Thanksgiving Memories

I am so excited about Thanksgiving this year. It will be the first that my family and I have stayed at home and celebrated together. I've been cleaning for two days now, yep two days and there is so much more to do. Thankfully the children are excited about coming to Momma and Daddy's and they won't be critical of the house. Not unless the food sucks. :)

We have a pretty traditional meal planned. I love to cook so that part is going to be fun for me.

I have many Thanksgiving memories but the one that stands out most in my mind is one from my childhood. It must have been around 1963 or so, I was around six. By that time my parents were divorced and myself and my sister, Sheila, were living with my aunt and uncle. Aunt Beo (Nanny) and Uncle Melvin had purchased a bigger house in order to raise two little girls. My Daddy was single at the time so Aunt Beo had invited him to spend the day with us.

I can remember being so excited that my Daddy was going to be there. Aunt Beo prepared a wonderful traditional meal, turkey, green beans, corn, regular dressing and dressing with oysters special for my uncle, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, coconut cream and chocolate pies with wonderful fluffy meringue.

Now, I was a rather mischievous child. A good little girl, but my mind was always thinking of ways to surprise or trick people. I have all kinds of tales about my activities. My step-father, Luther, could tell you all kinds of nasty deeds done to him. He has a difficult time receiving a cup of coffee from me to this day. None were ever meant to cause harm though. I don't know, maybe I had too much time on my hands? But, my little mind was always working. It is kinda funny because now I hate practical jokes.

Anyways, while everyone was busy preparing food and such I had a brainstorm. I was admiring the pies Aunt Beo had made that morning when inspiration hit me. I found some unpopped popcorn in the cupboard, grabbed a handful and headed to the dining room where the pies were waiting to be devoured. I dropped about five or so kernels on top of each pie that had meringue and somehow, I don't remember now what I used, I pushed the kernels deep within the pies as an added little treat.

After we had finished our meal my heart began to race. I was so excited to see their faces when they bit into a nice soft piece of pie and found my "surprise. " As the pies were cut and handed out I couldn't stop giggling. My poor Daddy was the first and just about broke a tooth chomping into a big bite of pie. I can't remember getting into trouble. I'm sure Aunt Beo said something like "Peggy Lynn!!!!" It seems I can remember Daddy laughing along with me.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of wonderful memories. But, you might want to hide the popcorn. :)

On Monsters

Hey all!!!! Many of you have been contacting me wondering what in the world is going on that I haven't been showing up here much lately. It has been crazy. Or I think it has been. I've been making quite a few trips to take care of Nanny and many to Louisville for my Emma Belle. I've been working some for my Sara and this week I'm working a couple days for my favorite defense attorney. And yes, I have been knitting with a tad spinning thrown in for good measure. Probably the biggest thing that has been taking (stealing) my time is Facebook. I have fallen into the Facebook hole and can't, or don't want to, find my way out. Come over and befriend me.

Okay, about knitting. Hmmm, well since I'm at The Attorney's office I don't have any pictures to show you just now. But...........remember that horror story of a knitting project "Edward Longshanks?" That knee length tomten my oldest, Aaron, wanted? Well, thank the Lord Most High, or the knitting gods, or my ignorance, I made a mistake and the sleeves weren't matching up so that ugly baby is frogged!!!! Instead I'm knitting him a sweater from knitty.com called Avast. Very lovely and doable.

I also have a really cute little green hoodie OTN right now. This one is from ChicKnits, Basic Chic Hoodie, and it is for me. YAY. I have way too many other things OTN or about to jump OTN right now to even mention. I am going to do better in the area of communication though.

The other day I was thinking about what a mess everything is. I have knitting on the kitchen table and the bar in the kitchen. Knitting in the living room, in a couple places, knitting in my bedroom on the floor and the night stand. The wicker love seat is totally unsittable since it is piled high with knitting, yarn, needles, a yarn swift and ball winder and....oh yes fiber, oh and knitting books. Upstairs the wool room is total uninhabitable. All things knitting and spinning strewn throughout the room. A total mess. We won't even talk about the basement.

Thinking about it all I remembered a situation we encountered while living in a little two bedroom apartment in Tulsa, OK.....Graduate Housing while David attended Oral Roberts University and I worked for the Chaplain. We already had our three children. Aaron was 7, Sara 5, and Jordan 3. My kids were like most children they did not go lacking for toys and in a tiny apartment we didn't have much space. David came up with a plan. The "Toy Monster." Now, this is how the Toy Monster operated. David would tell the kids to pick up their toys because at a certain time on a certain day the Toy Monster was going to come through. Any toy not picked up and put in its proper place the Toy Monster picked up, put it in a box not to be seen again for a full month. It actually worked pretty well. When the old toys were set free by the Toy Monster you would think it was a family reunion or Christmas all over again. The children were once again united with their long lost toys.

