Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Lucky Birthday Celebration

Today is my oldest dachshunds 13th birthday! Happy Birthday Old Man! Here is a birthday tribute in pictures:

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Ernie wanted to pop in and wish his best friend a happy birthday from the Rainbow Bridge:

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My Dachshund book says that 13 years is like 68-70 in doggie years. I am not sure how they figure it out but when I was little it was 7 years for every year. That would make him 91 years old! WOW! The book says that its not 7 years for every year because it would make them way to old. After they hit a certain age its less then 7 years for each year. It makes sense to me.

Today also is the 12th anniversary of my husband's and my first date. It was Frank's 1st birthday so of course he came on the date with us. It was Frank's first time on a sailboat!

Back in March I received my Rockin' Socks Club Kit for the LEAFLING pattern in LUCKY colorway. I FINALLY finished them yesterday! I started them two at a time on one circular. It worked up until I had to do that funky heel and I needed a couple of spare DPN's to hold the stitches. I had to take them off and work one at a time. It turned out great because when I finished with one sock, half the other one was done so there was no sign of the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome. If I concentrated on just one project at a time I would finish a lot faster but my whole thing is that my knitting has to be QUALITY and if its crappy workmanship it pisses me off. I rather take my time then put out crap. I envy all those other knitters who can work fast and still put out quality workmanship. Tonight I plan on CO for Cleopatras Stockings which is the May Kit for the RSC. It's a toe up pattern by Yarnissima that starts with a crocheted provisional cast on. Judy's Magic Cast On seems like a better way to do it for me. Not that I don't like short row toes/heels because I do. I just want to get these going and I am not sure if I want to do two at a time or just one because the pattern looks complicated. Well, when I first looked at the LEAFLING pattern I thought the same thing but after working it and actually doing it I realized they were not that complicated at all. So without further ado I present my LUCKY LEAFLINGS:

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By the way, I am so glad I made these in small and not medium like I was initially going to do. I have a size 7-7.5 foot with an 8.5" circumference and I usually make a medium. You can see in the picture that there is a little extra room in the heel area but its OK with me. As long as the toe and foot aren't baggy because that would annoy me.

Last night I CO for a baby sweater for a co-worker of my husband who just had her first baby, a boy. I was so hoping that it would be a girl because I have so many cute patterns for girls. Pinafore dress patterns and other cute little skirts that I am dying to make. I cant complain to much because my friend has a baby girl that I just made the cute little pink cardigan in a previous post. Looks like she is going to have some more cute knitted stuff made for her. It's a Debbie Bliss pattern for a Polo Shirt using Baby Cashmerino in a pale blue that almost looks slate. The only negative about the pattern is that it uses size 2 and 3 needles! Ughh! Time consuming but worth it, I think. Lately, I have been using Blue Sky Cotton or Organic Cotton to make my baby clothes so it was time for something different. I also thought that since this baby was just born he won't be wearing the sweater any time soon. I decided to make it in the 6-9 month size so he will be able to wear it all Fall, Winter and Early Spring. I believe that when you make something for a baby they should be able to get the most wear out of it possible. Baby Cashmerino was the best choice because its a combination of merino, microfiber and cashmere yarn, perfect for the cold weather. Thats another reason I didn't want to use the Blue Sky Cotton.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

FO's & Froggin'

I know I am a bit late on posting these pictures but I hate to ruin the surprise for other members of the club that haven't received their kit yet. So here it is:

Woolgirl Sock Club Kit~June 2008

Woolgirl Sock Club Kit~June 2008

I absolutely LOVE this kit! I cant wait to start these socks. However, I am waiting to finish my LEAFLING socks from the Rockin' Socks Club which I am almost finished with, then I will start these babies. I was in this sock knitting funk and I finally got my mojo back. I dont know why but now I am in the sock knitting mood so I am not only going to finish the LEAFLING's but start the next kit for Blue Moon, complete the Garden Anklets for my LYS's Sock Club AND start these beauties. The colorway is called FROGGIN'.

