Wednesday

Wow, has it really been a week already? The weather did indeed turn a bit chilly, there was a frost overnight, and it has been in the mid forties all week. brrr. When is it going to be 70 again? Spring is in full bloom and the mild weather has allowed all the trees and bulbs to show off their full glory. This does nothing for the allergies, of course, but it sure is pretty.

This is what we did with our weekend. Eldest made his First Holy Communion on Sunday.

We are very proud of him. He was very excited.

Grandma took the family picture.

So much for digital.

And this weekend is Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I am so super excited that I don't even know what to do with myself. I am on the Knit One bus along with my friend Ms.A, whom I taught to knit and is now on fire!! I don't know who else is on the bus for sure, I know some who were thinking of it. I will try to remember and bring the camera. :)

Oh, and I finished the Cherry Calfuti BFF Socks last night. FINALLY! But thanks to Ravelry (love that site) I see that I only started them March 30. I guess because I have been working a pair of socks in the same pattern for INBA it feels like an eternity. Note to Self- don't work on two pairs of the same pattern at the same time. That and I was distracted for about a week by... you know. His second is turning a heel, I will finish them by the weekend, I think. Then I will be done with BFF and distracted by MSW goodies. *squeeee*

I Hate to Do this to You

But seriously... I am obsessed. And just so you know, the total is 8 of the original obsession and now I have moved on to another pattern. That's ravelry, again. *sigh* And it isn't like I am done with the first. I might be close, though. I want to see how many I can get out of one ball of Sugar n'Cream. 2 for sure, maybe 3.

If you cannot go to ravelry, click over to my flickr (link in sidebar) and it will be obvious what I have been doing with my time. This may defeat the secret project thing, but I suck with secrets anyway.



The boys are doing swim lessons once a week in preparation for summer. Eldest has forgotten that he has for the last 6 years or so, stubbornly refused to let go of the instructor and swim. He is going to be a little fish if he can keep from remembering. INBA is reminding me of my sister. He doesn't like to get his face wet. The only way that could possibly be overcome is by the "anything you can do, I can too," sibling inspiration. Time will tell.

The Mister got the summer clothes out of the attic last night. This usually means that there will be a definate chill in the air for the next week or two. I am good at predicting such things. I hope not, though. I sure do like 70 degrees.

Secret Project

I am pretty sure that certain people don't read this blog. But one can never be too sure. People lurk.

So, if you want to see what I am (compulsively) working on, look here (ravelry.) Then, look in the projects to see more. Ok, so I got (am still) a little carried away. It is so unlike me!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Yes, Darlings... I have survived another year in Chez Mayhem. What a dazzling, beautiful, blue-skied, sunny day was gifted to me, too. Yes, it was all for me and not for you. Sure, you were able to celebrate with me. But trust me, today was all about me.

To sum up. I have great friends. I had a fabulous birthday. I look forward to another great year. I hope the same for you, too.

Cupcake, anyone?

Quick Pics

I was reading Rani, and I thought,

"ugh, we are supposed to get snow this weekend. I better take some pictures of the yellow in the yard before it gets frozen."Of course, it is raining at the moment, so all shots are from inside the front door...
and out the dining room window in the back.

Can you tell what the boys did with the first whisps of spring?

200 lbs already added to the box, 150 more still in the bag, compliments of Daddy.

I think there will be another 200 lbs to come.

The blessing and curse of a big, handmade sand box.

The boys play for HOURS, and man, that is a LOT of sand.

I Am Sensitive

Hello

I hate Oak Trees.

That is a bit strong. Not all Oak Trees, just the ones in and around Western Pennsylvania that I am allergic to. Thank goodness that Zyrtec is over the counter now. I tried it in desperation... and it works! A little, at least. My allergies are pretty monsterous, so it would be a grand dream that one medication would fix me. boo-hoo. I am accustomed to being hyper-sensitve to other things, but I am still going to whine about my intense discomfort at the moment and my inability to go outside without making it worse. boo-hoo. June cannot come quickly enough.

Let's look at my sweater instead.I like it bunches. It is going to be around for a while, so, I will try not to bore you with too many in progress shots... but I do really, really, like it and I cannot make too many promises.
Here is a modified BFF sock by Cookie A. I did a different heel and didn't carry the pattern onto the foot. It is Jitterbug Fruit Coulis. YUMMY!! The color is off in the picture, the yarn is really much more hot pink.

That is all I know for now.

Regular programing will resume shortly

The Extravaganza was Friday. Much success, if I do say so myself.
Heeding Heather's fabulous advice, I donated 3 hours of knitting lessons to the silent auction. Would you believe that it sold for $150!! Makes a girl feel special, I tell you. Oh, and it is a good cause.
Hopefully, we made a ton of money. That will be figured out as the week goes on. Either way, it was more than they had last Thursday!

And you guess correctly if you assume that hardly a stitch was knit this whole week. I am working to reverse that trend... but laundry didn't get done this week, either...

A Good Week

The boys took advantage of a "warm" day and, along with the neighbor boy, played with their Easter gift from Grandma.

Chez Mayhem entered the Digital Age!