Well, I was thinking.....what if there was "Yarn, or Knitting or Fiber Monster" that would come through and anything, no matter what, not found in its proper place would get taken away for a month. Would that cause me to keep things in better order? I guess if there was a project I started that I really loathed that would be a good excuse to never touch it again. Once it was released from Project Prison I could break parole by leaving it out and..........oh well.

Overall though, I don't think that would work. It would probably just give me a better excuse to cast on a bunch of new things or go out and buy more yarn. Or this would cause me to truly go stark raving mad and the "Monster" would bring it all back. Obsession know no limits. I'd do whatever it took.

What about you? Do you have knitting or whatnot all over your house? If you are one of those people who has everything in its place and seldom have more than one thing OTN ......I don't like you!!!!!!

Do you think a "Knitting, Yarn, Spinning Monster" would work in your house?

World Peace?

Do you think about world peace very often? Or what your part in it is? You know, while drinking your morning coffee you contemplate what the world would be like "if I were Queen (King) of the forest?"

I used to semi-jokingly state that we were going to obtain world peace one knitter at a time. I thought if we could get more and more people knitting we would come into a place of knitting zen where all boundaries would be broken. A place where all things knitterly would be shared in common. I imagined the United Nations filled with knitters from all around the world. Each country bringing it's own special, unique fiber to be added to the UN stash. And each time a new texture, fiber or color was added all would join in together with oooooooooooo's and ahhhhhhhhhhhhh's. Instead of the clicking of angry tongues one would hear the clicking of happy knitting needles. I imagined the halls being filled with little free rolling yarn balls. And via the wonderful gift of knitting each country would learn to share of their resources and come up with constructive, creative ways to solve all OUR major issues. We would act as one.

Overall, most fiber enthusiasts I've met world wide are very giving people. I've had people from all over the world send me yarn, cd's, fiber, chocolate, patterns and knitted items just because they wanted to gift me with things. Wonderful people from Norway, England, Belgium, Canada, and here in the States. I began believing my surmise........Knitting is the way to world peace. Yes and amen.

But then something happened to burst my bubble. I started hanging around knitters. People!!!!! If it weren't for people we could achieve world peace. I wish I could blame it on all the other knitters, but alas, I can't. I have no one but myself to blame. You see, I've known this for some time now, but it is something I've managed to keep hidden deep within myself. A secret I find it difficult to reveal. Actually, a secret I have relished with pride.

"Hello, my name is Peggy and I am a......................yarn snob." The only way I can allow myself to be so vulnerable as to reveal this is I hope to give you the courage to admit who/what you really are. That you too will come out of the closet. That through my groveling you may have your own personal epiphany.

I am a yarn snob. I've been one for a number of years. At least five years. I think it happened about the time I became a serious knitter. What I mean by that is when all other hobbies were forsaken for only knitting. If the word hobby is disconcerting to you we will deal with that later. It was around that time that I quit going into the craft section of Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby to look for yarn. The word "acrylic" seldom passed over my tongue except in phrases of disgust. In fact, that is a word I would only say in a whisper. I thought "Never has a more disgusting, vile word been created" except for one other word I won't venture to mention just yet. I don't recall being rude to anyone over my snobbery. Many times our prejudices thrive within the darkness of our superior thoughts or are veiled in our communications. Such as, "Oh, yeah, if you want QUALITY yarn you need to go to the "yarn store."" Or, "All the acrylic yarn I have in my stash was given to me, I only use it when teaching new knitters."

How can I hope to be any part of any kind of answer to any kind of world peace of any kind when I harbor any kind superiority? I wish I could say my being a yarn snob was the worst of my deepest darkest secrets. Many times when the cosmic light of self-awareness shines into the dark, dank crevices of our souls other, more serious character flaws are revealed.

To Be Continued......................

Honey, I'm Home

Let me see, let me see........what have I been adoin........welp, for one I've been playing a game of sorts with myself. You may remember the Tomten I started last year. Yeah, the one that mocked me every time I went into the wool room. It called me every name and then some. Stinkin thing. If you remember I finally named it Edward Longshanks out of pure hatred. Well, I finally decided I was either going to have to finished the blanking thing or silence it once and for all. And since Aaron has always been so excited about it my motherly love got the best of me and I came up with a plan.

