Found: UFO

UnFinished Object, that is. Drat! Just when I think I'm making headway at getting the loose ends (see previous post) tied up, I come across another UFO. In this case, it's the felted tote from One Skein. Honestly, I love this project, and I am glad I found it, because I can finish it quickly. It's knit in the round, and I'm using Addi turbo circular needles, my favorite. It does move quickly. But there are many color changes.

I'm using Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks and love the colors I chose - tulip, cherry, rain (lt. blue), avocado (lt. green), and winter night (almost navy). Go here for a look at Wool of The Andes. It's quite soft for wool, and very economical. The stripes are the bold colors and the bottom of the bag is the dark blue. The top of the bag and handles will also be dark blue. I have about 15 rows to knit yet, after working on it this weekend. Then I have to sew the bottom and felt it. Of course the agonizing wait for the wool to dry comes after that.

There's a good story behind this bag. I started it last June. Yes, June. BUT, I was on a bus filled with 46 seventh graders and a few brave (crazy??) grown-ups. We were on our way to Washington, D.C. for 3 days. I needed something mindless to work on for the long hours before we arrived at Gettysburg National Battlefield. We left at 6:30 AM and drove and drove and drove. I knitted and knitted and knitted, and talked to my buddy B. We talked about history, books we've read, and the trip, and managing the kids, and then we talked about knitting. How often do you get a man interested in your knitting?? Seriously.

The felted clutch will be a great reminder of a wonderful trip, as soon as I finish it this week.

And just so you know, the plans for Washington, D.C. June 2007 are in full swing. 98 kids are signed up. TWO full charter busses for me and B to keep track of this time.

If you haven't figured it out by now, yes, I am crazy. I've spent the past 16 years in seventh grade! Willingly.

Loose Ends

Last night I finished the Heartbreakingly Cute baby kimono. Wait. Let me rephrase that. I finished knitting the baby kimono. I also washed and blocked it. Now I'm waiting, rather impatiently, for it to dry so that I can seam up the sides and arms and sew on the ties.

Quite honestly, I'm quite pleased with myself for completing another project without doing any of the following:

1. Buying more yarn.
2. Starting another project.
3. Setting the kimono aside and leaving it unfinished.
4. Buying more yarn.

During the day yesterday I was in Ann Arbor, MI (GO BLUE!!) and I found a cute little yarn store at 306 South Main Street called Busy Hands. Look it up if you get the chance. I'll try to find a link for you. There was nothing there that I couldn't buy at my LYS here; one of the criteria I have for purchases that I try to adhere to strictly. It was fun, however, to browse and get new ideas.

Those that know me in real life, though, know I'm never short on ideas. They usually involve some sort of mischief. ;-) Life is short. We get one shot. So I make sure I have a good time and laugh. A lot.

It's a beautiful night for knitting... um... baseball!

Game Three of the World Series is tonight. I love baseball! And the normal Tuesday night lineup is all re-runs, so I don't even have to flip back and forth between channels or worry about missing a single minute of the Tigers! To make it even better, I can knit here in front of the fire. There's also no line for the bathroom.

Some photos to update things for you all. First up, the finished blue chemo cap. I did make two sizes which is why they aren't in the mail yet. Tomorrow they head out of T-Town courtesy of the US Postal Service.





Next up, October snow! I love, love, love snow. Can't get enough of it! Imagine my delight when the white stuff fell already this fall. More than once even! *Happy Dance*

And lastly, a beautiful fall day at a metropark here in T-Town.

I hope life is treating you well. Remember, the biggest deterrent to a great life is a good life. Dare to go after the great life you deserve!

Mail Call

Sometime Thursday or Friday the Holiday issue of Knit Simple Magazine arrived at my house. I didn't know about it until this morning. There I was, on the couch in my flannel Winnie-the-Pooh jammies with my best friend and some really strong Starbucks home-brewed coffee, finally flipping thru the mail. (Why were on the couch in our jammies in need of really strong coffee is a story for another day, but if you know me and K2, you can probably figure it out!)

All of a sudden it hit me. It's the end of October! HOLIDAY KNITTING!!!! Holy smokes, Batman! I have some serious work to do. I have One-Skein Felted Clutches to make... five of them. There's the diagonal rib scarf to finish. There are Mason-Dixon felted boxes to make... three of them. Now, none of those take very long to knit. It's the space they need for drying once they have been thru the wash cycle that turns into a challenge in my little house.

On the bright side, I already have the yarn to make the clutches. I bought it all during the summer, when my LYS (local yarn store), Vintage Yarns, was having a sale. Of course, I didn't just buy the Brown's Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky Wool that I needed for the clutches. Of course. There were other goodies to be had.

