BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Admitedly, not my favorite holiday, but hard not to smile when the boys are so cut in their costumes. INBA was a shark- but he doesn't eat people, I asked. Eldest was a robot, made by him and the Mister. A little commentary follow-up...

Of course, I take my knitting with me to hockey!! But the chairs are really uncomfortable and it is really loud and the parents getting worked up about 5-7 year olds playing floor hockey annoy me.

I am, indeed, being a little shy with my xmas knitting. I know some people pop in unexpectedly. My own children often appear at my shoulder, too. Boy, you look forward to them learning how to read and then spend your time, once they know how, keeping them from reading things!

They are back!

So, I need to go claim the "MOMMY TAX"

Have a frightfully good night!

STR Spoilage for October

O000-La-la

Leave it to the Yarn Harlot to design the best sock, yet, in the best colorway, yet.

The colors are a little washed in this photo. It is a really deep and rich black and plum.

yum.

As far as anything else going on around here?

I finished another pair of blue socks for a Christmas present.

I am working on a red pair for INBA to get from Mrs. Clause.

Um, I forgot, again, to take a pic of the swatch for Leafy Heather. I am waiting on the needles to arrive to work on that.

Eldest and INBA started up into floor hockey, again today. (longest hour of my life, I don't know how you people spend all day at a soccer field)

We had brunch at Duke's Station on Baptist Road. It is an old train car as dining room. You know INBA loved it. I am considering having his birthday party there.

Crazy October

This is the tree in front of my house. Of course, all my maples look like this (except for the red one.) Just a touch of pale in the leaves, but overall, green.
This is the tree across the street from my house. And this picture doesn't do it justice. I would have tried another shot of it, but I got shy when I noticed a workman at the house next door watching me. I didn't really know how to shout, "Don't worry! I am just going to blog this!" and sound normal.It is supposed to be in the high 70's again today. This is really cramping my time with the now-finished cardigan. 5 bucks says that it is pleasant until the day before Halloween and then the kids are going to have to beg for candy in parkas. But then, growing up in Northern Michigan, that just seems normal.
What is with the obsession with "normal" today?
I best go do something unusual.
Have a fabulous week.

Sunday Stuff

To get a big pot of cubed apples... One needs a sink full of peels and cores.
Soon it turns into this...

And eventually this...

Man, that is a lot of work for 5 pints of applesauce.

I still have apples... so I suppose I will make another batch tomorrow. That or I will freeze some and see how they work for a winter pie.

Mayhem Men entertainment.

This is how the guys (Mister included) spent the early part of the afternoon. They built a model of Pittsburgh in the sandbox for Virginia Friend's Flat Stanley.

Can you see that there is water in the Monongehela and the Allegheny? All those sticks are bridges, Percy is the Duquesne Incline, the blue rocket is the fountain at the point, and the sand castles are the buildings "dahn-tahn". You cannot see here, but they dug the Liberty and the Fort Pitt Tunnels, too.

After that, the Mister took the boys (Stanley included) out to look for the photographic vantage point of the model. They did pretty well, but I will spare you more pictures of the 'burgh.

I have a few projects in the works. A couple might even be approaching finishing stage. Maybe if I go work on some, I might have something to show next week. It is a concept. I know.

FO

TA-DA!!

Yes, I finished the cardigan! What cardigan? The cardigan that I started, um, back when. And Apparently, I was having issues with blue then, too! Funny.So this is Chunky Cables from Feb '07 Knit 'N Style. I substituted RYC Soft Tweed and used size 11 needles. Stitch gauge was fine but row gauge was way wonky (don't you just love learning things in your projects?) so the shawl and button band are a little weird (I didn't have nearly enough stitches called for in the pattern. I had to do some math, I think it worked out OK.) I added buttons that I knit in. It didn't take long to do- when I actually worked on it. It languished all summer in a basket next to the red chair. I became motivated to finish by assuming that it would become cold soon (at some point?) and the general need to finish something, anything. Overall, I love it. Super soft and very warm (just in time for 79 degrees tomorrow) and a lovely soft tweedy green (with bits of blue and pink) that will go with just about everything I own. Don't be surprised if you run into me in the next 7 months and I am wearing this sweater!

Photo credit goes to INBA who got very excited when he snapped the picture and it showed up on the camera. Find Joy in the small things. I need to do that more.

Mommy of the Year

goes to someone else. Today was the Kindergarten field trip to Trax Farm and I didn't take the camera. No picture of INBA climbing on mountains of pumpkins. I suck.

But I did manage to take a picture of the silk thread from BlueMoon Fiber Arts that I ordered to make the Peace Shawl. I really suck.

Now, INBA and I are off to knit-nite. Laurie's OS lost a bet with her and she has offered him as babysitter so that I can stay late with my friends and he can then be even. (The Mister is camping with Eldest and the other cub scouts.) So, we will have hot chocolate and bring OS back to our house at bedtime. Sounds like a plan to me.

Ravelry

Well, I got my invitation. So I set up my profile and that is it so far. I am Pisellogirl, if you want to be my friend and share any tips and tricks.

And don't forget about the PartyLite candle party at my house tonight at 7pm. I hope we don't freak the candle lady out with -what will inevitably get pulled out- flamable knitting materials!! You must promise to be careful and keep away from open flame :) Even Mrs. H. - whom I taught to knit last week while in public at a swanky mall- will be bringing her project(s). Can you believe she has 3 scarves on needles already?!?! Nah, she isn't going to be a compulsive knitter... nah, never! *bwahahaha* converting at every opportunity, doing my part for the survival of the LYS!!

