Never A Dull Moment

Wednesday WIPs

2012-02-15T17:23:00.005-05:00

Monday morning I woke up to frost on the ground. It was COLD but it was gorgeous!

This afternoon we had a high of 80. Gotta love February in Florida!!!

However with the frosty mornings the past couple of days means that Baby Girl got to wear her poncho to school!!! Still not thrilled with how it came out. I would make so many changes to it, including NOT making it smaller around the neck and using bigger needles. After all those M1s, don't see myself redoing this one again.....

No stitching updates. Haven't even pulled it out since last week.

I do have a new hat.

Baby Girl is modeling it, but it's for me. It's a variation from the earflap hat I made Baby Girl (see the same link above). I really like this hat because even w/o the flaps, it still keeps my ears warm. And the Serenity Bulky has become one of my favorite yarns.

Another WIP is the continuing relationship of a father and daughter.

They have one more dance to enjoy next year before we move on to the next portion of the project.

Middle school.

Wednesday WIPs

2012-02-08T21:59:00.004-05:00

I'm slowly prodding along on my Coffee cross stitch.

Last week:

This week:

It's getting there. No new progress on my socks. I cast on for a new pair, but that's as far as I got. I don't really count it as started until I put in that first row. I'm on block 2 with the blue yarn.

Not as much as I'd like but at least there's been some progress.......

First of the Year

2012-02-06T18:06:00.003-05:00

In 2010 I was very good abt my yarn purchases. I only bought with a project in mind and the majority of yarn bought was used. Then came 2011. I bought yarn because it was on sale. Because I knew I'd eventually use it sooner or later. Because it was pretty! The majority of that yarn bought is still in bags. I'm going to try to rein that in a bit in 2012. I still plan on buying yarn, but I'm going to try to have a project (or two) in mind for it.

With that said, I purchased my first skein of 2012.

It's Serenity Chunky Weight by Deborah Norville in Chocolate. I really like this yarn. I must since this is the 5th colorway I own!!! I want to make myself a bucket hat and while I wanted it to match my scarf (in Red Bayou), I bought Chocolate instead. My JoAnn's didnt have the color I needed. They were having a sale on the yarn which meant the shelf supply was low. I do like the chocolate and it compliments the scarf colors so it should be fine. If not, I'll be forced to buy yet another skein of this fab yarn and make another hat.

Which will most likely be worn next year. Our weather this week.

While I'm really trying to enjoy the mild temps, I'm really missing the cooler temps, esp at night. I'm hoping the cooling trend at the end of next week continues.

Saturday Sky

2012-02-04T18:41:00.005-05:00

The weather has been amazing this past week. I still wish it was cooler, but the fact that I'm not in need of any appliance to either cool or heat my house is a good thing.

(yes that IS the moon!)

One of the funny things abt living in the south are the reenactments of the Civil War. Only in the south will they reenact battles won from a war lost. We had a field trip this past week to see such an event. Or so we thought. No battles were fought, but we did get to interview the soldiers.

What it was like to be a Confederate soldier.

These guys also had what the soldiers would have out in the field, some if it hand knit stuff. Fingerless gloves for the soldiers, scarves and socks. The gloves and scarves were hand made but the socks were not. These guys were really good and knew their stuff. It helps that they are decendents from actual Confederate soldiers!

What it was like to be a Union soldier.

I think he moonlights as Santa during December.

What it was like to be a woman in the field.

This one was fun because she was REALLY hand quilting while in character. She has a specific quilt she works on during these shows that uses reproduction fabric to further the illusion. I commented on it and told her she was doing a fabulous job. She showed me the entire quilt which meant part of it ended up on the dirt. I laughed and told her if the quilt police were here, they would have a fit with the quilt in the dirt!!! She laughed and said there were no quilt police on the battle fields, only back home! Yes I did take a close up picture of the quilt, but it came out too blurry to post. You get the idea from what's on her lap.

They also showed what medicine was like. NOT a good thing for some of the kids, including Baby Girl. After they described blood letting and HOW they got into the vein, she almost passed out. I ended up taking her home after the field trip. At least now we know she wont be going into the medical field!

I'm still working on my Coffee cross stitch. I try to get in at least one strand of floss a night. I put the socks in the car so I'd have something to work on there and I've started more afghan squares with blue yarn. More pics to come of those once there is some progress.

What have you been up to this wknd??? Will it be Super Bowl parties or shopping Super Bowl sales??

Already???

2012-02-01T22:05:00.004-05:00

I can't believe today is Feb 1st. Mentally I'm only half way thru Jan. Then again I wore my shirt inside out today and nobody told me until 2pm this afternoon! What does THAT say abt my mental state????

Thankfully I'm still capable of knitting and I got my first Feb finish completed this afternoon (after I changed my shirt). It's a slouchy hat for Baby Girl.

She really loves this hat

and plans on wearing it to school tomorrow.

Nevermind the high will be 79. Honestly I dont even think we'll have anymore cold weather this year. The weather we've had this winter is more in tune with April temps than Jan temps. I'm not looking for a week of 20 degree lows, but having our highs hit near 80 is so wrong.

I also finished up 2 more skeins of yarn (4 blocks) for my afghan. Pulled out two blues this time around. Updated pics of that will be coming shortly.

I'm realizing that I really dont have that much knitting going on. My afghan, and a pair of socks is it! I'm still in the mood to knit hats, I'm thinking a bucket hat for me, but I dont have the yarn I want for it. I see a Joann's run in my near future.

Meanwhile, I wanted to work on something different so I pulled out a cross stitch this time, I Need Coffee Now! The last time it made an appearance, it looked like this.

Tonight it looks like this.

I'm slowly working my way thru this. It looks like blocks of color, but there's a lot more detail than I was expecting.

Who knows what I'll pull out next!

Saturday Sky

2012-01-28T20:43:00.005-05:00

We finally had a cool front go thru yesterday so instead of having temps in the 80s, we hit a high of 71 with temps at 57 right now. It's giving me a chance to wear my hand knit socks for a change.

It's been a weird week filled with lots of kid activities which has left me feeling drained and in need of some quality me time. I did get a chance to watch a movie all the way thru w/o interuptions today, but I truly wont get the quiet until Monday when everybody is either at school or work. I dont have much to show in knitting, two more squares are done on my afghan and abt an inch more done on the slouchy hat. I REALLY need to remember to keep some kind of project in the car. Twice this week I could have worked on something, but I had nothing with me. Gotta find a vanilla sock to stash in the car for easy knitting.

And what's the best way to clean your house???? Why have your in-laws come to visit!!! They are coming out toward the end of Feb which means I have abt 3 weeks to get the house in some kind of order.

Is it too early for spring cleaning???????

*****Saturday sky brought to you by Baby Girl and her friend J.

Saturday Sky

2012-01-21T23:16:00.004-05:00

Today's post brought to you in bullet form.........

Baby Girl is officially double digits.

It was cloudy for most of the day.

Very little crafting is getting done. There is a bug going around that is laying up a lot of us. Went to a wedding shower tonight and more than half of us were hacking. Hoping to pick up the needles tomorrow but not making any promises.....

Feline Fridays

2012-01-20T08:31:00.001-05:00

Is that homemade mac and cheese?????

Something to Warm the Belly By

2012-01-19T19:56:00.001-05:00

The weather has been bizarre here, one day cool, the next day hot, the following day you need to cover the plants. I wanted some warm-you-from-the-inside food and decided to make homemade mac and cheese. Most of the time we use the stuff from the big blue box (it's what they'll all eat) but *I* needed something different. I had all the ingredients (for the most part) of a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa so I went for it. It's just your basic run of the mill mac and cheese dish that I changed up a bit.

Here is the original recipe.

I used sea shells for the pasta.

I had the 8oz of sharp cheddar, but no gruyere so I used up what I had in the house, some jalapeno cheddar, a slice of provolone and a few slices of monterey jack.

I didnt have any bread (I really need to go grocery shopping) but I did have some Pepperidge Farm herbed seasoned stuffing so that got toasted up in the pan with some butter.

The cheese didn't melt as completely as I'd like so it was soupier than I wanted,

but I figured lets give it a try....

OH YUM!

Look at that cheesy goodness!!!

Everybody said they loved it, but I still have WAY too much left over for it to be a hit. I liked it alot, esp with the jalapeno (on a stick?) cheddar to give it a bit of a kick.

The best part?? The bread crumb stuffing mix on the top.

Do you have any favorite mac and cheese recipes?

Something a Little Different

2012-01-18T19:09:00.009-05:00

As I watch some of my blogger friends pull out their cross stitching, I decided to pull out some of mine. Some projects are so close to being done that I decided that I will try to put in at least one strand a day in them. I'll still rotate them out, but if I can do a strand a day on something, well that means I'll be that much closer to completing them.

The first project that got pulled out is my Kitty Cat Row. I checked the blog to see when the last time I posted abt it and it was way back in March 2011. This is what it looked like then.

I KNOW I've worked on it once since then, but I never updated the picture so it looks like I got a LOT done when all I've done this time is the kitty on the far left.

I dont *feel* like I have much left to do on it, two more kitties and 8 more letters. I'm hoping to get the first four done tonight.

Along with the cross stitching, I've been working on my afghan. Finished off two more skeins of yellow which produced 4 more blocks. What I've got so far......

This afghan won't get done until next winter, but that's ok. I'm really enjoying working on it in between projects. One thing I'm finding fascinating, the inconsistencies of the amt of yarn in each skein. This is the last block I finished with the yellow.

I started with two full skeins. One skein left me with a 6" tail.

The other skein left me with a small walnut sized ball. Is this from the factory or did somebody start a project and return it? I started these two skeins today.

One is short and fat, the other is thin and tall. Wonder what I'll end up with??????

Saturday Sky

2012-01-14T17:53:00.004-05:00

Winter has finally come to my part of Florida, I dont think we've gotten out of the 50s all day. Remember this is cold for us! It was hazy today too.

Other than my sky I dont have much to share. I did finish my second earflap hat with some bulky Knit Picks yarn, but I was so anxious to send it out that I forgot to take a picture of it! I like the one that Baby Girl has better. The Knit Picks one wasnt as soft as the Serenity Chunky. I have yet another hat OTNs, this one a slouchy hat. Once this one is done, Baby Girl will be set for hats!!!!!

As I'm reading thru my bloglist, I find it fascinating how many sites are organizing, clearing out, or finishing stash for the new year. Seems like more ppl are doing it this year than in the past. One of the ones that caught my attention was WIPocalypse. I didnt sign up for it (if you are interested you've got until tomorrow night), but I like the concept. I have a lot of stitching projects that are just sitting there that need to be pulled out and worked on. I think it's time to pull something out and finish it, esp since I'm finding new projects to work on.........

Feline Fridays - Part 2

2012-01-13T21:30:00.003-05:00

Dear Big Orange Kitty,

I do NOT scream like a girl! My voice just hasn't changed yet. And I STILL chased your sorry self out of the house so who's afraid of whom?????

Sincerely,

Mr Hemikins

Feline Fridays

2012-01-13T14:39:00.003-05:00

No I am NOT that scrawny Hemi.

I am the Big Orange Kitty!!!

I enjoy the midnight snack I get when I sneak in thru the kitty door.
Most of the time I get away with it.

Sometimes that scrawny Hemi catches me.

No worries. He screams like a girl.

You Win Some, You Lose Some...........

2012-01-07T14:17:00.007-05:00

One week in and I've got two finishes already! One is a winner!

Garter Brim Earflap Hat #1 from the book Last Minute Gift Ideas. Can I tell you how much I love this hat??? I'm not a big hat person, but I would wear this hat. That is if I could get it away from Baby Girl. She's worn it everyday this week.

Then we have the not so favorite one.

This poncho has been a pain from the start. Lots of M1s. Weird decreases by the neck. Once it was done, it curled up BAD!

