Now that is sharing!

Who says fish and birds can't get along? Somebody's mama taught them well...

Not one of a kind!?!?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 191 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Mighty Aphrodite

You Are Aphrodite!

A total shining star with a ton of admirers And no wonder: you live life to the fullest! When things get bad, you can easily take off to a happier place But occasionally, you need to deal with problems head on

What Goddess Are You?

Clever Blog Title? Not today!

I had a nice weekend, Saturday after class at the dojo, I went to Purlescence and hung out with Nathania and Kevin for a while. We had a good time chatting about anything and everything. I bought the Ribby Pulli pattern, I love the fact that you get essentially 4 patterns in one. I really want to knit the short sleeve scoop neck version. Maybe some Bamboo yarn will do well with that.

Then on Sunday, Sensei and I went to San Francisco to play golf and visit my mom. When I used to live in SF I would go and play 9 holes at the Golden Gate Golf Course and I thought that Sensei would really enjoy the green hills and the short course. I didn't play that well this time around until I got to the last hole and I just nailed that ball, out drove both men that I was playing with. It was great! Then I chipped it up on the green and single put for par. Too bad that I could not have gotten in the groove a bit earlier.

After golf, we went to my moms to visit and she was showing me all the great stuff she has been doing. My mother is a second time ovarian cancer survivor and she has been involved with volunteer group at California Pacific Medical Center where she herself has spent many of weeks as a patient. As a part of her volunteer work she has used her hobby to spread a little joy and strength, the Bravery Bracelet. She has given several out to patients at CPMC and they all have seemed to really enjoy getting a handmade gift from someone who knows exactly what they are going through.

She has a fantastic inventory of beads to make just about anything you can think of. She also showed me so other pieces at she has created and I of course said that I liked one on particular if it was in shades of red, what else would you expect? So that was on Sunday afternoon around 4pm. What did I get in the mail today, Tuesday? You guessed it, she made my red bracelet. My mom loves me. Now if I could only knit as fast as she can make jewelry I would be thrilled!! So anyway, I put it on immediately and have been showing off my mothers piece to everyone here at work. Lots of oooh's and ahh's. I am pretty proud of her volunteer work and her hobby that keeps her busy in the big city. Here is her eBay store.

On another note, I was asked recently if I ever found my phone, the answer to that is yes. My friend Micki showed up at the dealership the day after I bought the new one and explained that she had not checked her email and didn't know that I was looking for it yet. She happened to need something out the of glove box of her car and when she opened the door, there it sat. So I have the sliver shit back. She is pretty scratched up (I have dropped her to many times) but she works great and has every number that I have ever needed stored. So I am happy to have gotten her back. The other thing I am happy about is the Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo that I bought at Purlescence. It is great yarn! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It is springy and shows great stitch definition. I made a swatch of stockinette and rib together and have carried it around in my purse for about 2 weeks to see how it would hold up (a suggestion from Janet, she is quite a great help to me, I *heart* her.) I am soooo excited to knit this yarn. I am going to make a t-shirt or vest or tank sort of thing. I have some patterns that I have in mind, but please if you have any recommendations, now is the time to speak or forever hold your peace, ( that is a phrase that you don't hear that often. I know of one occasion that I should have heard it!)

Late Eye Candy Prize

I was the lucky commenter, I mean tenacious commenter on Janet's blog, Twisted Knitter. I received my lovely prize of Noro Kureyon 148, enough to make a Booga Bag. I would have had this posted in my blog already but my battery ran low on my camera and I couldn't find the power cable to download this photo. Story of my life, I lose everything. I think I might have left the power cable at my grandmothers. G'ma if you have it, let me know before I run out and buy a replacement. But I am excited about this yarn, I am not sure if I am going to do the Booga Bag or use it for something else. I have been eyeing the Lizard Ridge Throw which uses Kureyon too. So we will have to see. But I wanted to thank Janet for having such a fun contest on her blog.

Fat Fingered, Not Stupid!

