Irishknits

Thorpe

2008-02-23T21:36:00.005-05:00

Here is my version of Thorpe . If you scroll down on the right side of Kirsten's blog, you will find the pattern. I was not sure how to link to the pdf version. Still not as savvy as I would like to be about blogging . What a great pattern. The pattern calls for chunky yarn. I am trying to use up some of my acrylic stash. I used leftover Red Heart and doubled the strands. It was a little tough on the fingers. I am not a fan of Red heart.... but, my mother has given me quite a bit for my charity knitting. It does make a warm pair of mittens too. The hat is very thick and will keep some child warm. I want to make a few more of these hats. The other hat is called Rib a Roni. This is another nice pattern for charity hats. I made the small size. As you can see... I am still making mittens. I would like to make a pair to match the Thorpe hat. Speaking of mittens. I have a lone skein of Malabrigo in the purple colorway. I want to make a pair of mittens with it. I am thinking of using the Evangeline mitt pattern and finishing them off as mittens. I am not a big fan of mitts. I have made a few pairs and can't even give them away. I thought my nieces would love them. This winter has been way to cold for mitts. Anyways... I am not sure if there is enough yardage in the skein. It would seem like the cables would take up the yardage. Has anyone used the Malabrigo for mittens? If so....would love to hear from you. After looking through my stash on Ravelry, I am thinking a pair of socks might be in order. I went over to The Spinning Yarns in Dover yesterday. I went right over to the Mountain Colors "Bearfoot". I finally walked away...that stuff is addicting. I already have four skeins in my stash that need to be used. I just love the feel of it and it makes a gorgeous pair of socks. I purchased two skeins of Cotton chenille, which is why I went to the store in the first place. I was very proud of myself! I'll knit down that stash if it kills me :)

Mitten Mania

2008-02-16T22:21:00.005-05:00

Mitten Mania has struck again.... Most of you know how I love a good mitten. Let me tell you how much I LOVE the oatmeal mitten The pattern is called Very Cabley Mittens. I made these with a skein of Lamb's Pride in the colorway Oatmeal. They are so warm and cuddly. I am claiming these mittens for myself. I thought for sure I would run out of yarn. I had a very small ball left. I loved this pattern. I am sure there will be a few more pairs in my future. The felted mittens are the infamous pattern from Fiber Trends. I think it is called Snow Country mittens. I have made many pairs of these mittens. This pair was requsted by my sister. The yarn is gorgeous. I just wish I could remember the name. I bought it while away in Pennsylvania. She walks her dog every morning. She says her hands have never been warmer. The other picture is a pair of mittens I made for charity with a small earflap hat. I have belonged to ravelry for quite awhile now. I have just started playing around with it . Here is a link to my page Irish . I have been working on cataloging my stash. What a great feature. I am forever scrambling through the bins to see what I have. I am not going to catalog my acrylic stash. I can lose alot of time wandering around Ravelry. I learn something new every time I visit. I love being able to type in a pattern and see all the variation. It is quite an amazing site. I tend to spend time in the mitten section. There are some incredible projects.

So....anyone else ready for Spring? We have been hammered in New England this winter. As much as I hate mud season...it sounds very good right about now. Remind me of that if I start complaining. Happy Knitting everyone!

Happy New Year!!!!

2008-01-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! A new year and a new home. This is why my poor blog has been neglected. We moved in our new house just before Christmas.The second picture is the end that faces the lake. The view is just wonderful. I have to say it was worth all the headaches of the last year. We still do not have an occupancy permit. But, that is another story. I lived with my sister and her family for several weeks, while my husband and Miss Peaches lived in a tiny camping trailer. We all survived to tell the story . My computer also died during this time. We are the proud owners of a new computer too. We have had so much snow so far this winter. I think at last count it was 29 inches. I can not remember a winter like this in many years. That's okay....I will take snow over ice any day. I still have managed to knit during the craziness. My "Hat and Mitten" tree was quite sucessful this year. Of course, I did not get pictures because the camera was tucked away.I collected about seventy items to bring to the local shelter. I have already started knitting mittens for next year. I also made some knitted ornaments. I made stockings, hats and mini mittens for the tree. They were quite a bit of fun. I just finished a hat called "Le Slouch". I received some gorgeous handspun yarn for Christmas. I will be sure to get a picture of it. It was a great pattern. It actually does not look bad on me. I am not a hat person at all. Right now I am knitting baby things. Our first grandchild is going to be born on Thursday. We are heading to Pennsylvania in a few days. My step-daughter is having a C section on Thursday. I guess the baby is already over ten pounds. I have a bag full of knitted items for him. I made five wash clothes, a baby blanket, blanket buddy toy, gorgeous cabled hooded sweater and many hats and socks. Baby items are one of my favorite things to knit. While we are in Pennsylvania....I want to make sure to hit my favorite yarn store "The Yarn Basket". I even have a few gift certificates to use. They have a great selection of baby patterns. Well.... I know this is more that has happened, but that is all that comes to mind. I look forward to getting caught up on every one's blogs.

Foundation!!

2007-09-27T13:48:00.001-04:00

We finally have a foundation!!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed for delivery of the Modular next Thursday. This has been a long stressful process. After they set the house....they need six to eight weeks to button everything up. Maybe we will be in for the holidays. I may not be blogging these days. But, I sure have been clicking the needles. A few weeks ago I went to a Charity Knitathon at the Rochester Library. I had such a great time. I met some wonderful ladies and had fun to boot. They are meeting twice a week to knit for local charities. The local Wal-Mart donated $250.00 worth of yarn for the event. I am usually working when they have their meeting, so I have been knitting at home. Here are a couple of cute hats and mittens set I have been working on. Do you notice Ms. Peaches tail in the photos? She felt the need to eat her supper while I was taking a photo.The Child's Tassel Hat is a cute pattern. It has a few sizes from newborn to age 5. Hats and Mittens are in my forecast for the next few months. I am gearing up for the hat and mitten tree I have at the shop. I just bought some poster board so I can make new signs for the window. I have some customers who have been knitting mittens this summer. The trees are starting to change on the lake. I am hoping it is a beautiful foliage season. We are hoping to sneak away for an overnight. I will miss seeing The Old Man of the Mountains . We had stopped to see him the day before he fell. I have not been up that way since. This is my favorite time of year!

Baby knitting fever!

2007-08-29T16:03:00.000-04:00

Hello dear bloggers! I am still alive and well. The summer has been so hectic . I am sure you can all relate. The house project has been moving at a snails pace. I think in my last post....I explained that the surveyors had made a huge mistake. We had to halt construction four about four or five weeks. I am just thankful that we found out before the house was up. We have a frost wall and footings. We are waiting on the foundation walls. We had everyone lined up and the land mistake threw it all off schedule. We were supposed to have our foundation poured on July 5Th. All of our contractors had to move on to other jobs. Now, they are trying to fit us in between everyone else. Our modular arrived about three weeks ago. It sits in two pieces on a lot. Bruce and I go and visit it every weekend. We just peek in the windows and sigh. We are both trying to be patient. I have been out of touch with everyones blog. I look forward to seeing what everyone is working on. As you can see from this picture heavy post. I have been knitting. My youngest stepdaughter is having a baby in January. I have been working away on baby items. I have made several wash clothes and thumbless mitts. I have a nice baby blanket finished too. The little booties are the infamous Saartje's booties . They are just adorable and a fun pattern. I wish I knew the sex of the baby. I have sock yarn scraps that would make cute booties for girls. I really enjoyed knitting Bunny Blanket Buddy . This was made with Velvetspun from Lion Brand. I would like to make a few of these and put them away for gifts. What a great cuddly blankie for a child. I have an adorable hooded baby sweater I just finished too. I need to find the perfect buttons and then I will take a picture. So, even though I have been among the missing....my needles have been clicking. My nieces started school yesterday. Where did the summer go. I guess we say this every year. I always like to make spaghetti sauce at the end of the summer. I have a few local farm stands I like to frequent. Everyone is short on tomatoes this year. I guess the weather must have affected the crop. I did read in the paper that we are going to have a banner year for apples. I look forward to going with my family in a few weeks. My husband loves apple crisp, he will be in his glory. Hope you all enjoy these last days of summer.

Missing blogger returns!

2007-07-17T19:43:00.001-04:00

Life has been busy here. I have not updated or read my blogs in too long. I have no idea what is going on in Blogland. Bruce and I were on vacation for a week. We stayed around here and did a few day trips with the boat. We had quite a few house appointments that week. The last day of our vacation, we ran into a big glitch with the house. We had the surveyors out here. They were staking out the house. Then the foundation would be dug the following day. Well...... the surveyors have made an error. The house would not work in the area they staked. We had planned to live in our mobile home while the modular was being built. One of the stakes for the house place it inside the mobile. This meant we would have to move the mobile to finish the project. Finally the surveyor was out here today. He says they made an error in our land survey. They are going to have to redo the project. Meanwhile... the house is on the way from Canada. We are trying to stay calm, cool and collected. It looks like we may have to apply for a variance form the town. This is not an easy thing. They can not hear our case till August 15Th. Things will be clearer in a few days as to whether that will happen. In knitting news..... I finished and blocked my doily. I still need to pick up some starch to stiffen it up a bit. I am so pleased with it. I may end up framing it in a antique frame. I even started a new doily. I am sure that is hard to believe after all my sputtering about the last one. I have started Egeblad . It is such a gorgeous doily. I work on dish clothes when we go off in the boat. I think I have about ten or eleven finished. They are such a nice portable project. I'll be tucking them away for Christmas. I have been working on preemie hats too. I'll show some pictures of those next time. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. The gardens seem to be coming in slow around here. I am hoping to pick some blueberries this weekend. We have a great place to pick in the next town. I am hoping to catch up on some of my blog reading this weekend. I can't wait to see what everyone is working on. Happy Knitting!

Labor of love

2007-06-19T15:20:00.000-04:00

Let's talk about Doilies! I love doilies. They always remind me of my grandmother. I have crocheted a few small ones in my time. I got a bee in my bonnet about making some doilies for our new home. I purchased this book "Fresh Knit Doilies" from Leisure Arts. I started this doily the other month. I got about fifteen rows into the project and decided to put it down. I kept missing a stitch and was very frustrated. The other week I decided to pick it up again. I have been painstakingly working row by row. The pattern is not too hard. It is just the darn yarn overs. The middle section has so many yo's, ssk's and slip stitches. All it takes is one darn stitch and your all messed. up. I finally decided to break the pattern up with some stitch markers. Finally I decided to count the stitches every row. This has made life a whole lot easier. Last week... I almost ripped the whole thing out. I then thought about all the hours I have put into this project. I have been persevering and now am closing in on the end. I have about ten rows left. I have to admit I hate to give up on a project. I am so glad I did not frog this one. It is going to be a gorgeous doily. I showed it to my customer yesterday. She was amazed I would put this much time into a doily. What can I say...I love a challenge. She told me she would frame it and use it for a piece of artwork. That is a good idea. But, I am sure I will display it somewhere in the house. If you asked me a week ago, "Would you knit another doily?" I would have told you " No *&%$ way!!". But, now I find my eye wandering to other doilies. Here is a site with some beautiful doilies Knitted Doilies. Anyone want to join me in the madness? :)

Busy times

2007-06-01T19:37:00.000-04:00

I am long overdue with updating my blog. Things have been very busy for us. Bruce and I are in the middle of putting a new modular on our land. We are replacing a mobile home. Things have been moving at a snails pace for many months. I had a feeling everything would happen at once. We closed on the mortgage last week. We ordered the house on the same day that we closed. It is a Mapleleaf home. They are made in Canada.They have a wonderful reputation. We also have to put in a new septic system. We are hoping they will get going on that project in the next few weeks. Then we will have the foundation poured. We are putting in a full basement with a walkout towards the lake. It is a scary yet exciting time. I have not had a mortgage for 15 years. I will post some pictures as we go along. On the knitting front.... I have been working on charity mittens and hats. The hat pattern is from Charmed Knits House Hat. It is a nice hat and a great way to use up leftovers for stripes. I plan on making a few more of these. I also started a shawl from Victorian Lace Today. It is called the Melon Shawl. I will blog more about that next post. I have read a few books. I am a sucker for a scary story. I just finished Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It was a good read. After the book was released, it came out that he is Stephen King's son. I just picked up a copy of The Historian . I have read great review for this book. I used to read every night before bed. I have gotten out of that habit the last few years. My bookcase is loaded with book . Hopefully I will read some of them over the summer. I do love to read when we are out in the boat. Well.... have a great weekend everyone. I think we are in for showers. Maybe they will be wrong. Happy Knitting everyone.

A new family!

2007-05-14T17:49:00.000-04:00

This morning while making my coffee, I glanced at the beach. I have a new family that seemed to appear over night. You really can't tell from the photo...But, there are five goslings. I'll try to get some better photos next time. Last year we had two families living on the lake. It is always wonderful to watch them grow. Speaking of families.... Mr. and Mrs.Rose-Breasted Grosbeak arrived at the feeders this weekend. Mrs. Grosbeak is extremely pregnant. She looks like she is due any day. My hummingbirds have also arrived. Although ,I wonder where they go on these chilly evenings. I just love this time of year! I am not even going to complain about the blackflies. The little buggers will be gone in a few weeks. Keeping with the family theme. I came across a wonderful project on Tracy's blog. It is called Rebuilding Greensburg- Block by Block . Laura lives two hours from Greensburg. She is asking for pretty easy squares in any color or yarn. Please visit her blog for the specifics. I watched the coverage on the news channels after this happened. It was unimaginable to see the devastation. The people that were interviewed had such gratitude for being alive. Even though they lost everything, they still had so much hope. I just think this is an incredible way to help. I'll close for now. Have a good week!

