Jason Taylor Has a New Defensive Strategy

Holiday knitting in progress

I've been knitting! Hats and socks and wrist warmers and I think the next will be the Belle Cardigan sweater from the Fall 07 Interweave. Karen made it in a weekend, and it looks fabulous on her. I see Mike's mom in it.

I love and hate holiday knitting! It really gets me motivated, but I always put myself under pressure, and when I knit like that I make beaucoups mistakes, which means lots of frogging . Today, knitting on Alec's cap my circular needles separated from the cable. ACK!! 10 stitches fell off, but I gathered them up and put everything on a set of DPNs . I've not pictured anything except Cody's socks and Nik's hat.


Weather alert, snow in the forecast for the whole day tomorrow! I am not a winter person, but I really love to watch it snow, and especially this time of year! Predictions are for around 6" out where I live, and slushy rain in NYC where I will be working. But the weather dudes are hedging their bets, saying if the storm tracks differently than they are expecting now, accumulations could change radically! Fun commuting!!!

PAY IT FORWARD

Last week Karen posted about Pay It Forward. This has been making its way around the blogs follow the links backwards, it's amazing!) and I know it will be so much fun! Karen offered to make a gift for the first three people that commented on her post if they promised to do the same.

Sign me up!

In turn I'd like to make something for you!

Here are the rules:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this pay it forward exchange.

I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Comment away and I'll get crafting! Help me pass it on. Comment. Inspire. Create. Pay it Forward.

Who's in?

The Yarnaholics Thought of the Day #5

My stash is so big I don't know what's there anymore. I will organize, log, and donate or sell yarns I know I will never use.

The Yarnaholics Thought of the Day #2

I can only knit one project at a time. I have a long line of projects in the queue. I have the exact perfect yarn for each of those projects. I am going to enjoy finding the perfect yarn for that project AND I am really going to enjoy rediscovering all my yarn!

It's finished

I forgot in yesterday's frenzy to mention that I'd finished the baby sweater that took me forever and a day! It was fussy right up to the end, but it's finished, and the gifters are very happy with the results, and hopefully the giftees mommy will be too!!

Here are some pics

It came out nice, tho the collar seems to want to do it's own thing, still it fit the big bear just fine!

I guess I'm just not a faithful blogger

I don't know what happens to the time! I plan to add a post, but life gets in the way...

So this weekend we, my 4 sisters and I met in Sarasota to surprise my dad on his 80th birthday. It was a blast!! We are scattered around the US, 2 in Maine, me in NJ, another near Sacramento, CA, and another in Clearwater. Actually we've been planning since May, and had as much fun planning as doing! Thanks to Dad's partner, we actually pull it off!

So on Friday, CA and I fly together from Atlanta to Tampa and Clearwater picks us up at the airport (after zooming right past us at the curb ) and we [over]eat Mexican and talk and plot and laugh and zonk out and get up in the morning and can't get out of Clearwater cuz there's an IronMan competition that's got every highway closed, so we drive around in ever widening circles til we finally get to 275 and head south to Sarasota. Now, I've brought very summery type clothes and I'm not happy cuz the evening are more chilly than I expect and I look like a freakin toooorist so I want to buy something a bit more appropriate so Clearwater zooms into Burlington Coat Factory in Sarasota, and I try on 3 outfits, find a pair of shoes choose a black skirt and a cute top and then we go over to the grocery next door to grab balloons for all 5 of us and the guy there is about as slow as a turtle stuck in the ice... and he can't figure out how to tie the ribbons to the balloons, and he can't talk and blow up balloons at the same time, and finally I have to say "I'm sorry, but I'M IN A HURRY!!" cuz I know MAINEs are waiting for me at the shopping center outside the complex where Dad lives and so he blows balloons and I tie ribbon and FINALLY I get back in the car and whooosh we are all at the proscribed location and then we drive to the little guest parking area and go up and ring the bell and yell SURPRISE and oh man!!!

He jumped up and back 2 feet and hollers "what the hell..." and "how did you get here" or something like that. I have a picture that Clearwater snapped just as he opened the door... but I'll be nice and not put it up here. Suffice it to say it was a total surprise.

So we go out to lunch at Phillippi Creek and dinner at Ophelia's and have so much fun!

