The Party is Over

I am trying not to think about it but today is the last day of my vacation. Now reality has set in

and I will be tied to the company cellphone until 7pm each evening waiting for the phone to ring.

I have enjoyed myself this last month and really want to retire. I do not play the lottery but I am tempted to lose my money to give it a try.

I have been busy trying to keep my mind off of work. I finished another Ruffle Lace Cowl , since I work outdoors most of the time, it is nice to have something that covers my chest and head. I made this one with two extra repeats, 14 in all. My plan was for 15-16 repeats but I ran out of the Manos yarn I was using. The picture is pre-block. I am fanning out the bottom more so that it will look more like the original cowl.

In addition, I am on the purse craze again. I love making and carrying purses and knitting bags that I have made. I saw the Birdie Sling by Amy Butler at my favorite sewing store in Hanover, PA called Danner's Bernina Shop, when I went to pick up a part for my friend Sue. I could see this as a knitting bag as well as a purse. I brought the pattern and came straight home and made myself one.

In addition, since my daughter, TeAntae, and I are taking a cruise for my birthday at the end of the month and we will be going to Disney's private island for the day, I thought that we needed new beach totes. I used heavy weight window screening for the main body, canvas for the handles and top part of the tote and 4 inches of other fabric I had in my stash. I doubt if my daughter would like the Mary Engelbreit fabric but we will see. I wish I had embroidered our initial a little higher but it will work.

Today, I am making some Artisan bread, watching some travel videos trying to pretend that I am not here. I will spin a little, start a pair of socks (have not made socks in ages), and also work on a sweater/cape called Not Quite a Cape that is going very fast. I am using Ella Rae Kamelsoft which is Aran weight. I did not mention this in my last post but I have decided to learn two new knitting techniques this year. The first is not a knitting technique exactly but I have never seamed anything. I always avoid any project that takes seaming. This sweater/cape will be my first attempt. The other thing I want to learn this year is intarsia. I already have two intarsia projects picked out. One is the Ravenna Satchel and the other is In Bloom , I have the yarn in my stash for In Bloom so I may start with that one. We will see.

The New Year

I do not normally make resolutions because I do not keep them. I have decided to put together a Wish List this year that I plan to do this year.

1. Knit from stash...I have so much yarn and projects already put into kits that if I just knit this, I will have more than enough to knit this year. I also want to either finish my WIP or Frog. Frankly, if I have had them sitting around for months, it is obvious that I have no plans to get back to them.

2. Start weaving again... I have been so caught up in knitting that I have not been weaving. I think I have as much yarn for weaving as I do for knitting. I also need to sell my counterbalance loom because I brought it to make rugs and found that I really did not enjoy making rag rugs. My LeClerc loom is the older one and quite heavy enough to make a rug every now and then. I also need to get my son-in-law come to help me service theLeClerc, it is having problems.

3. Spin more. .. I love to spin and have lots of roving that I can spin without buying any. Last year, I purchased a new tensioned kate for plying and a great dvd's, one is on drafting by Abby Franquemont and the other plying by Judith MacKenzie. I have no excuse to get better this year. Right now, I am working on spinning three bobbins so that I can try to triple ply. My daughter and son-in-law brought me a Woolee Winder a couple years ago that has really help improve my spinning. You really can get more yarn on the bobbin, no stopping and breaking your rhythm so you can move the yarn on the hooks, and the yarn is level on the bobbin which makes what you spin look better than it actually is. I just love it.

4. Exercise more...My heart doctor and family physician have been preaching to me these last few weeks I have been home that I need to lose weight and exercise. My daughter has reminded me that I lose a lot a few years ago by just riding my recumbent bike and walking on the treadmill. That is very true, I did not even realize that I was losing weight. I am until my next door neighbor offered me some of her clothes because she had lose so much weight. I thought at first that the clothes would fit my big toe. I took one of her pant suits to a meeting because it was so pretty and found out that this was the only thing that fit. All my clothes were hanging off me worst than on a hanger. I am a diabetic with high blood pressure, I really do not have a choice.

5. Just do it

On a happier note....My daughter and I will be leaving on 1/29 to take a cruise on the new Disney ship " the Dream " for my birthday. I have made lots of magnetics for the door, and I plan to just lay on the balcony and dream.

My son, Roger, leaves for

Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

maps.google.com

His sister and I are so proud of him. He has not been at this company long and he was chosen to go for a month to put in a new installation. He is in I T. His birthday is today and I actually remembered to send him a text. He will never let me live it down about the year that I totally forgot. I have knitted him a hat that I had planned on giving to him with an Amazon gift certificate. I do not think he will need Windchief right now. He had asked for it since he loved the one I made Bryan (son-in-law) for Christmas.

