spring could it be here??????

The sun is shinning and the flowers are starting to come out could it be is spring here??????

I love this time of year so many new things coming out and a fresh look on everything. The occasional rain keeps it looking pretty. I am excited to see what the yard will look like with new stuff planted up and growing. I know it s not my house but no reason for it not to look good.

We have made a good start by getting the patio furniture to a more useable place rather than where the movers dumped it. I liek the space it has created and hope to spend lots of time out there I need to get a rug for the lower deck level. And of course the planters need filling. I want some tall frondy plants for the 2 big ones and lots of flowers trailing for the mounted baskets. Hanging baskets top get put up and some new lights for the upper level and it will be great.

As for kntting a productive few weeks. Rosies shrug came off the needles. A beauiful pale pink reminscent of strawbeery icecream swirled with vanilla. and in a worsted cotton so not to hot for her but warm enough for the chilly mornings. I decided to shorten the sleeves to 3/4 length and she loves it. Caitlin got new fingerless gloves in wild colors from lornas laces. Not a color i would have chosen but she is thrilled. I am almost done with simons socks and i have cast on a pir for me. From the eclectic sole i chose the nordic lights pattern and so far so good.

I am sooo excited tobe traveling home to see all in PA this week no one has any idea we are coming and all be very surprised. Britt for for her birthday, Denise and Kylie just because so many people and so few days. Will miss my family desperately but cant wait to go. and just to make it better Jason Aldean tickets for thursday nite denise will flip out. He is on tour with another of my fav singers Luke Bryan. shoudl be a great nite.

Off to bed post again soon.

monday oh monday

Did I ever mention I hate mondays. I hate the cleaning up from the weekend and I hate all the laundry that needs to be done. I get up hoping to achieve but it never seems to happen on mondays.

I have finished and blocked my lake placid jacket. i love love love it and cant wait for it to be dry so i can wear it. It shoud eb done for later today and then i can take pics and enjoy. It has been a long time in the works, but looks to be very worth it.

I have finished the second sock clue 1 for the mystery sock knit along and so far am loving the pattern and am keen to see whats next we wait till jan 15th for the next clue i think. I have cast on a apir of grape vine socks i am hoping will be for me though they do nto look that big so maybe not. Think I will go ahead and cast ont he debblie bliss scout sweater for charlotte later today. I have been patiently waiting till i got this jacket done and the yarn keeps calling to me . It is so soft and a pretty , i chose a raspberry color for it and think it will knit up great. Simon and the kids are away this weekend so i may even be able to finish it for her to wear next week we shall see.

off for more cleaning I guess.

sole food swap

What weight of sock yarn do you generally prefer (fingering, sport, or DK?) either is great i love to the fine gauge of fingering but the quickness of sport and dk
What is your favorite type of yarn to knit with? for socks i love hand painted it is so much fun to see what each different yarn will do
Are there any brands of sock yarn that you have wanted to work with but have not had the chance? as a brand i have not tried trekking xxl or socks that rock. but for me i am all about trying something new and am very intrigued by all the new fibers coming on the market. justthis week i saw sugar cane and banana
What colors do you like? for socks i find anything goes
What colors do you not like? as above i love them all for socks
What type of recipes do you usually cook with? i lean toward mexican and thai and idian inspired things but i just love to cook
What type of recipes do you usually bake with? i love to bake cookies and cupcakes and bars things like that
What is your favorite food? all of it.... no i really do not have a food preference it is a mood thing
Are you a tea or coffee drinker? both though more coffee than tea
What type of sweets do you like? i have th worst passion for gummy candy anything at all
Does your kitchen have a theme? coffee
Do you have any allergies (to food, fibers, pets, etc) or diet restrictions? unfortunately i am allergic to nuts
Is there anything else you would like your pal to know? i do not think so though i may change my mind a little later will think on it a little

Monarch knitting store.

We went to monterey bay on saturday to enjoy the huge surf that had rolled in and also fly the kites. However once we got there I noticed this yarn store I had heard grea things about I did not realise it was down that way. We drove past and whilst I knwo the family would have sat in the car and waited for me it did not seem fair as they were hungry and wanting to play on the beach. So i vowed to drive down on monday.

Rosie and I got up and made the trip down and it did not dissapoint. It was a beautiful store filled with all things fibery. Knitting spinning and weaving abounded. I loved the store and think this one is definately my fav of all the ones i have found here so far.