Even after I added the fringe.

Even though it's acrylic, I hoped that once I washed it, it would look better. And it did.

The sides dont stick out as far, it softened up, and the curling at the bottom is much better.

It's still not my favorite item I've made, but I'm not embarrassed by it anymore.

--------------------------------------------------

It is Saturday and I wanted to post the sky before it got dark.

Make sure to take some time to check out your sky today.......

End of Year Recap

2012-01-05T13:52:00.003-05:00

See I knew once the kids went back to school I'd feel like we were in a new year! I started going thru my notebook of projects setting things up for the new year which meant I had to wrap up the old. What have I accomplished this year?

Four kitty blankets

Five pairs of socks

Four hats

Two toys

Three charity blankets

One tank

One scarf

for a total of 20 projects for the year! Not too bad and more than I did last year so that's a good thing. I also tallied up how much yarn was used up and for the year I used up

101oz / 6317yds

This translates into abt 6.5lbs and 3.5miles of yarn knit up!! I like the sound of that better!!!! I knit up a 5K!

If anybody knows how to make a mosaic of pictures, please let me know. I'll come back and post a pic of the 20......MUCH easier than trying to link them all.......

Now that we are done with the old, lets move on to the new! I've already got 2 projects done for Jan/2012. I'll be posting those later........

26 Years and Counting......

2012-01-04T23:13:00.002-05:00

It's Here!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.003-05:00

Let's hope the Mayans were wrong.....

Still not feeling it.......

2011-12-31T23:13:00.006-05:00

It's really weird. I usually get nostalgic or melancholy on the last day of the year, but not so much today. In fact we went to the mall earlier today and almost got locked in! I forgot they closed early and when we walked out of Bath and Body Works at 6:15, I couldn't figure out why everything was shut down! We ended up sneaking out an employee exit.

Didn't finish any knitting either. In fact I didn't even pick it up. I think I'm subconsciously bucking the system/calendar. Or I'm in denial. Not sure which.

I *did* remember that it was Saturday. Which means a shot of the sky.

I took this as we were rushing off to the car in the mall parking lot.

However, there is one person in this house that feels like it's a new year and she wanted to start it out with a new 'do.

Baby Girl's been wanting bangs since the summer. She loves them!

Well whatever you guys are doing, enjoy and stay safe. I'm thinking of taking a break and probably wont blog until 2012.

*groan*

I turn my back on that joke mom!

Not Feeling It

2011-12-30T17:24:00.006-05:00

The calendar says 2012 is a little more than a day away. However I do not feel like I need to change calendars. Part of it might be because my appt calendar is a July-June variety (school year vs calendar year). Part of it may be I have my 2012 calendar already hanging up.

Part of it might be the weather.

Whatever it is, I'm just not feeling it.

However I do realize that if I want to post any finishes for the month, I have a little more than a day to do it! The poncho only needs fringe to be finished, the earflap hat only needs earflaps to be finished. Easy peasy right?? That's what I've been saying for the past few days and yet here I sit with unfinished projects being ignored.

I did get my final yarn purchase in the mail yesterday from Simply Socks Yarn Company. First of all, can I tell you how much I love this on-line shop? I've ordered from them a few times and I've been happy each time I have. They were having a grab bag of sorts from a new yarn by Lorna's Laces Solemate, a wool/nylon/OUTLAST. Outlast is a fiber used by NASA to help regulate temperatures from being too hot or too cold. Lorna's was playing with a DK weight of this yarn, but the yarn came back from the mill more of a heavy fingering weight. So they offered it to SSYC at a discount. Great quality yarn at a fantastic price! You all know I have a hard time passing THAT up! You couldnt request what you wanted colorwise (hence the grab bag) but I did ask if they could coordinate the colors so I could make a pair with solid toes and heels. Look what I got!

and

I couldn't have asked for a better grouping of colors! I love them and cant wait to cast on.

That is once I finish the poncho and hat.

and since I just realized that today was Friday, I'll leave you with a bit of feline love.

Feline Fridays

2011-12-23T17:17:00.004-05:00

Dont make me leave this cool drawer, it's HOT outside!!!

Princess is right, it hit 85 today, hottest day since 1970. The only day hotter was back in 1921. NINETY years ago!!!!! And it was 86.

Sheesh........

It always cost more when the kids are with you

2011-12-22T23:42:00.005-05:00

The kids have been home for almost a week now. Since they've been home, we've done a day at Disney,

and ate out the entire weekend. I woke up with a sore throat and stuffed sinuses on Monday, which meant we ate out even more since we had no food in the house. Today was the first day I felt well enough to shower ~and~ get stuff done. Usually it's either shower OR get stuff done.

Along with a laundry list of errands, one of my stops was at JoAnns. I finished Baby Girl's poncho (WOOHOO!), but I don't have enough yarn left over for the fringe. Off to JoAnn's we go to get another skein. I knew the dye lots would be different, but what they had there was really different. Her poncho has blues and greens and purples, but the dye lots at the store had blues and greens and PINKS. So we decided on another colorway that just had greens and blues.

It will be fine, the colors are the same, just w/o the purples. I have a little bit from the original dye lot that I will add periodically around the poncho to make it blend better.

While there she picked out some yarn for an earflap hat

and a slouchy hat.

I wasn't that crazy abt the pink and black one until I saw a project knitted up on Ravelry. I really like the striping effect and it will look well with the pattern I want to do. I have to start the earflap hat first, though. Hopefully I'll get it done before she goes back to school.

And as you can see, we're doing our best to keep Deborah Norville in business!

Baby Girl also decided that she wanted to make me a scarf. She's been wanting to work on a project for awhile now and I figure a scarf will be easy enough for her to work on. I'm using the same yarn as the ear flap hat. It's soft and I like the coloring. She's already done an inch and would have done more if it wasn't so late when she started. I have a feeling she'll be working on it a lot during winter break.....AFTER they make their gingerbread houses. Yep we got some of those too. That's their project for tomorrow.

And according to the forcast, we'll be having more of a beach Christmas than a white one.

YMMV. Whatever your weather this weekend, keep yourself safe.

Too much technology!!!

2011-12-15T20:45:00.008-05:00

I love my cell phone. And my digital camera. However tonight while I was at Baby Girl's music concert, we were using the IO's phone, my fairly new video camera and my fairly old digital camera to capture video and I'm still not sure we got any decent shots of the evening. Say what you want abt the big clunky movie cameras, my old Super 8 camera STILL takes great pictures! Its just the film that's PRICEY!

One other drawback to all these new fangled intruments of mass technology, all but one has to be charged. Right now I have my computer, my kindle, my cell phone AND the video camera plugged in to charge. My Canon digital camera eats AA batteries, but at least I can change them out when I'm at a function and continue on.

I'm truly showing my age. However I did see something really cool this AM. Guess what's coming back??? The Polaroid Instamatic camera!!!! I saw it on Live with Kelly this AM. This time around it's a digital camera and you can see it before you print it out. If you like it, a minute later you have yourself a print of what you just took. VERY cool AND retro at the same time!!!

See, I do enjoy new technology. Except when it interfers with taking pictures of my kids' school events.....

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-12-13T11:15:00.005-05:00

FOR TODAY December 13th

Outside my window...it is 66 degrees and sunny. Gorgeous day after a drizzly morning.

I am thinking...that I need to pay some bills before they turn the power off.

I am thankful...that I have money to pay the electric bill.

In the kitchen...nothing right now, but I do have some ripe bananas that will become banana muffins.

I am wearing...a Florida t-shirt, red plaid sleep pants, hand knit socks

I am creating...still working on Baby Girl's poncho. Will be pulling that out once I finish this post.

I am going...grocery shopping before picking up Baby Girl from school.

I am wondering...how I handle this glamorous life!

I am reading...I just finished a graphic novel called Deadly Storm. It's a graphic novel based on a non-existent novel by Derrick Storm (a non-existent novelist invented by Richard Castle, also a fictitious novelist played by Nathon Fillion on the tv show Castle)

I am hoping...to be somewhat productive today.

I am looking forward to...winter break.

I am hearing...the hum of the computer, the beeping of the answering machine and the swishing of the washing machine.

Around the house...my bougainvillea is starting to bloom, but the azaleas are looking weak. How is it friends of mine can plant things and ignore them while my neglect just ends up with dead plants?!?

I am pondering...my dead plant theory.

One of my favorite things...a good cup of coffee.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Baby Girl has her winter concert. I'm also considering one more trip to Disney before our season passes are no longer valid.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...somebody posted this link on Ravelry. Restoration Hardware is selling wool rugs from $995-$2395, depending on the size you want. Here is what they look like.

There was a discussion of whether or not you would spend this kind of money on a rug when it just looks knit. One of the things I noticed is that it's made out of a thick and chunky wool. If you got some workhorse chunky wool and some size 13 needles, it would be doable. A 6'x9' rug is big and the wool would probably get really heavy, but if you were so inclined I could see it being done.

Thoughts?

Feline Fridays

2011-12-09T22:09:00.002-05:00

It's official

2011-12-08T20:58:00.005-05:00

I am now the mother of a teenager.

I will need my knitting even more now!!!!

Speaking of knitting, I've been kicking some butt on Baby Girl's poncho.

This is 3 skeins in. It looks like a big blob because I'm knitting in the round on a limited length of needle cord with what seems like an unlimited amt of stitches. I havent counted how many I've got on the needles because quite honestly I dont want to know. I'll count them before I cast them off. Right now I've got 10" left to knit before it's done........

Midweek Update

2011-12-07T17:00:00.004-05:00

Outgoing 80 degree weather

and incoming 40 degree weather.

It's been warm here the past couple of days but all that is going away tonight. They expect 70 degrees by 7pm and 50 degrees by 9pm. Yep, it's dropping quick! We expect temps in the 40s by tomorrow morning, but some areas just north of us are already having frost warnings. When the weather changes it really changes!!! The good thing abt this front going thru is that the weather will be nice the rest of the week. Highs of 70 and lows in the 50s. PERFECT!

Its been busy here at Happy Acres which explains the no blogging in a week. I met up with Dee on Friday and had a great time. It's always nice when we meet up together, esp when we have entertainment during lunch! I worked on the poncho the entire time and I can tell this is going to take me awhile to finish up. It doesn't help that I havent knit a stitch since then either. I think my last pair of socks wore me out a bit.......

Saturday we went to Epcot with some great friends and had a blast!

It's always fun to get with this group, we have such a good time together.

However all that fun ended on Sunday when I woke up with a migraine. Not such a great time that day.

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the school separating a HUGE fundraiser order from Yankee Candle. Today is catching up on Mt Washmore and the mess that is my house.

Maybe I'll get to pick up my needles tomorrow.

Stay warm everybody!

The Odds were GOOD!

2011-12-01T13:03:00.006-05:00

I'm a really slow knitter. Even when I devote lots of time to knitting, I still take a long time to get projects done. However when it's cold outside and your sock inventory is small

you kick it into gear and knit up some more! Yesterday I posted that I had the foot to go on a sock. After working on it all day, including digging out a second skein for the last half of the toe, at 11:35pm I kitchenered these bad boys!

Now before you all get excited, the yarn is a sport weight which helps the process move along MUCH faster. That being said, these were fast even for me!

Stats include but not limited to:

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport #104 Uptown
3x1 rib (my fave) vanilla sock
56sts on size 2 dpns
Sock #1: 8/23/11 - 10/16/11
Sock #2: 11/26/11 - 11/30/11

Sock #1 took 1.5 months. Sock #2 took 4 days.

They've got some funky flashing points at the gusset

The left side looks like this,

but the right side is plain.

Both sides are warm. I know this because as soon as I was finished with them I put them on and went to bed!

Now that these are done I should pull out Baby Girl's poncho, but an ear flap hat is calling my name as well. We'll see who ended up being the loudest.

