Yippee! I just got done playing a bit with some graphics to make a banner for the top of this page. I'm completely graphics challenged, so this was not easy. Maybe at some point I will actually be able to make a blog sticker too! In any case, it feels good to do some fun things for a change.

I have a picture that I love of me and Sean and he looks like he just dropped his ice cream. But for some reason I just love that picture. Maybe I can find some way to work it into the page.

Here is the before on the Booga J Bag. For some reason the "after" picture makes it look all dark with no striping effect. I am rather pleased but think that it could be a bit stiffer. So the one I'm working on now is being worked with double strands (dark grey and deep teal). Now, I'm worried that the stitches are too tight for felting.

On other projects, I'm still working on the sleeve for the Einstein Coat. And after starting one vest for Ahren, ended up frogging that and trying a different sweater with different yarn - it looks much better. I also got the yarn for Pete's Sweater, I think I might do the Top Down Sweater from The Knit Stitch (the one that slips every 5th stitch).

This was yesterday, Sean was playing his computer game and it just tuckered him out! So cute!


I think that this one might be our Christmas Card this year...

What luck!

Today I was doing some errands in a nearby town and stop in at a small yarn shop, the woman there mentioned that there was a new yarn shop that opened in the next town over. I happened to stop in and fell in love with the yarns they had, the wonderfully friendly staff and the overall feel. What a great shop! I picked up a book "Basic Patterns"?? something (can't remember the title) that has all sorts of basic patterns written for different sizes AND different gauges. So basically you knit up a swatch, measure it to get the gauge, then use the pattern to figure out how to knit it up. Awesome! As someone who can rarely knit to gauge, this a true blessing!

I also picked up some wonderful yarn that is going to be some mittens and it looks great so far. I'm even doing the ribbing for the first mitten and so far, it is actually going well.

Lots of yarn (well for me, anyway) and projects planned, in case we loose power, I should be all set (except for keeping the kids happy without our usual technology).

Yeah! The Booga J Bag is finished! I am rather pleased with it, although I thought it came out a bit less structured than I thought it would. I think that is more a product of the fact that I knit it very loosely. Or maybe I need to felt it more. Pictures will come along soon, I hope.

On the Einstein coat, I am about halfway finished with the right sleeve. I did get two more skeins, and I'm thinking I might have to get another one or so in order to finish it.

In other news, Ahren went on her first sleepover this weekend. It was a rather impromptu event. Friday night we were at a neighborhood cocktail party and Ahren was playing with one of her school friends, Abby, before we knew it they made plans for a sleepover at Abby's house. Saturday turned into another playday for her as Abby's family took them to a cabin they had for the weekend, which turned into a second night with Abby. Wow! My little girl is growing up!

I think that tomorrow we will be picking up our new van! (Well, it's new to us!) It is a '99 Plymouth Voyager. We are rather pleased with it, the price was right and had everything that we had been looking for. Pete took the day off work in order for us to go out car shopping and it worked out quite well. The dealership just has to finish their Safety Inspection and they are having it detailed for us as well (even tho' the car looked awesome to us).

Okay, I don't know what I did or how I did it, but I finally got the picture of Ahren and Sean up on the left. I tried so many things I don't know what actually worked. Now if I can actually get it to actually work again, it will be a miracle.

I am going to have to get at least one more skein for the Einstein coat, since I'm on my last skein and have to do the two sleeves and the collar still. Perhaps I will get up the energy to take some pics of it and actually get it into the blog!

Maki - "Truly Rare"


What would your Japanese name be? (female)
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Ah September 11th....I think I will participate in setting a book free today. Check out this cool website a friend sent me, BookCrossing.

Here is the latest progress....

-Einstein coat (The Knit Stitch): I have the lower panel, and all the upper panels finished, now I am picking up stitches for the right sleeve. :) Yeah! Progress!

-Jen's Poncho (The Knit Stitch): One skein of yarn done, but I seem to be stalled there, too busy trying to finish the coat.

-Booga J Bag: It's moving right along, this is my traveling project, which works out well since I can knit it while waiting at the bus stop or taking Sean to the park. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how much it will shrink when felted. I don't want it to be too small and having never felted something before, it is pretty much an experiment.

Okay, so this is my third time trying to jot a note down, blogger and/or my computer keep crashing.

The bottom line is I have been getting some knitting done - yeah! I finished the Regia socks and have started the Einstein Coat along with a felted bag. I'm hoping that life calms down in the next week with Sean starting pre-school.

I will work on getting some pictures up some time soon - I promise.