Well, as well as we can.

The Mister used his coupon to pick up a Digital Converter for our poor little analog TV.

And guess what? The active antenna that we had for the tv, boosts the digital signal, too! Woot! Saves us another 40-70 bucks! And we get twice as many channels as we did before. (Funny, still nothing on worth watching.) And the reception is crazy good. As in, looks like we have cable hooked up. Wow. Except when an airplane goes over or the clouds are real low. Then it is a little buggy. Nothin's perfect. LOL.

Productivity!

I finished the Cobblestone. This is the crappy picture that I took of it. Funny, I was upset with the Mister when I started it and upset when I finished, too. Poor Mister, so maligned.

This was done in Tatamy Tweed Worsted in the walnut color. I added 2 (TWO!!) inches to the sleeves (both of them!!) and to the torso(!!). It fits him fabulously.

I have decided, however, that it is most flattering to have a saddle shoulder for my Mister's sweaters. From now on, (unless I change my mind) that is what I am going to make.

Moving on...

What was the real motivation to finish Cobblestone so quickly (Feb 26-March 28)?

I needed the needles to make my sweater.

This, which will be my 'February Sweater'.

I ordered the yarn (Patons Classic Wool Tweed, paprika) in February, and I swear it seemed so much brighter than it does now.

Either way, I love it.

And I ordered it here, the nicest lady and good prices to boot.

Isn't that a pretty picture of the sleeve that I frogged. Yes, frogged. I made several errors. The least of which involves me not being able to read. la-la-la. Ribbit. Ribbit.

But I started over and am much happier and reading the pattern, this time.

I don't know if I will post again this week. The Extravaganza is on Friday and there are bound to be loose ends and such to occupy my time.

Hope your week is sunny!

Speaking of Birthdays

So, my SIL was making me feel old.
Well, she is certainly older than me. She brought her gift from the Easter Bunny with her when she came to dinner. This was her gift.
This was huge when I was a kid. HUGE! In fact, with my birthday money when I turned 11 (eleven!!) I bought this album. Yes, I said ALBUM! ack. How cool is it that it is remastered and put onto cd 25 years later. (24 years from when I bought it.) OMG. It is bad enough that the "oldies" station plays 80's music, to actually say out loud that 1983 was 25 years ago is just cruel.
All that said. I cannot help but turn it up loud and sing along and dance, dance, dance. Much to the chagrin of my 7 (almost 8) year old son. OMG! How did I get a 7 year old son?!?!? He is practically asking for the keys to the car!!
Oh, funny, Celtic Queen and I saw a coffee mug today that said, "I refuse to admit that I am over 30, even though that makes my kids illegitimate!"
Ok, I am feeling it today. Only the shock and awe part, really. I still feel 25 inside. Oh, there is that 25 again! Make it stop!

All I Want

For my Birthday

The Mister is about ready to cancel my subscription to Budget Travel.

This is what I want for my Birthday. Bad. Really Bad.

Sure, I am not denying that the relentlessly dreary months of February and March have taken their toll. But in all ways, on any day, Italy would be a welcome relief.

I promise, I have been really good this year. Or, at least, not as bad as I could have been.

I promise I will be really, really good for the next year.

Where's my passport?

I think I have another year before it expires.

Where's my phrase book?

I... know... it... is here.... somewhere... under all that... yarn...

Oh, come on... pleeeeeease?

Red Roving, Red Roving

INBA talked me into some red roving. He was looking to steal more of my Northern Lights, so I let him talk me into some Kraemer red roving. It is a little weird, I wonder if it is meant for needle felting or if there is even a difference in preparations... do you know?

All I know is that it is really tough for him to use with his drop spindle. And I know that I don't want to share my other bag of Northern Lights- Toffee!

The plan (at the moment) is to buy a fleece at Maryland Sheep and Wool (I paid for my bus ticket on Wednesday!!) that he and I can prepare and spin over the summer. He wants to dye some... Red! How did you guess? Which is fine, I think it will be a great project for us.
And some progress on the cobblestone. I have almost 2 sleeves done and another inch or two of the body to go. And, if the Mister didn't have such long arms and a long torso, I would have joined everything up by now! The joy and curse of custom creations.
I am really pleased with the pattern and with the yarn. The pictures don't do the color justice. It is a really warm and tweedy brown.

I finished the Fire On The Mountain socks.
I am frogging the gull wings in the crocus yarn.
I am itching to start another project, I am just not sure which one gets to go next!
Who feels lucky?

Perfect

Did you know that March 20th is Sweater Day? So good for so many reasons.

Know Who Your Friends Are

Wow, this weekend I sure found out who mine are. Big thanks to Laurie for helping me this weekend. I am sorry that she over did her limits in doing so. I am hurting still, too. I need a couple of more friends!
I organized a bake-sale breakfast for my church after the Sunday morning masses. Saturday I spent the day with Laurie (not even a member of our parish!!) and a few other ladies baking cinnamon rolls and bread and sticky buns for the event. We raised some money for the building fund and encouraged some fellowship, so it was a success.
Not much in the way of knitting going on. The Cobblestone has another inch on it, working a heel flap on the Fire on the Mountain socks, still debating how I feel about the gull wing pattern, wanting to cast on a shawl, but haven't finished MS3 yet.

