Looking for sheep in all the wrong places . . .

When I pulled out my completed Dobby Sock (I am already on sock two, neverfear!), I found this little guy nestled in for a nap.



I think he must have wandered over from This Boy Knits. Michael has been having an infestation of Wee Ones over there.



I wouldn't have minded except he decided to start munching on the merchandise.



After gently shooing him away, here is Sock #1. I did do the short row toe as well - it wasn't as bad as the heel but it made the whole sock much longer. I'm a row gauge failure, you know.

Happy April Fool's Day!

I took this photo at about 5:30 p.m. today. Since then, we've had three more inches. Please, no snow days ever again this year!

Hopefully, I'll have some other, less tricky photos tomorrow.

A short splash and then . . .

Yesterday, Youngest Child tripped over my IBook's power cord, pulling it out of my machine and into the dog's water dish. Although he did say, "Oops!" I managed to keep him from trying to plug it back in. After a long session of drip-drying in a sunny window, I think it has recovered. For the time being.

So, now that we are pretending it is Saturday, here's a shot of what I've been working on. The Paws to Remember scarf. Remember that I was planning on doing a repeat a day? Well, I have been for the last week and it is really moving along. I apologize for the color - my cellphone does funny things to yarn color.



The pattern has been easy to work on but, if you are really interested in a television show, there are a few places where you can get mixed up. I've been watching past episodes of "Bones" on my laptop (there's a great site called Fancast.com that allows you to view full television episodes over the internet) but it is harder on the old eyes AND harder to keep track of your pattern.



Youngest Child asked if it was his shawl and has been very disappointed.



The Saturday Seven was from Youngest Child. What is it about boys and their hoodies? I had to pry this "way too small" hooded sweat shirts away under the guise of doing laundry. They joined a pair of outgrown snow pants, two tee shirts, a pair of boxers/shorts and a pirate sword that someone left on our porch last Halloween. Its eyes glow and it talks when you press a button so Youngest has been avoiding it like the plague. Avast!

Not yet Sunday . . .

'Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees
Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Oh, if only. Well, we'll just to have to pretend.



I've been spending some of my extra time today working through some of the current projects. The blue sock is halfway down the foot - the rest of the project will be okay. I am not, repeat NOT making a short row toe. Forget it.



I finished the Lenten Hat and blocked it. It is a very large hat! However, I made the biggest size for the pattern and I figure that sailors can have big heads too. I'll pop that in the mail next week

Alban's Big Sweater is still in one piece - I just didn't get to it today. I am looking forward to spending some time cutting it apart on Sunday.



Finally, I spent some more time tonight on the red Paws scarf. I know I said that I would do a repeat a day but . . . somehow I've slipped. I'm hoping to spend more time next week - it's a really tidy repeat to memorize. We were watching "The Chronicles of Narnia" again tonight and it was easy to knit and watch at the same time.



The Saturday Seven came out of my chidren's dressers - four teeshirts, a pair of boy's pants, a scarf and a race car driver's costume. The shirts and scarf will go on to a rummage sale but the pants and Halloween costume will go to Baby Karl. I saw him the other night - he was wearing "Cars" pajamas - so I think he'll put these to good use!

By the way, this was all written last night but my computer was not letting me upload anything. Very annoying. Happy Easter to you all!

Give Lenten Hat a Chance.

Not many people are hoping for Lent to continue . . . but I could really use a little extra time for this hat. I've been fighting with Dobby's Sock - I don't care what people say, short row heels are NOT easier! - late into the evening every night this week. That's when I get my "grotto" time. Unfortunately, finishing up past midnight AND realizing I would have to rip it out again does nothing for me. My children are in school this week but we all have tomorrow off and I am hoping to sleep past 7 a.m.

I finished the short row heel and will complete the pair but just to say that I've done short row heels. Give me Evelyn A. Clark and a good ole' flap heel any day!

So, I've been trying to remember to work on the Lenten Hat - and failing. It's a lovely washable wool but I'm only knitting with size 4 needles. Slow going. Forgive the blue-ish tint to this photo. I had a few minutes outside school today and I actually had my phone charged so that I could take a photo.

