me. I am going to rip back the neck and add another round of decreases. I think I am also going to shorten the collar, it is just too big for me, even when folded over, which is how I will wear it all the time. So, I guess this is another one for Alison's Fix-it February!

I think I could also enter the car into the february fix it. 2 weeks ago, I spent $1,200 dollars because the turbo on it blew. This weekend, family was on the way home from my son's basketball game, and the car "blew up" again. GRR! I bought a Saab because Daddy has driven a couple of them over 200,000 miles, with no major problems. I, on the other hand, am starting to feel like Job.

So, for the fix it, I was also supposed to fix Klaralund. Well, after browsing the book, I decided I wanted this instead:

I started knitting her up, with two strands of yarn- the yarn from Klara, and a ribbon yarn from Fiesta Yarns I had originally intended on making a shawl with. After trying to knit that ribbon by itself, I gave up because it was too slippery. Well, when knitting with the ribbon and silk garden together, they are a joy to work with, and they look AWESOME together! I think this is going to end up being my fave finished product ever! I have already finished the back. Here she is:

This is a closeup so you can see how beautiful the yarns look together:

I am just so thrilled how this is working up. I am going to sew a white blouse, hopefully with a shawl collar, and I am hoping to find a nice blue batik fabric to make a matching skirt. That will then be my Easter outfit. I LOVE Easter, it is my favorite holiday. It will be nice to have something special to wear.

Last week we had the knit night at my house, since our "leader" and usual hostess Nancy was off to NY to do some wheeling and dealing in the art world. We had a great time. My mom was visiting, so she got to join us, and a new member, Rita came. Then there were the regulars, Melissa, Stephanie, and Brooke. I LOVE these girls!! Stephanie is always so helpful and entertaining; this time she was helping Melissa cast on/ figure out gauge/etc, for her very first sweater!! She taught Melissa a nice knitted cast on so that the sweater will have a nice edge. Brooke worked on a scarf that is just plain knit/ purl, but becuase she is using two yarns, it looks cabled. It is so pretty!! Rita helped my mom remember how to cast on. And I sewed up Marilyn. We had a great time.

Another thing I did this past week: make my own blocking board! It was pretty easy.

My husband's company sells insulation, and so he got me a 1" thick piece of styrofoam (2' x 4'). I just covered it with a piece of gingham, 1) to protect the styrofoam from my sons 2) to make it look better, but most importantly 3) I can use the lines in the gingham as guides for pinning straight! Now between my chibi and blocking board, I can feel SO professional!!

Crappy Valentine's Day!

2005-02-16T11:37:00.000-02:00

Haha, that typo was intentional! That is what I said to my hubbie when we went to bed Monday. Why? Buddy is driving us nuts! It seems like he is trying to be a teenager before his time....

Actually, it was a pretty nice V.Day for me. I woke up to a very sweet card on the counter, leaning against these:

These are the two first roses for my garden! I had a Princess Diana at the old house, but I ended up not bringing her because she seemed not so hardy and I don't think she would have made the transplant. So now I have a very hardy looking one, along with a new rose- Ronald Reagan. It looks very pretty so I will be anxious to see how it does in my garden.

Phil's valentine is tommorrow- I am taking him out for dinner to our favorite Italian restaurant, Luigi's. It is owned by a man who moved here from italy and the food reminds me of my family's cooking. It is SO good.

I have made lots of progress on Marilyn- see?

I finished the front last night, up to the seaming and knitting the neck. I am hoping I can wear her to our dinner! Then, I need to knit up Klaralund. I am hoping to finish it rather quickly, since it is an easy knit. My next sweater after that is one from Jaeger, Elsie, which is gorgeous. I got luxury tweed in a beautiful pink and I can't wait to start her! Here is a pic of her:

Here is George enjoying his Valentine gift

I hope everyone out in blogland had a good Valentine's day. It seems more and more people are getting hit with the flu. I did find out this helpful piece of info, even if it was too late for me. If you think you have the flu, your doctor can do a nasal swab to test for it. They can give you Tamiflu to treat it and it will make you feel much better within about a day. Hopefully though, you will not need to use this info!! Lynne is starting to feel sick( I am hoping it's not the flu) so stop by and wish her well!