It was gently told to me this afternoon that the reason no one could find my blog was because I had Stitches spelled wrong in the URL. This of course brought back horrible memories of me spelling Caesars wrong on very important (at the time) invitations that went out in the mail. I know how to spell "stitches" I ARE NOT DUMB :) I just typed to fast and didn't notice the error. So this is everyones fair warning, update your bookmarks, your Bloglines, your Blogs, or whatever. I am will be making the change in the URL and your link will most likely not work after that. I am not sure what will happen to te content prior to the change, but I will figure something out.

So the URL will now be http://twistedstitches71.blogspot.com/index.html

St. Patricks Day and Birthdays (Photo Heavy)

Yesterday I went to Selma, that is south of Fresno (yes, I am from a farming/hick/okie what ever you want to call it area) for my grandmother and nieces dual birthday celebrations. Mimi turned 85 and Caitlin turned 5. My grandmothers sister made both the cakes. There are 85 candles on the cake and she blew everyone of them out! In a couple of tries of course.
There is my princesses cake.
She had the blowing of the candles out a bit easier, only 5.
And finally she got her turtle neck shrug and tam I knitted for her. He real birthday was in Feb. And as you can see she will more than likely not be able to wear this until next winter, notice the mini skirt and sandals? I knew I should have sent them back in Feb!!! Oh well, she liked it, she said that she felt like an artist wearing her beret. I made the sleeves to long, but that was fine, we just made cuffs and the hat fits a bit funny in the photo but I am going to say it was because she had pigtail braids on her head, yeah, that is it! We really rushed to get this photo taken because it was 80 degrees yesterday and I didn't take the time to get everything looking right, poor baby was about to sweat.
Both my niece and nephew love to come to Mimi's house, they have great food, lots of attention, games and puzzles....

But when they hear the words, "Its time to go" this is what you find...

Josiah hates to leave, he is trying to be stealthy. My day started at 6:30am and I didn't get home until 11:30pm. 6 hours in the car too. But it was worth it, I got to see some family and have good food and play with my niece and nephew.

Mimi's Birthday

Knitting content as promised. Sunday is my grandma's birthday, we call her Mimi and she will be 85! This past Christmas I made her the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs and for her birthday I made her this felted purse, the Sophie Bag from Magknits. She expressed an interest in the bag that I made my sister-in-law for Christmas so I thought it was a good idea. I cast on for this project Monday March 12th, yes, I know I was cutting it WAY short and I felted it this morning, Friday March 16th. I was hoping to get it finished last night while I was at Boba Knit (love Boba Knits!) but it was not to be, I was up until 1am. I used 2 and a half skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky in Roasted Coffee. I started to follow the pattern then I thought I was going to run out of yarn so I altered it in an attempt to only use the 2 skeins that I already had but that failed and I had to get another skein so I ended up winging the rest of the pattern. This is starting to be a habit with me, I have yet to tell you about the red mohair capelet project that I have now renamed, "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Pattern" Capelet. But back to the bag, I got the inspiration to knit the bag from Janet, she inspires me often. I have felted bags before and every time I try to do something a bit different, have a new technique or feature on the bag. This time I decided that I would put a magnet closure on the bag. It was a bit hard to figure out how I was going to do it but the great girls at Purlescense helped me out with the closure details. I will have better details about the bag on my FO page later. Here are the photos, I need to get better at taking pictures, bear with me!




Mimi's purse at the dojo!

Rant #2

Yes, this is a knitting blog and yes I will have some more knitting photos and content later today (Mimi's purse knit and felted.)  But I am more than disturbed by an event that happened at work today.  In  previous blog I wrote that I felt it was a shame that someone in a position of power could act on personal feelings and exercise their power against you.  Well today it was all confirmed.  There was an exchange of words between two other employees in a semi-joking manner, however the exchanged ended in the words F-&^ OFF (the full version of the word, not edited!)  Now, parallel that with what I said to another employee, "It is 5pm and DHL is waiting for me,"  my words were deemed "Rude and Abusive" and I was formally disciplined in writing. It was stated that it was my tone not my words, excuse my French, Bullshit!  For the record the person who used the F Bomb, I love her we are friends and I in no way am bitter towards her, I know she did not say it with malice, nor did I say my words with malice. This just proves to me that some people can't handle positions of power and that in this office you apparently can tell someone to F OFF as long as you do it with a smile :)  I feel better now, back to work.