I just need to buckle down to the Lenten Hat knitting tonight and tomorrow. I need to cheer up about it too - infusing my knitting with regrets doesn't make it much of a Lenten project!

The kindness of strangers

I definitely have had to rely on the kindness of others recently, since my camera went to my daughters' dance a few weeks ago - and was dropped in the parking lot. So, until I get a new camera, I'll be using cell phone photos on the blog. This lovely thing (can't you imagine her singing, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President!") was at a doll meet I went to on Saturday. Youngest Daughter is very much into creating and collecting dolls right now and she is saving like crazy for a "dollfie" type of doll. We got to see lots of beautiful dolls and costumes. YD is hoping I'll take up doll clothes knitting very soon.



I am actually almost done with Alban's sweater but I haven't photographed it recently. I'll be stitching and cutting the front steek this weekend. Until then, I'm still working on a Amigurumi Teddy Bear and a pair of socks.

Spring again and my mind must be elsewhere!

I just had to show off this really cute sock yarn - and I'd love to tell you where I got it . But I can't. Yep, at some time in the past month I have bought beautiful sock yarn and forgotten all about it. It might have been at Borealis Yarns in Saint Paul. Or Knit'n from the Heart in Woodbury. Or Three Kittens in Lilydale. Sock yarn amnesia hasn't struck me before but I can see how it might become an intervention kind of situation! It's Great Adirondack Silky Sock in Nightshade. It's a a 70% Merino Superwash Wool/20% Silk/10% Nylon yarn with 360 yards per skein. In the meantime, I'll have to make some special plans for this yarn. Maybe a Baby Surprise jacket . . . maybe some socks for me . . .



The Saturday Seven for this week consists of a mixed bag. Two too-small turtlenecks from Youngest Child, a pair of gloves which he claims feel "sandy" and four old pairs of eyeglasses. The glasses are going on to the Third World Eye Care Society in Canada. There are actually many groups that do this kind of collecting but I've heard about this group before and they do great work. Look them up and give it a go!

Give me the grotto!

Every once and a while, you just need some time alone. One of the places I used to work at had a grotto out in the gardens. The outside was rough and ugly but the inside was beautifully painted and peaceful. It was used for meditation and time alone.

Today, while most of the family was out and all the chores done, I got to pretend I had my own little knitting grotto. Just me, a comfy chair, some dvds and lots of knitting. Lots. I really need to visit my own grotto more often. Unfortunately, the camera has not been returned to me after my daughters' dance last evening (believe me, they were lovely!) but that just gives me more time to knit. I've been working on a sailor's watch cap in Sandnesgarn's Smart washable wool in a kind of Cadet Blue and I took the red baby sweater up to the shoulders. Lovely.



Once again, I turned to my daughters' drawers for this weeks Saturday Seven. Seven hockey camp, girl scout and work teeshirts went to the rummage sale. I used to go to that rummage sale - they had great vintage knitting needles and craft items - but I am now afraid that I would bring home one of my own donations.

Creaking along . . . or Same Old, Same Old

Well, even though my own knitting has been anything but inspirational (crocheting teddy bear arms and legs, baby sweater body, and a repeat or two on the Paws scarf) - mainly because we have all been sniffly and sore here at Chez Daisy - I thought I would direct your attention to a really great project.



Jeanette over at The Knit before Christmas, the blog of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s volunteer knitting program, Christmas at Sea, has come up with the idea of 4,000 Hats in 40 Days. Although she writes that she heard of a similar project elsewhere, her goal is to have people (herself included!) knit as part of their Lenten Discipline.

Now, I have a friend who gave up buying knitting items for Lent and I have talked to another who gave up the actual act of knitting (she'll need your prayers!) as well. I think this idea is a better one. They are collecting the 4,000 hand-knit or crocheted hats for mariners working in the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Her organization will distribute these hats as Christmas gifts, along with other items as part of the 2008 Christmas on the River Program.

So, if you are a knitter (and, with the exception of Mrs. Stephanie, you would have to be lost if you were here for any other reason), spread the word to your other knitting and crocheting friends and help SCI raise 4,000 hats.

