We Have Knitting and Death! *LOL*

OK, So I haven't blogged for a bit BUT I have been knitting ALOT!

The date above is wrong too...it is May 20th, 2009. I started this on May 12th but didn't get it finished so Ignore that date!

I finished a pair of socks from the book '2 at a Time Socks'. The pattern is called Twilight. The yarn is Fannie's Fingering Weight in the colourway 'Grapes on a Vine'. I loved how this yarn looked in the skein but when knit up...not quite as much. Don't get me wrong I like these socks but the colours were more intense when it was in the skein form. I do like this pattern. I didn't get alot of pooling and it was really easy to remember the pattern. Fast too!

NEXT...

I knit 2 hot water bottle covers for a friend. One for her and the other for her son. They are both knit using left over yarn from my Christmas gifts. One just has a few stripes on it and the other has a dragonfly on it. My friend Loves and collects Dragonflies...who am I to judge, I collect all things Moose! *LOL*

DH's Durrow Sweater Is finished!

I had to modify the neck and make it a bit smaller. I followed the pattern and it came out like a boat neck...NOT something DH would wear but after I fixed it. It is just fine! Now we are waiting for the cooler weather for him to wear it. I really like the sleeves. They were my first cables. I think I did okay on them.

Next...is Sock Wars. I killed, then I died!

I knit a pair of socks for my target who lives in the next town over. I started Friday evening and finished in them VERY late Saturday evening. They were knit using TOFUtsies yarn in the colourway 930. The pattern was designed by the person running Sock Wars and is called Barcelona. It was a fun, quick knit!

AND Finally I received MY Death Socks from my assassin who just happens to live in the next city over as well. I think I was the only participant that had the opportunity to hand deliver her targets socks and had her assassin hand deliver her socks! I made the First kill and died the next day! LOL

My Death socks were knit using Malabrigo Sock Yarn in a purple colourway. The pattern is Air Raid...another pattern designed for Sock Wars. They are lovely socks!

That's it for now!

Happy Knitting! To those in Sock Wars....R.I.P.

Mom...Forever in my Heart!

Today is my Mom's birthday. She would have been 67 this year. Instead of celebrating, I am missing her dearly. She has been gone 17 years now. She died of ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease). It is a Horrible way to die. They say it is like being buried alive in your own body. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I still miss her every day...she was one of my best friends, someone I could talk to about anything. We used to go to craft stores and the different festivals together. She taught me how to sew, knit, do a variety of other creative things, as well as all the things a mother teaches her daughter. She truly was an amazing woman.

I was 25 when she passed. I have come to the conclusion that no matter how old you are...you never stop needing your mother. There are so many things that I want to ask her and that I could learn from her.

My son was 9 months old when she died. He was the light in her eyes. We would go and visit 5 or 6 days a week. My mom would light up when we arrived. She couldn't talk but we found our ways to communicate. Grunting and blinking eyes. She loved holding my son, she could watch him for hours...

Unfortunately she never got to meet my daughter...she would have liked her, in fact I think my daughter is very much like my mother...I find it kind of humourous that my mom died telling me that I couldn't just have one child...and then I have another and she is JUST like my mom.

Most days I believe that everything happens for a reason, I don't always figure out that reason...my Mom passing away forced me to make some changes in my life. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger....well, I have shoulders of steel!

The last 17 years have been hard for this girl without her mother. I have been at the bottom of the barrel and am now holding my own! I lost everything I once had, with the exception of my children. I believe that my mother instilled in me a strength that I didn't know I had until after she died. Its funny how that works...You truly don't know what you have until it is gone...I miss You, Mom...Every day!!

I now tend to watch how other people interact with their mothers. I have come to the conclusion that most people don't appreciate their moms. They don't have the time to spend with her or they don't treat her the way she should be treated. This Mother's Day I want everyone who still has their mother around to REALLY look at your mom and appreciate her and all that she does...some day your mother will be gone too!

And for those who don't get along with their mother...try! Think about it...it really is a short term problem! Once she is gone you can't get her back to say what you want....It truly is final!

On that note I want to wish all the mothers out there A very Happy Mother's Day!

Wireless....Awesome!

Ok, so here I am sitting in a coffee shop in Milton, working on the Internet! This new fangled technology is wonderful. There are no pictures in this post, as my camera cable is at home. I will try to post a few pictures later.

