We May Never Pass This Way Again

Last weekend, I had to clean the yarn room up for Mona Lisa.  I had a huge chair and stool in there that the Tall Guy took out for me.  I added a rocking chair that was my mom's to the room for Mona Lisa's mom to rock her in.

What girl wouldn't love sleeping here looking at all of these wonderful colors and textures, not to mention, yarn is a great insulator!

I could not believe how much room was in the room, once I put some bags into the closet, tookout the chair and stool.

Take a good look because who knows how long it will stay like this!

Wednesday Website

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/12/03/worlds-most-unusual-christmas-trees/

There are some really cool ideas for Christmas trees on this website.  Scroll down a bit to see the knitted one.

Finished

One afghan finished.  I hope she likes it.  I am glad to be done with this one.  I still have four  skeins of a variegated Red Heart that she gave me.  I just need to figure out what to do with it.  Should I just do a long Dr. Who scarf or should I add something to it.

What I really need to do is get busy on Mona Lisa's Christmas stocking and sweater.  But, first I need to finish this committment. 

Surprise! Episode 1

Show Notes:
Other video casts I watch: Knitabulls and Round the Twist
What Am I Knitting: Kid Cozy by Andra Asars
Knitting Books: Finishing School by Deborah Newton

It's Over

I know the weekend is not totally over, and for me I tagged a day onto by taking Monday off for a just for me day, but the holiday is over for us really and truly.  We had a great semi-quiet Thanksgiving with a small group of family on Thursday. 

Friday was spent cleaning up the yarn room, making room for Mona Lisa to have a place to sleep and her mama to nurse her.  The kids got home Friday night and we had a nice visit with them.

Today, we had my aunt over this morning to see her.  Then at lunch Mona Lisa's great aunt and great uncle and great grandma were here and we had a great afternoon just sitting around visiting and cooing over her.

It's been a great holiday, but with everyone gone and no excuse to get together, it basically is over. Kind of a little let down, but it is really time to get busy on the Christmas knitting done, it will be her before we know it!

 Tonight, late Baby Boy B will be home for China.  He has a one day lay over (for mom to do his laundry) and then he is off to DC for work.  I've taken lots of pictures for him, he is going to be so surprised as to how big Miss Mona Lisa has gotten.  I can hardly believe it myself.  She is so active now and babblin, it is just too darn cute!!

 What a great holiday!  Here's to the next one.

Sometimes

I enjoy family at holidays.  And going into this Thanksgiving, I was a tad mopey.  Baby Boy A was unsure if he would make it home this weekend.  Baby Boy B is in China.  My niece and her family went to South Dakota.  My other niece was staying home with her kids and fiancee.  There were only going to be 8 of us at my sister-in-law's house ( a relative low number for us).

After we got there, my third niece was sick so her husband stopped to pick up some food for the two of them at left.  My other nephew (always late) showed up after we were all done eating almost.  A different Thanksgiving and one that both the Tall Guy and I contemplated before we even got there of leaving earlier.

But you know what, surprise surprise, it was a great Thanksgiving.  No drama, sat around enjoyed each other company, no kids crying, no parents stressing out.  We ate, talked, borrowed a pack n play and a swing (Baby Boy A and family are coming home tonight for a quick overnight trip), ate pie, watched the Blind Side and just had a great peaceful Thanksgiving.

It wasn't bad at all.  We talked to the niece and family who is out of town for Thanksgiving, had a quick call to China and here we are. 

Sometimes, a small number is not so bad.  Just don't want to do it too often! 

Wednesday Website

http://www.stitchdiva.com/blog/wash-and-block-your-swatches/

Generally I don't, but I kind of like this idea for washing/blocking my future swatches.

Knitter Gone Wild!

Before I went in to take my shower this morning, I put a post together.  In between the paragraphs I put thoughts in between arrows as to what pics should go where.  When I came out and pulled up the draft, the arrows were gone and my thoughts to pics with it. So, I started pulling things out for pictures.  Oy, there seemed to be a lot of them and frankly it started to become real overwhelming.  That and my little camera is with Baby Boy B in China and so I hauled out the biggy.  I was not into the biggy this morning, it is making me think too much and really what I wanted to do is just take the pictures and finish the post.

