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  Good Saturday morning.  Neighbor flowers.  Purdy. Everywhere I look is purdy.    Current Christmas Sock Pre Felt.  I know it is a cruddy photo, but that's what you get from me today.  No staging, no nothing.  In the moving mode, gotta forgive me.    Al loved a yarn shop on her way home from Tulsa. It gave her that yarn delirium.  It is called Sealed with a Kiss.  Or SWAK.  She came home with yarn from the Festival and plans to learn brioche.  Have you done brioche?  Garage sale score!  I've been looking for a basket to put my camera in. 4.75 cents thank you very much.  Attatches to the bike post.  There were lemonade stands all over the place yesterday. I stopped at two.   I asked Al if there were lemonade stands in Oklahoma and she said no. The children would die if  they sat outside and tried to sell lemonade for a quarter. ...

Hard to believe the little girl whose hair I french braided years ago is living in Oklahoma.  This kid was forever hugging me and involving me in her life.  Letting me in.  She still is.   Yesterday her patient's grandmother was knitting a sock a la Magic loop method.  Within moments she had taught Al.  This wise woman also said, she's TOE UP all the way. I can only let my grown girl go knowing there are knitters out there everywhere.   Good Folk.  Wool Folk.  There's also a certain man out there, her Nathan; when you know someone is good for your family, it makes the distance bearable.  So, Today if the storms let up ,she's going to Tulsa Ok for Christmas in July!  I told her to take many photos and bring us along- I also told her to watch for gold wool that felts.  Not gold colored but sparkly gold.  Cause you know I want to knit a gold stocking.  Happy Friday.  (t...

This mouse rainbow is too dang cute.  It makes me smile.  We are not quite packed up to move yet, but more and more I think of Granny.   A really wonderful part of the knit blog community is knowing that you are all moving with me, efforlessly.  I don't know any other time in history when this sort of thing was possible.  Technology advances are pretty incredible sometimes.  It is almost August. What was a favorite day in July for you? My favorite was finding our new house. 

I have packed the yarn.   These are the best of my stash.  They are in the box with the swift and the sock blockers.  Deep breath.  All will be well.  This means I can ONLY work on my Christmas Stockings for a few weeks.  It is the only yarn and needles I left out.  I totally loved that so many of you felt comfy enough with a knit skill to teach for 5 minutes.  So..... No, I'm not asking you to do that. However here is the list of those who thought they could help amongst us.  If you want to know more about their specialty maybe you can ask them directly? Vera: Setting up a swift and ball winder Val: Wandering Cat : Lace  Stefanie-Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons: Knitting is my Yoga Delighted Hands: Invisible weaving in of ends.  Deb of Araignee's Tangled Web: Magic loop method for beginners My Allison: chart reading. And I can connect you if you want to reach her.  me...

Howdy he ho My sister's Breyer horses have found their forever home. I just couldn't toss them.  The local Therapeutic riding center wanted them to give to the children.   Hooray for reuse reduce recycle reJOY I did a quick study on donating eye glasses as I had several pairs to go, and during the moving packing tossing part of each day I think about these things.  Study says only7% of the glasses actually get used.  Still, at Zach's insistence, I found the Lyons club box in my town and recycled them.  I'm not recycling any yarn just yet.  The reason I can fly through the Christmas stockings is not magical, although I'd love it to be.  I'm in the car an awful lot as the home we are buying is over an hour away.  More to come. Have you recycled lately?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  Happy Zinnia blossom..   Tis Monday when we play Q and A! Will you play Miss Pie wonders?  Uncle Tank says WHO ASKED YA?  I did . Here we go: *You are getting yarn in the mail today as a gift. Tell us about it.  *You are knitting poolside.  What are you ordering from the cabana boy? *You are asked to give a 5 minute presentation about any aspect of knitting at all. What is your topic? *You can ask for a knitter to finish any of your WIP Which one is it ?  *You take good care of your hands.  Are you nails short or long? Only 5 Questions today! Have fun answering or reading others answers.  Here are mine:  *Yarn in the mail:  Wool that will felt in sparkly gold or red * Oh Cabana boy, Please bring me a mai tai * My presentation would be on Felting Fears and Fun * I'd like someone to finish my double yarned s...

Going to be out and about all weekend.  See you all on Q and A Monday.  Enjoy your Saturday and Sunday!

  All purrs and no hisses. Purebites are freeze dried chicken bites.  16 paws up.  Thats 4 paws per cat times 4 (and you know I dont like math)    The Weruva treats are similar to the Purebites but they are  fish based.  They all ate out of the same plate at the same time. Rather like a hot dog eating competition.  They loved them.  Chewy we love your programs and our free products.  We do not get paid for our reviews.  We do get items to review for free.  Thanks CHEWY and Syndey.  When we move, I plan to use Chewy.com to deliver all my cat litter and food on a regular basis.   This is one of their best features I think.  No running out of anything and no carrying large heavy bags of litter anymore!

