Happy New Years Eve 2010!

We are having a little NY eve party tonight with our dear neighbors. I put in the email : Knitting is not mandatory, but strongly suggested. (No real need for that message, Abby and I love to knit together and yak)

Speaking of Yak, here are some resolutions I am just considering:

*Knit with Yak (not likely)

*Knit with reverse shaping ( I know this has been my resolution for years.... but Grace is onboard as is Karen as my enablers......maybe this year!!!)

*Entertain more. (likely before new kitchen phase ends)

*Take much better blog pictures. (I long to wow you ........)

*Foster pregnant cats (depends on how Fiona is doing this year)

*Try to like the city (I get so nervous just being there and both my kids live there and love it)

*Get on a plane like last year! (perhaps my pilot from last year will sit with me again?????)

*Meet Katherine or Grace or any of you dear pretend friends.

*Keep pretty soaps in the bathroom all year

*Keep the house a little cleaner (ahem...this one is very unlikely! unless I do entertain more)

*Start swimming again

hmmmmmm will I do any or all?????


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How to Save 56.00 dollars

No, this skein wasn't that expensive. I did save 60% on it though at the store closing. I have to stay outta there! Then again, the deals are not to be taken lightly. This skein will be made into drop dead gorgeous pastel socks!!

Here is how you save 56 dollars. You bring your little skein of prize yarn that you are sending in the age of fast, to UPS and tell them you are sending it to the winner in Canada. They tell you, ashamedly, that it will cost 59 dollars and there are no other options. You thank them. You go to the US post office and mail it for 3 dollars. That is how you save 56 dollars! Cheryl I hope you love the yarn you won. I think it will knit up beautifully!

While I was at UPS nearly choking, another man there told me his mom was a knitter. Here we go again! No not the
chihuahua booties, again! He told me, thinking fondly and talking proudly of his mom. He said she knit MILE A MINUTE afgans
and I should look up the pattern. He said she could knit those afghans while watching TV and with loaves of bread baking in the oven and never drop a stitch. So I looked up the Mile a Minute pattern but I can only find it in crochet. Looks like you knit in long strips and put them together. THis would make it easier on the arms/fingers/wrists as the piece would never get too
heavy individually. Have you heard of Mile a Minute the pattern?

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The nearly miraculous matching gift socks and a great coffee cake

I'm copying Grace in her modified 10 on Tuesday from Carole's blog. Here are ten of my favorite gifts this Christmas!

*the ipod shuffle I am learning to use. A whole new world as Aladdin would say

*New MUDD slippers that are actually booties

*Thyme hand lotion in Kimono Rose.......this is a nurse testimony! Trust me. :)

*homemade cookies from my neighbors 2 doors down

*a goofy little house that lights up in different windows as it plays holiday tunes

*New sweater from Territory Ahead....soft as buttah

*Minneonka driving shoes

*a little necklace from AL

*a little gadget from my dad, who still worries about his daughters, that you put on your keychain and it hides
a 20 dollar bill for emergencies

*new set of ceramic measuring spoons that match the kitchen


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Happy Holidays Continue!

Some yarny goodness : This is my new sock yarn. I casted on this weekend and only got to about the fourth round, but I love it . I got it at the store closing and it is part alpaca..

I finished the other pair of socks after I took them out of the oven. I gave them to my nephew's wife that very night at Christmas Eve and she loved them. We had a tiny Christmas knit miracle as the ended up matching perfectly!

We have officially used the kitchen. I made a point of showing my guests the empty spotless oven inside before I used it. Everyone knows I am quirky so they laughed and it didnt' surprise them at all. Thanks for all the pretend friend support. It was especially fun to use the kitchen for the first time with Family on Christmas day. We have a family saying around here that Christmas is a Season not a day, as we often have to work on the day. I am definitely still in the spirit of the Season today!

Santa brought me an ipod. This means I'll be singing off key with the ear pieces in and driving Fireman crazy soon. Zach is going to show me how to use it. today. Since we worked on Christmas and last night I am just going over the presents today! Would you please recommend a favorite song of any kind that I can put on the ipod? I like all kinds of music. ?



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Last Minute Christmas Knitting

Al is trying to finish the cabled scarf from an Interweave Pattern a few years ago. The pattern called for a hood, but she is eliminating that part. She is trying to finish it for her boyfriend's mom. Lucky boyfriend's mom, I say! It will have two pockets as well. She has been knitting it on and off for years, literally. I, for one, am just delighted to see her knitting again.

