MIssed April 1st

I missed April Fool's Day and it's a good thing. I like to have a good laugh but not at the expense of a practical joke. I like humor but not practical jokes. Mother Nature played a practical joke all day yesterday. We had sun, rain, sleet and snow all in one day. Hope She had fun and got it out of her system. While I'm a winter gal it's time for flip-flops and t-shirts. Of course I hope it doesn't come with the heat and humidity. At least until I get this wool blanket finished. I'm making progress though. I cast on for a very special sweater. Can't mention it here but I know it will be appreciated and worn with love. Yes, another pic of the Earth and Sky set. It was packaged, sent and well received. There's been a bit of drama in our neck of the woods. Someone put duct tape around a dog's snout and threw him out of their truck into the creek. The men who did this were seen by a few fishermen. "Ducky" (as he is now dubbed) survived and is on the run. After a few days of organizing, safe traps are set and spotters are on the look out in an attempt to capture the poor thing. There a lot of woods and mountains for this little guy to hide. He has been spotted and we're praying he's caught soon and receives food and medical care. As for the perpetrators they also need to be caught and prosecuted and they will! Small town talk has a way of giving necessary information.

Knit 'n Spin

It's been a snowy month and a busy one for this spinner/knitter. There's not enough time in the day for me to accomplish all that I want to do. Add Mr. Bettis wanting in and out all day long and well...........you see where this is going.


This little shawlette scarf thingy (for lack of a better name) was knit from a skein that I spun. I love the spin to knit process. It's gratification in the finest.

This little sweater was gifted and received with appreciation.

It was made with Sirdar Bamboo and I can't say it's my favorite yarn to knit. I'm not a yarn snob and knit from just about anything including plastic shopping bags. Hey don't knock it, I must try something at least once. LOL

Back to the yarn review. The colors are beautiful and rich but it was a slippery yarn to knit. The only thing that saves it's little yarn soul is the end result. Finding the button was a task in and of itself but I found a lovely little heart button that was perfect. I will definitely knit this one again only in different yarn.

Smarty Pants #2 Son's afghan. Mr. Smarty Pants didn't want the "technicolor dream coat" afghan and requested a solid teal color. Not too sure he really understood the concept of the circular lace afghan but I think his wife appreciated it.

Hoping to accomplish some much needed spinning this coming week. Looks like the map is calling for another snow storm next week but time will tell. In the meantime, Mr. Bettis wants outside. Again.

Knitting gods

The knitting gods have struck my knitting. Can't you just see them? I just know they're dressed in black and flying around with their sharp pointy sticks (no they're not needles, they just appear to be needles).
I have no idea why the struck. Maybe because I was a bit smug on gift knitting. I procrastinated and thought I was ahead of the game. Those little knitting gods with their dyes in hand (yes, I believe they also dye yarn) decided to strike my yarn.

This is what I get for purchasing yarn in increments. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to purchase all of the yarn at one time. But this yarn screams NO DYE LOT on it's little label. Well guess what? Apparently it does have a dye lot. The back of the sweater was finished. Grabbed the yarn last night and cast on for the front, held it up to the finished back and guess what? The knitting gods have struck the yarn! It doesn't match. I give up. Please dear knitting gods, I promise to never be smug again or to procrastinate on my gift knitting (well......after this year....maybe?)

A Big Surprise!

A surprise package arrived at my house. It was absolute perfect timing. It arrived the day before we took the "baby"for the college moving day.

It is the Candlelight Shawl and it's from my non-blogging friend, Sara. I was so shocked and surprised that a few tears came. There was the cutest card enclosed in the package that made me laugh through the tears.
The college freshman took pictures and lightly fingered the exquisite knitting. I love the color and I love the style. It is beautiful. Thank you yarn bunches, Sara. I will think of you when I wear this beautiful knit.




This is the view from the back. Hides the thick back brace:). Love it! Thanks again non-blogging friend, Sara:)
Thanks to everyone for everything. The virtual hugs, the thoughts, prayers and gifts. This has been a difficult time and you have been so understanding and thoughtful.
Thanks to all of you, my blogging friends, for your compassionate thoughts and emails.