What Color Red are you?

When I saw Twisted Knitters blog, I couldn't help myself. Red is my color!

You Are Apple Red

You're never one to take life too seriously, and because of it, you're a ton of fun.And although you have a great sense of humor, you are never superficial.Deep and caring, you do like to get to the core of people - to understand them well.However, any probing you do is light hearted and fun, sometimes causing people to misjudge you.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorredareyouquiz/">What Color Red Are You?

Dispatch: Be on the look out for a late model silver LG

OK everyone, STOP. Have you seen my phone? My cell phone? It is little, silver LG phone with a circular mirror on the front. I am lost with out it, I need it back. I don't know where it is, I had it before lunch. My friend Micki came by and picked me up for lunch, we had a nice chat and she even brought me chocolate. But I did not use during lunch and this afternoon I reached for it to get a number out of the address book and poof, it has disappeared. The very last time I remembered having it was on my desk, I called a co-worker who has the day off and then placed it next to my keyboard when I was done. My mom has always offered the explanation that maybe my personal items grow legs and walk off, but I have been good to that phone, I am always careful as to where I place him. Now if Sensei said he lost his phone, there would be no big surprise there. I know the logical thing to do is call my friend Micki and see if it dropped in her car, but her number is IN THE PHONE!! I have called the restaurant, not there. I strongly believe that someone has the phone because I NEVER turn my phone off, it had a full charge and now when I call it, it goes directly into voice mail, someone has turned it off. It is just not my day today. So, if you call me and I don't get back to you soon, then you will know why!

Cry Wolf

As most of you all know, men can be whinny babies when they get sick, mine is no exception. I was at Boba Knit having a nice time seeing some familiar faces and meeting new one when the phone rang and it was him telling me that he was not feeling good and that we are not meeting up at the golf course after knitting. He asked when I was coming home and I assumed that he was just wanting an audience for his whining, but I found out different. I was not home no more than 20 minutes and he was running to the bathroom and he prayed to the porcelain god. This time he was not crying wolf, he is actually sick. So my evening has been trying to make him comfortable and disinfecting the house so that I will not get sick. Needless to say, he is on the couch tonight. Which should leave a little bit of time to work on my first sock. I casted on earlier today and have only done the ribbing on the cuff. I had the beginnings of my sock at Boba Knits but was intimated to bring it out with Cookie present, I am in just a bit of awe of her and her patterns and I didn't want to embarrass myself. I am sure that I will be signing up for Nathanias sock class at Purlescence before it is all said and done.

I am using my new Knit Picks circulars because I hate dpns and I am knitting some sock yarn, 100% Merino wool, hand painted in reds, slivery grey and black. I picked it because of the reds, I love red if you have not all ready figured that out and did I mention that I hate dpns? At this point I don't even remember where I got this yarn. But I am excited to do this even though I may fall flat on my face.

Comedy and Tragedy

The tragedy of today was that I had to frog 2 tiers of my Lady Eleanor. I originally had to only frog one, but I apparently lost my head and did not pick up the live stitches on the other end and had to go down 2 tiers. In the process of frogging, the yarn kept knotting and then breaking. I ended up wasting about 1/4 of the ball of Noro Silk Garden. I am almost back to where I started frogging.

The comedy of today was catching up on the blogs that I read and came across this YouTube link. For the record, my grandmother and great grandmother are crocheters and I love everything they produce, but this is funny. Again, grandma, I know you read my bog , this is only a joke. The video is kind of long, but worth it. Click here.