I had no intention of last minute Christmas knitting, however......
I am very close to finishing the socks I am working on that were in the oven yesterday! If I can finish them I will give them to my nephew's wife as she said she would love a pair of knitted wool socks a few years back. I have a lovely drop stitch scarf for the other nephew's wife. I have some fingerless for one neice, but I don't have anything for the other niece.....hmmmmmm. We shall see how this all pans out.

I do love knitting to Christmas music. WIshing you a wonderful Christmas eve, and if you are finishing something for a gift, good luck!!!!
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Fireman, The Tribe has Spoken

Thanks to all who entered the contest and put in their knitterly two cents! The stove remains unused! So clean I could put my new socks in there! I did run it while empty as many of you suggested, earlier in the week. Got the odd smell out of it.

Cheryl of Knit'n Bake.blogspot.com is the winner of the sock yarn . Fair and square, Fireman pulled a name from the bag. Cheryl send me your snail mail and I will get your pretty sock yarn in the mail to you next week.


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Just when I thought I'd heard it all.......

Knit content: I couldn't pass up the Ann Norling Patterns at the yarn store closing. I find her patterns clear and wonderful. I 'd like to make a seaman's scarf soon. I think her patterns are a bargain because she gives you many options when you buy just one item. If you are looking to give a knitter a gift, Ann Norling patterns are a sure thing in my book.

So, just when I thought I'd heard it all I heard this one! I had to share it with you. I've worked in the intensive care nursery for years, and I thought I'd heard every line about new babies that was ever spoken. Not true. On MY mom's birthday Monday night we were gathered for Death by Chocolate cake and my mom told us this story that we had never heard! Apparently the nurse
brought my mother out to her dad for the first time and she said, "Where did your daughter get her red hair??????"
My Irish grandpa, winked and replied, "Under me arms!"


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I have her, do you have her?

Al and I both have this knitting ornament from Hallmark. Do you have her too? Do you have another knit ornament???

I am still working on the socks I showed last week. I will be knitting during the Bear's game tonight for just a bit. I can't blame the players for questioning the safety of the stadium in MN. I am way too nervous a nellie and wouldnt want to be a spectator under the snowy dome either.....A knitting spectator I would be of course.

I have half a mind to knit a hat for a gift before Christmas, but thankfully the other half of my mind is dominant right now. THe half that still has to clean the house and plan the Christmas day menu, so far is winning out.
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The prize yarn and everyone's a winner

This pretty sock yarn is the prize yarn for the contest that ends 12/23!

But everyone wins with this information: Karen Reimann my friend from the Knit Whiz, which is closing, is starting her own business. Karen is such a kind and fun teacher. She is offering lessons, finishing and knit to order custom knits! One of her new clients, ME!, is going to have her write out reverse shaping in a pattern, line by meticulous line. Wahoo.

You can reach Karen at Karezbearzknits@gmail.com. She will have her own website soon too. She's a doll and will not disappoint.

Have a great weekend!!!!



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You never know where you'll meet a knitter

(Image of FIona not willing to model the gift scarf. I so miss Huck. He would model anything. Remember?)

We were shopping at REI yesterday and the sales clerk saw my wee tiny sock zipper pull. She was transfixed on it. She kept asking if I was sure it wasn't a Chihuahua bootie. I'm pretty darn sure it is a wee tiny sock swap zipper pull! She was a knitter and was so excited to hear of the swap. She told me how her family wants her to knit hats for them at a rate she cannot keep up with. I understood. Knitting is labor intensive, I said. She was so funny. It was as if she found someone who spoke her language. I encouraged her to learn to knit socks and make her own wee tiny sock for her Chihauhua.

Have you met a knitter where you least expected???

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Cast your vote and it is a contest!

So, fireman thinks you are my pretend friends, and we know that is the best kind right? Well dear blogfriend knitters, I've been thinking. Since the kitchen will be completed just DAYS before Christmas, and since I am hosting Christmas brunch........I think there should be no cooking in the kitchen until Christmas. After all, it will never be cleaner . Why clean twice?

Cast your vote: Cook before Christmas or Wait until Christmas.

Your vote does not influence your eligibility for prize yarn. I swear.

Contest ends 12/23.


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Double Chocolate Cookie Cake

This is the start of my next pair of socks. I love the reds and turquoise blues. This is some of the sale yarn I bought at the store closing last week. So that is the knitting content.