I'm going to make my life a bit lighter and easier so onto the unknitting.
Going into hibernation is this blanket. I'm bored with this project and my blanket knitting mojo has taken a hike for the time being.











Jumping in the frog pond is this project. A sweater. B-o-r-i-n-g! Rip-pit!













Another project that's going swimming in the frog pond is another sweater. Got bored with this one too. Rip-pit!

Now I have free needles and yarn. mmmmmm........might be time to cast on for another pair of socks. I should make the new college freshman a pair. She's going to need them.

Surprises!

Knitters are the kindest and most generous people that I know. Beauty from within extends to their knitting. I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope to meet up with all of you at some point and time.
I received a box last week and I knew I had not ordered anything. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box. The most beautiful shawl knitted just for me and a lovely note from Grace. It brought tears to my eyes and I quickly put the shawl around my shoulders knowing it was a supportive hug from Grace.
I wear this every evening and I can feel the warmth of a knitter's hugs. Thank you so much, Grace.


Chan is the inspiration for these socks. I saw them in her project list on a knitting site. I had this lonely skein of Noro Sock yarn and I promptly dug around for needles. As you can see I had to resort to a circular needle. My dpns are in UFOs somewhere around here. I think I need to finish those socks in progress:).
I cast on yesterday and I cannot put it down. I am addicted to the surprise color play in this yarn and pattern.
They are softer than I imagined. When these are finished I intend to break the piggy yarn bank and purchase another skein. I MUST have another pair. The DD claimed these already.



My DIL and Son are the proud god parents of a new little boy, Otto Benson. So this baby surprise sweater was quickly knitted for little Otto Benson. Congratulations to all!

Otto Benson's father grew up next door and he was my son's childhood friend. Those boys managed to keep their mothers hopping with their antics and pranks:).
Like the time Son and Son's childhood friend wrote their names on my house foundation in GREAT BIG letters with pieces of coal. Needless to say they were given a bucket of soapy water and brushes to remove their names. BOYS! lol
They were 5 and 6 yrs old. Those boys were a handful but left childhood with fun filled memories and a lifetime friendship.


p.s. I have some serious catch up blog reading to do.

Ms. Swiffer's Sweater

The economy is a mess! As you all know. Meaning, it's a very frugal Christmas here. So I've been busy in spite of Mr. Lyme Disease and Mr. CRPS. And yes, I have dubbed it them a Mr. They're a pain so why wouldn't I? LOL

DD and I made Ms. Swiffer a sweater. We used left over fleece but you could use flannel, cotton anything at all. Works beautifully. Picks up dog hair like no one's business. We flipped it over after use and ran Ms. Matilda Sweeper's nozzle on it and it was ready to be used again. We are now making Ms. Swiffer a wardrobe of sweaters:)

These are Footsie Tootsie warmers. I found the pattern on Tipnut. Anita and I love this site. Go check it out. It's fun.

These are quick and very useful. Used flannel and fleece for the outer cover.

There's an inner bag made from flannel that is filled with rice. You could put some smelly herbs in there like lavender but I didn't have any and remember, I'm saving money this Christmas.

Besides I have already rescued one of these from Mr. Bettis's mouth and I wouldn't want him to think it's food.

So much for him heeding Chan & Sissy's advice about being good.

Open the bag and remove the inner bag. Pop it in the microwave beside a cup of water and turn on for 3-4 minutes. Put it back inside the cover and you have a Footsie Warmer.

I tried it and it stayed warm for over an hour. I used it on my back since Mr. CRPS decided to overtake my joints now. This little warmer gave me some relief and I love it.

p.s. I am still frantically knitting but sewing is so much faster when said frantic knitter is running out of time:)

Doldrums vs Startitis

Where have I been? Buried in an avalanche of stash.
I've been in a bit of the doldrums lately (translation? It involves a certain band director and ongoing medical issues). I decided that if I started something, I would feel better.
So out came the coveted one skein of Wollmeise that I acquired from Sara. It has been sitting pretty in the basket for months. It's growing up to become the Heartland Shawl. This shawl is for Self.