What are the odds???

2011-11-30T10:57:00.003-05:00

that I'll get this sock done today

with only this much yarn left?

It's Hip To Be Square

2011-11-28T10:22:00.006-05:00

We had a couple of cool days last week which got me in the mood to start working on blankets. I've been knitting up squares from some soft baby yarn and I've got abt 8 squares done.

I love these squares. They are a straight knit, a truly mindless project while watching tv. And if I put my mind to it, I can get one done in a day.

The other form of blanket making involves fleece.

I bought some fleece from Joann's last year. My goal was to cut them up and make them blankets. I never did get to them last year so the family just used them as they were, smallish blankets that did the trick if you tucked yourself into them. I want larger blankets this year that doesnt require you to fold yourself in half to be under them so on Saturday I cut up the above. I've got some contrasting light pink waiting it's turn.

I've got one more fleece blanket to make and then any extra fleece in the house will be used for kitty blankets. Fleece tends to build up more static than cotton or flannel, but the cats dont seem to mind it.

Sunday Funnies

2011-11-27T11:30:00.001-05:00

For more funnies go to ICanHazCheezburger.

Feline Friday's - the Hemi edition

2011-11-25T11:37:00.001-05:00

(gotta click to check out his tongue~!)

A Simple Eye

2011-11-23T11:46:00.003-05:00

When I worked full time in an office, I dreamt of a time when I would be a stay at home soccer mom, doing things at the school, cheering my kids on in whatever event they chose to participate in. I would also have time to keep the house clean, cook meals every night, work on my quilts and stitching projects and get Oh So Much done.

Go ahead, laugh. I'll wait.

Feel better??

Now that I AM that stay at home mom that does things at the school and cheers for my kids, I seem to have even less time to work on my projects, let alone keep the house clean or cook every night. While part of that is just life (and the realization that it doesnt end at 5pm), part of it is because I don't schedule my time as well as I'd like. I don't want to be so structured that I cant be spontaneous, but I need to do something when my house is starting to look like an episode of Hoarders. I'm realizing I can't do it all (nor do I want to) and if my time is limited, I need to get rid of extra fluff that gets in the way.

I took that first step yesterday when I didn't post for NaBloPoMo. This year has been more stressful than fun and when that happens it's time to get rid of it.

~~NaBloPoMo~~

Obviously I still plan on blogging, but not when I really dont feel like it. Another thing that lacks inspiration is the Totally Useless Stitch A Long (TuSal). While I enjoyed it in the beginning, it's gotten to the point where I just see a mess. She is doing another year of TuSal, but I decided that I wouldn't sign back up. In fact I decided that I won't finish the year out.

~~TuSal~~

While these are just two small little things, they are HUGE for me. Once I decide to start something, I dont like quitting before it's finished. If I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. It's the principle of the matter, not so much the consequences if it doesnt get done. I'm great at telling others if something isnt working out to let it go, but I tend to avoid that advice when it comes to me. *I* can handle it.

Feh.

So there you have it. One small step for my household, one giant step for my sanity.

Cuz if mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Guess where my next stop will be???

To Each His Own

2011-11-21T11:25:00.003-05:00

When I first started knitting socks, my sisters didnt get it. Why take all that time and energy and money to knit a pair of socks?? Can't you just buy them??

I know we've all heard that before and unless you have a hobby, you wont understand the expense it can incur.

Take for example, on HGTV there was a show of collections, one of them being toasters. There were people who had rooms devoted to their collection of toasters. Kept in GREAT shape. The guy who was doing the piece came with a loaf of bread. They'll make toast right?? HA! The looks on some of these people's faces were, "there is NO way that bread is getting in my toaster!!!" However there was a guy who was very eager to show that his 100+ yr old toaster actually still worked. The guy ate his toast during the next segment.

While I don't exactly get the draw of toasters, I DO understand the collecting mentality. After all I've been to conventions where you see people who collect quilts or old Singer Featherweights. Patterns from the early 1920s or old feed cloths. If it exists, there is a group somewhere that will collect it.

This morning as we're getting ready for school, there was a show on called That's Clever. I've never seen it before but this episode showed different forms of crafting. One guy is a potter and they showed how he makes fruit and berry bowls, including drainage holes so you can wash and drain the fruit in the same bowl. Another woman was making a welcome sign out of tin and polymer clay. This project was SO labor intensive. Cut this little piece, mold it, bake it for 15 min, let it cool. Cut another piece, mold it, bake it for 15 min, let it cool. Form yet ANOTHER piece around these two pieces, bake it for 15 min, let it cool. After baking and cooling for around 6 different times and STILL not be done, I thought, "OMG! This is taking forever!!! She could BUY one......"

My only defense is that I hadn't had my coffee yet.

Sunday Funnies

2011-11-20T23:18:00.003-05:00

Go to Speed Bump for more funnies.

Non Saturday Sky

2011-11-19T20:24:00.004-05:00

After waking up with a headache that progressively got worse, I decided to take a little nap. Three hours later it was too dark for a picture of my Saturday sky. This past week really wiped me out. I'm looking forward to a nice quiet week. We keep thanksgiving low key around here so with just a couple of days of school (easy ones at that) it will be a week of destressing.

I've been working on Baby Girl's poncho, but those M1s are really starting to get to me so I cast on for yet another pair of socks (that makes three going at the same time). I wanted to work on my blanket squares but I had to switch out the needles for the poncho. The other socks were in the car (20 feet away) so what to do, what to do??? Dig in the bags to see what to start.

It was only abt 4 rows but it was enough to relax by. It's another Lorna's Laces Sport weight yarn, this one is Mountain Creek. So far so good.......

Hope your Saturday was more productive than mine.

Feline Fridays - the Princess Edition

2011-11-18T18:33:00.003-05:00

Is it worth it?

2011-11-17T22:33:00.005-05:00

So I'm sitting here trying to come up with some kind of idea of what to blog abt today. I went to Ravelry for ideas. Nuthin'. I googled National Blog Posting Month for ideas. Nada.

If I was a good mother I'd be showing you pictures of the Winter Concert #1 Son was in. He played both trombone AND steel drums. A good mother would have pictures. I'm not a horrible mother because I do have video, but only because the IO now has a Blackberry for a phone. The video camera I have had a dead battery.

Ok so a bad mother wouldn't have paid for raffle tickets or bought more butter braid to support the band or even show up to cheer her son on. Or carpool kids back and forth from the school to the venue back to the school. Or get Frosties (Frostys) from Wendy's to celebrate a job well done.

So I guess a wobbly video off a phone and a kiss goodnight will have to suffice.

I'm not so bad after all.

Plus you have a soft lap to sleep on....

Wednesday WIPs

2011-11-16T21:44:00.006-05:00

Here is a picture of my poncho.

The neck is done and I just switched from size 6 to size 10.5 needles. I haven't had much time to work on this, thank goodness it's bulky yarn!! Right now it looks like a hat....

The Simple Wopman's Daybook

2011-11-15T18:55:00.006-05:00

FOR TODAY November 15

Outside my window...It's dark. You can tell when we are off DST when it's dark before 7pm.

I am thinking...that I made decent progress today in my room. It's the catch all area and was getting a bit out of control.

I am thankful...that the IO is employed. Contract work is getting harder and harder to find so when he is working I am happy because I can pay the electric bill.

In the kitchen...Pizza Hut. I've had Baby Girl home for two days and have not been able to grocery shop. She will attend school tomorrow and I will attend Publix afterward.

I am wearing...blue t-shirt and tan shorts

I am creating...Baby Girl's poncho. I finished the turtle/cowl neck and started on the body. AND the M1s.

I am going...to finish the last load of laundry for the day once the dryer stops.

I am wondering...if anybody finds this interesting?

I am reading...some knitting magazines I found in a pile under some clothes.

I am hoping...for some uninterupted time at home.

I am looking forward to...#1 Son's concert on Thursday.

I am hearing...the rugrats playing a game and the a/c humming. It got up to 82 degrees with a heat index of 91. NOT liking that at all!! The humidity was high today!

Around the house...I am slowly working my way thru the mess.

I am pondering...if I'll ever get caught up.

One of my favorite things...a sleeping kitty that is Hemi.

A few plans for the rest of the week: being a Band Mom on Thurs afternoon and enjoying a band concert that night.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Went to McDonald's a couple of weeks ago and this is what I got. Hmmm, I know they were busy, but come on!!! Ended up with a free meal the next day.......

Always forget to add this part:

The Simple Woman's Day Book

Just another day in paradise

2011-11-14T20:26:00.003-05:00

After only 5 hours of sleep I started my day at 6:30am. The day was filled with various errands, a sick child, a crazed sister, forgotten appts (where IS that day planner?!?), grocery shopping and a late dinner. It's 8pm and I quit! I'm staring at laundry that telepathically would put itself away. Since it's not budging, it will wait until tomorrow for me to do it. Unless the laundry elves do it for me.

Yes I'm delusional that way!!!!

Anyway....we have a new project on the needles!!! Baby Girl's poncho!

It's a poncho by Berroco called Phyllis. Baby Girl picked out the pattern and the yarn so I know she'll wear it.

It starts at the neck and is worked in one piece down with increases every couple of rows. Guess what the increases are??? Yep, M1s. Well at least I know how to do them!!!

Hope everybody's week is as exciting as mine seems to be turning into...

Another one for the pile

2011-11-13T11:36:00.005-05:00

When I get determined to finish off a project, it gets done! Last Thursday I posted the finished Stashbuster Oddball blanket for Wool Aid. I also posted in my notebook on Ravelry as well as the Wool Aid group. Can I tell you how many ppl have commented on this blanket?? The picture itself has 4 comments and a heart. One person said that it reminded her of a Navajo blanket. Yes it does. It also reminded me of a blanket a friend bought when she was in Guatemala. SO many different colors and very busy. So while it may not be my cup of tea, apparently there are quite a few that think it's turning out lovely. For that I'm happy.

And from one extreme to another, I finished off my rolled brim hat.

I even got #1 Son to model it for me!!!

He said it was a bit small for him, but he has a large head so if I make him any hats they have to be larger with a rib.

Pattern is from Knitting for Peace. It really is your basic rolled brimmed hat. Cast on 90 sts on size 7 needles and knit for 7" (unrolled) and then decrease. Started it on 10/19 and cast off on 11/10. I almost used up the Simply Soft Chocolate yarn I had left over from one of the kitty blankets. Baby Girl is wearing it right now.

That leaves two socks and a blanket OTN. Time to cast on for a poncho for Baby Girl. It's thick yarn so it should go quickly......

Saturday Sky

2011-11-12T23:33:00.004-05:00

It was one of those mornings where I thought I would have enough time to sleep in, go to the store, pick up some bagels, make some chili and show up at the picnic by 1:30pm.

Instead I wake up at 11am, make a mad dash to Publix and show up an hour late. Since I showed up in time for everybody to eat, it worked out well. I just HATE cutting it that close.

Sunday will be spent cleaning up the huge mess that is my house.......

Wow is this a post of I woke up, I ate, I need to clean and I went to bed?!?!?

yikes.......

As I rethink this whole NaBloPoMo, stop by tomorrow for an actual finished knitted object!

Feline Fridays - the Tiger edition

2011-11-11T01:34:00.001-05:00

Determination

2011-11-10T13:14:00.008-05:00

I was bound and determined to finish off the Wool Aid Stashbuster OddBall blanket, and I did! Here it is in all it's bright glory.

Of all the blankets I've worked on, this has got to be my least favorite. The yarns others used must have had mohair or alpaca in it because it would make my eyes itch. The wooden needles were dull and hard to make those M1s with. ALL THOSE M1s!!

My portion of the blanket is from the light tan to the deep purple.