I do not think I showed you what I did for my Christmas village this year. Because I kept up the restaurants all last year, I decided to do it again for this year but added a park. Also, my daughter and son-in-law gave me a White Castle for Christmas. I have such fond memories of going to white Castles with my friends when I was a teenager. I do not have snow down because I do plan on keeping "restaurant row" up all year and just changing the trees for the season.

This is it for right now. I will get back to you probably after the trip so that I can let you know how it was. Of course, we are taking knitting with us. We are not going to get off the boat in Nassau since we do not like it there, we thought that this would be a great knitting day on the balcony and of course ordering room service.

Christmas is Around the Corner

We had a marvelous luncheon at Tersiguel's and gift exchange.

Everyone really had a great time. Wish all the knitters could have been able to come.

I am almost finished with Christmas knitting and sewing. Today I mailed my sisters box and just have to mail my aunts. I just received an email from a company that emailed me previously that the case for the GPS I brought my aunt was on its way, last night I received an email that it was not coming. No need to hold up her box any longer.

There is no more shopping to do but I am waiting for for my sons and daughter-in-laws gifts to arrive. I am having USPS package delivery issues at the moment.

I have the ribbons embroidered that I am using for name tags for all my gifts.

Every year, I try to do something different when it comes to name tags or gift wrap. This year, I decided to embroider the names on the ribbon instead of buying the name tags. I have to wait until the gift is wrapped to embroider the ribbon so I know just how much to embroider.

The only knitting I did this year was for my sister, niece, brother-in-law, and my son-in-law. I just had too many things for myself that I wanted to do.

My brother-in-law got the Berruti hat.

My niece said she loves wearing yellow so she is getting a very yellow hat and mitts

My sister loves green so she got a seafoam green cowl called the ruffle lace cowl by Cathy Carron that I love enough that I am making a cranberry one for myself. I also made her mitts call Mom's Cabled Mitts. Well, the basis pattern is Mom's Cabled Mitts. What happened is that I forgot which way the cable was going and made something that looked like a wandering vine so I went with it.

In case I do not get to post until after Christmas..

Gift Exchange

On Wednesday my favorite sit n knit meets in Mt. Airy, MD, at the town hall at 10AM to knit and have their first gift exchange. Until this year, each person in the group brought a gift for everyone but the group has grown too large. We were given a limit of $20 to buy a gift and I believe we are going to draw numbers. At least I hope this is the way it will be. I hate dutch exchanges and do not think they are fair. There is always someone that brings a gag distasteful gift just for laughs.

I decided to make a project bag and embroider the name of the group on it, brought some great chocolate candy (you can't go wrong with chocolate) and finally purchased a skein of cotton yarn from my favorite indie dyer, Wolle's Yarn Creations. I even embroidered the ribbon with "Mt Airy Knitter".

As to how my Christmas knitting is coming along......don't ask. I have a hat for my brother-in-law, mitts and a hat for my niece (they just need to be blocked). I made this cute cowl hat thingy for my sister but it is too big. I may give it to her anyway and tell her it is a cowl only. I have the yarn for hats for my son and son-in-law that I will start today. My aunt won't get anything this year and at the rate I am going, my daughter will get the yarn and pattern to make something for herself.

I am not making anything for my new daughter-in-law because I have no idea what she would like without asking her.

Sometime within all this knitting and weaving, oh I forgot to tell you that I plan on weaving some dishtowels for gifts, I really do want to put up my Christmas houses.

Stay tuned

SEAWEED SHAWL is done

Yes, Yes, it is finished and I love it.

Great yarn and great pattern

Citron is finished

This shawl has been a labor of love. I love the yarn by Wolle's Yarn Creations but I just keep tangling it if I put it in my project bag. The yarn is a made of 5 string no ply cotton. What I found( at the end of course) is that when I reskein it tighter, I have less problems.

I have another skein waiting be used so before I start it, I will reskein it.

Should be finished with the KAL shawl called Ocean Serenity that I am calling Seaweed, this week. It is using the same yarn but a different color. It is so pretty.

Part 2-Rhinebeck 2010

I don't want you to get the wrong impression and think that I did not enjoy myself at Rhinebeck, I surely did. My daughter, TeAntae, and I arrived about 15 minutes before it opened at 10am on Sunday and left about 15 minutes before it closed at 5pm.

The fair grounds is fantastic. There are plenty of places to eat and sit, and the most important thing is ladies bathrooms that has more than 3 stalls. They even had ladies in the bathroom that kept the place clean and showed you to the empty stalls. Nice touch and very efficient.

This fairgrounds was made to serve numerous kinds of events. The Howard County Fairgrounds in Maryland seems to have been set up for livestock so it is not as nice. Now if I could just put the Maryland show in the Rhinebeck fairgrounds, we would have a yarn show made in heaven.