I have various kinds of knitting. I have my "mindless" knitting. This is the kind of knitting I can work on in the car (while riding, never say I condone knitting while driving, however, you should ALWAYS has at least one project with you at all times, remember the dude in the elevator). Or mindless knitting is handy while waiting in the doctor's office or during meetings or church services, etc., etc. (keep your self-righteous thoughts to yourself please)

So I always have some form of mindless knitting going. Simple socks work well for this but, presently I have the faux moebius going for this. Why faux you ask? Okay, a moebius is actually knit in the round but the knitting is twisted. Mine is a faux moebius because I am knitting it as a rectangular scarf and then I'm twisting it when I seam it together. (please keep your self-righteous thoughts to yourself).

The game of sorts is this, I'm not allowed to work on anything else at home until the tomten is finished. I really don't have that much to do. Just the sleeves and the trim. Of course the trim is like knitting 6-8 rows around a football field. (I did cheat a tad by doing some spinning. Self-righteous thoughts should be kept to yourself, please.)

The real fun to this here game is that I go to Enchanted Yarn and Fiber once a week and while there and only there I get to work on the cutest little hoodie you ever saw. I love this little baby and she is for me, me, ME!!!! (You know what to do, please.)

Progress Is Good

I've been making progress on some of my knitting. My sampler for the Sweater Sampler class at Enchanted Yarn & Fiber is moving right along. I cannot recommend this class/project enough. I'm not Sweater Woman by any means, but the whole process of putting a sweater pattern together from scratch doesn't seem quite so daunting. I love how the simple changes of color/stitches adds such a decorative pattern.

I finished the Feathers & Fan, or whatever, it is so beautiful. I love it. It may end up under some one's Christmas tree, I'm not sure yet.

I'm working on a faux moebius (mo-bee-us). Faux because it is actually being knit flat and then I will do the twisty thing and seam it up. I love this yarn, Peace Fleece in Grassroots colorway. It should go with lots of things. I got the stitch pattern out of a stitch dictionary(?).



I went to the Yarn Tasting Party at Enchanted this past Sunday. I got there late but it was such fun. We got 13 little balls of 13 different yarns to try out. What fun!!!! While there I bought some yarn for some special projects I have coming up. One being a baby sweater set for an upcoming baby (not mine). I so love this yarn. It is Jojoland Rhythm. It gets softer as you work with it and the changes in color are so subtle and beautiful. I got the pattern here.

I'm heading to the Enchanted land for another class. Updates to follow.

Getting The Story Straight

Okay, this is the deal. You know.............the rest of the story, the whole enchilada, the truf.

I've been in a knitting funk. Oh, I've continued knitting. I've lost count of new projects OTN. But, I've been feeling kinda lousy about my knitting. As you know, I am a loose knitter. And besides that, I am a impatient loose knitter, which is worse.

It is bad enough to be a loose knitter but, when you add in the impatience you are heading for failure. Why? Well, I really hate gauge swatches...............HATE 'EM!!!!!! For one thing, I hate taking the time to mess with them and secondly, I don't trust 'em. They are filthy little liars. But you know, I think it is time to wake up and smell the wool. I gotta realize these little gauge swatches are really my friends and if I will take the time to converse with them my life will be much, much simpler and happier to boot. Right?

Anyways, yesterday at the Sweater Sampler Class I was whining about my knitting and how I felt that I was a lousy knitter when sweet, dear RoLynn chimed in and said "You are not a lousy knitter. You are just small minded right now." Of course, I can't miss an opportunity for silliness so I pretty much milked that statement for all it was worth. I even told 'em that they had better be glad that that flight attendant hadn't won that case against that pastor's wife or I'd be suing for emotional damages. I did have some issues, I won't go into, in the bathroom last night...................but I think it was the Hardees.

RoLynn explained that what she meant by me being "small minded" was that I've been attacking large items for a long time. Things like shawls, that freakin tomten, etc. And right now I'm in a making small things frame of mind. Sounds logical. Right?

As for the grumpy part ................well............... it wasn't real grumpiness, it was acting silly grumpiness. So, yeah, I was grumpy too. Soooooooooooooooooo bite me!!!! :)

She Shall Be Called ------- Cosette

I've been wanting a new baby, the four legged, furry, barking kind. Sad to say, but once I start talking about getting a new baby my family knows it is just a matter of time before Sara and I hop in the car on a mission. Well, yesterday we went out "just to look" at puppies and came home with this:




















Isn't that the sweetest little face you ever saw? She is a Shih Tzu, born June 27th and weight a whopping 3 lbs. She is perfect. I took her to see our favorite vet, Dr. Wisdom, this morning for her puppy check. He is the greatest!!!!! (Emma Belle thinks so too!!!)