Loving thoughts shawl

2005-02-11T00:29:00.000-02:00

I was up late last night- a little stress induced insomnia- so I finished my loving thoughts shawl! I love it, it is incredibly wonderful to wrap myself in it. It is just acrylic, but at least I know it won't get accidentally felted! I was thinking I would show you a pic but somehow I cannot pull it up in photobucket... maybe I'll try again later.

Well, the last week has been a bummer. I had the flu and thought I was feeling better yesterday. Buddy was home from school sick and I took both the boys to run a few errands, which unfortunately did not include dropping off the RAOKs I made while not feeling great. Anyways, last stop was the grocery store. I left the boys in the car with the car running (buddy is 10 and KNOWS not to do anything with the car. He locks the doors and holds my cell phone. and I was in the store long enough to pick up cheese and mushrooms). So, I get back to the car, and when I put it into drive, there was this horrible knocking/ banging noise, a burning smell, and huge puffs of white smoke from the muffler. THANK GOD we were only 1 mile from home. I borrowed (with permission!) a shopping cart and pushed the baby home in that. UGH! So, it turns out it was the turbo on my car. GRR!

Last night I was lying in bed, worrying about the car becuase I don't handle these kinds of things so well. I was trying so hard not to worry, but I couldn't stop. So I got up and knit and read blogs. Some of you girls just really lift me up when I am feeling down, with little funny thoughts or pics. How nice!!

Anyways, after I finished my shawl, I finished my friend Mike's hat, even with a little I-cord and tassle. I'll tell you, once I got my Chibi,

I don't mind finishing so much! And, I am soon going to have my own homemade blocking board! My husband sells styrofoam board that is used for insulation, so he ordered me a piece that is 1" thick and large enough to block at least the front and back of a sweater. I just need to get some checked fabric to cover it with; I am thinking gingham.

Well, Wednesday began Lent, and I gave up chocolate. I am craving already!!! But I am really good at keeping my Lenten promises. And it helps me lose weight!! Buddy also gave up chocolate, this is a big year for him because it is his first time giving anything up. I was proud of him today because he wanted some so bad and took a piece and unwrapped it and then just threw it back in the basket and said "I want it so bad!" I told him about the Sunday rule so he will be eating some on Sunday.

I also wanted to update on George W. He is doing so well, he has gotten used to his new hutch. He drinks about a quart of water a day, and he likes his timothy but he LOVES his pellets. He pushes the bowl to you when he sees you coming with his food. The fence has been finished too, so he has been able to get out a couple of times and hop around the yard for a while. The allergy thing doesn't seem to be too much of a problem either, I guess it must just be when he has a lot of fur!

I want to thank everyone who sent well wishes. I was thinking how horrible it must be to have fibrtomyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis and ache like that ALL of the time. My grandmother had horrible RA and I remeber how painful little tasks were for her. Now I can sympathise with my patients with joint or muscle pain better. See- for everything there is a reason!!

done!

2005-02-07T11:09:00.000-02:00

I have completed step 1 for the February Fix, Alison's move to get us all loving our knits again! I was not real happy with the fit of my Klaralund, I am going to re-knit her in a smaller size, and probably make the body a little longer. Between the yarn loss I had when I first knit her up (one really bad skein) and some breakage while reclaiming the yarn, I figure I might buy 2 more balls and use it to knit the back panel. That way, with the back part of the sleeves knit vertically, the color difference shouldn't show too much!

