Weaving Loose Ends

Movin' On

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 14:24:08 GMT

With all the 360 problems I've decided I'm not going to double post anymore. I've moved all but about 100 of my posts over to my Blogger blog and will continue to move them rest before the first of the year.

Current posts can be found at Blogger. I do hope all of you will continue to read my blog over there.

Let me share, again, with you the best tool for reading blogs I've found:
Google Reader. All you have to do is put the URL for the blogs you read, go there when you're ready to read them and all of them that have new posts since the last time you were there will show up. No more traveling from blog to blog to see if there is a new post.

Gar! Read a Banned Book!

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:34:07 GMT

Sure wish I'd found this shirt for International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I CO a work sock for 2nd Son's Christmas Eve birthday gift.

It's another Wool-Ease sock....It should be thin enough he can wear them with his work boots. He does a lot of outdoor work in the winter and often is on the job site before dawn. The nice thing about ww socks is they knit up so very fast!

Today is Youngest Granddaughter's 2nd Birthday! Here's a pic from around this time last year...

And here is one from last week! My how she's grown! Her party will be next Friday, the day before I turn 55. Where have the years gone?

It's Banned Books Week, September 29- October 6. Read one or more of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. Here's the ones I've read:

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

There are those who believe that our society is safer or otherwise better off when our access to information is limited. In fact, librarians know the opposite to be true: well-informed people are free people; education is a crucial component to success. Libraries providing a wide range of information across the breadth of public opinion provide everyone with the opportunity to become a well-informed, independent-minded citizen – the bedrock of our democratic society.--Kent Oliver

Shrug: The Final Chapter

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:52:44 GMT

I finished it up yesterday! The crocheted shells were frogged, more sleeve sewn up, and some length added in the back. And she's totally happy with it! It's made out of Caron Simply soft and a strand of a rayon blend thread that F got on eBay, decided he'd not use it, and gifted me with.

Another birthday present hits the dust!

Made a pair of legwarmers for my granddaughter yesterday, too. Crocheting is so much faster and this is another one of those "will probably not get worn much" gifts. Today I'm going to dye them with some color of Kool Aid or another. It'll be in the pink family, I think.

I started searching for a glove pattern for 2nd son's birthday. I just can't visualize how to proceed past putting the thumb sts on a holder. Does anyone know of a good glove tutorial? So, I just don't know what to make him.... I made him a hat last year and I'm sure he won't wear a scarf. I suppose socks.....

Surprise visit from my gransons yesterday. Eldest daughter asked if they could spend the night.

And what should be bad news: Youngest Daughter lost one of her clients yesterday. Don't know why...they just called the agency and cancelled services. This client was a major portion of our income. But I'm not upset and YD doesn't seem to be either! She had to drive 45-60 minutes twice a day five days a week equating out to like $130 a month in gas. They treated her dreadfully and she was started to exhibit physical symptoms from the anxiety of having to go out there. Monday she'll go into the agency and see what they have for her. They've been calling asking her if she could take on other clients, so now she can. We'll manage.

We put the Postal Exam study guide on reserve at the Library. There was an add in the paper for openings at the Post Office. It may just be a temporary job over the holiday season. She'd have the chance then, to see if "going postal" is an option for her.

And the library always has positions open for shelf stockers....

Got my new Rodentia all measured out and rolled into four balls. I did a swatch last night. Figured out gauge and number of CO sts. I'm using #2 needles and it gives a nice firm fabric. Fortunately I have two sets of 2s so I can CO both socks at the same time. Now I just can't decide if I should knit a pair up to wear at Disneyland and make another pair while there, or just wait.....

The weather has finally cooled down to a comfortable 80+ degrees during the day and down in the 70s at night. I read on other blogs about frosts and crisp autumn air.... ::heavy sigh::

Need a good laugh? <--click And one for the cat lovers <--click

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:29:29 GMT

The shrug is bound off, the sleeves sewn and I'm starting the edging around the circle inside. That would be the line that runs from the neck to the sleeves to the bottom to the other sleeve back to the neck. I decided to crochet shells around instead of picking up several hundred sts and knitting for days! Youngest Daughter tried it on last night and it fit nicely. More pics as I get closer to the end.
Camera is working fine...it was, can you believe, two packages of bad batteries? Anyway, here's my click--> Rodentia! While taking breaks from the shrug, I'm going to get it wound into balls today.