Not my favorites either. Funny thing abt the purples, when I held them side by side under my Ott light, they looked like the same purple, just different textures. This picture definitely shows the differences between the two. And while I dislike single ply yarns in regular knitting, I HATE them while making M1s. (SOOO many M1s...)

This blanket/afghan has sufficiently filled my desire to work on oddball blankets for awhile. One more thing I've learned (other than how to make M1s REALLY well) is that while Odd ball blankets can be pretty, they need to have some kind of color scheme to make them work. The last one I worked on was all purples. I liked the look of that one. This one, not so much.

My next project I'm focusing on now is my brown hat. I'm just starting the decreases for the crown and I hope to be done later today. I did pull out the CTH socks and worked a few rows on it. I need 3.5 repeats for the cuff and I just finished up one repeat. If I think of it that way, it will go faster for me.

And I need to start Baby Girl's poncho this wknd. I was at Target earlier today and I saw some ponchos with cowl necklines. Her's is more of a turtle neck, but she likes those SO much better.

One more final note. I hit a couple of thrift shops this AM and found a little black purse and a pair of jeans that are really comfy.

All by Gloria Vanderbilt.

All for under $10!

Now that's my kind of shopping!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T03:57:00.002-05:00

Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-11-08T11:41:00.007-05:00

Stitches of Violet does this post every Tues. It's always intrigued me, but I've never felt the urge to do it. I always felt it might come across as a bit boring. However I always enjoy Marguerite's posts every Tues. so here goes.

FOR TODAY: November 8th

Outside my window...
It's a bit overcast, with bright blue spots poking thru. It's almost 79 outside, but it feels like 82. This is why my a/c is on. Once it hits 80 I can always tell, I get uncomfortably warm.

I am thinking...
that I need to just bite the bullet and attack my craft room. A friend of mine gave me some fabric (you know, since I sew so much!) and I really need to get organized. I've never been a neat person but when it gets to the point when I can't find stuff, it's time to clean up!

I am thankful...
for smart, healthy children. Last week Baby Girl was inducted into the school's honor society and today #1 Son had his ceremony for Honor Roll.

I'm one proud mama!

In the kitchen...
I've got some frozen quesadillas in the oven for lunch. They smell great but the taste will be the deciding factor....

I am wearing...
what I wore to school this AM, a blue shirt and black capris.

I am creating...
a charity blanket. I'm really trying hard to finish this guy up by the end of the week. I dont like wood needles and this blanket is knitted on Clovers. The needles aren't very sharp which makes those M1s that much more of a challenge.

I am going...
to finish up this post and try and get some things done before the rugrats get home from school.

I am wondering...
what I'm going to make for dinner. Any suggestions??

I am reading...
absolutely nothing! In fact I got a bunch of books the last time we were at the library and I haven't even taken them out of the bag. They were due yesterday....

I am hoping...
to take another trip to Disney, this time with the kids. I'm just not sure when we can do it......

I am looking forward to...
a day off from school on Friday! Baby Girl is too!

I am hearing...
the hum of the a/c and the snortings of Hemi

Around the house...
the outside is in desperate need of some TLC. I'm hoping to start playing outside next week.

I am pondering...
if I will do this again next week. I guess it just depends on how much I need to post something.....

One of my favorite things...
my yarn

A few plans for the rest of the week:
I will be helping my sister with some things tomorrow, Friday will be a day of shopping and seeing Puss in Boots with the family (including my sisters but not the IO), Saturday will be a congregation picnic for a dear friend who will be moving away. I don't want to think any further than that right now.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

gotta wonder what that trip was like!
(hint: the license plate is from Hawaii!)

Monday Afternoon Update

2011-11-07T12:28:00.004-05:00

Time to check what's on the needles.

Oldest thing OTN are my Lorna's Laces socks. I started them back in August (not bad) but I have yet to cast on the 2nd sock. I'm not sure if I have enough yarn for the second sock and I'm trying to find the other skein in case I have to use it. I think I should just weigh the completed sock I have and the leftover yarn to see if there is enough.......I figure once I do that, the other skein will show up for sure! No pics to share since all I have are bare needles.

Baby Teri Blanket: So far I have 8 squares done and I've started on the 9th, this time in yellow.

CTH BasketWeave Rib Socks: Ok I lied, THIS is the oldest project on the needles. The first sock was done back in May, then the yarn was used to make Delaney's socks. Leftovers were cast on to go as far as I can to finish this pair for me. Again no reason to show a pic since I havent really worked on it. Not feeling the love. Not enjoying the pattern. It's not hard, but I'm realizing I'm not much of a pattern girl when it comes to my socks. Lots of gorgeous ones out there, but in reality I enjoy the mindlessness of a 3x1 ribbed sock.

My basic rolled brim hat. I'm getting close to having it done. I think another inch is needed before I start the decreases.

I'll need to cast on for another hat and tell Baby Girl THAT one is for her before she claims this one as well.

Lastly I'm working on another Oddball blanket for WoolAid. This one is using up bits and pieces of extra wool from various other projects. I've done abt 3" and I'm losing the love as well. We're using a holeless feather and fan which sort of reminds me of a ripple. Not a big fan of the ripple OR the 64 M1s every 4 rows.... But it's using up lots of stash so that's a plus!

I think I just need to bite the bullet and complete some of these stagnant projects. I need to start on a poncho for Baby Girl and the yarn is calling out to be worked on.

Need to do this more often!

2011-11-06T19:59:00.005-05:00

The IO and I got to go out on our own last night. The last time that happened was 8 months ago when we celebrated our anniversary. So while it's few and way too far between, we decided to go to Epcot for their Food and Wine Festival.

We had a BLAST! They have several kiosks set up thruout the area with different kinds of food. You had the well known places like France and Italy and Japan, and your not so general ones like South Korea and Brazil and the Caribbean. The sizes are small, like an appetizer, but this gives you the opportunity to try different foods before you get too full. We aren't that adventurous so we ate in Ireland, France, Italy and Mexico. I have absolutely NO pictures of the food because it was inhaled before the camera could even come out! Trust me when I tell you it. Was. GOOD!

They also have different musical groups during the festival, cover bands that play in various areas thruout the park and then you have the main act in the outdoor arena area. Last night we were able to listen to Night Ranger.

For those of you who don't know them, they were really hot back in the 80s. I LOVED them, especially the lead guitarist.

We got there for the last half of the concert, but that was perfect since that's when they play their most popular stuff.

What a great show they put on. Hard to believe it was that long ago. We hung out afterward to meet the band. They came out in shifts, but I got to meet the most important one.

The lead guitarist that I was IN LOVE with back in the day. If I could go back to that 16 y/o to tell her to enjoy the quiet, I could also tell her that she would get to meet the cute blonde.

She would SOO die!!!

We DEFINITELY need to do this more often.......

Saturday Sky

2011-11-05T15:53:00.005-05:00

We had a cool front go thru last night which meant it was nice and chilly this AM (it was 58 when I woke up). This means I need to bake something to warm the house up! Thankfully I pulled out a Butter Braid from the freezer last night. #1 Son was selling these for band and he said they were yummy! Well they ARE!!!

Last night I pulled one out of the freezer to thaw out and rise over night. This is what it looked like.

It looked like this when I woke up.

I KNOW!!! It's HUGE! The first time I made one I was TOTALLY surprised! This one is a bavarian cream butter braid.

What it looked like once it came out of the oven.

I added chocolate to the top but I never had time to photograph it before it was cut into. It tasted like a chocolate croissant. OH it was yummy! I may have to see if Band Boosters has any left.....

Here is my sky.

Still cloudy and very breezy, making the temp feel cooler than the 66 my thermometer is showing. Guess I'll need to take a jacket when we go out tonight. My sister has the kids and the IO and I are headed out to Disney's Food and Wine Festival.

WOO HOO! Date night!

Feline Fridays - the Lucy Edition

2011-11-04T04:02:00.001-05:00

Catching Up

2011-11-03T09:38:00.008-05:00

So I'm going thru my Ravelry page and trying to get my projects caught up and it occurs to me that I haven't posted my Orts jar in awhile. The new moon MUST be coming up. I check a few websites on line (there are some COOL sites out there with the rising and setting of the sun, eclipse dates, etc, but as usual I digress on the blog as I do in real life) and I see the next new moon is near Thanksgiving. Well that can't be right! Obviously a scientific website is wrong and my Oh-So-Sharp memory is correct.

Hmmmmm, imagine my surprise (literally I didn't think I could be off by that much) when I found out the new moon was Oct 26th. A WEEK AGO!

I blame the kids, the IO's new job and the faultering drainfield in my front yard. If I could go back to that 16 y/o who just couldn't wait to start her life, I'd tell her to enjoy the quiet!

But I digress again.

So while I'm a week late, here's my ORT jar.

I'm still working on 2 pairs of socks (sort of), another rolled brim hat, I've got 7 squares done for my afghan and I just got another charity blanket in the mail last week. It's another oddball blanket for Wool Aid except this time we get to use up our stash bits and pieces. I've pulled out some small balls of wool to add to it and will take a pic of it when it's done. Even with all the odd colored pieces in it, it actually looks really good!

I do have one picture of a finished project that I want to show you. It's the finished off hexipuff.

I added catnip before I sewed it up. What do you think Princess??

That's some tasty nip!

Couponing to the EXTREME!

2011-11-02T10:45:00.005-05:00

I've been couponing on and off thruout my adult life. My grandfather would occasionally leave me coupons for products by Stayfree, but I was a teenager and didnt see the point of saving a quarter here and there. However I love a good deal so once I got married and we started getting the Sunday paper (because that's what grown up married ppl do) I started cutting out coupons that I could use.

However saving only a couple of dollars seemed very little compared to all that work of cutting out coupons. Plus I never seemed to have them on me when I needed them. Then my aunt told me a secret. Whatever money I saved from coupons, put it aside. If it was a quarter, put that quarter aside. See how much adds up over the course of a month. So I did. Then it got fun!

Some months were only $5, but it would pay for a breakfast special at a deli. Once, I had over $20 at the end of the month and it was enough to buy a skirt! It was on sale AND I used my coupon money. I called my aunt and told her I got a skirt for free!! LOL Every time I wore that skirt, I felt SO smart!

Over the years I've continued to use coupons, I esp LOVE the 20% off my total purchase at JoAnn's or Michael's (coupons arent just for grocery stores!), and I love it when I can pair them with a sale or BOGO.

But just as everything else in this system, extremism rules and what can be a great way to save money has jumped to an insane level. Case in point, have any of you watched Extreme Couponing? I watched it when it first came out, but I can't get thru an episode. To me it's another version of hoarding. I think it's great that you can get 10 shampoos for free, but when you already have 30 at home, do you really need any more? Or the lady who bought 31 mustards for a penny each, but nobody in her family likes mustard. I know for some its the thrill of the chase, but when you have toilet paper to last a year, donate the next case you get for free to your local shelter.

It would be worth it if you brought home cases of tuna!!

NaBloPoMo

2011-11-01T15:46:00.004-05:00

Will I attempt it? Yessiree Bobcat! Will I achieve it? Well that remains to be seen. With the way my life is going lately I'm lucky to sit down at night and play mindless games on Facebook. Even my Words with Friends has been suffering.

Last week Baby Girl and I were away on an overnight field trip and I'm still recouperating. As a chaperone we were in charge of 8 girls

but we were sleeping 16 kids and 2 adults to a cabin.

Lights out was at 10pm, but at 11:30 I threatened to call a teacher if they wouldn't settle down. Half the cabin was awake and the other half just wanted to sleep. Add 2 girls who were crying because they missed their moms and another one who kept waking up from nightmares (her parents were splitting up and she kept dreaming they were literally being ripped apart), and yet another one with a bloody nose, well there was little if any sleep to be had. Yet even with all that, they had a blast. Makeup and nail polish in the cabin, practicing writing prompts in fun and creative ways for the upcoming FCAT

and zip lining made for a fun couple of days.