I have set aside my WIPs to knit a loving thoughts shawl. You have heard of prayer shawls, right? Well, someone did something horribly hurtful to me recently. I was feeling really bad and I decided that I would knit this shawl and while working on it, I thought of all the people who love me. I am almost done with it and will post pics once finished. Anyways, it was incredibly helpful to think of all my loved ones and know that they love me. And when I am finished I can wrap myself in their love when I feel down!

Speaking of people who love me, I was REALLY sick this weekend (I think I have the flu) and my wonderful husband took care of George all weekend for me. He is so great!

I've been tagged!

2005-02-02T13:46:00.000-02:00

By Joeli, who doesn't know anything about my tastes in music. Maybe this will give you some ideas.. Total amount of music files on your computer
I have no idea. I downloaded a few songs and made CDs before people started getting arrested! I may have even erased them, because I can't seem to find them anymore. My husband may have music on here, since he has an MP3 player.

2. The CD you last bought is: Rebecca St. James, Worship God. A present for my husband.

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Tomaso Albinoni, concertos for Oboe and violin. Concerto for Oboe in B flat major

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you
1) Bless this child. It is a hymn in our books at church, we sing it at christenings. This song goes through my head when I hold hands with my patients while they are being put to sleep for surgery.
2) Tremble, Nichole Nordeman. Says it all about how simple it is to forget what Jesus did for me and how we sometimes take it for granted, we forget to tremble at the enormity of it all.
3) Unchained Melody, the righteous brothers. The song my husband and I danced to at our wedding. I still get that funny feeling in my stomach when I hear it. (the good funny feeling, not the bad one).
4) looks like we made it, Shania Twain. When my husband and I were going through a horrible time, he sent me a copy of this song. It reminds me of the troubles we have had along the way, and how we have been stronger than them.
5) Jesus is my Superhero, Cadet. Surfer-type music, great lyrics that I love to sing really loud!

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
I will have to get back to you on that one. Baba is calling !

I can breathe!

2005-01-31T19:44:00.000-02:00

Yes, I am feeling much much better! Thanks to those who sent well wishes my way.

So, while I was feeling under the weather, I did get a few things done. One day last week, I just laid in bed and made some stuff for RAOK. I also finished my afghan! It is the Outer Banks throw, from Knitter's stash. I knit it with colinette mohair, zanziba, skye, and isis. I ran out of the zanziba before I was finished and I subbed some Lion Brand homespun and it blends right in- I think it subbed well.

I don't have pics, but I made a pair of wristwarmers for myself.

I finished my Re-KAL purse. This was made with the accidentally felted poncho. I lined it and embroidered wheat sheaves on the flap.

I worked some on my Marilyn for the Marilyn knitalong. I had put this away for a while when I had to frog an entire sleeve. But I am happy with her again.

I made some SLOW progress on the flower basket shawl. As of this AM, I have finished my second repeat on the lower flower basket. I started on the third but had to frog what I did. UGH!

And, last but not least, I finished shearing George last week and made him his own little bunny sweatshirt. He is doing just wonderfully. He is such a sweet rabbit, and he is eating and drinking well. Hopefully the cold snap we have been in will end soon, so he can enjoy some sunshine!

I am bringing him in tonight to brush him, so maybe I will have a couple more pics of him. He really is just so cute!!

In other blog news, Wendy had a great post about the Wannassee conference several days ago. It really made me think a lot. Also, margene posted about why do we knit- for process or progress? Made me feel a lot better about my SLOW progress I am making on my FBS. I enjoy it, even though it is hard....

Also, I got my first spindle! Now, I just need to learn how to use the durn thing....

I got a prettu good start on a hat for my friend Mike.

This is the first sweater I ever made, 10 years ago. It fits little Baba perfectly right now. Part of the reason I feel better is because he was so sweet and slept until 10 this morning! I kept sleeping too, and it really did me some good.

Important

2005-01-27T19:33:00.000-02:00

I am still not feeling so great but I had to post this. Please, today, read Wendy. Everyone should. Thank you.

