Friday, December 29, 2006

No sir I don't like it...

Ok, so I was coming on here to do my weird meme, but it took me so long to log on that I don't have time now. I am so through with blogger. I know lots of people use this platform with no issues but I guess it just doesn't like me or something. I know this is the reason I don't update as much as I could, because everytime I sit down to write a post I have a problem.

And now, with the 'new' blogger my header is cut off. No sir, I don't like it. Not one little bit. I'm still in the process of switching somewhere a little more user friendly.

Anyhow I'll be back this afternoon with my meme, and some other stuff too! Until then...

Hope you all had (and are having) a great holiday!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

imagine creative picture here

because in my haste to get the Christmas gift scarves done for the boys teachers I forgot to take pictures! Here are the stats...

scarf #1: Opera scarf pattern, Elann's Baby Silk in Mulberry, US9s.
scarf #2: Vintage Velvet from Scarf Style, Classic Elite Waterlily in purple, US8s.

I'll give you a sec to create a vision in your mind.

Sorry it's been so long. The holiday season is taking it's toll on me. I'm still not done with my shopping, but the bulk of the important stuff is done so I can relax a little. I prefer to stay out of the stores, but the baby likes to shop until he drops


Another reason I've been MIA is because not one, but BOTH of my computers took a dump and we wound up having to buy a new one. Merry Christmas!! It came at a bad time, but our desktop was a dinosaur and it's probably the only way I was going to get anything new out of DH. In his world technology only advances when it comes to Playstations and John M@dden football. Anyway, he told me that this was one of my presents since I'm the only one in the house who was 'ready to hyperventilate from withdrawls'.

Wanna see what else I got for Christmas??

It's a Kromski Minstrel! I got it from Bubbie's Farm and I couldn't be happier with her service. The shipping was fast (and free), she sent some extras, and has even helped me out with an assembly problem already.

I don't really have a clue what I'm doing yet but I have managed to produce something that looks like yarn

so it's all good. I've been using double drive but will switch it over to scotch tension when I get a chance to compare the two. I need to get a book and maybe take a class so I can get the most out of my wheel.

The baby seems to think the wheel is a superhero tower, as I find all his little men hanging from various locations. He is completely fascinated by it, and has to touch it even if I tell him no. So, she (he? I haven't decided yet) has to live behind closed doors for now.

In other news I got my coffee swap package from Monica and I LOVE IT!

She sent me a hank of Cherry Tree Hill and one of Shaefer Anne, Holiday Blend coffee from Borders, creme brulee chocolate crackers from Lindt, some DPN keeper caps, a tiger tape measure, and a Y@nkee Candle tart that made everything smell great! She even included some goodies for Phoebe, who spend yesterday afternoon showing her new mouse some love :o) It all came packaged in a lunch box type tin that has sparkly kitties in all different girly colors. Girly is great because (as you may well know) Phoebe and I live in a house full of boys.

Thank you so much Monica! I hope you like your package as much as I do. This coffee swap was a great idea. I like that it wasn't secret, and that I got to know my pal over the course of the swap.

I'm knitting. Really I am! Now that I've finished the scarves, I started Shedir for DH. Yes I know I have like 50 projects going, but they are all big projects and I've never made a hat for the hubby. Not to mention I keep seing all these great manly versions of Shedir popping up everywhere. Hopefully I won't go blind from all the tiny cables and black (Crystal Palace Creme) yarn.

I've also been tagged by Janna for a meme. Since this has already been a long winded post I'll save that for tomorrow.

One last thing for anyone who is interested...Seaport Yarns is offering free priority shipping through today. They've got some stuff on sale, too.

Today is the first day of the winter break. The kids are off until January 2nd. May the force be with me.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Success!


It's the Asymmetrical Cable Hat from One Skein. He's been wearing it since I pulled it off the needles. Yes we're inside and he's in his PJs. Considering when he was little he'd pull off any hat placed on his head and throw it I consider this a small victory. Nowadays he's more interested on taking off his shoes and socks :o)

Thursday, November 30, 2006

In the mood...

..for finishing!

My youngest sister's birthday is right around the corner and what better way to whip out a quick gift than to use three different yarns held together on US15s?