The finished items should be sent by March 30th to:

The Seamen’s Church Institute
241 Water Street
New York, NY 10038

Attn: Jeanette DeVita

This organization, the SCI is a long-standing agency for mariners and does some amazing work. Stop by their website to see what they are accomplishing without much fanfare.

Back to the same old, same old here. With the exception of a hat on the needles, nothing new here. I've been faithfully sorting out the Saturday Sevens - so much so that I am actually ahead for a few weeks.

But, the sun is shining and the weather is promising to get warmer (10 degrees F. today) and spring is in sight.

Sundays must be as good as Saturdays

Between illness, GS Cookie arriving and Crochet Insanity, I have very little to report this week. However, Youngest Child and I did a little sorting (we were actually looking for a lost toy) and I was able to pry these out of his little hands. I did have some fun trying to make a little tableau of them but, aside from the Mutant Turtle threatening Tinkerbell, I couldn't come up with much.

I now have another crochet head waiting for its crochet body - whew, is that stressful! And I have two sleeves and a body on the little red baby sweater - next up is the multi-colored yoke. Oh, and the lack of pictures is because my camera (which did return from Rome) needs a new battery. Until then, we'll do what we can at Chez Daisy with a cellphone camera. I promise to try harder next week!

On a lighter note - have you tried streaming audio yet? Or am I the last person to try this on my computer? I've been doing a little housekeeping on my computer today and listening to WYEP (or 91.3 FM) - a community supported radio station in Pittsburgh, PA. I used to listen to this when I lived in Pennsylvania and it is still great. We are members there despite living in Minnesota for 14 years.

Sad, so sad

What could it be? Theoretically, it's supposed to be the head of a little teddy bear. Unfortunately, it looks like a upside down baby booty. I had to have another quick crochet lesson from GFM (we had a secret meeting in the middle of an Open Gym full of preschoolers this morning. Don't ask - those little kids are really anti-crochet!) and figured out my stitch issues but, obviously, I don't have the "count your stitches in between increases/decreases" issues put to rest yet.

ON the knitting front, I took my baby sweater with me this weekend and, in between bouts of intense cross country skiing, crochet and swimming, I finished the two sleeves. I'll be working on the body this week. And, once I get this lumpy bear head ripped out and re-crocheted, I'll be working on the Little Teddy Bear pattern from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts' Amigurumi.

Back to working on Lumpy the Bear.

No kool aid will be drunk . . . but I am taking the plunge!

Between these cute little beasties . . .



and this podcast . . .



I have been inundated with crochet lately. Miss Marley over at Yarn Thing really makes it sound fun, too! So, I am taking the plunge. This weekend, while at my church's winter retreat, GFMelissa will be teaching me to crochet. After that, I'll be rushing back home on Saturday in order to pick up the World Travelling Daughters at the airport. Then, on Sunday, my first masters swimming meet at the University of Minnesota. I'll be swimming backstroke in a relay and, if there's time, the 500 freestyle.

Then, the Minnesota Knitters' Guild is having it's Winter Tea. So, when I was complaining about not having a social life, the Big Guy Upstairs must have heard me!

Since its likely I won't be around a computer on Saturday, I am posting my Saturday Seven early - without a picture.

While looking for suitable crochet yarn in my stash, I weeded out all my needles and yarns and got together a box of: two sets of straight needles, three skeins of Rowan Big Wool in pumpkin, three skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed in the color Sigh, one skein of something unknown - worsted weight, a sock pattern and several tools like yarn bras, etc. It's a collective seven that's going off to Interim House for use in their substance abuse programs.

Saturday again?

Sorry about the quality of the photos but my camera is currently traveling to Italy with these two ladies! See you next Saturday, girls - take lots of photos!



And my Saturday Seven photo is pretty poor pickins' as well - a package of baby wipes and another of disposable training pants left over from Youngest Child's baby days, two butcher knives and a cookie press from my late Mother-in-law's kitchen, a polo shirt from my DH's closet and a flannel shirt from my Youngest Daughter.

I must be saving up my mojo for tomorrow - the big day at Knit Out 2008. Good Friend Melissa will be riding shotgun again - she'll be the one giving me the giggles!

Burn, baby, burn!

