Flurry of FOs

First up in the FO parade is a pair of mens medium felted clogs. These are the ones I was making for my friend with small, narrow feet. I did the pattern this time without the first knitting row on the soles. I used Patons Classic Wool in black and grey mix, started March 14, finished knitting the 17th but not felted til the 25th. Ravelry details here.


This is how I dry my knitting -- in the rec room with the fan blowing on whatever it is that is drying and blocking.


Next up is a felted bag for the store. I'm on a bag kick right now. They're like dishcloths with me, can't make just one. Anyhoo, this is also Patons Classic Wool in old rose (now a discontinued colorway) and plum heather. I really like these two colors together. I double stranded the entire bag except for the handle cuz I didn't have enough yarn. Didn't really make a difference though. Started March 21, finished the 24th. Ravelry details here.

This next bag I'm disappointed in. I only had one skein, and I double stranded the bottom for more support. I knew when it was done that the bag would be too short. I would have liked it to be twice as tall, so next time either single stranded bottom or two skeins. I really like how the i-cord closure turned out. This bag is small and is good for keys, cell phone, change purse kinda thing. The handle is quite short as well. Love the color, Patons Classic Wool in salmon heather. Ravelry details here.

The next bag is my favorite Patons SWS colorway, also newly discontinued, natural green. Three skeins for this one, but the strap is too short. I thought I made it about the same as I always do. Next time a lot longer. The bag itself is a good size, but you wouldn't be able to wear it on your shoulder with jacket on, not unless it was really thin. Started March 28, finished the 30th. Ravelry details here.

Two weeks late, fellow Knitterpudlian, Marti, finally had that baby girl on the 25th! Not that she was very small, by any means. Guess it was a good thing she ended up with a section. With the little Pinta finally making her appearance, I cast on for yet another knit item for her. (I'm telling you that kid is going to be one sharp dressed girlie!) This is Little Sister's Dress, made with Bernat Baby Jacquards in lemon pie. Started March 25, finished the 27th. Very easy knit, no seaming (yes!), really cute. I can see me making more. Ravelry details here.

The other day we had two yarn reps at the store, one from Spinrite, one from Estelle. There are a lot of discontinued Bernat yarns, certain colorways, Patons colorways from various yarns.... She went through our catalog and marked it all for me. Some things aren't gone yet but will be in June. There are some new colorways out now, and there are some more coming in the fall. There are some really nice earthy colors in a lot of stuff, especially baby yarns. We didn't order anything yet, but we will be. The lady from Estelle has been after us for a long time now to place an order. We are getting Arequipa sock yarn (yes!), Invicta sock yarn, and Lang Jawoll silk sock yarn, the stuff with a spool of reinforcing thread for the heels and toes.

Had to go to Halifax on Friday to a doctor's appointment, which I knew would be a waste of time before I even went. It's an hour-and-a-half drive there, and I was in his office for 1 minute 30 seconds, no exaggeration. He rattled off a string of questions that were mostly yes/no answers, pressed on my stomach in a few places, said he didn't need to do a bladder scope, was recommending to my family doctor to do routine blood and urine tests for the next three years, then I was outta there. Only plus side was he was young and cute with an accent. :)

On the way home I got my Pa to stop and get gas at a particular spot where I knew I could get some good chips.

Anyone had these? The hottest is Habanero. I got a bag of those for Pa to try, and he said they were the hottest chips he'd ever eaten. The best flavored ones are the mild Cheddar and the mild Buffalo Wings. Even though they are mild they are still hot! Wish we could get these in town. But they make a good treat when we're in that way.

Happy knitting!

Yes, It's Actually Me

Edited to add: Marti FINALLY had that baby today!! Only two weeks overdue. No details yet, but alas, the babe has arrived. :)

I have regained my blog from the Oldest One. He now has his own, Nova Kid's Blog (listed in my sidebar). I'll be interested to see how long it holds his interest. He did it all himself without any help from Ma -- uploaded photos, chose the template, published his post... Please pop by once in awhile and leave him a comment, it'll make his day. :)

On to some knitting stuff first since this is supposed to be a blog mainly about knitting...

