A cat convention

Hummm, wonder what's going on? Seems kind of odd that Joey and Charlie are sitting in front on a bush. On closer inspection I noticed that Oscar is sitting under the bush. Now I'd probably go rescue her (yes Oscar is a girl. I let my 2 yr old name her 17 yrs ago) except ....
I'm a little pissed with Oscar myself. Notice this peaceful cat sleeping this morning? She was the only cat in the house last night.
So I know she was responsible for attacking my cotton ease AGAIN last night and dumping assorted other things off the table.

I know the boys aren't going to hurt her. They are just sitting there because Oscar gets very annoyed if they are in her line of sight. So I think I'll leave her under the bush until either Joey and Charlies get tired and leave or until dinner. It won't make up for the cotton ease attack but it's the best I can do. Karma and all ....

Jumper update

Finished the edging on the top. What a friggin' pain in the ass! I think I frogged more than crocheted. Probably too picky for my own good but why make something you aren't happy with? I started the embroidery on the front. First I put on some vines and leaves but somehow it just didn't seem to have the right "flow" so I pulled everything out and decided to start with the flowers, followed by the centers, and ending with the vines and leaves.
Which buttons do you think will work better on this? I'm leaning more toward the smaller yellow ones but I'm fence sitting.
Rachel, the pattern is in this leaflet. Some of the patterns are knit and others crochet. I don't know if it's still in print. The price sticker says $2.50 at Bradlees and Bradlees went out of business a lllllloooooonnnnnnnggggg time ago.
Bottom almost done on my felted bag. Only one knot in this skein so far. That's got to be a record for any of the Noro I've worked with. Love the yarn; hate the knots.

I set a record

According to the bookstore at college I set a record for the week. $1272.00 for a single purchase of books at the bookstore. It would have been higher except they didn't have my son's $172.00 engineering book or D3's $77.00 math book. The only upside was I only had to buy one english book since all 3 kids have the same class so I actually saved $150.00. GO ME!!!

Startitis and finishitis?

Almost done with my socks but seriously I was about to pick them up to finish the toe when I heard my Noro 40 sobbing "I thought you loved me. You bought me to make a felted bag and left me unknit while you've worked on other things." So I grabbed the yarn, my number 10.5 knitpick needles and casted on 45 stitches to make the bottom. I was about 14 rows in when a strange idea popped into my head. Hey why don't we finish something!
So I finished knitting the jumper for Missy A, seamed it and picked up my crochet hook. Now I've crocheted longer than I've knit but to be perfectly honest I suck at it. The instructions called for a row of single crochet at the bottom. I did a row but the piece was still curling.

So I added a little more detail by attaching the rose color and doing a sc 1, chain 3, sc 1 in the same stitch. Then I skipped 2 and repeated. I love it! I'll do the same around the top and the straps. Then I'm thinking about putting on some flowers and leaves with some bumble bee buttons on the strap just to cute it up.

Finally finished all 12 pr

This is the last of them. 6 pr each for N and W. Now if I can just figure out a way for their food not to go straight to their feet .....
And since I was on a sock knitting roll I started back on my pair.

Other stuff

Finished 2 pr of socks for W. I still have one more pair for him and 2 for his brother to go. Hopefully those will be done this weekend and I can get back to fun stuff.
I was selected as a "terrific treater" for the dog days of summer dishcloth exchange. Anne sent this wonderful package. More Cotton Ease! Sign ups are taking place for the Fall into Autumn exchange. This has been great fun so I'm looking forward to signing up again.

Last night this cotton ease must have tried to attack someone. From the tooth marks it looks like the cotton ease was subdued. None of the cats look upset so obviously they got the upper hand on the cotton ease attack before any cats were injured.

A couple days at grams ....

We played until this little one was totally worn out. I just love pics of sleeping kids. They look so restful.
Meanwhile, this one was in the mist of some construction. This toy has eleventy seven million parts and as an adult you must have a masters degree in engineering or be a child of 10 yrs of age to put it together. Lucky for me my 19 yr old put some of it together so the playing could begin. And my "job" here was to make the baby laugh. Lucky for me she's happy and it's not hard to do. My oldest daughter cropped me right out of the picture however the thumb ring is a dead give away.
Joey, unfortunately, didn't seem to like having the kids here. While he doesn't mind the kids around he was thrown off by the noise and non stop activity.