Last year, I mistakenly mentioned that I enjoyed doing "Sudoku." And I got three books of puzzles for my birthday! Since then, I've been skipping back and forth between books, doing one or two puzzles at bedtime, and finally, finally, finished one. So, I burned it in triumph.

With two more half-filled books to get done, it's enough to make me give up puzzles.

This week, I did give up on that green sock but - not on the yarn! I have three skeins of Steinbach Strapaz Cotton in the 03/kiwi color and I am looking for a new pattern to make them up for myself.



Instead, I started a new pair of simple ribbed socks for Youngest Child. That's easy and mindless - just the thing for taking to the Knit Out 2008 at the Mall of America.



Yep, it's that time of the year again and it looks to be really fun! I am hoping to hear author Debbie Macomber speak but the whole weekend's events look good. Just in case you check it out, I'll be working at the Minnesota Knitters' Guild table on Sunday. Stop by and say "hello" in person!

Farewell friend!

I couldn't stand it anymore - I ripped this sock back and returned it to the stash. I like the yarn but the pattern was just too much "stop and start" - I couldn't memorize anything. I am really disapointed - this seemed like a perfect pattern until I actually began to knit it. Instead of a simple cable, there's a single purl stitch in between. Remind me to avoid this particular design feature in the future!

I am tuning up for another pattern - something simple - for Youngest Child. I just need to catch him and actually measure his feet! I'll use the Knit Picks sock yarn I bought so I could keep the Merlin the Cat yarn for myself.

"Don't forget the bag!"

According to Guinifer, I should keep the red bag and stow it in my trunk for last minute shopping trips. Today's Saturday Seven would have fit in quite easily. I was trying to get out my sewing machine to make some baby bibs for a friend's upcoming baby when I decided to clear out some of the clutter. Five quite dated sewing patterns, a small embroidery kit and another Girl Scout Song Handbook. Man, my house must be awash in these! Where are they all coming from??!



Youngest Daughter deigned to hold this scarf for me. After a heavy social schedule so far this weekend (a slumber party and a Girl Scout outing), she's feeling fatigued and can barely lounge on my chair and watch television. Notice the frog pajama pants!

I've begun marking the start of each repeated set of rows. There are supposed to be something like 29 sets - this is about five or six. So, instead of Kelley Petkun's "An inch a Day" for her socks, I am hoping to work on a set a day. That would make this finished in, oh, March. Which is still way ahead of the June Birthday deadline. But, not really bookin', I guess. Do people still say "Bookin?" I spent some time over at Crazy Aunt Purl's blog and she was lamenting leaving the 1980s behind and that is defininitely an '80s word.

And if that's hasn't given you a little flashback, check this out:



Ahh, remember watching videos? We have started recording "Pop Up Videos" on TiVo and every time the show is over, Mr. Daisy sighs.

It's in the bag.

Oh, come on, you didn't see that coming? I wanted you to see how it all folded up into a little clutch bag. I had a great time picking out at button today. They were all gorgeous at my local fabric store. I might have to start a button stash as well as a yarn stash!

Now, on to the "Paws to Remember" scarf and a busy evening watching Mr. Daisy and Youngest Child play the Wii. What an exciting life we lead.

Not a loser!

See! I didn't let it beat me! I finished this bag while at our local caucuses last night. Now, I still don't have a button on the flap for the inner bag (the only one I had that fit the loop had "Izod" stamped on it!) but the whole bag is knitted, ends sewn in and washed once. This yarn requires a soak with vinegar to set the color but I washed it in the sink, soaked the bag and, then, wrang it out and ran it through the dryer with a towel. Beautiful!



I tried to take a picture with items in the bag to show the amount of stretch in the design - it's not a lovely photo but it does show how far the stitches stretch when items are in the bag.

As I was having my problems with the pattern, I emailed the Oat Couture people and got a very nice reply. Annie at Oat Couture reassured me when she mentioned that the picked up stitches on the bottom corners were somewhat "fudged." So, I just did what I could. I think I ended up using up extra yarn on the bottom - I ran out of Cotton Fleece and had to pick up another skein for the top. Maybe I'll make another for myself!