My problem with the show is that there was very little yarn. Lots of natural fiber but little yarn. I overheard a vendor say that the hardcore knitters came on Saturday. That made me laugh because in Maryland the hardcore knitters come Saturday and Sunday. You can not make me believe that all the yarn was sold out on Saturday and there was nothing but fiber left for Sunday. There was yarn, just not the amount I was used to. I think the size of the show is the same as the show in Maryland.

Waiting in line for pot pies. I am sorry to say that it was not worth it. The pies were dry and tasteless. I had such high hopes for these because everyone was raving about them and I was hungry. I ended up throwing most of it away. It is pretty bad when you wish you had Swanson's pot pie instead.

The Sheep to Shawl Contestants were working hard when we walked through the building. I had planned to go back to check out who won but the day got away from me.

Just like Maryland's Sheep and Wool show, Rhinebeck has a display of hand knitted and woven garments displayed with their ribbons. The items seemed more edgy and contemporary than what I see at the Maryland Show. Really liked most of the pieces.

Met these two ladies and had to stop them to admire what they had made. The shawl above is the Shipwreck shawl which is circular and beaded. She said it took her 3 months. If it had been me, it would have taken me a year. It was lovely. The lady below had felted and made her jacket and purse. I was quite impressed. She gave me her card and told me that she did give classes. I just might take her up on it. I saw a couple of other ladies in felted jackets throughout the day. I want one!!!!!!

All these people are meeting the authors in the book signing area. I thought that this was a great sat up. Authors with their books were on each side of the aisle and the cash register was in the front.

My daughter posing for me on thisbeautiful fall day in Rhinebeck, NY beautiful fall day in Rhinebeck, NY.

This pumpkin carver was fantastic. Never in a million years could I produce anything like these.

I guess you are wondering what I purchased, well I did buy a skein of yarn from Fiber Optics to make the Pagona Shawl by Stephen West. Her colors are brilliant and that is what I like. The blue is very jewel toned.

I also purchased patterns to make The Scoop and The Cinch by Nora Bellows of Noni designs as well as the 2011 Calendar of Patterns by Helen Hamann. Helen told me that she will be at the 2011 Maryland Sheep and Wool. I really love her cutting edge patterns and get her newsletter. However, I am sad to say that I have never made any of her designs. I just admire from afar. I think she will do well at the show and hope to have at least one of her designs made in time to show her that I am not just all talk. It seems that she will be putting out a call for an assistant to help her and she will pay in yarn.

New Totes and My Chef Daughter

This is going to be a two parter. I had a fun filled weekend and have lots to share.
My daughter and I went to Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival on Sunday but before we went, I had a chance to visit my daughter at the french country restaurant she works at, Tersiguel's. It is nice to go to a french restaurant were the founders are actually from France.I was acting like the proud mother while I watched her move around the kitchen with such ease. I have to admit that her mother can not cook. Well...I can make a meal for you but you won't compare it to your mother's.

Cooking just never interested me. I only wanted to stay in the kitchen long enough to get things cooked and I am happy with my microwave, NuWave Oven and crockpot. For me, that is the only appliances you need.

When we got back from Rhinebeck, I worked on totes to carry our Kindle's in. My daughter only carries a small purse and I have to stop carrying the purse I like because we found out this weekend that there is a magnetic strip in it that keeps wiping out my hotel keys. You can find the pattern in the September/October 2010 Designs in Machine Embroidery, the words are a free download on their site. They came out so great that I decided to make knitting totes as well. Can you say, "Christmas Gifts for knitting friends"!!!!!!!!

Roger's Wedding Day

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SEAWEED SHAWL

I am in the KAL that is being put on by Wolle's Yarn Creations. This started out as a mystery shawl but I am so far behind that the last clue has come in. As you can see, lots of drop stitches.

Now that I have finished the first part and started on the center, you have to weight your ball and take that amount off of the second skein. Then you knit from the second skein, in this way you should end up with a mirror of the first half. The left over yarn is to be used for the edging.

I decided to call my shawl Seaweed instead of the the title given by the designer Christiane Burkhard. The original name is Ocean Serenade. I thought that the color I choice for my shawl looked more like the bottom of the ocean.
This is the finished shawl. At least that is what I am aiming for.

Travel Project

My son is getting married at Disney World in two weeks. My daughter, son-in-law and I will be driving down because we like stopping along the way, as well as that my son-in-law does not like to fly. Since this is a long car drive, my daughter and I decided to do a KAL. The project that we have chosen is the Citron shawl

(Photo courtesy of Theyarniad)

I am going to call my Citron, Sunset. I am using yarn purchased from Wollies Yarn Creations called Sunset.

So far so good, pattern seems easy and there are lots of knitters that have made it. We agreed to stop knitting on the shawl until the trip at the end of Section Three.

I have made us knitting aprons to wear in the car so that we won't lose anything. They came out quite cute and I will post pictures.

I am off to meet up with my daughter, son, son-in-law and his fiancee to go to dinner.