Vanilla anklets for the store, started March 11, finished the 23rd. I used Patons Stretch Sock in kelp and made small 5/6. They do fit my size 8 hoofs, but I wouldn't want to wear them. They're stretched a lot, and I'd probably put the toes out. They only fit cuz of the elastic in them. I used 2.25mm needles, 60sts, 10 rows twisted rib, right into the heel over 30sts for 40 rows, turn, 20 gussets sts, decrease back down to 15-3-15sts. Worked toe to 20sts.

Finished another pair of slippers for myself since the other ones are toast. Both bottoms were worn through, and little Miss Mags got ahold of one and chewed a hole in the back. These reminded me of why I don't felt with Briggs & Little. They took forever, but they did turn out thick and super fuzzy and warm. I used two skeins of Regal in fundy fog (one of my favorite colorways they make) that I had in stash with nothing to do. I made size small instead of my usual medium cuz of the yarn's reluctance to felt, and that was a good thing. I don't know if I could have gotten the mediums small enough.

I also have a felted bag that is finished and is awaiting a button. I also made a pair of the felted slippers for a friend, but I'm waiting for him to come to the house before I felt them so I can size them to his feet.

Last weekend the Oldest One was in a Little Rocks Curling tournament at CFB Halifax. We had two teams, and it was the first time any of them were ever in a tournament.

He was the skip for his team.

Coming off the ice after opening ceremonies.

Him in action.

They didn't win any of the four games they played, but they only lost two games by one point. Most of the teams they curled against were older, like 11-12 year olds, who had been curling for several years. In the city they can start at age 5, I believe. Our team was 8-9 year olds, and the girl who was the 5th was even younger (she's only in grade 1). They all had fun, and that was the main thing. You could tell that some of the teams had a lot more experience and a lot more practice by their form out of the hack. One team they played had absolutely perfect form, their only trouble was they were a little heavy on the rocks, and they went through the house. However, as Hubs pointed out, every rock that went through the house went straight through the button.

This shot is from the last game. See the yellow rock near the button, behind the girl? That's one of the Oldest One's shots. They scored three points that game, all by the Oldest One. The boy standing in front of the house, he had two double take-outs in one game. He's really great at that, did it a few other times as well.

More FOs next post and some pictures from the Aviation Museum.

Happy knitting!

PS No, Marti still hasn't had that baby!! I think she's waiting for summer. Also, pop on over here and check out this post. What a great trip, and look at the ingenuity of breaking a needle and needing to find a replacement of a sort. Someday I'll get to travel...

Another concert to attend this summer? AC/DC are signed to play Magnetic Hill in August! May need tickets....

It's Me Again

Hi Everyone I just thought I would do a post on the steps of cleaning the betta's tank. This is the first step take him and put him in a cup so you can clean the tank.


This is step 2 float him in the cup at the top of the tank.


This is step 3 release him from the cup and let him go free.

This is just another pic I took so you all could see what the betta looks like.

Mom will be back shortly with a knitting post. Bye!

Hijacked

The Oldest One wanted to do a post on his fish. I will be back soon with some FOs and March Break in Halifax pics.

Happy knitting!

This is what you would see if you looked at the fish tank in our house. If you look really hard on the left hand side of the white shell you will see a weird fish.



This right here is a close up picture of the weird fish. The weird fishes name is plecostomus ( we just call him pleco ). He cleans the glass on the inside of the tank. I got him at Pets Unlimited.


This is one of my gold fish named goldy. He is one of the newer fish.

This is what you would see if you lifted the top off the tank and looked down at the fish.

Thats all everyone!

March Break

I got my friend's clogs finished all but for the felting. I left a message on his machine to call me to arrange a time to come down home to be here when I felt them. That way I can size them properly. I saw his wife today, and she said she would pass the message along. I also knit a single clog in Old Rose. His mother had made his SIL a pair for Christmas, but something went wonky with one of them, and the bottom turned out funny. Too funny to be able to wear. The third slipper is now awaiting felting, too. Got the other pair so I can size it to the mate. (These ones are Patons Classic Wool, btw, in grey mix and black and the old faithful Fiber Trends pattern.)



