See it and weep...

Here is my first and last attempt (for now) at lace.
I installed a new computer this weekend and Pia found a perfect way to use the old one. I'm telling you this girl is still in denial that she does not have the same figure she had at 6 months!

FO-Baby Hats and no lace

I ripped out the lace for the 7th time. I was using the only pair I had on hand Clovers and was having trouble. So I stopped by my LYS Uniquities and brought some size 4 circulars for lace. I WILL cast on one more time.

In the meantime, my BFF 2nd daughter had a beautiful girl last week. When I knit a couple of hats for their son Leon who was born 18 months ago they were too big and Mom told me that he was finally able to wear one of them now. So this time I made one for Annalise and it is too small! When I was at the LYS I saw a hat made with Artful Yarns Candy Dots with the pattern on the ball band. So Friday night I cast on and finished it yesterday. It is too big. So I'm giving it another try. I am almost finished with the 2nd hat, different yarn. I'll post a picture when that is finished. Once that is done I will go back to the lace scarf.

makes a great beenie

while this post is dated Saturday, I am finishing it today Monday the 18th. I am home with a killer cold. This picture is Zorro and Sissy napping. Can't see Sissy? She is the lump under the comforter.

New Camera!

I have been shopping around for a new camera. As soon as I saw this one and the features it has I had to have it. It is the Fujifilm FinePix z100fd here is a review .The pictures above were all taken with a different setting. What I really liked was you slide the front cover to turn it on. With my Nikon I always shut the camera off when I was trying to take a picture.

Here are some other ramdom shots.

using the flower setting

check out my Liz Claiborne camera case, I just couldn't resist

this is Sissy at the end of the dark hallway, no flash, called suppressed flash, camera chooses the exposure

I started a lace scarf this week and have ripped it out 6 times. One more try and that will be that. Only 51 stitches and 4 row repeat but somewhere I keep screwing it up. If I have success today I'll post a picture. I was hoping to have something for this post but...

Another pair of socks finished

Here are my 1st pair knit at the same time with magic loop method. I used Size 1 Addi, Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Tweed-Plum. Back in December I ordered the Sock Sampler in Cool Colors.

Other than the snafu I had yesterday dropping a stitch these were an easy knit. Did a simple k2p2. cast on 72 stitches.

I was up at 4:30 this morning and started laundry and cleaning up. Had let the cleaning go these past two weeks. In between loads of laundry I cast on another preemie hat. This will be a gift for my BFF 2nd daughters 2nd baby. I was done by noon. The pattern is from the Knitting 08 calendar January 3rd. Called Cabled Baby Hats. I did the five cable hat but messed up and only did 4 cables. Used an #3 Clover 36". Here is is being modled on my Miss Revlon doll. She has been with me since I was 10 or 11 years old.

Here are two of my purchases from Knitting at the Lake 2008. Robin's Dad make baskets. What talent this family has.

This is the yarn kit I brought from Mary Jane, from Unraveled. She put this kit together to knit from Sally Melville's Knit Book, which I happened to own, "Shape it Scarf". Mary Jane also figured out the yardage for the Ladder Scarf that Kati had made. Somewhere there is a picture of her on someones blog for the life of me I can not find it. So I need to figure out which one to make.

In addition to L have another baby, The Ashley Fister Cole Foundation will have an auction that I need to knit something for. Ashley was the daughter of a dear friend and co-worker. One of their events is coming up soon. Morning at the Movies. J told me what the movie was but I forgot. In the past 5 years it has been at the Merrifield Multiplex. If you live in No Va you must attend. It is a blast, the kids have always been well behaved. We have the theatre to our selves.

well, have to go and watch the three Lost shows the had this past week.

Longest toe

I started these socks on Jauraury 18 to take with me on the Knitters Retreat 08. I needed something simple so I could talk & knit. They are basic sock pattern knit on magic loop two together. Cast on 72 stitches, 36 on each needle x 2 socks. Pattern is plain old k2, p2.

I completed the leg of each at the retreat. Last weekend I did the heal flap, gusset and the rest of the foot. I figured I would have the toe decreases completed on Monday. Not.

By the time I would get home from work and do what you do when you get home it would be 8 when I would settle down to knit. Monday I got a couple of rounds down and was so tired I put it down and went to sleep.

The same thing happened, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Friday would be it! When I packed away my socks on Thurday I was not careful so on Friday a couple of stitches slipped off. Pain. Fixed it and finally completed the toe of sock 1 using the Kitchner stitch. Now onto sock two. Done. Then I found out I did not pick up a stitch! So know I'm trying to pull out the kitchnerand rip back. Done.So now it is Saturday morning and this is what I have. I will be picking up the stitches to get them back on the needle. Lets see how long this will take. Pain!

Knitting on the Lake 2008

This past weekend my friend Carol & I traveled from Northern VA to Clarksville VA and attended a 3 day Knitting Retreat. This is the lake from our room. The terrible thing is that this lake is at least 15ft lower than it should be. If this keeps up we will be Knitting at the crater!

The drive each way was nice and sunny and according to "Jack" Carol's GPS the drive was 3.5 hours each way. This is our room. Very nice size with a kitchen. Small patio out the back door where I took the shot of the lake. We arrived on Friday about 3:30. Settled into our room and registered with Robin. I've been "talking" with Robin for over 8 months and was only surprised by her southern accent. We both live in VA but those 3.5 hours sure make a difference. Around 5 o'clock Robin made dinner reservations for 15 at the Lake House Restaurant (built in 1890). It sits on the corner of the main street and you have to climb up the front steps that are way UP. Then we climbed way UP to the second floor to what once may have been a sitting room or bedroom. Here all 15 to 17 knitters sat at small tables. Tami & Norma were a pair. Their antics had tears coming down my eyes. Mary has some pictures on her site

Here is Norma taken by surprise by Tami in the bathroom.

