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.

I must have been VERY good this year!

Ooooooh did I get the best Christmas gift! Can you say 2007 Harley FXDC?

My DH and I gave each other new bikes this holiday. We decided it was probably now or never, and since we got a great deal from Legends Harley and since Santa knew we'd both been very very good...

DH got the street bob, but added forward controls and a few other "upgrades" so his is still at the shop.

...or what I did for work today!

Ooops!!! Did I say that? Ok, it's what I did on my lunchhour today. Everyone has a blog. So, it's my turn. I have such a great deal to say you know! But I like the idea of journaling, and since my friends and family often wonder what's going on in my life, and since I'm not great at picking up the phone on a regular basis, I'll do what really comes naturally.. sit at the keyboard and type.

My life revolves around my "new" husband Mike, my family, including 3 awesome grandkids, my cats, my knitting, and my work.

Mike & I have been together for a long time ... 8 years this December. Last Christmas, he really surprised me -- he popped the question. I said yes. We were married on August 13 this year. We had fun planning, tho there were several times during that period when Mike would look me in the eyes and say "you have 'x' months (days, hours) to be bezerk, then I want my Susan back" but I think all in all, it wasn't so bad, and the wedding itself was a blast.

...ok, I have to finish my work day. More later