I based it on the Purl Scarf from LMKG, but didn't add any fringe or use any of the called for yarns. As for the yarns I used, well, the only label I have in front of me is the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Worsted. I also used some sparkly Feza yarn that came in one of the biggest balls I've ever seen, and some mohair that has something like a 450yd put~up. I've got enough to make a whole 'nother scarf, which is good since Christmas is coming and my SILs favorite color is blue :o)

Normally I wouldn't have given the sprakly, er...sparkly stuff a second glance and mohair is definitely not a favorite but together it works. I really like it! More than I thought I would actually.

I'm thinking that a FO was just what I needed to push me to finish my holiday knitting. I still have to finish a Swallowtail Shawl and a baby sweater for the boys teachers, a cabled scarf and some fetching for my middle sister, and figure out what to give the little one since she's getting a scarf for mer birthday. Add my SIL to that list and I'm going to be kind of busy for the next few weeks. The men folk (the BILs) will be getting gift cards or something.

I'm starting to feed my new hobby. No I didn't buy a wheel (lol), but I did but a new spindle and some fiber from The Spunky Eclectic. It seems as though bottom whorl is not my thing, as I'm having the worst time with the little spindle I got from Kid n Ewe. I like the Ashford but it's really heavy. Hopefully I'll like the Little Si.

In other news...I'm tired (hey, I didn't say it was breaking news), I need to start my holiday shopping and get my house decorated since my B&SIL are coming for Christmas. I got a coffeemaker AND a microwave. Oh, and Phoebe is coming home today!!

Some of you may remember way back when reading about my cat. Well when we came out from DC she stayed behind because it would have just been to difficult with the hotels and temporary housing and whatnot. My friend Donna was her foster mom for a few months (thank you Donna!!!) and I love her for helping me out. She's on a plane as I type, headed this way! Yay! I can't wait to see her :o)

Next time hopefully I'll have more FOs for you!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The littlest hank


Please excuse the blurry pic, not sure what happened.

Speaking of not being sure of what happened...how did this happen?? I'm discovering just how many types of spindles there are out there, all the pretty roving that's available...y'all know where this is going right?

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Coffee maker, you're killin' me

Now? Now you decide you don't want to work? And with absolutely no warning. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Not only do I have to get a new microwave (the last one suffered some sort of trauma during the last move), but a new coffee maker as well. Just wanted to let you know that it's over between us. Even if you decide that you'd like to go back to producing coffee it'll be too late. The next time you see me I'll have a shiny new appliance in hand, maybe even one with a handy~dandy timer! You left me in my time of need. I'm so over you.

Proof that we went trick or treating...

I know it's a little blurry. Do you know how hard it is to get three boys to stand still long enough for a picture on the biggest candy day of the year? In the dark??

Proof that I've been knitting...

Yes, they don't match. I've been working on the mates though. Ok maybe not working on them, but I've been carrying them around in my new little bag. Wanna see?

Isn't it cute? I got it as a raffle prize at Kid n Ewe. Christine's mom makes them, so let her know if you'd like one of your very own! Not only is it good for sock projects, but it's perfect for carrying around what is fast becoming my newest habit...

Not sure why it's glowing like that, must be the way the sun was coming through the window.

I've been knitting on my Edie cardigan. I'm almost done with the back. I had to make some provisions for my larger gauge. Knitting math doesn't scare me nearly as much as it did when I first started :o)

Thanks for all your suggestions about how to handle comments. I've decided to move house, and have something in the works. I'll be here for a minute though...

Almost forgot! Look who's been knitting...

with Brooks Farm no less!!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Comments

Ok, I have another question for you all to think about while you are deciding if you want to knit with me. What's the best way to handle comments?

When I get comments I want to answer every single one. I get them emailed to me, but then if the commenter hasn't entered their email address into their blogger profile I can't reply. So then I say I'll do it in a minute because by now the baby is probably doing something he has no business doing. Then I forget. Then a week goes by and I figure the commenter probably forgot they ever commented in the first place!

So you see, I need a system. How about Haloscan? Or should I just move all together??

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Care to knit with me?

Well we're back from Kid n' Ewe and a fun time was had by all. There was food and prizes and of course YARN! More about the outing and pictures of my haul (and boy did I score!) to come but for now I just have a question...