Now for the chocolate content! My friend Sandy brought a chocolate bread to work one night that was outstanding. This weekend she brought me the mix so I can make it over the holidays. The recipe for the bread/cake is on the back of the box. If you want something different for a chocolate lover, this may be it!

Not my Christmas cactus blooming

This is my knit neighbor Abby's Christmas Cactus. She has such a green thumb. She gets her cactus to bloom at the right time each year. Aren't the peachy colored blooms brilliant???? Do you have one? Does it bloom at Chrismastime?

I will finish the red scarf today. I hope I can give it to my friend at work tomorrow. I am impatient in my gift giving. I like to give a gift when it is just new! I am deciding if I'll cast on for a pair of socks, or perhaps some baby hats for a friend's twins.........no rush because they are already here and I am already late gift giving. :) I'm not knitting any Christmas gifts and that is a relief. Just getting the kitchen finished in time is enough. I don't want to jinx it but we should be finished by the 20th or so. The wild card is the countertop arrival....


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Stay off my knitting kitties!

Fiona our eldest cat has a way of getting into whatever I am knitting. Radar wants desperately to lay on the red scarf I am knitting currently. Last year Santa brought the pride, as I call them, a water bubbler. All 3 of them took to the bubbler right away and still love drinking from it.

This year I found this adorable "kitty cabin" from a store I love called Barker and Meowsky. Santa is bringing them this cabin..... to share! Here's hoping it keeps them off my knitting. My guess is that Radar will dominate this gift and sleep in the cabin......


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I Dream of Knitting's Robins Egg Blue Hat Pattern

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I am just copying Grace from Lovin Comfort knits idea! I think I have to make this cute hat! Grace did!

When to have a party..

Im still knitting the red scarf. I had to shelve knitting for a few days. I should be back to it tonight.

I was thinking we should have a party when our tiny kitchen remake is over. Now I am rethinking this....

if my kitchen is like yours, everyone stands in it during the party while I am busy in it! I should have the party now
while its is just floors and walls! What do you think?


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RIP RONNIE SANTO

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I am sad that Ronnie Santo passed away today, but I have a smile on my face thinking of all the Cub games he put his heart into on and off the field. Give a listen to Steve Goodman's A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request on Youtube, and smile with me.

(Ron was at our local Dairy Bar ice cream hut about 15 years ago. I asked him for an autograph for my son, Zach. He felt his shirt pockets and shook his head and said, "OH I wish I had some baseball cards with me. I ALWAYS do, but I have my wife's car today." He then took the grocery list he had in his pocket, out, and tour off a piece of it and signed it for Zach. He could not have been nicer)

What a valiant effort he led to end Juvenille Diabetes. Thanks RON! You will be missed

Non Knitting POST

Aww, thanks for reading anyhow! I am still knitting the scarf. I had to stop last night after I cut my thumb a bit. Just short of needing stitches. How do you ask, does someone without a kitchen cut her thumb? Well I had used a serrated knife to cut a sandwich. Then when I was washing it, I cut myself. Brilliant.

I ordered these personalized m & m s for my sister. They have her dogs picture on them, and his name on them too. You can only see one that is upside down from the image....sorry. They were easy to order. They came so fast. I really think she will love serving them. She doesn't read the blog, so I'm safe. He is a mostly black gordon setter so I choose the pearl white colors and reds to show his face well. Im pretty pleased. I hope she rings in the New Year with them!

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I went straight for the sock yarn

I had a little birthday money left from my mom........and so I headed right to the sock yarn at the store that is closing. I had to remind myself that although yarn is at a deep discount, I don't need to stash! I am sure I'll be back before the yarn is all gone. For today, I picked up the self patterning yarns and left quickly! I know I love to knit socks, so that made the decision easy peasy.


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Things turned upside down

(Radar featured) My neighbor told me that the yarn shop just a block from my home is going out of business. I am sorry to see it go. Karen and Leslie who worked there gave it there all. I loved going there when they were working. So THe Village Knit Whiz is closing. Currently yarns are 40% off or more. Needles are 30% off currently. I better get over there soon before the yarns I like are all gone. I'm right side up again, but the news of the store closing flipped me a bit.

Has a yarn store near you closed????? I'm sure it is hard to keep up with the online prices. Still, I love to feel the yarn myself before I buy it.


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