How does your garden grow?

2007-05-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

It may still be spring....But, look what I have been growing in my garden. They just keep multiplying.

Are they not the cutest little hats? I can't stop making them. I am using this great pattern from Knitchicks called Tomato Baby Beanie . It is one of the nicer fruit hat patterns I have seen. I have been working on these for over a week. I have another one on the needles now. The pumpkin yarn is a ball of Red Heart Soft yarn. I think I will be able to get five hats out of the skein. It is nice and soft to knit with too. I am putting these hats away till the fall. There is a clinic in town that sees many babies. My neighbor works there. She told me they have a huge need for baby items. many of the kids come in without hats during the winter. I have some blue in my stash . I want to make a blueberry hat. The best part is....this all yarn I had tucked away in the stash. I am making a good dent in whittling it down. I might make some baby mittens to go with some of these. These are great little projects to knit while on the boat. I will fish awhile...but, then I am ready to knit or read. I want to cast another pair of socks on the needles. I am trying to choose a pattern. There are so many wonderful ones out there. Speaking of socks , check out
Pat's beautiful Birdfoot Socks. They are just stunning! I just love cruising the blogs and seeing all the wonderful things people are working on. I still have a bee in my bonnet about buying Victorian Lace Today . I had checked a copy out of the library the other month. There are so many gorgeous shawls and scarves in the book. I would like to make one of the rectangular ones. It would be a nice summer project. In health news... I am really watching my carb intake for the diabetes. I am allowed 45 carbs per meal. I have dropped about ten pounds so far. I meet back with the educator this week. I have been taking my blood three times a day. I am hoping she will tell me I only have to check it once or twice a day. Well.... that is all the news from here. I have a pumpkin to finish.

Mittens...

2007-04-28T21:22:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for your wonderful support and emails about my last post. It certainly made me feel better. I met with the diabetic educator last week. I have a couple of books I am reading too.
On the knitting front.... I have been meaning to show you these socks I finished a few weeks ago. The wonderful sock blockers are from this ebayer chappywoman . I bought them the other month with leftover Christmas money from my Mother in law. I really love them. They have little cut out cats on them. I am thinking the sock yarn is Meilenweit. I bought this at Christmas in Pennsylvania. It's funny, it looks nothing like I thought it would. These are for my sister Mary Jane. They will be tucked away for next Christmas. As you can see I am making mittens. I am trying to match some of the charity hats I have made. They are such a great project for scraps. I usually prefer a four needle mitten pattern. This is an old two needle mitten pattern that I have had forever. I make both mittens at the same time. This way I can be sure I have enough of the scrap yarn for both mittens. Speaking of mittens... I have had my eye on this book for quite awhile. I would love to add it to my mitten collection. So many patterns, so little time.
We finally put the boat in the water last weekend. I was so hoping for nice weather this weekend. We did get to go out last Sunday when it was so beautiful. I am sure nice weather is just around the corner. I guess that is all the news from here. Have a great weekend everyone.

Hats abound!

2007-04-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

It has been a virtual hat factory over here at Irishknits. I have been knitting hats for the homeless shelter in town. As many of you know.... I put up a Hat and Mitten tree every Christmas at work. We then take all the donations and give them to the local shelter. I am still working on knitting through my stash. I have not bought yarn for three months. It feels good to be using up my odds and ends. The ribbed hats are made with the famous Ann Norling Spiral Rib pattern. I love this hat. I had picked it up at The Mannings over Christmas. It is written for many different sizes and types of yarn. The other hats are made with double strands of worsted weight yarn. It was a free pattern to use for charity. I can't remember what site it is from. Now, I need to get going on some mittens to match. Tomorrow is my 48Th birthday. I guess we are going to get some very heavy rains and messy weather. Spring can't be too far behind. I had my physical on Thursday of this week. I got some news which scares the heck out of me. I had some blood work run twice because my sugar was high. My doctor told me I am diabetic. I was hoping she meant pre-diabetic.But, she did not. I know people live with this every day. I am trying to wrap my head around the idea. Basically, I have been moping around since Thursday. I need to change my lifestyle and get exercising. When I meet with the counselor I will have a better idea of what I need to do. I quit smoking five years ago. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I know if I can do that....then I can get a handle on this. It just really scares me. My first inkling was to get on the web and start reading about it. I decided not to do that yet. I would end up freaking myself out. I guess I will close for now. Time to cast on some mittens to match those hats.

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter fellow Knitters! Here are a few pictures of what we woke up to last Thursday. We were without power on and off for two days. I have a pole by the side of the house that snapped at the base. You can see how low my lines are hanging. I have no idea when they will get out to fix that problem. I know they are still very busy restoring power to other areas. I hope it does not get too windy. It makes me nervous having the lines hanging like that. The pole is only being held up by a small tree. We will give Public Service a few more days and then call them. So, Where is Spring? The lake keeps thawing and refreezing depending upon the day. There is talk of another storm this week. I am heading to my older sister for Easter dinner this afternoon. My whole family will be there. We always have an Easter egg hunt for my nieces. It will be a chilly one...But, they will have a ball. We are celebrating my sister and niece's birthdays too. April is a busy birthday month for us. My birthday is next Sunday. There has been knitting going on at Irishknits. My batteries are charging for the camera. I will post pictures another time. I have been working on preemie hats and hats for the homeless shelter. The Yarn Focus Challenge will be winding up next week. I have not bought yarn in nearly three months. It feels great to be using up what I have in my stash. I need to finish getting my Secret Pals gift together. That needs to be in the mail later in the week. I'll close for now... I have carrots to glaze and a salad to make. Have a wonderful day!

Preemie Project

2007-03-27T19:28:00.000-04:00

I have been working on a few bereavement items to send to the The Preemie Project . Tracy over at Wool windings had a wonderful post on March 15th. If you have a chance click over and check it out. I did not realize how tiny preemie items need to be. There are some wonderful free patterns on the web. Here are the specifics for these outfits.

Green Gown

Pattern: 3-5 pound burial gown

Yarn: worsted weight

Needles: size 8

Yellow outfit

Pattern: Sleeper Sack

Yarn: Dreambaby

Needles: size 5

To fit a 1-3 pound baby

I have several skeins of Dreambaby in my stash. I am going to work on some hat with booties. I have finished a pair of socks too. I will have to post those next time. I have been fairly busy the last few weeks. My niece is visiting from Ohio with her three month old baby. He was born on Christmas day and is a special little guy. I had envisioned all kinds of knitting for him. My niece is not into sweaters or socks for him. I think an occasional hat may be okay. I did knit a few baby blankets for her. I am hoping to get to spend time with them at the end of the week. I am going to close for now. "Dancing with the Stars" is on in a few minutes. I am a big fan of the show. Happy Knitting everyone!

2007-03-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of finished objects to show you. I finished a felted bag for my sister's birthday in April. She just loves these bags. I made it over the Christmas holiday while in Pennsylvania. I just had to sew the handles on and felt it. I like to use magnetic clasps in my bags. I felt two small pieces and attach the clasps. The I use some fishing line to attach them to the bag. I wish I had taken a better picture....but, when in a hurry. The bag is made with some olive green Galway. The purple is Cascade 220 in a pretty tweed. It has flecks of olive green and another color mixed together. I usually never felt two different brands of yarn. These tow are very compatible. The hat and mittens are for my Hat/ Mitten tree next year. I also made a cute little Spiral Rib hat. My Mom grabbed that one. She thinks she would like to make a few. She always likes a sample to go by. The brown hat is a favorite pattern of mine. It is called "Ivy's cable hat" from Green Mountain Spinnery. I have had this pattern for a good fifteen years. It still is one of my very favorites. I am not sure if it is still in print.

I have Victorian Lace Today on loan from the library. I just love this book. There are some gorgeous rectangular shawl and scarves in this book. I am contemplating purchasing a copy. I am trying to decide which one to start. I might have enough laceweight for one of the shawls. I have some Knitpicks Shimmer in my stash that might be perfect. I had the Swallowtail Shawl on my list to knit. I love the looks of that shawl. I decided it just would not work for my body type. I am a plus size and that style is just too small. I remembered this from the Flower Basket Shawl. It did not look right on me. So, now I am leaning towards the rectangular style. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day here. My husband is planning on ice fishing. I think I might take my knitting and join him.

Slippers

2007-02-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

There has been slipper knitting going on at IrishKnits. After wearing huge holes in my last pair of Fuzzy Feet, I decided it was time for some new slippers. I made another pair of Fuzzy Feet. I let them go too many cycles. They came out big enough for a child. The plus side ....the neighbor boy has new slippers. Then I decided to make Mama Bear's "Tropical Punch" slippers. It is a great pattern using two strands of worsted weight yarn. These came out too big. The plus side.... Mom has new slippers. So, I decided to make another pair of Fuzzy Feet using up my grey scraps of Galway. I closely watched these during the felting and they fit fine. So, finally I have some warm and toasty feet. I think I could knit the Fuzzy Feet pattern in my sleep. I have made about fifteen pairs of these since Knitty published the pattern. I just cast a cable hat on the needle. I have not bought yarn since starting the "Yarn Focus Challenge. It is nice to be using up some of my stash. I am off to catch up on some blogs. I love to see what everyone is working on for projects.

Soup and surprises

2007-02-18T18:07:00.000-05:00

Look what arrived in the mail this weekend!It was a wonderful package from my "Yarn Focus Challenge Secret Pal". There is a gorgeous skein of red sock yarn called "Candy Stripes". I am not sure if she dyed the yarn. It has a "Kettle dyed" look to it. Then there is a Clover thread cutter. I have always looked at these in the catalog. I am anxious to try it out. There was the cutest little notepad and card. Thank you so much Secret pal....it was an unexpected surprise. In my last post, I posted about the "Blanket of Hope" that Rebekah is working on. Here are my squares for the project. The purple square is a pattern from page 8 of the "Second treasury of Knitting patterns". It is called the "Ripple Stripe" pattern. The wine color square is called "Square Lattice" from page 7 of the same book. I mentioned in another post....this book is well worth the money. It is a valuable resource. In other knitting....I am working on a pair of slipper socks. from a great little pattern. I will share those with you in the next post. they are just about finished. Julie was making chicken soup the other week. I have been craving some ever since. I just finished making a huge pot for our lunches this week. The recipe is from Paula Deen and available on the Food Network .It is my very favorite recipe for chicken soup. It has a wonderful combination of seasonings. Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it.

The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Stock: 1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryer chicken, cut up

3 1/2 quarts water

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 bay leaves

3 chicken bouillon cubes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops

2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/3 cup cooking sherry 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 cup grated Parmesan,

3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Seasoning salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Crusty French bread, for serving

For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.
For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

I am off to get a piping hot bowl right now.

Blanket of hope

2007-02-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to post about this project.
Rebekah is asking for squares for a "Blanket of Hope". This is being knit for a fellow knitbloggers husband. She is asking for any sizes on the squares. This is great , because it means no gauge issues. They also can be made with any color yarn. She is asking to use 100 % wool. It should be a beautiful blanket. She is going to use filler pieces here and there. If you are interested check out her blog for more information. I have been working on some using my Second Treasury of knitting patterns . I bought this book at The Mannings over the holidays. It is well worth the price and a valuable tool. We are waiting to hear on a Noreaster for Wednesday. I would not mind the snow day.

Project Compassion

2007-02-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have been working on some squares for Project Compassion . I love the way the lacy one looks. They asked for machine washable wool for these squares. I never seem to buy machine washable wool. The pink square is some leftover sock yarn from my stash. I just double stranded to make a worsted weight. The cream is some soft yarn I bought for a chemo cap awhile back. I have such a time getting gauge with squares. I knew they would "grow" when I blocked them. The pink square was ripped out a total of four times. I was about ready to scream after the fourth attempt. The cream square I made seven inches square. I blocked the heck out of it to make the required eight inches. There has been other knitting too. I made another pair of Cornflower Mitts . Of course I forgot to take a picture of them. They are off in the mail to my daughter in Pennsylvania. I also just finished a pair of mittens for my neighbor. He loved his son's mittens and asked could I make him a pair. His wife picked up some Paton's Classic Wool. I'll post a picture of them later. The weather has been so cold here the last week or two. But, at least we are not battling snow like upstate New York. I think they already have 70 inches and are expecting another 30 by the weekend. YIKES!!!!!! That is all the news from this neck of the woods. I am off to knit some slippers for me. I have worn a huge hole in my Fuzzy Feet.

Yarn Focus Challenge Secret Pal

2007-01-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

1. What type of yarn do you knit with most often? Usually wool or wool blends

2. Is there any type of yarn that you would love to try but haven't yet, such as bamboo, banana fiber. Maybe something with some silk in it. I have never tried cashmere.

3. In your opinion what is a luxury yarn? Anything that is soft to the touch.

4. Is there any type of yarn or fiber content you dislike or would prefer not to receive? I am not a huge fan of cotton.

5. What type of garments do you most often knit? I LOVE to knit mittens, hats and I enjoy lace work too.

6. What types of knitting books do you enjoy? I tend to buy hat and mitten books. I enjoy knitting for charity and it is usually hats and mittens.

