Ten Years

Its been a while since I posted to my blog with good reason. There have been family issues that have taken up lots of time and causing lots of stress. I haven't been sleeping well and its causing more grey hair to grow on my head! Knitting and crocheting time has almost been nonexistent but I am working on changing that. In order for me to de-stress I need to make time to do some fiber related therapy.

Now we are into the month of October and I am late with my anniversary entry. My husband and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary on September 26th 2008. We also had a wedding to go to the following day which gave us reason to have this picture taken looking so nice. Notice my husband is wearing a tux! LOL I am not sure when thats going to happen again so thats why I made sure to take these pictures.





My husband got me a beautiful Pandora bracelet with charms representing our 2 kids, our anniversary, breast cancer awareness, and a tiny cross. I absolutely love these charms! They are so cute and I cant wait to add more to my bracelet. I bought my husband a watch because thats what he wanted. He's very happy with it and I told him not to be afraid to wear it.

I also got a sewing machine! Its the Audrey by Baby Lock. So far I hemmed a few pairs of jeans for my daughter, made a Thomas the Tank Engine pillowcase for my son and a storage bag for my knitting. I am in the learning phase right now so give it some time before a finished object is photographed on this blog. I figured it would bore you to death to see some hemmed pants here! LOL. My husband is having more fun than I am planning what I am going to make next! There are so many things to make and not enough time in the day.

Hopefully this entry will get me back on the blogging track!

CurlyBrunette's Creations is OPEN for business!

For the past few weeks I have been hard at work doing my research to open up an Etsy store of my own. I wanted a place where everyone can go to buy my jewelry and creations. Not everyone has the time to have a party due to work, kids, school and just hectic schedules of life. I am so excited over this and I am hoping lots of people come and browse and even buy some of my wares. The web address can be reached by clicking on the CurlyBrunette's Creations Etsy button below my picture on the sidebar or you can just click here: CurlyBrunette's Creations
Please be patient with me as I add more items daily. I am hoping to get as many different designs out there for the holiday shoppers because they are coming! Right now there are necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and sets up but I am planning on adding more categories that involve other crafts. I don't want to say what they are going to be just yet because I am still planning. Keep your eyes open for some really neat stuff! So, head on over to Etsy, they have lots of beautiful handmade stuff that you can browse for hours. Have fun and thanks for looking!

I also took the "Buy Handmade Pledge" which is the link below my Etsy button on the right. I would love if you all would take that pledge along with me. Handmade has heart unlike all the mass produced crap that comes from countries I wont mention, but you get the picture. Go ahead and take the pledge!

I'm Still Here

Its been a long time since I paid attention to my blog. There's a lot happening around here and I've neglected it, plain and simple. My daughter is receiving Communion in a few weeks so we are preparing for that. My dog just died and we got a new pup who demands a lot of attention. The weather has finally been warmer and we've been enjoying it. There are a million reasons why I haven't been here.

The kids have had the past week off for spring break and my husband has been using them to help fix things around the house and in the garden. I came home the other day to find my 5 year old son using the leaf blower. Good thing its an electric and not a gas powered one. My hair dryer is probably more powerful, LOL. Funny but true. Then the following day they fixed one of the steps that lead up to our house from the drive way. They got to help their Dad to mix the cement and make a mold for the step. It looks pretty good now and by doing it themselves and not having someone do it for us saved us a bunch of money. Even though the bag of cement wasn't cheap it probably still was cheaper. It pays to have a handy husband!

While they have been keeping busy with my husband and playing with the puppy I have been attempting to finish up the stitch markers that I am making for Woolgirl's Joe Cool Kit due to go out in May. She asked me if I would like to design a stitch marker for the club and I told her it would be an honor to do so. She sells some of my stitch markers in her online yarn shop. I cant wait to see how people like them. No secrets will be revealed here!