I went to the second Sweater Sampler class at Enchanted today and took Cosey with me. She was so good and primarily sat on my lap all during the class. She did take a liking to my yarn and Knit Picks Harmony Needles. The girls got class!!!!!

The class is great. Such a fun, fun group. Except for the fact I was told I am "small minded" and "grumpy." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmph!!!! Well, to be quite honest, that isn't the full story, but it is part of it. :)

Just remember, don't make any judgements until you've heard the ENTIRE story!!!! :)

Lettuce Sea

Well, let's see, let's see..................................I've been so busy the only way I can keep up with what to post is looking at the pictures I've been taking. I really gotta start posting more often again, I know there are things slipping through the cracks over here.

So, hmmmmmmmmm, where to start. Welp, I got a Woolee Winder for my Sonata. This little baby is worth every penny believe me. There is a slight learning curve in using it. This past Tuesday I went out to Enchanted for a spinner's meeting. It was soooooooo cool. There were about six or so of us all sitting under the gazebo by the butterfly garden spinning our little hearts out. More like spinning our little toes off. Practically all of us, if not all, spin barefoot. Oh, gosh, that gives me an idea for our guild name.............The Barefoot Spinners. Anyways, before I left for the group I posted a question on the Kromski Owners group on Ravelry stating I was having a bit of an issue and someone asked if I had put a little drop of oil on the little spring thingy. I did this and low and behold it was much easier. Then once I got to the spinning group I was talking to the co-owner of Enchanted, RoLynn, and she agreed that for some reason my bobbin sometimes slips back and becomes disengaged from the flyer part of the Woolee Winder. RoLynn is so helpful, before I knew it she was off in her workshop finding two little washers that were just the right size. I turned around and she had already placed them on the flyer thingy...........problem solved. She is like that. I think she may be a genius!!!!!!! And a pretty one at that. So, here is my new Woolee Winder toy. I'm spinning some gorgeous alpaca/merino roving I received in a swap last year.









I also started a class out there that meets after the spinning group. It is a class based on The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. We are knitting the Sweater Sampler. In knitting this funny little item you end up taking in every concept used in knitting a sweater. Once I've completed this class I'll be known as Sweater Woman. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, to stop speeding bullets, nothing will be able to stop me for I will be Sweater Woman. And if it don't work out.....................I'll just stuff the mangled results in the wool room with that stupid tomten!!!!!! I am enjoying the class so far. Here is my completed homework:












Remember the yarn I dyed a month or so ago? Wow, it turned out so pretty. I'm making a scarf using the Fan & Feathers pattern (Feathers & Fan?). I am so pleased with it.









And then finally. A precious friend of mine, Sandy, and her husband, The Attorney, gave me a delightful gift in lieu of sending flowers when my father recently passed away. Sandy knowing my obsession with knitting went to one of our LYS's, Crafty Hands, and purchased the pictured items for me. Isn't that sweet????? It is some of that Flat Feet yarn, some itty bitty circular needles and a precious little Lantern Moon sticky pad holder.

I'm going to try to post more often, I know I'm leaving out lots of stuff.

Dreamy

Heidi from Norway and I met sometime last year on a spinning list. We developed a friendship and over the last year or so and have shipped various knitting related items to one another that either could not find in our native country. We used to chat quite a bit on Messenger Live but for the last six months or so I haven't been on that much.

Heidi recently contacted me requesting my mailing address stating that she had made something for Emma Belle. A couple of weeks ago I received a package from Norway that contained a nicely wrapped present for Emma. I waited for her to come back for a visit to have her open it. Here is a picture of my Emma Belle with an adorable hat that Heidi made for her. People are so nice to me, I find it astounding. I believe that she spun this yarn as well. All of Heidi's work is gorgeous and she now has her own web store. I love this picture, I entitled it dreamy. :)

I am so tired and everywhere I look all I see are messes. Allergy season for me is in high gear. It isn't that I have bad allergies but I do find the need to take some over the counter meds that make me even tireder. Now, if you wanted me to go to a yarn store or knit or spin I would probably perk right up so it isn't all that bad. I have soooooooo much stuff all over my house. Some of it is my knitting/spinning stuff and some of it is stuff I've brought home from daddy's and some of it is just stuff. Eventually, I hope, I'll get the "getting stuff put away and in order" bug. But in the mean time it seems I'm kinda keeping my head above water. I haven't seen the health department house condemning van in my drive so I suppose I'm good to go for a bit.

