Irisheyesknitters : My Yarn Garden

My friends can KNIT

2012-02-01T16:02:00.000-06:00

My friend Kathy C can knit! She nearly finished this lovely sweater and tried it on for us today. She followed a pattern and mixed up her yarns. She loves black. I apologize for the photos. They could be much better. Dear friend Karen did the finishing/sleeve set work, and she did an awesome job. To everyone of you with a sweater on the needles, I applaud you. Really I do.

For now I'm trying to knit a lace sock. I've frogged it once. I'm NOT giving up. I find I can work one 4 row repeat successfully without :
Talking to Fireman
Answering the phone
Looking up at the TV
Getting up from my seat.
Then, and I am serious, I pick up something else for a few rows, speak to Fireman, look at the tv and drink something. This may be the slowest lace sock every knit......but I will not give up. I have the UTMOST respect for you lace knitters....

I'm well on the way with the second Cascade sock and I do think I'll need to do the toes in a different color for certain. Phew, so glad I left the first sock stitches live. I may felt them too......

Al wants a NOOK for her birthday....any suggestions, thoughts, ideas for me about this? Is one the same as another? Do they need a cover, (hand knit by the mother??)

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Ordinary Days Ordinary Socks

2012-01-31T16:00:00.000-06:00

Just an ordinary day here. When things get rowdy I crave these ordinary days.

Here is the first of a pair of ordinary socks. Cascade 220 in Olive I believe is the yarn.
Big old pair of wool socks for a hiker or an ordinary day inside a cold house.
I'm stopping at the tip of the toe with the stitches live because I am not sure I have enough wool for both socks. This way I can do a matching toe in a different yarn if need be....
let's hope it need not be.

Ordinary day dinner includes roasted vegetables:

Cut them up and pour some olive oil and Good Seasons Garlic and Herb dressing dry seasoning packet over them all. Roast them in the oven on a cold ordinary day and serve them with an ordinary steak.

What's ordinary about your day??

Swap Goodness

2012-01-30T20:00:00.000-06:00

Channon was my swap partner again! We've been paired before and it was a delight again this time. She sent me this Tree Hut Sugar Scrub....what can I say? I almost want to eat it, I swear, whenever I smell it. My winter skin loves the scrub. Have you used a sugar scrub? They are such an indulgence!!!

The yarn she swapped me is this bright raspberry Trekking sock yarn. I've already cast on for a new pair of socks. I'm going to conquer the Montana Woolies pattern that has beaten me before.
This pair of socks is going to be a slow go.

I cast on for a fast pair of socks last week while I waited for my swap package.
I'm almost finished with the first sock in heavy wool weight. It is a little like cheating for my goal for the 2012 year. The bigger gauge socks go so fast. I figure I'll switch between the little stitches in Trekking and the big stitches for the other pair.

Variety. The spice of life.

Channon sent me a great DRAGON pattern and the cutest kitty pin too. Thanks Channon. I love a quick and fun yarn swap. THanks to all who played along. I think Im just waiting for Helen and Jennifer's packages to get to one another. THey are playing overseas swap, so the wait is understandable.

On the kitty front here, Al told me she had dream and Fiona, (gone a year now) came to her. She got to pet her old friend and look into her green eyes. THen, she said, Fiona took our Rosalyn in her teeth and brought her up to heaven. Like a momma cat would carry her kitten.....
(that is the sweetest thought. Our Rosalyn is really starting to wither.....Grizabella the glamour cat, I call her. The thought of Fiona coming to get her is strangely wonderful and comforting)

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A couple of sweet links

2012-01-27T11:03:00.000-06:00

http://recipes.slides.kaboose.com/121-easy-cookie-decorating/12

http://emileeknits.wordpress.com/about-2/heart-lace-socks/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=840NbiFF1zM

The cookies are decorated simply for Valentine's day on the first link

The lace socks are clearly LOVE ly and the pattern looks easy enough

The Valentine song is just, well, darling.

Enjoy the Friday links!

(and be nice to yourself)

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I need COLOR

2012-01-26T10:33:00.000-06:00

I secretly snapped a picture of a woman's scarf in a dining establishment in Lincoln Park yesterday. Let me tell you how grey the day was.....How grey was it you ask?
It was so grey: that the sun didn't really set yesterday. There was no sunset that I could appreciate!~ It just got more grey and then dark. I am so color starved that I nearly asked the woman for her scarf.

I had to use my zoom from my table across the way. I swear it is a glorious Noro yarn in a big old cowl.

My leftover sockyarn cowl is over 35 inches long now. It is still not big enough to wrap as I wish. Let me tell you, if you don't already know, that when you reknit frogged yarn you can certainly see a bumpier stitch definition. I"m sure it will all come out in the wash.....

No Northern Lights could be seen after all, on Tuesday night. I looked a few times.....

The great news: Snow tomorrow. That ought to whiten up the greys around here! How are you coloring your world these deary winter days????

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Northern Lights Possibility

2012-01-24T10:45:00.000-06:00

There is a decent likelihood that we here in the Chicago area might see the Northern Lights tonight. Now the weather people round these here parts are often wrong wrong wrong .....even when it comes to predicting the temperature. Nonetheless I've let the weatherman get my hopes up for tonight. I May be pulling my jeans on and grabbing a coat in the wee hours to see aurora b.
Would you do the same?

Here we have an image of my soon to be frogged Feather and Fan scarf. Now that I've shown myself I can knit the pattern, I realize I don't have enough yarn for a scarf and I am too cheap...yup too cheap to buy more NORO. I already know what I'll reknit the yarn into...
here's hint: Have any of you felted with NORO? How does it felt???

Swappers please check in with me if you have not already done so. Have you sent your swap package out? Did you receive your package yet???

and one other thing today: Someone at work told me this: her 80 year old mom baked her own birthday cake and invited friends over....
my kinda WOMAN

(be nice to yourself)

A Year of Socks??

2012-01-21T11:06:00.000-06:00

(Grace's Dragon Swap Package to Leslie pictured. MMMM Cherry Tree Hill, we don't have that round these parts...)

I'm ready to cast on socks again. I've said it before, I'll say it again. THere is nothing like a pair of hand knit socks. I wear them out. That's a good thing; Once they wear out I get to knit more. I am thinking of a year of mostly socks. I wonder if I can knit 12 pairs in 12 months. Have you knit a year of socks??

I dont' like knitting things that don't get worn. I'm not good at sweaters, yet. Sweaters have that itch factor to consider. The sock yarns are amazing and abundant. There are a plethora of sock books and patterns. I have yet to knit everyone I know a pair of socks.....so there's a goal for me, right?

Speaking of goals:

Someone's brand new camera broke. I think I broke into a cold sweat when I realized it. I have to say COSTCO's return policy is wonderful. I had the receipt thank goodness, thank heavens, thank The Lord above. Thank the camera fairy. Maybe my goal should be about my camera this year. I got another FUJI just like it. I certainly don't want 12 cameras in 12 months.

I know a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven for......
okay,
then
13 pairs in 12 months.

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Surprises

2012-01-20T10:29:00.000-06:00

Leslie lives in my town and participated in the Dragon Swap. In my mail yesterday, on this gloomy January day was a Dragon Bag for my knit projects. Thanks Leslie......It is so neat. It will remind me of the swap and of you! I'll be showing you some swap finishes as the week goes on.
Even if you didn't' play I hope you'll enjoy seeing the yarn and goodies.

Do you watch CHOPPED? I was imagining a knitter's CHOPPED episode. Except we'd call it Frogged of course. Someone of Knit Stature, say Franklin Habit, would instruct 3 knitters to OPEN THEIR BASKETS.

Inside the baskets are 4 knit ingredients.....say:

Size 10 needles
A skein of sock yarn
An ugly button and
A WINE Glass

The clock is started.....what will you knit? Will you be chopped, er Frogged? Or will you win 10 thousand dollars?? GO ahead, what are you knitting?

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The FIrst Pair of 2012 Socks

2012-01-19T11:17:00.000-06:00

Knitted in Lorna's Laces colorway, from Santa Claus. They are going to fit someone who wears a size 8 shoe. I don't' know who that is yet.....But they will make great gift. I like the mock cable I knitted into the basic sock anatomy.

There is a little voice in my head saying....(Ha~ ! What did you think I was going to write....)
well, it is saying that the Feather and Fan Scarf that I ripped out, gave up on, and otherwise bailed on still wants to be knit. Just in another type of yarn. A big old type of yarn that won't trick my eyes like spiderweb yarn does. (oh the grammar in this post is atrocious) . So after I nap, I'm casting on another Feather and Fan scarf in some Noro Kochoran I found in the stash.....

Is there a little voice in your head today? What is it saying to you?

(Be nice to yourself.)

Things I Love Right Now

2012-01-18T13:35:00.000-06:00

No new knitting to show, just Radar at the table.....
He seats himself on a chair just about every night at dinner time. He watches. He hopes. He paws at your hand while you bring your fork to your mouth. Most nights, I give him....a little smudge of buttah. None of our other cats beg or behave this way.

Here are a few things I love right now:

*the few snowmen that dot the neighborhood since last week's snowfall
*Karen Newburger pajamas. They are so soft and comfortable.
*my microwavable neck warmer
*the sock yarn I bought from Grace during her sale. I cannot wait to cast on.
*Hulu. I Love to watch the shows I missed.
*My new slippers from Fireman. So cozy and warm in my cold house.
*My radiators. They are quiet and wonderful to sit on.
*the new postal service at my Walgreens.
*Those fattening fruit drinks with tapioca balls in them.
*Dogs in knit sweaters....so cute
*The movie Moneyball. If you love baseball you'll love it, if you don't love baseball
you'll go batty being bored.
*All your blogs. You really inspire me. All of you.

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The Absolutely Mindless Use Up Your Stash Feel Good SImple Cowl

2012-01-17T10:20:00.000-06:00

I'd love to say it was all my idea, but it wasn't. I saw an image of a skinny scarf-cowl made up of leftover yarns and it pointed a knitting finger right at me.

I have lots of shades of blue sock yarn leftovers. I cast on 48 stitches and picked up some yarn and started. I did a provisional cast on. I have to have live cast on stitches to kitchner together when I am finished knitting.

I have knit about 23 inches so far and it has been completely and totally mindless. While some would go absolutely nutty with such simplicity, my mind likes it some days.

On another note, a nurse I work with was using another hand lotion that is new to me: Smitten's Lush. She wanted me to try it. It was nice. It was alright. It works for her. It had a slight scent which was very nice.

My yarn thought for today: If you are bored with January, join a yarn swap. At least the mail gets interesting!

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One Week to Dragon Swap Deadline

2012-01-16T16:54:00.000-06:00

Hey swappers, you have one week left to get your yarn, pattern and dry skin cure in the mail to your partner. I'm halfway there....

As for me, I was almost home this morning, bleary eyed and ready for bed when I realized why I hadn't gotten stuck behind a school bus yet...
Martin Luther King Day .. this means no school around our parts for the day. I really get cranky when school buses delay my ride home on Mondays! My head hit the pillow in record time.

Tonight some boring knitting that I can show you tomorrow. I'm in the mood for easy .....and it is another project that uses up leftovers. What are you knitting tonight?