Not a Millionaire this time

I am writing this blog entry from work, so what does that mean?  I did not win the Mega Millions lottery last night.  Because if I had, well I would not be blogging from work, I would have been blogging from a luxury suit that a one night stay would be equivalent to a months worth of income.  Then there would be some people in the world that would find out just how much I either like or dislike them because I would have the money to back it up.  I don't think that I would change all that much if I won the lottery.  I know that I would make right everything that I have ever done that was wrong if at all possible.  Like I would go back and pay for the lipstick that I stole when I was 14 from the local drug store.  I did it to see if I could get away with it on a dare.  That was the bad thing about me back in those days, don't dare me to do something, I would have killed myself to prove you wrong.  I once attempted to drink the whole bottle of Bacardi 151 (flask size, a pint or more maybe?) on Pismo Beach because I was told that I couldn't do it.  Well, I came darn close. Bacardi 151 is highly flammable and we were all sitting around a campfire....but that is a whole other blog entry into itself.  It would have to be titled, Why you should not drink! I have grown up a lot since then.  Back to the money, I would definitely pay for my niece and nephews college education, make my grandmothers comfortable, send my mom on a trip of a life time, I am not sure what I would do for my brothers and their families but I am sure that they would think of something.  I couldn't forget my best friends, Gina and Irene either.  Then my next move would be to talk to Warren Buffet and get financial advice so can keep most of my winnings!  It is nice to have a dream/plan...

 

About knitting, I am beginning to be a bit selfish about my projects, finally.  I am working on my 1st sweater for myself, still.  The Refined Raglan from InterweaveKnits Winter 2006.  I am into the waist shaping part.  I am 1/3 the way through the Lady Eleanor, I would like to have them both knitted by Easter, I am going to Las Vegas and it would be nice to have for the trip.  And I am currently working on a mohair lace caplet with yarn that my Secret Pal 9 gave me.  I will finish it tonight at the Santa Clara Knitting MeetUp.com and wear it tomorrow hopefully, that is the plan at least.  I will have pictures the next post.  I know, I hate blog entries without photos, next time!

 

No focus

I am trying to gain focus in my life, all aspects, not just knitting and I am having a very hard time. I have a list of things to do, it is a long list and one in which has tasks on them that are very time sensitive which could mean trouble for me if not completed. If you don't already know this about me, here I am confessing to the world that "I am a procrastinator!" I will procrastinate EVERYTHING, even knitting (my passion in life.) The procrastinating has gotten out of hand. Partly due to the fact that I have never suffered sever consequences due to my "putting if off to later" act. Not that I am asking to get slapped with a hurtful repercussion to what some would call laziness. I don't believe it to be laziness at all. I think I am having a sever lack of focus and or concentration that has been lasting for about 7 years at least from what I can remember.

My knitting projects are a good analogy of the lack of focus. I have no less than 12 WIP's (works in process) that I have going. I know that is not a lot to some and to others they may think I am insane. To me, 12 is a lot! I believe in having more than one project going at a time but this is seriously ridiculous for me, only me. One of the twelve was supposed to be a Christmas gift, has anyone noticed what month we are in? I could list the twelve projects but that would only create more of a lack of focus. And to add to the problem I keep seeing new yarns to buy that I could knit for myself to wear when the weather is warmer. I know, cry me a river, start the violins.

However I did not have any lack of focus when it came to watching a movie this weekend. Saturday night Sensei and I went to see Zodiac. I thought it was great. I love non-fiction movies. I am sure that they took some creative license, but it did stated they used actual case files. What was odd for me was I used to live in Vallejo and had been several times to the park off Columbus Parkway that he killed the young couple. Now I was not even a glimmer in my dads eye when that took place, but still it was weird to me. The movie was filmed well, the costumes and music was time appropriate. There are some very thrilling moments but not a lot of gore. Not to mention, it has a very big cast of stars. Go see it if you like non-fiction movies.

