Loose Ends

It is time to tie up some loose ends. I've been meaning to post some pictures so here they go!

First of all - The lovely Odyssey novelty yarn that my Secret Pal sent me! As soon as I get my size 15 needles free, I'll be stitching up a wonderful scarf! I don't have a picture that isn't totally fuzzy of the cutest little Easter gift I got from my Secret Pal. It is a fuzzy sheep tape measure. The only problem is keeping the kids away from it! Too cute!


Next up, the blocked version of Baby Pullover for my new neice, Devon. It is done with Cotton Fleece yarn, which I love dispite it's splitting nature.


Now we have Cobweb (from MagKnits). Love the design, but wish I had made it bigger (it is more like a capelet size). The one that I'm working now is going to be more the appropriate size.


And just because I'm looking through my computer photo album and new one of Ahren (striking a pose) and my cute little Seanie-boy.



As I'm looking through the photos of me with my longer hair, it makes me so sad ---- I miss my long hair!!! wahhhhh! I did find something that I think will help me get through this rough hair time --- the magic of the Flat Iron!!!! If I had one of these when my hair was longer, I NEVER would have considered cutting it! I cut it because it was doing all these little flip ups and the natural wave that my hair has, just makes it difficult to manage. The Flat Iron seems to beat it into a beautiful submission. It makes my current bob, soooo shiny and feel sooooo silky. I've decided at least for now, that I won't get a perm (tho' I may change my mind later). I know you were dying to know what I decided. :)

Comments!

Yeah! I finally brought back the comments! Hopefully, this one won't have the problems that the last one had.

The weather here has been simply lovely. I've been busy working on getting things sorted out in the basement and garage. I finally decided to go ahead and do a garage sale. It will be the last Saturday in May. I'm probably crazy for planning this, but I figure that if I don't plan and work on it now, then I will never do it.

What's New?

Well, aside from being fairly busy, not too much! For spring break we (me and the kiddos) went to PA to visit my family. I even got the Baby Pullover done for Baby Devon -- it really looks cute, tho' I forgot to take a pic of the FO. :( I'll just have to have my sister take one for me.

I've been working bits and pieces on my current WIPs: Cobweb Redux, Eyelet Cardi, ChicKami and the Hip Scarf. For some reason, I keep planning to work on the ChicKami and then forget to grab the next size needle I need (I've only done the ribbing so far), so it still sits and waits for me. Cobweb is coming along nicely, I've found an easier way to track the finished rows and keep my place in the pattern. Such a simple thing, but it makes a big difference. Eyelet Cardi is dragging on and on. Why can't I seem to get this first sleeve finished???? Is it the tiny needles (tho' they aren't that tiny!)? Is it the fact that it is a sleeve,which I hate??? Maybe I should resolve to only knit baby sweaters or tanks - yeah, that's it! "Sorry, dh, you will have to settle for an Irish Aran Tank, instead of a sweater" Yeah, right.

Right now, my biggest concern is my hair and what to do with it. For forever, Pete wanted me to grow my hair long, then a few weeks ago, he started asking when I was going to get a haircut. Guess he didn't like the long hair as much as he thought. I kinda did, but felt like I needed a change. I got a cut, from past my shoulders length to above my shoulders. It was good, but ended up getting another cut, because let's just say that my hair was screaming for a different style. Cut #2 is nice, but shorter than I really wanted to go in the back, and it is okay, but the problem is that now it's long enough that there is just enough hair to kink up in the back and on the sides. I now get really bad bed head which I do not like. For me, that would be Reason #1 to keep the long hair, I wake up and it looks fine or in the worst scenerio I pull it back in a twist. Why, oh why did I cut my hair??? sniff, sniff

So the dilemna: do I just leave and deal with it, trying to avoid mirrors? Or do I get a perm, which would allow me more of a wash and go style, I do really like curly hair on me and it makes the growing out time a lot easier. I really want to do the perm and the main reason that I'm thinking of NOT doing the perm and just living with it, is simply because back at school this week, so many folks said, "oh, you got your hair cut AGAIN", they of course, said it looks nice and such, but if I go back next week with a perm, they will start to think that I'm looney. Maybe I can hold off until school is over and I won't see as many people.