Would anyone care to knit this...

with me? It's the Edie Cardigan from the book Yarnplay. Leave me a comment or send me an email and we can get something started

Thursday, November 09, 2006

A month??

Has it really been almost a month? Time flies when you're having fun I suppose. First off, Blogger hates me. There have been a couple of times when I've gone to post and I couldn't. Frustrating. Anyhow, I'm thinking of taking a friend up on his offer to help me move on over to wordpress.

Secondly, the cute kitty in my last post has got to go. My oldest son spend 2 days in the hospital last week after a particularly severe asthma attack. Now we've always known he's had asthma, had it since he was a baby, but it's never been this bad. He was on O2 for 2 days. Rewind about a month. We had him allergy tested and the results came back when he was in the hospital. He's got a pretty bad allergy to cats, which I find weird because he's been around them all his life and his asthma has never really been a *big* issue. We spoke with the Dr about it at his follow up and said if we want we can watch him closly and see if the cat sets him off (allergy wise). Since Phoebe the cat is the love of my life, the kitten has to go. Besides, I'm wondering if the kitten isn't causing a reaction that Phoebe never did?

*sigh* Anyone want a kitten??

I've got good news. I've been knitting AND I have pictures. However there is also some bad news...I can't find my camera. LOL! Since everyone is asleep and I don't want to chance a wake up by rustling around for it you guys will just have to wait until next time. I promise next time won't be another month. I WILL start posting more on a regular basis, especially if I move my blog.

For Soctoberfest I managed to finish 2 and a half socks. Too bad none of them match each other! I've also done a vest out of a Sirdar book, and Dumpling out of Rowan Babies. I've really got to finish some of this stuff I've started around here. Maybe that can be my New Year's resolution? I'd probaby be amazed at all the needles I own if I actually freed them all of their UFOs.

I've joined the Knitter's Coffee Swap and I'm pretty excited. I really like coffee. Coffee is right up there with yarn and chocolate :o) There are a few questions that were posted on the swap blog to make our partners' life a little easier so I'll go ahead and answer them here...

1. Whole bean or ground? ground. I would love a grinder of my very own!
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully loaded.
3. Regular or flavored? Depends on what I put in it. Flavored creamer? Regular. Half and Half? Bring on the flavor!
4. How do you drink your coffee? With cream and sugar.
5. Favorite coffee ever? I don't know that I have a favorite. A friend bought me some Godiva once and it was really good.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? Not really fussy but I just *can't* do instant.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Muffins or cookies.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? Bold flavor, but not too bold!
9. What treats do you enjoy with your coffee?
10. Yarn/fiber you love? Smooth natural fibers that will give you a good stitch definition. I also like cotton and acrylic blends.
11. Yarn/fiber you hate? Novelty, nubbly, synthetics.
12. What's on your needles? Oh all kinds of stuff...a sweater, some socks, another sweater...
13. Favorite colors? Anything that's not flourescent.
14. Allergies? smoke, pollen.
15. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? Nope, just looking foward to getting something fun in the mail.

Kid n Ewe is this weekend. I'm pretty sure it's no MDS&W, or Rhinebeck for that matter, but I'm looking foward to it. The Brooks Farm folks are going to be there, and we're having a knitterly meet up with a lot of the same people from the Harlot's book signing back in July. So even though it's not one of the fancy~schmancy big name fiber festivals I will have a report for you complete with pictures on how it went.

Those of you that are off tomorrow, enjoy your long weekend. Get some knitting done and maybe have a beer :o)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Pretty irritated...

with blogger. I had a whole long post, and when I was done and hit 'publish' Blogger asked me to log in again. Of course everything was gone. I'm guessing this has something to do with the comversation I had with Janna and David tonight at Candlelight.

To summarize (since now I'm out of time), we adopted this guy...

much to the delight of this guy...

and I've been knitting.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Hi

I'm here. We've just moved into the house and things have been crazy. Yes, there was drama. Yes, I'll tell you about it. But now, I only have a few minutes while the alarm guy sets up our system. DH went to get the last of the stuff out of the apartment and I made the (selfless) decision to stay here until Mr. Alarm Guy was done.

There has been some knitting, though not as much as I would like. I haven't found all of my knitting books yet, but I've unpacked most of the stash. Boy was I happy to see my yarn!