Butterflys, Cows & Babies

I don't know what is wrong with me...............too much on my mind I suppose. Another happy thing we did a couple weeks ago was we went to Lost River Cave's Civil War Days here in Bowling Green. There are some walking trails that are quite beautiful and a butterfly house that is pretty cool. We didn't get to go on a cave tour because they were all sold out. I tell ya, that cool cave would have been a huge relief as it was extremely hot, hot, hot. Here are some pictures from that trip. The one of the cow was taken by Emma Belle, that is a Civil War cow. :)



















On another happy note, I got a new baby this week. A Kromski Sonata. He is such a joy to spin on, I'm loving it. Now that I have a portable/traveling wheel I can take part in the spinning group just starting up at Enchanted Yarn & Fiber next week. I can hardly wait. I've also ordered a WooleeWinder and some extra bobbins. That will make spinning even easier since I won't have to be stopping to change hooks ever so often. Presently I'm spinning some alpaca/merino blend roving I received in a swap last year. It is turning out quite nice. I cannot wait to get it all spun up so I can ply it.

Hugs & Kisses For YOU!!!!!!!

A huge hug and kiss to all of you for your well wishes, thoughts and prayers. Things are going fairly well. I'm getting ready to head back to Paducah to begin the settling of daddy's estate process. One of these days I may write about my childhood and all. It was neat talking to all these people whose lives had been greatly impacted, for good, by my daddy. Why is it many times we wait until the person is deceased before we pay tribute to their kindnesses? I so want to live my life in a manner that shows love and appreciation while the person is still here to enjoy it.

Okay, so on to the week prior to daddy's death. Emma Belle's mother and sister, Tabitha and Ava, came down for a girls day of spinning at Enchanted Yarn & Fiber and some swimming. We had such a good time. Tabitha and I are so much alike. Well, I think we are. We seem to think the same things are funny. I didn't get any pictures of she or myself (I wonder why), but I did get a picture of the girls playing on the playground at Enchanted. Ava is sooooooooooo funny!!!! She found this wonderfully soft pink alpaca yarn and said, "Oh, I have to take this home so me and mommy can have some knitting problems." HA!!!!!! I told her she could do that at my house. And then she said, "Oh, I must have two so I don't waste!!!!" She is learning young folks.

After we left the shop we went back to my house for the girls to swim. They had a ball with Gampy while I taught Tabby how to knit socks on two circulars using a Turkish cast on for a toe up design. It was fun? Yes, it was, we had a wonderful time. I purchased this gorgeous yarn for a cardigan, not sure the pattern yet.

I also purchase some yarn to make a shrug. I would have finished it in time for the Idina Menzel concert but stupid mapquest didn't give very good directions so I had to put it away while I used my Blackberry to lead us to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. The concert of great. Emma Belle and I had a very good time and we both got the t-shirts to show for it.

While I was at Daddy's viewing I received the sweetest email from Emma Belle. It truly warmed my heart:

i am sorry your daddy went to heaven but he is special because he gets to see jesus. if you are sad gammy think of how much i love you. infinity.

love emma

Happier Times

I've been getting many messages wondering what is up with me and people making sure everything is fine. I so appreciate every one's concern. I do have a lot of happy things to blog about from last week when we had a girl's day out of spinning/knitting and many happy things with Emma Belle including knitting to show for it.


I will be posting on that at a later date. For the time being I am occupied with the death of my birth father. My life is a strange story!!!! But, I guess whose isn't? Once I have everything taken care of with this I'll post and answer emails/messages. I so appreciate all your love and prayers, it truly does mean a lot to me.


Here is a picture from a couple years ago. Daddy and my precious Emma Belle.

Do You Hear Voices?

Do you hear voices inside your head? I do. And they are getting louder and multiplying. We moved to Bowling Green, about 4.5 years ago, that is when I really started noticing the voices. Well, actually they didn't start until I found the local yarn store (LYS), Crafty Hands. At that point there were the voices of various yarns, knitting paraphernalia and patterns that started to work their way into my mind. At times it was almost like they were in control and I'd find myself almost by magic transported to the yarn store, but I wouldn't come to my senses until I was out of the store typically found holding not one bag but several.