7. What is a color you like but rarely or never buy yourself? Red

8. If you were pregnant and had to name your baby a fiber, what would her/his name be? Alpaca

9. Do you spin? Someday I would like to learn

10. If someone in your family or a best friend had to describe you in one word, what would it be? A bookworm

11. Please tell us one odd thing about you. I am anal when it comes to my knitting. I only have one project on the needles at one time. I never suffer from one sock or mitten syndrome. I would go nuts not making the mate.

12. What was your favorite cartoon when you were little. I really don't think I ever had a favorite. Strange ,huh?

13. Do you have animals? If so, please name them and tell us a little about them. I have a gorgeous long haired cat names Peaches. I got her from the local shelter about four years ago. We are crazy about her and she gives us much joy.

14. And last but not least, if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? It would be right here in New England. I lived in Pennsylvania for four years. I loved it....but, could not wait to come back to my lake.

Squares and Mittens

2007-01-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to write a post for a week. What do they say about the best of intentions? I have been cold all day today. I just made a nice cup of Irish Breakfast tea ( Don't you just love Amazon? You can link to anything.) I just buy this in my local grocery store. I like my tea strong with a dab of milk, I love the flavor of this one. I would like to try some from other companies. If anyone has suggestions ... let me know. I am home early from work today. I have been trying to not overload my schedule. The shampooing and blow drying just kills my shoulder. I was grateful for a slow day today. I am still going to Physical Therapy and Occupational therapy. The OT is for my fingers. I injured the middle and index finger during my fall. These two fingers are working at less than 50%. So..we are trying some aggressive therapy on them. On the knitting front..... I finished three squares for an comfort afghan. I read about this on Mama Bear's blog about a week ago. They are asking for 7 inch squares in acrylic yarn. I used some Caron's Soft in a country blue. It is such a trick getting the squares the correct size. I always do my gauge swatch. The one that is plain garter stitch is a smidge bigger than seven inches. I hope it is still usable. I need to get those off in the mail tomorrow. Also I have a tale about mittens..... The mittens I posted are for the neighbor boy. He lost the ones I made him for Christmas. These are made from Paton's Merino Wool. I love the variegated color. He has a "camo" colored coat. These should match quite well. But....back to my tale.....I always use Double points for my mittens. I made the first mitten with double points. I started the second one and changed over to Magic Loop. I just felt like switching. Well....... I finished the second mitten, completed the thumb. When I held them together, the second mitten was considerably smaller than the first. I never imagined there would be a difference. Obviously I knit much tighter with magic Loop. So, the second mitten went into the frog pond. I finished the third mitten last night. It was a good lesson for me. Speaking of magic Loop...... I always use a 32 or 40 inch Addi Turbo. The last batch of addis I bought have a problem. The cable is extremely stiff. It feels totally different than all my other Addi's . I have three needles that came with these super stiff cables. I ordered them from an Ebay seller. Has anyone had this problem with their Addi's? I might try to contact Addi directly and see if they will replace them. I am going to cast a Chemo cap on the needles tonight. I like to make them using Berroco's Chinchilla. I have made many of these hats. They are very soft and comfortable with this yarn. The pattern I use calls for one ball of the Chinchilla. I guess that is all the news from "Irishknits". Happy Knitting and stay warm.

Cornflower Mitts

2007-01-13T21:42:00.000-05:00

Here is another Fun Fur Hat to send off for

Kate's project. This one was made with a bunch of scraps my mother in law gave me. I would like to knit a few more of them . The other project is some fingerless mitts. These are the Cornflower Mitts from the Holiday Gifts 2006 from Interweaves Knits.There are a few items in that issue I would like to knit. I want to make the Cathedral afghan as well as the Mosaic Mitts. I also have a pair of Lovikka Mittens felting as we speak. I better go check on those......
A couple of more cycles and they will be done. I joined Rebekah's Yarn Focus Challenge. I had fun with the one she offered last year. Basically, you knit from your stash. Once a month you get one free day to buy yarn. It runs for three months. I plan on dyeing some more of the Bartlett's yarn. I have quite a bit that was given to me a few years ago. The yarn is about ten years old and light heathered colors. I have had success dyeing over it before. I wish the Bartletts felted properly. It does not shrink down enough. I just made an adult mitten that ended up being a potholder. We finally have snow in the forecast. They are saying we could get six to ten inches on Monday. I am ready for a little snow. There is nothing like a snow day to knit.

A worthy cause

2007-01-09T19:33:00.000-05:00

I know I promised picture of "Gettysburg". But, that will wait for another post. My mother in law gave me a bunch of "Fun Fur" scraps before I left Pennsylvania. I am not fond of the yarn. I figured I would work it into some charity mittens. While I was surfing some blogs on Sunday I came across a touching post. Kate was asking people to knit "Fun Fur Chemo Caps" for Children's Hospital Boston. What a wonderful cause. If you have a chance read her post from a few days ago. I used a pattern from the Headhuggers site. I think I used five different scraps on this hat. I have another one started with all kind of crazy colors. It was a fun cap to knit, especially knowing a child would be wearing it. Also, I had a package waiting for me when I came back from vacation. The lovely Maureen over at Batty for Yarn sent me mittens for my Mitten Tree. I believe she used the Gifted Mittens from Kate Gilbert. I may have to make a few pairs of these too. Thanks Maureen. She is always such an inspiration. She knits beautiful items for CIC. I started back to work today. It was really strange after being out of work for four months. I overbooked myself yesterday. My shoulder certainly paid for it last evening. I am going to try to lighten my schedule for awhile. I have physical therapy in the morning followed by a doctor's appointment. We will see what they have to say. I'll close for now....I have a date with some Fun Fur.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I still can't believe it is 2007. We are still on our trip , in Pennsylvania. We are heading back to New Hampshire tomorrow. I did get to spend a couple of hours at The Mannings yesterday. I will post later about that trip. We also spent the afternoon at Gettysburg. The weather was in the high 50's....hard to believe. I got some great photos on top of Little Round Top. My husband grew up about 20 minutes from Gettysburg. It is one of our favorite places to go. We used to get a cup of coffee and drive to Devil's Den on many a Friday evening. We have had a wonderful trip. Both of us are dreading the drive home. But, the forecast looks sunny and warm. I'll post some photos this weekend. I sure did miss reading my favorite blogs. Can't wait to catch up with what everyone is working on.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

I stopped by the shop today to collect the hats and mittens from our tree. I am so pleased with the amount of stuff we collected. I had another bag that I did not put on the tree. That bag had about twenty pairs of mittens and fifteen hats. I just love having this tree every year. This is the fourth year of collecting. There are some wonderful crocheted scarves that someone dropped off too. I had another lady ...who is not a customer of the salon drop of a bag of mittens. Forgive the way the photos are posting. I am still using the blogger photo button. I need to check out Flicker after the holidays. I dropped all the donations off at the homeless shelter this evening. I think I was telling you that they have thirteen little ones ages one to four. They were very grateful for all the donations.
We are leaving for Pennsylvania on Saturday and will be gone for two weeks. We both are looking forward to seeing the kids and spending time with family. All of my family lives here in New Hampshire. I have been celebrating all week with them. They always have us for all the holidays the rest of the year. They are good about us not being here for Christmas. I am looking forward to checking out my favorite yarn store in Chambersburg, The Yarn Basket. If we have time... I would like to check out The Mannings . I have heard this is a wonderful store. If I think of it I will take pictures. I want to take a minute and wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. I am very grateful for all of my old and new blog friends. You have all enriched my knitting life in many ways. Blogging has been a fantastic experience. Again.... Happy holidays friends.

2006-12-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

I managed to whip up a couple of small sets for my "Hat and Mitten" Tree. The pink and white set is for age one to two. Those little mittens are the "Stop and Go Mittens" from Knit Mittens! . I'll tell you...those are some very tiny thumbs. I think they are adorable. The second set is for two to four year olds. The hat is a great little pattern that I just discovered on Trek's blog. It is called the "Spiral Kiddie cap". It is a free pattern on her sidebar. What a great little pattern....I love the way it spirals.My Mom made about twenty pairs of mittens for the tree. She works on them throughout the year. I am going to take a picture of the tree next week ,which I will share with you. My other knitting, has been this cute little bracelet purse. I made this for my sister Kathy. She just loves purses. It was a free pattern from my local yarn store. It is made with a ribbon type yarn called "Showstopper". I am not sure who the company is and I lost the ball band. I decided to make a lining for it. I sewed the lining in by hand. We exchanged out gifts yesterday. She fell in love with the bag and can't wait to use it. Don't you just love to knit for someone who appreciates all your efforts? Now on to a technical question. For those of you who use Blogger. What do you use to upload your pictures to your blog? I have been using "Hello" for two years. They now have disabled their use of Internet Explorer to upload. I signed up for Picasa.....but, you can only upload one photo per post. At least that is the way I understand it. Right now I am using the blogger button to post pictures. I do not find it very user friendly. I would appreciate hearing any and all ideas. Guess, I will close for now. I want to head over to Knitting Chatters and catch up with Robbyn and the gang. Have a great weekend everyone!

Finally some knitting!

2006-12-06T23:20:00.000-05:00

Finally....I am able to knit. It is the greatest feeling in the world. Look what I found on Ebay. I have been looking for this book for awhile. My library had a copy ,but someone stole it. It is a fantastic book chock full of great Christmas stockings. If you have this book in your library.... be aware there a quite a few corrections . I found them on the Interweave Knits website. I plan on making several of these through the year. If you have been a constant reader of Irishknits, you know I have a "Hat and Mitten Tree" at the salon. We put it up after Thanksgiving. We donate everything we collect to the homeless shelter in my town. I called last evening to see how many children are at the shelter . They have four boys and five girls ages one to four . There are several children in the six to ten age bracket. Most of the things I have made and collected are for age six and above. So, I am working on some smaller size mittens right now. It is so awkward working on a thumb for a two year old mitten. Do you think one year old wear thumbless? I was thinking of adding some crocheted strings to hold the pairs together. You know the type you can thread through the sleeves of their coats. Do you think these are a pain for mothers of wee ones? I am hoping to whip up a few matching hats too. My fractured shoulder has really hampered my charity knitting. In shoulder news....things are really coming along. I am hoping to be back to work by January 8Th. The other photo I posted is Mini raglan ornament from the knitlist. I need to make a little hanger for it. It is the cutest little sweater. I want to embroider a letter on the front too. I am going to close for now...need to get knitting those baby mittens. Happy Knitting everyone.

Felting Frenzy...

2006-11-13T22:30:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone...... I am still here. I have not posted in quite awhile. The good news is I do not have a tear in my rotator cuff. I had an MRI a few weeks ago. I am making slow and steady progress with my rehab. They had banned me from knitting a few rows. As of last week ... I can knit a few rows again. I may not be able to knit . But, I sure can felt! I had five pairs of clogs and a pair of Fuzzy Feet waiting to be felted. I had worked on these a few months ago. I love the Fiber Trend Clog pattern. I think I have made eleven pairs. The blue Fuzzy Feet are for me. I wear the heels out by the end of winter. My current ones have holes in both heels. Can't wait for these to dry. I have been dying to knit some mittens. I had joined the "Warm Hands" KAL. I am hoping to be able to participate the first of the year. There are some beautiful mittens being made around Blogland. Speaking of beautiful....... Check out Kim's Swallowtail Shawl. I think the color is just stunning. Well.... that is all for now. Happy Knitting everyone.

2006-11-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

Clogs/

Kids/

Fuzzy Feet

2006-10-14T16:03:00.000-04:00

I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the lake. The foliage is fading fast here.... The rain from the other evening has really stripped the leaves. I just love this time of year. My arm is coming along nicely. I am still in therapy three times a week. There may be a possible tear in the rotator cuff... I will talk to the doctor about that in a couple of weeks. They started me with some strengthening excersises this week. There is an issue with my wrist. They have me seeing an OT this week. I am not able to bend it. I can knit two or three rows a day. I guess that is better than nothing :(
I have started a cuff on a mitten. I will post picture early in the week. I have had this pattern "Candide Aran Cap and Mittens" for about 15 years. I think it is out of print now. I paid seventy-five cents for this pattern. After all these years , I am finally going to make them. They are a two needle mitten pattern. I much prefer four needles. In other news.... I finally signed up for Bloglines . I love it!!! It is so nice to know when people's blogs update. Check it out if you have not signed up. Okay.... I am off to knit a row or two on my mitten.