I had to take my vehicle in the my mechanic today because it has been making this wickedly loud noise and my check engine light is on...it sounds like a jet taking off whenever I drive. I arrived at the auto shop this morning and Doug, (my mechanic), gets in my van and takes it for a ride. He can tell within the first 100 yards what the problem is. He is amazing! I need a new wheel bearing. Apparently it is not a good thing to need.,. BUT he reassured me that my wheel won't fall off as I am driving it around for the next few hours until the part arrives.

I decided to take DH's laptop with me today since I knew I would be waiting around and had some work that I could get done. I also brought my knitting with me...big shocker!

I am finished the Durrow sweater ....well as much as I can do on my own...I am taking it to my Knitting Knite on Wednesday to have Guru Beth to show me what to do next.

So in the meantime, I started a pair of socks for DH. I am using the Cascades Handpainted sock yarn that I showed you in a previous post. The colourway is 'Thunder'. It ia a great colour and DH reallys likes it. I was going to try one of the socks from Cookie A's new book but I was having trouble increasing the cast on stitches for DH's foot. The sock that I was going to do was one with cables on it. DH really liked the fact that there were X's & O's running down the back of the sock. Hugs & kisses is what he thought! So I am doing a 2 x 2 rib with that pattern on the back. It is turning out pretty cool...I have a complete O and half of an X done so far...

Well, I am meeting a friend for lunch so I should hit the road for now...

Happy Knitting...

I Got It Figured Out...

OK, so since I last blogged, I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong with the sleeves on the Durrow Sweater....Well Della arrived and we I figured it out. I was reading the chart wrong...I was reading it from right to left every row instead of right to left then left to right! OMG!! It was something so silly that neither Della or Beth even thought about it. I have never used a chart before, but now that I figured it out....well I may do it again! DH is very happy that his sweater is not going to be totally Amish...LOL

Here are the sleeves. I am so impressed that I did this! I think it looks great for my first cables.

I have one more repeat to do then I close the cables and attached the sleeves to the rest of the sweater! Woo Hoo!

Below is a picture of the basement floor. It was originally a Fred Flintstone hearth that we ripped out. Now it is beautiful hardwood floor. There will eventually be a gas stove on it. This was my FIRST attempt ever at laying down hardwood flooring....and I am pretty happy with the results! It looks great and solves the problem that we had.

Next step is calling for quotes to have the stove installed....I'll keep you posted!

Happy Knitting!

Next...

The other day a friend and her brother stopped into my store for a visit. She brought me a Sarbucks Latte, she had a coffee, and her brother had a caramel apple drink of some sort. It smelled really good. We all enjoyed our drinks and after we were done, M (the brother), let Tiger lick his Caramel Apple cup. Well that was it....Tiger cleaned that cup, we could have brought it back to Starbucks, it was that clean...

The REALLY funny part was that Tiger wouldn't put the cup down. He carried it around my store for 45 minutes. We laughed the whole time and took a few pictures. It was Hilarious... DD thought that maybe he could be the next Starbuck's Rep.! I love this picture...but you can't see the logo...

Here is another pair of the Blender socks. These are knit using leftover bits of blue yarn that I had from the many pairs that I have knit over the years. They started out being for DH but I used a 2.25mm needle on them and they wouldn't go over his instep....OOOPS, they are now mine! I really like them. I found that using the 2.25mm needles the knit fabric is very sturdy, and I love the way the yarns mingled together. It looks like it is one yarn only!

I really love this pattern however, these will be my last pair of Blenders for a while. I have a few skeins of gorgeous yarn that I want to knit with next. The next pair is definately for DH, since I messed the last pair up! I bought some Cascades Heritage Handpainted yarn in the colourway 'Thunder'. This is not a great picture...the colours really do remind me of a thunder storm!

DH is looking forward to these ones! I am not sure of the pattern for them yet, as DH won't wear anything to fussy. But I think this yarn deserves more than just a ribbing on the socks.

On the Durrow Sweater front. OMG! I don't know what I am doing wrong but there is DEFINATELY something happening there... I knit the front and back without a problem, but then who can't knit a 4 x 2 rib...LOL.

NO... my problem is with the sleeves and the wandering cable that is on them. I knit the first chart 18 rows and I thought there was something a little off. I looked on Ravelry at the other projects and my sleeves did NOT look like theirs. So I called my Durrow Guru, Beth, because she has made this sweater before. I stopped by her place on Wednesday and she had a look at it and...Yep, I was right...there was something wrong! Well she frogged it....no she RIPPED it back and highlighted the chart and sent me on my way with her DH's sweater so I could SEE what it was supposed to look like. I thought this was a great idea. I get home and start again...DH is sitting next to me, happy that I am working on his sweater again. I followed the pattern to the symbol, exactly, there was NO WINE involved, I swear, nothing! Just me, the chart, needles and the yarn. I get to row 10 this time and I look at it....OMG!!!!!!!! Again there is something wrong...so I put it away, poured a glass of wine and called Della. She told me not to touch it till she saw me 2 days later and she would have a look at it.