I finished the baby cardigan I was working on for my friends baby. Its the pattern from the Knitters Book of Yarn which I highly recommend. I used Blue Sky Cotton which happens to be my favorite yarn. The size for 12 months calls for 3 skeins and I only used 1.75 skeins. Yes, I am on gauge, both row and stitch. I heard all you thinking that out there! I read all the reviews on RAVELRY before making this and most people used at least one skein to a half a skein less than what was called for in the pattern. The only problem I had with this is that I used the size buttons that was called for but somehow the way the pattern has you make the buttonholes makes them a lot larger than the buttons. I went out today and bought these larger buttons and in my opinion, are a much better fit.

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Its been 2 years since my hair started growing back from its loss to chemotherapy. I have been keeping pictures of its journey to where it is now. I have had MANY haircuts along the way because if I didn't it would be past my shoulders by now and maybe even bra strap length. Its OK because I have enjoyed the journey here but I do want my hair long again. I am not sure how long at the moment but long enough to put in a pony tail or a clip. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer my hair was 32" long and past my waist. Everyone asks me if I am going to grow it that long again and I just don't know right now. Like I said, I am just enjoying the journey.

My Hair June 2008
My Hair June 2008

I am really a Curly Brunette! LOL

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

School's Out For Summer, School's Out Forever! (well its half true)

I am finally starting to feel better after my last day on the new antibiotic. My throat is still red and sore but the Dr seems to think that I have a virus and bacterial infection so thats why the antibiotic cant fix me 100%. My Mom came up on Saturday to take my son to a bowling birthday party because there was no way I could have done it. I felt like I was zapped of all my energy and standing up was making me extremely dizzy. My daughter and I watched cartoons in my room while I worked on the heel for my LEAFLING socks from March's Rockin' Sock Club kit. The directions were not as clear as they could have been so I was a little pissed and ended up frogging the heel twice. I was all ready to throw in the towel and make a traditional heel flap but I knit on and finished it. Its a very nice fitting sock and thats because its based on a Cat Bordhi design from her NEW PATHWAYS FOR SOCK KNITTERS book. However, the sizing was a bit wonky and I made myself the small. I usually make a medium in socks because my foot measurement is 8.5" but with the negative ease I have with LEAFLING tells me to make my socks with a measurement of 7.5"-8" to get the fit I like. The directions got me so confused I had to take the socks (I was doing 2 at a time on on circ) off the circular and work with DPN's to complete the heel. Pain in the you know what I tell ya! At least when I am done with sock number one I will have 30% of sock number two completed. I love how fast I can make socks with them both on one needle but truth be told its not easy for me when I am out and about to pull out the two socks and the two balls of yarn that go with them (LOL) and then proceed to knit. Either I have to try harder or just work them at the same time on seperate needles,

I am also working on the GARDEN ANKLET SOCKS from my LYS-Knitting Central and am about to turn the heel on sock number one! How fast is that pattern! Awesome! The baby cardigan I am making for my friends baby is almost done. I seamed up the shoulders and one arm. I have to do the other arm, both sides and the buttons. Then I will be finished. The funny thing about this pattern is that I made the 12 month size and it calls for 3 skeins of Blue Sky Cotton and I only used 1.5. I have a whole skein and a half left. A matching hat might also be in this little girls future! I am just so excited to give it to her I don't want to wait to finish a hat.