Bothersome

Something happened at work today that is bothering me to no end. And I know what to do but it is just going to take some time to obtain resolve. The best analogy to what took place would be, I am driving down the freeway at 68 mph and the CHP pulls me over. Yes sir, I was going 68 in a 65 zone, I was speeding, where do you want me to sign? Oh, you are also sighting me because you don't like the way my turn signal flashes? Well where is that acceptable? I will sign the speeding ticket, but hell will freeze over if you think I am signing the other one. When you encounter people that have an elevated power over you and exercise their position of power because they have a personal issue with you, that is plain sad.


On to better subjects, I knitted, washed and blocked the Golf Vest swatch. I am using one of my favorite books, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd, for the pattern. I am not getting fancy, a little ribbing edging and stockinette. Simple but useful. I am a fan of red as many of you already know, I am pushing on my loved ones too. This is the before mentioned Cascade that is going to get me shunned by my knitting friends. It is a brick heathered red, it will go well with Sensei's golf clubs :)

Obvious Stitches Rookie!

So I went to Stitches this past weekend and WOW I was not prepared! My co-worker Colleen went with me and we both were tired from the walking around. We saw more yarn and fiber than you could possibly imagine in one place. It was more than we could even look at! We ran into some knitting friends that introduced us to some fantastic yarns. Janice had to show me Sea Silk and what a fantastic yarn that was. It was begging me to buy it, but my Stitches budget was not large enough, rookie move number one. My Stitches budget was confined to purchasing a good yarn for Sensei's "golf vest." He is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to my knitting but there are only a few things that he would wear that I can knit for him. I am currently knitting a little navy blue vest for my nephew for his birthday and Sensei noticed a new project and immediately said, I would wear that, it would be my "golf" vest. You see ANY thing with the word golf associated with it is perfectly OK. Example, he has a couple pairs of Dockers pants, they are not his Dockers, they are his "golf pants." He has some sunglasses, they are his golfing glasses. Are you seeing my point? He is a bit obsessed with golf. I am pretty sure that at any given time he knows what town Tiger is located and I am sure that if had the time he would be stalking him too. So back to Stitches, I went there with what I know now was WAY too small of a budget to get some yarn for the "Golf Vest." I didn't think that the Sea Silk was a wise choice for the vest so sadly I had to pass on that. Then I found the Brooks Farm booth and I thought I was in Heaven. The yarns were so nice, BUT, they did not have enough of one color for me to knit the "golf vest." I was starting to run out of options. I believe if I would have been there Friday or Saturday I could have made my small budget purchase at Brooks Farm and it would have been fabulous. Live and learn for next year. Rookie move number two: You do not buy something that you can get readily purchase at your LYS. The only color that I found that would work for his vest and in a sufficient quantity was Cascade 220 Heathers. I know, I know, you don't got to Stitches and buy CASCADE!!!! Like Nita said on her blog about her Stitches moment, I should have my knitters card revoked! However I did come away with some organizational items for my needles and notions, so not all was lost, just nothing picture blog worthy.

I did get today in the mail my new book, Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, I could not be happier. I am excited to start socks, you have no idea. I have enough sock yarn to make at least 3 pair and I don't even know how to knit socks. I even still contemplated buying sock yarn at Stitches with my left over budget money because you know that the Cascade did not set me back that far. But I resisted since I don't have a clue as to what a gusset even looks like. Hello!

Mugsy update:
He is doing better and thank you to all that have sent your well wishes. We had to modify his containment to the crate/cage/jail, whatever you want to call it because he was having MAJOR panic attacks. He was over heating himself, panting and shaking badly. He has plenty of water to cool himself too. But the only thing that has stopped the episodes is to take him out of doggy jail. So during the day now instead of the cage, he is placed in the bathroom (a very little bathroom) with almost no room to turn himself around in with food and wee wee pads for the duration of his vet prescribed containment.