2006-10-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

Lake

Lake

2006-09-24T15:57:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone..... Thank you all for your wonderful thoughts and comments. I started physical therapy this past week. I will do anything to prevent this from becoming another frozen shoulder. The doctor says the bone has not shifted. Thank God!!! It is healing as expected, I am still not able to knit. I have joined Sandy's Warm Hands KAL. I am still thinking about which mitten to knit. Last year I made a pair of mittens from Magnificent Mittens. I have tried a different template on my blog. I would like to update the look. I do not have a vast amount of knowledge with HTML . It is mostly trial and error. Does anyone know of a good book for this? Speaking of good books...I just finished The Glass Castle: A Memoir . What an amazing book, it is a must read. Okay...My one typing finger has had it for now. Knit some for me :)

Out of commission for awhile

2006-08-28T12:11:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone....My blog is going to be quiet for awhile. I had a fall last week and fractured my upper left arm. I am totally left handed so this makes it hard. The good news is I do not need surgery. I go back to the doctor in a few weeks. I am praying this does not turn into another frozen shoulder. I am going crazy not being able to knit. I guess I will be catching up on my reading. Hope to be back soon :)

Target Wave Mitten

2006-08-11T19:36:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the "Target Wave Mitten" from the Fall Interweave Knits. I was having a ball knitting this mitten till I began the thumb section. The shape was disturbing and I actually shortened it by a few rows.I made this sample from acrylic that was in my stash. Maybe that is why the thumb seems so "wonky" , for lack of a better word. They do not look too bad when modeled. But, that is one strange looking mitten when it does not have a hand in it. The jury is still out if I will make a mate. I might knit one in some wool and see if it has a better shape. I am in love with the "Swallowtail Shawl" from this issue. I would like to start this with some KnitPicks Shimmer. I love Evelyn Clark patterns. I have been working away on the "Eyelet Baby blanket". I have about 8 more inches before I add the ruffle. It is nice to work on a mindless project right now. I have been sick for twenty days with "bronchitis". I am on massive amounts of prednisone and antibiotics plus an inhaler.I went back to the doctor on Monday and they increased the medicine. They gave me another breathing treatment which helped. I can not remember being this sick. I have not smoked in four and a half years. But, I know I certainly damaged my lungs. They want me to make an appointment with a pulmonary specialist. I am hoping that won't be necessary. Despite being under the weather..... We enjoyed the visit with the kids. They have been here for a week. They left yesterday morning to head back to Pennsylvania. The weather could not have been more beautiful. We have more company coming next Wednesday. They will be here for five days. I am really hoping I feel better by their visit. I had several people ask me about stuffing the zucchini. This is a recipe that I follow more or less: I like to add Ritz crackers and mozzarella cheese to this recipe

SAUSAGE STUFFED ZUCCHINI

2 tbsp. oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 med. or 2 very lg. squash, prepared for filling (reserve pulp)
1/2 lb. bulk sausage
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet and saute onion, garlic, and reserved zucchini pulp until onion is soft. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up, until it loses its pink color. Remove from heat to bowl and mix in bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, thyme, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Fill the shells and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until heated through. Makes 6 servings

This is one of our favorite summer meals . I make quite a few and then freeze the leftovers.
I have been reading quite a bit this summer. I just finished The Memory Keepers Daughter . I would highly recommend this book. Kim Edwards is a first time novelist. I look forward to her future works. I have quite a few books waiting to be read. I am not sure what is next on the list. I guess that is all the news from "Irishknits". Have a great weekend everyone!

2006-08-11T19:28:00.000-04:00

Target Wave Mitten/

Back

2006-08-02T15:33:00.000-04:00

Eyelet Baby Blanket

2006-08-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

I am still here dear readers.I am long over due on an update. I have been down with a case of bronchitis for the last ten days. I kept thinking I was on the tail end of a cold. I finally went to the doctor yesterday. She confirmed bronchitis and sent me home with an armful of prescriptions including an inhaler. I resisted trying the inhaler till an hour ago. It really does help. It has been very hot and humid here the last few days. Today it reached 100 degrees in town. Hopefully it is going to cool down this evening. We have family arriving Friday. They will be staying for a week. We are looking forward to the visit as we have not seen them since Christmas. So, I have been busy getting ready for their arrival. The knitting has been on the back burner these last few weeks. I have started the Eyelet Baby Blanket from Blue Sky Alpaca. If you have this pattern be aware there is a correction on their website for the ruffle. I am using Bernat's Cottontots for the blanket. It is a surprisingly soft lovely yarn. The blanket does not look like much at this stage. I think it will be gorgeous with the ruffle. I am also working on a pair of socks for my niece. I received my new issue of Interweave Knits in the mail. I can't wait to sit down and look through it. I have been reading quite a bit lately. I read "The Husband" by Dean Koontz , a very good fast pace thriller. I just finished Atonement by Ian McEwan. I know so many people raved about this book. I was a little disappointed with it. Especially the ending....I just started reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I have only read a few pages. There are so many good books out there and so little time. One of my customers dropped off two huge zucchini today. I am going to stuff them tomorrow. We both are huge fans of stuffed zucchini. I usually put sausage in mine. This time I am going to use some garlic and herb chicken sausages. I think the brand is Al Fresco. I have tried them twice and they are very delicious. I love this time of year with all the fresh fruits and vegetables. I guess I will wrap this up for now.... Happy Knitting and stay cool.

2006-07-13T20:28:00.000-04:00

Good news!! We did not have to reformat the computer. That is such a huge relief. We had a virus and have no idea how it sneaked past all out protection. The computer is running great right now and I am keeping my fingers crossed. On the knitting front.... I borrowed One Skein from the library. There are a couple of projects that I am interested in. I like the Cabled Footies pattern and the Baby Bolero. I had some Mission Falls cotton I had bought last year. It was perfect for this little bolero. I had two skeins of this color. It was plenty with a small ball left over. My friend's daughter is having a boy next week. I am going to mail out this little sweater and a hooded sweater I made a few months back. It is a shame they discontinued the Mission Falls cotton. I really like working with it. It adds such a nice texture to a project. I would love to make a baby blanket with this cotton.

I am working on some more felted clogs. I have three children on my Christmas list. I have their shoe sizes , so that is a big help. I enjoy knitting the clogs. It is a fun pattern that works up quickly. I made three pairs a few months ago. I have not felted them yet. I just don't have much storage room. I will wait to felt most of my projects till December. I am also working on a pair of socks for my 8 year old niece. They are just a simple Knit 2, Purl 2 ribbing. I am continuing the ribbing down the foot. Let's see....What else is new since my last post? Oh yes.. We had to stop feeding the baby raccoons. The other night they were trying to get in the house. They all gathered at one of the screens and were scratching to get in. Miss Peaches was not happy to say the least. I have been reading a few books the last couple of weeks. I read The Kitchen Boy a story of the last Czar of Russia. It is a work of fiction and history. I have always been interested in the Romanovs. This week I read "The Shop on Blossom Street". It was such a quick light hearted read. I enjoyed it because of all the yarn and knitting talk. I just checked the next one, "A Good Yarn" from the library. My reading has really suffered since I picked up knitting again. I am hoping to find a happy balance. I really do miss reading every night. I guess that is all the news from here. I am off to check out some blogs . Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy Knitting!

2006-07-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

I finished my stockinette picot socks. They are a nice change from my traditional K2P2 ribbing.I had bought this yarn on a Menonite farm in Pennsylvania a few years ago. you never know what lies beneath in the stash. I think I will make some baby socks out of the leftovers.I bought a copy of "Sensational Socks".It is a great resource book. I also have a copy of "Socks,Socks,Socks" from the library. I am trying to decide on a pattern for the next pair.

I dyed some yarn last night.The yarn is the ugly gold Bartletts that I have a ton of.I needed some black to go with the black and white mohair I bought at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool.I am going to make a pair of mittens with this yarn. Well, I am going to close this post for now. We are having major computer woes.I have a feeling we will be dumping the computer this weekend. Don't you hate it when that happens?

dyed yarn

2006-06-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

We have a new family living in the culvert in the side yard. The other evening about 1:30 a.m. , we heard some racket out by the birdfeeder. Bruce flipped the outside light on and was greeted by five little faces hanging off the tree. I have a platform feeder that resides on the side of the tree. We think it may have been one of their first adventures out with Mom. Talk about cute..... The picture is a little dark, There is one unaccounted for as he was still hanging off the tree. We had a bunch of bread that we were tossing to them. One of the babies was sharing his with a sibling. We did not see them last night as it was pouring down rain. Speaking of rain... We are due for six or seven inches over the weekend. We just started drying out from the past two floods. I am wondering how all this rain will affect the strawberries. They just came in this past week. We have a wonderful place about five miles from here called "Butternut Farm". It is my favorite place to pick. Since this is a knitting blog, I will show you what I have been working on. This a Fiber Trend pattern called "Valerie and Friends". I used some Brown Sheep cotton fleece from my stash. This is the third time I have used this pattern.The picture does not show how adorable the back of the bonnet is. It makes such a wonderful gift. One of my customers is having a baby this week. She already knows it is a little girl.I also made her a little roll top cotton hat from some Mission Falls cotton. Rebekah's Yarn Focus Challenge is ending this week. I really enjoyed participating. I ended up only buying yarn on two of the free days. I have made many project out of my stash in the last three months. I am did end up making seven Critter Blankets for her charity drive. It used up a ton of my acrylic. I had found a great pattern for a crochet hexagon blanket. I want to make a few for my local shelter too. I also succumbed to the dishcloth mania. I kept seeing the dishcloth from the Mason-Dixon knitting book. I realized that the pattern is on the back of the Peaches and cream label. Beth had mentioned this is one of her posts awhile ago. What a great little dish cloth. It is a slipstitch pattern and rather addicting. It takes hardly any yarn for the darker color. What a great way to use up scraps. I know I have mentioned before that my sisters love dishclothes. I am going to make a few more of these for Christmas. I have quite a bit of this cotton in my stash too. Onto my next subject..... I would love to pick the brains other knitters who use blogger. I just started using the photo feature in my posts. I had been uploading my pictures to "Hello" and then inserting them. When I use the photo feature on Blogger, the pictures upload in descending order. I then have to copy and paste to get the picture to line up properly. Does anyone know what I mean? I am sure there is something simple that I am overlooking. When I post another picture is goes to the top of the post instead of the bottom. Please drop me a note if you can help. I guess that is all for today. Enjoy your weekend and Happy Knitting.

We are growing mold.....

2006-06-09T12:29:00.000-04:00

It is raining for the seventh day in a row. We are starting to grow mold around the edges.It is going to rain all weekend too. I bought my hanging plants last weekend. They all look like terrible. Almost all of the bloom have withered away. I am sure they will come back when the sun decides to shine. Bruce worked on the dock this week. It had suffered quite a bit of damage from the floods a few weeks ago. It is not looking to good right now. But, this is good knitting weather. I finally took some pictures of the "Simply Lovely Lace Socks". My niece Hailey is modeling them for me.

I used Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Winterberry colorway. The pattern is from the Spring 2006 Interweave Knits. I love the color of these socks. It was a simple and fun pattern to knit. I already am planning on making a few pairs of these. As soon as the girls saw the picot edge they requested some for Christmas. I have had this sock yarn in the stash for three years now. I knew I wanted to make something a little more special with the yarn. These definitely fit the bill. Hailey also modeled a pair of mittens that I made for my Charity Mitten tree.

She was all excited about modeling the socks and mittens for me.These are the mittens from Weekend Knitting. I used some Handspun and a strand of mohair. This was some of the yarn I picked up at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. These were also a big hit with my nieces. I plan on making them a few pairs for the winter. Last night I gathered some of my scrap acrylic yarn together. Have you heard about the "Basil and Abner's Critter Charity Drive" over at Rebekah's? I am going to work on some critter blankets.I also want to knit a few catnip mice if I have enough time.If you want to help out drop Abner a note on Rebekah's blog. My Mom and I donate to our local shelter in Dover too. Both of out cats came from their shelter. I am going to leave you with a picture of Miss Peaches. She has enriched our lives greatly.

2006-05-26T22:16:00.000-04:00

I am still here and have not floated away...... I am sure most of you were aware of the flooding New Hampshire last week. Our lake was the highest it has ever been. We stayed warm and dry. We had damage to our dock and beach/ land. But, we were very lucky our home was up as high as it is. We were stranded for two days from the road washing out in two places. This happens frequently, never to the extent this time. There was quite a lot of damage in the surrounding towns . We feel very fortunate. In knitting news.... I am still on a felting frenzy. I made a "Lucy" bag and a
Retro Bag". This is stuff I had sitting in my stash. I also used up some "Burly Spun" I had won at the Patternworks tent sale last year. I made two hats from the skein. I will put them away for the Hat/Mitten tree this year. I did finish up the "Simply Lovely Lace Socks". I will post a picture later. The came out wonderful and it is a great simple pattern. I have not been knitting for a few days. I have a friend who is a rug hooker. She had made twelve stair treads for her steps in her farmhouse. They are a log cabin design. I am helping her with the finish bind off . Basically it is just an overcast stitch with two strands of wool. It is a time consuming step. It has taken me two days to complete one of the treads. They are really gorgeous. I will have to take a picture to show you. We have company coming for the weekend. They are coming up from Pennsylvania and will be here in the wee hours. I guess it is going to be a gorgeous weekend. We are due for some beautiful weather. Hope everyone has a chance to enjoy the weekend. I'll close for now and Happy Knitting everyone!

2006-05-26T22:14:00.000-04:00

Retro Bag/

Lucy Bag/

Burly Spun hat

NH Sheep and Wool

2006-05-14T13:47:00.000-04:00

Back from my great adventure to the NH Sheep and Wool. Boy....Did it pour. The term "raining cats and dogs" was very appropriate. I wore my sneakers and wished I had a pair of duck boots. The were huge puddles in front of some barns. I am sure I missed a few of the exhibitors. I had a great time despite the weather. I took a couple of pictures. I did not end up connecting with any bloggers. The were a few faces I thought I recognized. I should have walked up and said hello. I was hoping to get to meet Sandy or Cheryl . There was a blogger picnic somewhere on the fairgrounds. I never did find that either. The fibers were beautiful. I did break my Yarn fast and used my free day for the month of May. I bought a beautiful skein of "Bearfoot" and Trekking XXL in a purple colorway. I came upon some natural brushed Mohair that I scooped up to dye. I picked up a new Country Classic dye in the shade "Deep Purple". I also picked up the Yummy Mittens pattern. I almost forget...I did meet a blogger. It was Rose, she was working at the Spirit Trail booth where I bought my pattern. She was very nice and had been in Maryland the week before. In other news.....It is still raining here. My road is washed out in two spots. I think Bruce will have to take me to work in the truck tomorrow. The lake is the highest it has ever been. The water is right to my deck. My husband just lassoed the deck as it was floating down. The lake. I will post some pictures later. Off to check on the situation.

