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Okay, here are the other images from Civil War Days. Ladies ran the "bath" houses as they say. This poor soldier was freezing in the tub as he reinacted. The ladies were a riot. They justified their professions as part of the War effort. Ironing and washing soldiers clothes was an additional fee..... And to attempt! to make this a knitting post, I give you the ladies preparing for the Ball. Details sure make the blue dress lovely eh? I need to work on details with my own knits. The log cabin blanket is finished. It blocked well. Now I have to find a baby to enjoy it.... Maybe I'll save it ............When I have a baby to model it, I'll show the finished blankie to you.

Karen, http://www.k-knit.blogspot.com/ nominated me for a Rockin Girl Knitter. Her description of me is so accurate. The only reason I rock, I believe, is in the verb tense. I have rocked many a babe in my profession. Now I get to nominate other bloggers. I hope you'll check out their blogs, each is unique and a favorite of mine. Bianca of Lansingland.blogspot.com is a wonderful knitter. Don't be frightened by the bi-lingual posts. Read on English speaking friends.....She is also good about leaving comments. Pat K. Pumpkin Knitter, has wonderful knit/trip postings. She and I have corresponded from the get to. Pumpkinknitter.blogspot.com Then there's Bev. I just love her blog. She is always having some cutie pie relative over that steals your heart away on her posts. She is an accomplished knitter, and also a great one for leaving comments on Irisheyes. Bev is found at Fiberitis.blogspot.com. My other two nominees will be forthcoming. So, the images today ar...

The Postcard contest is making getting the mail fun for me these days! I love everyone of them. If you look closely you will see parts of the Koigu prize yarn in the collage...... Can I just tell you it takes me forevermore to pick Koigu. There is too much to choose from. There are two skeins, not of the same color. They should scream fall, October, fun to you. Now I've amended to contest to include some other prizes. See Homer Simpson? He sits on your dashboard and gets angry at the drivers around you, so you don't have to! The 1967 MGM Gone With the Wind mug featuring the brat herself is also a prize. So there is a movie theme for those who don't take first prize with the Koigu. So, send me your email that I will not share with anyone, and I will email back to you my snail mail addy. Contest ends Labor Day. More than one postcard accepted. Anykind of postcard counts. I'm hunting for some more movie prizes. .........

My log cabin logs are warping......But I love it anyway. I now know that if you don't pick up enough stitches on the last log, the result is wavy. My friend Joan says I can pull stitches here and there and make it all wavy. My other friend Joan says I should make it a diaper bag and it will be a clever mistake. Al thinks the Fixation was not a good choice as it has some elasticity in the cotton. I still love it. Maybe I'll find a wavy baby to give it to. Maybe blocking it will help. I haven't finished it. I have more fixation left and it could be bigger. Any suggestions? I still love it.

Zach is looking at my Bees Knees Lorna's laces sock knitting. He can knit a scarf and nearly knit a hat once. It has been awhile however. So, when he is away from his everyday summer life, he will even comply for the blog. Other things about vacation: Just because you read the Book about How to Catch largemouth Bass, doesn't mean the fish read it that day. Or maybe they did! I missed reading YOUR blogs. I am as much about posting and commenting I guess. We are spoiled with the great selection of Yarn Studios and Shops in our area. Does any magazine list best places to live for knitters? When you knit around the campfire, women are amazed. Men are baffled by why you brought your knitting along....(to all the male knitters out there, I don't mean you) It helps one's knitting to have someone make you breakfast and dinner everyday. I love the American Plan. Allows for increased needle time! If you take a nap you sometimes miss seeing a waterspout on Little Kitten ...

If anyone at all has been wondering how my sister's vest is coming along....well, it isn't. I have the concept part of knitting both fronts at once, but the reality just isn't happening.... So am I going to conquer it and feel that great accomplished freedom. Nah. I knit for pleasure not challenge. I'll start the top down raglan she also wanted me to knit for her. Knitting Pure and Simple pattern. Absolutely achievable. I just need to order some Bryson bryflex needles and then I can start. Sharon has a website, http://www.she-knits.com/ with some unique purse patterns. More are coming. She is a local designer. If you are thinking of a fall or winter purse, hers are beautiful. The cloud over Wildcat lake is for your viewing pleasure.

Our Guest blogger from the Northwoods, is Smokey the Bear. (of course) Did you know Smokey began campaigning in 1944 and is the oldest National campaign in the U.S.? He was also a real little bear who was burned in a forest fire in New mexico. His mom died in the fire. (you thought Bambi was sad....) Rangers found him in a tree with badly burned paws. He needed veterinary attention and lived out his life at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Smokey is a busy bear these days. Not too busy to be a guest blogger however. If you look closely you'll see my sock knitting in his paw. Speaking of sock knitting, check out Karen from Conn sock drawer/basket. Karen is a great blogger. She helped me numerous times with irisheyes and created my blood donor button. http://www.mostlyselftaughtknitter.com/

We are back from a week in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Al is watching her dad rock a walleye back to life in the water after a nightcatch. Huck loves when a fish is caught and wriggles all over the place. Al is knitting a baby gift sweater in its early stages. The vacation knitting included: Socks that you'll see this week. Lorna's Laces Bees. More of the log cabin, which you'll see this week..... A new sweater Al has begun for herself. There were chart issues in the beginning, but she conquered them. Al's Koigu Shawl which you will see too.... The knitshops available Up North were a bummer this year. One was small and pricey. One had a very cheery group lesson going on, but no yarns we needed. I did get a pattern that is so easy it thrills me to think of knitting it! Some postcards are arriving for the contest. I must select the Koigu and tempt more of you into sending cards. I hope to highlight some other little knitting blogs. We don't get much play ...

