SP Contest

I was supposed to think of something to say about myself that other people might not know, and I was having a hell of a time! I had no clue what to say.

I can pick up things with my toes, but is that really all that interesting?

Sometimes (well, ok, most of the time) when we go to the movies, I look forward to getting to have popcorn with (extra) "golden flavoring" more than the movie itself. But my SP is from another country, so she probably has no clue what that is.

I kept thinking of stupid little things, but none of them seemed good enough.

But then I was sitting here knitting in the dark last night watching TVLand, and the new Mr. T show, I Pity The Fool, came on. Now, of course I know who Mr. T is. Everybody knows Mr. T! I never really cared about Mr. T, but after seeing this show, I love Mr. T! I want a hug from Mr.T! He seems like such a sweet, cuddly, teddy bear of a guy!

This morning I told my husband that I wanted a Mr. T hug, and he looked at me and said " I think I've finally found something I don't really care for about you" (we've been together 14 years- since I was 17- so that's not so bad). He should have fun tomorrow at work because I sent him some Mr. T emails for saying that.

I'll know I'll never get a hug from Mr. T, but maybe I'll just have to get myself a tshirt... or one of those talking keychain things. I think my husband would really like that...

Pumpkins!!

We took Little Guy to see some pumpkins. He really didn't care. We wanted to find an actual pumpkin patch, but the ones we found wanted you to pay to take a wagon ride to get there. We weren't going to actually buy a pumpkin that day, and Little Guy had had a rough night, so we didn't bother. I was hoping to take lots of pictures, but it was so sunny out that didn't happen.



Then we went to my moms and she had bought him a tiny rocking chair. It was so cute! He immediately knew exactly what to do as soon as he sat on it. I think I'll have to go to Michaels and get him one for home.

When we got home I had packages waiting for me from my Sock-ret Pal.


I swear, I think my SPs are psychic! Just last week I was looking at the pattern for the pumpkin hat, but didn't order it because by the time it came and I ordered yarn and waited for it and finally got to knit the hat, it would be after halloween.


She also sent a package from Prairieland Herbs. This stuff smells so good!! I had been planning on ordering things for my downstream pal from there, and now I get to try it first (and order more for me when I order for her!).

Thank you so much SP! I really needed the lavender after the beginning of my weekend... After the kid hiding in my basement, Little Guy bit his tongue (I think, it's so hard to tell when they're that age... but he never had pain like this when teething). Now, in the afternoon, if he's really tired, he can (if he wants to) fall asleep by himself. But at night, he needs to nurse.

But his mouth hurt, so he couldn't.

So from 8pm until 2am I had to deal with a very sleepy boy with a very sore mouth that wanted nothing more than to just snuggle up with a boobie and go to sleep. It was so sad. He kept trying and trying but he couldn't. I gave him tylenol and he ate a few ice pops, but nothing worked. I think by 2am he was just so tired and worn out from crying that he didn't care anymore if it hurt and finally got to sleep.

I really needed that lavender bath milk!

How I spent my Friday the 13th...

Well, my day started out just like many other Fridays. The husband came home around lunchtime so we could run to the bank, the dropped me and Little Guy off back at home. We played for a bit, then I started trying to get him in the mood to take a nap.

Around 3pm or so, I was in the kitchen doing dishes and heard a police car go around back in the alley. Now, that is a pretty normal thing to hear at that time of day (we don't live in a bad area, but we do live 1 1/2 blocks from the middle school, and the high school is right behind that, and the kids often need the cops chasing after them to get them to go home and not just congregate in a huge mob in the street), but for some reason, I peaked out back.

I saw a kid walking between my garage and fence. And way back behind the garage I saw a bunch of cops looking for someone. The kid walked towards my house, then he was out of my view, but I heard a noise at my cellar doors.

There were cops and newspaper reporters everywhere out front of my house too, so I put some clothes on Caleb to go out and let them know what I saw.

The cops brought a huge dog to sniff around and I saw some giant guns.

The boy wasn't in my basement any longer, but he had left his sweatshirt there and there was an open jug of bleach sitting on the stairs. I wonder what that was for... maybe he was going to use it as a weapon if someone tried to come in. Or maybe he poured it on his hands to try to remove residue from shooting a gun. I don't know...

I didn't get to find out until the next mornings paper what had happened, but apparently that kid wasn't too smart.