Caught up on my DVRed shows yesterday. It's so nice to see all my old friends! (I don't get out much.)

I love the Wizard of Oz! These are from Katydid Knits. <--click I have earrings of the Wicked Witch and Glenda.

Ya gotta wonder who'll be the first person to turn this into an afghan pattern!

About the Bellywarmers on yesterday's post.... In Oriental Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine as one branch that I know a bit about, keeping the kidneys warm is an essential part of staying healthy. Babies and the elderly traditionally wear some kind of belly band to maintain health. I'm guessing the people between these two age ranges do to, but keep it underneath everything. I'm thinking seriously of making one for my grand daughter to wear to school....

Moving Along

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:38:37 GMT

I got quite a bit done one the shrug. This pic is just a showing of the patterns sof far. Little bit of this, little bit of that.... It should be somewhere between three quarter length sleeves and full sleeves. Won't know till I get it done. I should have less than six inches to do on it, but haven't measured YD yet, so not sure.

Did measure the scarf for 3rd son, tho, and have about a yard done. I want it to be a neck scarf so I'm think four feet should be long enough. It's made with one strand of acrylic in a rusty brown, and one strand of the grey wool I made my grandson's sweater out of. I'm thinking of dyeing it with the golden yellow when I finish it, so it'll be a variation of the Gryffindor colors, scarlet and gold (which are really more maroon and gold in the movies).

My beautiful Rodentia yarn from Ray at Knitivity <--click arrived yesterday! Now I need, not want, mind you, but need to determine needle size by CO some sts and knitting a small swatch. Of course, first I have to weigh it, roll it into two equal balls.... I get to play with my new yarn!!!!

I tried to take a picture of MY skeins, but, there seems to be something wrong with the camera, or with the two boxes of store brand batteries we bought a while ago from Walgreens. :::heavy sigh::: The camera isn't even a year old, so I'm praying it's not that. I'm thinking it's the batteries, though, cuz half of them will turn the camera on, and I even got one more pic taken with one set, but not enough juice to be able to download the pic....

And you know how I feel about pics on blogs....a blog without pictures is like a day without sunshine!

Here's a place to rent craft videos, <--click including EZ's! I think they are a tad expensive, but....

We had spaghetti last night--It was good!

Shrug--Attempt II

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:40:39 GMT

After looking carefully at what I'd done, I didn't think the shrug was going to go the way I wanted it to. So, I frogged and decided to do a less fitting one based on the very simplest of shrugs, a rectangle seamed at the arms. So, that's what I'm working on. I got about five inches done yesterday. It'll have a variety of lace patterns on it. The first a Feather and Fan, the next is a click--> ZigZag Lace Trellis. Who knows after that?

That was what I did all day. Watched a few more episodes of The Duchess of Duke Street.
House M D is back! I do love that show! It was great fun to sit and watch the arrogant SOB again! I added a few inches onto the scarf for 2nd son while watching TV.

Shrug

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:55:51 GMT

Knitting another birthday present. You see, almost all the birthdays in my family are in the fall and winter. They start September 1st and end pretty much on Christmas Eve. Yes, a couple (like four out of twelve) fall outside that range. Normally I start my gift knitting on January 1st. I'm really behind schedule this year.

It's time for me to start the November gifts. The first one being Youngest Daughter's shrug. Didn't find a pattern I really like, so I'm making this one up as I go along. Shrugs aren't hard really, they can be as simple as a rectangle <--click with sleeves sewn up at each end, to complex lacy patterns. <--click YD was sure she wanted a nice snug shrug. So, I started out in the round. Garter st border st st sleeve. Then just started knitting garter st flat, increasing at the beginning of each row till it's probably about 12 -14 inches wide. Straight across back, decrease and then the second sleeve.

Personally, something like this would make me nuts. I want my lower back covered if I'm going to bother wearing something. All my shawls are wide enough to cover from neck to past my waist. But that's what she wanted, so who am I to wonder why?

So, I got that started. I worked a bit on my Bog Jacket...Got the thumb trick put in for the neckline and have started the front of one sleeve. It's really not a lot of of knitting left to do (compared to what's already been done). And I added a few inches on my 3rd son's scarf.

And that was the end to my uneventful but full Monday.