Here is a pic of what rosie and i bought. Bison fiber delicous, 3 skiens of noro kureyon. 2 to make a hot water bottle cover for me and 1 for a project in last months interweave magazine. I bought a debbie bliss sublime book and the yarn to make the front cover sweater for charlotte rose. I got it in the cutest raspberry color, so cute. I also bought the book socks from the toe uphttp://www.amazon.com/Socks-Toe-Up-Essential-Techniques/dp/0307449440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259684041&sr=8-1

along with all of this I also bought suede bottoms for the girls slippers. I have rosies done and waiting to be felted and I hope to start caitlins today. I just have to finish the quilt for MIL and really do not want to . but i have to get it in the mail this week or it will not be there for xmas.

New home and new life

Well things have been somewhat up in the air for a while but seem to be back on a more even keel now.

we have moved from PA to CA and settled the kids well. we have a great home and I really like the town we are living in. IT has loads going on and always something to do. The area is just beautiful. very different from PA but the desert seems to hold its own charm.

Now that we are settled I want to get back into swapping and so have madea vow to write here at least once a week. wil try and post pics of things going on in my knitting life.

It has been very productive in the last few weeks. a wonderful fall coat for my daughter charlotte. a hot water bottle cover in entrelac, something i have finally mastered... and i have nearly finsished a pair of socks for my father in law for xmas. t he hot water bottle is for my mom.

i have a huge list of xmas knits i want to finish but can only do when ia ma lone as they should not be seen by the small people.

Must get to it i guess. more to come.....

phewwwwww

wow. we are 2 days into a week long Girl scout camp and all seems to be going well. we have not lost any kids or damaged any we have had just one scrape and 2 twisted ankles. all is well. tomorow is green day and they will be taking part in a recycling relay at the end of the day. hopefully that will go well.

simon is in california for his interview. not sure how i feel about it but we shall see how it goes. the main thing is to do what is right for everyone. does california hold the key to our future or will we stay here in pa.

spinning has not gone at all to plan and what i have had a chance to do iam not thrilled with. i found the romney very hard to spin. love the colors just hate the fiber. i did however get some amazing fiber from spinning bunny and cannot wait to give the soft and smooshy stuff a go.

off to bed to listen to podcasts only chance i have when hubby is away.

tour de fleece

I have joined the Tour de Fleece group on ravelry. I have comitted to spinning fiber everday during the race except for the 2 off days. I will also take on the challenge day as the racers do. I have decided my challenge fiber will be the beautiful shades of blue fiber I purchased at Rhinebeck last year. It is a silk bamboo blend and has always sat in the basket daunting me. I was never sure i was able todo justice to it. But I think the time has come and I am ready.

I also have lost of other things I want o spin during the race. The only down side to the whole thing is that day camp falls in the middle of it and I am not sure if I will make all the days. But it is my mission so I will do my best.

i'm back

It has been ages since I last blogged. Life has really gotten in the way. With everything from a visit from my mom to GS trip to hershey park for the weekend and all that goes on in between life has been crazy.

What have I been up to. HMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

I have gotten a job. I am going to teach a clas at the local craft store. It is my aim to bring the quality of project classes offered a little more up to date. so far they have made dishcloths and swiffer covers and not much else. They offer alot more in the way of crochet classes. so when i went in and asked if they needed a teacher they said bring in your stuff and we will see. After ohhh and ahhing i am assuming this was good they offered me the job. I get to pick what projetcs I teach and when I do the classes . Perfect.. so off i went to find the right project. The only limitation is that all the materials must be able to be purchased in the store.

So i chose socks 2 at a time on 2 needles this i can do with my eyes closed. I found some socks yarn not what I would choose to use but hey ho and made up a sample. They went in this week and I should be able to have the date I want the first week of july. So I am very excited about that.

I have nearly finished the first pair of socks i have made for hubby. They are shades of grey and are done in a chevron pattern to help with pooling of colors. I have finished an adorable shrug/ shortsleeved jacket thing for baby daugnhter in my own handspun. It cam out beautiful and i will have to post pics for all to see.

Today I am off to train adults as camp counselors for GS day camp i am co running in the summer. So i better get ready.

But just wanted to sign in for a few mins and be back blogging i really miss it. lots to catch up on.

pittsburgh knit and crochet

I travelled down to Pittsburgh for the 5th annual knit and crochet festival on the weekend of valentines day.