I admit it - I was hooked on The Apprentice. I really wanted Kwame to win, but that was not easy with Omarosa on his team. But my overall favorite was definitely Troy, so I was pleased when I saw this....

I am like Troy. -- "PHD, MBA, BA, to me it’s all BS. Street smarts are where it's at."

Troy was Versacorp's Project Manager for the Lemonade Challenge, Protégé's Project Manager for the Real Estate Challenge, the Pedicab Challenge and the High Rise Rental Challenge.

Which Apprentice are You?
brought to you by The Apprentice Blog and Quizilla

Tooth Woes

Sean has always had dental issues. Ever since his teeth started coming in. In October 2002, at 3 years old, he had dental surgery, where they did one extraction, 4 root canals, cleaning, sealants and xrays all while he was *under*. Since then, he has lost one of his molars, the one that had the root canal. Our dentist thinks that there could be any number of reasons why it fell out. We will probably never know. Last week when Sean was at school one of his friends who loves to give hugs was hugging him from behind on the playground, Sean was trying to break free and in the flurry he bumped his mouth on the monkey bars. His remaining front tooth bleed a bit and was wiggly, but it has been wiggly before (like when he fell off his bike and caught his mouth on the curb) but it usually firms up with a few days.

I checked his tooth again today and it is still quite wiggly - even dare I say, more wiggly. I have a call in the office to see if our wonderful dentist wants us to do anything in case it falls out. My instinct says that he will say don't worry about it. When the front teeth are missing, it isn't a huge deal in the long run - it likely won't effect the permanent teeth coming in. But for example, when his molar came out, we ended up getting a spacer put in (like a loop of metal that attaches to the tooth behind it) so that the teeth wouldn't move around causing a need for braces. He will still possibly need braces, but if we hadn't done the spacer it would have been more severe and more definite.

Blocking!

I finished up Cobweb this week. I must have gotten off track when counting my rows, since it is pretty clear that I've not done enough rows. I did do my best to figure out the edging, but it just was not working for me, so I decided to just do a regular cast off, then I realized that there was an alternate choice of doing a crocheted trim on the curved edge, of course, I realize that after I finished the plain cast off. I was pleased to learn an new technique: applied I-cord! After a few false starts I was able to figure it out. I had hoped that it would stretch out when blocked, and it did a bit. Although it isn't quite the large shawl that I would have liked (should have trusted my instincts that it really wasn't long enough - I'm such an impatient knitter). I think I might do a little chain stitch cord to use to sort of tie it around my shoulder. It seems that it will come down to my elbows and I think I will like it anyway.

Depending on the first trial run, I might make a lighter colored one to wear with a sleeveless dress for my neices' wedding in June. Pictures to follow :)

Happy Spring!

Finally, this week it feels like spring has hit New England and I couldn't be happier. Luckily, I don't have to fuss over an Easter dinner (sil is doing that). I've eveh been able to get some things done around the house, since Pete was home for a 3 day weekend, which was further extended by leaving work early on Thursday due to an emergency eye scratch - apparently it was quite bad and his eye doc thought it might have been an eye ulcer - ouch!

In non-knitting news, I have been working rather diligently on decluttering our house. We simply have too much stuff! In the past few weeks, I have cleared out at least 11 tall kitchen garbage bags of clothes, plus there is a TON of other stuff that has got to go. The challenging thing is determining what things to simply donate and what I could sell on ebay. I know that some of the clothes I have would do well on ebay, but not the slew of turtlenecks, knit pants, and tshirts I have in varying kid sizes. So I decided that I'm simply saving the nursing/maternity things for ebay and all other clothes are going to a yard sale (my choice) or donation (Pete's choice). The problem is that there is a ton of other stuff too, household things, craft stuff, things I will likely never use. Somtimes it is just hard to determine what to list on ebay and what to just donate, so it ends up sitting there, going nowhere collecting dust. In many ways, I just want it OUT OF MY HOUSE. So I guess that is a vote for donating it.