Speaking of Woolgirl, I received the first sock club shipment a couple of days ago and its fabulous! (Sorry no pics) She runs a fabulous sock club and the extras that she puts in the kits are awesome. Her sock club is right up there with Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club in my opinion, maybe even better because of all the little extras she puts in there. I haven't started the sock yet because I am currently working on the Rockin' Sock Club's March Kit, LEAFLING along with my LYS, Knitting Centrals January kit. I know I am a bit behind with the other clubs, even last years RSC but I promised myself that while trying to catch up with last years kits I will finish this years RSC kits first, before other clubs kits. Even though my LYS runs a fabulous sock club I dont think I am going to be joining again next year because its to much work to keep up and I do want to use up the sock yarn I have been accumulating over the past 2 years. I don't think I can ever use up all the sock yarn I have. Yup, there is a lot but I do think there are a lot of people who surpass me in that department. Plus, sock yarn doesn't count as stash. My Knit Picks order arrived the other day and I am in love with their Harmony Circs. I ordered the 2.25mm 40" and the 2.75mm 40" circs because Addi only makes 2.50mm and 3.00mm 40". Along with the circs I also got some yarn to dye with Kool Aid and some Felici which I started making a toe up sock with. Its very soft for a yarn with nylon in it. I am going to have to get more of that stuff (as soon as I use up what I bought). My Mom's Mother's Day gift is coming along but I cant really talk about it to much here.

I finally signed up for one of the classes my LYS is offering with Charlene Schurch. She is coming for two days to teach classes on sock design one day and heel design the next. I decided to take the heel one because I always change up the heels that are in a pattern. Knitting Central has been waiting over two years for her to come to teach a class. Charlene Schurch's books are my bibles for figuring the proper numbers and such to make a perfect sock.

One of the main reasons I haven't been around to write in my blog has been because of fear. I had my scheduled PET Scan a few days ago and am awaiting the results. The reason I am afraid of the results are because I have had a serious case of laryngitis the past 4-5 weeks. At first I though that maybe I was yelling to much and that was the reason for the loss of voice. Even with resting it and taking it easy my voice hasn't improved and every time I talk on the phone or to anyone they ask me if I have a cold or if I am sick. No, I am not sick and I don't have a cold. I wish it was that easy but I am afraid nothing is ever easy when it comes to my health. I think ultimately I have to see an ear, nose and throat surgeon. I happen to have a great one who has done surgery twice on me already. He removed my tonsils the first time and my thyroid the second. I think that maybe he is in a competition with my plastic surgeon to see who can do the most surgical procedures on me. No matter the winner would probably be my anesthesiologist. We are on a first name basis, even worse I call him by his nickname which is a shortened version of his last name. Yup, thats when you know you've had to many operations.

Pictures of something next time, I promise.

Lifetimes

My kids have a wonderful book that I bought for them a few years ago when my dog was paralyzed and unable to walk. Its called LIFETIMES. He was in so much pain that we had the appointment made to have him put down. Its something I didnt want to do and after reading the book a million times to my DD (my son was to young to understand) she understood what death was or as best as she was going to understand it. The book talks about how everything that is alive has a time thats called living thats in between being born and dying. I havent had to read the book since then and we didnt put my dog to sleep because he had a miraculous recovery. The book has been on my bookshelf for about 4 years until yesterday.

Yesterday we went out to SEARS to puchase a new dishwasher because ours just stopped draining water. (Nice, eh?) After Sears I promised my DD that I would stop at the brand new HUMONGOUS JoAnn's to get some polymer clay to make bears (see photos in my post later). After spending way to much money on clay, a beautiful sewing basket, cat, sheep, cow, and ducky buttons for future baby clothes I will knit, craft projects for the kids, and absolutely NO yarn we finally went home. I told the kids to go directly to the playroom when they walked into the house because my DH was going to walk the dogs and I was going to set up a project for them to do. In the playroom, almost directly in the center of the room lay my 13 year old brown tabby, Dommy. He wasnt laying in the normal way a cat lays when sleeping because he didnt raise his head when we came into the room. All my years working for the Bronx Zoo and as a Veterinary Tech told me that he was no longer with us. My beloved Dommy cat was no longer with us and crossed over Rainbow Bridge. This is a little tribute to my kitty whom I loved so much I cant even describe. I held his cold, stiff body for a while and then the smell started to get to me. My DH went outside in the yard where we buried the bird in December and started to dig a hole. The kids were hysterical and couldnt stop crying so I had them help me look for a big enough box to hold Dom. We sat down and read the book LIFETIMES and they drew with crayons and markers on the box. My DD wrote that she loved Dom with hearts all over the top and my DS drew a house with all of us in it. It was so cute that it made me cry even more than I was already. We then went outside, said goodbye and buried him. Tomorrow I am going to try and find one of those garden stones that you can make with the animals name on it so we can mark his grave. I think it will be a nice thing for the kids to do to remember him.

Dominick (Dommy) Born Jan.1994~Died June 26, 2007. 13 years with us and we will always love you.