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Things I Learned This Week

2012-01-14T09:50:00.000-06:00

*I can bake awesome chocolate chip cookies this way:
Buy Nestle premade cookie dough
Add flour to the pre made dough
Bake them beauties up and they won't flatten out.
They look homemade and they taste even better.

*No amount of Memory loss is normal when aging.
I learned this in the book Making Rounds With Oscar.
It made me sad for a certain beloved relative.

*I tasted a Korean tea : green tea and brown rice.
I may have imagined it, but I swear I could smell the carbs or
starch from the brown rice.

*Mole is good on tortilla chips.

*My new camera continues to take pictures just how I want them to come out.
Thanks Zach for helping out !

*and finally,
odds are good that the Russian Space Debris won't hit any of us or our knitting this weekend.!

Heads up friend!

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Knitting with spider thread

2012-01-13T10:04:00.000-06:00

I'm going to cave in and rip out my feather and fan scarf. Someone please remind me of this the next time I am infatuated with others' work and it involves lace weight yarn. Thank goodness the yarn shop will take the yarn back (3 of 4 skeins) or I would have to keep knitting the scarf. My count was off quite a bit. You can't tell too much from the image, but I kept counting and counting and things were getting worse not better.

I"ve been tense knitting it up. Tense should come from things other than my knitting. I ran back to my socks last night and this peaceful feeling came over me. The lace weight is just too splitty and spidery for me. It was looking lovely.....but I was edgy all week. I was trying to find the cause of my dismay....
I thought it was the grey warm January weather...
I thought it was that the holidays were over...
I thought it was my dieting since New Years....

But I think it was just the lace mess.

I loved the feather and fan look and I will knit it again, but in a heavier weight.
Heavier is sometimes better!

So I'll keep writing this goofy little knit blog and knitting things within my comfort realm
and hope you'll find socks interesting enough to come on back and keep reading.
OH.....

Happy Friday the 13th from lucky black kitty Beatles. He found his first snow fascinating....

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Knit Day

2012-01-12T09:59:00.000-06:00

*I've been waiting for this day. This snow day.
*My chores are done. I've helped at spay/neuter since 0630 and
Now
*I'm in for the day!
*To everyone who is driving in the snow, may your roads be well salted.
As for me and my knits and my kits, we will be looking out and delighting in the snowy landscape.

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Christmas Yarn Socks

2012-01-11T10:15:00.000-06:00

Lorna's laces sock is coming along. I'm doing a little pattern from the Two By Two Scarf I knitted.

K2tog but do not slip them off, insert the needle between the two sts and knit the first st again, P2
Repeat the first row
Next 2 rows: K2P2

Repeat these four rows.

Everyone in the swap has been matched and should have their partner's information.

I finished Making Rounds With Oscar, about the nursing home cat who only cuddled with patients when they were dying. It was as much about dementia as it was about Oscar. Honestly, I think I need some comic relief now......
any movie suggestions to rent????

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2012-01-10T14:48:00.000-06:00

*This is how I make my sock yarn look thicker.....
I knit with lace for a week.

*I'm reading Making Rounds with Oscar. No it is not about Oscar Meyer bologna cut into rounds with Oscar the Grouch as chef. It is about the cat who predicted deaths among residents of a nursing home. You might say the cat's odds were good given the population, but really he was/is remarkable. He would sit with the patient who was next to die.
Non-cat lovers might say he caused the deaths, but we know better. Animals senses are so superior to ours.

*I'm drinking more water. Less Coke. That is my big complex resolution for this year.....
what day are we on? Day 10, oh yeah.

*I am so happy for the snow predictions for this week. I just cannot get into this March like weather in January, and as it were, December.

*I heard over the weekend that kids are now doing shots of alcohol in their eyes......
the things you learn here at irisheyes.....
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Swap Details

2012-01-07T10:47:00.000-06:00

(just another baby beret....using leftovers)

I think we have 8 participants for a swap. If you still want to play send me an email: harpnut@gmail.com with your name, address, and blog site. If you said you want to swap and changed your mind, now is your chance to get out. I recently lost all my contacts, so even if you think I have your address, please send it to me again. Sign ups close as of Sunday night.

Since it is 2012, I am challenging all the swapper to limit their yarn purchase in the swap to $20.12. Please send your partner new yarn. 2012 is the year of the Dragon. Monday the 23rd of January will be the deadline to mail your package to your swap partner. This is quick, I know, but lets do it and mean it. Let's not have it drag on....pun intended.

I'll be sending out the questionnaire after I have all the participants. There will be a dragon theme.......

YOu'll be asked to send you partner some new sock yarn, a pattern related to the theme, and something for our hands or feet which are scaly as dragons this time of year....

Just 3 things.

So are you in?

.

.

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Let's Help Stephen Hawking....

2012-01-06T10:12:00.000-06:00

First of all I'm showing you Al's new hat. She whipped it up to match her cute new coat. Also she is knitting this little cabled ditty for a friend with whom she works. I asked where she got the pattern....she made it up. In high school she took a test that said her career should be either: A dock supervisor or an astrophysicist.........which leads me to today's topic....

turns out, you know, she's an ER nurse which means she is both dock supervisor and astrophysicist.

About 2 posts ago I was going on about how smart the NASA people are and I can't even work a lace pattern.
Well today I read that brilliant minded Stephen Hawking cannot figure out: WOMEN.

Let's help him. I'm not all women, but I am one woman and this I know:

*if we say we want yarn for our birthday, anniversary or holiday gifts, buy us that yarn.

*If we say we need to stop at a yarn shop in a town we are vacationing in, then we do need to stop there. And go in. And buy something. usually.

*if we say we need yarn, then it doesn't matter how much stash we have. And leftovers from previous projects do not amount to stash for me. They are leftovers.

*If we are knitting on a deadline, and we want a bowl of cereal for dinner, we want you to have a bowl for your dinner too.

*If we are overjoyed with our knit up one day and crying and frogging it the next, we have good reason. You can bring me a glass of white wine or champagne and it will be very much appreciated. It will get you very very far....

*If we knit something just for you and you appreciate it, we love you all the more.

and finally

*if I want to sit next to you and knit while you watch wrestling or hockey or football or the Tour de France, know that you are indeed about the best guy in the world to me.

(any additions Ladies?)
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Knit friends inspire me

2012-01-05T09:54:00.000-06:00

There is something about knitting in our alone moments that is wonderful.
AND
THere is something about getting together with other knit friends that is equally
as wonderful.

Yesterday I met up with Kathy, Carol and Joany. Joany is nearly twice our age, (sorry to tell Joany) and she amazes us every time we knit together. Yesterday Carol and JOan were knitting their Feather and Fan Stoles in St. Charles Rittrato.
It was like I had an itch that couldn't be scratched. Halt all the current plans, I have to go get that yarn and join them. Kathy has already finished hers.

Kathy is knitting a train scarf. She calls it a train scarf because she knits it on the train on the way home from her job. I love the colors. Kathy also has me convinced I cannot live, simply cannot continue to live, without some Sympbhony needles.

I have to go now, and buy that yarn. After all, it is nearly a week into the New Year......

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Using up the Stash

2012-01-04T09:42:00.000-06:00

Another baby beret. And yet another is on the needles. I am using up the stash. My stash of leftovers, that is. The real stash of new untouched yarn is pretty small. I have about 5 skeins of fresh untouched unwound sock yarn. Then there is about 20 other skeins of a variety of yarns.

Beatles got his first hotwheel car yesterday. It came in a package of batteries. He loved it. Typical boy.

The Beach Boys roast in the crockpot came out great. Just 3 ingredients. It shredded up beautifully and tasted wonderful.

Fuji Fuji Fuji, I am LOVING my new camera. It seems to think for me.

I was watching a documentary on the Space Shuttles last night with Fireman. Who are these people who are so brave and intelligent? I worry about being on a plane, let alone a space ship. Who has nerves of steel? I didn't get that gene. I have trouble with a 6 row repeat, let alone a Mission Control launch. People amaze me. They are a different breed.

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First Knit of the New Year

2012-01-02T17:14:00.000-06:00

My first knit of the New Year surprised me: a baby beret from Woolly Wormhead's free patterns. I wanted to use up some stash and I have many pregnant friends having babies in 2012. I have cast on another already. I decided to do some very minimal color work to kick it up a notch.

My new Calendar for the New Year is from AL! It is called Nuns Having Fun. The images are great. I hope to laugh more in 2012, and this is a fun start.

Have you cast on something new for the New Year??? DO you have a calendar for 2012???

Happy Happy New Year

2011-12-31T09:13:00.000-06:00

if you are kicking back, hunkering down or ready to hibernate a bit, you are not alone. all the festivities were great, but I love my ordinary days. Here are a few good links for you to enjoy:

Www.Morehousefarm.com. This site has a really cute Igloo hat pattern. it is a great site to enjoy and get some pattern ideas.
the Critters for Knitter section has adorable animal themed scarves for kids, or kids at heart!

Good old Woolywormhead.com is always a joy to visit. There are at least 25 free hat patterns to consider. I am going to knit their baby beret.

Santa brought me the cutest little crock pot. I am planning to make the Beach Boys Pot Roast this week. The only ingredients are 1lb of beef chuck roast, a jar of peppiorcini peppers, and cloves of garlic. You make slits in the roast and push the garlic into it. Pour the jar of peppers over the roast and cook it for 12 hours on low in the crock pot. Shred it and serve on good buns

I am working the holiday weekend, of course, but I wish you the best of New Years.

Oops.......I spilled Coke on my computer

2011-12-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

So I cannot post an image right now. Oh I do not like picture less posts!

I am knitting with the Lornas Laces shown in the previous post. I am knitting the leg in a mock cable pattern and I WISH I could show you. Hmmmmm, I may have an answer. Stay tuned.

The tree is down already. I am still enjoying carols and lights. I met a dear nurse friend and her daughter for breakfast this morning. Mary moved away years ago but we stay close. I was explaining to them that I tease someone about living in sin, and vacationing in sin.
Mary's daughter Katie, thought Sin was a place. -As in Sin, Illinois. We had to explain the Catholic concept to her, but I thought that was so funny.

I'm tossing around a swap idea. While Take and Replace was really fun this yesr, I want to change it up in 2012. I always keep it economical, anyone interested in cheering up the winter months with a simple swap?????

Oh the People you Meet

2011-12-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

I finished my little cranberry socks yesterday and they are mine all mine. I was knitting the toe in a doctor's waiting room when a wonderful little old lady sat next to me and started the knit chatter!

Fireman was laughing behind his magazine because we knit nuts just find each other and take off.
She's a big Stephen West fan. She loves Paigewood farms sock yarns.
Wahoo. New yarn for me to try!
I've never heard of Paigewood farms have you??

She loves to knit socks, she says, because When you are done, you are done! (no seams or finishing.....or the like) I began to wonder if we were twins....
just a few decades apart....

(The skein shown is what Santa brought and yes, I've already cast on another pair of socks)

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It's a Wrap

2011-12-26T21:02:00.000-06:00

*Santa was great
*Santa brought yarn
*Working over Christmas Eve and Christmas Night was different.....
but here's to 2012 where I am OFF all the fall/winter holidays.
*There was more food than we could eat in our lounge all weekend.
This is a real feat. We can put down a LOT of food at oh-dark-thirty.
We could not eat it all.
*My favorite story came from my buddy Jill. Her daughter, Lauren, decided to leave a plate of
lettuce and goldfish crackers for Santa and his reindeer.....