Happy Birthday Princess

Today is my niece C birthday, the princess is 5. She is going to Chucky Cheese for her birthday for pizza, games and large animatron stuffed mice playing instruments. I am sure that she will have a great time. So as you can tell, I am not making the drive to Bakersfield today. I spoke with my brother and they had planned on coming north for our Mimi's (paternal grandmother) birthday March 18th. She is turning 85 and does not travel that much anymore so she does not miss out on C's birthday they are going to have some cake for her to along with Mimi's birthday. In the effort to conserve gas, miles and time, we are going to kill two birds with one stone and see them all the same day March 17th St. Patty's Day (the day before Mimi's B-day.) And I will be armed with a new t-shirt for my niece C that is perfect for that day, it is pink with the word princess printed on the front out of little tinny metallic shamrocks. Which leads me to the best news off all......I now can go to Stitches!!!!! Sunday I will be there at 10am ready to get an eye full of fantastic yarns.



Also, I am so excited about the latest purchase via eBay. At the very highest recommendations from several talented knitters including Lori, I purchased Sensational Knitted Socks at a FANTASTIC price! It should be here any day now. And that is great timing because my Knit Picks order for 2 circulars size 2 and some sock yarn should be here today. I am so excited to join the world of sock knitting. Maybe I will find some sock yarn at Stitches that I can't live without. Oh, wait, I promised R that I would knit him a vest for golfing, oh shoot, I guess I am just going to have to buy more yarn! My list for Stitches will be some red sock yarn (for me, come on, its red right) and washable wool for R's golf vest and some notions that will make my knitting experiance better. I am going to make every effort to stick to the list. At the moment I have two projects for myself, Refined Raglan Interweave Winter 2006 and Lady Eleanor that is keeping quite busy. So I am bringing backup to keep me from buying stuff I don't need at the moment. Wish me luck!!

Back problems

Yesterday morning was not a great start to my day. As I was getting ready for work I noticed that my dog Mugsy was not hanging out as usual, in fact he was not to be seen at all. I went to the bathroom and I spotted him curled up in front of the sink shaking really bad. Shaking like when you have been so cold, chilled to the bone and your teeth chatter and you look like you are having a small seizure, shaking. I called him and he would not come he just stared at me. I went over picked him up and he was tense and shaking and yelped very loud. I placed him on the couch and he yelped even louder and then turned and nipped my hand. I knew that there was something pretty wrong, he never tries to bite anyone. Off to the Vet we went.

An examination and x-rays later the Vet informs me that my dog has 5 bulging discs in his back. He has short legs and a long body and he like to jump up on everything and then jump down, not great on his back for him. And as you can see, we have hardwood floors, not great traction for him either. The Vet gave him a Cortisone shot and then pills for me to feed him daily for a week. This is supposed to help the inflammation in his back. But the worst of his recovery for us is, he has to be in the crate 24 hours a day only to come out to potty 4 times a day and this is going to last 3 weeks.

He is really upset about this, but not as much as we are. But apparently his injuries are so bad the Vet says that he is close to being paralyzed. And his 3 week incarceration is to allow scar tissue to develop between his vertebrae and the spinal cord. So no more jumping on and off things for him.

On to the knitting...

I have casted on for my Refined Raglan from the Winter 2006 InterweaveKnits. This was a bit of a challenge for me because the pattern calls for a Crochet Chain Provisional Cast-on. I have never done that before and I had to pull out my book to learn how to do a crochet chain. But I figured it out and I am excited that I have learned a new technique. I did not do it correctly because when I was ready to pull out the waste yarn, it did not unravel like the directions said it would. I had to pick the yarn out of my live stitches. Well that is because I am an idiot and knitted in to the wrong loop on the crochet chain. I have almost 4" knitted so far, however I am going to make the sweater about 2 inches longer than the pattern calls for. Check out that red, it is THE RED. I am a huge fan of red, its my color. And lets not over look the hemmed bottom, this is the first time I have done that too. I love that edge, it has such a clean simple finish. I am going to try to get this done by the end of March so that I can wear it at least once before it gets to warm.