The kids were very upset and they wanted to get another cat right away. My concern was for my other cat, Tommy who was Dommy's best buddy. He is only 3 years old so hes a baby compared to Dom. We got him the same day my Poppy died in August of 2004. Tommy was crying and meowing all over the house last night searching aimlessly for Dom. It was very sad to watch and I wasnt sure what to do. My DH thought the kids were right and the best thing to do was to get another cat preferably a kitten so he/she could adjust to the other animals in the house. I called the Westport Humane Society and asked if they had any kittens for adoption. It must have been fate because they said they had a ton of them for adoption. Any other time I have been there they never have any kittens. This was the 1st time I have seen kittens there. They had black and white ones and a litter of brown tabby's (like my Dommy). We first looked at the black and white one but she wasnt friendly and kept running away and at one point jumped into the garbage pail! I asked if the tabbies were more friendly than the black and whites and the lady had told us not only were they more friendly but the lady that had fostered them until they were the age where they can be adopted had other cats and dogs in the household. She said this ladies dog was like the kittens foster mother. When she brought us the kitten to play with you could immediately tell that this was the cat for us. She was perfect! Friendly, playful and good with both my kids. She's only 8 weeks so we have to be careful not to step on her and hurt her.
We have her in a crate until all the animals adjust to her. So here are the 1st pictures of our little girl Nicky who we estimate was born 5/2/07:



The day before Dommy died was a joyful one because it was my doggies 12th birthday! We had a birthday cake with candles that the kids helped blow out. Instead of eating the chocolate cake (which is poison for dogs) we gave them some corn bread which they loved. Everyone was happy.




Some happy pics of my kids in our pool. I took these with my telephoto lens from in the house.



These are the polymer clay bears I made the other evening. The polar bear is actually a pin that I gave to my DD to wear. This is the reason I bought all the clay at JoAnn's yesterday. With all the stuff happening we havent had a chance to make any yet. This is a Panda Bear, Polar Bear, Stuffed Teddy Bear and Papa Bear:


BlueMoon Fiber Arts June Sock Kit~ The Solstice Slip Pattern with Firebird colorway. I absolutely love these colors and I have not seen them together in any other yarns before. It reminds me of Fawkes in the Harry Potter Books


Beautiful yarns I bought at WoolGirl.com


Claudia's Handpainted Yarn in Strawberry Latte Colorway


I had my staples removed today by one of the surgeons PA's and my leg feels a whole lot better! Wow, its amazing how much those darn staples hurt! I also had to see my plastic surgeon today to check my tattoos and see if they looked OK. He said that they were looking good and it takes time for them to fade to the right color. I have to see him in November and then he will decide if I need to have more tattooing. Maybe I can make him another pair of socks and give it to him as a Christmas present!

The Pathology Report is in!

The phone rang the other day and it was the surgeon filling in for mine calling with my pathology report. He's a great Dr but speaks in a monotone voice so I thought at first that he had bad news for me. He started saying that the tumor wasnt a Schwannoma or a Neuroma like they first thought but something called a Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumor. These tumors are found in and around JOINTS such as the knee not in the location mine was in which was the sciatic nerve. Mine wasnt not next to or near the nerve but entangled in the nerve. So much so that they had to cut my sciatic nerve in 2 spots and re-attach it. HE then told me that the final report says that it was benign! Thank God! I was so worried about this tumor you have no idea. With my luck being the way it is I was prepared for just about anything and I was getting ready to go through all kinds of hellish treatment again. I am very happy with the pathology results but I am not happy with the pain I am experiencing with my leg. Since I had neuro surgery I not only get the surgical pain but nerve pain. I dont have to much nerve pain but it comes in waves and when I do get it I cant do a darn thing. I think I am going to need some type of PT to get my leg back into shape. I have an appointment for a follow up with the surgeon next week so I guess we will discuss it then. The staples that I have in my leg are really bothering me and they need to come out. I dont think I can wait until the end of next week so my DH is going to pick up a staple remover today when we swing by the hospital on our way to my cousins house. The ones on the end of my incsision are falling out anyway.

I hate to complain all the time but there are times I have to and I think with all the pain and discomfort I am having it makes it easier to complain about things. The things I do compain about are legitimate complains and for all I have been through I think it gives me the right to complain about whatever I want. The first complaint is that I cannot take another medical problem or surgery. My body needs a break. You definitely know that you have had enough when you sit down to fill out those forms before you take a test such as an MRI or CAT scan where they ask you your past medical and surgical history? You know those lovely forms I am speaking of right? Well, when there is not enough room on those to write all the surgeries, procedures, treatments and medical histories then you have got a problem. I almost want to write: "To many to write down, please see medical records", but you cant do that because the techs doing the test on you need to know certain things before the test is done. I almost ran out of ink and its so annoying to list them all. I wont even bore you with them here. I am just tired of it all.