$13.17

3 skeins of cotton ease to do the finish work of Missy A's jumper.
And I decided to go with purple hippo buttons on the sweater for the little missy. The sweater will have snaps to the buttons will just be to dress it up a bit.

Now I'm off to organize my yarn into a closet upstairs. Hubby's request and since he never asks for anything I figured it was about time I got everything in one place. Now I'm not going to tell you that I don't have a lot of yarn. I just have no idea the amount of yarn involved in this move. This could be frightening. This will definately be time consuming. But in the end this could be helpful. We'll see. I'm sure pictures will follow.

Dog Days of Summer Exchange

My dog days of summer exchange pal was Marianne.
What a great package of goodies! A bag, makeup, cream, gum,
yarn, patterns,
a washcloth, and some great soap. All this plus a nice letter so I could get to "know" her. We've got a bit in common .... 4 children and some grandchildren to spoil. lol. Thanks Marianne for being a great partner!

Plugging along

I've got about 1 1/2" more until it's time to knit the straps. I'm thinking a couple snaps might be a good closure. Easy on and off. I still have to pick up some colors to embroider designs on this.
This is my "waiting for something to cook in the kitchen" project. I can usually get a couple rows done here and there.
Another couple rows of increases and I'll be ready to split for the body and sleeves.
And Oscar says, "Seriously Diane, don't you have anything better to do? Do you even have to wonder why I hate you so very much? Go back to work and earn money for cat treats before I have to hurt you."

Little girl knitting ...

is fun. It's like making doll clothes for a real life doll. I've got the front and back jumper skirt done . As I was looking at them I had a duh moment .... should have done this is the round since they are identical! Working on the top back now and it seems to be rolling right along.
I love the feeling of the cotton ease but we'll see how it washes before I decide to use it again. After all I know a couple little boys who could use some sweaters too.
And I started a larger 5 hr sweater last night. I hoping to get the yoke done so that I can see how it'll fit the little missy. They are stopping over tomorrow so I can get some measurments and hopefully get this finished by Sunday.

A much needed break

I gave N and W the 7 pr of socks I finished for them. They yanked off their shoes and socks and put on the new socks asap. The verdict? "These are the fastest running socks. Watch!" They both ran back and forth across the living room and it was apparent for all to see that yes those were much faster running socks than all the other pairs I've made for them.

As I casted on pair #8 for my grandsons I decided that I needed a break from making 12 pair of identical socks. So I decided to work on one other project.

I selected a 5 hr baby sweater just for fun. I don't know anyone having a baby but I felt soooo much better after making this. I figured out how to make a hat to match too. D1 saw it and now wants one for little Missy A. I think 2 or 3 more repeats in the yoke, longer arms and a longer body should do the trick. The yarn is Hockey Pokey in a pretty cool lime color. Not a traditional baby color but I love it. Missy A's will be out of the same yarn and I expect that the hat will be off her head more than on. She's not a big hat wearer.

And then somehow this yarn ended up on a set of empty needles Saturday morning. I'm not a fan of pastels but I do like these socks. These will be all mine when I'm done.
Then last night I started this jumper for little Missy A. So far I've gotten rid of the pattern of random purls thrown in on the main part of the jumper (they looked stupid in my opinion) and changed the cables from baby cables in ribbing to 2X2 more meaty cables. The cottonease is very soft to work with although I am having a little trouble with splitty stitches. Not sure if it's the yarn, the knit pick options needles with their pointy ends, or me. Probably a combination of all 3. I'll pick up some cottonease in a couple other colors and embroider some flowers and leaves after I'm done just to make it look more girlie.

I'll get that bird!!!!

"I don't know why you are so upset, Diane. I was just trying to give my new bird friend a great big hug and a kiss." says Charlie.

This morning I woke to a white pigeon on my back deck. Beautiful bird just walking around on my deck. All 3 cats are riveted to the sliders watching the bird, lusting after the bird, waiting for the door to magically open so they can go kill that bird. And the bird? Clueless. Just walking and pooping on the back deck.