This week the kids have been off on March Break. Today we went bowling. The Littlest One gets quite excitable. Took a clip of him bowling. I kick myself for not having the camera on when he got his spare (or strike as he said). That was something else. Two young guys (like 20) went with us, and one had never bowled this kind of bowling before. I though he may have fibbed cuz he did really well. We bowled three strings, and the last one he got a 94, having gotten a strike and a spare on top of that. (It's this kinda bowling, the most popular around here. I've only ever done the one with the big balls with holes in them and the big pins once in the West Edmonton Mall.)

Marti is going to be induced tomorrow. We're off in the morning for the weekend to the city for the Oldest One's curling tournament. Will have to find the internet somewhere to see if that super stubborn little Pinta decides to co-operate or not. I'm taking some socks and some felted bags to work on. I'll need something mindless. I'm getting ripped off, though. We're meeting Hubs in the city, so I have to drive in and out, thus missing out on 3 hours or so of knitting time. I hate driving.

Happy knitting!

Something Yellow When I'm Blue

I finished another one of my baby sets. This one is feather 'n fan in Bernat Softee Baby lemon. It's for the store. Started February 20, finished March 13. Ravelry details here.

I love knitting baby stuff. I always want nice hand-knit sweaters, but they take so long. At least for me they take so long. Socks and baby stuff are much more satisfying.

Can anyone guess what happened to these? They are the Oldest One's. He took them off and set them on the endtable when he went out to play. He should be putting them on the little frog stand they gave him when he got them. That's up high on the computer table. They are at the eye doctor's now getting the lens put back in and new earpieces. Plus that one arm is kinda wonky. Edited to add: Maggie did it.

Look at my lawn. Sigh.

The Evil that is Maggie is such a sweetheart when she wants to be. She's a total cuddler and lover underneath the overlying evilness.

On a brighter note, a lady came in the store the last Saturday I was working with a small, car seat sized baby blanket she had knit years ago. She didn't have the pattern but wanted to make another one. I knew at a glance it was Little Shells in the fine baby yarn. She left it with me, and Monday when I came to work I brought my book with oodles of pattern stitches in it. I had to modify it slightly cuz the book pattern had two stitches between the eyelets, and hers only had one. It was easy to figure out by counting columns and rows. The only problem I had was hers had a scalloped edge that was picked up all around the outside of the blanket. I found that edging in my book, but it was worked from the outside of the shell in. Couldn't reverse it cuz the stitch count changed. I tried it on some scrap yarn, but it didn't work well. Checked on the internet, but I couldn't find it. Anyways, I figured out how she could do it and sew it on afterwards, but she thought she'd just probably leave it off. She wanted to know how much I wanted for my efforts, but I said nothing. Didn't take that long, and I did it while I was at work. She bought needles and yarn, so I was happy. Anyhoo, she came back shortly afterwards with these mini daffodils for me. Too nice. I have no idea who she is, her name, nothing.

I found another use for Austerman Step. Hauling out teeth. The Littlest One only let me take one out, but the one next to it really has to go, too. His big teeth are both through behind the baby teeth, and I don't want them to go crooked. He just wants the other one to, "fall out on its own". Couldn't even bribe him with more Tooth Fairy money.

The blueness comes from me dropping my nice home-made cheese casserole I had for lunch today on the floor this morning. I did have another one, but I wasn't impressed in having to turf the first one. That made me mad, but then I get to work, and the income tax people call to say our returns are done. I always get a refund, Hubs pays in. This year is income went up 34%, and his income tax went up 250%! And I thought it was bad last year. I hate the government. Now I have to figure out how the hell we're gonna pay that. I guess that's all part of life.

Anyhoo, happy knitting!

Mud

It's the most dirtiest time of the year... (Sung to It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year)


But first, got a modelled shot of nephew in his sweater. It's a bit big, but that's okay. Better than too small like the first one.


Got a fugly baby hat. It's the basic hat from Top Down for Toddlers. I like the pattern, but I don't like this yarn. It's something NovaKnitter got in Florida a few years ago and didn't like. She returned all but the one that she started using, so she gave it to me. It's cotton, and those little nubblies were a pain in the butt.