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Christmas comes in all ways

2011-12-23T15:08:00.000-06:00

So we start our celebration in a very little while. Having to work the holidays makes our different this year, but I always say it is a Season not a Day. The ham is going into the oven soon and we are going to glaze it for the first time ever.....do you glaze???

Here is my Auntie Rita's Baked Beans
1 lb. of crisp bacon crumbled
1/4 cup Karo White Syrup
1/4 Cup mustard
1 T. Butter
1 lb brown Sugar
3 onions
1 clove garlic
1 Cup Ketchup

Cans of beans : Butter, black, kidney 2 each

Brown the butter. Cut the onion into rings. Chop the garlic fine. Add the onion and garlic to the butter and stir until golden in color. Add Brown sugar and Karo syrup and bring to a rolling boil. Add the mustard last and pour over the beans. Pour into oven type casserole dish.

Bake 3 hours at 225 degrees. In the Last 1/2 hour add 1 cup ketchup.
Best if baked the day before serving.

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Goings on for Christmas

2011-12-22T19:02:00.000-06:00

*Radar hung his stocking last week.....

*Cranberry sock number one .....DONE. (for me.....aren't I bad?) I think I could knit everyone socks next year if I start the day after Christmas this year.

*Cowls were well received today at Spay Neuter Clinic.

*I'm drinking: champagne....seriously

*I'm eating: Puppy chow candy given to the volunteers at the shelter today

*I'm baking: Cheesy potatoes for our early B family Christmas tomorrow night.

*I'm done: baking the baked beans. I make awesome baked beans from scratch.I follow My Auntie Rita's recipe with corn syrup and brown sugar and mustard. I could leave out the ketchup entirely and I 'd still love them. Fireman likes them with a touch of Ketchup though. I add a pound of crispy bacon on my own.

* IF I get one more PERFECT Christmas family letter I may go nuts. My family letter would be far from the pictures these people paint. Why is it you get these letters when all is well with people? You never get the ones that mention the nervous breakdown or the alcoholics or the like....
oops that was down right Scroogy of me. But it brings up a favorite new quote that the little Silent Carmelite nuns say: God is with us in the reality of our lives, not the fantasy of our lives. Thank Goodness!

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Really???? I might have a few of these in me...

2011-12-21T13:28:00.000-06:00

You have to love Diana McKay's Mountain Colors Blog WIne warmer sets...I just might.....
well, we'll see

there's gingerbread to bake
12.23 Christmas Eve dinner to make
a full morning at the animal shelter tomorrow
and 2 presents left to wrap....

These are awful cute though....
then again, a warm scarf for Zach would be great to knit...
with just 48 hours left..

I better take a long winters nap and think on this first.....
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MY heart is full

2011-12-20T12:26:00.000-06:00

I seem to be off the subject of knitting lately;....sorry. This picture was just taken at my mom's house. Today is my mom's birthday. When I look at my mom and my son Zach, my heart is so full it could explode. Both are gentle people who mean the world to me. Happy Birthday to mom although she doesn't do computers and will never see this. Zach we love you so much.

Last night after some shopping and wrapping and yes, napping, I got to my knitting. I just sat and knitted for an hour. What is it about this knitting that makes me relax? It was just what I needed. Knitting is such a gift to me. I am working on socks and the yarn is so soft and gorgeous. It is cranberry colored. I'll show it to you soon.

Is it the repetitive motion that calms me down,
is it the soft yarn,
is it the counting?
Is it in my genes?

Why is this knitting so good for me? I just know that it is. Why do you think it makes us so happy to knit???? I wonder what you think...

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Knitting withdrawal

2011-12-19T16:57:00.000-06:00

The weekend was jam packed with fun, but no knitting! Well, just a tiny bit of knitting, but I need a good fix tonight....

The Nutcracker was just a delight. To go from that grace, to a Major League Hockey Game the next night was a fun jump! We also fit in a neighborhood party, so I am nearly as tired as when I work the weekend... But no complaints! My needles await me....

I may clean out the stash tonight, in hopes of making room for Santa's gifts......

Santa already brought me an early gift.......a new FUJI camera. I never did like the other one and I was only too happy to hear it got lost on the slopes of Park City with Zach snowboarding last week.....
Dear Zach was worried about it, and I couldn't have been happier. By the way, Santa brought me a red one......Here's to much better blog images to come.

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So hows it going?

2011-12-17T11:47:00.000-06:00

I've resorted to cat humor. I have to say the little bit of snow we got overnight has my spirits up!! I just love a little snow for the holidays......

It is my last weekend off. I plan to enjoy it all including the normal sleep. Nutcracker with Al this afternoon. Neighborhood gathering tonight. My first Blackhawks game tomorrow. How else does a couple celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary..???

I'm going to straighten out the stash after I finish this batch of cookies.....

I'm relying on the ipad for my images to the posts, and I apologize. But here's the Bea bug .......

And, I'm knitting some wonderful socks. The yarn is cranberry and light brownish.....

Are you hanging in there??? It is a bit crazy.....

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Act of Kindness like no other

2011-12-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

This is a wonderful story...not a sad one. A cat who looked amazingly like this one, (this is someone on google's image of a cat) came to the end of one of it's nine lives yesterday. Not mine, don't worry. This is a wonderful story remember?

I showed up for working at the Spay Neuter clinic when it was still dark yesterday morning. I had coffee for myself and coffee for our dear vet/friend Kristine. This is my usual routine on Thursday mornings. I also had dunkin munchkins of the chocolate variety and sprinkle variety.....I ate several while waiting for Kristine. But I digress....

When Kristine pulled in, the sun had come up. The first thing she said to me, was, : "Do you think we should go get that cat out of the street?" What Cat? I didnt see any cat...and then I looked and someone had hit this gorgeous cat and it was lying in 4 lanes of busy crazy morning traffic.

We grabbed a big bag and Kristine, in her scrubs, and I dared the traffic. She ran into the street while I played traffic cop, and she scooped his still warm little body up. He was gone.

Kristine could not bear the thought of him getting hit over and over again on that road.
We checked him for a microchip so she could call his owners. No chip. When the regular staff arrived, they agreed he was the big beauty of a cat that had hung around the shelter, but was too skittish to catch.

Kristine amazes me. She works tirelessly in her own practice and at the shelter. She values each and every little animal that comes through as if her own.

It is a gift to start your day with someone who's animal love is so so big. Then we moved on, there were dogs to neuter so they could get on to their forever homes this week before Christmas.

God Bless you big beauty of a kitty. Kristine you amaze me. Im lucky to know you!

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A Dishrag Christmas

2011-12-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

Something compelled me to knit a dishcloth for my sister-in-law' s basket of goodies. A simple slip stitch dishrag. It is the Darrell Waltrop knitted cloth pattern. Fun, fast and furious that's the way around here currently. I'm using up the stash. Hoping for more from Santa, so I' have to make some room right??

We went to a Chicago neighborhood filled with lights tonight. One of our traditions . This little tree house was new to us this year, and adorable. I wish it would snow. I know I am in the minority here..but I need a little snow......for Christmas you know!

Don't you like a little snow with your Chrstmas dishrag???

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What do they say about crazy people??

2011-12-13T12:51:00.000-06:00

Well, one of the things they say is that insanity is acting the same way over and over again and expecting a different result.....ahem.
I think I may have another cowl and a dishrag or two in me before the 24th.....

What am I doing? I dunno. It just seems wrong to be knitting for myself right now. I know I could whip up another cowl in no time. I have stash yarn that's for certain.... Must look for bulky I guess.....

The dishrag thoughts are like this: I have red and white dishrag yarn......I need a little something more for my sister in laws breakfast basket that I am putting together......

What am I doing? I'm last minute gift knitting.. ..but it just feels right. To be honest, I really need 2 more gift cowls....

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Lorna's Laces Stockings Hung by the Chimney ....

2011-12-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

*but just for this post. They are so soft. Again, you'd think I worked for Lorna's Laces, but their sock yarns are just like buttah to me......
You cannot really see the picot edge at the cuff top, but it is different and I love it .

*I'm planning to listen to December Peace piano music by Stanton Lanier later...a gift from my friend Sharon just this morning.

*I've already cast on another pair of socks. The awesome thing about sock knitting that I love is their usefulness. How wonderful that eventually they wear out so I can knit more. I have to broaden my horizons with sock patterns this year. Kick it up a notch.

*Sock knitting settles me. The little parts of the sock used to stress me and now it is like I am walking a beloved path when I switch from part to part.

*My friend Sharon also brought over the most wonderful gingerbread cookies. They are so moist and I never make them, so they are a huge treat. I wonder if there are premade gingerbread cookie rolls in the stores to cut and bake...

IS there something you love most to knit???? Is there something you listen to when you need to settle down?

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Goings on.....

2011-12-09T16:36:00.000-06:00

*Our tree is up. Beatles needed to investigate immediately. Just like a kitty, he loves camping out under the tree. ALL of our cats have loved Christmas tree sitting. Does yours?

*THe bulky green cowl is modeled by AL. I think, I just think, I'm done with little gift cowls. Having been in real stores lately I can see big big long cowls are very in right now. My cowls are for the serious outdoor friends who walk their dogs and need true warmth close around their necks.

*There has been more cookie eating around here... along with a dusting of our first snow. I love the first snows of the year. November is full of 40 degree grey cloudy days. White lovely snow is always beautiful to me until.....March. That seems so far away right now.

*Here's to another workend off......can you say lazy......????
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The Christmas Picture

2011-12-07T10:43:00.000-06:00

This was the scene at our family's party over Thanksgiving. 7 little ones were propped up on the sofa, and everyone started snapping for the family picture. I thought turning the lens on the photographers was funny.

I'm still working on socks and a bulky cowl.

Here is the Buckeye recipe that I used this weekend. They came out great. The deal is, if Fireman and Zach eat them before the holidays they have to make another batch.

It is from All recipes.com. I read the notes from folks and followed a few of their suggestions.

BUCKEYES

1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup softened butter
1 t. vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
4 T shortening.

Mix the first 4 ingredients well. You almost have to add the 3 cups of confectioners sugar one cup at a time. By the time you are on the 3rd cup you'll be using your hands to mix it. Do not sift the sugar as the original instructions call for.

Roll the mix into small balls and put a toothpick in each one. Then refrigerate for at least one hour.

Melt the chips and shortening in the microwave 30 seconds at a time and stir.

Dip the peanut balls into the chocolate mix and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet to harden. Refrigerate.

These came out so so good!

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Interprete these instructions for me please;....

2011-12-06T13:33:00.000-06:00

I came across these baby booties on Ravelry yesterday. I think they are adorable. The only thing I don't really get is how to keep moving the start point over every row. It is a drops design pattern. Has anyone made these ? Does anyone get the instructions ? Help pretend friends, I know someone will explain it to me better than the instructions on the site do.

I'm listening to Pandora's Christmas mix now. Wow I love this site and how you can say you like or dislike a song. Do you ...Pandora????

