So it has been awhile….

I’m still here….(Hi Callie!).   I have neglected the blog for a long while.   I really didn’t think there was anyone who still read this thing but I received an email from a distant relative who obviously does read my blog.  🙂 

Speaking of, this is a small world story.   Callie, correct me if I’m wrong because my brain is like swiss cheese these days.   Awhile back I blogged about this.   And because of this post I received an email from Callie who is a member of the Meeks side of our family.   She is on a different ‘branch’ than I am so I don’t know the exact relationship but my guess is a cousin several times removed?   lol  Ok, we both have the same great great great grandparents.   Does that make us cousins?   Our great great grandfathers were brothers.  All of this to say it is a very small world and I am so glad Callie found me because of family geneology post.  

So what have I been up to the past few months?   Not much.   I did take some time out to find this:

I always name my cars so let me introduce you to Gabrielle.   She is new to me and rides soooooooooo nice!   I can’t believe the difference between my former car, Sydney, the Solara and Gabie.   The Solara was beating me up.  No kidding!   It is unreal the aches and pains that no longer exist since I bought Gabie.  I now sit up higher in traffic and I do like that.   I feel more protected and safe.  

On the knitting front, I am knitting on the Firefly Fringed Scarf by CEY.   I fell in love with the finished product I saw in Tulsa a few weeks ago.   So I bit the bullet and paid $15 for a booklet that only had ONE pattern I liked.   Grrrrrrrrrrr   That hurt in and of itself but then to make matters worse it is one of the most poorly written patterns I have seen.   I had a clue when the lady at the yarn shop told me she would be available for help/questions if I needed help while knitting the scarf.   Then I went on Ravelry to look up the pattern and had my eyes pulled wide open when every single person who posted that item said more or less the same thing:   poorly written pattern!!   Arrrrrgh!   Anyway, I made it through the increase portion no problem.   And just my luck I hit the decrease section on the 4th of July when the yarn shop was closed and everyone was busy with holiday celebrations.   Ugh.   So I sent out a few messages on Rav and put it aside until I got some answers.   As it turns out I was proceeding as I should but because my stitch count was off I was stumped.   Turns out the stitch count is off and you continue on in pattern.   Ok!   I’m on the downhill slide now.   There are seven stitches that will be dropped when finished and those stitches will form a fringe.   I’ve not done this before but I’m excited to see how it unfolds.   Pictures then, I promise! 

Lexi is doing well.   She vascilates between laying on me so that I may pet her and going off alone for her beauty sleep.   She is such a sweet and spicey kitty!  

I hope you are filling your days with plenty of knitting!

Sunday’s Acquisitions Show

Ok, so the majority of what I’m about to show you was acquired on a Saturday but who cares?   lol  

I had the best day yesterday.  A visit to a yarn shop and then the afternoon filled with knitting friends, yarn, great converstion, knitting and finished objects!   The only way that day could have gotten any better was if some magic elves had cleaned my house and did my laundry while I was gone.  🙂

I had some acquistions a couple of weekends ago but it got lost in the weekend of Lexi’s emergency vet visit.  (She’s MUCH better btw.)  A couple of us made the last minute decision to run down to the DFW Fiber Festival.  It was the first time I’ve attended that festival.   It was small but had enough that I’d go again.   The main draw for me was Madeline Tosh.   Brooks Farm was also in attendance and The Shabby Sheep had a booth so packed full it was difficult to maneuver!   lol   I also caught a peek at Franklin Habit.   He was walking by while I was sitting on a bench waiting for the others.   He’s a very cute man!   Anyway, this is what I bought at the Festival:

Two skeins of Madeline Tosh Sport weight in the Baltic colorway.   I really really wanted some Sock but there was none to be had on Saturday.   All of it had sold out on Friday.   😦   I also bought some colorful stitch markers but that was it for my festival purchases.   We went to the Woolie Ewe later.   And this is where I acquired this yarn:

Three skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the Bittersweet colorway.   Yeah, I know…it has PINK in it but ever since I saw this colorway used in the model Clapotis on Knitty I’ve loved it.   So I now have some!  Yay!

I also bought this:

This is two skeins of Ella Rae Lace in a near solid WARM red!   While I am always attracted to variegated I don’t always like the ‘busy’ pattern it makes.   Solids are almost too boring while knitting even if I do love the end result.   A near solid, well it gives enough interest while knitting that I keep on just to see the shade differences and I always LOVE the result.  