I didnt bring my knitting because I knew I wouldnt have time for it, but there were periods when the kids were working that I wished I had it.

I have stash in the form of yarn (bought) and fabric (given) plus baking to share, but with the goal of blogging everyday, I need to pace myself.

Here's to another NaBloPoMo. Who's joining me????

Getting it out of my system

2011-10-22T14:15:00.006-05:00

If you are on Ravelry, you might have seen the latest craze buzzing thru, The Beekeepers Quilt made using the Hexipuff. The designer makes these little 3-D hexigons out of sock yarn, sticks them in a basket until she's got enough for a blanket. They are really cute and I've been considering doing one. I've looked at all the ppl making them, the different yarns they use, the different patterns they use, etc and it hit me, it's the toe of a sock!** One side is a toe-up toe and the other end is a cuff down toe. After a google search for toe-up instructions I cast on last night.

Cute huh? Mine came out bigger than the original pattern, but I can see the allure to them. Cute, poofy, and very versatile.

After making one of these guys I realized two things:
1. while these are adorable, I wont be making anymore. Not my thing.
2. since the beginning of these little guys is like starting a toe up sock, I discovered I will be sticking with my cuff down method. Again, not my thing.

So while I won't be making anymore hexapuffs, it turned out to be a good learning experience. Kind of like crossing off two things from a to do list. The above hexipuff is already stuffed, but I think I'll add some catnip to it and make it a cat toy.

I also cast on for another hat.

I'm using up some Simply Soft yarn in Chocolate. It's what's left over from the kitty blanket I made back in July. I gotta say it's fun using up these extra scraps of yarn. I'm starting to get too much of a collection.....

In the weather front, we are having some GORGEOUS weather!

I'm happy to be out of the 90s, but this weather is a bonus!

Got the windows open and airing out the house. I really feel our fall is like spring up north. Makes you want to air out the house, and have a thorough cleaning. Cant do it in the summer, weather doesnt cooperate. Triple digit and single digit weather are the same, you cant do much outside.

Hope everybody is enjoying their Saturday!

**Disclaimer: I have NO idea how Tiny Little Owl makes her hexipuffs. I don't know the dimensions or the cast on numbers or any details of her pattern. What I posted is just what I found to work for me to get a similar look. While it's not something I wish to make, I still think they are adorable and if you are considering making them, definitely check out her site on Ravelry.

Who Says Boys Only Like Science?

2011-10-21T12:08:00.005-05:00

When given the assignment of a project, instead of making it easy (drawings on a posterboard) Baby Girl sees it as an opportunity to get creative. It's GOTTA be in 3-D!!! And today, it had to explode.

They are covering volcanos in class this week (you can already see where this is going) and they had to make a drawing of the various parts of the volcano. Being the overachiever that is my daughter, she saw this as an opportunity to make a model that would explode!!! How??? Why puting in Diet Coke and Mentos of course!!!

We hit JoAnn's on Wednesday and bought the supplies. Then I hot glued the diet coke to the base. I helped with the foundation of the volcano (two posterboards wrapped around each other) and she added the felt, the clay, and the grass.

Here it is.

She set it off today.

The best part of this picture is the kids' expressions!

It's no wonder she's on the Honor Roll!!!

Feline Fridays

2011-10-21T12:01:00.003-05:00

I can haz snugglz???

Monday Morning Evening Update

2011-10-17T10:11:00.014-05:00

I'm feeling a bit productive with the knitting lately, I actually have another finish for the month!

A basic rolled brim hat. I used up a skein of Plymouth Suri Merino wool. It had alpaca in it which meant I needed to take breaks and drink water while working on it. Alpaca is NOT a good fiber for me to work with. I didnt have enough of the blue so I dug around in the stash and pulled out some OLD brown wool, Pingouin in chocolate. The differences in texture is amazing. The blue is so much softer, but when you wear the hat, the brown stripes are in areas that dont bother your skin. Baby Girl loves it and has added it to her collection. Now she wants a poncho AND a slouchy hat. I need to see if I have any yarn that she likes or if we need to take a trip to the LYS.

Meanwhile I'm plugging away on my afghan.

You can see I have 3 blocks already done with the 4th started. I *should* have enough yarn to finish off the 4th.

And I finished another sock, the blue and pink striped one.
(insert picture here)(Blogger is NOT cooperating!)
I pulled out the blue one from the drawer to work on its mate. The yarn was used for Delaney's socks, but I have enough left to do another sock up to the toe. I figure I have enough for the main part of the sock and use a different color for the toes (I'll redo the finished one to match the toes). I've already started the cuff of sock #2.
(insert another picture here)(what is up with Blogger?!?)
So that makes 1 afghan and 2 socks in the works. Yet I'm feeling an itch to start another hat........

Day Trippin' for a Saturday Sky

2011-10-16T14:53:00.006-05:00

There was a group of us that caravaned up to the Gainesville area for a day trip of hayrides and corn mazes.

It's a local farm that puts on a fall festival thruout the month of Oct. We tried to stay together as a group in the maze

in search of those elusive stamps on our game card.

Will this produce a much needed game piece or will it result in a dead end???

The hay ride took us up over the hill toward the main house

and the anxiously awaiting cows. Some were a bit overly agressive for those feed pellets.

Here's the beef! Now where's the feed?

As I watched the riders feed the cows, I also watched the hired hands who drove the tractors and wondered if they were secretly laughing at us.

"Not only do we get them to feed the cows, but they pay US for the priviledge!!"

I don't know, I think it was worth the price of admission......

----------------------------------------------------

Best comment of the day:
6 y/o after he just got slimed by a cow's tongue: Cows are disgusting!
Me: Really? I find them rather tasty.

Rainy Days and Mondays....

2011-10-10T10:07:00.005-05:00

.....I actually kinda like! Rainy days during the week make me want to clean and organize. Rainy days during the wknd make me want to sleep and read.

I know, makes no sense to me either, but I go with it.

I do have a few finishes to post. I finished a charity scarf for my SIL last week.

Stats for this scarf are:

*Yarn Harlot's One Row pattern
*Simply Soft yarn in Wine
*30 sts on size 8 needles
*8/17 - 10/1/11
*scarf measures 5.5 x 57"
*yarn used up: 4.9oz / 257yds

Baby Girl loves the scarf and I have a feeling it's not going to make the charity bin. It's a little shorter than I like for a scarf, but only just by a little bit. If it was given to a smallish woman it would be fine. We'll have to see......

Next project to see some progress is my afghan. I finally figured out a block size that I like and finished one over the wknd.

This one is a double stranded worsted in Lilac. It really is that pale of a purple, but next to a white or a pink, you can see the purpleness of it. I made a swatch of this yarn and it softens up the more you wash it. I'm abt 2" into the next block (the finished size is abt 8" square) Once I'm done with this block, I'll weight the leftover skeins to see if I can get one more out of it.......

Stormy Saturday Sky

2011-10-08T16:17:00.005-05:00

Like Lucy said, my knitting has had me in fits and starts the past week. I lost my hat, the finished scarf is a bit short, my afghan square is a bit thin and my socks were left in the car........

However things are falling back into place. I make sure I bring my socks into the house now so I was able to knit a bit more on them. I've finished the heel and gusset and am working on the main foot now.

A few more inches and then I can start my decreases.

I decided to cast on another square for my blanket, this time double stranded.

I like the thickness better in this one so I think I'll keep going. I have a TON of this yarn so I know I should have plenty even with the double strands.

Last but not least, I found the hat! I was looking for something else and boom there it was!! Gotta love how that happens!

So we've got 3 active projects going and I'm back to being happy with all three.

Meanwhile we've had a very rainy, soggy day today. While last week could have been a blue piece of paper for my sky, today it's a bit grey.

It has been like this all day, too, which is very unusual for us. However we've got some kind of system stalled above us and it's just churning out the rain. I SO dont mind it, it's a nice change from the constant bright ball in the sky. Days like this call for sleepy afternoons and old movies. Well I'm not getting a chance to nap, but I do have a chicken roasting in the oven and I'm watching old Dick Van Dyke episodes on TV Land. I'll take what I can get!

What are you doing on your Saturday?

Feline Fridays

2011-10-07T09:35:00.001-05:00

Mom has been slowly going insane with her sticks and string. Normally she has fun with it, but lately she seems to be muttering under her breath. I keep waiting for some knotted up fuzzy toy to land on the ground to play with. I think I'm getting close......

Truth in Advertising

2011-10-01T13:58:00.005-05:00

I'm not a morning person.

By ANY means.

In fact, there has to be a REALLY good reason for me to wake up before the sun does.

That being said, there was an article in the weekly Penny Saver about a Fitness Fair and 5k Run being held locally. It was sponsored by the local Chamber and the County Health Dept to encourage fitness and health. There was going to be free health screenings, including blood pressure and sugar checks. Massage therapists and chiropractors would be present to explain the health benefits of each. Zumba fitness would be sampled along with carnival type games that would include fun prizes and giveaways. And let's not forget the face painting along with the presence of Disney's Entertainment Team!!

THIS is something I'd get up at 5:50am for!

Sounds like fun, right????

O.M.G. NOTHING could be further from the truth......

There was no 5K, no face painting, no health screenings. What we had was a leaky bouncy house, free cold eggs, free organic gourmet INSTANT coffee that I spilled out after my first sip, and a 15 min sales demonstation on the evils of all beverages other than this particular bottled water. At this point I went to find out abt the 5k. Apparently it was a *fun run* along the mile pathway around the park, but since most of the runners there were already running, there was no point to having an official start to the Fun Run and to go ahead and do it on my own.

Wow.

So Baby Girl and I ate our cold eggs, she bounced in the leaky bouncy house, and we walked the 1.4 mile trail while watching the local school football teams practice.

The pictures of the sun rising are still on my phone, and apparently want to stay there so instead I had Baby Girl take a pic of today's sky.

Yes that really is the sky, not a blue sheet of paper. The weather is gorgeous too. We actually had to wear jackets this AM!!!! If nothing else goes right today, we at least have nice weather. Right now the temp is 82, but it feels like 81 (woohoo we have a wind chill!)

Hope your Saturday is going a bit more smoothly than mine......

September ORT report

2011-09-28T17:45:00.003-05:00

I'm a day late but here is my TU SAL Sept Ort jar.

We've got a little bit of everything in this jar, some floss, some yarn and some fabric!!! NOw it's time to dump this jar and start fresh for the rest of the year.....

Monday Morning Update

2011-09-26T09:48:00.009-05:00

I've been keeping some projects in the car so that I have something to work on while I'm waiting in line for the minions. This means I get to put in a few rows here and there throughout the week. However, I am also lazy, so when I want to work on something at night, I dont want to get said projects out of the car. Instead I cast on for new projects to work on. I have four going on right now, though I really thought it was more.....

First up is my red scarf for charity.

I've got abt 31" done which makes me abt 1/2 way complete. I LOVE scarves, but once I start working on them, I tend to get sick of them abt two feet in. I plug away some more and once I hit abt 40", I get excited again and finish it up quickly. I'm almost at that point.

My socks.

I haven't touched these in awhile. Time to start working on them.

The blanket for the house.

As you can tell it's Hemi approved.

Your basic rolled brim hat.

I just cast on for this two days ago so not much is done.

And I have one finish. I was working on a charity blanket for the Ravelry group Wool Aid. This blanket is called Purplicious and we all had to work abt 5" of purple worsted weight wool into the blanket. I was the last one before it goes *home* to the originator. She will sew in all the extra yarn pieces and add it to the pile to be shipped out. Here is my portion. Mine is the deep purple.

I used Stitch Nation's Full O Sheep in Plummy. The yarn is nice, it's 100% Peruvian Wool, but it's a single ply. I tend to unravel single ply if I'm not careful. LOVE the color. The pattern I used was a variation of a Twin Rib. Row 1: k3p3, Row 2: k1p1.