I had the best time. I took a class in double knitting and despite my concerns about not having takena formal class before all was great.. this technique was not something i had seen before or tried and i came away with some greta knowledge and hope to be able to use it in the future. I think it would be best applied for me with hats for hubby and the kids a nice smooth layer inside for warmth and the fancy bit ont the outside. just have tof igure ot how to cable and decrease in this method.

I also puchased some wonderful things.

I bough a skein of sock yarn from creatively dyed and got to mee t with diane the owner and dyer herself. it is called sea scape and i cannot wait to start knitting this. a great base yarn adn the colors are fab. not to mention dianne gives a very generous 510 yeards per skein of sock yarn.
I also got form her 2 hanks of fiber to spin of a bamboo and merino. very pretty in pinks and purples.
I bought a pound of the softest merino tops for spinning and cannot wait to do this so soft and gorgeous. a pattern for charlotte rose of nonis ella and the garden jacket. i think i am going order the y arn for this this weekend. it is slightly felted and will look lovely for her for the spring.
a skien of sock yarn for simon in many shades of grey.

and the best purchase was a real splurger. a patterna nd yarn to make myself the most lovely jacket i have seen in a long time. it is called the lake placid basket weave jacket. basket weave body with a very intricatre cable border allaround to make the collar closed with a pin. i have about 8 inches done so far and cannot wait to finsih. decadent fibers make thsi yarn and pattern the yarn is called creme brulle and i chose it in a kind of grey and cream colorway. kntis fast as fat yarn and big needles.

pics to follow on that one.

vermont this weekend for our first skiing weekend away. I am taking the wheel fiber and as much kntting as i can pack in my bag. charlie and i get all day to do just as we like and i dont have to clean and do scout things so a real vacation for me lots of spinning and knitting and nothing else. except for quality time with my family.

spinning bunny fiber

I just joined the spinning bunny fiber club high fiber desserts.

I got my first shipment this week. It was a gorgeous color combination of pink and red and white. i chose to spin all the colors together instead of separating layers and this is the wonderful result. I love the combination and differences in colors. it spun like a dream with me almost not having to do anything to it. just be there to guide it in. I plied it 2ply and cannot wait to find the perfect project for it. I think i have about 360 yrds and somewhere betweena sport and a worsted weight.

cannot wait to see what comes next time. i think it should be here for april.

oh and the best bit and i forgot to mention this it comes with a recipe for a dessert that inspired the colors of yarn. this month it was a white chocolate cherry cheesecake and i plan to make it for sunday tea. hope it turns out well have not always had sucess with baked cheesecake in thepast we shall see.

question #4

Question #4 for the warm ewe up winter swap.

What are you plans for valentines day????

my plans this year are to be at a knitting and crochet festival in pittsburgh I should be back saturday night but late so no dinner then. sunday is my beautiful charlotte roses birthday 2 i cannot believe it already, so we will celabrate during the day with presents and cake and fun and then sunday night is just for me and hubby. dinner a glass of wine candles and who knows.........

Knitting this week is going slow have had no time at all to get anything done. Did cast on a pair of new socks but have done nothing more than the cuff. maybe this week and definately whilst i am away.

I really need this break it has been a long cold winter and the kids have been home alot as much as i love them the snow days are taking their toll. lots of yarny goodness is just what i need.
and then home to a great meal and a glass of wine. win win !!!!!!

question #2

This weeks question for the warm ewe up winter swap really had me stumped so I have taken some time to think about it.

The question was If you could only knit with one brnad of yarn what would it be??

I honestly did not know the answer to this. I have thought about it and can come up with no specific type. But, I would be lost with out soft hand painted beautiful sock yarn. I love the many colors and fibers available in this medium and would hate to be without it.

so that is the best answer i have to this quetsion lame i know but thats me.

On another note I recieved a wonderful package from my swap partner this week. She stalked me well and knew just the right things to put in.

I recieved a lovely berry colored skein of Paccapeds which comes with a coordinating heel toe skein. And a gorgeous skein of sea colored lace weight malabrigo, so soft and yummy. cannot wait to use it. I also got a lovely pattern that I have wanted for a while for the Little Pumpkin socks along with matching pie slice stitch markers, so cute. lots of yummy chocs and some pretty knitting note cards.

A huge thankyou swap pal who ever you may be.