2006-05-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

Spirit Trail/

Blue Moon/

The Woolery Shop

NH Sheep and Wool....

2006-05-12T21:15:00.000-04:00

I am off to the NH Sheep and Wool tomorrow. I have been trying to decide all week. The forecast has looked so bleak. What the heck is a little rain to us "diehard" Knitters. I have never attended the festival. I am hoping that some of the booths are inside. I have fresh batteries in the camera and a map from Mapquest. What else does a girl need? Well..... A little money would be nice, huh? I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures. Speaking of pictures. I got a great picture of my Billy the Baltimore Oriole and Rufus the hummingbird. They have been fighting over the feeder all week. I am off to gather some stuff for tomorrow. I think I need to find my umbrella :)

2006-05-12T21:14:00.000-04:00

Baltimore Oriole/

Hummingbird

2006-04-30T19:28:00.000-04:00

Mary Jane's bag

The Elegant Ewe and new projects

2006-04-30T19:11:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since I posted. The time just seems to slip away, huh? Last Sunday, I drove up to The Elegant Ewe in Concord. I had a friend with me who is a new knitter, I have been teaching her to knit for 5 months or so. It is one of my very favorite stores. Needless to say she was overwhelmed with their selection. I remember feeling the same way when I first discovered the store. We were in the store for over two and a half hours. Now, as mot of you know I am participating in the Yarn Focus Challenge. We do however get one free day a month to shop. Rebekah would be so proud of me! I came out of the store with a pair of needles , one pattern and one skein of novelty yarn for a felted bag. I have been making some progress in my stash. It feels really good to use up what I have. I almost faltered when I came to the bin of sock yarn. There sat mounds of my beloved Mountain Colors "Bearfoot". In another slot heaps of Trekking XXL. I have some of both marinating in my stash...So I sadly turned away. I picked up another Two Old Bags pattern. It is for the "Body Hugging Flat Purses". I love their line of bag patterns. They are always unusual shapes and styles. The picture of the bag hanging outside is the flat bag. It was a very easy knit. I did have a felting disaster. I used some Brown Sheep Naturespun on this bag. I have never used it to felt with before. The handle and part of the bag felted upon itself. I had quite a time cutting and pulling to try to salvage the bag. I am not that crazy with the wobbly shape up top. I think I will pass this along to one of my small nieces. I am going to make another one using my favorite Plymouth "Galway". I have been wanting to cast on a new pair of socks. Yesterday I started the Pomatomus socks from Knitty. I fiddled about three inches of the sock. The yarn overs were driving me crazy at the beginning of the needles. I decided to frog them and find something easier on the nerves. You really have to be in the right frame of mind for intricate patterns. Today I started Simply Lovely Lace Socks from the new Spring Interweave Knits. This is a nice simple sock. I am using some Cherry Tree Hill Yarn in the Winterberry colorway. It has been tucked in the bottom of the stash for two years now. Well...... I guess that is all that is new with me. I am going to close for now and turn on the "West Wing". It is one of my favorite shows and will be coming to an end soon. Happy Knitting everyone.

2006-04-30T19:04:00.000-04:00

Flat Purse/

Twin Rib Mitts and Headband

2006-04-18T19:33:00.000-04:00

I finished my Kitty Pi bed last week. I think Peaches might think it is hers. She immediately started kneading while I was taking the picture. I am going to wait to felt it. I need to find something good size and round to stretch it over after it has been felted. What do you think of the little Cupcake hat ? I think it is just adorable. I am trying to find some bugle beads to stitch on the top for sprinkles. I am going to use this for a tree topper for my Hat/Mitten tree at the shop next Christmas. It try to have an unusual hat as a topper every year. I plan on making a few more of these. They were so much fun to knit. I am using some of my sock leftovers to make baby socks. It is such a great way to use up those little balls. Speaking of socks.... I had used a "star toe" decrease on my last pair of socks. I had a copy of "Knitting on the Road" from the library. I wrote the decrease on a piece of paper. When I went to finish the second sock, I could not find the paper anywhere. I have a huge black hole those little notes seem to fall into. Of course, the library's copy was going to be out for three weeks. Julie was kind enough to try and help me. Do you think I could remember which sock the decrease came from. So.....When did this happen? I used to have the greatest memory. Now, I need to have a little memo board and pen around my neck at all times. Anyway.... I ripped out the toes and continued on with my old standby decrease. My birthday was last Saturday. I turned 47. The number means nothing to me. But, I sure wish I could find that memory again. I had a wonderful day. We spent most of it on the lake then had a nice dinner. I am going to get a new birdbath with my birthday money. I love Wild Birds Unlimited . We have a store over in Dover. I am going to go over on my day off and see what they have in stock. They have on style that is a deck mount. I might check that one out. Well, I'll close for now....American Idol is starting and I have to cheer on "Taylor".

2006-04-18T19:29:00.000-04:00

Cupcake Hat/

Kitty Pi Bed and friend//|

Stash Shopping...

2006-04-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

I have had a bunch of Lopi in my stash for months now. One of my customers makes Lopi Sweaters and gave me all her leftover balls. I was going to use them for felted mittens. I gathered some of them up last night. Some of the colors are just a small amount. So, I decided to make Kitty Pi Bed . Miss Peaches loves her bed and practically lives in it. I think this one will be for my Mom's cat Shadow. He is an old boy and loves to curl up in anything he can. My Mom crochets critter blankets for our local animal shelter. Since both of our animals came from this shelter, it is near and dear to our hearts. Shadow always lays on one of her critter blankets. I think he will be very happy with a warm and cuddly new bed. I finally remembered to post a picture of my Windowpane Mittens(that is for you Robbyn!). The pattern is from the book "Homespun Handknits". I used some alpaca for these and they feel luxurious. I will be making a few more pairs of these mittens. The last photo is a pair of baby socks . What a great use of those little bits of leftover sock yarn. They work up so fast too. I used my favorite pattern from Yankee Knitters in the smallest size. I just finished the cutest little children's hat. I am going to wait to post a pic till I finish the embellishments. It is a gorgeous day here in New Hampshire. We are going to do some outside work today. I can't do rake with my shoulder. But, we have so many sticks that have come down over the winter. So that will be my job. I need to run some movies back to town too. We watched "Flight Plan" last night with Jodie Foster. I thought it was a very good movie. We are huge Jodie Foster fans. I'll close for now ....Happy Knitting everyone.

2006-04-09T10:15:00.000-04:00

Kitty Pi Bed/

Windowpane Mittens/

Baby Socks

Yarn Focus Challenge

2006-04-02T17:05:00.000-04:00

Rebekah is having a Yarn Focus Challenge. Basically, it is to use up some of our stash. It is going to be quite a bit of fun. You have one free day a month that you can buy yarn. Why don't you check out her blog and read all about it. The more the merrier. Make sure you check out the pictures of Abner and Basil.
I just finished a pair of baby socks for a overdue baby boy named Bruce. Margo at Spinning Yarns (my local yarn store) in Dover is having a baby. They are a wonderful couple and I enjoy shopping at their store. Of course, I did notify them that I am on a yarn diet of sorts. I am one of those people who only buys yarn with a project in mind. My stash is not huge...Compared to some. But, I have enough yarn for about 7 pairs of socks. I have one bin that is just wool and leftovers. The other bin is for acrylic. I have a couple of skeins of lace weight I bought at Christmas. I am going to do some organizing and see where I am at. It has been a gorgeous weekend weather wise. My husband put the boat in the water yesterday. He is out fishing as I am writing this post. I think I will head out to the dock and see if I can hook a ride :)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

Clogfest

2006-03-25T21:52:00.000-05:00

Guess What? I have had minimal pain for four whole days. I really think the shot is working. I am still continuing with my physical therapy. Dare I say there is an end in sight. So.......Does anyone else have Spring fever? I am just itching to get outside and play with my flowers. I noticed this morning , the goldfinches are really starting to turn color. I am going to dig out my Baltimore Oriole feeder tomorrow. I had so many of them last year. The last few morning I woke up to all the birds singing in the yard. What a glorious sound that is. The lake is slowly thawing. My husband can not wait to put the boat in the water. It won't be long now.
I am in the middle of a "clogfest". I am sure everyone knows the pattern, "Felted Clogs" by Fiber Trend. I love Fiber Trend pattern. They are always well written and never have errors. I am in the middle of my third pair of clogs. I am going to wait to felt them until summer. They take so long to dry in the house. These are Christmas presents for next year. I am using Plymouth Galway. I had bought the yarn quite awhile ago for these clogs. If you have been reading my blog for awhile.... You know I am a huge fan of "Galway". I am also knitting a felted bag for my sister. I made her one last Christmas and she just loves it. This one is a bright fuschia color. I need to find some novelty yarn to trim the top. I am going to take a ride over to "Spinning Yarns" in Dover tomorrow. They also carry Malabrigo yarn. The last time I was in the store, I could not help touching it. It is the softest yarn and comes in gorgeous colors. I have resisted temptation so far. I am one of those people who only buys yarn with a project in mind. I am trying to stick to knitting from my stash for now. So.... If some Malabrigo shows it's face on my blog, you have permission to yell at me. I guess I will close for now. I almost forgot..... I could not resist a picture of my sunbathing beauty on the blog. She was so tuckered out from watching the birds all morning :)

2006-03-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sunbathing/

Clogs/

Clogs

Relief

2006-03-17T07:47:00.000-05:00

I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful supportive comments. Many of you dropped me an email describing your own experiences. It really validates how you feel knowing someone else has gone through the same thing. The good news.... I had the shot in my rotator cuff last Wednesday. By the weekend I was getting some relief from the pain. I really am feeling confident that this is going to work. I am continuing with physical therapy too.
So.... Look at my Miss Peaches getting some daddy loving. This is the same cat who we almost lost last August. She may not have a colon anymore but is loving life. Before the surgery she would not get in anyone's lap. Now, she is a lap cat beyond compare. I really believe she was sick from the time we took her home from the shelter.The surgery was the best thing we did for her. We sure do love our little gal. In knitting news... I just finished a hat to go with the mittens from a few weeks ago. I just love the grey and black pair of mittens. The pattern is from Homespun Handknits. I used my favorite child's mitten pattern and adapted the pattern to this pair. The pattern in the book was written for an adult size. Homespun Handknits is by Linda Ligon. It has been out for several years now. It is chock full of some wonderful patterns for mittens, hats and gloves. I would highly recommend this book if you can find a copy. I am working on another pair of mittens that I will post this weekend. I am hoping to get better about posting now that I am feeling better. Take care friends....

2006-03-17T07:43:00.000-05:00

Daddy loving/

Fall Topper/

Mittens

Can I whine?

2006-02-28T19:11:00.000-05:00

Can I whine for a minute? I am so @#$%^&*@ tired of being in pain. This pain from my shoulder is really wearing me down. I have been awake since about 2:00 a.m. last night. I sat up in the recliner all night with the heating pad. My physical therapy is coming along. I am making progress with my range of motion. But, the pain is constant. The doctor had given me Tramadol for the pain. The first three times I had taken the medicine, it made me nauseous. The fourth time I started vomiting.... So I tossed it in the trash. I am going to call the doctor in the morning and set up a follow up. I guess we will talk about the injection in the shoulder. I am doing everything I can to avoid surgery. Besides the shoulder impingement, I have some spurs on the rotator cuff. There is a nerve that catches on these. The pain will about bring me too my knees. I know my work aggravates the shoulder. The blow drying is especially difficult. Ok....I feel better now~ my rant is finished.
On to some good news. I finally bought the new Robin Hansen book, "Favorite Mittens". This is a wonderful book with many updates. I have her two older books. This one has some clearer instructions. There are several children's versions of some of the favorites. If you love to knit mittens, this book is one to add to your collection. Speaking of mittens. I made a pair this weekend to put away for my Hat/ Mitten tree next year. I also finished one of the socks for my sister. I tried a different toe decrease this time. It is the "Star Toe". I have to say I am very pleased with the way it looks. It is nice and round and looks comfortable. I am going to have Mary try it on this weekend. She wears a size 10 and a half,incase your wondering why the sock looks so big. There are no tiny feet in our family. I have nothing on my needles. I can't quite believe it. I am going to cast on the second sock. I have mittens running around in my head right now. I was thinking of the "Trellis "scarf from the new Interweave Knits. I think that is one the back burner till I find some light pink laceweight. I want to make it for my stepdaughter and she loves pink. I need a new pair of Fuzzy Feet . I have worn a hole in the heel of my old ones. I love that pattern. I have made about fifteen pairs of these since the pattern was published. They are very warm and toasty. I have been looking through blogs at all the wonderful Knitting Olympics projects. There are some amazing things out there. I guess I will close for now. I am going to dive into the stash and see what jumps out at me. Happy Knitting!

2006-02-28T19:08:00.000-05:00

Mittens\

Star Toe\

Favorite Mittens

The lights are on!!!