Oh, and the caucus was very neat - crowded, lots of political signs and discussion - but they needed better room signage. We were part of a small group of attendees wandering the halls looking for our precinct. Eventually, we found them and got to vote. Then, we went out for coffee and dessert. That's a combination I can support.

Everthing old is new again . . .

And I mean more than the Saturday Seven.

My daughters' school has an Oldies Dance tonight - they actually have two dances a year and this is the only one open to all 9th-12th graders - and we have had quite a time coming up with costumes this week. One daughter is going as an 80's club girl (complete with pressed jeans and high heels, pearls and flashy clothes!), Middle Daughter is dressed in 1970's attire - a lovely patterned dress, books and an up-do. She's make a nice bank teller or teacher a la 1976. Youngest Daughter is going as "Miss Chickpea County of 1947" complete with sash and bouquet of roses. We wanted her to be the "Queen of Non sequitur" but she felt that was a bit much!

Mr. Daisy and I are going to get to see them in all our glory as we are working the event. In costume. We are going as beatniks.

I was hoping for more of an "Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face" rather than the Maynerd Krebs kind of look but we'll see.

Today's Saturday Seven was all culled from one dresser drawer: a pad of football shaped sticky notes, a paper punch, a pair of sunglasses, a Girl Scout songbook, a bag of American Girl grin pins, a de-fuzzer and (get those minds out of the gutter!) a FOOTROLLER from the Body Shop that I got as a Christmas present from one of my kids. Now, there is much more room in my pajama drawer for what's really necessary.

The String Bag rises!

I had Mr. Daisy take this photo as I was busy trying to show the "bag" shape of my Stow Away Shopping Bag. For some reason, I had a terrible time picking up the edge stitches that make the double bottom but I finally achieved some sort of edging and got the pattern started. I think this might be a problem for other knitters as well - I found out a lot when I Googled the pattern.

But, my new Harmony needles are really helping. Instead of pulling my hair out, I am actually enjoying watching the shape of the bag grow out of that mass of red string!

String bags must be on other knitters' minds as well - it turns out that the Double Ewe Yarn Shop in Circle Pines, MN. is having a "knit a string bag" , get a discount on yarn kind of sale. Actually, their web site says "During the month of February, knit a string bag, then sometime during the week of March 4th - 8th, bring in your bag, fill it with yarn, and get 20% off. It's that simple."

There are some other rules as well but the weird fact is that this is the store where I bought MY string bag pattern and MY Cotton Fleece yarn. I have only been to this shop once and that's all I bought. I must have been ahead of the knitting curve for once in my life! Check out the store - it's a very nice little store and they had a nice selection. It's just a little out of my easy shopping range.

I worked a little on my sister-in-law's scarf tonight when I went to hear author Bill Holm speak at a library in Saint Paul. He has an excellent book called "Windows of Brimness: An American in Iceland." It's part travel - part memoir and he was an excellent reader. He called it "the best yet" when I talked to him afterwards - I'll have to work my way through his other works and let you know! The scarf is about 10 inches long so far - very pleasant to work on.

Starting anew - again!

Yesterday, I went ahead and bought the Knit Picks Options Harmony wood needles sized 13 and 15 to finish my red string bag. I spent some time on Ravelry checking out what other knitters were using to make this project and the many good comments about these needles made me take the plunge. Hopefully, these will be the pointy needles I am looking to love. Basically, this bag is just about using large needles and thin cotton to make large loops. It takes other bloggers about two days to finish. Me - I've been stymied again and again by thick, blunt needles. So, today I am ripping it back. And then, I'll start again. This bag has just been chock full of life lessons for me. Don't hurry, don't over think the pattern and do it right even if that's the hard way. I hear you, I hear you!



The "Paws to Remember" scarf for my sister-in-law has become my pick up and travel project since I finished the last pair of socks. Unfortunately, it takes me a few minutes to find my spot and get re-started knitting, so it isn't progressing very quickly. I like to pin the pattern to my chair arm and check it every so often and that doesn't make for quick knitting. It is lovely, though, and has such a nice border of yarnovers and k2t or ssk. I think I came to enjoy tidiness late in life and I really appreciate it when I see it now.