Feeling a bit guilty about starting a shawl for Self when I should be knitting Christmas gifts I started a pair of socks. Using a skein of my Doozer's handdyed DK weight, this pair should whip up rather quickly. Not sure who they're for but everyone I know has the same size feet.





The youngest daughter is begging for a Favorite Warm Sweater so I dug around in the yarn stash mass and found this Noro and Lamb's Pride. She's small in stature so it should knit quick too. That is, if I actually knit on it:)









Self started complaining again and I cast on for a pair of Monkey socks. This is a skein of yarn that I handdyed and it was begging to be used. Just as soon as I got this far, I found the No Purl Monkeys and now I wish I was knitting that pattern instead of this one. (sigh) I guess I'll have to cast on another pair of socks to knit the No Purl Monkeys.






Then I found this pattern, Bobby's Garden Blanket. Had to have it. I cannot justify buying enough Noro to make this blanket right now so I dragged the left-over sock yarn container to the "knitting corner" and cast on for this lovely blankie. It will take me forever to knit but it's fun and I'm not in any hurry. Any suggestions to use a nice, inexpensive, worsted weight yarn that would give me the same effect as the Noro is greatly appreciated:).

p.s. I'm off to find another set of dpns to cast on the No Purl Monkey Socks. I'm feeling a bit happier now:)

News Front

On the Home News Front, Mr. Bettis is up to his old tricks. He knocked another hole in the fence and Lil' Miss Gypsy was wandering in the driveway. My parents saw her on their way home from running errands and stopped. Mr. Bettis had his nose peeking out of the hole. Needless to say this is another chore added to the "loyal subject's" list today.

On the Knitting News Front, Lil' Miss Teapot is getting a brand new sweater for Fall. It will be a nice pumpkin orange and olive green.
Come on now, you know you want to sing the "I'm a Little Teapot song" with me. I was "dancing" with the teapot and singing the song to the daughter. She just rolls her eyes and laughs. It's fun to joke with a teen and threaten to "perform" in front of her friends. Trust me, I wouldn't really do that .......or would I? LOL



One of my dear friends placed a Knit Picks order and ordered this book for me. I have been wanting this book for quite awhile. It is a knitting history book and I'm enjoying every bit of it. If you want to read about the history of knitting in America. This is the book to own.











p.s. When life hands you rotten apples (and I have a few of them, doesn't everyone?), LAUGH! It really is the best medicine:).

Surprises!

We celebrated the youngest DD's birthday yesterday with family. She turns 17 yrs old on Friday, Aug 1. Where has the time gone?
It is tradition for this child/young adult to bake her own birthday cake. She looks forward to baking her own cake.
This year she made a two layer cake. The bottom layer was chocolate and the top layer was vanilla tinted pink. She put a chocolate filling between the layers and topped it with buttercream frosting and chocolate sprinkles. It was very tasty.




Much to her surprise, she received her CPH off the needles and finished. I had this blocked and ready to be wrapped two days prior to her birthday party. She thought I was making it for her sister and prompted me to cast on for her CPH. So I had to dig out pink wool and appear to be casting on for another CPH.
She loves it.







I also found clear Skechers for her and me. I got a bargain with these. They were on sale for $15.00 and if you typed in a code they were only $10.00 each with free shipping. My kind of shoes. Believe it or not they are very comfy. I was a bit surprised.
They really show off the handknitted socks. I had another pair of socks on the move for her (imagine that?) but they didn't make it off the needles. I knew she liked these so I gave them to her.
She loved them too.
She also received Space books, Planet earth game and some scrapbooking stuff. (she's big into space)

I woke up this morning to a note from her sitting by the coffee maker. The note said, "thank you mom for a wonderful and fun birthday." What a nice surprise!

