Meet The (Furry) Family…

I realize that although I have enjoyed seeing the furry children of many of my friends in the blogiverse I have never introduced my own.  Although most people seem to have cats, my family is primarily a dog-loving family.  Both of our dogs were adopted from the SPCA and definately add a lot of love (and chaos at times) to our lives…

This is Spike (I know, I know my youngest DS named him).  The best we can figure is that he is a Whippet-mix.  He is tall and gangley and loves to sleep in the bed between hubby and I.  He is a very loving dog and likes to give kisses.

 

And, this is Toby (although in retrospect I wish that I had named him Winston for Winston Churchill due to his amazing underbite).  He is a terrier mix and has a bit of a Napoleon Syndrome.  He likes to keep everyone in line and loves to cuddle and scratch his back on inanimate objects!

We also take care of my FIL’s dog, Olivia, who is a rescued Red Bone Coon Hound but I will have to post some pictures of her later.

In addition to the dogs, we also have fish (both goldfish and a saltwater aquarium).  My kids would love to add more to the menagerie but I think we have our hands full already!!!

 

FO: Garter Rib Socks

These socks have taken five months to complete – I started them when I taught my first toe-up sock class and then put them aside for more exciting projects.  Lately, they have become my purse knitting in order to finally get them finished…

Pattern:  Garter Rib Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn:  Colinette Jitterbug, Moss Colorway

Needles:  US 1.5 Addi Turbo Lace

Started:  March 1st, 2008

Finished:  August 3rd, 2008 (yep, that’s five months, folks!)

Mods:  I knit these toe up, two at a time using Magic Loop.  I also tried a yo heel instead of my usual short row heel.  The yo heel was a bit more work, but I do like the look of it.  I will definately use it again.

All in all, I’m just glad these are finally finished!

 

Happy Birthday, Angel Boy!

I can’t believe that my youngest is 11 years old today.  It seems like just yesterday he looked like this…

We waited a long time for this little guy and I had just about given up on ever getting pregnant with a second child when we found out we were expecting.  Oh how much we would have missed out on if he had not come into our lives.

Each child has their own unique personality and this one is a riot! 

 He is forever telling us jokes and instructing us in the vast nuances of Webkinz and Pokemon and never a moment goes by when he doesn’t say “I love you”.

Happy Birthday, Angel Boy!  I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

FO: Noro Silk Garden Socks

A couple of weeks ago, my LYS finally got in the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn.  Since I’m not too crazy about the feel of the Noro Kureyon Sock, I have been waiting for this for a while.  Karen hadn’t even put the yarn out on the shelves yet (it was actually all still in the bags) when I saw it but I asked her if I could go ahead and grab a skein – and boy did I have a hard time choosing between the colors.  In the end, I stayed inside the box with my color choice…blues, purples, and greens (go figure).

I cast on 60 stitches last Saturday (toe up, two at a time, magic loop) on US 2’s and decided to just keep it simple with a 4×2 rib.  After a week of knitting…

The colors, of course, are glorious…

I decided to do a short-row heel…

…and these socks literally flew off the needes.  I am fairly certain that one week for a full pair of socks is a record for me (since most of my knitting time is in the evenings after work).  These socks are also about 3 inches longer than I normally make my socks but I just had to get in all of the color repeats! 

My opinion of the Silk Garden Socks…I like it much better than the Kureyon.  The Silk Garden is easy to work with but it also comes the same issues you expect with Noro – a little vegetable matter, some thick and thin spots (although not as drastic as I have seen with the Kureyon), and my skein had a knot in it which accompanied a break in the color pattern.  Luckily, the knotted portion did include the colors I needed to complete the entire color spectrum so I just had to piece it together a bit towards the end.

All in all, I love these socks - they are very thick and will be nice and toasty this winter! 

(and no, it is not your imagination…I haven’t bound them off yet.  My LYS is having Christmas in August later this week and Karen wanted me to keep them on the needles to advertise my Two at a Time, Toe Up class so I will actually bind them off on Friday night!)

 

YPF: Noro Daria

My LYS is having Christmas in August and I am knitting some items for display.  As a result, I picked up this lovely yarn

This is Noro Daria in colorway 27.  It is 54 yards of 55% cotton, 45% rayon gorgeousness!  I am making a cabled choker and a bracelet for the display but will have enough left over to make at least one more choker and a couple of bracelets.  After living at my LYS for a few months, these will become Christmas presents for some teenaged cousins. 

I can’t really say that I have enjoyed working with this yarn…first of all, it is a bitch to wind into anything resembling a yarn cake or yarn ball.  The yarn is so slippery that it just won’t stay put so I end up with tangles everywhere!  Knitting it is interesting because it is a bit stiff but also slippery as hell so if you are crazy enough (like me) to attempt cables with this yarn, definately don’t use metal needles if you want to keep your sanity!

Regardless, the FO’s are gorgeous (pics to come later once I find the appropriate clasps) and you just can’t beat the Noro colors!

 

FO: Jack Sparrow’s Favorite Socks

A couple of weeks ago I took my youngest DS with me to my LYS.  While I was talking to the owners, he wandered around the shop and eventually came up to me with 3 skeins of Berroco Comfort Sock Yarn in his hand (Red, White and Black).  He handed them to me and quietly asked me if I would knit him some socks…of course, I bought all three skeins.