The rest of the Saturday and the Sunday morning go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too fast, we are all visiting and talking and laughing and just having too much fun, cuz we don't get together like this but once in a blue moon, and it's just going so fast and then Clearwater, CA and I are driving back to Tampa and then CA and I are on the plane leaving and we spend our last few moments together at Hartfield Int'l airport and then suddenly I'm on the plane headed to Newark and wow what fun but why does it have to go so fast!

Thank goodness I have pictures! And thank goodness the others have pictures! It was like a movie in triple speed! What fun!!

October STR kit!!

My Socks That Rock kit came late yesterday. In a word - GORGEOUS! I want to cast it on RIGHT NOW!! Ok, so I won't give away the surprise yet for those of you who haven't received your kits, but the yarn color is GORGEOUS and the pattern is a lovely lace ditty designed by the Yarnharlot. It's just terrific! These are gonna MINE MINE MINE!!!

It's been gray and rainy here for a few days and my attitude seems to be following the weather. It's going to get worse before it gets better, lots of rain tonight and tomorrow. I hope it's sunny on Sunday (that's what the forecase says for now!) so I can go get some wind in my face. This is the pits.

Have you seen that funny cat video? The cat wants owner dude to wake up and feed him, uses all sorts of tactics to wake him, finally wacks him on the head with a bat then acts as if he's been asleep the whole time. My cats do that to me in the middle of the night. Come sit on me and knit their paws in me til I wake up and talk to them. One at a time, not together. The video is funny, not so funny at 3 AM!

Sheep Over pictures

HSUS Chimpanality Quiz!

HSUS MySpace Page Take the Quiz!

Sheep Over!

I'm going to Sheep Over. Don't you just love that name!? Knit Wit Knits has an annual "retreat", an overnight, where we get to knit and learn something new and hang out with pals! This year, we're knitting some squares, playing a fun game and some other unknown things AND learning needle felting. Ok, so not new to everyone, but certainly new to me. I've not ventured much into the felting arena, at least not intentionally! This should be fun! We staying at Das Dutch Village Inn. Doesn't it look like a fun place? There's a whole complex called Das Dutch Village, shops and restaurant and such. Oh and we're going shopping at the yarn shop too on Saturday -shhh don't tell the husband!! But THE best part of all of this is seeing my friends again. It's always such a treat. We have so much fun and I missed the last visit in the spring! Really looking forward to it! I'll post a few pics when I get home.



The second part of the weekend, I'll be in Toledo, visiting with my family. Can't wait! We don't get there very often, and grandkids grow so so fast! I'm taking Nik and Renee out to dinner Saturday night to celebrate their birthdays! Pics later!

What? I can't listen to music I've purchased?

The lead attorney for Sony BMG announced publically that copying music you legally purchased for your own use is illegal.

Song BMG has gone on record, stating that “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song. Making ‘a copy’ of a purchased song is just a nice way of saying ’steals just one copy.’”

"WHAT?! If I buy a CD, she’s saying I cannot save it to my own computer, and then listen to the CD in my car? Or… I can’t listen to it on my iPod? All of these items were purchased legally, including the CD. So why in the name of everything I hold precious can I NOT listen to MY OWN MUSIC?"

"The music industry has gone too far. It is allegedly hurting financially so much due to file sharing that it is now making it nearly impossible for people to legally listen to their own music. Album sales have decreased dramatically. Yes, that’s true. However, telling me I cannot listen to the music I BUY from you in any way I want is not going to help your bottom line, Sony. All that is going to do is ensure I don’t purchase ANY music from you ever again."

"Stop the insanity."

Thank you Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome for stating my thoughts exactly!

Chris Live Tech Support Video Help Add to iTunes

That didn't last long!

Thank you Kate Gilbert and thank you Knitty! I'm going to knit it exactly as Kate did.

Stuck in a slumb

Has this happened to you? I love knitting. I have several projects on needles, I have one that I really need to finish, and I have that I thought I really wanted to work on, but truthfully, I just don't feel like knitting. I don't know why, but I know that I'm not going to push myself right now. I'll fix the shoulders of the baby sweater this weekend, and hopefully that will get me out of this weird place!