I did it I did it!!!!!!~!

Siplau is finally finished, lined and ready to be sent to my MIL. It took a little longer than expected to finish as I really wanted to get my Angelina done for Christmas, which I did so this took a back burner. But I have done it I love it and cannot wait to go on and do the next one.

I was just looking on knit picks and they have a great lap top bag kit in the same kind of work this involves steeking which I have not yet attempted but I think I could do it. The kits look great and mayb e when I get back from Pittsburg knit and crochet festival in february that I might go ahead and order it. This is providing I have not spent all my money there.

Talking of that I am taking my very first knitting class there, I am taking double knitting so I can knit to layers of fabric together. I have been knitting for 20 somethings years and have never taken a formal class so a little nervous about it, what if I am doing it all wrong and have been for forever. I am looking forward to meeting some cool people though. It looks like the group from ravelry is planning on meeting me for dinner when I get there which will be great. Nice to put a face to some names.

warm ewe up swap question #1

why did you learn to knit???????

I learned to knit when i was 12. I used to spend to summers with my elderly aunt and uncle and they had no tv and no kids my age lived in the area. so one evening after i had complained my way through the day. My aunt sat me down and showed me how to knit. She had always had projects on the go and my brother and i had always had sweaters for Christmas. She showed me how to knit and purl and left me to it. by the end of the summer i was away.

it was something i picked up and put down over the years and had of course knitted for the kids but it got to be serious about 4 years ago. and now it is my hobby of choice.

long time no post

It seems like ages since i last posted.



Things here are busy with christmas coming fast. We have lots of snow which always slows things down. skiing has started so time on the weekends is limited though normally to be fair they are home before 12pm and we can get out then.



I have been furiously knitting I really wnat to get Angelina done for christmas i had hoped to wear it to church christmas eve. i have finsihed the body and just have the lace border to do. Bottom edge of lace is done and i have started the collar with just the sleeves to go it might be doable......



Socks have had to take a back burner much to my disgust as they are without doubt my favorite thing to knit and i need some new ones. I have a pair on the needles but have not picked them up in weeks. maybe when angelina is done.



My sipalu bag from knit picks is also almost done i had hoped to get it to mil for christmas but i think now for her brithday in january. i have loved this project and am eager to do another one . not having done any color work before it held lots of challenges but i have loved every minute of this project.



my spinning is going slowly though i did manage to finish spinning the camel and ply it and havenow got it hanging to dry i have 2 smallish skeins probabaly around 250-300 yards though not sure. i really need to get me one of those measurring things. i have asked santa but he does always listen.



we are hoping after the christmas rush has died down to go out and finally clelebrate our getting our green cards it still seems somewhat sureal that we have no longer got anything to worry about and we just have not had time to celebrate. soon i hope. maybe we can even do it in vermont where the family can ski and i can go shopping for yarn and fleece and enjoy some serous knitting time. i am hopingthat soon i will be able to get my traveller wheel so i can also take that but maybe not for this first trip. we shall seee.

warming ewe up swap questionnaire

Swap Q&A
Do you knit or crochet, or both? How long have you been at the craft? i knit only and have been on and off for 23 years though it has become a serious obssesion during the last 3 years

Do you spin? yes i got my first wheel this year i can also drop

What yarns/fibers are your favorites? i love anything natural and soft and for fiber i love the exotics recently got to work with some camel. i love bamboo and silk and anything a little different but really i just the love the chance to knit or spin

What yarns/fibers do you not like? cheap chain store acrylics

What yarns/fibers would you like to try but haven’t? there is always something new to try so no real desires

What are your favorite colors? Colors that you don’t like? no real hates though bright orange or yellow would not really be me unless i could make socks with it then it odes not seem to matter what color

What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet? socks socks socks. though recently i have been on a color work kick

What are you currently working on? i currently have on my needles, the SIPALU bag from knit picks and the ANGELINA jacket from whitelies designs for me and i have a pair of socks going in the car

What is your favorite FO? (Please post a picture if you have one.) not sure though i did just finish an adorable sweater for my youngest daughter in 2 colors of bunny hop

Are there any techniques that you want to learn? steeking i guess is next scary but maybe nessacary and entrelac. i have seen some great work done wiht it never had a go though

Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift? yarn winder but no swift yet

How do you store your needles/hooks? does down the side of the couch count. no really i have a boy scout popcorn tin for straights and an old wash bag for circs