I tried to do the other picot edge sock last night and messed up the picot. Reminder to self:
do not do the picot edge in the near dark by the glow of the TV. I had no problems doing it in daylight today.. Carole's picot edge is great and eliminates the need for sock ribbing on the cuffs.

Nancy asked for the Lemon Cookie recipe yesterday:

Super easy and super good:

From allrecipes.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crisp Little Lemon Cookies:
1 (18oz) lemon cake mix
1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg

mix the ingredients together well. Form little balls with the dough . Place the balls on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. Mmmmmmm. Delish.

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Yet ANOTHER Christmas Cowl

2011-12-05T13:23:00.000-06:00

This cowl is the same easy pattern from Ravelry that was originally made with leftover sock yarns. I've adapted the basic pattern for different yarn weights, but the pattern is the simple same:

6 rows purl
6 rows knit

around and around and around until you run out of yarn or it is tall enough to cover a neck in the Windy City.

This cowl was made of leftover Dream in Color from Al's leggings. It is for our vet, who is also a good friend.

I'm knitting yet another cowl in bulky green right now. I think I have a few more in me before Christmas. find I'm alternating between knitting up cowls and knitting up socks.

As for the Christmas cookies, well my snowmen came out very ..........sloppy. I used Wilson premade cookie icing....
it dries hard which is good. It tastes good, which is also good. The instructions called for microwaving the bottle of frosting and I did so according to directions. The icing was as liquid as water.....
after an hour or so it firmed up. I think it is an okay product, but the microwaving directions need adjusting.

I made some lemon cookies out of a cake mix and rice krispies and they came out wonderful.

I cheated and bought Pillsbury Peppermint cookie dough.....excellent outcome.....

The all time favorite around here are BUCKEYES. When I went to college in ohio everyone made them. I found a wonderful recipe and they came out amazing....
Fireman already confessed that he broke into the freezer bag of them this morning and snuck one.....
(He looks alot like Santa sometimes though...so I guess it is ok)

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More Holiday Knits and Kits

2011-12-03T12:26:00.000-06:00

Radar wanted in on the Santa Hat action....can't you tell??? That's the kit part of this rare weeekend post.

Tomorrow is baking day. Thanks for all your ideas. Let's hope the elf helps me out and my cookies finally come out good.

This is the Knit Part of the post:

As for knitting, Al is using Kathmandu Queensland and I am helping her with a gift knit. She is knitting a scarf and hat for a friend who is a boy. This yarn was originally going to be knitted into a man's sweater, but over the years it morphed. When she stops by to do laundry or the like, I knit the scarf for her because it bores her to tears. I love boring knits. It is a purl One knit two on the front, and purl the back, kind of scarf. Easy pattern .

She made up a hat pattern with the brim being the same as the scarf pattern and the cap a bit different. It is based off the Ann Norling catch all hat patterns.

So the other night at work, Tamara the unit aide,came to ask me what I was knitting. She's so funny. She is an excellent natural knitter. She creates patterns with cables etc as she knits. She likes the yarns I use and she asks me to buy her yarns because there aren't any good shops in her neighborhood.

I bought some DOVE yarn for her to make a cowl for her daughter. She wanted more and gave me forty dollars to buy some yarns for her. We have a bit of a language barrier but we get our knit points across eventually.

I put the two twenties in my scrub pocket as I was busy, and sure enough forgot it. I was driving home at midnight, amid lots of lovely Christmas lights I must say, when I remembered the money.

I called the charge nurse as soon as I Got home and she did the scrub search in the locker room and found the cash. Phew.....I would have about cried over lost knit money!!!

I told Tamara I was knitting socks right now. She got all excited and said, "When holidays over you teach me to knit sex." I laughed and laughed and said in my strongest Chicago accent, "I' wont teach you to knit sex, Tamara, I'll teach you to knit SOCKS!"

A Weekend Off!

2011-12-02T12:52:00.000-06:00

I have the weekend off, as a matter of fact I have a few of them off. I may try holiday baking. Remember what I heard about doing something that scares you every day? Well, yesterday that ended with an ER visit....
anyhow baking frightens me. I found this image of cookies on the GOOGLE IMAGE search. THey look very do able....

Is there a cute and easy Holiday cookie recipe you can send along??? I am not into fondant or intricate but lovely icing. I am searching for easy baking....(I had an easy bake oven, did you?)

As for knitting, I am finishing another gift cowl. I think I have enough leftovers from Al's raspberry leggings to make a pretty gift cowl.
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Overachiever leggings

2011-12-01T16:31:00.000-06:00

I was so proud of my legwarmers for Al, until I saw THESE on Ravelry today....
THe funny thing is, these would actually be very fun to knit up....

I hear there is a new fair isle book out. Heard yesterday on a news show that you are supposed to do something that terrifies you once a day.....
really?
I'm so not about leaving my comfort zone...

Have you left your comfort zone lately??

We need a little silly right this very minute

2011-11-29T14:54:00.000-06:00

*The skies are so grey around here it is ridiculous, so we need a little silliness. Please suggest some for me!

These are my lorna's laces socks. I used CaroleKnit's picot edge for the first time. Love this trick and will use it again and again. I love Lorna's Laces sock yarns more than any other. I have told Santa's helper, (AL helps fireman in the knit department...) that I'd love another skein of their sock yarn. Any colors will do.

Beatles provides some silliness around here. He is now 6 lbs and 6 months old. He checked out very very well at the vet yesterday. Everyday is Christmas for Beatles...all he wants is your lap and some toys to play with.

What are your GREY buster ideas? ANy silliness is appreciated!

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Finished AL's Fair Isle Legggins

2011-11-28T10:26:00.001-06:00

I finished Al's legwarmers on Thanksgiving morning. You see Al did ALL the cooking at our house. I just had to clean and help clean up after. So I had time to finish her legwarmers. They made me feel like dancing!

I used Dream in Color for the raspberry main color and used Liberty Wool Classic Elite for the Fair Isle. I wish both legs matched but that is not how the yarn knit up. I think they came out whimsical and wonderful. I made up a pattern.

I cast on 64 stitches and ribbed awhile. Then I found a fair isle pattern that was made up of a 16 stitch repeat and focused for a bit. Fair Isle requires focus, but I do so love the results. Also, because the top part is fair isle, the leggings hug there and won't fall down. Next I did a few stripes and finished them up plain in stockinette in the round. She loved them. They will keep her warm and fuzzy as our temps are really dropping here now.

I need more dances in my life I think. I worry too much. Worry less, dance more.....

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Al's knitting footloose leggins....

2011-11-25T10:34:00.000-06:00

It must be in the air.....we both knit leggings this month. I love Al's simple cable and the orange yarn she chose. She's gifting these to someone who loves orange. I am not an orange fan, in general, but I love this shade. Dance dance dance. I finished the legwarmers I made for AL, and they'll be in an upcoming post.

Our Thanksgiving feast was so delicious. A really relaxing night with family followed. Today, we feast with the OTHER side. After Al and I go to the Muppet Movie.....
I have always loved the Muppets.

That's it here. Leggings and Muppets....and feasting. Life's good.
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Turkey Hats off to YOU

2011-11-23T14:41:00.000-06:00

(image from Fred Flare....Sold Out Turkey Knit Hat)

This Thanksgiving I'm dedicating my post to you dear pretend friends.
I don't know why this little blog brings me such joy but it does.
It has been a good part of my days for years now.
The readership doesn't grow much, but you are a great bunch of loyal knit friends. I'll say that again and again.
Pretend friends, thanks.
Thanks for being my outlet for knit fun,
Thanks for always cheering on the good knits and the not so good!
I love your comments.
I love your blogs.
Your knits always inspire me.
Those of you who were IN on the Take and Replace Swap this year were outstanding in
every way.
Those of you who watched from the blog side lines were wonderful too.

Really a very heartfelt thanks. Somehow in the cyberworld of anonymity we have grown
to be friends. Here's to a great knit future together!

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Look Closely for the Black Cowl

2011-11-22T15:54:00.000-06:00

Here is the centerpiece for our little dinner Thursday, and the very boring black cowl for my friend Linda. I used Zara merino wool and doubled the strands. I think I cast on 70 stitches. I wanted it to be a snug cowl. Linda walks her dogs daily and needs fashion and function! I know LInda and I know she'll like it.

Last year I gave a pair of wonderful fingerless to someone at work. I thought she'd love them. I asked her about them Sunday night and she said she THINKS she gave them to her daughter....just a timely reminder for me to put my labor intensive craft to good use by only knitting for those who love to be knitting for!

I'm such a potato chip knitter. I am hooked on this easy great cowl pattern. Are you hooked on a particular pattern right now?

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Thanksgiving Pictures

2011-11-21T20:51:00.000-06:00

I've got pumpkin bread on my mind. I've never frosted my pumpkin bread, but after googling this image for us, I have decided I must. Do you frost your pumpkin bread??? Cream cheese vanilla perhaps???

I spent the workend working. The night shift is given the task of taking pictures of the babies for holiday cards for their families. Last night Zoe and I tried desperately to get a good shot of triplet babies for their parents. We simply did not succeed. What came out were little white blobs of babies all scrunched up and ignoring each other. Sort of like scoops of mashed potatoes, although potatoes would have sat more stilly. How hard could it be? I love to take photographs. But it was so hard. The flash would go off at all the wrong moments and the delay on the camera would capture exactly what we didn't really want: little tiny hands in front of faces, and tongues rolling out of their little lips. So we tried......and I suppose the family will be thankful for the efforts.

I finished a holiday cowl tonight in boring black which my friend Linda will love. One more holiday cowl to go.

SO that's the random post after a workend of night shift: pumpkin bread, triplets and cowls.
4 days to the Turkey!

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Handknits on a Scary Rope Bridge

2011-11-18T15:23:00.000-06:00

Here's Al wearing her handknits as she is held above rushing waters on the Giant's Causeway in Belfast Northern Ireland. She wasn't liknin' the bridge so much. ......
Her strategy was to wait until she had the thing quietly to herself so no one would start jumping up and down and scaring her to death half way crossed! I wouldn't even have crossed it.... no way...no pressure...no how!

I'm looking for a good book for my mom to read. I saw on M's blog Stitches of Violet , that she finished Tess Gerristen's The Silent Girl. My mom likes novels about Irish Family Sagas. Do you know of any? I have to get large print books for her, and that limits things a bit too.

I think I"ll be facing the second fair isle leg warmer for Al tonight ......a girl who comes to a bridge and crosses it deserves leg warmers don't you think???

Happy Workend

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Tahki Dove Cowl by request

2011-11-17T13:15:00.002-06:00

It is really cold outside in Chicago today. The wind is back and it is reaching into any part of me that isn't covered. I am so happy that I get to drop this gift cowl off to my friend Linda on a really cold day, today! She asked for one when we stopped by her house on Halloween.

It is a mousy grey yarn of merino, alpaca and nylon. Super soft on the fingers. I mentioned the pattern in yesterday's post. Super easy. I did drop a stitch somewhere's in the middle. I asked Al for advice. She told me to tie it down with a piece of the same yarn and weave the ends in just like I'd weave any other end in. It worked and it is secure now.

I have two more cowls to make before Christmas. The gauge of the next one is bigger so it will go faster. The yarn for the next one has no alpaca in it......I've been knitting with alpaca flying up my nose as if its a vacuum for the stuff....kerchew!