I went outside to take a pic in shaded light with the biggy camera.  What I found was that it was nice out there, my swing hasn't been put away and the birds were just singing.  My ah ha moment for today!  I went in, got my coffee and my sunglasses and sat out in my swing, drinking coffee on this perfect sunny, blue sky Sunday listening to the birds and let the cares of knitting float away.  It was awesome.

The moral of the story, knitting is supposed to be fun.  I am not feeling so overwhelmed in my knitting now after my little morning rest outside and I am going to take it one project at a time, well maybe five at a time, but either way, I feel so much better for going out and enjoying a little of this beautiful day,  Ahhh, I feel better.  Below is the original post with a few pictures, by all means not all of them, but this Knitter Gone Wild feels so much better about them.


There are so many knitting thoughts swirlin in my head, you would not believe it!  Or rather a normal person would not believe it.  I think that happens sometimes to knitters when they "have" to knit something.  Well, maybe not "have" to, we always have a choice as to what to knit unless of course it is for money, something I probably would never do.  There is just too much pressure for me if I had to knit for money.

My great niece's afghan is coming along.  The Radicals were right.  This is something I knit on while watching t.v.  It's quite boring and lets me keep tabs on my program and get moving on it.  I think it may be more than half way done.  I may need to make a trip down to Fiber Universe for some black to finish out the orange at the very end.  I'll be glad when this one is done!  It is eating into my serious knitting!

Christmas is coming, like you all don't know that! I have a couple of projects that I kind of sort of have deadlines on.  One of them is that afghan above.  Now, granted none of these are set in stone, it would just be nice to have them done and out of my head.

Mona Lisa's stocking.  I started Eli's stocking for her, but am still wondering if that is what I want to do for her.  This brings back a story from when her dad was a baby, but I'll save that for another post before Christmas. I may opt for my first choice, but that is not one that I am real worried about for now.  We are not real sure she will even be here around Christmas so she may not need her stocking for this Christmas.

I have a couple of little outfits that are for her that are in the prerequisite Christmas Red on the needles and in the brain.  Tell me someone, when did Christmas start coming on so fast.  Seriously, next year, I have got to be working on this stuff in the Summer OR not work on an afghan too!

At the same time, when I am working on "have tos", all kinds of great projects are rising to the surface that I really want to be knitting on.  My Swirl sits there waiting, but seriously after today, it is going back to the yarn room to wait until the new year, there is just no way that this one is going to get anything done on it til 2013. 

And then, there is the next self imposed deadline.  My niece is having a baby girl early in March, if she goes that long.  I'll have a shower for her in late January which means there are a whole log of baby girl knits that are somewhat expected as giftees at the shower or at birth.

The peapod is so dang cute and are normally so quick to knit so I thought this may be a cute little something to give her on Thanksgiving.  Only thing is this chenille yarn does not whip around on the needles like other yarns so it is not as super quick as say a slicker yarn might be.

And then there is the KAL that we are starting next week.  It is a good time to get together with friends, and knit something from my stash.

You get the idea of how wild and crazy the knitting is around here...priorties and focus is the name of the game AND most of all always be knitting something!

Yes, indeed this knitter has gone wild!  Tis the season.

Interweave Knits

The new issue is out and I have mine!  There are a couple of things I wouldn't mind knitting out of this one, but I am afraid I already have too many want tos on my plate, so they are going to have to wait until 2013 for me to be serious about them.

Tomorrow's post - Knitter Gone Wild!

Wednesday Website

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mabuli/yarnshopping--nyc

New York Yarn Shops - how cool is this? 

Baby Boy B

is off to China for 10 days tomorrow.  It's the first time in almost 30 years that I have absolutely no control over things where he is concerned.  Sure, he is a man of 29, and he has been on short weekend jaunts here and there was those few months that he lived on his own, but still a mother can worry about him. 

