Holes

Took the dogs up to one of the ball fields across from Ma's the other day and today. It's totally enclosed, so they can't run away. They have a blast wearing themselves out. Jewel is still flaked out sleeping, and she's been home for two hours.


Pumba says, "At least when they're tired they leave me alone."

Got my winning yarn from Heddy. Wanna make these with it. Hop on over to Marti's, too. She's got a contest going on of guessing when her baby will be born and how much she'll weigh.

And it's about that time. It's nearly two months, and my slippers have war wounds. Think I'll make a trip to the local second hand store and see if I can pick up an old suede skirt or something to make some soles. This is crazy. Any made from Classic Wool last me two months. The longest I got was a pair made from Briggs & Little that took forever to felt, and they lasted four months. Found a hole in the left one just now in the back, and I'm sure that was made from Maggie May. She has a thing for these cuz of the Fizzy trim. (Ignore the dog hair, please.)

And I'd just LOVE to know what goes on in the house when I'm not around. Went to work on some afghan squares last night and found my needle looking like this. It was set aside in a bag by the fireplace hearth, nowhere near anyone's feet or where it could be sat on. It's a mystery to me. I bent it back into shape as close as I could get it.

So that's about it. I keep working on Hubs's socks off and on. They are my on-the-go project to take to work and curling and such. I've also started working on Ma's afghan again. Got five more squares done. I also started one of my baby sets.

Happy knitting!

PS I should say Happy Anniversary to Hubs. Nine years today. :)

Bunny Hop

Last Wednesday was Marti's Knit Nite baby shower. Last minute that I am, I had just finished the Bunny Hop blanket about 3pm. The Littlest One knocked my bottle of pop over, so when I opened it to give him some it fizzed mostly on me, but it did get a couple of drops on the blanket. I washed it and pinned it out in front of a fan til I got back from taking the Oldest One to curling. Upon returning home it was still quite wet, so I threw it in the dryer. It was still damp at this point in time...

...but the shower was set to start at 6, so I went in the bag still damp. (It wasn't too bad.) Started February 3, finished the 18th. I used 3.5 skeins of Patons Canadiana in soft yellow and size 5.5mm needles. Here's the pattern. (More photos here.)

I also gave little Pinta this outfit, sized 12 months, obviously store bought and not knit. I also gave Marti a skein of blue Drops Alpaca to make herself a pair of Fetching or whatever she fancies with it. Had I thought of it earlier I would have made them, but it was last minute. Besides, I'm sure she likes the luxury of knitting with that soft and smooshy alpaca!

Today it was just reinforced to me more that Maggie is evil. The Oldest One went curling, and when I came home I found she had gotten ahold of one of the cd cases. She chewed some of the holders out of it (one of those soft zippered ones) and actually mangled three cds. Two were Spongebob episodes I burned off for them, the other was a basketball game that came with Hubs's first Playstation many moons ago. That one took the worst hit.

There were little black chunks on the floor and sofa, and at first I didn't know what that was. Come to find out it was the remnants of the Oldest One's Rubik's cube. I keep telling them to put their stuff away.

So I think til this destructive streak passes (which Jewel never had -- just on stuffies) she is going to have to be kenneled again when no one is home. I hate to do it, but the other day I was only gone 20 minutes, and she mangled what was left of my paper towel. (Not even sure how she got it.)

On the plus side, I got my KISS tickets the other day.

Happy knitting!

Post Valentine's Day

I came home from work on Valentine's Day to find the living room all decorated for me. The boys did a good job, it was a total surprise. They also had picked up a heart shaped strawberry shortcake. That was really good, but before I thought to snap a picture I had cut it into squares.

The kids insisted in their travels with Dad that the dogs needed some new toys. I'd seen these at the store they went to but avoided them since they're a rope/stuffy combo. You know Jewel and stuffies. Anyways, the first clip is the excitement of a new squeaky to kill.

This second clip is taken not even five minutes after Jewel got hers.

Poor thing was faceless after a few short minutes.

See that little shiny thing in her mouth? That would be the squeaky, from her toy. Within ten minutes of Jewel receiving her toy it was now faceless and squeakless, the squeaky failing to squeak any more. (Needless to say she shredded up Maggie's, too. They still play with what's left of them.)

Wednesday is Marti's Knit Nite Baby Shower. She was ambushed with a surprise shower last Sunday night. She thought she was going to pot luck supper. She knew something was going on when they pulled up, and there were cars everywhere. Then she spied me through the dining room window and was like, "Oh, it's a shower!" She got some really nice things. I failed to take my camera, but Heddy took hers, so I'm sure there will be some blogging about it soon. I will take my camera tonight.

Sunday's night gift to little Pinta were two little size 12 month tops I picked up in town and this dress that I knit in one day, February 3, on size 8mm needles. The yarn was Schoeller Stahl Crazy, gifted to me from a blogger in Austria. I didn't know what to do with it, so it was just sitting in the stash, waiting. I originally wanted to make Joseph, had actually started it, but I didn't have enough. So I frogged it and found this pattern. I knit the second largest size, following the pattern exactly, but I omitted the pockets. Didn't have enough yarn left anyways. I estimate this as a size 12 months, so it will fit little Pinta come fall/winter. (More pictures here on Ravelry.)

Off to do some knitting! Everyone knows I'm always last minute, and the gift for the Knit Nite shower still isn't finished yet. :)

Happy knitting!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hubs came home yesterday. The girls were impatiently waiting for him at the door.

This is just a little clip of some of the actions Jewel goes through while waiting for Daddy.

Hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day! Seems like I haven't been knitting lately, but it's the secret stuff that can't be shown til next week.

Happy knitting!