However, the next cowl is all black......I'll need some good lighting and the needles are light so that will help too. Speaking of all black, little Beatles the kitten is so funny with his new toy.

DA BIRD is billed as the number 1 cat toy and I can see why. It is feathers on a cord that when you make it move through the air it sounds like bird flapping. Bea actually stands on his hind legs and tries to get the toy off the mantle. When he goes after it he leaps in mid air. It is a great toy if your feline friends are due for some fun. It was about 9 dollars.

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November Greys

2011-11-16T10:27:00.000-06:00

We were in Lincoln Park again yesterday and it was pretty grey. We've been graced with a very warm November so far, and we are hoping it makes winter feel shorter this year.....

I am knitting a grey cowl for my friend Linda who asked for one. The Sock Yarn Scrap Bag Cowl by Allinson is the pattern. (Ravelry) If anyone wants a great simple cowl pattern that is actually very boring, this is it. I may make another in a bigger gauge for another friend for Christmas.

I also shot this city scene as the sun was setting yesterday afternoon. The light seemed just right. I did learn from Franklin Habit's class, the importance of the right light. I dont' like the city much. I'm glad it is there for others, but I love the peaceful country. At least with the City of Chicago you get the Lake, the magnificent huge ocean like lake, to make the city feel like part of nature.

Have a happy day even if it is grey.....

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Souvenirs

2011-11-14T17:02:00.000-06:00

Look what I got!!! Al went to Ireland and I got an adorable Irish Wooly Jumpers Knit Bag. 9 crazy sheep with shamrock on them adorn it. So I have 2 new project bags now after winning my Dishrag Tag V bag. A knit girl needs her bags!

I have 3 Christmas cowls to knit. I'm halfway through the first one. I'm using supersoft merino and alpaca yarn. More to come on this front.

As for the follow up to the needles that broke in the cold on me last week, here goes. They were made by Swallow mfg. and created from a milk by product. I don't know about milk needles for me. I love love love milk. A glass of cold milk with something chocolate is a must. If I am out of milk, I won't even touch chocolate.

I like to have milk with salty pretzels too. I know, weird. My father used to put ice in his milk all the time. I'm a skim milk girl. I must have milk with cookies too. Must have milk with pancakes and bacon. I adore Tres Leches milk cake. I have to have milk with tomato soup too.

How about you? Got milk?

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The very ugly wristwarmers felted

2011-11-12T09:10:00.000-06:00

So here they are. The felted beautifully. You cannot see any of the tension of the week in the stitches at all. However, the holes did felt pretty close to closed......If you could see them in person, you'd see 2 rows of ridges that are very very slightly evident.

I forgot to put something in the lace holes before I washed them. Seriously. It was late and I was so excited to wash them, I just winged it.

So they are quite plain, but fine, I think. Even gift worthy.

This is Zach's beautiful guitar that I dont' know how to play. I thought it would make a nice image.

I have to tell you as I was finishing these wristwarmers I was sitting in my parked car waiting for a friend. I left the heat off and the car off. I was using the needles that are supposed to flex with the warmth of your hands. Guess what? They break when it is cold out! I broke two of the needles in the cold. Dang.
I resorted to using a needle like instrument that you use to push your cuticles back, as a spare. This never would have worked on something that the sins of knitting could not be felted away.

As for shrinking, it didnt really happen. I only washed them twice briefly and it compacted the stitches, but didn't really shrink much.

Ahhhh felting. And by the way, they are incredible warm and dense.

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Just Because it is FUN

2011-11-11T09:11:00.000-06:00

I know I know Halloween is way over. I don't have wristwarmer images for you yet. I promise them later today or tomorrow. The great news is they felted well!!
I have felting luck. I washed them twice in hot water in the front load washing machine with a jean jacket. Now they are drying on the radiators.

This is Al and Pete at their Halloween party this year. I love the image. DO YOU?

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The very ugly wristwarmers

2011-11-09T14:12:00.000-06:00

and a cookie. A great peanut BUtter Chocolate Chunk Cookie. I bought the cookies.
I'm knitting the wristwarmers. Tne only hope for them is the washing machine.....
The yarn is no fun whatsoever to work with. The stitch definition reveals every tense and relaxed moments of the last week. Can you say Uneven???

So the plan is to felt them. I put in two rows of YO K2Tog for good measure. Now, how to felt these without the purposeful holes closing up....
maybe I can thread a shoelace through the holes before I wash it????? Will that work?

You know the best thing about this knit up , is that at the very worst it becomes a catnip toy.......

A LITTLE BIT OF FAIR ISLE

2011-11-08T10:25:00.000-06:00

I abandoned a recent wrist warmer project yesterday. I don't abandon often, but the yarn looks like....well, like it can only redeem itself with felting. It is splitty and uneven and the stitch definition is lousy. I haven't given up on it entirely....

So I switched to the fair isle leg warmers for Al. I'm not really following a pattern, just infusing some fair isle from this chart into them. Fair Isle is a fun challenge for me. Each time I finish a go round and land on the start perfectly, I am a tiny bit thrilled.

The Liberty wool that we picked for the secondary color is darker than the skein projected. I'm getting to the lighter grey portion. I wish the pattern popped a bit more...

Did any of you see the clips of the children whose parents told them they ate all their halloween candy? Sorry, but I thought it was hysterically funny.

Grace is selling some of her stash and it is good looking stuff. I think I just nabbed a skein
Lovin Comfort Knits is her blog. You can also access her site from my comments.

Happy Darker days!

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Pink stripe socks

2011-11-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

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These socks are done done done.

I havent been able to knit in a day and it is making me itchy.....uncomfortable....antsy....

Here is my Dishrag Tag V third place team winner bag! I LOVE IT!

Now even if you dont' love artichokes, you might love this. I did.

So last night we had an artichoke pasta salad and it was so awesome and easy, so here you go:

Artichoke Pasta Salad

1 Jar of Artichoke spread from Trader Joe's

I jar of sundried tomatos in their oil

Feta cheese crumbled

Pasta cooked

Olives of your choice...

Mix it all together and let it sit in the fridge awhile.
If you want to add some grilled shredded chicken that works too.

I Love Lorna's Laces

2011-11-03T17:44:00.000-05:00

I bought some Lorna's Laces at my little yarn crawl with Al last week too. I have never been disappointed with Lorna's Laces sock yarn. Never. I haven't knit anything with this amazing yarn in a few years....so it was time to buy some. I think the company is based in Chicago too. No matter, I"d love it no matter where it was from. The browny, grey blues are the perfect sock color for me for now.

I am a seasonal color knitter. I don't knit with springy colors or summery colors in the winter. Do you? I like to change up my colors with the months. I just finished a pair of socks in pinks and greens and whites and it felt all wrong. I felt like I was knitting with summer flowers in the crisp of fall. Wrong wrong wrong.

It is the season of browns and oranges, flame reds and wet yellows. Today is dark and wet and grey. Days like today, I thought on my way to the shelter this morning, I'd rather it stay dark all day and hide its dreary face. Alaska-like.......I think I'd do fine there!

Happy Birthday Zach-21 and Happy Day of the Dead

2011-11-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

I knitted all the way to Edgewater, Lincoln Park and Pilsen and back to Glenview. (thankfully Fireman was driving) Lunch at El Nuevo Leon......complete with Tres leches cake....

(cue the music : Is the the little boy I carried? Fiddler on the Roof)

I love you Zach!

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Bragging rights

2011-11-01T11:58:00.001-05:00

(Knitty hat pattern: BRAMBLES)

I never bragged about my kids when they were growing up. I detested those that did. I bragged about my dog. Huck. Not that I didnt think my two kids weren't amazing. They were. And yours are too. I just hated the give and take of so many suburban converstaions.....bummping into someone in the grocery store.
"How's Mindy?"
"Oh SHe's on the Varsity Volleyball team, did you see her in V-show? She's applied to Dartmouth and Dennison. How's Allison?""
"She's good" I'd say and smile. ANd walk away. I didnt' want the comparative chatter. I knew she was amazing and miserable during high school. I knew my Zach was an amazing interpreter of the world around in him, on paper. I was in love with my kids, even as teens. Especially as teens.

Well now Im braggin. The girl knits circles around me. Look at her hat, done while really concentrating on something entirely different. And look at her spreading knit love around, teaching others to knit....while during their allotted break time of course.

Sometimes you simply have to BRAG

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Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

Beatles and I wish you happy knitting between the doorbell ringing!

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LIttle Yarn Crawl

2011-10-29T10:12:00.000-05:00

Al took me to her local yarn shop. Wow. Windy Knitty is a great bright wonderfully stocked yarn store. The girls there were very nice. Why does buying new yarn make the whole day good?

I am going to knit Al's leggings in these two different yarns. Fair isle ahead! I'm very excited to get off size 2 needles....

But being the strictly monogamous uptight knitter that I am, I have a toe to finish on my current pair of socks before I can cast on.

What is ahead for you?

A Trick and Some Treats

2011-10-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

The Trick is that the dessert pictured is not a baked potato, It is all ice cream.....
pretty cute I think. It tasted wonderful when I shared a bite with the birthday girlfriend on Tuesday night.

Here are some treats I'd recommend just because I want to say I really appreciate those of you who read this little blog. ( Following Donna B's lead at Quiet LIFE)

*Johnson's baby cream oil. (cocoa and shea butter but not smelly)
Dear nurse/friend/knitter Diane gave me a tube of this amazing wonderful stuff for my hands.
It says non-greasy rich, creamy texture and it lives up to in every way. It is my new go to for the poor hand season that is beginning.....

*Trader Joe's FROZEN steel cut oatmeal. Yup. They've found a way to eliminate the long cooking process that steel cut oats requires. Thanks Al for this healthy yummy tip. I usually refuse to make oatmeal because of the mess....now I can enjoy it with some brown sugar and butter on these chilly mornings.

*Thunder Dog, the book. I finished a book! This is a great account of a 9/11 survivor team of guide dog and person trapped in the World Trade Center Tower.

*My Walgreens is now a full service Post office stop. Is yours? How wonderful is this? I love to shop at Walgreens for some strange reason. Now I can mail yarn from Walgreens too!

*Bamboo plants for the house because you don't need soil. I was gifted my first bamboo plant by a patient's family this summer. It is so lovely and it only needs water....to live. I understand now there is all this bamboo etiquette to be followed . Do you DO bamboo?

*Dunkin Donuts Cinnamon Taffy Apple or something like that donut. Wonderful fake flavor....seriously try one

Any treats you want to share???

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Puss and Boots

2011-10-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hey I'm sharing some good Chicago weather with you today for a change. Aren't the colors amazing in our woods? Hucky loved loved loved this bridge and these trails. Do you think I should teach Beatles to walk on a leash??? He's young enough....Do you know anyone who walks their cat on a leash??

I'm knitting a pair of socks and I'm anxious to be finished. It is the old Second sock syndrome here in the Second City. I'll show them to you soon. I'm going on a tiny yarn crawl with Al tomorrow.

She's all about the dance legging revival, and she's asked me to knit her a pair. She knows her momma is all about rows and rows of stockinette! I may do some real fair isle in the rows and rows. She wants to wear them over her boots.