2006-02-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

The lights are on and I am home!!!!! We have been without power for 27 hours. We had terrible high winds yesterday and lost the power around noon time Friday. We have a "Kerasun" which can keep the house warm and toasty. We live in a very secluded area...My place is two miles in the woods on a small lake. When the wind blows we lose our power. But, it usually for six or seven hours. I had all the candles going last night while my husband was at work. I knew I could not work on my socks with those tiny stitches and dark yarn. So..........I lit a couple of extra tapers and dug out some bright cotton yarn. I managed to produce one dishcloth last evening. My sisters always ask for these for Christmas. I guess I am getting an early start on them. I finished half of another today. First thing I did when the power came on was take a long hot shower. I don't know when a shower felt that good. Truth be known... I love when we lose the power. I enjoy the quiet and the glow of the candles. I have a gas stove so one can always make a cup of tea. I just put a "beer can chicken" in the oven. It is one of those ones that is already seasoned. Yummy!!!!! Even if the power goes back out we will have a nice supper. I have a couple of projects on my mind right now. I am thinking of knitting Trellis scarf from the New Interweave Knits. My other idea is "Market Squares bag" from Bags: a Knitters Dozen. This was also published in a issue of Knitters 2001. I would need to buy some more Lamb's Pride for the bag. It can be very hard to find in my area. So far...The scarf is leading the list. I posted a picture of some socks I am working on. I usually knit them on two circulars. I felt like using my Dp's this time around. The yarn is wonderful . I am crazy about the flecks of color going through. The yarn is called Froehlich Wolle. I had bought this at Charlotte's Web in Exeter last year. It also comes with some extra wool to re-enforce the toes and heels. If you get a chance to try some, I think you will be pleased. Also.... I wanted to thanks Yvonne from New York. She was my swap partner for the "Unloved Sock Yarn Swap". I received some lovely Regia yarn. I think it will make a great pair of socks for my niece Hailey. Thank you Yvonne! I am off to check on that chicken....Yummy!!

2006-02-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

Unloved Sock Yarn/

Socks

Coming along......

2006-02-05T19:25:00.000-05:00

I know I have not posted in forever and a day. I am still alive and well and living in New Hampshire. The shoulder is coming along. I am going to physical therapy twice a week. I had been having a problem sleeping at night. I could not get comfortable in any position. I just could not take the constant pain. I finally called the doctor last Thursday and told them the Aleve was not touching the pain. They prescribed something called "Tramadol". I believe it is like a very strong Tylenol. It works...And that is all I care. I can get through the day, but at night I need the pain medicine. I am supposed to have a re- evaluation this Friday . I guess this will tell if I am getting my range of motion back. Enough of that never ending saga. On to happier news..... I have been knitting. I have a small Lucy bag in the works. It is a great mindless project. I will be sure to post a photo when it is felted and finished. I know a few people having babies this year. I dug out my old tried and true "Hooded baby sweater" pattern. This is the one that zips up the back. My pattern calls for worsted weight yarn. I can't tell you how many of these I have made through the years. They are always a great gift.The pattern is so old that is is hand typed . I also have a pair of socks on the needles. Speaking of socks...... I joined Unloved Sock Yarn Swap over at Beth's. What a great idea for a swap. I just put my package together for my swap partner. I really had a good time with this. I think she will enjoy the package. I guess that is all for now friends. Thanks again for all the supportive thoughts about my shoulder.

2006-02-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

Hooded baby sweater/

Small Lucy Bag

Thanks everyone!

2006-01-23T15:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts about my shoulder problem. I know you of all people can understand not being able to knit. I was going absolutely bonkers! I did finally get a diagnosis on my shoulder. They called it Shoulder Impingement.The shoulder is basically 'frozen". I have lost quite a bit of my range of motion. I can not tie my work apron on and putting on my bra is a main event. I started physical therapy last Friday. I had my second session today. I have exercises to do at home four to five times a day. I am really confident that the therapy will work. So, wish me luck..... Now , for the good news. He said knitting has nothing to do with my condition. I was thrilled to hear that news. I started a little bit of knitting and am trying not to overdo. I have a basic Mistake Rib scarf started. I had bought some Cascade 220 while in Pennsylvania. This is going to be a present for my son in law. It is a great shade of grey which he will love. I have so many projects I want to work on. I keep seeing the "Jaywalker" socks around Blogland. I have some yarn that would be perfect for them. It is snowing here today. We have about six inches and still coming down. All my afternoon and evening people cancelled. So, I have the rest of the day off. What a strange winter it has been. Last week we had temperatures reaching high 50"s. Is it too soon to say I am ready for Spring? I'll close for now..... I am going to curl up with a cup of coffee and a book.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-06T10:36:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! We had a wonderful trip to Pennsylvania. The time is always too short. We enjoyed every minute with family and friends. Of course I made a visit to my favorite yarn store The Yarn Basket. I will take pictures of all the goodies later in the weekend. They had Trekking sock yarn so I grabbed a couple of balls. I had stashed some money away just for a visit to this store. I think I spent two hours roaming around in there. If you are ever around Chambersburg, Pa. , make sure you stop by. Now for the bad news...... I have tendonitis in my arm/shoulder area. I have been suffering with it for about three months. Of course ,the fact I have been knitting like a banshee does not help. I thought I had injured it lifting some weights in my exercise. I think it was a combination of cutting hair , knitting and exercising. So, I have not knitted in a week. Talk about withdrawal! I quit smoking four years ago, knitting in the evening is what keeps my hands busy. I am not sure how long this will take to heal. The pain has been pretty intense and it keeps me awake at night. I have been reading in the evenings to fill in the void. If you look to the left of my blog.... You will see the wonderful button that Paula over at Basset Knitter has made for me. Thank you Paula, I just love it! Feel free to grab my button if you like. I also want to thank Lucette for her suggestions on the Lopi socks. I did finish them and the recipient was thrilled. Also, Wendy sent me a wonderful handmade Christmas card , some cute candles and a present for Miss Peaches. Thanks again Wendy. That is all for now folks. I wish you all a wonderful 2006.

Happy Holiday to all!

2005-12-23T09:24:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it is that time again..... The holidays sneak up faster each year. I will be running around like a mad woman today. We are leaving for Pennsylvania for the holidays. We stay till January 2nd. We will have a great time with Bruce's family and the kids. I always hope the weather cooperates for the trip. We are due for some freezing rain this evening. Hopefully it will wait till we are on the road. We like to drive over night because the traffic is always lighter. I have all day to pack and get things ready. My neighbor watches Miss Peaches for the duration. We sure are going to miss her. My son in law is allergic to cats or she would be tucked in the suitcase. Bruce and I decided her colon surgery this summer is our gift to each other. She is feeling like a million and looks wonderful. Is everyone finished with their holiday knitting? I had Christmas with my family yesterday. Everyone loved their felted bags and socks and other knitted items. The girls are growing like weeds. My niece Hailey's foot grew another inch in about four months. I grabbed her socks back after she tried them on. I will just rip them back and add another inch. When I make their socks this year, I think I will stop at the toe decrease until December. I posted a few last minute gift pictures. The hat and cable mittens were for Lacey. The felted clogs were for my 12 year old niece Hailey. She already wears a women's size 9. Speaking of the clogs..... I was thrilled with the Plymouth Galway for these. It felted nice and tight and firm. I needed to run them through about seven or eight cycles. But, these are definitely the firmest pair I have made. I am not sure if you remember the Gjestal pair. The did not shrink enough. I do think the Fiber trend pattern runs big. The next pair I make I am going to drop a size. I posted a picture of my Hat and Mitten tree. This picture was taken last week. By the end of the day Wednesday I had received about thirty five more mittens and some hats. I had three large shopping bags full of hats and mittens. I dropped everything off at the local homeless shelter on Wednesday evening. They were extremely grateful and will put it to good use. They told me they already had 2o children living at the shelter. This project is always near and dear to my heart. As a child I used to make mittens for a local Mitten tree. My Mom would knit all year for the Mitten tree and encourage me to make some too. That Mitten tree has stopped in town over the years. It felt good to revive the tradition at the salon. This was our second year and a huge success. Well... I should start my packing. I want to end this with saying how much I have enjoyed blogging this year. I have met many wonderful people through this experience. I look forward to this year and our sharing of knowledge and stories with each other. Happy Holidays to all of you and a safe and Happy New Year.

2005-12-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

Lacey's hat & mitts/

Hailey's clogs/

Hat & Mitten tree

Winter Wonderland

2005-12-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

We are in the middle of a Noreaster here in New Hampshire. They are predicting up to 12 inches. We have about four inches on the ground right now. I filled all my birdfeeders last evening. There are many happy birds out there this morning. I love to watch them during a snow storm. There are about ten goldfinches on one of the feeders right now. Miss Peaches is snuggled in her felted bed watching them with great interest. I had a blocking party last week. My poor shawl and Branching Out scarf had been buried in a basket waiting to be blocked for many months. They are Christmas presents, so it was high time they had their bath. I used some Eucalan and was very pleased with the results. I would like to make "The Flower basket Shawl" again. It really is a gorgeous shawl. I am working on a pair of socks from the Lopi Accessories #82227 book. I am really struggling with the Toe decrease on this pattern. I think there is an error in the pattern. I have not been able to find anything on the web. I would just switch to another type of toe decrease...But, the heel is where the black line is in the picture. You undo those stitches and knit the heel in afterwards. You have to use the same instructions as used in the toe. I have played around with it a couple of times. I decided to put it down for now. If anyone has this pattern book, I would love to pick your brain. I am working on a pair of Felted clogs for Hailey. I love making clogs, they are always a much loved present. Hailey requested these because her little sister loves her pair. I am using some Galway wool that I had stashed from the Patternworks summer sale. I usually use Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride for my clogs. I have felted Galway for many bags and mittens. It does not take as long to felt in my washing machine. Can you believe that Christmas is around the corner? I am in good shape this year. This is the year of gift cards and handknit items. I need to finish some more wrapping . We will be heading to Pennsylvania for the week Christmas to New Years. My husband's work has a shut down for that week. We are looking forward to seeing the kids and my Mother-in-law. I have tucked some money away to visit my favorite yarn store in Chambersburg. It is called "The Yarn Basket". I love this store and spend hours perusing the yarn. They always have yarns I have only seen on the web. I like to have some projects picked out ahead. That way I know how much yarn I need. Well.....I think I will head out and shovel off the deck. Looks like a great day to get some knitting down. I am off today so I don't have to leave the house. What is better than being nestled in with snow swirling around outside?

2005-12-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

Flower Basket Shawl/

Branching Out Scarf/

Lopi Sock

Mitten Love and hats....

2005-11-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a mitten update for all my fellow Warm Hands KAL. I finished my mittens from the "Magnificent Mittens " book. I loved knitting these mittens. They are knit from the top down and it makes great sense. I plan on making some more mittens from this book. I need to aggressively block these mittens to make them a bit larger. I am thinking I want to make some cable mittens next. I have a pattern from "Moosely Mitts" called "Waterfall". I need to work on a couple of things for Christmas too. I finished my hats to send off to Anne's. She is collecting for people who suffered loss in the tornado in Indiana. The Aran watch hat is a pattern from Charlene Schurch's Hats On! Book. What a wonderful resource for anyone who enjoys knitting hats. There are so many styles to choose from. The men's hat is a pattern from the Lion Brand site. It is a basic watch cap for men. I want to make a few of these for my mitten and hat tree at work. I set the tree up last week. I have about 15 pairs on there so far. I put all my mittens on there to start the tree. I am hoping it will be a huge success. I will take pictures as it goes along. I completely forgot to take any pictures last year. My family had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. It is hard to believe the holidays are upon us. I swear they sneak up faster every year. I played some "Attack Uno" with my nieces in the afternoon. They were funny.... The eight year old could not stop laughing and giggling every time the cards shot out of the holder. The eleven year old was all business and concentrated on winning. Fun was had by all. I am cooking my turkey bones off today to freeze for a soup. I am making a Shepherds Pie for supper tonight. Take about a comfort food..... It is one of our favorites this time of year. Off to hit the kitchen and start cooking. Oh, I almost forgot.... I had a bear come through last week. He came up on the deck and bent my birdfeeder pole system in half. For my birthday last year, Bruce bought me a pole system from "Wild Bird's Unlimited. It has many arms that come off it for several feeders. Luckily it was the main pole that was ruined, all the arms were still intact. I replaced the pole for $20.00. One of my feeders was completely destroyed along with a huge suet feeder. I have several feeders so the birds won't miss one. I imagine the big block of suet attracted the bear in the first place. I slept through the whole adventure. Bruce was at work at the time and he gets home at 1:00 a.m. I hope they will hibernate soon. I am taking in all the feeders at night for now. Now, I really need to get in the kitchen. Happy Knitting friends!

