I will not let this crud get me down. After my son has had this gunk for over three weeks, I was counting myself lucky that I had not gotten it! Well, you know what they say about bragging! It looks like it is hitting both me and my husband. I will not give into it! I read an article yesterday in my favorite running magazine, that when you are as active, you become susceptible to germs. And last year we were running at least a couple of times a week, rain or cold, but no snow! This year it has really tapered off, so I am going to get my butt out there today and see if I can ward off any more of this. After all it can't hurt! Well, my mom would say different, she would say grease up with Vicks and stay out of the cold! But I always have been more like my dad was, bull head! Tell me I shouldn't and I will just to show you it can be done.

In the meantime, I am joining the sleeves onto the Pythagorean Jacket last night around midnight. I sure hope it turns out like it is suppose to. At the moment, I am going on blind faith. Pictures tomorrow!

I am also in the throws of finalizing my Christmas/Hanukkah knitting list. Thank god, my knitting friends and I decided to celebrate birthdays and the holidays in January. That took a load off, BUT, I can't let it wait until then or else I will find the rush following me into the new year! Thanksgiving is my weekend to sit and watch t.v. and knit, which I am doing both. BUT--I swear as soon as the weather channel tells me it is not raining, I am out there for a little walk at least. I will NOT let this take me down. I got too much to do!

It's that time of year again. No, I know what you are thinking - holidays. No, actually, it is that time when I have to start thinking about cleaning up my son's room (the one who went away to college) , the one I take over his room every fall. And then long about now, I have to figure out where I am going to put all of the yarn that I stashed in his room. And now this year I have my lia sophia jewelry selling stuff all over. So I start cleaning and moving the yarn to the dining room, remembering how it looks come the holidays amongst all the decorations -- all of those boxes and bags and plastic bins of yarn stacked.

And when I start doing this, I say to myself, you do not need to go with in 50 miles of a yarn shop until you get rid of the Dell box of yarn you keep carting back and forth! I seriously need help. I am addicted to yarn and buying yarn. Is there a cure? Physician, cure thyself. So in my humble words, Knitter, knit something! And that is just what I am going to do. Take it one project at a time, oh okay, okay, several projects at a time.

But now the next thing, while rearranging I ran across several bags of leftover yarn. Why am I keeping these after all of the whole balls I see sitting there? Why, when my mother-in-law asked me a few weeks ago if I had any extra yarn for a friend of hers who knits stuff as her mission, did I look increduoulsy at her as if she had two heads, and declare I have no spare yarn! I could afford to donate those leftovers to her friend, heck, I could afford to give her a bag of that yarn in the Dell box. And now I feel so much better for saying that out loud, tomorrow, I will open the Dell box and deliberate as to what bag has got to go. Do I give her the ugly drab green or give her one of the pretty blue or pink ones? Oh, why are these decisions so hard? Somone help me!!

Lordy, I have been busy. Being a lia sophia advisor has kept me busy along with knitting. Eventually, I will have something to show for both. I cannot believe it is November already. A little of the pressure is off for now, my knitting buddies and I have decided to celebrate the Fall/Winter birthdays, Christmas and Hanukkah in January when it settles down. Isn't that a smart idea?

Going to Chicago for work tomorrow night for just one short morning, and am having trouble trying to decide what knitting to take! Now is that a case or what? It is one short evening! Of course, I will have to stop at least once on the way back for yarn souvenirs! I' ll let you know where the Yarn Mobile takes me when I get back.

Today was another good day! I spent the morning at Mary's Yarn Shop in Eureka, shopping and knitting. The best part is that the yarn that I bought in Indianapolis in August that I needed three more balls of, Mary had the same yarn in the same color and dye lot!! Now I ask you what is the chances that would ever happen again. Was I living right or what. It was a beautiful day to sit there in her shop and knit on my Twisted Sisters Jacket, I promise pic of the back soon, and see all of the new yarns she is getting in. Makes me want to knit myself silly so I can buy more. I think I will.......

Lots of patterns for 14.95 

Here are two of my recent purchases from Barnes and Noble. Knit Socks is by Betsy McCarthy. I took her sock class at Stitches Midwest. It has some really cute socks that I can't wait to do. The calendar is separate pages for next year.  

What I did tonight besides eat~~~ It was a busy day at work today and I lapsed into my wanting to eat all of my points for the week. Anyway, I finished the right front on the vest. Still had yarn left so I am knitting on the left front now. I can tell I am feeling more like myself, because I am staying up later now and just told myself that I will knit on the left front until I run out of yarn tonight. Besides, I love it, there is great t.v. tonight. At the moment Boston and Anaheim baseball is on and will give me plenty of company..... Yankees won, boo hiss! I like watching baseball , but there is something about the ESPN reporters that bother me. They definitely need to chill, and I can't help wonder just who they are for?? Cardinals won yesterday. Yesterday was a good day!