There you have it; Puss and Boots. I'm all about the title today.

The Sweater Graveyard

2011-10-26T13:22:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the image that is not the graveyard I planned. My coleus is headed to the graveyard soon as the weather is turning rapidly around Chicago. I love coleus; we have a shady front yard and coleus just seem to me to be the workhorse of the annuals.

I sent my first hand knit sweater to the trash/graveyard today. Wow it was hard to throw it out. Trashing something you worked so hard on, years ago is rough for me. Then again, it never hung right on me. I'd never reknit the pattern and the yarn was something I can't believe I ever wanted. Why then was it taking up precious space in my closet?

I think I can hear it screaming from the trash bin outside right now.....

Genetics and Knitting

2011-10-25T11:55:00.000-05:00

Somewhere out there AL has a relative that passed along her knit genes. I won't even begin to take credit for anything other than enthusiasm for the craft. I dont' know how she knits these beauties....

Here is her Falling Leaves scarf. Purl Bee pattern. She's back to knitting! Last night she showed me a hat she is in the process of knitting up. It is all cables and bumps and what not, and it is gorgeous.

As for me, I am knitting up a pair of socks. Plain as can be, be right up my concentration alley. I'm all about the last week of good weather here in Chicago and the Halloween decorations. Our town really seems to go all out. Whole front yards are devoted to grave markers and silliness. This year, I have the quintessential Witch accessory in my own little black beauty of a cat. So bear with me, more Halloween images to come! And let's just see if I can wait until the actual day to have my very favorite bite size bar: a baby ruth!

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For and Against

2011-10-21T17:28:00.000-05:00

I'm for Halloween and against raisin box treats

I'm for taking the coffee before it's done brewing and against styrofoam cups

I'm for sock knitting but against socks on circulars

I'm for Christmas gift knitting but against rushing myself at the years end

I'm for walking in any degrees but I'm against rain

I'm for relatives at the holidays but I'm against politics and religion talks

I'm for wool on my hands and feet, but against wool on my arms and chest

I'm for baby sweaters and hats, but I am against knitted diaper covers

I'm for quality cat food, but against smelly canned food

I'm for Halloween but I'm against blow up lawn decorations

I'm for email but I'm against most FORWARDS

I'm for bamboo plants, but I'm against soil plants

I'm for wooden needles and against aluminum....

what are you for? against???

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Yarn fight

2011-10-20T16:03:00.000-05:00

I don't have any knitting to show you today. (What? was that a collective sigh of relief?)
I have been fighting with my new yarn since I started with it on Tuesday.
This is a long fight if you are me.
This means all I've knit for the past two evenings, has been ripped out.

I'm going to win this fight. Today, new sock yarn, I will cast on again!

In the image is a alapca scarf gifted to me from my friend Jen who brought it to me from:
Peru. The minute I put it on to thank her, all my collective histamines raced into action.
I'm considering allergy shots for wool. .......
My friend Linda is an allergy nurse.....
Say I do get to keep knitting until I'm 83 like my Aunt Elanore.......
Say it takes two years of shots to conquer the wool itch...
I think I could win that fight too!

Is there a fight you are going to win soon???

Inspiring

2011-10-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

Joany's baby sweater inspires me. She is knitting it in Berocco Comfort and I guarantee it won't itch. I want to make one similar to it in pullover fashion. You know, I 'd avoid a button band and a v neck if I make a roll neck raglan.....

Meg's cabled top is Vogue inspired. Meg is a serious clothes knitter and she's darn good.

Carol is making this gorgeous shawl for herself. I am so thrilled it is for her. Her eyes are going to look so beautiful when she drapes this beauty around herself next spring on the beach.
Carol has me wanting to knit one for ME! When I decide to, remind me to use the exact yarn Carol is using, because it is perfect...and oops, I've forgotten the yarn name. It is a funny name...
I'll get back to you!

I've casted on with Major Jennifers stash sale sock yarn. I was going to knit the leg of the sock in a pattern, but I failed miserably while trying to watch TV and follow a simple repeat....so everything I knit during TV time last night....was frogged this morning...

Has a fellow knitter shown you something you are just dying to try to knit up?

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FO

2011-10-18T15:36:00.000-05:00

Hat's done.
Really Soft.
Berroco Comfort.
Rain's coming.
Planted bulbs.
Cut zinnias.
Raked Leaves.
Radio's playing.
Heat's on.
Radiators warm.
Fireplace night.
Casting On.
Life's good.

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It may be in the genes

2011-10-15T11:46:00.000-05:00

Seems I got some answers about my genetics and arthritis yesterday. I swear sometimes when I put the thought out there...answers come.. SPooky eh?

My Aunty El (elanore) called me yesterday. She's 85, lives in Florida and has never called me.
Seems she is great granny to a premie and wanted to tell me all about the NICU in Florida.

I was able to ask her if she was still crocheting. She said she is, just a tiny bit because of her arthritis. She said she made a popcorn stitch baby blanket 2 years ago......so that means she was able to crochet until the age of 83. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. Let's hope I have that gene.
I know I have some genes from that side that I'd rather not carry, but that one I'll take.
This is the same side of the family that claims our great great grandfather died while knitting at the age of 104.

Hmmmm seems I may get through my stash afterall....

(currently knitting Van's Twisted Rib Hat in Berroco Comfort. I am doing a little fair isle above the twisted rib. Can you make out the solid green stitches, every 4th stitch? )

Do you have any relatives who knit till they dropped?

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Give yourself a Hand

2011-10-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

Today's post is all about our hands......

if there is way to keep our hands nimble, I'd like to know. I shudder, literally, when I think about not being able to knit someday.....
oops, there I go again. Catastrophizing....
I'm sure all the Monopoly games I played as a child had an effect on me...
GO TO JAIL, GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT 200.00.
Landing anywhere near that space made me nervous.....everything could change in an instant....

Where was I ? Oh, what if we couldn't knit.
So if there's a way to keep my hands going I want to know.

I read up on hands last night. There are no muscles in your fingers. Lots of tendons, but no muscles. There are 123 ligaments however, in our hands. There are 29 major and minor bones and ...ouch
48 nerves.

By the time we get to the 75 to 79 year old age group, 90% of women will have osteoarthritis.
(this is depressing eh?)

If you want to worry about now and not later, well then 1/3 of all ER injuries involve the upper extremities. AND 2/3 of all accidents to hands occur before retirement....

I suppose we can comfort ourselves with glucosamine and chondroitin tablets and hope for the best. Then again, the cost of those babies is nearly the price of a decent skein of yarn...

I think this is where I am supposed to be living in the moment......

I read we are supposed to release our grip every 15 minutes. I do put my knitting down about every half an hour for ...well a snack of some sort......honestly...

I can say this:

My hands take a beating in the nursing profression and the winters here are enough to make your hands crack and bleed by November.....

I have some Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Body lotion. It goes on a bit watery and has a smell I can put up with but don't relish.

I also have some KISS MY FACE in lavender. It goes on watery too, but leaves you with a very light coating. I love the smell.

I find wearing gloves on the really large side helps me at work too. All that pulling on of tight gloves and pulling off literally hurts my hands.

I also find that good old Vaseline coated on my hands and covered with socks brings much needed relief to cracked skin.

Could you give me a hand? What are your secrets???

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Prayer Shawl from leftovers no less!

2011-10-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

After learning my new friend Regina wanted yarn leftovers for her Prayer Shawl crocheting, I sent her some. In next to no time, she wove the yarns into this warm and lovely prayer shawl. Regina has a knack for color that I lack. I love the shawl and we both know it will wrap around someone's shoulders and make them feel loved. She says she doesn't pray any particular prayer, while she crochets but she does pray for the recipient.

Regina needs some prayers for her someone in her life that is afraid to have a kidney transplant. If you can spare a prayer, would you send one up for Tommy? Thanks.

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The Pattern for the QUICK ACRYLIC TRICK COWL

2011-10-12T09:10:00.002-05:00

The QUICK ACRYLIC TRICK COWL Copyright Kathy Boyer

(note buttons and buttonholes are optional)

One skein Vanna’s Choice 100% Acrylic #4 Medium Weight Yarn
(uses 70grams of the 85 gram skein)
One skein any wool yarn Medium Weight
6 buttons
Size nine 16 inch circular needles

Begin with acrylic yarn.
Cast on 92 stitches.
Join being careful not to twist.
Place marker
Begin 2 by 2 ribbing. (K2P2 around)

Knit in rib for 8 inches
Purl each stitch for 3 rows
Join wool yarn at marker and begin 2 by 2 ribbing in wool

Knit in rib for 6 and a half inches.
Next make the buttonholes by
Knitting 12 in pattern, then cast off 3 stitches, and repeat all the way around

Next row cast on 3 stitches at each previous rows cast on site.
You will make 6 buttonholes
Go back to ribbing pattern on next row.
Knit for 1 ½ inches and bind off.

Sew 6 buttons onto acrylic cowl at the buttonhole mark.

Fold wool cowl down over acrylic ribbing, and button in place

Wear in the WINDIEST cities and be warm.

The Quick Acrylic Trick Cowl

2011-10-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

Ta Da! My very first pattern. Copyright and all that.

THE QUICK ACRYLIC TRICK COWL

It's quick because it thick.
It's trick is that you wear the acrylic side towards your very sensitive skin so you won't itch.
It's luciously thick and double layered to fool that winter wind that's heading this way.

Later today, the actual pattern for you all written up and pretty!

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When Knitted Pigs Fly

2011-10-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

(pictured porky resides at 3 Bags Full in Northbrook, at the cashier's desk)

When knitted pigs fly, that's when you will see a pattern written by me.....
Guess what? I am writing my first pattern......It will be finished so soon.
It will be so easy the flying pig could knit it....

I did get my inspiration from little Alyoops. She is so young and new to knitting
and she is writing her first pattern without any fear at all. Ahhhh youth.
Al wrote a pattern for a baby blanket once and a sock pattern. I think we
are going to start something here......
what? Patterns at Irish eyes?

I'm so energized by this new path for me. I took the quotes from Steve Jobs this week regarding
connections and making things happen, to heart. Stay tuned please.......
and happy workend. I'm back to work tonight

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Indian Summer Knitting

2011-10-07T09:25:00.000-05:00

This is my view from the screened porch this morning. Indian Summer has always enchanted me.
I'm pretty sure it is a mini miracle that I can focus on anything other than that Ash tree's show right now. It is one of those trees that drops its leaves all in one day......
Fireman nearly weeps over it when it happens....he needs to embrace winter.....then again, I am all about not telling others what to embrace these days.....

I'm knitting a cowl in acrylic. Go ahead and say Blech if you want. I'm all about not telling anyone else what to embrace these days.....

It is a cowl that is a real Chicago winter cowl. One that will hug your neck tight when the winds find their skinny fingers and try to seep in around you. The yarn is from a buy a year ago that in my vivid imagination was going to become a sweater. Wow, you are thinking, that's going to be a huge cowl. .....
not really. The yarn is kind of not too pretty after all when it gets on a needles and gets pushed around. It is much prettier in the skein and in the online image....

I'll bet that enticed you to come back and see it when it is, very shortly, an FO.

Happy Indian Summer.......