Another problem that keeps bothering me is the situation with my sister. I havent spoken about it in a long time because I was ignoring it and not letting it get to me but lately with whats been going on its bothering me again. I want to write another letter to her but the 1st one I wrote didnt get me anywhere so I think it wont be worth the effort. The main things about this situation that bother me the most are:
~my Mom doesnt do anything about it and keeps saying that she's sick of what my sister is doing and how she's treating not only me but them. She's almost 30 and she is still at home and my Mom claims she cant speak to her because she is never home. Ugh, that never stopped her from telling me what was on her mind! How about putting a chain lock on the door or changing the lock so that she has to ring the bell and then she cant run when you have to open the door to let her in? Then you can say to her, "We need to talk right now" no matter what time of the day it is. If its a problem thats destroying relationships then isnt it worth doing something about? Its not even a matter of her acting like my sister again because I know that its not going to happen but in our family there were always consequences for our actions and if I ever treated anyone the way my sister has treated me and my kids then there would be hell to pay. It would never happen because my parents wouldnt allow me to do things like that so why do they allow my sister? My Mom says she has no control over her and shes right that she cant control her actions and how she treats people but she certainly doesnt have to accept it or put up with it. My sister is walking all over them and they are allowing it to happen, its their own fault. They need to present a united front and speak to her together. Tough love is what I say. Its not even tough love its treating others how you want to be treated so I say give her a dose of her own medicine.
~The other thing is that my parents keep giving her CHANCES. She doesnt deserve these chances. Why do they do this? My Mom said to me before my surgery, "I had it out with your sister (again!) and I told her that she has one last chance to make this right and to call you after your surgery". OK, first of all it would NOT make anything right by forcing her to call me or threatening her to call me after my surgery. God, do I feel loved now! Its so sincere when someone is forced to do something like that! NOT! Would it make all the things she did to me in the past go away if she did call me? Fat chance. What did my kids do to deserve this treatment? They ask me all the time about their Aunt and what am I supposed to say? At this age kids take all the blame on themselves when things go wrong. They think that everything is their fault and from what they have said to me about this situation they think that they did something wrong to make their Aunt not want to speak or play with them. Its sad that she is doing this to them and its even sadder that my parents wont do anything about it. My parents are being wimps with this situation and I have never had the luxury of getting away with murder when it came to them so I cant understand why they are doing it. Lets keep giving her chances that she doesnt even dererve! God that makes me so angry and it hurts like hell. In conclusion, my sister did not call me nor have I seen her since Christmas. Do I want to see her? No. Do I want an apology? That would be nice but its not going to happen. What do I want to happen in this situation? I want my parents to step up and be parents. I want them to show her that she cant treat people this way and have no consequences to her actions. Throw her out of your house and thats it. She'll either come to the realization that she is acting like an ass or she wont. The moral of the story is that if she does continue to act like an ass you dont want that type of person in your life anyway. No one has a realationship with her now so its not like they are going to be sacrificing it? I dont get it.