Weather in our area has been perfect! Summertime days and cool but not cold nights. Great riding weather! Maybe that's what I need. A ride, something to blow out the cobwebs, change the attitude.

Maybe we'll ride out to the Chatterbox tonight.

Check out my Slide Show!

I'M IN!!

RAVELRY!

How cool is that? Just been poking around, added a couple of friends, a pattern, a couple of groups. It's amazing to me that there are so many people involved in knitting and crocheting that we could support so massive an online community.

The best for me so far is checking out other people's thoughts on yarns and patterns. But I'm really just getting started.

Are you there?

ACK! Where did it go???

I lost 6 months. I know they're around here somewhere. Yesterday it was March, and now it's the end of September?? When did that happen??? Ok, I've been riding a lot, I have 7200+ miles on that less than a year old motorcycle! Ok, I'll admit I know I'm getting older and more forgetful, but somehow, somewhere, the summer has disappeared! If anyone knows where I put it, please let me know!

Have you ever knitted a project made a mistake, then made it a pattern change (repeated the mistake so it matched) only to find out that the pattern change is really still a mistake and you're gonna have to frog anyway, and now not just once but several times? I did it. And I did it on a baby sweater that should have been done last month. (NOT my fault, I misplaced that month). So this weekend I'm frogging and finishing up the baby sweater. It's sized for 3-6months, so I don't think the little chickie will have outgrown it yet, but I'd best hurry. Here's what the pattern looks like. It's cute, a picot edge (too fussy), and will be a nice gift once I pull out the ooops and finish those parts correctly.

I didn't finish

...but I'm getting there! I finished the back last Sunday and have knitted the 2 front pieces during my commuting this week. Yea I haven't been knitting on it as much as I said I would. But it's getting there! I didn't know the yarn would change colors the way it has, and I'm really liking it. Think the mom will too? Kaela, are you looking?

I have a picture of Mike on his new Bobber! See? Nice huh? Sounds as good as it looks - he did some nice upgrades, a power comander, a thunderheader, true 2 into 1 pipes, forward controls and um... darn it, I forget! He's also changed the turn signals since this picture. They are now on the triple tree and not the same style.

He's out on it now, gone to a meeting and then I presume they will ride.

If it gets just a little teeny weeny bit warmer - it's 49 right now - so if it makes it to 55, then I'll roll mine out too! It's not too encouraging tho, the sun has decided to hide behind the clouds and the temp is not cooperating one little bit.

We'll see.

I Have a Cold

Beware, whine content...

I have had this annoying head cold for 4 days. I'm not sick. I'm MISERABLE! My sinuses feel like someone used them for a balloon, I can't lie down comfortably, I can't sit up comfortably, I can only breathe thru my mouth and I want it to GO AWAY!

Ok, I'm done for now...


I didn't knit yesterday, just didn't feel like it, although I prepared everything to do so. Today, I already have tools, lap blanket and various sundries ready. I'm using the Moss Stitch Jacket pattern. I love moss stitch especially for baby things, easy to knit, looks great and gives a bit more structure. And I love this Debbie Bliss book - Baby Style (NAYY) - I use it over and over again. I have lots of other baby books, several of them authored by Bliss, but I seem to always come back to this book. It has a wide variety of patterns, and a wide variety of styles and techniques. I love her simplicity!

So once I get the laundry started, and take out Sunday dinner from the freezer, I'm going to my knitting corner with a cup of tea, and I won't come out til I finish! (ok, maybe a little break here and there) My goal is to finish this sweater before I go to bed tonight. Think I can do it?

March madness is on its way. I mean NCAA basketball. Truthfully, I don't watch basketball at all anymore, tho I'm still a hard and true Celtic's fan, but when March Madness comes around, I get the fever. I guess it means spring is here, or winter is just about over, I don't know. Whatever it is, I make up the just-for-fun office pool, set my brackets, watch the games, or listen to them, and check out all the scenarios. I always root for the Connecticut Huskies, or if they don't make the cut, Duke and Gonzaga (don't you just love that name?). I really have a blast with it! One of these days, I might get tickets to the semis or finals even.