2005-11-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

Aran watch hat

Men's Watch hat

Finished mittens

2005-11-13T09:56:00.000-05:00

Mitten

Mitten update

2005-11-13T09:18:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone... I have been knitting up a storm . I am way behind in updating. I have finished my first mitten for the Warm Hands KAL . I am very happy with the mitten. I choose to use a double I-cord on the cuff. The pattern called for a single I-cord. I can't recommend this book enough. It makes sense to knit the mitten from the tip to cuff. You can try the mitten on as you go along. Once you conquer the technique, you will be off and running. The mitten has taken longer to knit then I expected. You really have to pay attention to the chart. I certaintly did not work on it while watching "Lost"(my favorite show). I love the looks of the invisible thumb. It is amazing how it blends right in to the mitten.Can you tell which mitten has the thumb? I hope to start the second mitten tonight.I have really enjoyed checking out all the blogs in the KAL. People are making some incredible mittens. I am working on Christmas presents too. I have a felted bag for my sister started. I am working on a small pair of socks for my niece. Plus..I am still working on mittens for my Mitten tree at work. I think we will set the tree up this work. I had a elderly customer bring in a hat and mittens the other day. She also had made a few pairs of boot socks. It always amazes me how generous people are. Speaking of people in need...Sandy posted about a knitting project for the people in Indiana struck by the tornado. She has a link to Anne's blog about this project. I am going to knit some hats or mittens for this project won't you join me? I have been wanting to find a copy of the Robin Hansen book "Flying geese and Partridge Feet". This book has been out of print for years. I purchased a copy on Ebay last week. I can't wait to add it to my mitten books. I have also been looking for "Homespun Handknits". There is a great "Window pane mitten" for adults in there. Well... It is a gorgeous day here today. I am off to fill my birdfeeders and enjoy the day. Have a great weekend everyone.

New Mittens

2005-10-30T16:47:00.000-05:00

I started my new mittens for the Warm Hands KAL. I am making a pair from a book I bought last year. It is called Magnificent Mittens . They are made from the tip down. This is a really great idea... You can try them on as you go along. If you have made socks from the toe up , it is the same technique. The thumb is also made separate. You insert it into the mitten when you are at a certain point. There are some wonderful mittens in this book. I am not a huge fan of the "Gauntlet" style cuffs. I am going to try some different cuffs on some of them. There are also some interesting edging you can do around the cuff. I would highly recommend this book to any mitten lover. Speaking of new mitten books. I remember that Robin Hansen was coming out with a new book. It is called "Favorite Mittens" . It is a updated collection of mittens from two of her older books. I have her "Fox,Geese and Fences" book. It was the first mitten book I purchased and one of my favorites. I am going to cast on another pair of socks too. I need to make a few more for Christmas presents. Last week, I made the "Lace Watch cap" from Hats On! By Charlene Schurch. I have made three hats form this book. It is another one of my favorite books. I would like to find a copy of her new sock book. I am a huge fan of her work. Well...That is all for today. I am making corned beef and cabbage for supper. I have to get peeling. Happy knitting everyone.

2005-10-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

New Mittens

The sun will come out....

2005-10-21T09:40:00.000-04:00

The sun has been shining for two days! I am planning on making the most of it today. I think I nice long walk is in order. The lake has dropped and we have reclaimed out dock. I filled all my bird feeders a few weeks ago. I must have had 20 goldfinches at the feeder this morning. I love watching the birds in the morning over coffee. I have been buying a special blend of seed from Wild Birds Unlimited. We have a store in Dover that opened last year. I am one of their best customers. I just love this store. They have every feeder you can imagine. In the spring , I had bought a hummingbird feeder and a Baltimore Oriole feeder. Anyways..... With this choice blend, I seem to be attracting many different birds. The woodpecker are thrilled with their suet cakes. I will try to get some good pictures to share. In knitting news.... I finished the pair of pink mittens. Last night I finished a pair of children socks with some Plymouth Sockotta. I will post some pictures later. "The Mitten Queen" aka Sandy is hosting a KAL for mittens. It is called "Warm Hands". Why don't you sign up and join in the fun. I have been flipping through my mitten books. I keep changing my mind about which mitten to knit. Hope the sun is shining in you neck of the woods. I am off to enjoy the day.

Rain, rain go away...

2005-10-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

It has been raining for a week here in New Hampshire. I wish the sun would peek out just for a half hour to renew our spirit. I posted some pictures of the lake from last Sunday. We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and the neighbors sailboat was floating by our beach. The lake had risen two and a half feet. Bruce put on his waders and pulled the boat . Our ramp usually rest on the beach. The were boats loose all over the lake. I think all this rain has paid it's toll on the foliage this year. I was hoping for some gorgeous color around the lake. The leaves are rapidly falling and barely have any color.Oh well..... Some years we are not so lucky. Last year was just gorgeous and seemed to last a long time. We are very fortunate in our area to not have much flooding. The western part of the state has really been hit hard. Especially around the Alstead area. They are forecasting more rain. Hopefully there will be no more damage. On the knitting front..... I felted my "Canteen Bag" from Interweave Knits Fall issue. This was a fun pattern. I used Gjestal wool I had purchased last year from Elann. It felted beautifully for this bag. I remember I was not pleased when I had used it on some felted clogs. I made this for my eleven year old niece Hailey. She is just going to love the style. I really have a good jump on my Christmas knitting projects. I am still knitting mittens for our Hat and Mitten tree at work. My latest pair is from a pattern that does not have a picture with it. I have been knitting a few pattern from the Internet that do not have a photo. It is really a challenge to knit along blindly and see how it works out. These are called Mittens for Lise . I think they are interesting. It is a double basket weave pattern. It is sized for a women medium to large. What do you think? I am working on the left mitten now. I guess that is all for today. Have a great weekend everyone.

2005-10-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

Flooding/

Canteen bag/

Mitten

Lovely mittens and a visit to the frog pond

2005-10-01T13:02:00.000-04:00

I wish you could feel these lovely mittens I have finished. They are incredibly soft and comfy. The pattern is from Dawn Brocco's "Love Collection". I bought it at Patternworks in Center Harbor several weeks ago. The yarn is Plymouth Alpaca Boucle. They have an X and O cable all around the cuff area.The mittens take three skeins of yarn. I love this yarn, it is easy to work with and does not split like some boucles. These are Christmas presents for my sister and a friend. I bought enough yarn to make a pair for myself. This yarn would make a wonderful scarf. There is a cabled scarf in the collection to match the mittens. I very rarely knit for myself. I have several things on my list I want to make for me. So...... I started the "rib and cable socks" from the Fall Interweave Knits. I love the looks of the cable and ribbing. I am using Mountain Colors "Bearfoot" in the shade Ruby River. I know I have mentioned before that "Bearfoot " is my favorite sock yarn. It is wonderful to knit with. I thought I better try the sock on before I turn the heel. Well, with all the cables it is too tight around my calf. Needless to say I was very disappointed. I decided into the frog pond it would go. Rippppppppppppppppp! As I was ripping out all the lovely cabling I stopped at the top ribbing. I really like the looks of the ribbing. It is Knit 4, purl2,knit2 purl 2. I decided to keep the ribbing and use it all the way down till I turn the heel. I will let you know how they turn out. I did finish the Canteen Bag. I just need to stitch it together before I felt it. This weekend is Deerfield Fair. I don't think we are going to make it this year. It is so crowded on the weekend. We usually try to go over on a Thursday or Friday. I would like to pick some apples. It is going to be gorgeous tomorrow. I may try to gather my sisters and head out to the orchard. I love this time of year. The trees are just starting to turn a bit. I am going to take plenty of pictures to share with you. Well, it is a beautiful day and I am going out to enjoy it. I want to collect some pinecones and acorns today. Have a great weekend and enjoy the weather.

2005-10-01T12:57:00.000-04:00

Mitten/

Rib and cable sock

Felting Frenzy and mittens...

2005-09-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

I have been working away on mittens. The small mittens are a great little pattern. They will fit a two or three year old. It is a free mitten pattern called Child's mitten . What a great way to use up scraps. I am going to make a few pairs of these mittens. The homeless shelter needs mostly school age mittens. But, last year they had several young toddlers living at the shelter.The blue mittens that are felted are from the Robin Hansen, "Knit Mittens". These were very fun to knit and I love the embroidery. The red ones are the famous Lovikka Mittens. I really love the shape of the thumb and the rounded top of these. The Polar Bear mitts were a little pointy for my taste. I have been concentrating on using up my stash of yarn. So, I decided to make this little bag for Lacey. I did not knit the partition for the middle. Lacey is eight years old and will fall in love with this bag. She is a big fan of lime green and orange. I started a "Canteen Bag" from the Fall issue of Interweave Knits. My niece Hailey picked this out while flipping through the issue. I am using some Gjestal wool I had purchased from Elann quite awhile ago. It is light blue and Navy for the trim.It should make an adorable bag. I also finally finished the "Branching Out Scarf". I am going to block it this weekend. Whew....I guess I have been busier than I thought. The last photo I posted is Miss Peaches. One of my customers made her that little catnip pad. She is in love with it. You can see her shaved belly in this photo. She is healing very well. It is hard to believe it has been six weeks since her surgery. Can you believe how much money has been raised for Give a little . Knitters are amazing people! I am still going to Weight Watcher. I just hit my 35 pounds today. I am very excited to say the least. On to my next five pound increment.... Well, I am going to sign off here and get out and enjoy the day. Happy Knitting everyone.

2005-09-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

Mittens/

Lacey's Bag/

Lovikka Mittens/

Miss Peaches

Projects and canning...

2005-09-14T10:04:00.000-04:00

Don't you hate it when Blogger eats your post? I had a post for the weekend that never materialized. I spent the weekend canning spaghetti sauce and making hotdog relish. I know canning is so much work. But, isn't it great when you are eating it all winter. I have an incredible hotdog relish recipe. It is made with green tomatoes and red tomatoes, green and red peppers, onion and brown sugar. If anyone would like the recipe, let me know in the comment section. It was given to me several years ago by an elderly client. It was her grandmother's tried and true recipe. On Saturday I was up at 4:00 a.m. to start my spaghetti sauce. My husband was going off to fish Lake Winnipesaukee for the day. As the sun was coming up on our lake I tried to take a picture of the mist. It was so beautiful. I think you can see a bit of the mist in the picture. So, what do you think of the
Mary Janes ? I used a J or a K needles to make them bigger and then felted them. I think they are just adorable. They are great for little bits of leftover wool. I also felted the the "Lucy Bag". , LeAnne is going to love this bag. I am still working on mittens and have several pairs finished. I also made some
Lovikka Mittens . They need to be felted and then embroidered. I will post some pictures later in the week. I forgot to mention.... We were up in Center Harbor last Sunday. There is a great place to launch the boat for that end of
Lake Winnipesaukee . My husband drove over to
Patternworks . What a wonderful store! If you are ever in that neck of the woods you need to stop by. They have a wall of Koigu that will make your mouth drool. I bought some Alpaca Boucle for these incredible mittens. I will show you that later in the week. Well....I need to get out the door to work . I am working till 9:00 tonight. Have a great day everyone.

2005-09-14T10:03:00.000-04:00

crochet Mary Janes/

Lucy Bag/

Lake

Knitters helping with Hurricane relief....

2005-09-05T15:21:00.000-04:00

I am sure many knitters are already aware of the
Give a Little site. Susan
and Margene have started this site. When I just checked in to Susan's blog, the total donated has reached $54,911.15. Knitters are incredible people! The generosity never ceases to amaze me. There is no donation that is too small.
Kim has also listed information about an organization that helps pets. I know this is also near and dear to my heart. Do what you can and stay well friends.

It is mitten time!

2005-09-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

It is Mitten time again... I love to knit mittens. I have three or four books about mittens and a slew of patterns. Each mitten is a new adventure. I have my eye on
this book. I am not sure when it will be released. I bought Fox & Geese & Fences when it came out in the late 80's. I love Robin Hansen's designs. Should be fun to see what is in her new book. The mitten picture I have posted is a free pattern on the Internet. The first mitten is from the Knitlist. It is called
M&M mittens . These were very fun to make. They will probably fit age 6 to 8 years of age. I would like to play around with this pattern to make some larger sizes. It really is an adorable mitten. They tell you to use a different color for each row of window panes. I think I will try the next pair like they suggest. It have a great thumb design. You knit six stitches with waste yarn and then slide them back on the left needle and knit them again. I have made a few mittens with this technique. It has become one of my favorites. The second mitten is the "Bulky Mitten" from "Weekend Knitting" by Melanie Falick . I used two strands of my Bartlett yarn that I had over dyed. This is another great pattern. It works up quickly with two strands of yarn and a size 10 and 1/2 double pointed needle. I made several pairs of these for the "Mitten Tree" last year. The last photo is of a "Lucy Bag" for my co-worker for Christmas. She loves the color grey and will be thrilled with this. I felted it tonight and have it drying on the deck. Speaking of the deck.... I spent all day and evening staining it. We have lattice work all around the bottom. I am sure you can all relate to the fun I had staining those tiny slats. I never thought I would finish. Hopefully it will be dry enough to start the second coat tomorrow. It is going to be a gorgeous weekend . We are hoping to take the boat to another lake. There is a lake about 20 minutes away with plenty of bass waiting for us. I am sure a mitten and book will be aboard the boat too. Hope you all have a safe and wonderful Labor Day weekend.

2005-09-02T21:37:00.000-04:00

M&M mittens

Lucy Bag

Dyeing Adventures....

2005-08-23T17:43:00.000-04:00

As you can see from all my pictures..... I had a ball playing with dye this weekend. The results were wonderful. If you remember around Christmas I was using Kool-Aid to dye some yarn. This yarn is dyed with Country Classics for wool. I used the stove top method and the Mason canning jars method. I definitely learned a few things along the way. If you look at the last picture I posted. You can see the light heathery base of the Yarn I was using. It is some Bartlett yarn that is about ten years old. Those colors were all the rage ten years ago. I wanted to list the base of yarn and colors used. This way you can get a sense of the results.