After SEARS canceling the appointment I had on Wednesday to fix my dryer and me fighting on the phone with them for over an hour as to why they couldn't send someone sooner then the following Wednesday, I won. They came yesterday (Friday) and fixed my dryer. Say goodbye to scratchy air dried underwear and hello to Downy soft dryer dried clothes again! I never realized how much I rely on my dryer. It is an energy star approved appliance so I am saving energy using it but I bet I saved a few pennies not using it for a whole 10 days. It was to humid to dry clothes out on the clothesline the first half of the week so they were all over the house as you had previously seen in a post from a few days ago. The technician that came was the same one that serviced it a month ago and he was so nice. He literally took 15-20 minutes to take the circuit board out, run to his truck to get the part and pop it into the circuit board. Like magic the dryer was working again! Yippy! I asked him how much it would have cost if we didn't have the service agreement on it. He said that the part alone would be $100 and then labor is $132/hr so at least $200. In my humble opinion I think it's worth it to have it because if you remember about a month ago I had to replace the rubber sealer part on my front loading Kenmore He Washing Machine and that would have cost at least $300 to fix. All of these little 'repairs' add up I tell ya!

My Woolgirl Sock Club Kit came a few days ago and I LOVE it!! The colors are fabulous and Jen is so generous with all the goodies in the kit. WOW is all I could say when I opened it. The theme is FROGGING and the yarn is dyed the all the colors of a tree frog. I am not sure if I want to do the pattern that came with the kit though. I'll decide after I knit a few rounds and see how it looks.

Here is a meme that I found on a blog I read all the time. I have never done one before so here it goes.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?


10 years ago I was 27 years old and it was the summer of 1998. I was preparing for my wedding which was to take place on September 26, 1998. I had just had my surprise bridal shower on the 12th of June that year and wow was I surprised! It was so much fun and there were so many people there, it seems like yesterday. The day of my bridal shower it was raining cats and dogs and I thought I was going to a graduation party. My husband kept the secret to and thats surprising because its hard to surprise me. So at this time 10 years ago my future husband and I were crammed into a one bedroom apartment right outside NYC. All of our bridal shower gifts stacked high to the ceiling. We had been living there since the Spring of 1997 when we decided to live together or 'in sin' as the priest who married us called it. Agh, the Catholic church, so hypocritical! I wont even go there.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today?


Phone calls, laundry, pick up the kids early (last day of school), seam up the baby sweater, finish one LEAFLING sock and turn heel on the second, work on Garden Anklet sock.

3. Snacks I enjoy:


Minute Maid Frozen Lemon-aide, Wheat Thins Basil & Parm crackers, fruit (nectarines, peaches, bananas, strawberries, pineapple, cherries-I really LOVE all fruits and fruit smoothies, Ice Cream, Oreos, Chocolate Chip cookies, chocolate, lets put it this way, I love all snacks and beef jerky is another snack that I hate to admit I like (no carbs!).

4. Places I’ve lived:

New York, Connecticut


5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Own a yarn shop (yes, I know its more than just being surrounded by yarn and knitting all day but I still want to!), give to my favorite charities, buy a Porsche 911 Turbo, have a HERD of dachshunds, travel, buy another house somewhere out west. I loved Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming near Yellowstone and would love having a log cabin out there. Maybe its just being surrounded by nature anywhere would be a good place for a log cabin. Plus I absolutely LOVE the modern log cabins with all the huge glass windows that let the natural light in. There are so many things I would do if I was a Billionaire I could go on forever.

I cant believe today is the last day of school!
When does camp start?

Monday, June 09, 2008

101

My kids got out of school early today because its so hot. The thermometer on my weather station is reading 101 degrees if you can believe it. We don't have central air and our huge air conditioner that was cooling the kitchen, great room and dining room areas broke. The only air conditioners are in the bedrooms and the one that was in the computer room we now have in place of the one that broke. The only problem(s) is a) its not big enough to really cool it off to a suitable temperature, b) it only has one setting and if changed the compressor shuts completely off c) its %^*$@%*!% HOT!!!