I promise, will post again soon.

Monday, Monday

2005-01-24T23:31:00.000-02:00

la la, la-la-la-laa... OK so I am a geek, I know it. Today is going to be real short, I am exhausted and not feeling so well. We had 4h rabbit club tonight, the leader was going to help me shear George. Well, the kids were very loud and very hands on, so we got his matts out and did the delicate parts that I was nervous about (namely, his genital area). I have a half-shorn rabbit. I am too tired to finish tonight, since buddy has a lot of homework left to do. George is going to sleep upstairs with buddy.
Cinnamon has left our house. She was just not the right match for buddy, and once we got George we were sure of it. Obviously, buddy has no problems picking up or holding George. Well, Cinnamon would not let either of us get too close to her. She even lunged at us. So, Melinda (4-h leader and rabbit rescuer) is going to let buddy pick out a new rabbit from her.

OK, that is enough for tonight. I need to eat dinner and read to buddy.

Have a great night!

Meet George W!

2005-01-24T01:30:00.000-02:00

He's here, he's here!!! Today I got my bun, and he is now named George W!
we picked him up today from the wonderful Elaina's Avillion Farm. She raises shetland sheep, angora goats, angora rabbits (french and German) as well as chickens, and she even has a peacock! I was so excited, I forgot to take very many pictures. I did remember to take a pic of the angora goats though.

George is so friendly. He just lets you pick him up, snuggle and love him. He is so wonderfully soft and he has the cutest face! He is due for his shearing, so we are going to take him to rabbit club, and Melinda is going to help me shear him. I don't think he will be much trouble because he is so sweet.
So, while we were there, we got to see ALL of Elaina's rabbits. She had about 30 rabbits, french angora, german angora, and German hybrids. We actually talked to her about saving another buck, this one french, when she is done breeding him, which will be in a month or two. And, speaking of breeding, guess what George did before we left? Yup, she wanted to get one last litter out of him, so buddy got a little lesson on breeding rabbits! Did you know, you can tell when the male has been successful because he falls off the female! I did not know that.

George is so fluffy, but I was still a little nervous about putting him outside in his hutch. He has a great big bed of pine shavings to snuggle in. THey will all stick in his coat I am sure, but I want him to be warm!! I have already been outside once to check on him. Just to be sure he is OK.

So, since we had a bit of a drive, I got in some car knitting. I decided to make myself a pair of fingerless mitts before I make my son and his friend their second pair. I started out thinking I would reduce my stash, but I ended up making my mitt longer and now I need to buy a second skein to finish the second mitt. It will just be a little break from my self imposed yarn diet, as was the skein of HOT PINK wool ease chunky my son and his buddy requested for their mitts. Yes, they have both admitted that they like hot pink. But if a stranger asked, buddy would tell them his favorite color is orange!

This is another pic of George with Buddy. He just loves this rabbit! He is actually the one who wanted the french angora. His name is francois, and I think he will keep that name. Until then, I am sure buddy will get his fill of bunny love with George!

A 4-* day!

2005-01-22T14:57:00.000-02:00

Yesterday was just such a wonderful day!! Baba was in a great mood and we just played together and had a good time. I tried to do chores while he was up, so that I could knit while he was sleeping. That worked out!! I finally got throught my problems with the FBS, I have finished the first repeat of the lower flower basket. Here is what it looks like: never mind- I screwed up my pic in photobucket and now it is the size of a pencil eraser!! I'll have to take a pic after the next repeat.Can you see those little pink strings? (no, obviously you can't. Just imagine) Ha- I am getting smart! I put in a lifeline after the upper flower basket, and one after the first lower flower basket. I will continue this way until I am done!! Because, knowing me, I will continue to make mistakes, and then confuse myself when I try to fix them.

Next, I am coming along on the outer banks throw. A shot of my progress, and a closer shot so you can see the colors.

I have also been working on something for the re-kal. This used to be the "central park poncho" (remember, DH accidentally felted it).