Now for the part involving mud.... The kids and I took the dogs for a walk last night. They wanted to take them to the ball field to run loose before we went home. I should have known better since as soon as I opened the gate my foot sank in the mud right up to the shoelaces. Luckily I didn't have my new sneakers on. Anyways, the dogs were so excited cuz they knew they were where they can run free, so I let them go. Not a good idea in retrospect. Plus the kids were running amok in the mud, the Littlest One fell down, etc. My mother lives across the road from the fields, so they went to her house to get bathed up. I took Noots and Tootsie home and confined them to the kitchen while I got their baths ready.

This is Jewel in all her filthiness. All that fur made it hard to get the mud out of her belly and legs, especially since she hates to bath and doesn't co-operate well.

And here's Maggie. At least her fur is shorter, and I got her to sit down in the tub which made it easier to clean her belly and legs. They thought it was much more fun to run in the mud than to stay on the grass in the outfield. These pictures don't do their filthiness justice.

Maggie got her bath first. Neither one likes it at all. This was Jewel's tub after it drained, and Maggie's was about the same. Worse than when I take the kids to the beach in the summer, and the tub is full of sand. Plus the kitchen floor was all muddy, so I had to mop it. Plus the kids clothes and jackets all had to be washed as well as their boots.

Maggie post bath, and clean and shiny and good smelling.

Jewel wouldn't even look at me.

Clean again for five minutes. Maggie got right fluffy and curly, Jewel is soft and silky. Trouble is it's going to rain today, and they have the front yard tore up into a big mud hole. They are definitely NOT ladies, the dirtier they get the more they like it. I keep an old towel by the front door to wipe their paws.

Happy knitting!

Five Fruits the Second

After way too long a period of time, I finally finished the second Five Fruits sweater. Don't ask me when it was started! Probably a year ago, but it was finished on March 3. Details here on Ravelry. It is intended for nephew, but by now it'll probably be too small. If so I will pick out a different pattern for him. I used Patons Astra in navy, hot blue, hot green, cardinal, deep orange, and school bus yellow, 4.5mm needles. Way too many ends to weave in!


I also went through the stash and found some odds and ends to make some baby hats. I have one finished so far, it's the cat-eared baby hat. I have another one on the go, and I'm at the decreases. This is a fun, cute knit. This one is made with Bernat Jr Jacquards.

The kids brought home a couple of boxes of their toys from Nanny's the other day. This little guy has to be kept safe from teeth, if you know what I mean. He's 32 years old, I got him when I was five. I never got the Doughgirl, and I guess there were others in the "family", but I only remember the boy and the girl. A friend of mine had the girl, so we used to take them to school and play with them. I wonder what ever happened to hers. Mine isn't white any more, even though I remember taking him in the tub all the time. I am such a packrat. The kids have a lot of toys that were mine. (Click here for Doughboy fun.)

Happy knitting!

February Socks

I finished a pair of sock for Hubs. They are my only pair of socks for February. Started February 6, finished the 28th. I used Bernat Sox in the wooded denim colorway. Details here.

It's my birthday today, and the weather is crappy. Freezing rain and ice pellets, nasty stuff. Yesterday Hubs and I went out and did some stuff. We went and used the birthday money from Ma and Pa and got me a new pair of much needed sneakers. Dr. Scholls with cushy inserts. Then we went to Have a Yarn where I got some new stuff. Going to make a new felted bag out of the Tove. The Sisu I will use for a cabley sock pattern from my queue. I don't wear much pink, but after seeing Marti's and Nova Knitter's pink socks I decided I needed some.

After there we went to Lunenburg. Stopped by the Fisherman's Memorial.

Look -- my boss died back in 1995. Bet he doesn't know. :)

The Big Red's Restaurant ws the old jail. See the sign -- Have a meal in Jail.

Then there's this.

Finally, my motives for going to Lunenburg was to go here for supper.

It's small but really neat inside, and they have great food at reasonable prices.

I decided for sure that from now on when I'm not at home little Miss Mags is going in her kennel. She decided yesterday that it was fun to eat a picture frame. She broke a couple of chips out of the glass, and one of these days she's going to hurt herself. So, to avoid that as well as saving my house from destruction, back in the kennel she'll go when I work on Wednesday.

So that's it for today. Got a French vanilla cake with fudge frosting. And my best friend called from Alberta. Her Dad's birthday is today, too.

Happy knitting!