I was really sick a little over a week ago with what my son had which came with a fever for 4 days, really sore throat, wheezing, coughing and lots of mucus clogging my lungs (sorry, TMI). I took antibiotics and they did nothing because I relapsed this weekend. The night before last I started feeling like shit again and my throat started hurting. When I took my temperature it was over 100 again. I immediately called the Dr and he gave me a stronger antibiotic-Avalox, which will kill anything I am told. I wasn't feeling better at all and today my husband called out of work to take me to the Dr. While I was waiting in the office (long wait because I didn't call) my cell phone rang and it was one of my girl friends calling to let me know the schools were being let out early due to the heat in the classrooms reaching 110 degrees. The school is basically not air conditioned and the windows don't all open. There are a couple of classrooms that are air conditioned but they are not my kids classes.
Due to the heat wave the school is letting the kids out early tomorrow again. My son is having his end of the year celebration in school tomorrow and I signed up to go and I am not sure if I should since I feel like crap and, like I said, the school is like a sauna. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in any minute now.

At the Dr's office he did an exam and told me that I have a major ear infection on top of the one in my throat and lungs. Even with being on the antibiotics my white blood cell count was elevated! OK, the Dr knows I am not a complainer either and he knows when I complain about not feeling well that its something real and not just me whining. So I have to continue for 10 days on the antibiotic and call if there is no improvement. I was so glad I took my knitting with me because I waited an hour and a half to see the Dr. There are a few WIP's that I am working on at the moment and I made sure to take 3 of them with me. You never know where you might get stuck and you need your knitting.

I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago of this animal that I think is a groundhog or a badger. My husband thought it was a prairie dog but they are a lot smaller and are not found in this part of the country unless one escaped from the zoo! I haven't seen it since these pictures were taken.
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Groundhog

Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club for May, Woolgirl's Sock Club's 1st Kit and my LYS Knitting Central's Kit for May-Jitterbug by Colinette in Florentine
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Do you think they all conspired to get such similar choices for their clubs? Its a good thing I like purple. I don't have that much purple in my stash even though I like it. They are all beautiful additions to my stash and I couldn't resist and had to cast on for the Garden Sock pattern with the Jitterbug

My Emergency Sock Yarn Collection from Blue Moon Rockin' Socks Club 2007 and 2008
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Garden Socks in progress
Garden Socks
This is such a great pattern and it really knits up fast. I also LOVE the color and the feel of the yarn which is Colinette Jitterbug. The only thing I don't like about the yarn is that they skimp on the yardage. I can't understand why Colinette came to the conclusion that its enough. If I made my husband socks with this yarn I would need to do the cuffs, heels and toes in another color.

On the way home I made a pit stop at Knitting Central to get some more of my favorite cotton by Blue Sky and some buttons to make my husband's co-worker new baby boy a sweater. Yeah, I know, you're thinking, "She makes all these babies sweaters, what's in the water where he works?" Well, I do make lots of babies clothes and I love doing it since I am not having any more children of my own. I also picked up Cables, Mittens, Hats & Scarves -on the go! There are some awesome patterns in this book. I also got No Needle Knits Loom Knitting Pattern Book
stash aquisition
I have a bunch of those looms in all different sizes and I thought this might be fun to do something different. Maybe I can get my daughter into it. I didnt realize you can make so many different things on a loom! Socks, sweaters, hats, gloves, you name it.

Buttons for one of my baby sweaters
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Our clothes dryer has been inoperable for the past week and this is how we have been drying the clothes along with using the clothesline thats off our back deck. We have a very energy efficient large capacity dryer and it just wont stay on when I press the start button. I have an extended warranty on it which will cover anything that happens (until 2013) and it will even replace it if it cant be fixed. In a way I almost hope its something that cant be fixed so we can get a brand new dryer but I also would like to have my dryer back as soon as possible because I do laundry almost every day. All our appliances are top of the line Kenmore because they are the best (in my opinion) and we always buy them at SEARS. I used to think those warranties were stupid but they are totally worth it. The smallest repair can cost $200. We had a similar incident with the dryer occur a couple of years ago and SEARS came and fixed it right away. I am hoping that its something the repairman can fix when he comes instead of having to order a part that takes another week to get in. I already waited a week and I cant tell you how I am trying to avoid getting clothes dirty! LOL Its close to impossible to do this when the temperatures are in the high 90's to over 100 degrees.
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