Now that I feel better getting that off my chest I'll talk about whats new in knitting news. I got my Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Sock Club June Kit in the mail 2 days ago and I already am working on the pattern in the foot. I love it! Its such a great colorway and I promise to post pictures next time. They are all on my camera with the new yarn I received from my order to WoolGirl. On my way back from my post-surgery MRI on Friday I stopped at my LYS, Knitting Central, to pick up size 0 Addi Turbos for the sock because my other 0's are in use on my Tofutsies. I went through all my needles and I cant believe that I only had one size 0! I have about 5-6 size 1's and 2's but only one 0 (I do have DPN's in all sizes but rather make socks on the magic loop). It was unthinkable! So I made my 1st visit to KC since before my surgery. Everyone there was so happy to see me, asking how I was and all. I love that store because the employees are a joy and so kind and compassionate along with Cynthia, the owner. I wasnt able to attend my STARRY NIGHT SHAWL CLASS on the 21st because I was in way to much pain to sit for an extended period of time and concentrate on the shawl. I am going to attend the class in August and then the last one in September. That gives me plenty of time to get things done. One of the ladies from the class was in the store working on the shawl so I had a chance to see how it looked on the long circular. Its so beautiful! I hope mine will look like that when I get to that point. She made me a little nervous because I told her that I was putting a life line into the whole hexagon and all its stitches when the instructions say to put one in every 17 stitches. I didnt realize this until later on but I dont think its going to be an issue since I made the life line VERY long and can easily fix that. The important thing is that the hexagon is on a lifeline and later will be kitchnered to the other hexagons. If I need some assistance I am sure someone will help me and not leave me to dangle in the breeze.
The sweater I started for my cousin (who's birthday party I am going to later) is not going to be finished for today's party. No surprise there but it is going to be finished soon because its on size 11 needles. I am using one of my favorite yarns, Schaefer Elaine. Its such a beautiful colorway (Kermie) and I love the small percentage of elastic in the mix because it makes it a bit stretchy for baby to fit comfortably in. I am making it in a size 3 instead of the 2 like I had originally planned so he gets more wear out of it. My other little cousin's birthday is next month and I plan on making her the same sweater in "The Little Mermaid" colorway. I havent forgotten about the cabled tank top that I am making for myself from Berocco's Love It! yarn. I am almost done with the back and then will start the straps. Its such a nice yarn to work with that also has that bit of stretch to it. Maybe if I didnt have so many projects I would get done faster with some of them? Well, I like having different projects to work on and they do get done, just slower than most other people! I love working on my socks so I always have to have at least 4-5 in the works and I do get them done. Knitty has an awesome pattern out now for an anklet sock that I want to make so badly! One of the lovely ladies at my LYS made a pair out of Panda Cotton and its to die for! Its so soft and squishy! (Is that a word?). I picked up the Addis and also some of Claudia's Handpainted in Strawberry Latte (it looks like neopolitan ice cream) and Nashua's Bloom Book. I have wanted that book ever since I saw the completed sweater on the cover on a friends blog. Its baby's 1st Aran and its adorable! There are 14 designs for babies in the book and 2 of my Dr's are having babies in the fall so I thought it would be nice to have a nice choice of baby pattens to make for them.

Over the past few weeks I have had this itch to make an Afghan for my living room and my sons room. My DD has the afghan that my Mom made me when I was a little girl. Someday I will get a picture of it. Its 36 years old and holding up strong. I am sure it will last another 36 years. See, acrylic is good for something! LOL. I dont mind acrylic as long as its not scratchy. Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft Yarn are two nice acrylic choices and recently I bought a ton of Lion Brand Cotton Ease which is 50 cotton and 50 acrylic. I am pouring over a ton of books such as: 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects & Ideas, 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans, 100 Afghans and 7 Day Afghans, just to name a few. So far I cant decide on what I want to do. I have ideas but the main thing is that I dont want to have to carry around a huge blanket in the summer heat. I am leaning toward doing a mitered square so I can just make a bunch of those which are totally portable and cool in the heat. The problem is I cant decide on whether to crochet it or knit it! I have such an itch to crochet but every time I have started to make a granny square I rip it up and put it away for another day. I am just not happy with what I am doing. I love the Log Cabin and the Mitered Square blankets in Mason-Dixon Knitting so thats another choice I can go with. Maybe there are to many choices? LOL

Other good news is that I might have someone who wants to carry my stitch markers in their online knitting/yarn store!! That would be fantabulous! I am mailing some out to her this week so wish me luck! I ordered from my favorite store again: Firemountaingems.com and I cant wait to get my stuff, which should be here on Monday. My DH bought me a beautiful set of jewelery tools to work with instead of the crappy ones I bought from the craft store. The cheap ones dont even compare to the HUSKY brand he bought me at HOME DEPOT. I should return those other ones because they pretty much dont work and I just bought them! I am also experimenting with polymer clay and having fun making all kinds of shapes and such. More surprises to come!

Gotta get ready to go to a BBQ now so off I go...
Happy Knitting!

Recap

I went to see the Orthopedic surgeon yesterday and he pissed me off. First he says that yes, I have a tumor thats coming on/off my sciatic nerve. That type of tumor thats made of nerve tissue is called a Schwannoma. He then says that he wants to proceed with caution because of my history and consult an oncologist at Yale that deals with these types of tumors. I said that its causing me a lot of pain and it needs to come out right? He agreed but I think that getting it out without damaging the nerve is the most difficult part. At one point he backtracted and said that physical therapy would help me. NOT! There is no way in hell that I am going to go through PT and torture myself without having this thing in my leg removed 1st. Crazy talk. Now I am awaiting his phone call to see what happens next.