I called the town animal control officer for advice on what to do to insure this bird doesn't become brunch for my cats. The animal control officer said that it's probably a carrier pigeon, not in danger from cats at all. Probably didn't like the conditions in the upper atmosphere and decided to come down for a while. "The bird will be hanging around for anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks but it'll move on and go home after that. Pigeons are very aware of their surroundings and would never fall prey to a cat."

Cool. I thank the kind officer for all my newly acquired pigeon knowledge and hang up the phone. Joey and Oscar are still glued to the glass. Charlie? Well, he must have gotten bored and gone off for a nap. NOT!

While I was on the phone, Charlie (who is the only one who can open the front screen door) let himself out of the house. As I as watching the bird who is now sitting on the railing, I see Charlie jump across 6' on the deck, grab the bird in his front paws, and knock it down onto the deck. OMG!!! I whip open the slider, slam it behind me, and grab for Charlie. The only place I manage to get him is by his hind haunches. I pull him back toward me. He lets go of the bird. And instead of flying away the bird just sits there. Probably stunned trying to figure out what just happened.

I didn't have a good handle on the cat so Charlie jumps again grabbing the bird. This time I get him by the scruff of his neck and carry him away. The bird flies off toward the neighbor's house. I carry Charlie back into the house and put him down. Charlie, who is clearly pissed, turns and scratches me in the leg before rocketing off up the stairs.

Yes, there has been knitting. I finished 2 more pair of boring boy socks. 5 more pair to go. I'm almost finished with a baby sweater and cap set and I casted on another pair of socks last night. I'll get picture of everything later. Right now I'm off to the hardware store to get a latch for that front screen door.

The Saga of the Replacement CellPhone

because nothing is as easy as it sounds .......

Hubby lost his cellphone on Saturday. He was in Kmart trying on some shorts and when he arrived home later he couldn't locate his cellphone. Ok, back to Kmart we go. Nope not in the dressing room, front desk hasn't had a cellphone turned in. Hate to say it but low income drug infested housing project a half mile away so I was certain it was being used to arrange drug deals already.

I called AT&T to have the service suspended. Checked on the web and sure enough a dozen calls made in the 70 minutes before the service was turned off. Ok time for a replacement phone. Can't do it on line because the number is suspended. Call AT&T on Monday. He unsuspends the line and I order another phone. 2 day shipping will be here on Wednesday.

So today the new phone arrives. Not what I ordered and no SIM card so can't be activated anyways. I call AT&T again. "Sorry, if you want to keep the phone you can, of course there's no credit or discount being given. You can always mail it back and reorder the correct phone. Oh, and the SIM card? Well, you'll have to drive to one of the corporate stores and they'll give you one for free. Anything else I can help you with today?"

Hang up the phone fuming. Here's my take: You made the mistake and now I can mail the wrong phone back and you'll credit my card for the selling price. Meanwhile I can reorder the phone I wanted and hope you get it right this time. Of course I'll be out about $360.00 until you get around to crediting my card back for the first phone. Then when the new phone comes by Saturday I'll probably have to drive 8 miles to a company store to have the sim card installed.

So I just jumped on ebay, bought the exact phone that was lost for $77.00 including shipping. I'll get a sim card at the local store 2 miles from my house and come out way ahead in the long run.

Here's a question: How come a company will bend over backwards to get you as a customer but give you shitty service once you use them?

In the mist of boring knitting.

One more pair of socks done for W and 3 completed for N. So I still need 7 more pair to be finished.
And then I can start this cute little jumper for Missy A in blue cottonease.
"Gram, put down the camera and go finish those boring boy socks so you can make my jumper."
"I'll help keep her in the house to knit by taking Gram's sneakers."
Sleeping babies are so very cute. I love pictures of sleeping little ones.

The sauce incident

Plugging along on socks for the grandsons. Finished another sock for W and almost done with my first pair for N. Love knitting kid socks since they go soooo much faster than grown up ones.

Everything was going well until last night when my pot of sauce decided to spit at me before I had a chance to remove the excess oil from the top. Instant burn.
I woke up with this today. Hard to imagine but it really doesn't hurt at all. And that's a good thing since I have another 1.5 pr of socks to finish by Saturday before the little men come over.