Fast forward to Friday evening....I see Della....and YEP! I did something wrong! She RIPPED it back this time...and since it was late and I was very tired we decided that I would leave it till I see her later today so she can Watch me knit the cable. She thinks that maybe I am twisting something. I don't think I am but then if I was doing it right I wouldn't have had to RIP it out twice!

So here I sit waiting for Della to arrive...

Happy Knitting!

It Never Fails To Amaze Me....

How my body decides to give up when I have a day off! I have been sick AGAIN! It started on Sunday with a tickle in my throat, then by Sunday evening I had it pretty much full on...Monday was a bad day at work for my nose. It ran away...and then yesterday (my day off) I felt like crap. My body ached, my head was stuffed and I was coughing and sneezing. Then low and behold ...today I am back at work and feeling MUCH better. What's with that...?

On the knitting side...

I have been working on DH's Durrow sweater. I have the front and back completed and am working on the cabled sleeves. But I think I have done something wrong as it doesn't look quite like the rest of the projects on Ravelry. I have asked a friend, SPALC, to have a look at them since she has already finished this sweater for her DH. So hopefully I am just seeing things (since I have been sick) and I don't have to frog them out and start over again but if I do I want to do it soon since I only have about 4 inches done.

I am also working on the toe of the Blender socks in blue. WOO HOO I guess there are a few good things to being sick...I knit them all day yesterday. Well I knit them and napped! I should be finished this evening. I will post pictures tomorrow (hopefully).

On the basement reno side...

We got the panelling and trim up. It is not perfect but looks a whole lot better. We still have quite a bit of work to do but we are on our way. The tasks that we have left are to lay the wood floor, put trim on the floor between the carpet and wood floor, put the baseboard on, paint it all, have the gas stove hooked up and then re-stucco the top part of the wall.

Before we can lay the flooring we have to move the old wood stove...I swear it weighs a tonne. I can't lift it with DH. We need another body and DS & DD are really not the bodies to use. I may have to get my brother to come over and give us a hand. Maybe I will get him to come on the weekend so we can get it done!

The floor we are putting down is only going to be in the foot print of the previous hearth area. It will be butted up to the carpet. The wood we have for that area is an exotic hardwood. It is about the only thing exotic in my life! I am very much looking forward to having it all done. I really miss the woodstove but a gas one will be even better as I can just flick a switch to have it start. I was never really good at chopping the wood, and lighting the fire!

Hopefully the next time I post it will all be done....(are you going to hold your breath?)

Happy Knitting!

March Break Approaching!

March break is approaching and DD & DS are BOTH going away for a week snowshoing with their youth group! I believe DH is laid off for yet another week! Even my friend, Della has March Break off. Apparently I am doing something wrong as I have to work! Oh well at least I have my 'Trusty Dog, Tiger' to keep me company at work.

Here are yet another pair of Blender Socks. This time they are for a Dance Mom Friend! They are knit using left over orange yarn. I really like how they turned out.

This is my woodstove and Fred Flintstone hearth that didn't pass the Insurance inspection. It really was a horrid site. The chimney was installed UPSIDE down! The hearth was intruding into the room by about 5 feet, We ripped it all out. One of the boulders weighed about 150lbs. It took everything my son and I had to carry it up the stairs in the rubbermaid bin and put it in the dumpster! We have since insulated, drywalled and are in the process of putting the panelling up. The floor will have an exotic hardwood in place of the stone and we will be installing a gas stove. This should all be done in the next few weeks! I am so looking forward to getting it done and having the basement put back together again!

I will post a picture later when I get home of the progress that we have made. It really is amazing how much bigger the room looks without Fred's fireplace in it! It is alot brighter as well.

I have been working on DH's Durrow Sweater. I have finished the Back piece and am 3/4 done the front. After that then I get to start the Sleeves. They have cables on them. I am still a little aprehensive about doing that many cables but I have been told that I can do them 'No Problem!'.

I am also knitting ANOTHER pair of Blender socks in a blue colour this time. I started them for DH but they don't fit over his arch....so they are now mine! OOPS...I promise Honey the NEXT pair will be for you! LOL

Happy Knitting!