The week before he had hit a 12 year old girl (he's 17) with a gun (as in smacked- not shot). Friday after school, he actually fired shots at the girls dad. So he runs home to his house and puts the gun in his basement. He then goes back outside of his house, and of course the cops are there because they know who he is. So he runs and hides in my basement. He leaves his sweatshirt there and manages to get back out before the cops get to him. And where do you think he went then??? Back to his house!! And he even quick changed his shirt again before the cops arrested him. How stupid is this kid that he thinks they won't recognize him if he has a different shirt on?

It was a very exciting day! Plus when the mailman finally got to deliver the mail, he had a box for me..... and it was from my Spooky SP. How fitting is that for Friday the 13th??

My pal sent me a cute pumpkin bag with Halloween goodies in it. There was more candy.... but we needed chocolate!


Blogger is actually letting me put posts through, so I get to show some of what I have been knitting the past few weeks.

I made a few hats.

Halley's Comet and Nippertails. For some reason I got ladders from the DPNs... that never happened before, I guess I'll have to start being careful.

A cabled hat and wristwarmer set in Cascade Pastaza (one of my favorites!).

Socks for Little Guy.

Washcloths. These are fun!

I still have to get pictures of my Bloom and the things I'm working on now.

Scarf Swaps

This week I received two beautiful scarves in the mail!


The first was sent from Stephanie for the October Knitted Thing Swap. I've been looking at patterns like this for a while, but have never gotten around to trying one. It's so pretty though that I think I'll be making one the next time I need to make a scarf to give as a gift. She also sent along a box of Buckeyes. They're just about gone though..... they were veerry good!

Then today the mailman brought me this scarf that Jennifer made me for the Funky Scarf Swap. I love the color of the Kidsilk Haze she chose! I have a ball that I've been saving, waiting for the perfect pattern. I think maybe I'll use it for some armwarmers to go with the scarf...

A close up of the yarn she used.




She also sent me notecards, stitchmarkers, a sock bag and some Yarn Pirate sock yarn! I haven't tried that yarn yet, but the colors are so "fall" looking, I'll probably be using it soon!

SP9 Questions

Here you go SP!!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I use a lot of single ply worsted weight wool/ wool blends (like Lambs Pride, Manos and Cascade Pastaza), but I also love sock yarns. I don't care for scratchy acrylic yarns (although some acrylic can be nice, especially for baby clothes) or "fun fur" types. Plus my cats will try to eat them!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have two needle rolls that I have a lot of my straight needles in, but the circulars and DPNs are just in a box.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I guess I learned about 5 years ago from a Lion Brand learn-to-knit scarf kit. I think the booklet only showed how to hold the yarn in the right hand, but somehow I ended up teaching myself continental...

Intermediate? There are things I haven't tried yet, but anything I do want to do I'm able to figure out myself (I don't have any knitting friends to help me out).

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like a lot! I love single note florals like jasmine and lilac, food-type fragrances (fruity or baked-goods types), tropical scents, lavender, patchouli....

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes. I love maple sugar candy. And of course chocolate is always good!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I have a spindle, but so far haven't had the time to really teach myself. Hopefully sometime soon I'd like to try out scrapbooking.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like pretty much anything!! Yes, I can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love color! Nice clear, bright shades of most colors. My favorites are reds, pinks, oranges, greens, aqua-y blues. But there's nothing wrong with a nice charcoal gray, chocolate brown or olive green every once in a while. Most shades of yellow don't look good on me.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
It's me, my husband, my 13 month old son and two cats.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Lately I've been knitting socks and lots of "quick" things (like hats, wrist warmers, dishcloths)

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm finally working on my Mystery socks and want to start a sweater for my son.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I use both circulars and straights. I don't care for the long straights, so I'll use circs in their place. I used to prefer bamboo, but lately I've been using mostly aluminum. Don't use much plastic...

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes to both. Don't see how I could go without with a 13 month old!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
A baby blanket from a few years ago. I have absolutely no desire to finish it.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love to bake cookies, so all holidays are good! Christmas is good because I love to give people gifts.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I collect vintage aprons and tablecloths, erotica and vintage knitting needles.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I subscribe to a lot of knitting mags. I would love a copy of the Flower Basket shawl that was in IK. It was available for free on their site, but when I when I was finally able to print it out, it was no longer there! ( and that issue is out of print).

I've never seen a Rowan pattern book in person, so that might be nice.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
This winter I would like to try some type of fair isle hat for my son.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes. I wear a US size 8 1/2. If you need more specific measurements, let me know!

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
March 8th