In order to have a travel project, I pulled this sock project out of my sock stash box. It's been snoozing for quite some time - I just didn't like having to stop ribbing and work the cable. Despite my misgivings, this "Cable Rib Socks" pattern by Erica Alexander from the Spring 2005 Interweave Knits made it into the IK Favorite Socks book. It is a nice yarn (Steinbach Wolle Strapaz Cotton Effekt in Kiwi Green) and makes a nice cable so, maybe, I just wasn't paying attention.

I'm really going to have to get these projects done and out of the way if my "Spring of Scarves" works out. I spent a little too much time on Ravelry this holiday season and found some great projects on an "Advent Calendar of Knitting Patterns" that someone put together. Unfortunately, many of them were not in English. So, between my limited German language skills and my mother's skillful French, I am going to have a whole new catalog to deal with. If there are any knitters out there who haven't stopped by the Ravelry site and signed up, make that your next bookmark. It is a great place to look at patterns, ask other knitters how their projects went and to window shop for yarn. I love being able to search for a pattern as well as browse the photos of many different knitters' versions of that one idea.



Youngest Child is truly growing - I weeded out three long sleeved shirts, one short sleeved tee, a pair of jeans, a pair of basketball shorts and one last pair of undies. Of all the clothing, I had to sneak out the undies. They were favorites, even if they were much too small.

. . . and I didn't have any wood handy.

I'm not sure my mother understands why I would want to write about knitting so that people I don't know can read it but . . . sometimes, you just get a little obsessed. My obsession is knitting. No one at my house wants to talk about knitting quite as much as I do but . . . there is always someone on the Internet who does.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2Hs2rgto8

I got this little gem from Knit Redplaid, a Canadian knitter with a great sense of humor.



In the meantime, I've been finishing my pair of Go with the Flow socks. When I went to weave in the ends (only at the cuff and the two), I found a loop of yarn inside the sock, running from one section to another but still completely skipping a section of pattern in between. All I can think of is that I ripped back a section and missed knitting in a line of stitches. But, it doesn't look wrong from the outside. Hmm. Well, I'll tack the loop down so it doesn't get caught by a toe and let it go at that.

I think my camera's flash is still affecting the color of these socks - they are really dark, jewel tones and just lovely. I just couldn't brave the cold temperatures to take a photo outside. Now, it's up to a balmy 17 degrees F.

C'est magnifique!

And it was taking up all my time. This is what's been eating up all my evening knitting time. We usually pull out puzzles at Christmas time at our house and we received this one as a gift. So, it was out on the puzzle table after the holidays and man, what a time sink! The actual puzzle was easy but the putting it up was one small adjustment at a time. I'd look up and the whole evening would be gone. Zut, zut et zut! Luckily, Oldest Daughter's friends came over for a movie party on Monday and helped finish it off.

I've been outside the Eiffel Tower but never on and this is as close as Youngest Child will be for some years. His "helping" also slowed things down a bit but he enjoyed the work and was pretty patient about the whole thing.



I also had another rip session with the gusset of the second GWTF sock. I've figured out that a) this mysterious looseness has to to with how I pick up the stitches for the gusset and b) if I want the instep pattern to be centered (that is, begin and end with the double purl portion of the pattern), I have to re-jigger the spot where I begin the heel flap. As I am not going back to redo the heel flap, I ended up picking up a different number of gusset stitches on each side. So, that is another mark against this pair of socks ever making it to the state fair. It is a learning experience for the pair I will someday knit for me, however!

I was aiming for the lovely gusset but my up-close photography skills leave something to be desired. Blogger is acting up a bit right now so I think I better post what I've got and leave perfection well enough alone.

Down, down it goes

Knitting is what I want to do today. Knitting is not what I got to do today. My daughters' school has an Oldies Dance coming up and I had to to take some of them out to look for costumes. Despite the high of, oh, 6 degrees F., we went from place to place and finally ended up with a Seventies outfit and and a 1950s outfit. One daughter would make a lovely bank teller or elementary school teacher in about 1970 and the other should make a nice Society matron, hat and all. I still have cold feet! I also picked up a copy of "Bend the Rules Sewing." It has some very cute patterns for baby items that I am going to attempt for Up-and-coming Baby Sven.