Y'all have a great weekend :o)

Friday, September 15, 2006

Balls of gray

This post may be a bit random since it's been hard to organize my thoughts these past few days. My knitting has been random and sporadic as well. I've got way too many projects on the needles and I continue to start stuff. Maybe if we had some progress on the house situation I'd feel a little better.

We were supposed to close today at 4. We didn't. What pisses me off in this whole situation is just the lack of communication. Believe me, I understand that things happen. I just want to know what's going on and WHY it's going on. There were just way too many little things that should have been taken care of before today. I truly believe that we could have gotten it all done today if the right hand knew what the left was doing. Now we are scheduled to close on the same day that our household goods are to be delivered.

Enough of that. After a couple of glasses of wine (and some pizza) I'm much better able to deal then I was this afternoon. Now where was I? Oh, yeah, my knitting...

I've decided to measure DHs sweater progress by balls. I mean, what better way to track the progress of a 'Manly Sweater'? Two balls down, 13 (I think?) to go. This is slow going people. I think I'm going to have to mandate a certain number of rows a day or something. Perhaps a two ball a week minimum.

The Ballet Camisole is *this* close to being done, and I have all but lost interest. To the point, even, where I was thinking about ripping it. I don't know why.

I'm also working on Picovoli, , Orangina, the Child's Placket Neck Sweater, Sesame, a 5~hour Baby Sweater, and a pair of Jaywalkers. What's wrong with me? I might need an intervention.

Thanks for all the kind comments on my shawl! I really enjoyed knitting it, and fear I might also cast on for another lace project to add to the Mountain of projects that are in various stages of completion. I think someone asked how I liked the KnitPicks Gloss? I liked it a lot. I'm pretty sure I'll use it again. I hope they plan to broaden their color range.

Have any of you guys signed up for Socktoberfest? I have!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Flower Basket Shawl

That little crumpled pile in my last post is Evelyn Clark's FBS. These photos are the best I could do considering my 'help' was trying to grab the camera.

Oops! Baby fingers...


Hey! Get back here with that!


Okay, that's better.

Here are a couple of close~ups...

and here...


I used way less than 2 hanks of KnitPicks new Gloss in Dusk. I probably could have added another repeat, maybe even two. I followed the pattern as written and used Inox circs in a US7.

I'd call this a pretty easy pattern. It was really easy to identify any mistakes, and fix then without having to frog. Thank goodness because I was a rebel with no lifeline.

We have a meeting with our house builders today. I'm not a happy camper because they keep pushing our closing date back and, well, I'm in a one bedroom apt with three kids (and one husband). I've got to get up out of here. Yesterday I went to the office and heard the same song and dance about not wanting to skimp on quality for speed. Well they can kiss my a s s because I've seen no action in or around Chez Busy for the past couple of weeks. I told DH he has to do all the talking today since I'll be too busy biting my tongue.

We've also got not one but two flag football games later on today. The boys are super excited :o)

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Impressed?


No? Okay, how about now?


Yeah, I'm not really either. Well be back though, after a bath and a good stretching!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Do you know what today is?!?

No, it's not my anniversary (remember that song?). Today is the day my husband has been waiting for. Maybe your husband has too? I've already been reminded of my mission for today about 3 times and I'm expecting a phone call any second. Today is the day I go to make my yearly contribution to John Madden's retirement fund...

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Between the PS2, the NFL Sunday Ticket, and the boy playing flag football it's all football ALL the time at the Busy house. Someone hold me.

OutKast's new CD 'Idlewild' comes out today also. I'm looking foward to checking it out :o)

Friday, August 18, 2006

Can I get a minute?

Goodness! Has it really been two weeks since my last update? You'll have to forgive me. School has started and after getting up at the crack of dawn and getting the older boys out of the house..

first day of school

and explain to a certain someone why he can't go too...


I'm the one~woman entertainment show for the baby. By evening time I'm exhausted and my knitting is suffereing. Not to mention it's hot.as.hades. Maybe I'm a wimp, but for the love of pete could you throw a girl a breeze or something? I tell ya, both boys had flag football practice yesterday and I thought I was going to die. Yeah, yeah, so what I complained about the cold, rainy weather back in Maryland. Truth is I could use a raindrop or two right about now.