Hi Turkey Vulture.  They are very cool birds if you read about them.  In groups they are called a wake.  Creepy right? But cool.  All part of the eco system! They have a fantastic sense of smell which is unique to them as birds.  Stocking number...I forgot.  No, three. It is number three of my Summer of Christmas stockings.  You may note that I used greens and an oatmeal so I hope since it is not white, it will felt fine. You are all so smart. I'd forgotten white resists felting.  We all know it is so hot out! Stay cool. Drink lots of cool drinks.  If you have no a/c go to a library for awhile. Take a cool shower.  Sleep till fall...hahahah

I happen to love them both.   They don't match.  Whomsoever Santa sees as fit for the big stocking....well gets it. I'm on my third one now,  top down nearing the toe stocking.   The next one is just greens and whites.  So odd, but the Lambs Pride white felted the worst of all..... The next will be in Knit picks wool.   So Cascade 220 felted better than Lambs pride.  Or at least the white seems resistant to felting.  I'm just a felting fool Ho ho ho Its in the 90s here

Waking up slow here today.  (Well everyday)  Here's some fun stuff out there in the knit world.   These are the Rush hour mitts from Knitpicks.com Don't they look like they'd stay on so snugly? Tincanknits.com has this apple pie hat pattern.  I'm kind of crazy about it.  My pal Karen is knitting on her leftovers blanket.  I never thought about doing tiny squares. Isn't she good at the color choices?  They look perfect to me.  Overwhelmingly, you voted for pickles yesterday. I had a pickle recipe that we loved and then it went all viral that it could make you sick.  We never got sick.   The heat is really on for most of us in the USA. Stay cool.  Drink lots of liquids. Keep your furries cool. 

The glads were purchased to bring to a friend. The zinnia is the first to bloom in my garden.  Today's Q and A:  1-I'm giving some away, (Lets just say) do you want  Homemade pickles or homemade salsa? 2- Should I pack my knitting all in one box or spread it around in the event  a box goes  missing? 3- Best yarn sale this summer?  Share the savings! 4- I'm running out of underwear.  So less to pack.  Should I buy in a month? Just wash what I have for a few weeks?  It's clean for goodness sake, I'm just running out 5-  Give me your best no cook summer dinner.  The barbecue grill ran out of fuel. I don't want to refill it.  Also Fireman just cleaned it really well.  I can't turn on the oven in this summery heat- 6 . I'm drinking coffee from the dear Fred Rodgers Mug.  Fred says, "You can never go down the drain"  What is your favorite Fre...

Looking for a great new game?  Anomia is wonderful.  Easy to play.  Anomia literally means forgetting a word you are trying to think of.  I play this all the time in my own head and never knew it was a game.    Walgreens now sells liquor ;  I like bubbly.  I did a bit of celebrating as we think we have found a house.  These little bottles have no "cork" to pop.  They are bubbly.   More on the house later. Nothings official.  Except I gained 2 pounds this week.  Time to get back to counting points!   I've always gone to the next suburb's farmers' market because the Cheese People are there.  They have outstanding cheeses. Pricey.  I'm moving to Diary land so maybe cheese will be a little less pricey there?  Ha? !  Are you laughing? Well one can hope.  I turned down this hundred dollar twin sleigh bed today .  Neighbors garage sale.  I love sleigh beds. ...

  The city mouse loved Navy Pier.  Apparently, the new Ferris wheel is awesome. If you've been to Chicago you probably saw the Bean.  The City is fun and alive and clean.  Alas, I prefer the country.  I need some country folks.  Some sky.  Some air.  Some farmland to view.  Al's got some wide open space in Oklahoma. Here's her lightening image catch!  I wanted to sleep on the screened porch last night.  I slept like a rock.  Apparently, Fireman did not. Apparently Fezzik had a slumber party attitude the whole night.  Oh well, I slept right through it.  I finished the yoga foot and ankle tubes for my friend.  Back to Christmas stockings.  Yesterday my dear son Zach asked to treat me to Starbucks.  Then we went to a book store.  I was on my phone texting some important information to the Shelter.  Zach took my phone away for a bit.  He said,...

Today a Dragonfly has been hovering over my kitchen skylight all morning.  I love dragonflies.  This fine art american photo was pulled off gooogle images this morning.  Not my photo.  I do think he represents good luck to me.  Yeah, I'm kind of a magical thinker..... I admit it.  I usually lean towards everything meaning GOOD LUCK.  This is one of my favorite web links? Ugh oh my link failed. Well just google WIND MAP USA and You get to see how windy it is everywhere!   I can see how windy it is all over the country.  Cool HUH?  This is an untouched image I shot last night after our brief rain storms.   The sun was setting and they sky was yellow and cool! Did you see it too?  I mean if you live near here of course. ?   I have nothing but fun knit news today.  I finished the 4 cuffs I am giving to Zach's friend for her yoga socks.  On with the green Christmas stocking.  We'v...