Knitting-wise, I'm working on the second of the "Go with the Flow" socks. It is so soothing now that I've memorized the leg pattern. My first sock turned out well - so nice that I was depressed to find one set of loose stitches on the gusset. One side is lovely - one just two stitches off. There goes the State Fair entry! Hopefully, blocking the sock will make it less noticeable. That's what Elizabeth Zimmerman calls "ein Schönheitsfehler," or a beauty flaw.



As for the Saturday Seven, things were just falling into my lap. One pair of jeans in a finish which I never liked, an outgrown pair of shorts for Youngest Child, two vases that came with Oldest Daughter's spinning gear, an old paper towel holder and a toothbrush head kit for the wrong toothbrush. Sometimes, getting rid of things is easy. I'm not ready to pack up and move any time soon (Carol told me that was her goal for sorting things - to get rid of enough things that she could pack up and move with only a week's notice!) but we are whittling things down. Off they go to St. John the Evangelist!

Visiting the Frog Pond with Julia

Aak! I don't know why but I am someone creating extra stitches in my Paws to Remember scarf. Now I am ripping it back once again. I haven't had this problem before so I hoping to get some help from the people at Fiber Trends before I rip my hair out!



The Saturday Seven was much easier. Youngest Child must be growing again because I found four tee shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of shorts that are all much too tight. I was a bit concerned because everyone else's wardrobe is well and truly pruned.

Today, we finally put away the Christmas decorations and the sunny weather really put me in mind of spring. It's still cold and snowy but . . . warm weather awaits. One podcast I listened to this week listed the number of weeks until Christmas - this year!

One of our last Christmas presents was a cooking class today at Cooks of Crocus Hill - Mastering French Cooking: Soups and Stews. My book group has read several of Julia Child's books and I bought her videos for DH as a gift some time ago. The chef, Van Keszler, ran us through the process of making five soups/stews and we got to chow down on the results. The best one was Potage Veloute aux Champignons (cream of mushroom soup.) I haven't had anything as good for a long time! I thought you might like to take a look at The Julia in action. (Even if she's goofing around!)

Reddy Spaghetti!

I pulled out the unfinished string bag out of the bottom of my knitting bag and decided to work on it a bit. It still looks like a hideous pile of string or a dish of red spaghetti. I've looked the pattern up on Ravelry and other people seem to finish it quite easily. Me - it's beating me up. I think it's my big Turbo needles - they are just too blunt and slippery. BUT I will forge on - I'm too cheap to buy new needles just to finish this one bag.



I've progressed way past this point on the "Go with the Flow" socks but I haven't been able to catch Oldest Daughter to have her try on the sock. I must just make it to fit my own foot - but add a little something extra. She's about two shoe sizes larger than me!



I cast on Evelyn A. Clark's "Paws to Remember" scarf as a birthday present for my sister-in-law. She is a dog trainer and a dog show judge and I'm hoping this will be a nice surprise. She doesn't read this blog so I am pretty sure that, as long as I don't knit it in front of her, it will stay a surprise. It is going very quickly - this is about one evenings worth of work.

NOT my problem!

One of my Christmas presents is a mug with this picture all over it. Youngest Child drew it and said it was a picture of "Mom yelling." DH oh-so-wittily labeled it, "Mother."

I deny this. Absolutely. I am possibly the most laid back of my sisters (Does anyone who know us deny this?) but somehow, I get labeled as a yeller.

Yesterday, I think I proved this when two daughters' afternoon activities involved bringing home separate groups of friends afterwards (not something I had much foreknowledge of) and I managed to get everything cleaned up and provide some sort of food. And two of the friends were vegetarians and one was also on a gluten free diet. Considering the state of the fridge when everyone trooped in, I think I was the picture of calm.

And, despite the Writers' Strike, I still managed to find some TV to watch while knitting. I highly recommend Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel. This was very interesting but very sad at the same time. Good to knit to. I am almost finished with the first "Go with the Flow" sock. I am really loving that!



The Saturday Seven? I sorted out my workout drawer and found four teeshirts, two pairs of sweat pants and a pair of knickers - the knee length workout pants, not the undies. Knickers?!! What was I thinking? Off to a rummage sale.