Oh yea, I have a picture of the socks I knit for my wonderful mother-in-law, Connie. They were to be Christmas socks, but I didn't finish them til the middle of January. I gave them to her the last time we visited, I hope they fit her. I used Socks that Rock in Pink Granite and a pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks (NAYY) and did my first afterthought heel. It's a great pattern, one of the chevron patterns.

Ok, I've run out of things to say right now and I want to knit!

How many days did I last?

Not many. I have purchased yarn. Mostly some sock yarn, which other people say doesn't count in this knit from stash challenge, but alas, I've also purchased some yummy worsted weight yarn called Rhythm from JoJoLand which I'm using for a baby sweater for my neice. And I have picked up some soft acrylic boucle for baby blankets in navy and white. Not bad, but not good.

Today was a beautiful spring day just as I was thinking winter was going to last forever. DH & I hopped on the bikes and took a quick ride, cut short as a front blasted into the area. The temperature was nearly 60 when we started, but 1.5 hours later the clouds raced in and the temp dropped 15 degrees! That's chilly without chaps, so we high-tailed it home, dodging raindrops all the way. The sun returned, but it stayed cool, so that was it for now. Still it felt great to get in the wind!

Tonight, my plans are to sit in front of the TV and knit on the baby sweater, or one of the circular baby blankets Im working on. DH is "woodshopping" - a big jewelry box that he designed just for me!

My Maine weekend

I knitted these for my best pal Becky's daughter, Mikaela, who is having a baby boy sometime around February 21st. I got an invite to her shower a week or so ago, whipped open my Sock Wizard plugged in my gauge and needle size etc., and voila, a basic baby sock. Quick knit, and she loved it! I'm doing the matching sweater before baby arrives in Feb.

It was great to be with her family again. Becky died in 2003 of breast cancer and I miss her a lot. It was really wonderful to be with her sisters and their children for the afternoon.

Then in the evening, my 2 Maine sisters Elisabeth & Gail and husbands Roger & John respectively, and my neice Sarah, her SO Brian and his daughter Madyson, and my nephew Alan and I all gathered for a fun evening of food and laughter and football. I don't get up there as often I have in the past, so it was good to see all of them for a bit. Sarah, too, is pregnant, due in early June. Lots of excitement.

The funniest part of the weekend was my trip up. Somehow, even though I've done the drive a few bazillion times in the past, I decided that I should take Rte 495 East off the Mass Pike, rather than the usual 495 North. The result was I ended up near Cape Cod, and more than 60 miles out of my way! YIKES!!! I should have arrived around 10:30PM instead, I didn't get there til after midnight. Pretty silly, huh?

The ride home was uneventful, despite the early snow and freezing rain and heavy fog.

My gluttony

All over my knitting lists hand knitters are speaking of yarn diets and knitting from stash and such. I have taken the pledge, not counting my STR club, which I simply could not pass up. I read handknitbyafailedfeminist blog today and chuckled. I'm guessing I could easily cover my kingsize waterbed, and perhaps go to 2 layers of all the sock yarn I've been hoarding. Not intentionally hoarding, lovingly gathering, with the fullest intention of knitting each and every gorgeous skein. And then I get distracted, off to another project, ooh there's a new kit on Whenever, and then I go to a festival or fair and ooooh look at that yummy yarn, and... well you know how it is, and how it goes and suddenly, as I take stock, I realize just how gluttonous I have been. I confess, despite my best intentions, I am a confirmed yarn pig!! I have it everywhere -- all over my house, and crammed under my desk in my office. YIKES!

2007 is my year of destashing, trimming down and thinning out. I've started this project more than a dozen times. The truth is, I don't even know what I have anymore, and any list that I started is long since outdated and obsolete. I'll let you know of my progress and I'll post pictures as I get more organized.

Yarn Focus Challenge 2007

Ok, I admit it. I'm a confirmed yarn-aholic. My New Year's resolution included the promise to knit from my stash, not to purchase new yarn following the guidelines of the Yarn Focus Challenge for 2007 and once I figure out how to put a picture and link on this blog, I'll keep count of how many days I've gone without purchasing yarn!

My current projects include socks for my DMil, and several baby sets. My neice is pregnant and my best pal's daughter is too, AND I have a nearly completed set for a friend in Texas. I will picture them all and post here.