Doesn't Feel Right

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:34:38 GMT

I frogged the glove thingie I was working on. Just too much ambiguity in the pattern. IOW, I couldn't picture how to do it. So I frogged. Then I started about three different pairs of mitten/glove combos. And promptly frogged those. At about 3:00 pm I came to realize that I was having some kind of anxiety based inability to knit anything complicated.

So I started a scarf for him. Simple K3 P3 with an I-Cord edge. One strand of superwash and one strand of soft acrylic. I got about 16 inches done, so it's a good start on something that doesn't need to be mailed out till mid-October.

Finished K's mittenz. They turned out cute. If I have time, I'll make a hat to go with them.

Once I finally could get my groove on and knit, I watched The Duchess of Duke Street <--click on Netflix. It's a BBC series set in the early 20th Century at the end of the Victorian and beginning of the Edwardian eras. I got hooked.

So, working on the scarf and the bog jacket today.

Check this out from Sock Lady Spins. <--click I thought two socks at a time was pushing the limits!

New Projects

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:44:59 GMT

Isn't this cool? I'd love to have a sock knitting machine for deadline projects (like Christmas). Or just to see how the new yarn would knit up! It's that instant gratification thing that conflicts with the meditative slow job of knitting! Talk about Jekyll and Hyde!

Okay, so I was gonna make my grand son a vest. I had about six inches done (two strands of ww) and just plain decided this was silly. The chances of him ever wearing it is minimal for two reasons: (1) If his mother ever found out I made it (we usually lie and say Youngest Daughter made whatever) she would probably throw it away. (2) He's autistic and it's always a crap shoot concerning him wearing any particular piece of clothing. So I opted for fraternal mittens and made pretty good progress on them. Yes, the chances he'd wear them are minimal, too, but they take less time for him not to wear them!

However, on the up side of K's life, his mom found a special needs soccer league for him. Several autistic kids among the other group. My 2nd son stopped by with some video of his "game" this week. Really cute and K is kicking the ball this week, while last week he didn't interact with the ball at all!

I cast on the socks for my 3rd son and decided after I got the cuff done I'd change them to fingerless gloves <---click. I've just about finished with the thumb gusset. We'll see how I feel about all this once I do all those futzy fingers! Pictures will be here when I get further along.

Hopefully both of these projects will be relatively quick so I can move on to other equally quick knits for Christmas. Or I may have to resort to crochet which is ten times faster than knitting!

DONE!

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:58:08 GMT

I finished the Cargo Pants yesterday while visiting with F! Aren't they cute and they fit perfectly, bubble butt and all!

I made good progress on the Bog Jacket, too. I'm about three rows from the next piece of excitement, which is the waste yarn for the neck, which divids the knitting in half to make the front of the sleeves. I'll take pics as I go along so you can see.

F and I were grounded yesterday. His husband was working and then had a social engagement so F had no car. Youngest Daughter, Youngest Son and Oldest Son went to a movie, so I had no car. Not that makes yesterday different from most Fridays, but somehow we felt the pressure of not being able to go out vs choosing not to go out. There wasn't even a good Chinese restaurant to deliver nearby! However, that didn't affect our ability to yak for six hours!

Because I've been such a good girl and am down to two projects OTN, I started a new one last night. I have a grandson with a birthday coming up in three weeks or so. I CO a sweater vest <--click for him last night. It's loosely based on this pattern. Instead of the garter stitch at the bottom, I CO ten sts, and am knitting the bottom band with an I-cord edging on one side. Then I'll pick up sts on the non-I-cord side and continue up the vest. The I-cord causes the edges to pull in a bit, so it'll create a bit of shaping at th bottom similar to ribbing but it won't grip as much. I'll take a pic once I get a couple inches of it done.

I need to CO another pair of socks for Son#3 as his birthday's in a few weeks, too. Then I'll be back up to four projects again! I've decided to put the Mobius Jacket on permanent hold till I get some of the other "deadlined" projects done.
So, plans for today? Knit, knit, knit and then knit!

Isn't this Two Batt bag a very cool bag? <---click For all you spinners that are overloaded with fiber...why not just knit or crochet the fiber???? Who needs to go through the hassle of spinning it up? I'm wondering how well the concept would work to knit up slippers to be fulled.....

Ray, at Knitterman, the owner of Knitivity, has found some gorgeous wooden knitting needles! They are color coded by sizes and really are great looking.