Do you collect anything? besides yarn. girl scout things and smores characters you know the marshmallow treat and anything to do with cowboys

Do you like sweets? yep i have bad sweet tooth. i love gummi candies sweedish fish and bears being favs

What are your favorite scents? vanilla and cookies

Are you having a birthday during this swap? nope

Do you have any online wish lists? (Amazon, Loopy Ewe, etc.) Please include a link for your pal.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2Y1FVT3ENSANA/ref=lst_llp_wl-go

What is your living situation (Are you married? Do you have kids, pets, or both?) married with 3 kids daughter 12 son 8 and adaughter 20 months

Are you allergic to anything? nuts and housework

Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know? originally from england and now living in the us, in fact just yesterday got my green card approval to stay.
i am a girl scout leader and love it
i am a die hard country music fan and love cowboys

great movie

I took my oldest daughter to see the new Twilight movie saturday. I had hoped to see Bolt but got dragged to this instead. I have not read the Stephanie Meyer books and had no interest in them. But WOW I loved the movie and want to go see it again. I have not see sucha good movie in a long time. Had no real expectations but this succeeded in holding my interest and my breath for the whole time. It was great. I cannot wait to read the books now guess i should ahve done that first but oh well.

a really great movie for adults and teens alike. bring on number 2. soon i hope please please please............

question #6

So the question for the falling for ewe swap this week. is what holiday projects are you looking forward to??????

I am not sure i am looking forward to any holiday projects but i currently have one on the go. I am currently knitting the knit picks sipalu bag for my mil. It is going very well and i am really enjoying it. I have never done any color work before and this was quite a project to tackle first time out. I am about 2/3rds of the way throught this project and hope????? to have it done in time to send home for christmas. I cannot wai to do another.

I also have a huge project on the go for me. I am knitting the white lie vintage bed jacket for me. I have around 16 inches done so far and have gotten thesleeves cast on (it is all knit in one peice) and now have to go 141/5 inches from cast on for sleeves then i will split for fronts. It is just miles and miles of 2 by 2 rib. not hard just tedious.

thanks giving is coming fast and lots still needs to be done for me to get my dream vacation. no housework in case you did not know. i want to be able to sit and knit and hopefullly spin some without havingt o keep thinking i need to get up and do laundry or vacum..... most of the family will be out skiing and the baby and me will be all alone and quiet. she is so good when i want to do things if you feed her and spend time with her in the morning she will sleep for a couple of hours in the afternoon or we will watcha movie and she will sit next to me and just enjoy being together, nothing like it. sometime i dont even knit i just sit with her and enjoy her company she is a wonderful companion.

off to bed now not feeling great this cold has kicked my butt this time

awesome read.

I have just finished an awesome book. it was reccomended to me along time ago, i never thought it would be for me but i added it to my wish list about 2 months ago and low and behold i recieved it in a swap about a month back. i decided to give it a go with not much hope of liking it, however could not ut it down.

THe book Memoirs of a Geisha. This was a very cool read. It never slowed down, it was nto at all what i thought and i find it very hard to believe that it was anovel and not someones biography. It was awesome. i loved it and will definately read over and over again. after i have passed it to some friends who should read it.

insane two weeks

It has been and an insane couple of weeks. We found out a little while ago that there had been some issues with our green card, like they lost some paper work this we are told is fairly common and there is nothing you can do anything about. any way i am sure that this is not a problem for a lot of people but we have been waiting for 16 months to hear anything. Our official visa run out december 9th this year and with no end in sight we were looking at some very tough descisions.

Cut our loses and leave at the end of visa time.
or apply for an extension which we may or not be granted as we have already had one.

we decided to re apply for an extension and see what happened. And luck was on our side .

Thursday evening we were told by the lawyers that the approval had gone through. We could stay for another year and hope that in that time we could get our green card sorted out.
so Y'all are stuck with me at least for another year. Apart from having to go out of the country and get things done it is all good.


as for other things going on a very sad event occured in our church this week. Not only did we loose our pastors wife in july to a car accident and having rocked the community we seemed to be getting back on track. But this week a very prominent member of our church took his own life in our pastors office, his wife who is the secretary of our church was unfortunately the person who had to find him. He is well loved and will be greatly missed in our small community.
he leaves behind two great kids and a wife, long with countless family memebers and friends who will miss him a lot.