Here are some pictures of some (more) sock yarn that I ordered from BMFA. The one closest to the camera is called Pink Granite and its heavyweight Rockin Sock Yarn. I am planning on using it for my Starry Night Shawl Class with Jane Elliot thats coming up in June. I am both excited and nervous about it because it a "challenging" class and more importantly you have to know Kitchner!! Ahhhhh!! Ok, I know it already from doing all those sock toes but I still will be using my cheat sheets! LOL.
The other yarn in the picture on the sides (red and green yarns) are Colinette Jitterbug.


This is the Vesper sock yarn that I won on eBay:


Today I had my appointment with the Plastic Surgeon for tattooing and more importantly I gave him his socks. These are my DH's size 10.5 feet modeling size 12 socks:



He was so excited about the socks it was like a little kid on Christmas morning! Those things make all the hard work and staying up late to finish all worth it. I am so happy that he liked them as much as he did. The first thing he said was, "Look at all the detail in them!" Everyone in the office was taken with them also and it started a conversation about knitting. I also made the receptionist thats been dealing with my insurance company a bracelet and earings with pink stones and swarovski crystals. She loved it also and couldnt thank me enough. These people work damn hard to help me and they deserve all the gifts I can shower on them. On the way home from his office I stopped by Knitting Central to pick up the Lucy Neatby DVD I ordered along with her Falling Leaves scarf pattern. The DVD is the GEMS 2 and the reason I wanted it is because it has instruction for Japanese Shortrows which I have been trying to learn to no avail.

As I was leaving the Orthopedists office yesterday I was a bit upset and depressed. In a way I felt abandoned because I had thought that this guy was going to help me. I know that I had said I wasnt going to get another haircut before it grew to touch my shoulders but I lied. I apologize and I dont feel bad about it either. I went to a real hair stylist in Greenwich who charged me more than I usually pay but was well worth it because I walked out of there in love with my hair again. I took a few pictures and the first one is blurry but it gives you the best picture of the style. I am not sure why I couldnt focus correctly but I think it was because I was using the tripod. Definitely my fault but you get the picture.




The tattoo artist today kept complimenting my skin. This is the 3rd person that has told me how nice my skin is and I am so blown away by that. While I was in high school and college I always had pimples and in my opinion, bad skin. I never had full blown acne all over my face but still its not what I would consider good skin. They all want to know my secret and here it is: I use the Aveeno Cleansing pads at night to wash my make-up off, Clearasil face wash in the morning, & Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream after cleansing. Once a week I use St Ives Apricot Scrub and a clay mask with Bentonite to absorb oil and dirt. Thats it, no big deal. I was using the Nutrogena Anti Wrinkle and Anti Blemish Cream with Retinol before I discovered how much I liked the Aveeno Cream. I still like it but just use it less. Now that I have given away my secrets they're not worth anything! LOL I just wanted people to know that you dont need to use a million types of creams on your face to get results. Maybe using too many is counterproductive? Who knows but there you have it.

Yesterday we took the kids to see Shrek the Third. It was cute and funny but the 1st and 2nd were definitely better. I dont think it was the best of the bunch. There were some cute scenes at the end but I dont want to give anything away here. Next movie on my list of movies to see is PIRATES!! I CANT WAIT for that to come out! I think its opening on the 25th.
Next week is the Yarn Harlot Event and I am still planning to go even though this whole thing with my leg isnt settled yet. I am thinking positive. Elizabeth ZImmerman had said something about knitting on through all crisis and thats what I plan on doing.

Early Mother's Day Gift

My DH and the kids surprised me tonight with my Mothers Day gift early. I told DH that I didnt really need anything and not to spend a lot of moneyon a gift. I love plants and flowers so that would have sufficed. I also mentioned that I was very content with the camera and all the lenses I have for it. It does everything I want it to do. He kept asking about the camera and what other accessories I wanted to get. So guess what he bought me? Yup, a tripod for my camera (which I do need because I always want to take family pics and I am never included in them because I am taking them!) and another battery for backup because I only have one. I was so happy with this gift I immediately started fooling around and took a few of us and the kids with the dogs in our living room. They are so cute! I have to load them onto the computer but I am going to wait until after tomorrow because we are getting together with the extended family and I want to try and get a big picture of everyone. I dont think we have done that in a very long time. Last time we took that big of a family picture was when my Grandparents were married 50 years and that was when I was 16 or 17 years old. Take my word for it, it was a long time ago.