Tomorrow night I am getting together with friends to knit. Our friend has been gone for over a month, so we are going to have dinner and then knit. So much to talk about.... So much to show. And of course, have talk about going to Mary's Yarn Shop in Eureka on Saturday. Need serious yarn shopping. Hopefully, she will have the same dye lot that I need to finish the vest.

Not the Twisted Sisters jacket back, but rather the back to the vest I am knitting from Noro Kujako yarn. Kujako has this rayon thread that wraps around the yarn and then has really tight wraps every so often. Thus the little blips you see that remind of french buillons. I never quite mastered these in smocking. I bought the yarn at Mass Ave in August and know now that I am going to need at least 2 more, maybe three to do the front. My local yarn shop- Mary's Yarn Shop in Eureka has the same yarn, so I will see how close I come to the same dye lot. Wouldn't it be a hoot if it was the same?

2 Scarves, 2 Days 

I usually take the weekend of Thanksgiving as my weekend to do nothing, but sit and watch t.v. and knit. I will do this again this year, but since a little bit of outpatient surgery on Thursday, I have taken this weekend easy just like I do at Thanksgiving time. I started a new project, Twisted Sisters Jacket that I will show pics of progress tomorrow. But in the mean time, I spent a little time just doing a couple of scarves that I accumulated yarn for. Don't know who they are for, I might give as gifts to ladies at work this year, or I might try and sell them. Anyway pics above this post as to what I have been doing while I recuperate this weekend. I am taking tomorrow off too, need to get up and accumulate myself to getting back to work after sitting around for four days.

No pictures, cause I don't have anything new to report. However, how did it get to be October 1? I want to start something new, but I must hold true and work on my Noro Kujako vest and finish that scarf I started yesterday before I had a little outpatient surgery. I need to go sit in my chair now and knit. Just wanted to let all know the surgery went fine. I feel pretty good except for the throat that feels like when you are getting strep, but that is from the tube, I know, but just needed to whine! Where's the cheese?

I love Fall, seriously, but when it gets to be October 1, I need to start finishing those winter sweaters so they will be ready. Instead, I am working on Christmas and December bdays. I have got to get a handle on this. Maybe 2005 is the year. Speaking of I picked up this cool 2005 calendar box at Barnes and Noble on Tuesday. It has a pattern for each day of the new year. Be sure and check it out, and the price was around $15 too. I also ordered Betsy McCarthy's Knit Socks book and it is in already. Can't wait to get it, it is one of those books that is cut out to look like a sock. Next Tuesday, when I can drive again, I'll go pick it up.

Do you see a trend? Yes, same colors as my tank I created, but this one is from Classic Elite Iceland Wool. I bought the yarn over in Indy at Mass Ave Knits. I thought I was buying enough to felt, but realized when I got home that it was twice the yardage so the Weekend pullover was knit with just a tad left over. 

I am trying to decide what to do with this yarn I got on a recent bus trip to Mass Ave Knits in Indy. I bought 7 skeins. Anyone have any ideas. Email me at pjknits@gallatinriver.net 

Recently finished this tank by doing gauge and using it to make a tank. I am hoping to wear it a couple of more times before Fall sets in.  

Okay, Okay, no more scarves,but had to post just one more. This is from Anny Blatt yarn is for my co-worker's birthday. She is a Mary Kay person on the side and I thought it would be a great addition to the lia sophia watch she is getting.  

And this is a gift from my dear traveling knitting friend, Jan. We saw this in the Pro Shop the first day at Pheasant Run. It sat next to an apple green color. All of my knitting buddies know that those are my current colors of choice these days (the blue is just like the water on our Feb vacations). I walked by it several times, commenting on the bags but resisted the temptation, and one day the blue was missing and that was forgotten. BUT--Jan had made a gift of it to me. See I told you I was blessed. Jan and I had a great time rooming together, and we have already decided even though it is going to be at Rosemont next year, we are GOING to Stitches Midwest again. You know when in Rome---Have a great knitting weekend all! 

The night of the student banquet, I won these Skacel Addi-Turbo Gold needles from the bag that our table won. I didn't know they even had such a thing. Once again, I was pleased. 

AND the best of all, I won this kit and the Knitter's magazine the night of the Fashion Show. Talked about shock! I was the first ticket drawn and I got to pick the first envelope. And of course it had a caribbean blue posty on it so I chose it and low and behold it was the best of all of the ones offered. See--I told you life was good! I got to go up on stage in the bright lights and stand by the gorgeous model. I am still can't believe it. 

These are the two scarves I finished at SMW. The top was bought at Wool and Co on Wednesday and is out of Dune, just a simple seed stitch scarf on big needles. The lower one was started before I went and purchased at Mary's Yarn Shop in Eureka IL