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Showing posts from September, 2011

Link Love

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I WOULD LOVE YOU TO LEAVE A COMMENT *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......

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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

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

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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.... I WOULD LOVE YOU TO LEAVE A COMMENT>

You must watch this

I WOULD LOVE YOU TO LEAVE A COMMENT> just click on it

LIve from Chicago, its Saturday Niiiiiiiiiight!

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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? I WOULD LOVE YOU TO LEAVE A COMMENT>

Happy Autumn, Happy Space Debris

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\\ 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??? I WOULD LOVE YOU TO LEAVE A COMMENT>

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

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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

Today's Guest Blogger is Reggie!

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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

Having some issues

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(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

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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

The passenger predicament

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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

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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'

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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 I WOULD LOVE YOU

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

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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

Karen's Trellis Cable Scarf by Maggi knits

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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

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

Tomato heaven

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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

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The I am so happy to have the macbook back and running. I was edgy crabby unsure why for 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 avail and 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 is a mile from Zach's University...I"ll never know. As cat crazy as I am and will admit unabashadly, I love the BIG CATS at 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 leav

No pictures

The MacBook Charger is fried. Again. While we wait for another you are imageless....so sorry. My blog post idea for today will have to wait. I had revelation the other day.....a knitting revelation. those pretty blonde Needles of yesterday's post are the exact same size as my dark lovely wooden straights. I was a bit upset with myself for ordering the same size needles.I have some semblance of order to my needles, but nothing like some of you. I need an inventory Day. Sw Well I was delighted with myself when I realized the light needles are really great with dark yarn,and the dark needles are great for light yarns. All is right again with my knitting universe.....phew

New s

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New Season New Knitting Project New Lantern Moon Box New School Year New kitten New Gum line New Gnus at the Zoo What's new with you?

AL'S Berroco Vintage Oat Couture Heirloom Baby Blanket

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One lucky baby is going to get this soft and lovely blanket. Al brought it over so I could photograph it for the blog. Mouth getting less swollen, but talking for any length of time brings on discomfort. Liquids are starting to alternately get old, and taste fantastic. Yesterday's tomato soup by Campbell's tasted downright gourmet. What can I have for Labor Day BBQ? I see a spoonful of Sweet Baby Ray's in my liquids future. Any ideas for me?

Hissy fits

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I finished the Ella Rae yarn beret and scarf today. I can't decide who will get the set, but I do know I'll be very proud to give them to a friend. The Ella Rae yarn has reminded me of the colors that water can be in the summertime, whether pool water or nature's water. I cannot say enough about the yarn itself. I bought it at the beginning of summer at 3 Bags Full in Northbrook. This yarn doesn't know how to pitch a fit. It just un knots itself if a tangle comes about. It has a bit of spring in its step and is so so soft. (The Beret is yet another from NOT JUST more SOCKS book by Sandi Rosner. The lace scarf is the simplest bundle of 6 rows garter and 9 rows yo, K2 tog.) My mouth is sore today. Tried an omelette this morning. If you know my eating habits you know I do not like eggs. But when they are outnumbered by cheese in omelet form I do love them. I have been having a malt a day. Cottage cheese. Tonight's dinner is cream of wheat....oh an