When we got home we sat down and talked about what sort of socks he wanted and we finally agreed on Pam’s awesome pattern, Jack Sparrow’s Favorite Socks.  Here is our interpretation…

I finished them late last night – hopefully, I will get some modeled pictures over the weekend!

 

YPF – Birthday Yarn

On my birthday I decided to take a half day off of work and spend it doing whatever I wanted. I ended up in a yarn shop that I haven’t been to in a long time. It is a nice enough store, but I have just never felt at home there. Anyway, I did find a birthday gift for myself…

This is Lace Wool by Prism Yarn in the Highland colorway.  Just look at all of the terrific colors!

This is 1460 yards of 100% Merino Wool and is incredibly soft.  I can’t wait to start knitting with it!

 

Birthday Reflection…

Today I am 43.  I don’t feel 43.  I don’t think I act 43 but there it is just the same (no, the picture above is not my birthday cake…but I wish it could be!). 

I find that as I get older I tend to look back at the past year…where I am….where I am going to see if I am on the right path.  This year…not so much!

The past year has been a difficult one – mentally, physically, and financially.  Just a little over a year ago, hubby and I made the decision to move our family back to Georgia and to move in with his parents to help his mother care for his father who has dementia.  It was obvious at the time that my MIL was nearing the breaking point…we hoped that our help would make things easier for her…we just didn’t know how close to the breaking point she was.

My MIL moved out in November and left hubby and I to be the full-time caregivers for my FIL.  She said she couldn’t take it any more and needed to find her happiness elsewhere (with another man).  I have struggled so much over the past year to find a way to get over my anger with her for this.  I don’t think I will ever understand a mother’s desire to find her happiness at the expense of her children but I know it happens all too often.  I am also having a hard time coming to terms with my SIL’s lack of involvement with her father’s care.  My FIL’s care, in its entirety, rests on our shoulders.

As a result, I have become the breadwinner for my family.  My hubby stays at home to care for his father and is creating a software program that he hopes to market sometime in the near future.  I was laid off in November but I think that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the job I have now is much better (both professionally and financially)…it is still just a contract job but I am hopefull that I will become a permanent employee sometime in the near future.

On a good note…I am trying to keep a good attitude and not be bitter about the turn our life has made.  Most days, I do a good job.  My saving grace is, of course, my knitting.  In many ways, knitting has saved me.  I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder and the time I spend knitting is very therapeutic for me.  I have also started teaching at my LYS and the friends I have made there and the ability to pass along my knitting knowledge has really been a God-send. 

Our children are thriving in their new environment.  I will admit that I was worried about moving our oldest DS at the beginning of his junior year in high school but he has really made the adjustment easily and I think is actually happier here than he was at his old school in New Orleans.  I am happy that our children will have strong memories of living with their grandfather and will also see that it is important to be there for your family even when it isn’t easy. 

A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I celebrated our 21st anniversary. These days, when so many marriages end in divorce, I feel so very blessed that I was lucky enough to find my soul-mate at such a young age (we met when I was 15). Our personalities compliment each other so well and I know that no matter what happens in the future we will get through it together. I can honestly say that I couldn’t have gotten through the past year (with my sanity intact) without him!

There have been some ups and some downs over the past year but I am hopeful that things will turn around during the next year for all of us…if not, at least we have each other.

 

FO: Ene’s Scarf

Until recently, I never had a burning desire to knit lace.  Don’t get me wrong, it is beautiful, I just didn’t think it was practical for me to wear.  I have knit one lace scarf and some lace details on a few sweaters but that is about it…until I saw Ene’s Scarf.  I’m not sure why this appealed to me, but I knew immediately that I needed to knit it and I also knew exactly which yarn and colorway I would knit it in.

Here is Ene’s Scarf (this color is the most accurate):

Knit with Dream In Color Smooshy Sock Yarn:

In the Beach Fog Colorway:

I wore this to work yesterday and I have found that I really love wearing shawls…go figure!  I definately see many more in my future!

Pattern:  Ene’s Scarf by Nancy Bush from Scarf Style

Yarn:  Dream In Color Smooshy Sock Yarn, Beach Fog Colorway – 1 1/2 skeins

Needles:  US 7 Knitpicks Options

Date Started:  June 10th, 2008

Date Finished:  June 25th, 2008 

Mods:  I knit this exactly as charted with two stitch modifications.  For the left-leaning decreases, instead of sl 1 as if to knit, k1, pass slipped st over, I did a SSK.  For the double decreases, instead of sl 1 as if to knit, k2tog, pass slipped st over, I did sl 1 as if to knit, sl2tog as if to knit place all 3 slipped stitches back on the left needle and knit through the back loop.  The results are the same, but these stitches looked better because my psso’s always look too loose.

This is a great first lace shawl pattern if you can get past casting on 375 stitches to start and use lots of stitch markers on Chart 1 (moving them one stitch to the right each row).  The best part is that each row gets shorter rather than longer like most shawl patterns and the main body of the shawl is an easily memorized 2 row repeat.  I did use lifelines after each repeat of Chart 3 but, luckily, I never needed them.  There is also an Ene’s Shawl KAL group on Ravelry to help answer any questions.

 

Raccoons and Deer and Bears, Oh My!

One of the many things I love about living in the North Georgia Mountains is the abundance of wildlife right outside our door.  Here is just a sampling of our many visitors…

Ricky Raccoon who loves eating the dog’s food…

 

A 10 point Buck…

A Beautiful Doe…

And my favorite…The Curious Bear

Isn’t wildlife wonderful?