I realized what was happening and began using mental warfare to ward off these yearnings. However, recently I have discovered a deluge of new voices and I think I know where they are coming from. Well, I don't think I know, I KNOW where their origin lies. It is Russellville, KY. You see, I built up a pretty good defense against the one yarn store, but now there are two. With the opening of Enchanted Yarns & Fiber a whole new portal has been opened. This new portal is multi-faceted. For there is to be found new yarns not offered at the other store AND spinning wheels AND fiber.

Tomorrow, my precious Emma Belle, her mommy, Tabitha and her little sister are coming down for a "girls" day out. We are going for to visit the enchanted land. Knowing that I am soon to visit again, the spinning wheels and a particularly lovely shade of coral yarn from Frog Tree, or is it Tree Frog, have been whispering sweet everythings in my ears. I am extremely vulnerable at this time and they know it. But, I figure this.........what if I come home with a bunch of new yarn and other goodies as long as I don't succumb to the cries of the wheel? I'll still be victor over that one voice, right? Pray people, PRAY!!!!!! (but not too hard, I really want that yarn)

I've finished one item. A laptop case. I got this pattern from Interweave Knits Fall 2005. And I've made some progress on Chantal, a lovely cardigan from the Norah Gaughan Collection Vol. 1 put out by Berroco.

Where Have YOU Been??????

I don't know about you guys, but I been one busy little girl. It has been first one thing and then another. Busy entertaining, busy with church stuff, busy with family, busy picking blackberries and make jam.....busy, busy, busy.

And I've been busy with some knitting. I know many of you will doubt this to be true, or even possible. The proof is truly to be found in the pudding. I have successfully de-addicted myself from KALs. It is true!!!!! It wasn't a pretty sight but I am living proof it can be done. Too many KALs can be very difficult mistresses, taking all your time away from your other loves. So to show you how free I am, the other day Enchanted Yarn & Fiber had a July 4th celebration on the 5th. We had such a lovely time dyeing yarn with kool aid, talking of knitting and spinning and of course eating. You can see the festivities here. I even conned, ummmmm, got David to go. Anyways, while looking at all the new goodies in the shop Ashley said, "Oh, did you see this new yarn we just got in?" I picked it up and told her very nicely, "Yes, it is very lovely, however, it is lace weight and I have been delivered from lace KALs." I think she was quite impressed with my handling of the situation, I didn't even break out in a sweat or miss a step.

So, since I've had all this knitting time here are some of the fruits of my labors. 1) The first of the McGregor's Garden socks by The Woolen Rabbit. These are toe up and another shocker, I enjoyed it immensely AND Ms. Ashley taught me a Turkish Cast On using two circulars. I love using two circulars. Now, this may not be a big deal to you, but, I'm kinda old school in some areas and was pretty determined I was going to stick with my dpns, thank you very much. Who says you can't teach an old dog? I kinda screwed up the pattern by not reading through it, but it turned out nice. 2) The first of a pair of socks for a surprise person who cannot be named as they may read this. 3) My very first Baby Surprise Jacket. I love this pattern, but, who doesn't?























The month of July is "Anything Lace" and "Turning UFOs Into FOs" month for A Loose Knit Group. I'm trying to be good. I'll leave you with this question though. We all know what UFOs are (unfinished objects)but, when does an object become a UFO? Is it when and only when the item has been cast on or does it become an UFO from the very moment the item is envisioned in your mind?

Fickle Me, Fickle You?

If you are a "normal" knitter I know you will understand. By "normal" I mean you have more than one project going at the same time. If you are like me you have so many projects OTN (for you muggles that means On The Needles) that you really don't know how many projects you do have going. Now, it isn't as bad as it was many, many moons ago when I was a young little smoking lass working Civil Service at Fort Knox as a Colonel's secretary . This story has nothing to do with knitting per se. Anyways, back in those days (1975 or so) smoking was allowed everywhere......EVERYWHERE!!!!! So as I sat at my little desk answering the phone and typing away on a electric typewriter (no computers or even word processors folks) using correction tape or correction fluid (google it kiddies) I'd always have a cigarette going. I'd type a bit and take a puff, take another puff and type a bit. I can hear you now. "And you are telling us this story because?" Cool your jets sista, or possibly bro. We were talking about having so many things OTN you don't even know what you got going. Well...................on to the story..................there were times when I'd light up a cig only to find I already had one going. Sometimes I'd light up another while I still had one going in my other hand!!!!! Is it any wonder I have the issues I have with a kazllion WIPs? (Work In Progresseseses or Works In Progress, I don't know. And quite honestly, I don't care, this is my world)

Now, see if you are "normal" you know how fickle us knitters can be. The latest pattern or yarn is our favorite until we turn around and see the next pattern or yarn. I have heard so much about the Feather & Fan pattern and hadn't paid much attention to it until I found a Feather & Fan Dishcloth pattern. Oh my goodness, I love this pattern. Not only is it exquisitely beautiful, it is extremely easy and versatile. I LOVE YOU FEATHER AND FAN!!!!!!! I love you.