This is the pattern that I am going to embroider onto it:

I also got a great sweater from goodwill to frog for the yarn. It is wool, angora, and I think a bit of nylon. I took a pic of it but DH deleted that. So, maybe next post?

About the RAOK ring: I recently found out that my info got deleted from the database. I re-entered it and am finding that I have lots more people visiting my blog! Thank you for your kind comments, and all the lace-knitting tips. Also, yesterday, when I went to pick up my son from the bus stop, I found this wedged between my door!

This came to me from Nyxxie, a very generous RAOKer! I want to make a sweater for the baby from it. The sweater is in Debbie Bliss' Junior Knits. I tried to find a pic online, but they don't even have a pic of it on the DB site.

OK, here is a question for anyone who reads this and feels like helping a computer-illiterate! I tried to save buttons for some KALs, and from blogs I read. I saved them into my Kodak, them tried to import them into photobucket so I could generate HTML and put them in my sidebar. But, photobucket says they are in the wrong format. Any ideas for what I should do? Also, could someone tell me how to put pics next to each other in a post, or make my text wrap around? Thank you!!!

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend everyone!

Something new

2005-01-19T11:19:00.000-02:00

A new bunny! Actually, she is 3 years old. Her name is cinnamon, but I call her cinnamon bun! She is a mini rex, and she is Buddy's rabbit. We just got her a few days ago, and she is getting used to us, and us to her. She is a really sweet bunny. She likes to be petted, especially around her ears. She grunts when you feed her (I think it is her way of saying thanks!)

Here she is having her breakfast:

What else is new? Not much. I have been thinking about getting my hair cut. But as soon as you start thinking that, your hair starts behaving, doesn't it? THat's what mine always does. So here is what I woke up to this morning:

I probably couldn't have made it look better. Also, notice the little flush to my cheeks? That is what happens after working 12 hr shifts. The masks I use in the OR sort of glue to your cheeks and bridge of your nose. By the end of a shift, my skin gets a little irritated. But the next day, I look like I have a very natural blush going!

I can't bore you with my knitting today. I am STUCK on my FBS, I have to keep frogging and re-knitting. I think I am missing something around the 18th row and my stitch count gets a bit screwed up. I started unknitting row by row last night to try to find my problem. Wish me luck because I am getting tired of knitting the same thing over and over again without any progress!!

what do I do first?

2005-01-14T14:11:00.000-02:00

Ha, that's what I think when I have spare time to knit. Do I do the FBS, slow because I have to concentrate; or should I work on the easy afghan? What about the re-KAL to make something out of my felted-on-accident poncho?
Well, if you are like me, you just don't decide and you juggle all three. I just don't want to ignore anything, which I am sure is not the best way to work!

Amanda helped me figure out what I was doing wrong. So, here is the FBS yesterday morning:

Yes, a pile of yarn. What you don't see is the work I did and then frogged. But Amanda cleared up my YO problem and here is where I am this morning:

This is through row 20 of the first chart.

Next, I decided to do something with the poncho that my DH felted. One of the women at our knitting group suggested a bag, and since I couldn't think of anything else to do with it, here is what I have done so far:

I wanted it to be wider at the top. I think I would like the flap to be assymetrical. I'll put a big button on it (probably silver) and I have to make an I-cord strap. Better than what I was going to do with it, which was toss it.

A little while back, my not so secret SP3 had a contest on her blog and I won! I rec'd the package a few days ago (Thanks so much, Chelsea!) but I didn't get a chance to blog. Look at what she sent:

Isn't this little guy the cutest? He is so curly! I think my older son may kidnap him! Also, Chelsea made me my very own stitch markers! My son noticed that they are small, medium, and large. I think they are beautiful. And last, but certainly not least, look at what she sent the boys:

A whole family of rubber ducks! The little guys even have floating rings! Jacob loves to play with these guys and *yell* quack!quack!