I have been knitting some though.

I'm at the point where I'm ready to separate the front and back. If I could ever get a minute I might actually finish. I just need a solid hour or so of knitting time. I've also started on what I fear is going to be a seriously boring knit.

That us there is the Manly Sweater (or Very Manly. Or whatever) from Stitch n Bitch. In gray without the stripes. Just miles and miles of ribbing.

*sigh*

But what can you do? At least I can take my time because I can guarantee he won't be wearing a wool sweater anytime soon :o) Oh, a note about the yarn...it's the new Swish superwash fron Knitpicks. So far so good. I swatched (Hi Amy!) and ran it through the washer and dryer on a ragular setting with some towels. Still looks great! It's nice to knit with too, although I'm not sure I'd want to use plastic needles.

I've also been shopping! When it's so hot you spend a bit more time online and then you start checking out yarn sales and before you know it there is no more room in the apartment to stash stuff (Luckily for me the house should be done by the end of the month!). So my 'to knit' list is growing. Maybe I'll update my sidebar this weekend with a list of stuff I have waiting in the wings?

Oh well, the boss is up from his nap and ready for action. Hope you all have a great weekend. We're going to see Monster House and attempt to stay cool.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Lots o' pics!

It's been a very knitterly few days around here! I got to see the Harlot, shop (and drink beer)at Hill Country Weavers, and rediscover some (old) yarn for new projects. First off, here's my Honeymoon Cami...

I gave you all most of the particulars in my last entry. It's very slinky and soft! I'm still on the hunt for the perfect bra ;o)

On to more exciting stuff~my trip to Austin this past weekend! It was my first time and it was hot (go figure). Seems like it would be a pretty cool place to hang out for an afternoon in, say, January when it's not stifling. Anywhoo, Jana, Mary, Amy, Claudine, Susan, Kim, Enid, Ken and I arrived early enough to sit right up front! Ken was super excited...

He was trying his hardest to get everyone to join in and do the wave with him, but we were all too busy knittng...

and taking pictures of each other knitting.

Stephanie took a picture of us all with her sock

and then she spoke to us for about an hour, answering questions at the end. She was great! So down to earth and everything she said was so true.

The book signing was held across the street at Hill Country Weavers, complete with beer and snacks. Really, does it get any better? After I got my books signed (one for me and one for a friend) I sneaked in for a pic...


After we all got our books signed it was time to do some shopping. I bought some Inox circs to try out (which I like, BTW), some Silky Wool and some Royal Silk...

Mary and I have decided on a mini KAL for Picovoli with the Silky Wool and I think I'm going to make a Counterpane bag from Handknit Holidays with the silk (yes, I bought more than one skein of each...LOL). I wonder how much $$ HCW weavers made on Saturday?

Then, after the shopping we walked on down to Guero's for lunch. Only about a block and a half away but in the heat felt like a couple of miles!

There we met up with a bunch of knitters (thanks Christine!) for margaritas, bloody marys, and (well in my case anyways) lots of cheese.

By the time I got home Saturday I was exhausted! Thanks Jana for driving and thanks to everyone else for making the weekend such a fun one :o)

The Queue
I'll talk more about the queue in my next entry, but the two projects that will be started right away are Picovoli and the Ballet Camisole, without the gathering. I plan to use Knitpicks Shine Sport in Sky that's been in my stash for a while for the camisole. And guess what? Amy, you'll be so proud...I swatched!!

Not only did I swatch, but I washed and dried it. Not to mention the extra durability testing the washed (and dried) swatch recieved from a certain little crazy person...

So now I know if anyone attacks me, scrunches up my camisole and tastes it while I'm wearing it I'll still look pretty good!

Friday, July 28, 2006

The Honeymoon is over

Well maybe not over but it's done! Yay!

I started it back in June but had to set it aside because I was missing a whole page of the pattern and had no computer access. It was a pretty quick knit though. While I liked the finished product I can't see myself using that yarn (GGH Mystik) again. Ever. If I looked at it wrong it snagged. Hell, if someone in the same room as the tank top farted the yarn snagged. I've got almost two full balls left over...lucky me! I made the 38" size and used my Denise needles in a US6.