An Encounter of a Saw Kind

The weekend was hot and humid which of course prompted rain. I'd like to clean my cupboards. I know, you're thinking...........what is wrong with this woman? Have m***s infested her brain instead of wool?

It's just that I have been trying to tackle a job here and there that needs to be done and Mr. CRPS is not cooperating.

While I was busy trying to be busy inside. DH was busy downstairs. Or so I thought. I heard the strange sound of? You guessed it. A SAW!
Did he not learn his lesson with a saw last December? Did he not remember the "round" with the saw? Did he not remember the saw won? If you don't know anything about this saw encounter click on the Dec post. It's there, trust me. I snapped this picture from inside the kitchen. He had dragged the saw up on the deck and that is a belt sander in his hand (what is left of it from the saw "fight" from last year.) MEN!




At that point I decided to call it quits. Put down the camera and grabbed the knitting. I needed something to calm my nerves or what is left of them.
I dyed this BFL flat and cast on socks. The colors are a bit bright for me but the daughter claimed them.
Theyre fun to knit.




I have quite a collection of books but I couldn't resist this one. We were at a Border's Books store out of town last week and I fell in love with this book. I have spun enough yarn for sweaters in the past but I have no intention on spinning enough yarn for another sweater. I like this book because the designs are classic with a bit of modern twist.
The patterns are well written and they give you substitute yarn to be purchased if you don't spin the yarn.
I highly recommend this book. There are sweaters, scarves and socks in this book. Most of them have aran designs but they're well written.

Since I had the new book, I just had to cast on for something. I fell in love with the October Frost sweater. First it is a classic and second because it was called October Frost. My birthday is in October and fall is my favorite time of year. So this sweater is a MUST KNIT!
I went to the stash room and found this green New Zealand 10 ply that has been fermenting like a fine wine for quite awhile. It is perfect for this sweater. I can see myself in it now..........oh wait...........I have to finish it first. LOL
I have also started a shawl but I'll post those pictures later.

p.s. The DH got through the saw encounter without incident......this time. And I got bathroom trim! YEAH! After all, it has been a 2 year wait for the trim.

The 7 Day Itch

Remember in the former posts that I was going to get in the pool and have a nice swim and I was going to use suntan lotion? I planned to only be in the pool for 1/2 hour so I didn't bother with the lotion. After all, I tan. I never get a sunburn. Times have changed.
I have sun poison. Not just a little sun poison but A LOT! I am miserable. I burn. I sting. I ITCH! I should mention this is on my upper body. I spend my time sitting in front of the fan. I lay wet towels on it, I have lathered with baby oil and aloe vera and nothing seems to be working. I have even resorted to a concoction of yogurt and cornstarch. I have cut up t-shirts to eliminate sleeves, necks etc. I am now digging in the DH's shirt drawer for over sized loose shirts. The necessary garment (br*) has been eliminated. Desperate measures are in order at the moment.
I finally decided to start something new to take my mind from myself (any excuse will do). I started a wool sweater.

Unfortunately the more I knitted on it the more I thought of the I Love Lucy show where she gets a serious burn and then models a wool outfit. Makes my skin crawl. So I put that wool knitting WIP aside and decided a nice crochet doily would make me happy. I am almost finished with this and then it needs blocked.
I have to wonder though, why does every crochet doily have those teeny weeny picots on the final and very lo-o-o-ong crochet round?







This morning I'm trying to enjoy the cool temps (another desperate measure with the sun poison). I glanced in the window and there was Miss Phoebe. I grabbed the camera. The only thing separating her from the little birdies is the window screen.




Mr. Bettis saw me with the camera. He jumped and carried on like a bad kid wanting his picture taken. I told him to "SIT". It took several times of me yelling the word "SIT" in order for him to actually obey. He cracks me up, I think his one eye is cross-eyed.
He received a treat because he actually sat when told. Yeah, I know it took several times to get him to sit but Mr. Bettis thinks life is a hoot!


p.s. A friend thought I should've been a bit more photogenic and post pictures of my new "designer clothing." LOL Not Happening!