Lynnette at 3 Bags Full, asked Al if she could display her shawl in the Studio for awhile. There is no hurry to give it to her cousin, so off it goes. I needed a model, so the boy in the park statue had to do. Al warns the border wasn't terribly fun. She had to pick up 400 stitches (or was it 200?) for the trim on size 2's. It has been fun to watch her knit this cape/poncho and see it come together. I'm chugging along on the vest fronts. I had to call Joan for some help this morning. "It is a glitch," she told me. The problem... I'm getting all turned around with directions on the circulars. She had the fix: go to straights. She says it will be crystal clear. Postcard contest goes until Labor Day remember. Monica asked if you can enter more than one postcard..... SURE, you can.

I had my private lesson with Joan at 3 Bags Full Today. She's a smart knitter, and as I had hoped, she knew how to teach me. We were able to have our lesson outside the store on the new patio furniture. Ahhhhh summer in Chicagoland. Joan has me on this Train of thought. I'm learning to knit the front and back of a vest at the same time on one circular needle. I have to know which end is the engine and which end is the caboose. This is key to thinking and succeeding. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. I've renewed interest now in finishing the vest for my sister. More on this later. Don't expect to see me tied to the tracks anytime soon. She gave me her home number......just in case. Do you knit sleeves at the same time, fronts at the same time? Am I late to this party? I looked at the new Koigu colors at the Studio after my lesson. I'm still making the selection for the POSTCARD CONTEST winner. C'mon join us. Just be sure to send me y...

Kathy B. loves to get a postcard. Leave a comment with me, and I'll send you my address. Alyssa, sweet Alyssa, had me change this post and delete my snail mail. Probably smart. So, the one step process has become two. Once I know your a sweet knitter, I'll send you my address. Then you have to send me a postcard by Labor Day to be entered to win some fall Koigu ........... If I post with your postcard I'll be certain not to show your address. In fact, you don't even have to tell me your address unless you are my lucky winner. So, let's have a contest. Power to the snail mail...................

How about that snazzy knit -right- in -the -pocket kerchief vest? C'mon, if anyone out there in blog land actually knitted this back then or knows someone who did.....fess up! There's a prize in it for you. I came across the Magazine in our library freebie bin. It was 25 cents then. The lead: 20 super fasions to knit, crochet, sew-PLUS handy Knitting Guage. (the handy gauge was no longer in the freebie .) If anyone wants to see more, let me know. This is a fun trek back in time. Oh, and the font back then was miniscule. There are more cigarette ads in this magazine than anything else. Ling-Ling the first panda gift from China to US was 21 months old. The Bundt Cake with a tunnel of filling was announced. There are a few douche and feminine spray ads......both of which are not suggested for use anymore. Oh, and the feature: Julie Nixon Eisenhower;s White House herlooms you can stitch. The Money-Saving Main Dish of the month: Hot Dog Reuben Sandwiches. Sauerkraut, swiss, may, fa...

What I did on my summer vacation: Day one: Finally had a saturday morning free to go to the Farmers' Market Cheese table. We Illinois suburbans stand in long lines for this Cheese table. First item: cheese curds......fresh, squeaky cheese curds.... Next: Went to LYS. Felt instantly better about my log cabin knit. I'm not calling it a blanket anymore....... Joan from NY has such a great idea for my blunder......I'm going to name it aftah huh. I can listen to this woman talk all day. My ears love what it hears as an accent. I do think I was a mynah bird or parrot once... I signed up for a lesson with Joan next week. I am very careful about signing up for lessons. I can tell that I can think like this lady. I can tell that I will enjoy the lesson, and probably laugh while learning. She is going to teach me how to knit the left front and right front of my sister's vest at the same time. Al says I can think Joan's way and it will be a good fit. (Not just b/c Al won't...

Al's little toddler capelet is her WIP right now. Don't worry, it is washable wool of course, so had it been naughty and dove into the pool, all would still be fine. Thanks neighbor Mary for letting us use the pool for a blog shot. Regular readers will recall neighbor Mary's previous help with modeling the crocheted claudia's handpaint shawl. She's a sport. Our 4th was probably a lot like yours?.... I knit at the parade and at the fireworks. Same old, same old: log cabin baby blanket. My father tried a new hamburger twist this Fourth. He was told that if you take a brisket and double grind it, you will have the tastiest hamburger ever. It was all true. Such flavor. (Hungarian's have meat grinders in their homes....I hope he wills his to me.)

Irisheyes Katie, (Lynn's youngest), Al and Lynn begged me to take their picture for the blog on a recent knittogether. They will deny it, but they really wanted to make the blog.... I am having some technical difficulties with leaving comments on other's blogs. Because of this, I realize how much I love to leave comments on my regular reads. I read mostly little blogs. I have a little blog, so I'd like to support others. There are so many great knitters and writers out here. So, if it seems I'm speechless lately, I am really just unable to leave you a comment. I'm sorry. Know that I am reading you and feel like someone has bound and gagged me and I'm making the chair jump trying to respond. Who will come to my rescue????