The only real change I made was to crochet around the neckline border and straps. I'm thinking I might have to wear a tank underneath or find a bra with *really* skinny straps. Although ample boobage+skinny bra sraps=shoulder dents so I don't know. I'll have to give it some thought once it's done blocking. I know the pattern says it wasn't necessary but some of my stitches were looking a little crazy and I think it looks much better now :o) Pictures to come this weekend. I went to get the camera and realized the batteries were dead. There will definitely be fresh batteries in it tomorrow morning though because...

I'm going to see the Yarn Harlot!

Tomorrow. In Austin. And I'm gonna get my book signed. And I won't hear 'mommy!MOMMY!MOMMY!!' for at least five (count 'em...five!) hours. Nor will I have to hear, 'stop it or I'm tellinnnnnggg', 'leeemeeealooonnee', or 'quit touching me'. At least I don't think I'll hear those last three. I'm pretty sure the ladies I'm going with don't get down like that ;o)

Saturday, July 22, 2006

And the winner is....

Erica!!

Congratulations to you! I've checked out your blog and will be joining the Military Web Ring. Looks like we have some things in common...the military thing, the SAHM to boys thing, and especially the trying to stay sane thing :o) Email me your address and I'll send you a (knitting related, of course!) surprise!

Now the name picking thing was a family affair as are most things I try to do anytime the boys are awake. My oldest wrote the names, my middle guy folded them up and shook the pot (I couldn't find a hat this morning), and the baby got to pick the name. After dumping all the names out and running off with the pot he got the hang of it and chose two names after Erica so my little contest has a 2nd and 3rd place! WooHoo! Congratulations to Kerry and Janna! You'll both be receiving a little something as well. Kerry, I have your addy and Janna I'll see you in person so I don't need yours. Unless you *want* me to send it? Or I can come by for coffee...

I promised a finished object didn't I? Here she is~Crumpets!
The front...

and the back..


Yes, that's a Swiffer handle. I didn't have a hanger small enough :o)

The pattern is Crumpets from chiagu.com. I made the smallest size (6mos.) and used Sinfonia yarn from Hobby Lobby on US5 Crystal Palace circs. I started out with my Denise interchangeables but the cable was too fat and I was getting too much of a workout forcing the yarn along. I worked the pattern as written except I added another row of crochet before the decorative loops at the bottom. Oh yeah, and I changed the length of the loops.


What's that? Who am I knitting a little dress for? LOL! We're going to a baby shower later on today. Out of the three couples we've met by way of DH job two are expecting! We've also got a cousin due in Sept., and two good friends that just had babies. I bought Rowan Babies last week and see much knitting of little garments (and maybe a toy or two) in my future.

Speaking of little garments, I'm working on the Striped Tank Top from Adorable Knits for Tots. I'm using three different shades of blue Rowan DK cotton. I didn't buy as many colors as the pattern called for so I'm making up my own striping sequence as I go along. So far so good~I'm almost done with the front.

Other things on my needles? Still working on my Hill Country Yarns socks. I'm really trying because I love the yarn and the pattern, but it's like 100 degrees everyday. Do you know how hard it is to think about putting wool on my feet?? My Honeymoon Cami had stalled because I hadn't printed out half of the pattern. Duh. Now that my internet connection is back I will pick it up again. I'm also still working on Ruby and Orangina, Ruby more so than Orangina. Orangina just doesn't seem to be getting any longer, no matter how much I knit. I believe I'll give her a time out for a bit.

There's so much for me to catch up on! New patterns! Blogs! Pictures of yarn and knitting!! Boy did I miss my 'puter And you guys! I missed you too...kisses to you all

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Back in (almost) full effect!

Anyone still out there?

We're still waiting on the house. We've got an apartment and rented some furniture to get us by until we close. We've got borrowed pots and pans, and a borrowed TV for the kids...which didn't do us much good before Tuesday since that's when the DirecTV man came.

The plan was to wait until we moved to get online but I need my internet connection (along with my knitting) to keep me sane. So DSL it is and so far so good. Now maybe I'll even get to use that iPod I got last month :o)

I have been knitting and I'll tell y'all all about it this weekend. But first, a contest!!! I know I haven't been able to update the blog as much as I'd like and I want to thank the people who still take the time out of their busy days to see what's going on in my life. So....leave me a comment! Anyone who leaves a comment between now and Saturday morning will get their name put in a hat for a surprise!