When will I knit something for me? Maybe during the break from school that falls between Christmas and New Year's. If I don't run away and join Jimmy Buffett on tour somewhere...

Money or Happiness?

Totally non-knitting related today, friends.

I had a conversation with a dear friend today about money and happiness. I said I'd rather have happiness than money. My friend would rather have both. "How's that working out for you?" I wanted to know. "I'm 0 for 2," was the reply.

What I am finding is that life is much more bearable with happiness, and money doesn't always provide that. We can pursue one or the other, but rarely both, with success. If you aren't happy, what's the point?

I've also come to recognize that people have more control over their own happiness than they realize... including myself. Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Like a poopie diaper, if something stinks, change it! If you can't change it, get out of it.

Mission Accomplished!

The chemo cap for Chris's SIL is finished. It took me a little over two hours total to knit, and I seamed it up last night. I made the smaller size and hope it fits. Feedback from others tells me that the larger size runs a bit too big. If necessary, I'll whip up another one. A quick email was sent to LA last night to get an address for mailing. Blue chemo cap will be on it's way before Friday afternoon.

Chris says I have a good heart. Is that the same as saying, like we did in high school about people who weren't really desirable for dating, that one has a "good personality"? LOL Egads!

Since it's getting cold around here, I'm thinking about a big project to start. I've pretty much decided I need (and want) to knit a Log Cabin blanket a'la Mason-Dixon. I haven't decided on yarn yet, except it has to be washable, and I don't think I want to use cotton. Firewood is being delivered Saturday for the trusty, efficient woodstove.

I did donate some yarn - odds and ends and stuff I won't use - to Mayhem's Brownie troop this week. A little stash reduction. Of course, what I bought when I purchased the yarn for the chemo cap out-weighed what I donated. *sigh*

And then there's this:

In late June, my dear friend Bill went to Scotland. Knowing I love to knit, he brought me these two skeins of yarn. The blue is hand-spun, hand-dyed cashmere. The other skein is 100% Mulberry Silk! This buddy of mine went into a yarn shop in St. Andrews, Scotland all by himself, and picked out yarn for me. Each of them is enough for a scarf... 123 yds and 140 yds are the measurements if I converted them correctly. I have been scouring patterns ever since trying to find something that speaks to me. Any ideas???

Does Almost Count?

I'm almost finished with several things. Does that count?

I have to tell you I am NOT a monogamous knitter. I usually have 3 or 4 projects going at once. Knitting ADD? And I'm adding another project today.

On the needles right now I have a Mason-Dixon Kimono that is 3/4 complete which will be gifted to a coworker. My progress is on the kimono is farther than the photo indicates. I have one whole side done and have started the sleeve decreases on the other side. The baby is due in late December. The Mason-Dixon bib is complete, though.




Also on the needles: a diagonal rib scarf made with Patons SWS (soy wool stripes). No particular recipient in mind yet, but the colors, black, gray, tan, brown and tiny bit of blue are definitely more masculine than feminine.

In the crochet corner is a Martha Stewart poncho made with Lion Homespun yarn. It's 3/4 complete. I plan this to be for myself, but like other projects for me, it's been on the back burner for quite some time.

This afternoon, while Mayhem is at Brownies, I'm heading to buy yarn for a special project. My friend Chris, who lives in Los Angeles, told me recently that his sister in law has cancer. Chris and I have known each other since junior high. His sister in law is here in Ohio, and she's losing her hair from the chemo treatments she just started. BRRRRRR! Chris and I email almost daily, so I offered to knit a chemo cap like I've done for others. He sent my offer on to SIL, who accepted. Today the mission is to get Lion Fun Fur and Microspun. Drat! I just hate to go buy yarn!

Finished project

Basketweave afghan for my best friend...July 2006.

Beginnings

So, I've never done this before, but I like to do new things. Learning to knit was something new. When I was a kid, my mom and my Tante taught me to crochet. Hmmmm, I was around 7 at the time. It wasn't until I saw my friend Kirsten knitting in Chicago during a girls' weekend that I caught the knitting bug. I still consider myself a newbie, but I've been knitting for 18 mos. now.

Nearly everything I knit I give away. In fact, I think I've only kept a scarf for myself. Each of my kids, the Absent-Minded Professor and Mistress of Mayhem, have gotten a hat and scarf. Everything else has been gifted or donated.

A little about me: I'm the mom of two beautiful children, already mentioned above, and two Labrador Retrivers who (thankfully) don't eat yarn or needles! I'm soon (hopefully) to be divorced. I live in NW Ohio where the seasons change beautifully, and the weather changes quickly. My favorite show on TV is Grey's Anatomy. I work as a school counselor in a junior high with 550 seventh graders. EEEK!!!

Photos coming soon... completed projects and things I wish to make!