Here is what the blanket looks like before I mail it off.

I think it turned out really nice. I like that scrappy look. It actually reminds me of a peasant's skirt.

So there you have it; 4 projects and a finish. Not a bad showing for a Monday.

Saturday Sky with a Side of Stash

2011-09-24T15:16:00.005-05:00

We were supposed to have 50% chance of rain today.

Instead the skies are beautiful overhead

and we've got a heat index of 104. Ugh. What happened to that rain and cool front we were supposed to get??? (Cool front is defined as a high of 89) This triple digit heat is getting old.

FAST!

What's a girl to do?? Why stay inside an a/c'd house and stitch! But before we get to that we need to look at some newly acquired yarn. I've been doing SO well with stash acquisitions, but lately yarn's just been following me home. However when Araucania is on sale, you gotta get while the gettin's good!!! I had a hard time settling on which ones to buy, they looked so pretty! but I finally settled on these guys.

I had a faded denim in the group, but I ended up putting that one back.

So now that I've added to the stash, I guess I should go knit some of the older stuff up, huh???

Making Progress

2011-09-23T17:26:00.006-05:00

I've been trying to spend at least 15 min a day in my craft room. While I only did that two days this week, I AM making progress. The first day was ONLY 15 min. I don't even remember what I did. I think it had to do with picking up garbage and organizing a bin. That was all I could do. I realized I needed a plan so a couple of days later I decided to fix the closet. Well not only did I do that, but I also finished putting the shelves up in the bookcase AND finished moving all the books from #1 Son's room into mine.

Here is my closet.

Nice huh?? I'm happy with it. I plan on going thru the bins once I get more organized. There are a bunch of magazines for quilting and cross stitching and knitting in there and I want to sort thru them and thin them out a bit. I also need to organize pictures/albums and books in that bookshelf of mine. I'm hoping I have enough room.

When I turned around I saw I still had this pile

and this pile

and lets not forget THIS pile!!!

I was getting that overwhelming feeling again and knew I needed to stop. At least now I have a pathway in the room that will make moving around easier. Again, I need to have a plan before I go in there. Makes it so much less overwhelming that way.

It's been a bit of a stressful week here at Happy Acres. School and PTO and the house and the IO and the kids and close friends AND extended family have been in high gear and it seems if its not one, its four other fires that need to be put out.

Which is why I was so happy to meet up with Dee today! We meet up at a local book store, have some coffee, knit and catch up. It's SO nice to talk to a grown up!! AND today I got to meet her son! Very sweet, very handsome, very nice. As always, Dee, I had a great time! Now that school is in, we need to do this more often.

There was some shopping afterward, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Tiger says:

I dont remember approving a joint Friday post.....

One way or another

2011-09-20T17:18:00.004-05:00

she's gonna have a pair of socks that fit!

I finished this second pair a couple of days ago.

I'm happy with the way they came out, but if you notice, they don't quite match. There were TWO knots in that second sock PLUS a thin spot. That's not including the third knot that was toward the end of the skein. I can handle one knot, but three with a thin spot is pushing the quality of their product. I've knit with Heart and Sole before and I had nothing like that with those skeins. (they are still going strong btw). The removal of knots and thin spots make for striping to be off. I still end up with bits of pink for the toe so I was happy abt that.

Sock details:

48sts on 2.5mm dpns
3x1 rib for 3". ss for 1". Total foot length before decreases = 5.5"

Red Heart Heart & Sole
Spring Stripe

Sock #1: 9/7-11/2011
Sock #2: 9/15-18/2011

These will be on their way to Delaney tomorrow.

Now that these are done, I can focus on my other projects. I have a pair of socks for me that have been sitting for a month that I should pick up. My scarf is moving along, s-l-o-w-l-y. I think I have abt 20" done. And I'm already getting tired of it. So what do I do?? I cast on for another project!

As you all know, I'm trying to put together my craft room. It is SO bad and so turned upside down that it's overwhelming. I've told myself that I need to work on something in that room for 15 min a day. It will take some time, but it will at least chip away at it so that eventually I'll be able to spend an hour or more w/o hyperventilating and walking away. Of course this means opening bags to see what I have. Four bags have been removed from that room and now sit in my bedroom. It's yarn I bought for baby outfits that have grown exponentially! I love the softness of it all so instead of using it for babies, I'm using it for this family. I've cast on and will knit blocks. Once I have enough blocks, I'll put together a blanket. This will be an ongoing project so I dont expect to use it until next winter, but it's a great mindless project to have on hand. Straight knitting.

AND I got a charity blanket in the mail from Wool-Aid on Ravelry. It's called Purplicious and I get to use my new yarn on it. I just need to figure out what pattern I want to use........

More pictures of blankets as they progress.

Monday Meme

2011-09-19T04:41:00.001-05:00

Saw this on a few blogs so figured I'd participate:

A: Age: 44
B. Bedsize: king
C: Chore that you hate: Cleaning the house. I know, that's a big one. It's just frustrating to spend SO much time cleaning when it can be undone in a matter of minutes.....
D: Dogs: None here, only cats. In face I've only owned one dog in my life. I was around 10.
E: Essential to start your day: Coffee. I NEVER needed coffee when I was younger. I only started being consistent with coffee when I had to go back to work p/t when Baby Girl was 10 months old. Kids were practically babies but I still had to get up for work. Had to be *up* since I was working at JoAnn's and needed to be personable and peppy for the customers.
F: Favorite color: hard one to answer because it depends on what its for, but for the most part I tend toward reds
G:Gold or Silver. Gold.
H: height: 5'4"
I: instruments you play: I used to play the piano and clarinet really well. However so much time has passed that I'm back to being a beginner.
J: Job title : CEO for Happy Acres
K: Kids: 2 of them. Sometimes though the IO should be counted as one too....
L: Live: One day at a time
M: Mom's Name: Sandy
N: nicknames: never really had one.
O: Overnight hospital stays: Two; one for each kid.
P: Pet Peeves: whiners, ppl who ALWAYS complain.
Q: Quote from a Movie: This was another hard one. We quote movies all the time here. I think the one we use the most out of the blue would be "I want my two dollars!"
R: Right or left handed: Right, but I mini golf with my left hand and I used to hop with my left foot.
S: Siblings: two and yet I'm an only child (my family tree is VERY interesting...)
T: Take-Out food: pizza, chinese, fast food joints
U: Underwear: yes
V: Veggies you hate: carrots. I know, weird. Never liked them and not sure I EVER will.
W: What makes you run late: I am consistently 5 min late so I try to add 10 min to a half hour to my prep time. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. I also think I try to cram in too much in a short period of time. What I think I can get done usually doesnt happen in the time allotted for it.
x: Xrays: have had them, but not in a LONG time (years)
Y: Yummy food: roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and green beans. Favorite meal for sure.
Z: Zoo Animals: Lions or anything from the cat family.

Have fun with this one. If you play, leave a note in the comments so I can come read yours.

Saturday Sky

2011-09-17T20:22:00.004-05:00

Here is my sky in the front yard as it was still drizzling in the back.

Gotta love Florida weather.

Day two of the grand opening

2011-09-16T21:45:00.004-05:00

I REALLY cut it close this AM. They give out gift cards to the first 50 ppl and I was #49!!! I felt bad for the two women behind me. There was only one card left between them.

No yarn or fabric or stitching was bought this time around. I know!!! Nothing was calling my name to take them home. I did see some new yarn by either Deborah Norville or Vanna White (not sure which) called Everyday Acrylic. It was really soft and very pretty. They had enough to make a sweater, but I wasnt sure if I wanted brown or black. I'll wait for a sale to try it out.

Nope, this time it was a curtain rod for #1 Son's room and a couple of patterns for a skirt. I've got some nice drapey fabric that would make a pretty skirt for either me or Baby Girl. Not sure if there is enough for me, but Baby Girl will definitely get a new skirt out of it.

Tomorrow is the last day of the gift cards, but I plan on sleeping in. And I've already told the fam that I plan on doing NOTHING tomorrow. I need the rest and the recouperation. It's time to get caught up on the DVR recordings and to work on either my Coffee cross stitch or Delaney's sock. Maybe both.

No new wool for me to inspect?!? Oh the humanity of it all..........

Stashing the Stash

2011-09-15T18:11:00.008-05:00

It's been a bit hectic here at Happy Acres and I'm ready for it to STOP!!! Everything seems to be in hyper speed with extended family kicking in for good measure.

I hadn't knit on anything for a couple of days and it's amazing how that really makes a difference! I KNOW it does, but when I haven't been able to knit for a couple of days, it just reaffirms it.

So while I haven't been as active as I'd like, I DO have some fiberly goodness to share.....

First of all, I have finished sock 1 of pair 2 for my niece.

I wasnt too sure how I was going to like it when I started it, but I'm happy with the final result. Baby Girl likes it as well so my almost 4 y/o niece should be happy with it. If not, it can wait for my almost 2 y/o niece. I've cast on for sock 2 today. With any luck I'll have it done by the wknd.

I've also added to the stash. I won on SAM 12 for the month of August and this just arrived a couple of days ago.

Nice huh? Zonda does a nice job in sending it too.

She could just stick it in the bag, but she makes it look pretty too. Thanks Zonda!

But wait, there's more.

My JoAnn's had a grand reopening sale. The first 50 people to walk thru those doors would get a $5 gift card. I pulled into the parking lot at 8:59 and I was #42 to get my card. Plus I had a 50% off coupon which was burning a hole in my pocket.

What did I get?

Some Full O Sheep for a charity blanket I'm working on. I've been wanting to try this yarn for awhile now, and this was the perfect excuse to get some. Retails at $4.99. 50% off coupon drops it to $2.49.

As I was looking thru the clearance bins, I came across this lonely guy...

He was only $.97. Yes you read that right, ninety-seven cents!!!! How do you NOT get it???

Lots of other things jumped in and out of my cart, but by the time I left I only added a magazine

Don't you just love that polar bear on that boy's sweater??? It's the reason I got it. I'm trying to see if I can add it to the one for the mom. It's just too cute for words.........

With my gift card it was like getting an additional 50% off my total purchase! The yarn ended up being free and the magazine was like 20% off. I LOVE those kinds of deals!!

They are offering this deal again tomorrow and Saturday. Wonder what other treasures I can for free?????

Cast off and cast on

2011-09-06T21:30:00.006-05:00

I'm spending today getting caught up on some blog reading and it always reminds me that I live in FLorida, a place that feels like it's cooling down when you only hit 92 as a high instead of triple digit heat indexes. Meanwhile there are a few of you that are starting to have cooler nights that brings on the feeling of autumn days ahead.

Regardless of the temps in this part of town, knitting is a year round event and I think I'm abt to make a 4 y/o very happy.

I finished these up this morning. I really should spend more knitting time on these guys, they really didnt take that long, but from cast on to cast off, they took a month. Here are my stats:

Delaney Socks #1 (I plan on making her another pair just slightly bigger)

44sts on 2.5mm dpns.
cuff consists of 3" of 2x2 rib and .5" of stst. The foot measures 5" before toe decreases.

Sock #1: 8/6-24
Sock #2: 8/25-9/6

Cherry Tree Hill yarn in Martha's Vineyard was used.

Yarn used up = 1.2oz/126yds.

That's what was cast off, look what will be cast on soon!

It arrived today, Dream in Color Dream Club September 2011.

I LOVE this stuff! It's a ww of their Smooshy with Cashmere!

It's nice and pretty and will be for ME! I'm thinking of a scarf or a cowl. I just need to find a pattern that speaks to me.....

Feline Fridays

2011-09-02T10:36:00.002-05:00

Just because the kids got you sick doesnt give you the right to interupt my nap time with all your hacking.

TuSal

2011-08-29T03:22:00.001-05:00

It's a new moon already and its time to show off our orts.