I finished making the gifts for my Mom, Aunt and Grandmother whom I usually give a plant or flowers to. This year I made my Grandmother the green necklace that I posted a pic of a few days ago. My Mom I cant mention because she reads my blog but I did make her something and bought her something also. One other thing I made her wont be ready by tomorrow and she'll have to wait because I am not sure when it will be ready. I bought my Aunt something from Crabtree & Evelyn that comes in a little accessory bag that you can use for makeup or anything really when you are done with the lotions inside.

Tonight I also made some Breast cancer pins out of polymer clay. I have never worked with it before and I had a blast making the pins. I am going to give them out tomorrow to the women at my cousins house. What better way to celebrate all the women in our life than to make people more aware of breast cancer that takes women who are our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, Aunts, cousins, wives and friends from us each and every day.

I finally decided on a pattern for the BM Walking on the Wild Tide Colorway. Drum roll please...
The pattern is Tidalwave sock from SWTC. The pattern is supposed to be used with SWTC's yarn, Tofutsies. I noticed it on another blog of a Rockin' Sock Club member and I not only thought that they looked great but the name of the pattern fits the colorway to a T. I mean how can you get a better name than TIDALWAVE? You cant, its perfect. Its an easy pattern to follow and I love it. i thought about doing it toe-up with a garter stitch short row toe like the Monsoon socks (I LOVE garter toes and heels because they are the cushioniest -is that a word? and also they wont wear as fast as a stockingette toe or heel) but I didnt because I thought it would take away from the pattern. The true beauty of this yarn is lost with the Grasshopper pattern (just my opinion). You needed really sharp points to your needles when doing the YO, P2tog and P2tog, YO stitches because they formed very tightly around the needles.

My son is much better today then yesterday. No more vomiting and a low grade fever is all that remains. He ate well and held down his food all day. My DD said her tummy hurt a few times but nothing came of it so I am not going to worry about her until she gets sick.

Better get back to some knitting before I fall asleep!

The Tide is High in CT

The tide is high in CT because of all the nasty rain we have had since last night with floods everywhere but also because I received my April Sock Kit from BMFA yesterday! It is appropriately named WALKING ON THE WILD TIDE. Here it is:

The colors are absolutely gorgeous and even more gorgeous after they were rolled on my ball winder. I am going to try and start them today if I feel better. I am much better than yesterday but still have a raging headache and fever.

This is the bag that I made my grandmother (crocheted) with Lion Brand Suede and some other Bernat sparkly novelty as trim.

This is the bracelet I made her also. In the spirit of Project Spectrum's April/May colors this qualifies.


The famous sock cake which was delicious!

How cute was that!!

I finished my BMFA Feb Socks which were Inside Out Socks in the Monsoon colorway on Tuesday. Just in the nick of time before receiving the April shippment yesterday. Its really hard to take a picture of your own feet! LOL


Here is my Chocolate Turtle (who is really a Giant Galapagos Tortoise that I bought at the Peabody Museum Gift shop) who is displaying what I have finished on my baby argyles which I am having issues with and will leave until I am well enough to deal with them.


Remember the yellow lace sock that I posted a pic of a while back? I consistantly tried it on as I progressed with it and it fit perfectly. Then when I finished with it the dang sock would not go over my heel! I realized that not only would it not go around my heel because it was to tight but it seemed to be tight all over. How can that be? Anyway I had my DD try it on and it fits her pretty well except for an inch or two in the toe area. I think in a year or so it will fit her foot perfectly and even if she wants to wear it as a slipper sock to bed she can do so next winter. I am in no rush to finish this sock right now so I just wanted to let my loyal readers know that I didnt forget about the lovely yellow lace sock.

Look What I Made!

Yesterday we had, literally, a TON of people here for my DD's birthday. It went very well and I was very surprised that I remained calm and collected the entire day. It might have been the milligram of Ativan that I took before everyone got here, LOL. I made a 3 tiered chocolate and vanilla cake that was almost gone by the time everyone had their share. My Mom made a HUGE rib roast, pork roast, manicotti and broccoli and everyone ate AND we still have leftovers for dinner tonight! My sister was a no show (big surprise) and no call about why she didnt show. My Mom had it out with her but she wont talk about it. I am not going to either.