Bits of sunshine are appearing, maybe I will become more inspired soon.

Optomists

Well, can you hear me laughing?

It takes a man to write an article like this about a man doing a study about that.

If I can sum up for you... Women have been saying for years (decades, centuries, I would venture) that there is nothing sexier than a man doing the dishes. And a man does a study that links the amount of housework a man does to getting more sex and it makes the national news wire. I am rolling on the floor laughing. DUH!!

On to Optomism

The remnants of a snow man.I told you that I saw robins!
The painful optomism of the Daffodils.
It was 30 degrees this morning.

But spring is indeed coming. It shows up every year. And the groundhog said that we have 2 more weeks, at least, until it does, again.

Until then... I am going to go show the Mister this article and how much nicer his life could be if he cleaned the bathroom.

Some Sun

Here is my travel sock. Fire on the Mountain, STR lightweight.

I am a good bit further on the leg of the second sock. I think the patterning is going to be different on the second sock, but I haven't pulled them out to compare, yet. hmm.

This is Cobblestone. The Tatamy Tweed Worsted is Walnut color. A nice rich, warm brown. I guess a little too much sun isn't a good thing... only for my pictures.

And my February Bag. So named because I needed some color and this will be my go-to bag for February... and March, seeing that the sunshine was a big tease and it is just as dark as ever, today.

The bag is a Lazy Girl Designs Towne Purse.

It has a ton of pockets and their construction techniques get all the raw edges encased and leaves it neat and tidy.

Spring?

There are 10 robins, 2 cardinals (one male- the brightest red you ever saw, one female) and a woodpecker in my back yard at this very moment.
I don't think the robins ever left this year. I saw a whole bunch of them over by the post office a couple of weeks ago after a big bout of snow. And they are fat, they haven't starved for hanging around.
It was more than 60 degrees and sunny all day today. Good-bye February! Hello, March!
I took some pictures this morning in the gorgeous sunlight... but will have to post later, I am going out to dinner with another mom! Can you stand it? Of course, I am making dinner for the brood before I go. One cannot ask too much. :)

Another Delay!

Oh, geesh. Another 2 hour delay. This really messes up my week. Not because I have anything really pressing or important to do, just that my whole sense of time is off kilter.
There is a nice new layer of snow. Everything is pristine. Pretty.

Yesterday was not the best day on record. I did frog the sock. No point in pretending. So now I have to figure out what to do with that yarn. I am not in the mood to be designing a sock, so it may just sit until I am.

And yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of our move to Pittsburgh. Nothing more really needs to be said. But, just because she is ultra-fabulous and has timing like that, my friend Kellie (out in Spokane) called just to say "Hey, we haven't talked in a while!" and made my day a good bit better.

Despite the Mister being near the top of an undesireable list, I started the Cobblestone, again, finally. I guess because knitting for my men makes me happy (ier), too.

Have a great Wednesday.

Sock Angst

A red cable sock about to go to the frog pond.

Gauge issues, of course.

That is the one thing about Senstional Knitted Socks, if you don't have the yarn to get you gauge for the size sock that you want... there really isn't room to manipulate the pattern and make it work. Especially the cable patterns.

I was pretending this wasn't true. Even though, I know it is.
Good-bye, red cable sock, it was fun knitting you.
An amusing aside-
I had INBA try it on this morning as I was admitting the truth of the situation, and he said, "Nope, doesn't fit, rip it out and make a new one!"
*ack* Just like it was simple and easy!
Unamusing aside-
2 hour delay again this morning.
I don't like 2 hour delays.
Maybe rewinding that yarn will be a nice distraction.

They're Baaaaaack!

Oh, yes. Thankfully, the mitten was found and you should have seen the grin on his face when the lady at the customer service desk handed it over!

And mine, too, I am sure!And an Adult Flap Cap in Lamb's Pride Bulky.

I look dorky, but warm.
Otherwise, not much to report. I have been tired. Grey days or bug, I am not sure. Still, a couple of naps never hurt anyone.
Oh, and I put my name on the bus list for Maryland Sheep and Wool at Knit One this afternoon.

I asked the Mister for a bus ticket for my Birthday, he agreed when he knew I would be coming back. Awwww. Love you, too, honey.

So, if you are going to be there... let me know! It is my first foray into the festival and I am anxious to see and do as much as I can manage. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed already, though.

Disco Monkeys

Do a little dance, have a little fun...

Monkey

Frotissima Colori Disco Socka Color, Color 01

Ooooh, Sparkle.

Thanks for your helpful suggestions to keep track of kid mittens. We haven't had issue before, but INBA was walking through the store with his 'shark' hat in hand and mittens shoved inside, swinging it around. So the mitten must have flown out without his notice. Usually, he is very good about keeping them in his pocket or the bottom of the backpack.

I am going to get some groceries in the morning, so I will ask one more time if it was found. Then, I guess, I will have to make another.

I am willing to wager that he will be more careful in the future. He was quite upset.