Nice and colorful. And that's all from this month.

So do you have a contribution to the TuSal?

One week of school

2011-08-28T12:36:00.008-05:00

equals two sick kids......

UGH!

This is early even for us. However we are not the only ones. We have friends in FOUR different schools with kids sick. At least we made it thru the first week. I have two friends whose kids were home by Wed.

This means my time on the computer has been limited, but my knitting hasn't. I've finished one of Delaney's sock

and started the second one.

I'm SO hoping these will fit!

Worked some more on my scarf.

I try to put in at least an inch a day. It will still take some time to finish but it's moving along, abt 9 inches now.

Since there were only two projects on the needles I started another sock

It's with Lorna's Laces sport weight yarn. I'm not too sure I'm loving the patterning to these guys, I'll decide once I get further down the foot.

Last week I had to go to JoAnn's to pick up some art supplies for #1 Son. Of course I had to look around and some other fun things jumped into my cart. Don't you just love that?!?! I found some yarn that was calling my name

I plan on making another scarf with this one. I really love the color to it, its a bit more purple in person.

Then something else jumped into my cart, something unexpected.

Isnt it cute? I already started it too, worked on it a lot yesterday.

It's amazing what you can get done when you dont have a computer to play on......

And they're off!!!!

2011-08-22T10:54:00.004-05:00

....off to school......

....and off the needles.....

I finished these off last night and ended up sleeping in them. Very comfy but a little stretched out for their photo shoot this AM. Here they are when I first tried them on.

I love my coordinating toes!

I bought two skeins of the Ocala Beach (the main part of the sock) but since the socks had short cuffs, I only used one. This is what is left of that one skein.

This weighed 0.1 oz. I wasnt stressed because I have another skein, but that's not much left at all!!!

Classic Soxs
64sts on 2.5mm needles
2x2 cuff for an inch
ss for an inch before heel started

yarn used: Classic Elite Summer Sox Ocala Beach and Terra Cotta
yarn used up: 2.1 oz/209 yds

sock #1: 7/18-8/14/11
sock #2: 8/14-8/21/11

the second sock always seems to go faster for me.

Now that these are done I can concentrate on the socks for Delaney, but I already plan on casting on using a size 2 needle and some Lorna's Laces sport weight yarn. I'm on a sock roll and I want to keep it going!!!!!

edit: fixed the incorrect spelling in title. I can't even blame lack of coffee....

Saturday Sky

2011-08-20T12:01:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy last week of summer here at Happy Acres, filled with friends, football, bowling and shopping. We also got to meet the new teachers for the coming year and I think it's gonna be a good one.

A couple of months ago, at the beginning of summer, we found a blow up pool that looked perfect for the kids to play in. It had a slide that showered you with water as you slid into the pool below. The ad came out on Sunday but by Thursday NO PLACE had them! Flashforward to three days before school starts and what do I find at Target??? Since it's still summer here for another couple of months (at least!) and it was on clearance, that puppy came home with us. Doesn't it look fun?!?

However reality and marketing have yet to agree. #1 Son almost popped the slide and flew out of the pool. Baby girl at least caught herself before she landed in the mud. She has found another use for it.

Do you notice the size differences between the marketing picture and what Baby Girl is chillin' in?!!?

The IO is heading to the store to get some plastic to extend the water fun and make it more of a Slip N Slide. The bouncing on the plastic slide will at least make the landing easier on the back.

While it is really pretty outside

is it super hot, we're up to 108 for our heat index and it's not even 1pm.

Hence the Saturday Sky view from inside the house.

On the knitting front, I am getting really close to finishing off my sock.

Delaney's sock is in progress as well, I'm abt to start the heel flap

AND I started a red scarf

This one will be added to the charity bag for Upstate NY.

I'm hoping to get my sock done by tomorrow. Hope you are all staying cool with whatever you do today. It's a HOT one!

Feline Fridays

2011-08-19T21:53:00.003-05:00

One size does NOT fit all!!!!

Fists and Starts ~or~ You Win Some, You Lose Some

2011-08-15T22:45:00.005-05:00

It's back to school time here at Happy Acres. We've been school shopping and clothes shopping. Everyone is geared up for school, which is nice. We need that routine back. Let's hope it's a good one.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch I've been working and FINISHING some projects. First one done is The Tank.

It was a bust. I didnt like the way the decreases were done, I didn't like the way the neck strap was done OR attached to the garment. The yarn was nice, but not very forgiving. My gauge never went off, but the stitches didn't always lay right. I've never had that problem with cotton before. AND Baby Girl didn't like it. In fact even though I took a pic of her wearing it, she wouldn't let me post it.

So there you have it. Five months of working on a tank that didn't turn out so well. Oh well, I still have my socks.

Speaking of which, I have one of my socks finished.

I really love the color combos, and while the yarn is ok, I probably wont buy it again. Nothing wrong with it, but I'm realizing that I really do prefer wool for socks. This is a cotton/wool combo. Again, not bad, but wool is definitely becoming my go to sock yarn. Sock #2 is started and I'm already at the heel flap. Gotta love 2" cuffs!!!!

I've also started the socks for my niece.

Not real far along, but these really wont take me long either. The cuffs will be a little over 3" and the foot won't be much more. Gotta love little kid socks, too!

That's all I got on the needles and I'm itching to start a scarf. I'm probably going to do a red scarf that will go to my SIL in NY. May have to cast on tonight as well........

Feline Fridays

2011-08-12T19:36:00.002-05:00

The belly may be big, but look at that tushy!!!!!!

A-HEAD of the game!

2011-08-05T19:27:00.003-05:00

I wanted it done by the wknd and I got it done yesterday!

I really enjoyed knitting this hat up, even with the Malabrigo. I think I'm going to cast on for another one as well. I'm starting a pile of hats and scarves to send to my SIL in upstate NY. She does volunteer work up there and she said there are PLENTY of families who need warm hats and scarves come winter time. #1 Son has a head the size of an adult and it fits him just fine.

You can see he's such a willing participant! I even made him do a side shot.

Told him this better be the ONLY mug shot he EVER gets!!!

I cut it close too, this is what I have left.

Abt 5.5gms or 11.5yds. I'll probably add it in for a stripe in another hat. I LOVE it when I can make such good use of the entire skein of yarn!

Feline Fridays

2011-08-05T12:17:00.005-05:00

Who is this Jabba the Hut?

And why do you think I look like him???

WIP-y Wednesday

2011-08-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

There has been some knitting going on around here. I have no picture, but I have completed all the knitting for The Tank. Now I have to just put it together and add the single crochet around the neckline to finish it off. This is where I have my issues. I can knit, but the finishing work kills me. I'm hoping tomorrow I can pull it out.

We've got my CTH socks/Delaney's socks project.

Basically I ripped out the 2nd sock cuff and will start on her socks very soon. I wanted to make sure how many stitches I needed to cast on before I started. Now that I know, I should be able to cast on in the next day or two. I should have enough yarn in this ball for both her socks. If not, my sock will get ripped out. Actually I think I may rip this sock out anyway and add it as the heel and toe of the other color of CTH that I have. Not sure yet, we'll see how these socks go first.

And since I dont have those socks to work on anymore, I started a pair while in NC.

I'm using Classic Elite Summer Sox yarn, a wool/cotton blend. So far so good.

Last but not least is my Twisted Rib Watch Cap

I'm using up the rest of the malabrigo and I've been kicking some butt on this project! I'm 7" in and I only have another 2" before my decreases. I'm hoping to be done by this wknd. All that being said, I'm still not a big fan of the yarn. I know I'm in the minority with this one, but I just don't like the slubby-ness of the yarn.

Actually it's not slubby, its the yarn being only a single twist and unraveling a bit as you go along. I didn't untwist those spots, they were already like that. I tried to twist it a bit, but apparently I didn't do it good enough.

And for those of you not on Facebook, I won a Kindle! Our library was having a summer sweepstakes where everytime you checked out a book, you could ask for a entry form. We only checked out books twice this year so I didn't think I had much of a shot. Well it just goes to show you that you just need to play once (or twice) to win!!! One of the librarians called me to tell me that I won, but she also told me the story of another woman who REALLY wanted that Kindle, so much so that she was in almost every day this summer just so she could enter. They figured she would win because she had like 80+ entries in. And this just proves that you can have a million entries in but still not guaranteed to win!!! Poor woman, she really wanted that Kindle!!!!

The trials and tribulations of summertime

2011-08-02T13:36:00.004-05:00

Trials and tribulations during summer??? Really?!?

Yep. And here we are again. During the month of May I canNOT wait for summer to start. All school activities seem to be scheduled during the month of May which means parties and field trips are at its peak. It also means final exams. Lots of craziness ensues.

Summer starts. Ahhhhhh. LOVE IT! No schedule to check. No specific place to be. No alarm to set. Sleeping in rules!!!!

Now that we are in August, the lack of a schedule takes its toll. We're all getting antsy. All the summer programs that were set up locally are now over (of which we only went to two). We've gotten an overabundance of sun. This is when I look to the calendar to see when school starts.

Less than 3 weeks.

I'm happy. The rugrats are NOT. While this may surprise me (they usually enjoy school), after the year they just had, I cant blame them for their anxiety.

It's a new year, you will be fine.

Plus I love school shopping.

Of course a month from now I'll be complaining abt how we didnt do enough of this

There really is no pleasing me, is there??? I'll just have to console myself with lunches with friends, shopping sans enfants and quiet days at home (at least until 2pm)

Homemade Butter

2011-08-01T04:50:00.003-05:00

Baby Girl and I like to watch a lot of cooking shows, and while there are a lot of recipes we'd like to try, we don't seem to do it.

Until today.

One of the shows we like to watch is Alex's Day Off. On her brunch episode, she makes homemade butter. Oh we can do that!!!!

First you start out with heavy cream and sour cream.

A pint of heavy cream and a 1/2 cup of sour cream. Alex uses a full cup but I was afraid it would be too tangy.

Wisk them together so they can meet and get to know each other.

Now we get down to business and pull out the big guns, the Kitchen Aid!

the recipe calls for low speed so we set it on #4.

Meanwhile we pull out the cheese cloth, a strainer and a bowl

and an ice bath.

Since there is no magic of TV in real life, I decide to turn into Emeril and kick it up a notch. #6 on the mixer really got things moving!

We're moving along now!!

Almost there......

and DONE!

This is so cool!!!!! Now we need to drain the buttermilk off

it kind of looks like scrambled eggs, don't you think??

Lift out the cheesecloth,

and give it a little twist to get rid of the excess buttermilk.

That's a LOT of buttermilk!!

More than we expected!

Meanwhile the butter is just chillin'

YUM!!!

Remove the cheesecloth

and admire your work!!

We had some some fresh rolls from the bakery that we used our freshly made butter on and

O.M.G.

it was fantastic!!! Sorry, no pictures of that, but trust me, it was GOOD!

Tu Sal on a Saturday Afternoon

2011-07-30T11:10:00.005-05:00

It's another hot one here at Happy Acres. It's only noon and it already feels like 105. It also explains why my sky is taken from inside the house.

WAY too hot to go out there!

It's also TuSal time.

I wanted to make sure that I posted on time.

So with the heat outside, what are we planning on doing today?? Make some butter of course!!! Baby Girl and I saw it on Alex's Day Off and thought it would be really cool to do. I'll let you know how it goes........

Feline Fridays

2011-07-29T20:40:00.002-05:00

This should keep her home!

I'm Back!

2011-07-28T20:15:00.008-05:00

Wow, two weeks w/o blogging. I've had my dry spells, but I don't think I've ever gone that long before! We are back from our family reunion and we all survived. We had a great time, but honestly once the week was over I was ready to go home. Baby Girl however wanted to stay there forever and ever! Of course she did, she had the pool

for a back yard

and the ocean

for the front!