$32.70

Thank you nice mailman. Yarn for N's socks $32.70. I also got The Opinionated Knitter which I've wanted for quite a while. Books, needles, patterns, stitch markers, etc don't count toward my yarn purchases since I consider them tools of my hobby. Yarn is obviously a tool too but You don't get to use it over and over again ..... unless you frog unloved and unfinished projects.

So I'm involved in a swap and just getting the box together to send out. My partner doesn't like wool. She crochets. She likes to crochet with acrylic. Acrylic as in trip to walmart acrylic. And although I never thought of myself as a yarn snob all I could think of was, "OMG! She'll think I'm cheap sending off acrylic yarn."

I don't think I'm a real yarn snob. I just like to knit with a nice, soft wool. Or some alpaca. Maybe a good blend, too. But rarely do I use acrylic. And then all of a sudden it dawned on me that I was putting together a box for someone else and should go with their preferences. So I'm off in a little while to pick up some nice acrylic and yummy goodies to send off to my exchange pal.

What's up with all those stitch markers?

Finished the scheepjes socks. I like how they came out but once again I don't care for the colorways. But then, as always, the person getting them LOVE IT so that's all that really matters.
And finished socks for W since all his good food turned his size 10 1/2 feet to 11s. I made size 12 since they'll fit ok. Knitpick essentials in dusk.
And finally the answer to the question "What's up with all those stitch markers?" The ones on the right are keeping track of the leg rows. I usually mark every 10 or 20 rows so I know how many I've done. These are for my son in law so his socks are 12 rows of ribbing followed by 70 rows of whatever pattern I've decided on.

The loops with the split stitch markers are to keep track of the heel flap. I usually do a knit 1 slip 1 on my heel flap for adult socks (kid socks just regulas ss since they outgrow before they can wear them out). I use to keep track of my rows on paper but what a hassle. "Did I mark that last row?" "Where did the paper go that I was keeping track on?" "Geeze! I just had that pen 2 seconds ago." Very hard to be organized when I'm not a really organized person.

So the method that works for me is: take this chain of 5 rings and attach it to the sock. In this case the heel flap for my sil's sock is 54 rows so I take 5 split stitch markers and put them on the marker holding the rings. Every time I finish 2 rows (k1 ,s1, p1, s1) I move a marker down the chain. When all the stitch markers are in the black ring I know I've finished 50 rows.

So that's my trick for making sure my socks match. Probably not really a short cut but it works for me.

All the socks

Finished the Stop my hubby from whining socks. I don't care for the colors but he loves them.
In progress ................
Must resist casting on this yarn ...................... need to finish others ............. help me!

Knew all that good Karma would work!

Little Mr N stayed overnight at the hospital and was released the next morning. They gave him a stuffed dog in recovery which he promptly named Duke and proceeded to tell his mom that, "Duke is my best dog ever!"

The dr called late this afternoon with the results of the biopsy. N has acid reflux with terrible damage to his esophagus. They are putting him on Nexium so fingers crossed that this one works. So far pepcid, prevacid, and prilosec have all failed to help.

W and Missy A loved being here with me. W mentioned that it would be ok if he stayed longer because "I really want to live here with you, Gram." He's so cute. I think he loves me for my lollypops and high speed cable for the computer. Dial up at home so the pages take forever to load. He played Bob the Builder for about 30 minutes here and then switched over to a little Thomas the Tank Engine.

When my kids were little my parents were always a big part of their lives. I'm so blessed to be able to be there to watch my grandchildren grow up and pitch in to help out when needed. Parents really need a break when raising little ones. Grandchildren and Grandparents both have the same goal: they want to have fun and we want them to have fun.

I guess the learning lesson in all of this is to trust your Dr Mom instincts. If you know something isn't right you need to keep pushing for an answer. The drs would have let this go on for several more months if they hadn't been pushed. I told my daughter, "You have this little boy who is your top priority. The physicians see him as one of about 200 patients on their rotation of patients at any given time. They don't know him like you do. Trust yourself." She did a great job as an advocate for her son and I'm very proud of her.

So thanks for all the good karma. It certainly helped more than I can say. Sock pictures coming up shortly. Finished the Stop My Hubby From Whining pair tonight. Casted on the second sock in the purple/red/green yarn, and working on the heel flap on the light blue/grey Opal smoke yarn. Goal is to finish all pairs of socks next week so I can cast on my MS3. I'm soooo far behind.