And I have ordered yarn to make the Log Cabin Blanket for a friend of ours that is having a baby. I just found out last night that she was pregnant and is having a boy in about 6 weeks. She hardly looks pregnant. But now I feel compelled to knit a blanket. I have been wanting to do the Log Cabin, this is a great excuse to start it now.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

It is the year of the pig or boar, it is my Chinese zodiac year. I prefer to say boar, I hate to think of myself as a pig. So let the good luck commence!

One More FO

I really can't believe that I forgot to post the felted clogs that I did for my paternal grandmother who we all call Mimi for Christmas 2006. I sweat over these things. I had never done short rows and a couple other techniques that I learned as I knitted these. I love to over all outcome and wow factor that these get but I have to say, I really did not like knitting these at all. And the worst part about that is both my brothers and their wives all want a pair. Not sure if I can handle that right now. The sad thing is that I want a pair myself, I am just trying to talk someone else into knitting them for me. I will felt them myself and provide the wool and pattern, I just hate knitting that pattern. Any takers?

Happy V-Day to Me!!

I know that it is not Yarn Porn Friday, but I had to share what I got on Valentines Day. My darling boyfriend bought me an Orchid for my desk, I LOVE Orchids. And I got an email from my LYS Purlescense to let me know that the yarn that I ordered with the gift certificate my darling gave me for my birthday came in. So two great things in one day, yea!! You are looking at the start of my first sweater for myself and since it is for me, it had to be red. I am going to knit this sweater from Interweave Knits Winter 2006

I ordered the same yarn that the pattern called for, Plymouth Suri Merino in red, 2055. It is very nice feeling, I can't wait until I cast on this weekend.

Don't Move To Murphy,TX

Let me first state that I am all for protesting when it is for a great cause, labor rights, civil rights, etc.  But to protest a law enforcement operation that is catching pedophiles is mind boggling to me.  I am an admitted TVholic.  I watch to much of it and last night was no exception.  The show Dateline: To Catch a Predator was on our NBC channel last night and from what the show stated it was their 9th operation with local law enforcement.  This is the first time that I have seen a community actually protest the apprehension of pedophiles.  Grown men chatting on the Internet with girls that they think are 12, 13 or 14 years old and in some cases they were looking for young boys show up to a home and are busted for their inappropriate behavior.  I don't know about you, but where can I sign up and offer my house as the base of operation?  Why would anyone have issue with getting these pedophiles off the street?  There is nothing alright about wanting to have sex with a 12-14 year old girl, no matter what age, especially when they are old enough to be their father and even worse, their grandfather.  Shame on the neighbors in Murphy TX, I am hoping that they did not have any children. 

 

But then there are the extreme opposite cases of over protecting your child like the man that I saw on the news last night.  His son was competing in a school wrestling match, he was not winning, his opponent had him pinned.  Then out from no where you see the father of the pinned boy come flying out on the mat and shove the other boy off his son.  What is wrong with you?  Yes, I am speaking to you Super Dad.  It is OK if your son loses.  It is a part of life. I was trying to do some more investigating on the incident prior to running my mouth with my opinion, but why start now? My attempt to find the video on You Tube was fruitless.  But there are still photos on the Internet if you are interested. The father is also a wrestling coach at another school and he along with the weirdos that I spoke of earlier, is no longer going to be allowed around children. 