It is hard knowing he will be out of the country and on his own.  It will be okay, I know, but I can still worry just a tiny bit.

I'm having a bit of empty nest thing again it appears. 

Recipe For a Good Day

So, you take a cup or more of coffee.

Add some Dove Chocolates and let them melt in your mouth.

A blustery Sunday.

 Lots of leaves that are just blowing.

 And making a moat at your back door.

Add in an afghan to knit on that will keep the knees warm.

And you have a perfect day for just doing nothing. My wrappers from Dove chocolates solidified it.

"Indulge your sense of enjoyment."  "You're invited to relax today" 

And I did!

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Birthday to Me and the Marine Corps!

Craftsy and Pinterest

Or also bonus Wednesday websites!  I am not sure if I have mentioned Craftsy.com on the blog, but I do know that  I have posted about Pinterest when I first found it.

When first stumbling across Pinterest, it sucked up a lot of my internet time.  So many cool things out there and places to stash them for future references. I have not been on it as much lately, because I have just not had the time.  But tonight, I was going through all of the sites I visit through my bookmarks just to see whats new.

And because I had been following Craftsy.com on Pinterest, there were a lot of pins referencing craftsy.  And most of them are little quick videos featuring Stephanie Japel.  Of course, they are really just wetting our appetites for Stephanie's video classes on craftsy, but there are some good hints out there.  I am going to head back over and take a look see at some of them.

I signed up earlier this fall for the photography class over on craftsy.  I've still to complete watching it all, but thats the fun of craftsy.  I can go back to it whenever I feel like it. 

I love a good class and from the comfort of my nice little chair.  And at my leisure too.  I wonder what else is over there?  Internet, the great time sucker, but I love it.

Wednesday Website

http://knottyknittersforautism.com/

I Love It When This Happens

My label with color and dye lot.

What came from Webs.  Yea!  Which leads me to think that Liberty Wool only had one dye lot, but I am okay with that.

 My Elizabeth sweater, which is very similar to a Debbie Bliss sweater I knitted a few years ago and is sitting on my dummy waiting to be sewn up.  Very interesting.

I'm going to keep knitting on it until or unless I find something better that I should knit with it.  That sure seems to be happening quite a lot these days...call in multi-purposing yarn decisions.

Strike One

Christening Shawl is off the list.  There is just not enough time and too many other things that need to be knitted before Christmas.  Pair that with the fact that I have knit Mona Lisa two blankets already, I think that is sufficient.

The afghan for my great-niece is getting along, but there is still a lot of knitting to do on it.  I think I've got a plan on the colors to be used to get the most out of what she has given me. 

 My package from Schoohouse Press came today with my kit for Mona Lisa's Christmas stocking.  This is going to be one of those things you knit a bit at a time.  Or tomorrow night when there is nothing on until Sons of Anarchy, it might be a good time to cast on.

I didn't realize until tonight when I was actually looking at the pattern that it has an afterthought heel.  That will be some great fun to try out!

Also in today's mail was the yarn for Mona Lisa's Christmas coat or dress (yet to be decided) and her Mary Janes. 

I am so glad that I took the Christening Shawl off of my list!!

It's Sunday, It's A New Week

In my very first blog post ever, I think I said if I am posting, it means I am not knitting.  How true!  This could also be read as if I am on the computer, I am knitting which means I am in trouble.  Because as everyone well knows, I do not need yarn, patterns, needles, inspiration or new projects started.  I am blessed with plenty of all of these.

I sat down last night and made some decisions before heading off to bed.  Some of them I wrote down, some of them I just mulled around in the head.  Most of them you have all heard before, but as always in the pjknits recovery plan, I am back at step one.