Yesterday Marjie and I made a trip to GY and I picked up this yarn:

Three skeins of Malabrigo Worsted weight in the Lettuce colorway.   My plan is to knit a wrap version of Anne Hanson’s Totally Autumn Afghan.  

I also saw the Ababa Scarf on Ravelry and had to run buy a skein of this:

It’s going to be exciting watching that ball of yarn become a scarf.

So what am I working on now?   A Lacy Baktus with Madeline Tosh Sock I picked up in Tulsa last month:

Not too far yet, as I mentioned awhile back I lost my mojo for a week or so.   I finally have this pattern committed to memory so hopefully it will sail along now.  

I’ve been sewing the past couple of weekends and needless to say this house is not clean.   I took a break to write this post and now the house is calling to me again.   Oh well, I will make sure to get some knitting time this afternoon.   I hope everyone has a great weekend with this gorgeous weather and that you manage to have some peaceful knitting time too!

A Soggy Sunday

It has occurred to me that maybe I should change the name of my blog to A Sunday Blogger….lol   That seems to be the only day I blog these days and sometimes I resist the urge to just skip that too. 

Ok, it has rained and rained and I didn’t think I’d complain but I prefer my rainy days during the week and not over the weekend.  

In spite of the rain, I enjoyed a great day yesterday shopping and knitting with a couple of friends.   Somehow I manage to obtain yarn without stepping foot in a shop or clicking online.   Yesterday I ‘obtained’ from Ellen some gorgeous yarn from Crown Mountain Farms.   That also included a partially completed scarf, Ulmus.   It is so warm and soft!  

It’s 60 inches and I think I’ll  add just a few more inches and then start the edging.   Thanks Ellen!

I’ve found a new show I love to watch, Undercover Boss.  I love how a person at the top realizes he/she has lost touch with the employees who make the company.   Most of these episodes are very heart warming.   I can recall two in which there was one shop/store that has an overwhelming business, much more than the average store.   The reason why?   In both of these instances there was one single employee that made that difference.   That employee was the face the customer saw each time they came in.   It amazes me and makes me feel good to see this CEO realize that single person is what makes that location do so well.   Anyway, if you haven’t watched yet, do so.   It is on Sunday evenings on CBS and you can catch up on the website.   I love that show!

Thanks to all who posted care and concern over Lexi.   It took a few days but she seemed to turn a corner on Wednesday.   She is now back to her feisty self to the point of fighting me when it comes pill time.   lol    I’ll take feisty over sick any day of the week.  

Hope your week is filled with lots of knitting!

Happy Easter!

Not much going on here.   I’m working on some secret knitting that I’m not ready to talk about or show.   lol   I know…not fair to mention it and then not talk about it but it is the only way I can get it done before Marjie or Karen.  🙂   I find the patterns, share them and then everyone else knits it before I get a chance (or have the time).   lol   Anyway, I am hoping this will be the cutest hat ever.   There I told you that much.   lol

I met Marjie at Borders today to knit.   Miss Karen decided she had better things to do.  😉   It was all last minute anyway…..the knitting time flew by.   We went to Outback to eat and I was shocked at how few people were there.  

I cast on and started my Lacy Baktus.  I’m using Madeline Tosh Sock in the Grasshopper colorway.   It is almost neon in color but I love my green!  

Not much to talk about today.   Hope you’ve had a good day filled with family, friends and lots of knitting.

The deal…..

This is how it went down.   It was a bright, sunny but chilly Saturday morning.   The drop spot:  an empty concrete parking lot.   I had circled by earlier but did a run through downtown and came back.   I parked in a side lot, easier to get in and out.   It was 10:04, surely the store was open.   There was a gray car parked in the formerly empty lot.   I noticed there were two occupants in the car.   I got out to go check the store door.   The gray car’s door opens and a voice calls out,  “Come sit in the back seat.”   I know these gals.   I try to tell them the store is open but I get a hand gesture rushing me over to the car.   I slip into the back seat.   Manna!!   Two bags of the beloved, elusive and hard to get Wollmeise Yarn!!!  And it is for sale.    (Can you sense the drool sliding down my chin?)   This is what I scored:

The pictures were taken on a bright sunny table at the Norman Panera.   It washed out the variegated skein.   The yellow is a lovely cantelope yellow, soft with a drop of orange.   The other is a gorgeous skein filled with plummy goodness.   I am DELIGHTED beyond relief that I was able to score these two skeins of yarn.   I also want to thank Kathy of KC and Ellen of OKC for enabling us so nicely!   lol 

Poor Marjie missed out on the box of yarn a week ago and the Wollmeise deal also.   She really sounded so pathetic yesterday (froggy, croaky sick) that I scored a skein of Wollmeise for her also.   