Okay, so I've been somewhat busy. On our tour today I will be showing you the following projects: 1) Gammy's Hope Booties aka Saartje's Booties (I haven't added the buttons yet), 2) Gammy's Hope Baby Surprise Jacket, 3) The lovely Feather & Fan Dishcloth, 4) Little Bunny Foo Foo aka McGregor's Garden Socks and 5) Part of my lavendar harvest.

But before we begin our tour let me tell you what I did yesterday. My good friend, RoLynn, of Enchanted Yarn & Fiber emailed me telling me they had received the Kromski wheels and to come out and play when I could. It just so happened I could so I made the little trek out into the "Enchanted" land, it truly is, and got to spin on the Kromski Minstrel and the Kromski Sonata. I own a Kromski Polonaise but one wheel is not enough folks. Plus I'm wanting a more portable wheel. I really can't say I liked one more than the other. They were both a dream to spin on, just like my Polonaise. Each has some advantages over the other. However, the Sonata is really portable as it folds up and has a handy dandy carrying case not to mention it is 1.5 lbs lighter than the Minstrel. But, the Minstrel's orifice is higher, which I like, and the footmen are a little closer together. I told RoLynn and Ashley I would just have to come back another day and spin some more to make up my mind.

My New Love

I have found a new love. This love is so very easy to get along with and extremely diverse. My new love is knitting dishcloths.

Why do I love knitting these little babies so much? Let me count the ways:

1. They love to travel, thus they travel well.


2. They love to hang around the pool.


3. Since they are cotton they don't mind getting wet while hanging around the pool.


4. They are fast moving.


5. They smile at you every time you look their way, but they don't demand your attention.

Here are some of my new friends:

What Have You Been Up To?

I'm so glad you asked. I haven't been up to much knitting, which is slowly (or rather quickly), becoming a way of life it seems. I HAVE completed several, 4 to be exact, dish cloths. They travel well, can easily be worked on around the pool and "Kitchen & Bath Items" are the projects for A Loose Knit Group for June.

One thing I've been extremely busy with is our church's version of Extreme Makeover. Saturday from 5-8 pm we offered free manicures, pedicures, hair cuts and facials to anyone interested. We also had some wonderful finger foods and many, many awesome door prizes that were drawn for every 15 minutes.

It was awesome!!!! I mean really wonderful. We had 120-125 attendees, the majority of which we had never met before. It was so rewarding hearing people say they had never had a pedicure or manicure before. One lady said it had been 4 years since she had had a hair cut. We so look forward to doing it again. Here is a photo of the majority of out volunteers. They were the greatest. Our group took it's name from the song "Crazy Beautiful" by Chasen.

We Are Getting Somewhere Here

I finally have some knitting to show you. I am only about 4 weeks late in getting clue 1 of the Slow Bee Kal complete. But, better late than never right? As with all of Moni's designs this one is absolutely gorgeous. I'm knitting it in Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Smoke on US size 2's. The beads are from the Beadwrangler, they are size 8/0 clear with silver lining. You can just barely see the glisten of the beads. This baby calls for over 2900 beads!!!!!!

It is a faroese style shawl. The photos show the center panel and then one of the side panels. There are three side panels, a center panel and then a repeat of the three side panels. The center panel photo is on the left and the side panel photo on the right.

Jesus Just Left Chicago..............

ZZ Top has a song in which they state, "Jesus just left Chicago and He's bound for New Orleans." Welp, I don't know about that, but if that is true He made a stop off in Louisville, KY!!!!!

Last night my husband, David, our daughter, Sara, and I trekked up to Louisville to see Jesus Christ Superstar with the original Jesus (Ted Neeley). As we headed out of Bowling Green for the two hour trip I realized I had forgotten three very important things. 1) Typically when Sara and I go to see a musical we listen to the soundtrack on the way up just to get into the "spirit" of things. I had forgotten the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack. 2) I had forgotten the camera, thus the only photos I have are those taken from my or Sara's phone. 3) Most importantly of all, I had forgotten my knitting!!!!! I mean, what was I thinking?