So, with all these projects, you would think I would have enough to do, right? No, not me. I looked up Deb to see what I could send her as a thank you for playing postmistress for Wendy and I, and saw that she made felted soap. I tried it out. My first results were not so stellar. here they are:

But, I bought 4 bard of Ivory last night and I am going to try again. I want to make a bar for my meetup organizer's daughter, because she is away at college and very homesick!

OK, enough blogging. I have work to do!!

Lots of knitting!!

2005-01-12T10:24:00.000-02:00

Hooray! I have had the time to do lots of knitting this past week! Mostly, while laying in bed before going to sleep, but what a great way to end the day!
First of all, I finished the airy scarf for my sister.

Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: 100% alpaca from alpacaamore (Ebay)
needles: 10 bamboos

I really enjoyed knitting this scarf. The alpaca just feels like a cloud and the pattern is VERY easy. My sister will really enjoy this scarf. And I think I might just have to make one for myself!

I also knit her a simple little stocking stitch scarf, just a little one to tie around the neck, in Moda Dea dream yarn. This is a totally manmade fiber but it really feels wonderful! I spared you the pics- how exciting can a stocking stitch scarf be?

Next- I have been collecting my colinette yarns to make the Outer Banks Throw from knitter's stash. Now that we are in the house, I am so excited to knit this one! The yarns- zanziba, skye, mohair, and isis, all just feel so wonderful! This is yet another stocking stitch project, but I have to show you how beautiful it is working up.

here is some stitch detail:

I also joined (gulp) the flower basket redux. I think the shawl is beautiful but I am afraid I am getting in over my head (right now I feel like the only knit-along I have the right to join is a garter stitch scarf along!) Anyways I told Amanda that I would post pics. so what have I done so far?

What is it, do you ask? Why, it is a lowly little crochet chain. Yes, that is all I have gotten done. I was going to work on it last night, but started getting a bad migraine at work, so in my drugged state I didn't want to attempt it!

I was also very productive at catching up on my mail! I sent out: The Sniper Cozy (I thought hubby sent it, but it has been sitting in his truck!). I mailed out my package to Chelsea, who was my SP3 (sorry so late Chelsea!). I sent some stitch markers to Kim, of The Woolen Rabbit. Now, I just have a package to send out to Wendy. I promised her that when I moved and found my SECOND copy of Stitch n Bitch, it was hers. So, I got some loverly roving to pack it in!

Kim's stitch markers:

One last thing. I am currently reading Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry, and the Bush Haters.
This book is REALLY interesting. In the second chapter, it outlines what a threat Saddam really was. Now, I knew lots about Saddam, but finding out even more horrible things he did just sickens me. I really believe he is Satan incarnate! Anyways, something I didn't know, which appalled me:
"The Frenchman, whose devotion to Baghdad had earned him the nickname "Jacques Iraq" (Chirac), agreed to sell Saddam several nuclear reactors that would be capable of turning uranium into weapons grade plutonium. France was the only Western nation not to challenge the laughable claim by Iraq- a nation sitting on a sea of oil - that it needed nuclear reactors to produce electricity. Not even Saddam pretended that was true.
"In fact, when the $3 billion deal was inked in late 1975- after Saddam and Chirac had visited each other in their respective capitals- the Iraqi dictator told a Lebanese magazine: "The agreement with France is the first concrete step toward production of the Arab atomic bomb." The Franco-Iraqi Nuclear Co-operation Treaty was bad for Jews in more ways than one. The agreement stipulated that "all persons of Jewish race" be excluded from the deal, both in Iraq and France. Paris had no compunction about signing an obviously anti-Semitic treaty, because in addition to the nuclear reactors France was given cotracts to build massive public works projects in Iraq, includung a new airport and subway."

All I can say is, WTF? I just can't believe it.

Have a great, beautiful week! Hopefully, I will next be able to show more progress on the FBS!