Today I did a bit of spring cleaning.   I pulled clothes from the closet that I’ll never wear, old purses, and various books, gadgets that are sitting around cluttering things up and took them to Goodwill.   I had enough to fill my car trunk and the floorboard and front seat, passenger side.   It feels good to get rid of extra stuff!  

Still haven’t gotten the dryer fixed.   I think that is what prompted me to gather for Goodwill, I had some bags in the laundry room already filled.   So I just gathered some more from the closets and made a run.  

On the knitting front:  I’ve been working on Multnomah.   I skipped a row or added one a second time and spent most of yesterday tinking back.   Ugh.   I’m glad I love the yarn I’m using, Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the Gold Hill colorway, because it is so pretty it keeps me from throwing it down in frustration.  

I see some interesting sights from my 2nd story view on Main Street.   I know this isn’t a very good picture but I saw this vehicle on Friday:

There is some ‘small building’ like fixture in the bed of the pickup.   It had OSU Cowboys and Dodger memorabilia on it.   Every surface of that pickup had bumper stickers or poster-like signs all over it.   And every item was mentioning a sports team.   There were baseball helmets on the hood.  Literally.   About 4 if I remember right.   Can you imagine driving a vehicle like that?   Not me.   lol  

I haven’t taken any pictures of Charlie in awhile.   I caught him ‘napping’ in the leaves of this silk plant the other day. 

And Miss Lexi is doing fine.   She’s taking a nap right now.   About 20 minutes ago I heard this ‘sucking’ noise and looked at her.   She was curled up, nose covered with paws…..sucking like she was nursing!   lol   And she was sound asleep.   Bless her little kitty heart.  

This is spring break week and I know many are off on destinations.   Me, I’ll be right here….working.   Hope you have lots of knitting time this week!

Soggy Sunday Coming Up!

Rain is coming.   I’d much rather have rain than snow.   I saw sprinkles on the patio earlier but it has stopped for now.  

I feel like I’ve had a raincloud over my head this past week.   Work was the usual work combined with dysfunction.   The one person officially assigned to this one type of case quit.   What does that mean?   It means it falls on me and one other person.   Both of us already have more than four people could handle….thus the dysfunction.   Ah well….I’ll  stop now before I get myself fired up.  🙂

On the way back to the office on Thursday my Check Engine light came on…..again.   I didn’t even get upset.   The last time this happened I went to the local auto parts store and had them hook up their diagnostic computer only to be told to put some gas cleaner in the tank.   It worked.   Now every time I get low on gas it will come back on and when I fill it the light goes off.   It is time to start looking for a new car.   Ten years old and 118k, I think I have gotten my money out of it.  

Yesterday, I was getting ready to meet a group of friends to knit when I discovered my dryer was not heating.   Arrrgggg!!   I guess I should be thankful my jeans were near dry.   I did have to use the hair dryer to dry the front and crotch so I could wear them.   Ugh!   Nothing like a cold wet pair of jeans to make you feel uncomfy!   lol 

What is this?

This is me halfway through the process of picking up 301 stitches!   Yikes!!   This is how I ended up doing this tedious process.   I was knitting along and started the Fan and Feather portion of the shawl.   I got to Row 3 and it didn’t really make sense to me.   I called Marjie and asked her to look at her copy and tell me how she processed that row.   She read it/understood it the same way I did.   So I knitted four rows and started my next four rows and I noticed my eyelet holes were few and not really lining up.   I also had one extra stitch at the end of the row.   I counted and recounted and could not find my mistake.   Then I went back on Rav and looked up Multnomah again and guess what?   The pattern was written differently.  Arrrgggggg again!!!!    The exact part that I called Marjie over the first time was not written clearly.   So if you printed/saved a copy early on, better go check and see if your copy matches the latest version on Rav.   While picking up those 301 stitched I messed up somewhere along the ‘spine’ of Multnomah.   I tried to drop down to fix it but picking up stitches in garter stitch whipped my behind.   I finally used a safety pin stitch marker to hold the stitch and called Marjie.   She said she could fix it no problem.   And she did!   Yay Marjie!!!   Now I’m working on the Fan and Feather portion and it truly looks like Fan and Feather:

I didn’t buy any yarn this week.   I know, you are shocked….but don’t be.   I did manage to ‘acquire’ several lovely skeins of yarn.   How did I do this?  lol  Ellen was kind enough to pass on her good fortune.   Her mother sent her a HUGE box of  yarn that she knew she’d never knit.   Ellen claims to have yarn spilling out of bins, closets etc.    So she brought the huge box of yarn yesterday and we dove in!    These are just a few of the skeins I picked up:

Believe me, I picked up more than these skeins.   For some reason my phone is blurring some of the pictures.   I guess I need to bite the bullet and start  using my digital camera again.  

Yesterday we had a couple of different people stop by and talk to us about knitting.   Two ladies stopped who were tap dancers.   One used to knit years ago and we gladly showed some of our projects.   They were quite taken with our group and our knitted items.   Nothing like some positive reinforcement, huh?    Then about an hour later a man came up and told us that he just wanted us to  know he thought it was great we were keeping a ‘dying art’ going.   He said his mother used to knit and it made him happy to see us knitting.   I told him knitting was enjoying a resurgence in popularity but I don’t know if he really ‘heard’ me.   lol 

Ok, Multnomah is calling to me…..I think the rest of this should fly by….at least more quickly than the garter part….that gets tedious.   I hope your weekend is good and filled with lots of knitting!

Is it Sunday already?

I don’t know where the week has gone.   Work is so crazy that while the days seem long they do just fly by.   Maybe next week…….

Yesterday, my friend Karen asked me if I wanted to run up to GY.   Sure did!   I was anxious to see the Lorna’s Laces Sheperd Sock.   They sure did have some pretty colors.   I even took a few skeins to the table to see if I could bond with them.   Then I took them back and picked out two skeins of the new worsted weight Mountain Colors.   I thought that would make a great Baktus scarf.   But I didn’t want to spend $45 on yarn.   Darn it….I put those two skeins back.   (They are still calling to me. )   So what did I end up with?   One lovely skein of Prism Saki in the Thunderclap colorway:

I’m going to knit a lacy Baktus with this lovely skein.

Last weekend Karen showed us her beautiful Spring Leaves she had knitted out of Ella Rae Lace Merino.   It was so soft and felt warm and light.  (I was chilly so I wrapped it around my shoulders and it kept me warm.)  If you’ve seen the picture on the pattern, you know the original was knitted with Pagewood Willow Creek (lace weight 2 ply) in the Golden colorway.  I fell in love with that color and tracked it down online.   That lovely skein arrived this week:

If you read The Rainey Sister’s blog you saw this several days ago.   I fell in LOVE with the yarn she used.   So, as you have probably guessed, I tracked that down on the net and this arrived this week also:

(I don’t know why I got more picture of the tag than of the yarn….)

That is the kind of red I love, rich, warm with no blue undertones.   The Damson (Rav link) by Ysolda Teague Susan knitted with this yarn is so beautiful.   I had to have it!

I thought this was one moment of clear truth:   Yesterday when Karen and I were talking about buying yarn for another gorgeous project we saw she said something about knitting the item.   To which I replied:   Knitting?   Who said we are buying this yarn to knit with?   We COLLECT yarn!  

And that my folks, is the honest to goodness truth.   🙂

Sleepy Sunday

It was a long week at work.   I have a fairly new co-worker who wants to visit a real yarn shop.   So far she’s only purchased Hobby Lobby and WalMart yarn.   She sits beside me during our docket meetings and most often drools over whatever project I knit on during the meetings.   We tried to get to L & B Wednesday or Thursday last week and it didn’t happen.   So maybe this week………

I had a fantastic time knitting with a great group of friends on Saturday.   I love the show-n-tell!   Between the group we have finished objects, new projects, patterns and bunches of gorgeous yarn to show off.   There was a mother and adult daughter sitting by us yesterday.   Turns out the mother is a new knitter and was treating her daughter to a knitting lesson at a local yarn shop.   The mother already knew about Ravelry….so we told them about L & B and GY.   It is always so much fun to talk to new knitters.  

I finished Michael’s gaiter this morning.   I was about to bind off while knitting with the gals yesterday but realized the regular ole bind off was not stretchy enough.  I asked around and Ellen recommended Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Sewn Cast Off.   When I got home I looked it up and it’s easy peasy!