I did survive believe it or not. Here a a couple pictures. Not much to show really but, if you ever get the chance to see the Louisville Palace Theater, go, it is gorgeous. You can see its beauty at that link, plus a little history.

The musical was awesome, we thoroughly enjoyed it. However, it don't hold a candle to Wicked!!!!!!!

One More Time.......................Sam!!!!!

The swatch for the Casablanca KAL was released a couple of days ago and believe it or not I have some knitting to show!!!! I chose Alpaca With A Twist's Fino as the yarn for this one. The color is called Yellow Ribbon, #5010, however, I have a prejudice toward yellow so I choose to call it "Honey Butter." The beads shown in the swatch are NOT the ones I'm using for the stole. The beads I'm using are called Coffee Caffeine that I got from Beadwrangler.










My swatch was knitted using US Size 2 needles and the beads are size 6/0 seed beads. And it measures 7.5" x 8".

Enchantingly Enchanted

As stated in the previous post I recently went to Enchanted Yarn & Fiber, a new yarn/fiber/knitting goodies/spinning wheel shop opened by a wonderful mother-daughter team, RoLynn & Ashley.

The shop is truly enchanting with a beautiful gazebo area surrounded by a wonderful wooded flower garden made just for enjoying nature while knitting. The shop itself is so very invitingly warm and friendly. If I had a shop this is what I would want it to look like. I'm sure this is where my next spinning wheel will come from. If I'm not getting to spin much on my present wheel don't you think it makes sense I'll really get to spinning with two? Yeah, I know......the lunacy of the yarn/fiber addict.

I did purchase several cool things and some gorgeous yarn. In the photo below are the following: a cute little "Enchanted Yarn & Fiber" button, a couple little plastic thingys that hold your circular needles in place without letting stitches fall off, a wee tiny sock blocker keyring, a really cute, one of a kind scissor protector thingy and some gorgeous JoJoland sock yarn, Melody in color #MS11.

I look forward to going back.

Friends

I haven't gotten a whole lot of knitting done here lately but I've spent lots of time with friends. Which is the next best thing? Last Friday I drove to Emma Belle's school to volunteer for her school field day. I tried to look so cute in my little outfit and silver flip flops - I just about froze to death!!!!! I mean, it was cold folks!!!!! Cooo ooo old!!!!!

When I walked into her classroom the teacher said, "You must be Gammy." And then all the kids said, "Gammy, Gammy, Gammy, Emma S. talks about you all the time!!!!" I laughed and told them I talk about her all the time. Here is a sweet little picture with a couple of Emma Belle's school friends.

Saturday my mother and step-father, Luther, came to visit. We all went out to eat and had such a lovely time. I would have a picture of that except I'm an idiot and instead of taking a picture I made a video. However, I do have an adorable picture of Emma Belle and Sydney.
And then today, Tuesday, I had a wonderful, wonderful visitor. About a month or so ago a lady I met on-line contacted me and said she and her man were coming to the United States and their trip was going to take them right through Bowling Green, KY. The world wide knitting community is just too awesome. I have "met" so many wonderful, helpful people through the various on-line knitting/spinning groups. I have been so excited awaiting today, the day that my Belgian friend Catherine was coming to visit. She and Guy (pronounced like key but with a g), were wonderful guests. I gifted her with the "Spring Socks" I finished not long ago. How cool to know that something I made will be walking around Belgium on a special lady's feet. I had received the yarn from a friend in Norway, knitted up the socks and now they are on their way to Belgium. How cool!!!!!

Catherine knew of my love of all things French. She gifted me with a knitted flag of Belgium and of France held on some really cool old straight knitting needles, some soap made in France, enough lace weight burgundy wool yarn made in France to make a stole, some lovely novelty yarn for a scarf and two Belgian newspapers written in French. (These are supposed to be for David, but, I think they will look really cool in my "wool room" displayed in some manner.) Once it is cleaned, it is a mess!!!!!! Ask Catherine, I have no shame and let her go in to see my yarn and stuff. We had a lovely day. We ate at Jimmy John's and then headed up to Russellville to Enchanted Yarn & Fiber. Rolynn and Ashley have the most enchanted shop. Lots of yarn wonderfulness, knitting/spinning toys, spinning wheels & fiber. You gotta check them out. After that we stopped by David's office. He speaks French fairly well and he really enjoyed this opportunity to use it. And I found out that idiot, stupid and imbecile all translate the same. I have a pretty good "French" vocabulary going then!!!!!!

Guy, Myself & Catherine

"Friends"