I'll be back on Saturday with a finished object, an almost finished object, an an update on what been going on in the life of the BusyFamily :o)

Friday, June 23, 2006

Happy Birthday to Me!

We made it! We stopped over first in Mississippi and then again in Dallas. We got to San Antonio on Wednesday. It's pretty hot. The accommodations are nice. Free wireless, but only in the lobby. So that means no blog checking in my PJs. We've got a living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. There are two TVs and pots, pans, dishes and utensils. Oh, and free laundry facilities. Not to mention the playground is within sight of the room so I can't complain.

As my title reads, today is my birthday. Im 32 today...as my children like to keep reminding me at the top of their lungs. I made out pretty well so far~I got an iPod Nano and a bottle of Baileys (my favorite booze. I mean really, you can mix it in hot chocolate, coffee, make milkshakes with it or drink it straight. What's not to love??). Jaylen calls it 'drunk' and is saying, 'Mommy got drunk for her birthday'. Maybe he's on to something...

The iPod is a little scary just because it's so tiny. I need to knit it a day glo orange cover or something. And learn how to use it ;o)

I swear to you guys this is still a knitting blog. There is some knitting going on, but it's been hard because the baby sleeps with us and once everyone is asleep there's really no where to go to turn a light on. I actually knit on my Honeymoon Cami for about an hour last night by the light of the TV. Never fear though, once I get it together with my new knitting group I'll get back into the grove. DH says I'm starting to have knit group withdrawls! Ha!

Ok, I need to get back to the room and see what's up for the day!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

A little math for you

GA in June + no central AC = crucial business.

It's hot people. My hair is a frizzy mess and forget makeup...even mascara will slide off your eyelashes. I took the baby to the mall yesterday in search of some central air...oh, and bought myself some new clothes in hope of looking less like a sweaty, makeup~less frump.

The boys are having a blast! Ripping and running from sun up to sundown. Isaiah is not sure about all these strange people that keep trying to snatch him up. Poor kid has been hearing, 'but I'm your (auntie, uncle, cousin...fill in the blank)!!' since we got here.

The plan was to have some knitting pictures. One sock down and one to go. But of course it's all cloudy and threatening rain outside today. At least it's cooled off a bit! Maybe I can sit outside and knit without melting. Anyhow, I'll have pictures before the week is out.

People keep asking me how I'm going to survive in TX if the heat is killing me now. Well I'm not quite sure but I do know we'll have central air*!

*in my brother-in-law's defense this is an older house. He and my sister-in-law are in the process of buying a newer home...with central air :o)

Monday, June 05, 2006

One day down...

three more to go.

We survived day one. All our stuff is packed and ready for pick up tomorrow. We're in the hotel and I'm enjoying the free wireless internet access! We hit a little snag when the first suite we were given was *smoking* but now we're breathing clean air in a new room so it's all good.

Got to work on my springtime socks today while the movers were packing us up, and the plan is to take a shower and knit some more after the rugrats are asleep.

Tomorrow, day two...the pick up. Wednesday is the day I'm least looking foward to~the clean up. But it will feel so good on Thursday to hand over the house keys to the to the inspector (we live on a military base) and not have to worry about it any longer!

I'm going to get ready to knit now :o)

Sunday, June 04, 2006

So tired!

Well the time has finally come. The movers will be here tomorrow! We've been consolidating crappage all week. Laundry all day today. Do you know how hard it is to project what we all will need for the next 3 months (our house won't be ready until around the end of August so we'll be in a hotel) or so? We've got a 'no pack room' with clothes, toys and other essentials including of course YARN! I've got one of those huge ziplocks full and some books. Should keep me busy for a minute.

We'll be in town for another week until school is out. Then it's on to GA to visit family before heading off to TX. I can't wait until the end of next week when the actual 'moving' is over and I can relax a bit. Maybe even knit??

I want to say thanks to everyone for reading here and leaving such nice comments! I'll still be blogging during the move even if my internet access isn't what it is now.