First, cut your yarn leaving a tail about 3 times the width of your knitting.   Thread it on a tapestry  needle.   Then with the tapestry needle slide the tip through two stitches on the left needle as if to purl:

Pull your yarn through, then reinsert your needle tip through the first stitch on your needles as if to knit and pull through.   Slip that stitch off the needle.   It made a very nice and stretchy bind off.  

Now to get these off in the mail before the next snow storm comes.  

I decided to start a drop stitch scarf yesterday.   I bought Claudia’s Hand Paint Fingering 55 a few years ago for this project in the John B colorway.   I cast on for that last night.   It will be my take-along project that I can knit on and not have to give it much thought.  

And since I am at home today and could possibly focus on more than mindless knitting….I decided to pick up Multnomah and work on it.   My plan is to knit it larger since I have 600 yards of the yarn.   I am in a finishing mode!   And that is rare for me……  anyway I am near the end of the first skein of yarn.   Then I realized I have no idea where the other two skeins of yarn are located.   That meant I had to stash dive.   Oh my gosh…..I busted out the new pop up hampers and started emptying bins.   That was way more effort than I wanted to invest but I got the majority of it sorted.   Problem is I don’t have enough hampers!   Yikes!!  The hamper for fingering weight and worsted weight are overflowing.   I managed to squeeze them enough to zip the tops though.   I just can’t get anymore in either one of them.   Ugh.   The aran hamper is to the top…..I could squeeze a bit more into that hamper.   The DK/sport weight is about 3/4 full.    Whew.  

Anyway, I did find the other two skeins of Gold Hill/Lorna’s Laces.   Most of my yarn is sorted into the approprite hamper.   Now to get the rest of that closet sorted/cleaned.   Ugh.   Wish me luck.

ETA:  Carolyn, I’m using Gold Hill Shepard Sock from Lorna’s Laces on the Mulnomah….I have it posted on Ravelry under my projects.   I love that colorway……     I’ve tried several yarns for the drop stitch also…..the color repeats have to be long enough but not too long……I had to frog a few also…lol   Color repeats too short.   Ugh.

Cluck Cluck Cluck

Ok, call me chicken but I’m not getting out in this stuff.   My driveway is less than flat although not a mountain but still yet…it gets very slick.   My sidewalk out front is not flat either…imagine that!   It has a slight slope to it in spots and then there is the yard….enough said.   I’m barracaded in the house….with plenty of drinking water, grub and a nice warm kitty cat.   I can work from home via VPN so it isn’t like I’m sitting here knitting all day….darn it.  

If you know about our lovely yarn shop here in Norman, L & B Yarn Co., please check out their new group on Ravelry.   It will be a lot of fun!

I’m knitting away on the Bob-ette Blankie.   I’ve got a long ways to go…but here is the current pic:

To me, it has that rag rug effect and Marjie said it reminded her of Cabbage roses….that is good!   I’ll keep plugging along….there are miles to go……..

My co-worker’s daughter, Miss Berkeley, is a knitter.   She was very busy around Christmas and this is what she knitted for her mother:

Yes, I know her head is cut off..it was at her request.  🙂   But didn’t Berkeley do a great job?   Her mama wears it every day.   What a lovely gift!

And Miss Lexi is settled in for a warm winter’s nap….

I hope you stay warm and safe!

Sunny Sunday

I had several opportunities to knit with friends last week.  I knitted with friends Saturday a week ago, Monday evening, Wednesday evening and again this Saturday.   I love weeks like that!  

I have a friend who is having her first baby in March.   I knew when I heard that I wanted to knit her a blanket and the traditional tomato hat.   I procrastinated as usual and realized I have about two months to get this blanket knitted.   I knew I wanted to do a Bob Blankie but I wanted it to be soft and pastel-y since this will be a spring baby.  I found out last week that she is having a baby girl so the yellow/green combo I had originally planned wouldn’t work.   So I stopped in at L & B yesterday and checked out the Mission Falls 1824 Cotton Whirl.   I found the perfect colors and with the Whirl and skeins from my stash this is what I’ve started:

Doesn’t that look girly and feminine?   I think so.   I picked up the Whirl in Pastel and I have the cream and mint green in my stash.   Yay!   It feels so good to knit from my stash.   Oh and I renamed Bob since this is for a little girl.   I am naming this the Bob-ette Blankie.   lol 

And Lexi says:   Mama, would you please knit or something….I need my beauty sleep.