Photo #1 Pale red base dyed with Raspberry

Photo #2 Pale yellow base dyed with Cornflower Blue

Photo #3 Pale red base dyed with Cherry ( I love this one!)

Photo #4 Pale lavender base dyed with Raspberry

Photo #5 Pale gold base(very UGLY!!!) dyed with Evergreen (this looks much better then the gold)

I have a batch of Cherry over the pale gold base, on the stove right now. I am hoping for a pumpkin orange color. I really love these dyes. The colors are very vivid. The skeins I am dyeing are 4 ounce skeins. So.....This is what I learned. For the blue and green batches I used the large Mason canning jars. The jar was really too full between the yarn and the water. I ended up with uneven results because I could not stir the yarn around properly. On Sunday morning I decided to dye each skein again using the stove top method. They both came out with beautiful even results. I think the jar method would work well with two or three ounce skeins. I would like to try dyeing a couple of colors on the skeins. I have even been dreaming of dyeing yarn in my sleep. Did I hear someone say I am compulsive? Also, If you want to see a gorgeous lace scarf? Hop on over to
Robbyn's blog. She designed a beautiful "Seaweed and Shells" scarf. She is even kind enough to share the pattern with us. Quick update on my Peaches.... She is healing more every day. Her belly is shaved and her gorgeous long tail is chopped up. But, all that will fill in eventually. She thanks everyone for thinking of her during her recovery. She sends many purrs to all of you.

2005-08-23T17:09:00.000-04:00

Dyeing adventures

/Samples

Happy Kitty and dying yarn...

2005-08-20T10:57:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick update about my little "Peach". She had her sutures removed last Friday. The vet was just thrilled with how she is healing. On Thursday of this week, we let her out of her pen. Let me just say....She is one happy kitty. We have had more kitty loving then a parent should have. She has a sparkle back in her gorgeous green eyes. I really think she has not felt this well in a very long time. My husband and I are glad we decided on the surgery. On to knitting news. I have been working on my "Branching Out" scarf. It is about half way finished. I started another
Lucy Bag in some grey "Galway". This is a Christmas present for my partner at work. It is a great pattern and makes an adorable bag. It is a portable project to take out on the boat. Do you remember the bunch of Bartlett yarn in my stash? It is a light heather muted shades. Last winter, I dyed some of it with Kool-Aid. I have been playing around with Country Classic Wool Dyes . I used the raspberry shade over some muted red. The color is fantastic. I bought three other shades yesterday. I am going to head outside and get dying shortly. I will post some pictures of the finished results later. The whole dying thing is so much fun. At some point I would like to try some of the yarn from KnitPicks. They have a fingering weight that you can dye for socks. Well.... I am going to run for now. I have peppers to stuff before I can go out and play. Have a great weekend everyone.

Peaches new home and Baby Blanket...

2005-08-10T17:30:00.000-04:00

I would like to take a minute, to thank you for all your healing thoughts for "Peaches". I wanted to drop each of you a note, but have been very busy with her care. She came home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. We have instructions a mile long for her care. The most important being..... She can not be running around and jumping for three weeks. The first thing she did when we opened the carrier was jump up on the couch and desk. Needless to say Monday was a whirlwind. My husband stayed home from work and designed a cage/pen for her. As you can see from the picture, she has extra room. I tried confining her to a large dog crate. She tried to claw her way out. There was just not enough room for her. She is on a morphine patch and several other medicines. I have to carefully bath her incision and rear end each day.

For the most part she is quite medicated and sleeping all day. I wake up the minute she cries at night. It is kind of a pain whimper and breaks my heart. I think she is coming along in her recovery. She is eating and drinking and using the litter box. It is still quite painful for her. We go back to the surgeon on Friday. I have only been working till 2:30 this week. My husband leaves for work at 2:30 and it takes two of us to administer the medicine. My customers have been very understanding. We are up to $3,000.00 dollars for her care. Thank god, I had a zero balance on the credit card. I know we made the right decision with the surgery. I have no regrets at all. I will tighten up the budget and figure out a way to pay the bill off. We both are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for her care. I had a few customers that said we were crazy to put that kind of money into a cat. She is a part of the family and gives us more love and affection then we can count. You can not put a price tag on that!

Now.....On to some knitting content. I FINALLY finished the edging on the

Pinwheel Baby Blanket . I am very happy with the way it looks. I can't remember if I said I was using the edging from the "Truly Tasha Shawl". Now I am going to get back to my "Branching Out" scarf. I am getting the itch to cast on a pair of socks too. I guess I will close for now. I am so behind on reading blogs. I am anxious to see what everyone is working on.

2005-08-10T17:03:00.000-04:00

Peaches\

Pinwheel Baby Blanket/

Closeup

Pins and needles.....

2005-08-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

I have no knitting content today. My poor blanket is languishing in its basket. My life the past few weeks has been wrapped up with my cat "Peaches". I found out yesterday she would need the surgery for "Megacolon". She had not passed any stool since Sunday. I had to take her back to the vets yesterday. Her bowel is seriously impacted. There was one point yesterday..... I was told I may have to choose to put her to sleep. My vet does not do this type of surgery. He thought the success rate was minimal with this surgery. By the end of the day, he put me in contact with the doctor across town. He specializes in this surgery. I transported her to the hospital last night. The doctor was very thorough and explained everything. He feels she will have no problem pulling through the surgery. It is very serious as they remove all of her colon.She will have a long recuperating process. Eventually she will be able to live a "normal" life. Basically all the medicines and procedures we were using did not work. There is no other alternatives but to operate. I know all of the pet owners can relate to the lengths we will go for our pets. If she had cancer or some other condition, I make make other choices.She is only seven years old. We brought her home from the shelter three years ago. She is such a huge part of our family. I just received a call from the vet. She is under anesthesia and being prepped for surgery. I am on pins and needles waiting for the next call. I think I will get my shower and keep myself busy for now. I'll end this post for now and add an update later.

**UPDATE**
Peaches came through the surgery. Dr. Woods said there was no doubt it was a case of "Megacolon". The colon was about four times its normal size.She is resting comfortably now. We are going to go see her some time tomorrow. If all goes well,she may be able to come home early next week. Thank you all for your wonderful hugs and thoughts.Off to try and get some sleep. Have a great weekend everyone.

Sick kitty....

2005-07-28T15:09:00.000-04:00

The knitting has been slim to none these days. It has been so darn hot the last few weeks. I am plugging away on the edging for the "Pinwheel Baby Blanket". It is going to be quite pretty when finished. The last week and a half has revolved around my cat "Peaches". She had not eaten or taken water for six days. Last Thursday, she had a vet appointment. They told me that her colon was impacted with stool. She spent several days at the vets and too many enemas to count. I had her home over the weekend and she did not pass any stool. She went back to the vets for a few more days. She finally passed a bit. So, she has been diagnosed with "Megacolon". I have been reading up on this condition. Basically the colon is enlarged and not working properly. We have several medications that I have to give her three times a day. All the medication is giving orally with an eye dropper. I am sure you can imagine what fun this has been. I did get to take her home last night. She goes back to the vets tomorrow afternoon for another check. I am praying she passes some stool before then. My life for now...Revolves around "poop". Is that a bad thing? She had been on a reducing diet since October. She weighed in at 16 pounds then. When she had her check in March she weighed 13.3 pounds. The other day she was down to 9 and a half pounds. They were very worried to say the least. I wonder if the food has something to do with her condition. Off course, they suggest surgery on her colon at some point. I will get several opinions before I decide to go that route.
tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day. I am off to blueberry pick with my nieces. I want to make a few batches of blueberry jam. It is a favorite in my family. I also bought a few round zucchini today. I have never seen the round shape zucchini. I am going to stuff these later. I have still been going to my Weight Watcher meetings. I just hit 25.8 pounds today. Now, I need to focus on the next five pound increment. It has been averaging out to a 2 pound loss a week. I am thrilled with that!!! Also, I don't know if anyone watched the "Into the West" series ? It has been running on TNT for six weeks now. I was taping it and watching when we had a chance. My husband and I really enjoyed the series. I just went to the library and borrowed "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee". I read this book when I was about fifteen or so. I really wanted to read it again after watching this series. I guess that is all the news from "Irishknits". Happy Knitting everyone.

Bad blogger.....

2005-07-18T15:03:00.000-04:00

I am way behind on updating my blog. But, there has been knitting and crocheting going on. I decided to finish up the Pinwheel Baby Blanket. It was driving me crazy sitting in the basket all by its lonesome. I was trying to figure out an edge for the outside. I decided on the edge I used on the "Truly Tasha Shawl". I think it looks really nice. I will post a picture later tonight. It takes awhile to knit this edge, and is nothing that can be rushed. I have also been crocheting potholders and matching dishclothes, to tuck away for Christmas. My sisters request them every year. They are a nice easy project to take out on the boat. I have three sets finished already. After I finish the baby blanket, I need to get back to my Branching Out scarf. Speaking of which... Have you seen Wendy's gorgeous scarf. I just love the color. She used Kid Silk Haze for her scarf. I have never tried that particular yarn. It is on my wish list. I have been reading quite a few books this summer. I am a huge Dean Koontz fan. In the last month, I have read "Life Expectancy", "The Taking" and I am reading "Frankenstein". I also finished "The Kite Runner" and "Honeymoon" by James Patterson. I really enjoyed "The Kite Runner", I had a hard time with the first 50 or so pages. Once I could keep the characters names straight, I was all set. I picked up a copy of "The Mermaid's Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd. She also wrote "The Secret Life of Bees", which I just adored. My eleven year old niece has been playing All-Stars Softball this summer. The weekend consists of many games and tournaments. They won first in their district. Last weekend they came in third in the State finals. It has really been a joy to watch her play. She has a great coach, who is wonderful with all the girls. Well....I guess that does it for me. I have been home from work on a break between customers. I need to hit the road. Knit on Friends.

Edit:
I just enlarged the font size. The other just seemed too tiny. Is this easier on the eyes?

Small projects....

2005-07-05T16:10:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. The weather was perfect here in New Hampshire. I had a very busy holiday weekend. Nary a stitch was knit.... We had a work related picnic on Saturday. I had a family picnic on Sunday. The kids had a great time swimming in the lake. They hunted for frogs and tried to catch sunfish. I am sure they all slept well Sunday evening. There were many summer people up for the long weekend. Different families had a display of fireworks all three nights. We took the boat into the cove and watched them every evening. I get nervous with "home" fireworks displays. Bruce made sure to be a safe distance away from all of them. We spent all three evening out on the lake till 11:00. It is so peaceful out there. The only drawback is it is too dark to knit. The weekend flew by for us, as a holiday always does. I was very pleased that I stuck to my Weight Watchers plan. As of last Thursday I have lost 20.6 pounds. Believe me, there were some tempting things at the picnics too.
In knitting news.... I have only worked another couple of inches on my "Branching Out" scarf. I did manage to make a hat from Hats On! Warm and Winsome caps for knitters . The pattern is the Norwegian Star. I love this book! The patterns are written in three sizes to accommodate the whole family. There are several I plan on making for the "Hat & Mitten" tree. This particular one is for the neighbor boy for Christmas. I have also been reading again. I love to take a book out on the boat. I am just finishing "The Taking" by Dean Koontz. I picked up a copy of "The Kite Runner" as my used book store. I think that is next on my list. Has anyone read "The Shadow Of The Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ? Many people have said this is a fantastic book. I want to pick up a copy. In spinning news... My drop spindle has been sitting by itself in the basket. I am planning on attending The Island Pond Spinners meeting this Friday. I could not make their meeting last week. I had such a great time at the other meeting. I guess that catches up on what I've been doing. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I am posting a few pictures of the flying squirrels in the feeder at night. They come every evening. I am guessing some people will get grossed out by these guys. We love to watch them running up and down to the feeder. Okay...I admit is we are strange...lol.

2005-07-05T16:10:00.000-04:00

Squirrels/

Hat/

/

Good Morning

2005-06-26T09:04:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone....What an absolutely gorgeous day here in NH. Summer has finally arrived. It was in the 90's yesterday and to be the same today.We were on the lake till almost 11:00 last evening. My husband is an avid fisherman. I always back my bag with a book, crossword puzzle and my knitting/crocheting. I will fish for awhile then I get bored. Last night,I made a pair of the crochet flip flops for my 7 year old niece.She picked out the yarn and the flip flops. They are just adorable. The fish did not seem to mind that I was crocheting.I started to read Dean Koontz, "Taken". I had just finished "Life Expectancy", the other evening. I have read every book he has written. In knitting news.........I am working on the Branching Out Scarf. It is a great pattern and working up nicely. I am using some laceweight Frog Tree Alpaca from my stash. I am making this for my Mother in law for Christmas. I finished a pair of socks too. They look a little funny in the photo. I still need to block them. I started the "Go with the flow" socks from Interweave Knits Summer issue. I had about four inches of the cuff finished. I was using "Sockotta" for yarn. I did not think the pattern was showing up with this yarn. I decided to frog them. I need to find solid sock yarn. My LYS never has solid sock yarn in stock.I am hoping Elann will replenish their supply of solid colors. I think I may start the "Cable Rib" socks from the IK Fall issue. I have some left over "Ruby" Mountain Colors Bearfoot. That is the yarn I used for the Shapely Shawlette.I also liked the Brioche helmet hat from that issue too. I am going to make a few for my Hat and Mitten tree.I guess that is all for today. I am going to head out and enjoy this beautiful day.