The first bit of knitting news: I got a sweet little surprise from my secret pal! It is the cutest little lamb measuring tape. I don't know who loves it more, me or the kids. Thank you Secret Pal!

While at the lys the other day, I picked up some Cascade Quattro, even tho' I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. By the time I got home I decided that it would be perfect for a Chickami, I've done about 3 rows of the bottom ribbing and really liking the way it is coming together.

I did finish my Bottoms Up Bucket with Cascade Sierra, but it really seems too big and sort of floppy for my head. I really love the brim, but the rest of the hat just isn't working for me. I still want to try lacing a ribbon or chain stitch length through it, maybe that will make it work. For my next bucket I think I will stick to the Classic Bucket, even tho' I dread picking up all those stitches.

I'm hoping to finish up Cobweb this week. It's hard for me to tell if the size is what I want it to be, since I know it will grow when blocked, and right now when it is all folded up in the bag, it scrunches down and almost seems to mat itself into a solid mass (luckily it unfolds easily). I'm a bit nervous about the edging and hope that if I follow the directions it will just work.

My latest felted bag is coming along nicely. I think I will end up making two, one for me and one for a silent auction. It is a cheery pink color with a strand of Eros carried along. I think it will be really nice when I'm done. My dark grey/teal felted bag seems so out of place in this warmer weather.

Hoops History!

Go Huskies! UConn makes basketball history this week when both the Women and Men win National Championships! Pete has been up late for the past week watching the games and boy were they worth it!

I've actually been able to get some knitting done since this week the kids both had play dates at our house with friends and I've needed to be close by to ward off any sibling issues that always arise. I blocked the Baby Pullover and this morning applied the neck band, only the sleeves and the side seams to do. Yippee!

While it was blocking, I started and finished (!) my bucket - it was really record time. Although I was a bit disappointed in the size, it seems too big. I even threw it in the washer and dryer hoping for a little shrinkage, but no go. While I was doing the band, I even thought about doing a little eyelet feature (k2tog, yo) every 5 (10?) stitches or so, to make a little design that I could thread some ribbon through. If I'd have done that I think I could have made it a little more adjustable. But instead I think I might do a little chain stitch that I weave through some of the stitches in the back and cinch it snugger. Well, we'll see.

So what's up next??? First gotta finish the Baby Pullover and the Eros Hip Scarf, then maybe a felted bag for a silent auction?? I have an idea to do a felted bag while carrying along a strand of Eros. I'm thinking that it will make for a sweet design.

Whew!

Long time, no blog! A quick update: My sister had her baby, Devon Elizabeth weighing in at 8lbs. 15ozs. Both mom and baby are fine. I've gone down to PA to visit them and help them move. They moved the week that she had the baby - oiy! Talk about a lot going on.

Moving into knitting news....I've been working on a really sweet baby pullover from Debbie Bliss Knitting Workbook, which is coming along quite nicely. I've done the front and back and am working on both at the same time, they are about 1/3 finished. Then block and seam and it will be in the mail, hopefully before Devon outgrows it. I'm using Cotton Fleece in a soft lavender. I am loving this yarn. It does split, but it feels so good to work with!

I also just cast on for a little hip scarf made with some fun Eros. I wasn't sure that I would be able to handle the Eros with any sort of control, but it seems that using Bamboo needles really helps. I have some silent auction fundraisers coming up and perhaps I can donate one of these.

I also picked up some cotton yarn to start working on a summer bucket, but I'm having a hard time getting up the energy to cast it on. (I seem to really hate casting on lately!) Maybe once the baby sweater is done, I can get that one started.