Christmas is coming and my knitting list while not super large it still  has some major things on it.  I really have to concentrate on them.  They all have time lines as to finish dates which I penned down last night so I know what I have to knit on first. Along with a niece who is having a baby late Feb/early March that will require some knitting for the shower right after the first of the year and a couple of friends who are having first grandchildren that will require some baby knitting - that peapod thingy is going to be my staple!  Which brought me to the decision that there was a KAL I just could not commit to until after the new year, even though I have the perfect yarn for it.  One weight lifted.

Several of my Christmas knitting projects are on hold until the perfect yarn is delivered next week so in the mean time, I am still kicking around if I can knit the Christening Shawl for Mona Lisa in a month?  I think it might be doable if I limit my internet access (just like a child might need limitations of t.v. time or computer time these days). 

So right after I publish this post, I am turning off my computer.  I've checked in on my email, my facebook fans, and my Ravelry groups that I always check on.  I am not surfing anymore, and I am not turning it back on today.  I am limiting myself so that I can get some knitting done.

Tomorrow, we start back walking at work and today, I have logged my WW points for a new week.  I started in the wee hours this morning of reading Inspiration for Girlfriends and a page from my WW magazine before going to bed each night.  I'm feeling better although the cough is thinking it is going to be my friend for awhile. I feel good, I have a new plan, and after all it's Sunday and a new week.  Things always look brighter in a new week, don't they?

Chillin!

I'm chillin this weekend.  This cold is kicking me in the butt.  I stayed home from work yesterday.  And today, gave up looking at some cool yarns to just stay home and veg.  It's a dreary cool Central IL day and a naggin cough that won't go away is a good reason to snuggle down, drink some hot beverages, watch junk on t.v and do some knitting.

Actually, it would be nice if the mailman would bring my Web's order today.  I ordered some yarn for Mona Lisa' Xmas dress and some Rowan books, I'd love to be able to sit and look at them today.

The Tale of Many Afghans

A few months ago, my great niece asked me to knit an afghan for her from some yarn her now deceased grandma had and that she acquired.  I have had a hard time deciding which way to go with this afghan for her.  There are three colors of yarn - black, orange and cream.  I did not want to do that conventional afghan, the ripple afghan for her, I just thought it was too old for a young high school girl.

I knew that I wanted to maybe double the yarns and use a big needle, because frankly I did not want to be knitting on this afghan forever.  The yarn is Red Heart so you know how un soft it is.  To soften it up a bit, rather than use two strands of the Red Heart, I am adding a strand of Pacific to the Red Heart and I am pretty pleased with the feel of the knit.

Next problem up was what afghan to do.  I've cast on a few, starting with big blocks.  Thinking that I would transition the colors every few blocks.  It wasn't too long til I decided that just was not it.  I was not able to make a good transition.

Next, I thought, maybe it was the yarn, so I paired two strands of Pacific together.  This afghan is from Done By Monday Afghans.  Two strands of Pacific are so soft together.

But, what I found was that I wasn't using any of the yarn that my niece had given me.    I have set this one aside, and I think I might go back the yarn shop and get more and finish it for us or a present to be named.

 And then came the Webs' catalog.  Yea!  I love getting their catalog in hard copy form.  It is just as good as getting a knitting magazine in the mail!

I found this afghan in their catalog and cast on with a strand of orange Red Heart and a strand of black Pacific (actually I cast on right from the very first afghan that I had started).  This one is a winner for my great niece.  It is going to fit the bill and the transitions are going to go some thing like this:  orange and black, cream and black and orange and cream.

I'll show pictures later down the road.  The plan is to have this done by our Christmas Get Together.  Big needles and 2 strands should do it!

I Should Learn

When my boys were small, it took me a couple of times after they had colds or flu to realize that I wasn't a bad mom if I didn't get down in their faces when they were sick.  Until I learned that lesson, everytime they got a bug, I followed.

So, what did this grandma do last weekend?  Sure, I got down next to Mona Lisa's sweet cheeks even though she had a cold.  And what does Grandma have now?  You guessed it, a nice little cold. 

Mona Lisa has recovered and I will too.  She still is too dang cute even after passing her cold to Grandma!