Happy June everyone! I've even got blue toes to commemorate this month's Project Spectrum color :o)

Monday, May 29, 2006

Short Snorts and Doo~dads

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a doo~dad around these parts? I knit up the Short Snort Girlfriend Tank out of the Cotton Fleece I had leftover from Green Gable for my friend's daughter (you know, the one that was in the pic with my little man?). The knitting was a breeze. I knit the entire body Thursday night and did the straps Saturday morning. I waited until the last minute because all I need is one of those little round numbers to bring it all together. So off I go to Hancock Fabrics and ask.

*blinkblinkblink*

Ok, so they have no idea what I'm talking about. Wendy got her doo~dad at Joann's so I figure I'll just go there.

*blinkblinkblink*

Do you have any idea how hard it is to explain what a doo~dad is exactly? I even tried thingamagiggy. Nothin'.

So now it's like an hour before my friend has to be at the airport (they are going to Vegas to visit family) and I'm driving around with an unfinished birthday gift.

In a last ditch effort I hot tail it over to another Hancock's in the area and what do you know? One lone package of doo~dads in the purse making isle. And they were half price...score!

So I sewed it up in the parking lot and snapped the pic in my friend's driveway. Cute, no? It's a rare opportunity that I get to knit for a little girl :o)

I definitely recommend this little instant gratification project. I scaled it down a bit since the recipient is just a year old (went down a needle size, did some extra decreases) and it was still a piece of cake!

I decided on the Oak Ribbed socks from Knitting Vintage socks for my Springtime yarn. The colors are so vibrant! I'm making them a couple inches shorter than the pattern calls for and I'm almost to the toe on the first sock so I hope to be done soon. I'm also working on Orangina in Debbie Bliss Cathay. I'm really enjoying the combination of the pattern and the yarn.

Movers will be here next Monday. I've been doing some thinking about what projects I'm going to take and what I'm going to have packed away. This is an important decision considering we probably won't see our stuff until the end of August, and you know that the one thing you don't have with you is the one you'll have the urge to work on (even if you hadn't touched it in months!). Right now I'm thinking Picovoli, Ruby, Raspy from Denim People, some linen for towels (thanks Mason~Dixon!), and some sock yarn. I hope to be (at least almost) one with Orangina by the time we leave the area on the 10th. Of course this list is subject to change between now and then, and doesn't include any yarn purchases that are made after out house is packed up :o)

Next time I'll have some pics of the thoughtful going away gifts I got from my knitting group. Those girls are the best!

So much to do this week! The busy household will be just that.

Monday, May 22, 2006

So done

that she's already been worn...

Not the best picture but hey, it was really windy and that was like take 7. Did I tell you my photographer is 5?

The specs~
It's the Green Gable pattern from ZephyrStyle. The yarn is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Wild Sage (a little less than 3 skeins) and the needles were Addi Turbos in a size 6 (Addi Naturas in a 4 for the ribbing). I used the long tail cast on which apparently was an 'alternate method' (who knew??) but my neckline is plenty stretchy, purl ridge and all. I made the body longer and did an extra row of ribbing. I made the 36 but probably could have done the 34...I did a LOT of waist shaping! If I were to do it again I'd knit a smaller size, but I am happy with the way it fits.

Would I recommend the pattern? I'm not sure. While I love the finished product, if you ask me there was some significant stuff left out...a lot of people had problems. You can read about a lot of it here. I was able to tailor mine to fit, but if I was brand new without the help of any other knitters I'm not sure it would have been such a quick and easy knit. If you're comfortable with making your own mods then go for it!

*~*I got mail!*~*

Look what I got...

It's a skein of Sweet Feet Sock Yarn from Hill Country Yarns. They put out a call for test knitters and I happily obliged! The color is Springtime and that's exactly what I thought of when I opened the package.

I plan to cast on tonight during the season finale of 24. Something simple, to showcase the colors. Maybe the Dublin Bay socks, or one of the ribbed patterns in Vintage Socks.

I still have a Madder Ribbed sock in progress as well as a Bijou scarf for my mom. The sock is on hold because I want to get going on this sweet feet!

Two weeks. Two weeks and I won't be living in this house anymore! It seems weird.

Anyway, here's a pic of my two big boys because you guys haven't seen them in a minute :o)