This is Tami showing us a lamp from the bathroom.

It is a vase made into a lamp and she has one at home that she would like to do the same.

Dehydrate-Hydrate-Tami ordered a beer and water.

Here is Robin our wonderful host. See how close the bathroom is! There was a young pregnant gal from another room who kept coming in to use the BR. Mind you, there was another entrance outside of our room on the landing but she could only see the sign here and cut through.

The project I brought along with me was two socks on magic loop for the first time ever. Phyllis & Sally (below) wanted to learn. Thank goodness for Becky. Phyllis wanted to cast on and I did not know the proper way. I cheated by knitting one sock for about 1" and than started the other on another needle and than past in onto the same needle as the 1st sock. Anyhow, Becky was able to teach Phyllis the correct way to cast on. When we parted on Sunday afternoon, Phillis had about 2"+ of two socks going. Add to that, she loved the pattern for my Nine to Five Socks so I wrote down the pattern repeat for her and she was doing that for the first time.

Speaking of my Nine to Five Socks. I was making them for Robin for PIF. I was going to mail them to her but decided to gift them to her at the retreat. Every penny saved on shipping will go back into yarn. Here she is trying them on for the first time.

Robin C, Renny & Tami

Shawn, Carol, Phyllis, Sally and Clarine

Clarine & Shawn drove up from NC. It was also their first time and I hope we see them back next year. It was a very relaxing and fun weekend.

Carol and PatsyClarine, Shawn and Carol

Carol with her door prize

I was very lucky! My first door prize was this skein of Spirit Trail Fiberworks yarn

After the first round of drawings and based on the amount of door prizes, Robin would started over. My second door prize, stitchmarkers by Jennifer

At the end there were two "grand" prizes. All our tickets were put back in for the final drawing and my number came up a third time!! I have never been this lucky before.

Carol's stitch markers, the ones on the right were a door prize donated by Jennifer

I could not pass up on these stitch markers a a row counter.

We have already made our reservations for next year!

Another Preemie Cap

this makes my 3rd FO. I did not have fruit ala Robin so I'm using items I have on hand.

Cast on late last night for the Clapotis using my new Alpaca with a Twist-Fino! After 4 tries I set fino aside and used Simply Soft on Size 3. This helped getting the pattern down. SS is knitting up nicely but I'm not sure if I'll keep on with it. Tonight I'll check my stash. I've never used 2ply lace weight before and would like the FO to be something I would like to wear.

I'm trying to get something started that is a no brainer for the Knitting on the Lake coming up this weekend. If I hope to knit & not tink the whole weekend it must be simple. My mouth can not operate at the same time as my needles!!

1st two FO for 2008

Started the Nine to Five Socks Christmas Eve and finished 1/11/08.
Here is a picture of a baby hat that I made for the knitting retreat. Will probably try another one that can actually fit a preemie. Hope I can post a finished lined felted bag by the end of the day. I will be using my new Brother sewing machine. Hope I find it as easy to use as my old Singer.

Too Cute!!

This is a preemie hat Carol made. Took the picture at work yesterday morning at work.

Then I received this email from a friend. Names have been changed to protect the innocent

True story - happened last night.

B (my five year old) is in the shower and says "Oh my gosh, my balls are getting smaller". I'm hoping against hope he isn't talking about his "balls" but some toy he has in the shower. And I say, "What honey?" And he replies, "My balls, you know my nuts (the stuff they learn at school is amazing), are getting smaller". With the straightest mom face, I can muster, I say, "that's what happens when boys get cold". His solution -fill up a cup with hot water and pour it over his "balls" to see if they get bigger. To his disappointment, it didn't work. I then had to explain that once he dried off and put on his PJ's things would go back their "normal size". I'm not ready for boys....

Leaving you with me being mothered.

Happy New Year

remember 2000! The day everything was going to stop. I spent that New Years Eve with my best friend. If we were going to crash and burn we were going to do it together! This picture was taken before I got back into knitting and never thought I'd be knitting socks (those are store brought). I'm the one wearing the long johns, what was I thinking... What a difference 8 years make. I only made it to 10:30 last night and gave up.

Today I will finish sock one of my 9to5 socks, on the toe decrease now. Then I'll start the second one. Nice to have the day off. I hate having two Mondays in a row! Almost everyone will be back at work tomorrow. They will spend most of the day reading emails and trying to catch up. I will be asked a lot of questions. My answer will be, done or take care of or we need to talk about that. So for the next two days I will be going over business stuff that is in my past and in their present. So I'm looking forward to next Monday as we will all be on the same page. Such is life in the business world.

Got out of work yesterday at 2:00 so I took this opportunity to go to a new LYS. Nature's Yarns in Fairfax. They are carrying a different selection of yarn than other LYS. I could not resit picking up some more yarn. The first is Misty Mountain Farm-Jubilee Colorway: Crimson Tide. The second one is Alpaca with a Twist-Fino. This LYS covers the band with their label with bar code so I only have a number for the color 2001 but found it on their site Royal Velvet. I plan on starting something different to have it ready for a knitting retreat I am attending in three weeks. Happy dance!

and the date stamp on my camera is out of whack. I took all these pictures today. ah, date fixed. Computer is giving me fits as well as blogger. I leave you with this.

Pia likes to sleep on the table. Since I can't fight it I decided to give her something to sleep on. This is a very bad attempt at a baby blanket so it will make a nice kitty bed until I make her a felted one. Two seconds after I put it down, Sissy gets on it! Then Pia knowing it is hers, takes her place. A hiss, Sissy is content. Pia is pissed.

All I had to do is pet Sissy and down she goes. Pia is now a very happy fat cat.