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Pet Portraits

2011-10-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

Every morning Huck would stand in the kitchen. Rozzy would get up and touch Huck's nose and then serpentine around his legs; telling everyone Huck belonged to her. I loved this ritual. When Kate G at my vet's office, painted some incredible animals for the office, I asked her to paint my Huck and my Rozzy. I found a picture I had taken of the ritual. Here's the amazing and touching result. I just got it today. Kate captured their tenderness with one another perfectly.

I so admire those who can paint. I love when the painting exceeds your expectations. This one does.

Now along with Huck's ashes and ribbons and paw print, I have this amazing painting to hang in my home. It does them both justice.

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Nuttin' but knittin'

2011-10-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

*First up: THANKS. Thanks to anyone who told me the new blogger format wasn't working for them. I cannot get by without your comments, I crave your comments. Telling me you couldn't post a comment went right through my knitblog heart....I think I had an arrhythmia over it actually....

*Second up: THANKS. Thanks to those of you who said you couldn't see the images I post on the new format. This must mean the images are getting better since Franklin's class last spring. I do try so hard with images.....Back to the old blog format! I'm a picture snob, I admit it. I don't read many bloggers who don't include pictures....

*Next on the agenda: I just got home from knitting at the bar with Karen and Meg and Joany B. I wish this bar made Mai Tai's. The are a BEER and wine bar. Oh and they do Bloody Mary's which everyone who knits with me likes.....Bloody's are just too healthy for me. Oh they can make rum and coke there....see? This is why fountain coke thrills me so. Sugar high....bubble high....
Coke right from the tap......
and Let's face it I can't hold my liquor well and since we start at 11:30, I really would be in the laz-y-boy the rest of the day if I drank when we meet at the bar.

*Here are the Regia socks I just now finished for Fireman. Regia Farbe 5376 if you must know.
This is the fastest pair of socks I've ever knitted. WHy? Well, I think it is because, and I did the math, it is about 2 thousand stitches less than a normal pair for me. I almost always start with 64 stitches. This time, because Fireman has tiny little ankles, not Hungarian at all, I decided to make them fit him. (not me) SO I cast on 48 stitches. I knitted NOTHING but these socks and yes I am crazy monogamous knitter.

*Funny thing is when I brought them to the bar, and before anyone started on Bloody Mary's, the group was enamored with the colorway. Then I told them it was the Regia they had on clearance at the store they used to work for....and showed them the hank. Gasps all around! Sometimes the hank just doesn't do the work up any justice! It really was underrated before it got knitted up.

*Good thing the women I knit with at the bar, who drink Bloody's are smart too. They were not at all excited when I showed them more potential next knit. I brought some Mohair......I was going to just knit it up in garter into a scarf as I saw someone else do recently. I should take it as a hint when no one comments...AT ALL... on my idea. So I pushed Karen into giving me a cast on number and knit until the little mohair fibers had sufficiently and sneakily entered my airway and I began to feel the fibers in my lungs. This didn't take long mind you. Maybe a inch or so of knitting. Then I declared it probably wasn't going to be my next knit afterall.

*SO, there you have it. Socks done. What next??? I don't know. But YOU KNOW I"LL tell you soon
I'm off to walk with Al and we will decide on my next project.....it is glorious out.
oh and I forgot to tell you..
all the while at the bar and during this post, and I have NEVER experienced this before.....
my oven has been cleaning ...itself.....

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Knot likely to Spin soon

2011-10-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

No knitting to show today. Just my little October girl who adorns the back porch entry each year.
And yes that is Rosalyn's backside apparently wanted to be photographed. As many of you know, I am constantly directing anyone with a camera, not to "get my butt in that picture." Rosalyn knows the eternal cat trick of making herself look beautiful know matter the angle....

I am coming to the conclusion that I need to find a spinner. Someone gave me roving that is amazingly beautiful. It has been coaxing me from the basket it waits in. Now I am about as likely to start spinning as I am to run the Chicago Marathon Sunday. It ain't gonna happen.

Someday I will have a pretty spindle and learn to spin. I don't see me with a wheel...ever....
can't say why. Just don't see it. Do you spin? Do you have a spindle? A wheel? I think wheels are,
forgive me,
ugly.
Spindles are , to the contrary, cool. Did I just blow my chance to have someone spin my roving on a wheel?

Anyone know a spinner who will spin my roving? Do you spin? Do you want to spin? However will I get any knitting done if I start spinning? Oh yeah, someday I'll retire! Or win the lottery.

Did I tell you that our weekend work New Years Resolution was to play the Megagame each week?
I think I've mentioned it. Well, here it is October and we are still playing. I must say only a few people are in every single week. THey are the ones who most believe we will stand before the local media with our check, scrubs on and waving GOODBYE to a tough but rewarding job.
Our rule is that if you are in that week you are in . If you are out you are out. Did I also say I hate when people give me those coins for dollars? Where do people get those things?
Anhyhow, Maybe I'll spin sooner than I imagine....afterall the Megagame is tomorrow...again

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Best Knitted Shawls

2011-10-01T14:43:00.001-05:00

Who would have thought the best knitted shawls I saw today at 3 Bag FUll were not lace based.
The Stephen West shawl is lots of "wraps and turns" I was told. I can wrap and turn.

The Peddler's Shawl is just so simple it is amazing. I love the brown border on beige. Who would have thought I'd love brown on BEIGE?

Then again, who would have thought

*I'd still be walking as my workout 20 years after I got on my first treadmill?
I prefer to walk outside when the Chicago weather allows. This means I walk April to November outside.....

*I'd prefer cats to dogs at this time in my life. I adore dogs, do not gasp. It is just that I find cats/kittens so much easier to live with right now. I get a lot back from the pride in this house. They have personalities plus. This is another post entirely though....

*I'd be overjoyed with how beautifully the white marigolds I planted as an afterthought, would thrive. They will be a definite on my flowerbed list next year.

*I'd come to a point in my diet where I prefer low fat chicken/turkey sausage to the REAL pork thing. Prefer, is the operative word here, I now prefer them.

*well, you would have thought, but I woudln't have thought that the i pod Santa brought me would bring me so much joy. I love walking and working out to the music I choose.

*finally, who really would have thought that Fireman would INVITE Beatles to sleep with us? Fireman who guards his sleep like no one I know..... yup who would have thought?

(Have you surprised yourself lately?)

Link Love

2011-09-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

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*Plain sock structure. Link to Regia.com for the yarn.
It turned out the knit gods knew I needed to turn a heel yesterday. Sometimes when I am confronted with my own in adequacies, I feel so much better when I turn a heel.

*Do you love onion rings? JoytheBaker.com shows us how to make fried or baked rings that
will be delish!

*On the cat theme going on here...Check out the Temple Cats hat by Suzanne Frary on
knitpicks.com website. Beautiful fair isle going on there....

*My feline friends are crazy for these treats: purebites.com. Purebits freeze dried chicken makes them come running. Better yet, there is no vomiting of these treats later....

*Lastly, the linkless thought. Since the price of coffee has soared and I didn't stock up,
I must go stock up on peanut butter. Word is, that price is going to soar next. Fireman and Al love peanut butter.

Any links you want to share? Happy Friday!!!! Happy Birthday Grace.

My How Showers Have Changed......

2011-09-28T17:20:00.001-05:00

I have to admit it has been awhile since I've been to a baby shower. Given my work schedule, for the past oh, 28 years, weekends are pretty much out for parties/showers/graduations/etc. So when a baby shower is held on NOON on a wednesday I'm there.

Today's shower was for a fellow nurse, given by a fellow nurse and attended by nurses.
(hence the midweek, midday well attended shower) The guest mom of honor is exactly 32 2/7 th weeks for those of us who count. And we intensive care baby nurses count....oh do we count.

The blurry image of Patty, who would be mortified to be on the blog with her nose in a Pamper, is the best I could snatch without her knowing. Apparently I have been out of the baby shower loop for so long that I was the only one who was new to the GAME.

A piece of chocolate candy is smashed in each of several Pampers. The shower attendees, sniff the diaper and write their candy guess on a heavily guarded piece of paper...
Yes we sniff diapers at showers. I have to say that, although new to the game, my partner Jolanta and I were darn accurate. We got 7 out of 8 candies correct.

We did dare say that we could probably identify FANNIE MAY candies smashed into a diaper.
We are after all , nurses. People still give nurses chocolates as a thanks. And, We accept said chocolates wholeheartedly.

So when we weren't sniffing Pampers we were in awe of the baby gifts. Lots of yellows and greens for the Millenium baby whose ultrasound results were not shared among the guests. We may know the L:S ratio but not the gender. We had our guesses of course. Was it a Mickey or a Minnie? (the shower theme was Disneyed_)

The cabled baby bibs I found on Ravelry yesterday and I LOVED them. I am going to have to make them. Except they have a button closure and well, you know safety and all. The safety of this baby is not to be worried about. The mother of the baby even got a baby bath thermometer in the shape of an octopus. Really? A baby bath thermometer? I think the old finger test is still pretty safe and accurate.

Then again, you don't know where that finger's been.....it may have been holding a chocolate filled Pamper.............

................

Zach's Hat and a post full of ghosts (and Happy Dishrag Tag Days)

2011-09-27T12:34:00.001-05:00

Zach's hat is in the mail to him. He prefers the snowboarder style, whereby the hat slouches a bit in the back. I give the Knitpicks yarn an A plus. It was so soft and refused to split.
Fireman even said he wants one......we'll see...... if he's lucky...maybe....

The ghosts are on the posts and we are readying for October fun all month long. Now that I have a black cat, I feel even more ready to celebrate!! Do you know that shelters are full of black cats and people do awful things to black cats? My shelter gives out a list of 10 reasons to adopt a black cat....I'll add one:
Because my little black cat is the funniest thing that's been in this house in a long while....

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You must watch this

2011-09-26T13:56:00.002-05:00

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just click on it

LIve from Chicago, its Saturday Niiiiiiiiiight!

2011-09-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

I finished the dishrag. I'm not about to make another anytime soon.. I Love the result. But, oh all those knit 2 togethers made my wrists absolutely stiff. Cotton and I don't get along on the needles. Next to my skin, cotton and I are great together. On the needles, I do remember now, cotton and I don't mix. Also this involved a ton of counting....
rag rag rag
yes dishrag..

THe yarn is Lily's Sugar and Creme. THe pattern is Doily Style Dishcloth designer unknown.
Rating Medium. That's their rating. I rate it difficult for the above tension reasons....

I think I need to find a crochet pattern for a dishcloth and fall in love with it. Any ideas my fellow crocheters???

I am off to work now. I got the first 4 hours of my shift off tonight. Yippee only 8 hours in the night. Is it morning yet?

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Happy Autumn, Happy Space Debris

2011-09-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

\\

Well I don't know about you, but if I'm going out by space debris, I'm going out knitting....
Looks like it will either be dishrag knitting or finishing Zach's hat. The Mother in me feels he ought to have the new hat in the event that the space debris does me in....so I should be finishing that tonight. Yet I feel the strange pull of the dishrag knit bug again.....darn that Dishrag Tag anyhow. Hat. Dishrag. Hat. Dishrag. Mother guilt......space debris.....space debris....lottery odds.......
uh oh. What if I won the lottery only to have space debris take me out???

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Maybe Next Year ....Again....