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Oh, what 9 years can do for you.This is Notre Dame des Victoires in San Francisco.
Honest, I don't think we have gotten any older.
Ok, maybe a little.
9 more years and we will be wrestling Eldest for the car keys.
I think I will linger in this moment a bit longer.

How's this? Lady K and myself.
Quite a pair.
The Mister brought me flowers and I botched dinner. I am making it up to him tonight... with dinner done right. My Aunt sent me another huge box of apples, so at least one pie should be made this afternoon.
It was only 48 degrees at noon, so it is the perfect day to have Stew on the stovetop and Pie in the oven.

Useful Housework

Of course, I did the laundry.

I wouldn't have been able to do this, if I hadn't thrown in that load of towels!Wrecking knitting sure is empowering! I guess it really isn't wrecked, just felted on purpose. Still, it is a strange, guilty feeling that I get throwing fresh knits into the wash... on HOT. And how about that bag? One cycle in my front load washer was all it took! It is Paton's Classic Wool. Nice stuff.

While I am down there...

I cleaned off the Hockey Table, as I do when I want to do fun things with knitting, and brought in my pink foam board that the ever-fabulous Mister picked up for me at Home Depot. Then I set about blocking my sweater that has languished all summer. I need more T pins.

Unfortunately, my car is in the shop. I have been driving around for a week and a half in a car that was growling at me. Apparently, I am lucky that my alternator didn't give out on me because I would have been stranded. I guess they just don't make cars like they used to, one belt goes and you are toast. *shrug* I didn't argue with the guy when I start the car and he becomes very concerned and starts wondering where he can get an alternator this afternoon. He is an honest mechanic, so I took the ride home. Of course, I didn't realize at the time that I was going to need T pins!

I'll get my car back tomorrow afternoon- not an alternator in town for my car- hopefully, purring like a kitten.

I will steal the Mister's car tonight and make a run to JoAnn's.

Now, the paper is hoping that it will make it to 55 on Friday... very motivating to get a cardigan done!

A little weekend fun

Saturday, Laurie came over with an armload of videos. The Mister was out doing Mister-things, and we dipped spicy-sweet mustard with pita chips and gorged ourselves on Kaffe Fassett.
Check out this guy! I did not need to find this. When this is what I was looking for and is more than enough!
OHHH, I love color. I lamented to Laurie, "Could you imagine if we had time to do all the things that are in our head!?!" But I made a conscious choice to be married and have children, I made a commitment to raise my children as well as I can. That just means that I don't have time to do most of the things that are in my head. I think most of us are in the same boat. I think it also explains why we have so much stash, because when I do have time... but right now, I need to go clean the bathroom before Eldest gets home from school.

Edited to Add: I didn't go clean the bathroom. I am really a lousy wife/mother/housekeeper. Please don't tell on me, 'k? Anyway, I guess it was one of those group consciousness things this weekend, check out Panopticon's account of a real life encounter with Kaffe Fassett! Oh, I think I might be unbearable if I had a real-life workshop with those guys. Now, I guess I will go do my laundry. Hey, stop laughing. I just might.

Thank Goodness for the Weather

What else would we have to talk about? The weather man says that despite the fact that it is nearly 90 degrees today, by Friday we will be hoping for 60. Yikes. It is definately all or nothing around here.

Yes, this hat should look familiar. It is the mitts that I completed this weekend. I love 'em. But I am thinking that this set would really make a nice gift for someone. Now I just need to think of whom. They fit me and Laurie and the Mister, so size isn't an issue.

I did make up a rough pattern as I knit the mitts, so I am going to look into how one might put a pattern in the side bar. Any advice?

I Felt That!

Can you see the People?

They are supposed to be dancing.

They are a pattern from my Traditional Scandinavian Knitting book by Sheila McGregor.

And the rest of the pattern I made up by kinda mish-mashing a couple of things that I liked from a couple of other patterns.A hat plus some.

This is the simple cable hat from Cables Untangled.

I knit it isn the Highlander by Alpaca with a Twist.

LOVE this yarn.

I needed just a smidge more than one hank for the hat, so I am trying to make up a fingerless mitt to match from the left over.

Can you tell that I had to get away from the blue socks for a bit?

The Mister didn't think it was as funny as I did that, needing a break from blue, it sent me to the other side of the color wheel! Orange! Without even thinking!! Funny how the brain- and the eye- works.

I can't believe that it is Friday! Where did this week go?

My brother and his family came to visit last weekend, we took him to a Pirate game for his birthday- yes they lost- and I think he had a good enough time that he will come back.

Somehow, I managed to let the rest of the week wiz by me.

Hopefully, this weekend will be a bit more low key. Looking at the calendar, though, I am not too optomistic. Celtic Queen says that I need a bigger calendar. I say, "NO!! PLEASE, NO! If I have more space to write in more things I will be even more busy, and still not be able to tell you what I do with all my time!!"

So now, I will go watch INBA playing in the sandbox. It is 80+ and supposed to get hotter before it does anything else. Whew, some kind of October! Makes me worry about paybacks in the middle of winter... anyone seen a wooly catepillar this year? What is the forecast?

LOOK HERE. Everything is on the internet.
Have a great weekend... before the heavy rain comes.