 

So, this is a knitting blog mostly and I should make note of some knitting progress along with my social rants.  My niece is turning 5 towards the end of the month and I have completed her Turtleneck Shrug.  I will have photos for you after I give it to her.  But this morning I went to Target to get a cute little t-shirt to put under it when I give it to her.  I was circling the racks and came upon a little white shirt with cherries printed in the front in the exact color as the shrug, it was kismet.  When I was holding the shirt up with the shrug placed over it to get the full effect and debating on the size of the shirt and very nice lady was eyeballing my creation.  She had that look in her eye, she wanted to ask me something.  I decided to get the XS and placed the S back on the rack and started toward the check out when she locked eyes with me and asked, "Where did you get that?" I as humble as I possibly could be and full well knowing what she meant asked, "Get what?"  She replied earnestly, "The turtleneck thing."  I replied modestly,  "Oh, this, I knitted it myself."  "How cute", she exclaimed and I thanked her and proceeded to walk to the check out stand with what I thought felt like a little bounce in my step, I am sure for those of you that might have seen me in Target this morning you would claim that it was full blown skipping!

LL

Lions, Tigers, Bears and Colts? Oh My!!

Well the Bears came out strong, but they just couldn't pull it off. I could not care which team won the Super Bowl, honestly. They both had really good reasons to cheer for them. I am just glad that the team with the black coach won! (Just for those of you that don't know me personally, that was me joking and my boyfriend is black. So please save your comments!)

On to knitting... In the effort to journal all my finished objects, here is the bag that I made my sister-in-law Crystal for Christmas 2006. Yes, it is February and guess what, I will have one more once I can get to my friend Irene's to get the photo. I know, I know, you are supposed to take the photo before gifting. I was finishing the thing 10 minutes before I handed it to her. I just got caught up in the excitement. And since I had not made anything for myself as of yet, I decided to create this little number, Rick Rack Bag.
My co-worker Holly reluctantly modeled the bag. Can you see her enthusiasm? Oh and I have made myself a black scarf out of 100% Alpaca, that photo to come later on my FO page.

I went to Purlescense on Sunday for their Super Super Yarn Sale on Super Bowl Sunday. I took advantage of the 20% off and bought 3 Addi Turbo needles that I am going to need when my yarn that I ordered comes in for my first sweater. It is always a fun time when I go in there, it is one of my favorite places to go and knit. You can always see someone that you know and have the opportunity to meet new gifted knitters too! After my stint at the yarn store, I came home to care for my sick boyfriend Sensei. He was battling a really bad cold. I made some snack type food, Super Bowl food you know. We had mini pizzas, turkey sandwiches and homemade salsa. Yes, I made salsa and guess what I learned? A little orange habenarro pepper goes A LONG WAY!! I knew it was hot, but I didn't realize that it would take the skin off my lips. I had to add more and more tomatoes and such to thin out the fire that was brewing in the salsa. When it was all said and done, I had made a fantastic salsa, we'll be eating salsa with everything for a month. I had to have made about a gallon of salsa, no lie.

Backwards...magic!

I was at my usual knitting hang out, Purlescense on Wednesday night with big plans to get some serious knitting completed. One project that I had to get started was the Turtleneck Shrug in the Scarf Style book by Teva Durham. My niece is turning 5 this February and I thought that it would look adorable on her, smaller scale of course. So I had to buy some dpn's to start the sleeves, I am not proficient with dpn's at all!! So after the third time of trying to get that started I threw the yarn and needles in my bag and grumbled loudly. Absolutely frustrated with the situation, I picked up my Lady Eleanor to get more of that complete so I could show some progress. But the Lady Eleanor is not 100% fun to knit because you have to turn your work after every 8 stitches. After huffing every time I was turning my project, Nathania peeked up over her knitting and said that she could show me how to knit backward. Backward you say? I was intrigued, nervous but excited at the thought of not having to flip this thing back and forth. So of course I quickly gathered up my yarn and shuffled over to a seat next to her where she imparted her knowledge of backward knitting, and it was truly magical to me! Thanks Nathania, my needles and yarn thank you too for not getting tangled anymore.

I am not one to just give up easily, so when I got home and curled up in bed with my dog, yes that is him, isn't he cute? I tackled the dpns again and won this round. I finally got a few rows the sleeve knitted. This has been a challenge for my, but I think in the long run, it will be worth it. Besides, I think every 5 year old girl should have a bright pink turtleneck shrug!