The high points of the trip were seeing wild horses most days,

gorgeous ocean views,

having dinner prepared every night by somebody other than me (we were all assigned a night and I did mine first), and hanging out with family.

The best part of the trip for me?? Driving on the beach.

Yes we can drive on Daytona Beach, but it's not the same. We needed a 4wd for the 6 mile drive to the house and they sent me and one of my bil's. OMG I never laughed so hard!! We got stuck and almost went over a dune into a pretty deep pit, but got out just in time. I told him it would be the best part of the trip and it was!

The low points were the a/c being broken for 24 hours; constantly hearing abt the evils of 100% juice, high frucose corn syrup and anything non organic; and the drive home. There was a TON of traffic

and it took a bit longer than I expected.

But we are home and I'm happy to get back to some kind of normalcy. We've got 4 weeks before school starts, which seems like a lot and yet not enough.

Meanwhile I did get to read (what a *novel* idea!) Mobbed by Carol Higgins Clark. Nice light read, perfect for beach or late night reading.

I did do some knitting as well, but The Tank is still in the works. I finished the main body while on vacation, but now I'm working on the neck. Not loving it. 31" of diagonal knitting. Meh.

I also started another sock and am on the heel of sock #1. I haven't budged the other sock in progress and it probably wont be completed at all. My almost 4 y/o niece would love me to make her a pair of socks and she picked out the blue CTH. How do I say no to this face???

I don't. She'll have a pair by Oct.

And since that isnt enough projects started, I'm starting my charity knitting early this year. One of my sils who lives in upstate New York does a lot of volunteer work and said that they could definitely use some hand knit items. I cast on a hat a couple of days ago using (gasp) the rest of my malabrigo. I'm not a big fan of single ply yarn, but I dont seem to be unravelling the yarn like I did in the past. I think it might be because I'm doing a twisted rib. I twist and untwist the yarn so it stays good. So far I'm loving it, but I'm only abt an inch in......

Road Trip!

2011-07-14T20:20:00.006-05:00

I should have realized that once this week started there would be no way I'd have time to work on Baby Girl's tank. I guess it will be coming with me this wknd. We will be hitting the road tomorrow to NC to meet up with family and eventually drive to the Outer Banks. I'm tentatively looking forward to this trip, it's been a lot of work geting ready for it. They have a state of the art tv but you have to bring your own linens. So not only am I washing clothes but towels, sheets and blankets too. Extras for those flying in that cant bring their own.

And I'm making dinner Sunday night (we've all been assigned a day to cook). I will be making ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, an assortment of fresh veggies and corn bread for 24 ppl. I have all the food, including the ham to drive up with. The only store near the place is 8 miles away and its small. Plus I wont have time to shop when we arrive or when we leave. Tonight I'll be making a list of what to do when so that it goes smoothly on Sunday.

See, a busy little bee I have been! But once the paper plates have been thrown out and the counter has been wiped clean, I am DONE for the rest of the trip! There is a method to my madness of being the first to cook.

Meanwhile I have done nothing with my knitting! That's ok, I will bring the tank and the sock and it will be fine. I also plan on bringing some new sock yarn and may cast on for anther sock while there. I think I want something mindless like a vanilla sock to knit while sitting outside.

The crazy thing abt all of this? The IO had a contract job end early (of course the timing was LOUSY!) and he has interviews lined up for next week, including a job that might start Monday. So he's not going. It's his family that's having the reunion and he's not going. BUT right now jobs are more important than reunions and the family understands.

Gotta love it! The computer is coming with me so there may be a post here and there. Those who are my friends on Facebook will be seeing more.

As long as there is a body to feed us, all is good.

Opening a HUGE can of worms!

2011-07-09T15:57:00.004-05:00

We've been in the process of swapping out two bedrooms here at Happy Acres. We pretty much had it all done except for the closets and the bookshelf. #1 Son is moving into what used to be my craft room. It's bigger and brighter and he really does need the space.

However since he inhabits both rooms, they are both a mess. I told him if he could clear out his stuff from his old room, I can move my stuff in and we'd be done with it all. This gets him going and he clears out all his stuff. Now he wants to move my stuff from the closet. I said as long as he's careful and doesnt just throw the stuff in the room, go for it.

He comes in 15 min later and tells me that I have a lot of stuff!!! He pulls 5 things out and there is SO much more behind it!!! It's like a clown car!

Ten min later he comes back in to tell me he found a quilting hoop that is older than him. And it's still in the box!!!

I told him I bought all that stuff back when I was a quilter, but once I had kids all those plans got shot out the window! I also told him it was a testiment to how well I can pack a closet!!! When I walk into that back bedroom all the contents of the closet now fill up the room.

I've got a LOT of stuff..........

Meanwhile I've got great cloud formations.

We've been getting a lot of rain lately, including today.

Now that you know we're spending the wknd dismantling the craft room, what have you been up to?

I am on FIRE on a Feline Friday!

2011-07-08T20:50:00.005-05:00

Kitty blanket #4 is done!

Finished in 5 days! I used three strands of the TLC Essentials that I just got on size 13 needles. Cast on 60 sts and 4 days later I have the above! This one is 20.5" x 21.5" and I used up 13.5oz of yarn. WOOHOO!!!!

Since this is a KITTY blanket for the shelter I came from, I don't mind sharing the spotlight.......

That's very big of you Princess.

TuSal - the Late Edition

2011-07-06T13:08:00.003-05:00

Apparently I missed the New Moon. I can't seem to keep track. Even though I'm late, here's my TuSal for June.

There are bits of black floss from my Seasonal Fall, yarn from Kitty Blanket #1 and yarn from The Tank.

I'm moving right along on Kitty Blanket #4. I've got abt 8" done so far. I need to pull out The Tank because the reunion is getting close!!! Close enough that I need to start making lists.

Better than Fireworks

2011-07-04T19:21:00.004-05:00

That would be a finish!!!

This is kitty blanket #1. I'm REALLY happy with how it turned out. However it's been on the needles for a LONG time!!!

Kitty Blanket #1
Cast on 90sts on size 10 needles
Date start: 2/4/10 (yes 2010!)
Date end: 7/3/11
Total project time: 1yr 5 months

Finished size: 23x28

yarn used: Caron Simply Soft Chocolate #20 and Wine Country #15
Naturally Caron Country Sunset

double stranded, chocolate used thru out the project, 19 rows for each other color

yarn used up: 1lb 2oz

Of course once this was done, I cast on for another kitty blanket!

This time I cast on 60sts using a size 13 needle and 3 strands of worsted weight. I don't expect it to be as big or take as long as the last one!!!!

The Tank did come out of time out today and I finished the back. I started the front but need to work on it during the day when I'm not tired. The pattern has me decreasing three different areas at the same time and I really need to concentrate! It didn't take long today to get thru it, maybe a half hour so I know I'll be able to get it all done tomorrow. Then it's on to the neck strip. Baby Girl should be wearing it in a week!

Go big or go home!

2011-07-02T23:31:00.003-05:00

Those who have stitched with me know that I like to copy my charts so I can color in the areas I've done. Keeps the original in good shape and I can throw out the old tattered copy. Those who have stitched with me also know that my copies are HUGE! I have the IO make a copy for me, but he doesn't just make a copy, he scans in the chart and prints it out bigger, so I can see it easier. My personal copy ends up being 4 pages huge and I have to tape it together so I can keep track of where I'm at.

You need to know this abt the IO for the next story to make sense.

#1 Son likes to collect the state coins. We've talked abt getting one of those special containers that will hold your coin for you in the state that you have. The IO said don't bother, he can just print out a map of the US and #1 Son can just tape the coins to it.

I knew it would be big, but even this blew me away.

#1 Son LOVES it! He doesn't use it for his coins, though. Instead he has it taped to his bedroom wall.

As long as the IO uses his insanity for good instead of evil, it all works out just fine.

Feline Fridays

2011-07-01T13:06:00.001-05:00

A kitten who will never lose his mittens.

O.M.G.

2011-06-29T23:37:00.004-05:00

I did it again!! After I ripped back and got the right number of stitches bound off and the number of stitches on my working needles correct, I proceeded to decrease. However after 10 rows I realized that I only decreased from one side of the back. I needed to decrease on both sides.

~heavy sigh~

This really has not been a good week, esp when my knitting kicks me in the butt. I still need to destress so I'm pulling out my kitty blanket. Kitties wont mind if I mess that up!

Edit to add: After putting The Tank in time out last night at 12:30AM, I pulled it out this morning and while listening to the Casey Anthony trial I proceeded to rip out 10 rows. Stitches are picked up and later I will start my decreases on both sides, this time using the proper decreases so the stitches lean the right way. That was the other thing I noticed this AM. This is why my mom always said to NOT work on projects when you are tired.

Et tu Brute?

2011-06-29T19:53:00.005-05:00

I HATE ripping back. In fact I dont usually do it unless it's really bad. A small mistake that nobody else would notice I leave alone. I'm non-anal that way. However tonight I needed to rip out almost 100 (yes ONE HUNDRED) stitches, including bind offs to fix The Tank.

I'm at the arm hole decreases and I checking the amt to decrease, the amt left on the needles and what I need left over for the front. I count. I count again. However I count the stitches on the left needle instead of the right needle. This means I end up with 5 more stitches than I need.

At this point I'm ticked off. THIS is what happens when you use a free pattern. Mistakes are made in the counting!! I went to Ravelry to see if there were any notes showing the error. What I found were the majority of people who knit this project loved it! A few people ripped it all out, while others had issues with the added on neck strip, but there were no issues with the count being off.

I go back to try to figure out what to do. Then I see the error of MY ways. The part of the pattern that made no sense to me was where I made my error.

~sigh~

Ok this is not something that I can fix by decreasing so I decide to tink back two rows to fix it. I end up tinking out a bound off stitch which left me with a big loop in the back. I tink back another stitch (dont ask me why) and I end up with a bigger loop.

~double sigh~

So I rip back 90+ stitches for two rows and then start the tedious part of picking up the stitches. THIS is the part I hate because I always end up twisting a few stitches or, GASP, dropping a stitch or two.

Thankfully this time I got all stitches present and accounted for and I can try this again.

I got enough stress in my life (including a computer keyboard that doesn't always type the letter G) without my knitting turning on me.

Now it's time for a bowl of icecream before I try this again.......

I went in for a tape measure.......

2011-06-27T16:00:00.007-05:00

and came out with this!

Not a bad haul! JoAnn's was having a clearance sale on a LOT of yarn and I decided to take a look. I havent had a desire to buy yarn in a LONG time (since the beginning of the year), but when the deals are this good, I just had to do it. The TLC will be for a kitty blanket (three strands knit up fast and make a nice sized cushy blanket). And the sock yarn, well the Serenity was only $1.97 a skein and the Kroy was $2.97 a skein! I would have bought more but I didn't like any of the other colors.

They also had some of their pots on sale at 70% off. In my mind I will be growing herbs. Reality might be a different story.

This wasn't the only stash bought. More jumped into my virtual shopping cart Wednesday night.

Some Classic Elite Summer Sox from SSYC. I really liked the way these colors compliment each other. It's really soft and I cant wait to knit with it.

But all socks are on hold due to The Tank. This is 2 skeins in.

I'm abt an inch from dividing for the arm holes. She just might have it for the reunion! Then I can knit on my cotton/wool socks while on vaca!

Where I will have more skies like this.....

Feline Fridays

2011-06-24T20:25:00.002-05:00

You bought how much yarn?!?

One Skein In

2011-06-19T06:30:00.001-05:00

I really want to finish this tank for Baby Girl by the time we have our family reunion this summer. So far I am a little over 4" done. I need to knit 13" before I divide for the arm holes. Baby Girl has informed me that I have a LOT of knitting to do!!! Thankfully it's mindless knitting that I can do at night. I think I have a shot.......