Deja Vu

Made another pair of felted slippers. It's like deja vu, I made a black and grey pair once before. These were started February 7, finished February 10, Patons Classic Wool in black and grey mix. I always leave the lid of the washer open when felting stuff so it won't go through the rinse and spin cycle if I wander off. I set the washer back to agitate some more cuz I wanted them felted more. Of course, second time around I wandered off also and forgot about them, so they shrunk more that I wanted. I made these for a friend who has small, narrow feet for a guy. These are ladies large. He wears a mens 8, and can wear a mens 7, and they're still a bit long for me. I have wide feet, too, so they fit wasn't too bad. They always stretch out once you were them a couple of days, so I'm hoping they'll work. If not, I guess I have to make another pair.



Had some sewing to do the other day, and Simba thought he should supervise the operation. I still have more to do, but I'm no good at it, so I don't like doing it, so the machine still sits on the kitchen table with a pile of sewing beside it. I can always find a good excuse to put it off, but the kids really do need their pants hemmed.

"Get to work, you slacker! Feed me first."

Still working on secret knitting that I can't show. Next week I'll be able to show it. It's my weekend to work, so if any local knitters want to visit me, I'll be there. I may even be able to provide a special Valentine's Day discount for Ball N Skein purchases. (Not like trying to twist your arms into buying more yarn, eh?)

Little Maggie looked so comfy the other night on the sofa. Both of them like to have a pillow to put their head on, or the arm of the sofa (it's all cushioned), or a blanket...

Final touch was a blankie. She stayed like that for quite awhile.


Happy knitting!

PS Our order of newly relaunched Patons Decor arrived. There are some nice, new colors, and the yarn quality has improved. Same prices as before.

Nuttin

Contrary from the look of this post, I have been knitting. I actually have a FO, started and finished on February 3, but I can't show it yet. I also started something else, but I can't show that, either. Those two items have to remain hush-hush til they've been gifted to a certain someone.

We closed the store at one on Tuesday because of the storm. The roads were a terrible mess, but the kids made it safely to Nanny's place. We didn't get nearly as much snow as they had forecast, but it changed to ice pellets and freezing rain (as usual) around suppertime and continued til quite late. No school yesterday. I had shovelled everything when I got home from work, so there wasn't too much to do yesterday. But all that ice on top of it made for a hard, heavy, crunchy mess, so I did the best I could.

Little Miss Joobie has broken yet another collar. I put her out Tuesday night (they both have to be tied out or else they run away, little buggers) and saw her looking up at one of the trees out front. First thought was, "What does she see?" Then instantly it was, "What's she doing over there?! She can't reach that far!" Luckily I don't think she realized she was loose, so she didn't leave the front yard. I got a treat for her, and she came right in the house. Upon retrieving the collar I noticed this had happened yet again. On to collar number five or six.

It still clipped together but came apart fairly easily. So, yesterday morning I go to put Jewel out, standing in the door to watch that she didn't break free again (hadn't gotten to town yet to get her a new collar), and little Miss Maggie decides to bolt out the door. Jewel goes off flying after her, snap goes the collar, again. The two run around the yard a bit, but then Jewel decides to run out the big driveway and down the road, so Maggie jumps the little picket fence and tears off down the street with her. Out come the neighbor's two Golden Retrievers (who don't normally leave their yard and did run back when their dad yelled for them). The four dogs went down the road a ways, and I got Jewel back when she stopped to visit with one of the other dogs. That was something me trying to carry that lard butt up the road. I had to grab her by her neck flab and drag her a couple of times, way too heavy. The kids got Maggie, but of course she kept getting away from them. Then panic starts to hit as the big snowplow is coming up the street. I grabbed ahold of both dogs and waited til he passed. Jewel knew she was bad and in trouble big time. Luckily I got them both in the house. Later on that day Jewel bolted out the door again, but all she did was have a quick pee, and I lured her right back in with a treat. Brats.

My pens that I use to keep track of rows when knitting keep disappearing. Lately I've been using these. The kids got them the other summer when we went to Drumheller, more specifically here. They have LED lights in them. (I highly recommend a trip to the town of Drumheller for anyone who ever gets to visit Alberta. It was totally awesome! Can't wait to go back there.)


Any local knitters, there is a contest with the local SPCA at our SuperStore. There are 69 pet photos of pets in loving poses, and the public can vote $1/vote on their favorite. Jewel and Maggie are picture #69! Go vote! (Even if it isn't for my babies it's money for a good cause.) I was amazed that there were so many pictures.

With that, I'll leave you with the two little devils.

I'm watching you, out of the corner of my eye. You are NOT getting my beefhide.


Yes, I'm talking to YOU!

It's mine. You gobbled yours up too fast.

Maybe I can find somewhere to hide it. Ah, look, Ma is getting ready to have a bath. I'll just put it here. Can you see it?

I have no idea who ended up with it in the end. Probably Jewel, the greedy gut.

Happy knitting!

Snow

Well, that was silly. Our county and the one next door were the only two counties in the entire province, I think, that didn't cancel school today. We have a NorEaster coming through today that started at 8am and is to dump upwards of 30cm on us. Now it's snowing hard, everything is white, and they're sending the kids home at 11:30. Silly school board.

Anyways, I finally finished the socks from you-know-where. I don't like how they pooled at all. The first sock completed is the one on the top. It looks bigger than the other one cuz I tried it on a few times. The second one doesn't bother me as bad as the first one. Anyways, they are for Pa, and he won't care. I used the same colorway as the socks in the picture in the pattern book, but they don't look anything like them. I started them on December 29/08 and finished them January 31/09. I used Bernat Sox in desert storm, and the pattern is Slip Stitch Socks from Socks to Live In.

I guess this will be a knitting day. Sit and watch the snow fly. I'm off tomorrow, so I guess I'll be shovelling for awhile.

Happy knitting!