Here is Al's finished top! The great news is there is no shaping.  Here are her notes:  This sweater was not super fun to make but I think it will be a sweater I actually wear. The pattern is Bonny by Tin Can Knits from their book Handmade in the UK (also available as individual download) and made with Juniper Moon Farms Findlay in Poppy. There was no shaping so I simply added two inches of stockinette before the armhole in order to make it long enough for my long torso.  Thanks Al for sharing this on the blog.  Hello Oklahoma City.  Love the shoes and the skirt too.  Tim Gunn taught you well.  Your rather basic knit mother is working on another Christmas stocking... Happy Wednesday! 

  Fezzik photo bombing the pre felted stocking.  This is the stocking after felting.  NOTE: red did not  run! Nancy's color catcher idea worked like a charm.  You buy the little sheets and throw them in the wash and voila! They catch the red that did release in the wash.  Way to go Nancy!   I remembered to make a tag to hang this one.  I used Lambs Pride  wool in white and Ella  Rae in red.   I only had a tiny bit of green.  I'm off to the yarn shop.  I need to make more stockings.  In other news, I had a bag of Beanie babies I could not toss in the garbage.  I went to the local ice cream stand and asked a mom and kids if they wanted them.  They were thrilled.  WIN WIN! Happy HOT JULY TUESDAY.  May all your troubles be little ones.  My mom said that to me at trying times. 

A neighbor's nasturtium. O  I love that orange blossom plant.  Below, I give you some yoga cuffs.  I made them for a friend.  I may make an ankle portion,too.   Now for the Monday Q and A fun: *After a long day of knitting would you rather: a) soak in a hot tub b) have a massage c) have a manicure MY pick: massage *Many of us are sock knitters.  Have you ever put rubber dots on the sock bottoms for slippage? Nope. But Ive read about it.  *Super secret Revelation: I haven't had a pedicure yet this season.  WHAT? Hush, no shame as the Fat Squirrel knitter Amy Beth would say.  When was your last pedi? (winter for shame)  *Are you waiting for anything to bloom in your garden? I am. I am waiting for our first Rose of Sharon blooms and the first Zinnia blooms. Everything else has been up and running for awhile. *Do you own anything at all, anything, solar powered? I have a solar powered porch light that's amaz...

Our country is troubled, but I think if EVERYONE could sit by a lake and relax, we'd all be better for it.  So many in the urban areas, don't get the chance to enjoy nature.  Nature nurtures dont' you think? As for the weekly round up: Al used the mattress stitch on her cowl. Thanks for all the suggestions.  The idea of using a COLOR CATCHER when I felt my stockings is nothing short of genius.  Will do! Thank you all for discussing the things you did for new owners. Based on the reactions, I think I"ll just keep the garden up. No long letters of what the house meant to us.  Keep it a business transaction.  Today: Hair trim long overdue.  Short hair needs upkeep and I've been a slacker.  Knitting my second stocking.  The windows are open. The dew point is low. Summer is here and I'm on the porch so, I'm sitting and knitting and thinking of you and wishing you were here knitting  ...

  I'm still planting zinnias.  I want the new owners to have joyful color in the yard when they move in.  I've planted them in stages.  Zinnia's are a no brainer here.  The family of rabbits in the yard don't eat them. You toss the seeds in the ground and watch them grow.  They are cheerful, colorful, wonderful sure thing here.    Up around 0300 briefly and the fog was thick.  So I snapped this image for you.  Second Christmas in July stocking underway. This time using Ella Rae in red and Brown Sheep in White.  Leftover green in Cascade 220.  I found plastic needles on line. My hands prefer them to addi turbo's.  They have some give.  Big news at our house.  Zach will be teaching in Chiapas Mexico for the fall semester.  He is thrilled.  I'm thrilled for him.  He will be teaching English to Mexican families.  I know his Catholic School will mi...

Miss Allison finished her leftovers cowl.  She ended up with a mattress stitch seam and she's good to go.  I dont' know if she used a formal pattern.  Probably knot! Hi dolly! Okay here's the discussion I didnt want to have.... Does anyone own a comfortable bra? Since my weight is changing, I need new bras.  Perhaps because My first bra experience was humbling.... er humiliating... I hate bra shopping.  My mother and my year old than me, well developed sister and I went to Marshall Fields.  The bra woman measured my sister and then glanced at me, and said, maybe a training bra for that little one.  I hate how they dig at my back.  I hate the straps I'd rather go braless anyday but that's not appropriate most days.  I also cringe at the prices.  SO ..... who makes a comfortable bra?  Oh and I hate padding. 

  I loved making the Christmas Stocking.  I can't wait to cast on another, but I have to finish a yoga sock gift first.  Hmmm, My Cascade 220 was promised to felt.  I consider felting and shrinking the same thing.  Silly me.  The yarn felted the stitches together, after many washings.  Then I tried drying it each time.  This helped.  Felting is always a bit of a crap shoot, but I have good luck.   Nonetheless, the Stocking is still bigger than I would like.  Certainly it is usable and darling.  Next sock will be knitted in  Lamb's Pride Worsted and Ella Rae.   I have another question.  If the next stocking has white next to red will the red bleed?   Hello Day lily!  You are beautiful and you look like I planted a fresh new bulb in the ground.  HA!  I did not.  Enjoy the heat day lily.  You seem to.