Startitis .....again

Here we go again. Another round of Startits has hit! This is a stash buster of Wool-Ease Worsted. I thought about 100% wool but then I cannot imagine hand washing an afghan.
There's a KAL on Ravelry and the link to the pattern is here.









Little Miss Aurora seems to think I am making this for her so she can sleep on it. Sad thing is? She will probably be found napping on this when it's finished. On second thought I will probably find her on while it's in progress.






This is Savannah's Dream sweater. She wanted a sweater made of all of her favorite colors. I dyed this yarn just for her and it will grow up to be the Apres Hoodie found in the Interweave Knits 2008 issue.




I have no idea what is up with me and shawls in the spring. But I just had to cast on for another shawl. One would think that I should finish a WIP first before casting on but.........the yarn and the needles were begging to be used. So another shawl is in progress. This is alpaca lace that I bought at Stitches East 2007. ( see? I really do use the stuff that I buy:)
This pattern is the Bee Fields.



Ta-Da! I will have you know I finally finished something. The Doghouse dishcloth which is a free pattern. This site has quite a few free patterns.
Once I cast off, I knew this entitled me to start something new. But did that mean finishing a dishcloth to start a laceweight shawl of epic porportions? Well of course it did!
(have I mentioned that I have very little knitting logic in my pea-purl-sized brain?)

Lil' Miss Teapot

I apologize for not posting. It's May and with an active teen, it's a busy month.

Little Miss Teapot received a new sweater. She is very happy and was pleased to get her picture taken on the antique cookstove. I used a skein of dk weight superwash that I dyed just for her spring sweater.

I proudly showed the daughter Lil' Miss Teapot's sweater and she promptly said, "lil miss teapot is chubby. But the sweater is nice."

I reminded her that Lil' Miss Teapot provides a lot of hot tea for her and she shouldn't say unkind things to Lil' Miss Teapot........LOL

The daughter is heading to the prom.

The picture doesn't do justice to the color of the dress. It is a creamy, soft yellow with a net overlay. The overlay fabric has glitter throughout. A friend

loaned the black gloves and rhinstone jewelry.

She has thick, waist length hair and every hairdresser we meet cringes when we ask if they will do an updo. So this year she did it herself. She did a great job and all her friends thought she had it professionally done. She has little rhinestone clips sprinkled throughout the top.

She had a wonderful time at the prom and the after-prom.

Oh.... to be young again.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Do you see this "jerry-rigged" fence? Mr. Bettis slammed his 140 lb body against the fence and busted the bottom of it. Little Miss Gypsy who weighs in at 8 lbs, wiggled through the hole in the bottom of the fence and got out to inspect the neighborhood. In the meantime Mr. Bettis was worrying himself to death trying to find a way out for himself. There was no way that 140 lb oaf was going to get through the hole he busted for Gypsy.
I informed Mr. Bettis' owner (aka one hand husband)of the damage his dog has done now and this is how he fixed it. I was told it would be fixed properly in the spring. Hello? Spring is around the corner, buddy! We'll see how long it takes him to fix this fence.
This is what the two culprits were doing inside the house after their activity. Sleeping on the "dog forbidden bed" aka MY bed!
I took advantage of this situation even though they are breaking the rules. I tiptoed to the computer and visited www.theloopyewe.com





I consoled myself by falling in the Loopy Ewe Hole and purchased Dream in Color Lipstick Lava. I joined the TLE KAL on Ravelry and I'm making Mr. Greenjeans for self.
TLE Hole has a cushion landing so feel free to jump in.:)






My calori......what? I finished it! My Calorimetry. I love it. Considering I look absolutely ridiculous in a hat, this is perfect for me. Keeps my ears warm.








A BFL worsted scarf for me. All mine. I dyed this in the Elves n Gnomes colorway. The pattern is the One Row Scarf by the famous Ms. Yarn Harlot. I like this pattern because I zone out and knit. I don't have to think and occasionally after dealing with Mr. Bettis, I need to zone out. :)







I know it has been awhile since I have posted. I have been a busy knitter.