2011-09-22T09:49:00.002-05:00

I'm as guilty as they come. I think the Cubs were horrible this year. Disappointing nearly
every darn game,

bunch of bums,

with the exception of a very few,

looked like Little Leaguers most times

with the excuses abounding for 5 months...
and yet......

when friends offered to take us to the last game at Wrigley I went.
Guilty as charged.
I rooted for the Brewers to the shock of the folks who took us to the game.
They aren't really baseball people....
They are guilty too.
Just wanted an afternoon at Wrigley Field on a spectacular fall day.
I will say the Ivy looked thick and lush. It literally waved in the breezes.

I went with the knit goal of working on Zach's hat. I knitted until the 7th inning.
Then a Mai Tai was in order.....

The handsome dude in the winter Cubbie hat was just one of a sea of many hardened fans.

I think Neal Diamond was at the game....doesnt it look like him in the last frame???
Sporting a little stache?

Let's all sing it now: Money talks
but it don't sing and dance
and it don't walk.

....and it don't buy a World Series in Chicago either......

(Donna Booshay, I missed you and thought of you at the game yesterday!)

Today's Guest Blogger is Reggie!

2011-09-21T10:01:00.000-05:00

I don't know if there has ever been such a beloved stuffed fox.
My father shot this gorgeous animal years and years ago......
MY dad is an avid outdoorsman. He hunts, fishes, shoots at skeets......
I Love the outdoors because of him. He took us camping and I saw him clean
many a pheasant in the garage on Sundays after he came home from hunting....

BUT,
we started calling this fox Reginald or Reggie and he is now
a long loved strange and only my family would understand kind of guy.

My father turned 80 yesterday . My dad leaves the grease board up every day
to help my mom keep track of the date. I always draw on the board when I am
over. I leave my own tidbits for the day, "It is Elvis' birthday" Or some such nonsense.

So it seemed fitting that I find Reggie in my dad's office and bring him to
the party last night. He is such a routine thing around our house, I don't think
anyone even noticed Reggie in the kitchen.

Well, Perhaps Peter did. AL's Peter is new to our strange family quirks.
Peter has a great sense of humor. This sort of family behavior might frighten
the calmest of significant others....but not Pete!

My parents are always telling us to tell them what we want when they pass away.
I have only asked for one thing....
Reggie.

Happy Birthday DAD, even though you dont read the blog!

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Having some issues

2011-09-20T13:02:00.003-05:00

(Al's lace scarf for Ireland...I wish I could knit like her)

I'm trying to post with images and have been struggling today

When I can't post two things happen

1....I become obsessed with posting
2......I become obsessed with posting

I was planning to tell you all how calm I
Was for dishrag tag this year. how I knitted the dishrag and tagged
The next team member in under 24 hours on less than 5 hours sleep.
how the finished dishrag actually looked circular
How fun It is to be part of the larger knit world with tags and swaps
How I am all about dishrag knitting again

Instead I have to take a nap now...
Being unable to post all morning has worn me out.....
But it is all good
I knit to relax you know.....

Saturday fun

2011-09-17T09:33:00.000-05:00

Anything good in this book? We used to have a Borders Bookstore very nearby. I used to go and pa rouse the Knit books and Knit magazines. That store closed. Like many. So I havent' found another nearby bookstore to pa rouse. If I could pa rouse I'd look in this new knit book. Have you pa roused it???? I love the title.

Now, for something completely different. This worksheet is making the knitblog rounds. Here goes:

A: Age 51
B. Bedsize: Queen. Big enough for 3.......for now. Beatles naps with us.
C: chore that you hate: Grocery shopping. I hate the sad music or muuzack they play.
Why are they always playing Rainy Days and Mondays while I shop???? I run from that song.
D: Dogs: Huck is still with us.........we talk about him all the time.
E: Essential to start your day: coffee WITH creamer and email checks
F: Favorite color: blues baby all blues
G:Gold or Silver. Silver all the way
H: height: 5 foot 2, eyes of blue
I: instruments you play: None Nadda
J: Job title : Bedside Nurse.
K: Kids: the best . Al and Zach
L: Live: One day at a time
M: Mom's Name: Noreen
N: nicknames: kathy Boyeah, KB
O: Overnight hospital stays: 3 too many
P: Pet Peeves: Negative talkers
Q: Quote from a Movie: "Marriage is what brings us together today"
R: Right or left handed: right. But I feed babies with my left.....very unusual
S: Siblings: 5
T: Take-Out food: Chicago pizza
U: Underwear: comfort rules
V: Veggies you hate: Beets
W: What makes you run late: it would have to be a catastophe, I am on TIME
x: Xrays: all the time at work with a shield on, holding infants
Y: Yummy food: homemade cookies
Z: Zoo Animals: LIONS

The passenger predicament

2011-09-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Lots of car rides in the last week, means lots of car knitting! It also means Fireman doesn't stop for cute or interesting camera shots. I have to use my camera on the fly. The little white house was taken at a complete stop. The blur of green was taken going about 50 mph on a country road.....

What is your best shot taken from a moving vehicle???? I'm not complaining, I prefer he drive.
But there are times, I think, oh what a cute picture that would make for the blog! and...then
we whiz right by it...

We have been to Chicago Lincoln Park and back, Milwaukee and back, Lake Delevan Wi, and back, and last night Crystal Lake and back all in about a week. That's more than we usually drive in a month. We are very spoiled.

I work 7 miles from home. Fireman works in the town we live in. We do not spend near the amount of time in the car that others have to.

Fireman will ALWAYS stop for a coke for me, though. I think I"ll keep him.
Happy Friday

Somethings are Perfect Just as They Are

2011-09-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

This M & M vending machine was a beacon in the night on Monday. It was lit up next to the dock.
There are some things you just can't improve upon nor should you try.
Peanut m&m's are perfect as is.
So are Ann Norling's Patterns. I'm knitting another hat for Zach. He literally wears his hats out. Ann Norling's patterns are straight forward and have mulitple size and yarn options to follow. Perfect as is.

What is perfect as is for you?

'nothing but knittin'

2011-09-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

This ought to be a challenge.....

Nothing but knitting.. Okay here goes....

I had to buy some more square Kollage needles. I just am not an addi turbo fan.
Call me square. For you youngins, we used to say someone was square when they were
weird. I love these needles and they pick up stitches without being too slick.

The yarn was purchased with Donna B from Quiet Life in Verona, Wi. I love this yarn. It feels so soft and the colors seem regal to me. It is an easy knit. The Reclamation Shawl pattern, free on Ravelry. I have adjusted the pattern a bit. I only increase on the odd rows, because
I like a softer V in my shawls. Hope this works, I am freelancing here.....Someone let me know soon if I am headed for trouble here....

Beatles likes to chew on my yarn as I Knit at night. He has the feline yarn gene. I had to give him an old ball of leftover yarn to distract him from my work. It works about half the time. He's lucky he's so beloved

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Carole's Ten on Tuesday: What do you buy every week???

2011-09-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

I had to double post today due to Carole's question...
so here goes. What do you buy every week? I dont know if I have Ten answers though:

*Lottery tickets for our work group.
If we ever win, I mean WHEN we win, we are all going to hold the big check together in our scrubs. Then I'm outta there...pronto. This is a big and important job. People are very cute and yet serious when they hand me their playing dollar. More on this another post...

*Kitty litter....my lions and I Love a clean box

*Beer....and I don't even drink it. Fireman is a sucker for Sam Adams Octoberfest,
Chamay, his all time favorite,
and Domain DuPage locally brewed by Two Brothers brewery.
I could do another post on his favorite beers...hmmmmmmm

*Coffee. We drink it up and need a new bag each week. We jump around
alot (hee hee NO NOT really after coffee) but we like
Caribou Coffees
Some Starbucks
Casteel Coffees, (local roaster)

*Dessert of some kind. Cookies, a cake, a pie, ice cream.....I think there is another
post here....

*Creamer. Follow up to the coffee

*medication. I swear my scripts run out in rotation weekly. I am forever
at Walgreens

*I'm very happy to say I no longer need feminine pads. Does this count?
I spent a fortune on the damn things...ANother post sometime..NAh...nuff said.

*Floss. Hence the gum graft. My mad flossing routines gotta change....ahhh
another area for growth....yippee...

*Soap of some kind. We are always running out of one kind or another
dish soap
machine dish soap
Laundry soap
laundery softener
hand bar soap
Liquid shower gel
shampoo
I dont buy them all weekly, mind you. But one of them is always due on the list.

THere.....what do you buy weekly?

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Karen's Trellis Cable Scarf by Maggi knits

2011-09-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

I miss seeing Karen. It is all my fault, I've been busy busy busy. Whenever I see Karen and her knitting I am inspired. We live within a mile of one another. We always laugh when we are together. I love to see what she is creating with her talented brain and hands. Patterns
don't throw her. Knitting messes that we toss at her near tears, don't throw her. Life doesn't throw her....and trust me It's tried to.

Here is Karen's Gorgeous capelet/scarf modeled by sweet Carol. Applause? APPLAUSE!!!!

9-11

2011-09-10T12:15:00.000-05:00

I came back to knitting after 9-11 to settle down. Every cloud has a silver lining

Happy workend

Tomato heaven

2011-09-09T13:27:00.000-05:00

Oh we're in it here in Chicago. Our tomato plants loved the heat and the rain. We have an abundant crop of plums and black cherry tomatoes. We've made salsa and we've baked tomatoes slowly in olive oil and parmesan. These baked tomatoes are soooo good on a piece of toast.....or a bagel.
Not that I can chew those things now, but before the gum graft I enjoyed them.

There is just nothing that takes the place of a tomato from your own garden or a friend's. We know the store bought pale in comparison. Almost to the point of being a different food.

What is your favorite recipe with homegrown tomatoes? Just the title is fine, we'll go after you if it sounds interesting and we cant come close on google searches...

Today involves a brief car trip to visit friends, and kitten free knitting. Little beloved Beatles loves to chew on my yarn as I am knitting with it... it is a good thing he's is such a beloved Beatle...

Lion link

2011-09-08T20:15:00.000-05:00

The

I am so happy to have the macbook back and running. I was edgycrabbyunsure whyfor the last few days....I gave it considerable thought, even got on the bike to workout...Started reading Martha's Beck's Joy Diet Book, took a long nap but to no availand then POOF, as soon as we had the macbook running again and I could Post, I felt this ....relief... this connection to you guys. To your posts and mine. All is right with my world. The image.....well The Lion was magnificent at Lincoln Park Zoo on Tuesday. Why it took us over 2 years to get to the zoo which isa mile from Zach's University...I"ll never know. As cat crazy as I am and will admit unabashadly, I love the BIG CATSat the zoo. They are so much like our housecats to me. On that note, Lionbrand has a winner of a pattern that I am going to try. The Tweed Stripes Marble Cowl. It is a winner because someone finally designed a cowl that hugs your neck. Most cowls are lovely, but leave mecold....Seems it is only a matter of working some ribbing for 1 1/2 inches and then changing to st st for 11 inches. It sounds easy too,and I'm all about easy successful knits. I am knitter hear me ROAR(I have not mastered the punctuation and paragraphs in the new BLOGGER format. Very sorry If this all comes out as oneparagraph....anyone else having this issue?)