Today my DH had to go speak to my DD's principal about some changes that were made with how they dismiss the kids. I was very impressed how he handled the situation and very happy that he is doing such a wonderful job as my DD's new principal. He has a mess to clean up from the one that was before him. I thought at the time that she was pretty good but now realize she wasnt. When my DH approached him in the drop off circle he immediately knew who he was and my DD's name! He even knew my son's name and he doesnt even go there yet. He is in the special ed program and the principals get a file on the child a year before they begin school. That makes me feel so much better about him transitioning into the system. Anyway, what I thought was going to be an issue isnt and I am thrilled.

Afterwards my husband and I visited the new HOBBYLOBBY they opened in town. WOW! What an awesome store! Model airplanes, boats, ships, games, remote control helicopters, trains, you name it, it was there. The owner of the store took our picture because we were his second customers! It turns out they JUST opened that morning at 10 am so we were really the second customers. Maybe we will be in the papers, you never know. We bought my son a THOMAS the TANK ENGINE puzzle, an army parachute man (I am sure everyone reading had one when they were kids that you throw up in the air and it parachutes to the ground. I love it!) a MELISSA & DOUG magnetic resonsibility chart for the kids. It has chores and responsibilities that you put a reward magnet next to it for every day of the week. I have to do something because my kids are rebelling against our authority as children do. They have been sick for the past 3 weeks with a nasty cough/cold that wont let go and finally yesterday my DH and both kids started Augmentin because they had developed low grade temps. Thats probably one of the reasons they havent been behaving as they should. My DD has her 7 year check up appointment next month and the pediatrician wants PFT's (Pulmonary Function Tests). She might need to be on a daily asthma medication because she is always getting sick and it settles in her lungs. I am a little nervous about that. My Grandmother was annoying me yesterday saying that the reason she has asthma is due to all the animals I have. She also told me that I have a fat ass yesterday in front of all my guests. She said, "Look at the size of that ass and how wide it is!" She should look in the mirror more often before she makes nasty comments about other people. I already know that I need to lose weight and I am working on that and I dont need to hear it from her. My DH had the perfect come back. He said, "If you had gone through the treatments, chemo and surgeries that my wife has gone through this past year, you would be dead! I think my wife is doing pretty well considering and her ass looks fine to me." I love it!

We hit the bookstore after HOBBYLOBBY and I headed for the knitting section where some lady was leaning on the bookshelf with all the knitting books screaming into her cell phone. Hey lady, do you realize this is a BOOK STORE and not your living room? Oh, and get yourself off the bookshelf so OTHERS besides YOU can look at the BOOKS!! They didnt have anything new so I just picked up a magazine with some cute patterns.

I am trying to get rid of a migraine that I started the day with but it wont leave me!
Finally, I will address the title of my post. I had some supplies to make stitch markers so I whipped these babies up, sorry for the bad picture but its really hard to get a decent one with my old digital:

I plan on giving them to some knitting friends and I also want to give a set to Sally, my sock/dog sweater knitting teacher. I would love to sell these on Etsy or eBay but need to make a large quantity before I advertise them. They dont take much time or money to make so there is nothing stopping me! I should run them by owners of the LYS in town and maybe they can sell them. I would donate a percentage of the profits I make to breast cancer research and the AVON WALK that my Mom and I will be doing in October. Each person who participates has to raise a mimimium of $1800 to walk and I think this is one way we can do it. 5% of the profits would go directly to BC Research. If anyone is interested in purchasing these stitch markers from me please feel free to leave a comment here.

One of the LYS that I frequent is closing down for good. I received an e-mail last night and I am sad about it but they are going to have some HUGE sales soon. Maybe there is some 50% off cashmere in my future?? Hmmm...

Organizational Skills & A No Sew Fleece Blanket

A couple of days ago I went to Target and bought this cubicle thingy to organize my knitting books, patterns and yarns. Here are just a few pictures of my 'mad' skills.
This is what next to my bed looks like now:

I wish I took a before so you could say WOW but unfortunately I didnt.
My closet looks like this now:

Bottom of the closet with all my sock yarns:

These are the other containers located 'around' my room:


This is the No Sew Fleece Blanket I made yesterday with my cat Dom smack dab in the middle:

Some other views with and without a flash so you can see the color. If you look really close you can see the pink breast cancer awareness ribbons with a flower in the middle of each all over the blanket:

I am becoming quite crafty and was even looking at sewing machines at JoAnnes yesterday. I told my DH that I wanted one for my birthday. Not one of those expensive ones but a cheaper one for a beginner. The cheaper but decent ones are around $150-199. I am going to see if I can find one for less. I also picked up some Thomas the Tank Engine fabric to make my son some pillowcases.