tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-214235342024-03-07T19:30:35.746-07:00Twisted StitcherMy life as a Knitter, and other stuff.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-64487714179656839142010-09-12T14:20:00.002-07:002010-09-12T14:23:15.558-07:00Happy Birthday to my Sister!<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">September 12, 2010</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">How time does fly! Happy Birthday to Margie! And thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes. I had a really great birthday yesterday.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I went shopping in Boulder Junction, ate pizza at the Sayner Pub, talked with Mike on the phone, watched movies, and knit. I did get a very quick dip in the creek to celebrate my birthday. It was cold. I’m not even calling it chilly or refreshing anymore, it’s just cold.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Today I took a bike ride over to Crystal Lake. The bike paths up here are fabulous, with the possible exception of two or three hills. It’s around 7 miles each way. It took me about an hour to get there, because I did have to stop to take a picture or two. So my legs were a little tired when I got there. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The lake is as beautiful as I remember. Of course I stuck my feet in. It’s such a pretty lake, all sand and you can see your toes even if you are standing waist deep in the lake. I think you could see your toes even if you were shoulder deep, but I didn’t get that wet today. It was about 65 and a bit breezy. I think the last time I was in Crystal Lake was around 1963 or so. I remember pictures from around then, and I remember it was so much fun to swim and play with my parents and sisters. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">After I got back I took a quick bath in the creek, and it was every bit as cold as yesterday. Mira had fun chasing her tennis ball, which has replaced the sticks I used to throw for her. I think she can see them better and she brings the ball back a little bit better than the sticks. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I gathered up some blankets and towels to wash and headed into St. Germain. I ate a double scoop of ice cream at Cathy’s and am now sitting at the Red Canoe Coffee Shop. It took quite a while to round up Mira, since just before I was ready to go she happened across a porcupine! Luckily, even though the porky was slow, she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do, other than bark at it. I am very, very glad that she is so clueless because pulling quills from her nose was not on my agenda.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The porcupine was slow, but not stupid. It climbed up a tree just past the wood shed while Mira was running around the garage looking for it. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So, off to do laundry, then back to the house. The sun is shining nicely and I can see some porch knitting in my future.</span></p><div><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><br /></span></div>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-64696377018457292262010-09-10T14:19:00.000-07:002010-09-10T14:21:20.737-07:00Mostly Cloudy with a Chance of Rain<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">September 8</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">That has been the weather for the last little bit and is the forecast through the 13th or 14th. The high’s supposed to be no higher than upper 60’s. The hummingbirds have left for the year. Good thing the trees are turning such pretty colors and that fall is my favorite season. It’s decent compensation. I expect the colors to be getting prettier and prettier until I leave. The trees around the house don’t seem to be changing as quickly as those along the roads to town. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Really, other than the roof being done not much is happening here. The roof looks great and the sound of the rain on it is nice and quiet. I was a little concerned since it is a metal roof. But they put down a layer of rubber stuff on top of the weather/ice layer, and so no worries. I’ve had plenty of rain to make sure the noise level is low. I haven’t had a really huge storm or hail, but I think it will be just fine. It looks quite nice.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I got the stove cleaned out and polished. It was very messy, but it looks great. Unfortunately, Mira decided that she would check out how well I did and managed to get soot all over herself. She went in the creek today and some of it came off. But I think I have to get in the creek with her and try to give her a bath with shampoo. Y’all can wish me luck since the creek is chilly and she really hates shampooing. I hope it’s at least a little sunny tomorrow. I had to make the house really warm so that she wouldn’t be chilled when we came up. I tell you, there’s nothing like a wood stove to throw off some real heat!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So that’s about it. More reading and knitting and spinning. I did go out to do the laundry, which I didn’t get to like I thought I would. I also went to Wolf Pack. Even when I am starving, I can’t eat 3 whole pancakes. Just a thing to remember for next time....</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">September 10</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The weatherman lied. Today was an absolutely beautiful day at the creek. The sun has been shining all day long, it’s about 66F right now at 3:30 on the porch. Mira and I are up from the creek, which is quite cool. Let’s just call it very refreshing. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I did give her a shampooing yesterday after all. It helped, but there’s still a little sootyness left since washing a dog who really doesn’t enjoy baths in a relatively fast moving stream that is cold is perhaps not the easiest job. Today she made sure she stayed farther than an arm’s length away. She learns quickly when she wants to. Right now she’s in a nice sunny spot under the big white pine just outside the porch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I did get the new wood under the eaves stained and the doorframe painted (2 coats). As I was painting the door frame, I noticed that the trim around the window in the door need painting also. So it has one coat, and I will give it a second coat tomorrow. Then I noticed the bottom of the door could use a little repair and staining, but I haven’t figured out exactly what to do about that. I think the door needs to be taken down, some repair done then sanded and stained. Perhaps a kick plate. I don’t think that I have enough time and the right weather forecast to do a proper job. So either my sisters will do it next summer, or I will the summer after that when I get up here again.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m off now to get myself together for a nice drive around the area and perhaps a visit to Trout Lake for a sunset. </span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-80189065042526928892010-09-03T13:29:00.001-07:002010-09-03T13:35:04.014-07:00The end of summer....<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">September 3, 2010</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">There is a definite nip in the air today. It’s noon and only 55 degrees on the porch. There is a little tree I can see from the couch that has turned a goldish color. Pretty, but I was hoping for a little bit more hot, or at least warm, weather. I still am hoping for some more days that will be warm enough to spend a lot more time at the creek.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">It’s an afgan day today. The sky is gray and dripping, the wind is more than a little breezy, the afgan is cozy warm, and the pot of tea is steaming hot. I’m splitting time today between knitting and reading. Not too bad. I’m going uptown in a bit to catch up on laundry and internet stuff.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The roofers came yesterday at 7:30 AM, after all of these weeks that they have been putting us off. Fortunately, Russ and Betty were already up. They were packing to leave (more about that in a bit). So, I got up and threw on some jeans and talked to them. It was raining, so all they did was drop off their trailer and some materials. They came back around noon, after it started to clear up. They worked about 4 hours and promised to come back today around 7 AM. They got about half of the creek side torn off, and the weather/ice shield layer down. Good thing that is waterproof, because it rained a lot last night and most of this morning. They showed up at 7:15 this morning to drop off the rest of the materials, and to let me know they will be back when the weather co-operates. Anybody who knows me at all will realize just how happy I am about having to be ready for roofers at that time in the morning. Oh well, at least it is finally getting done.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ll try now to catch you up on what’s been happening since the last entry, over a week has gone by which I can hardly beleive. I did get into town and uploaded some photos <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lindaksterrett">here</a>. Not all of them went through, but at least there are some. The Red Canoe in St. Germain is a great little coffee shop with good food and internet access. They also have a lot of nice little knick-knacks, wine, and candles to buy. I resisted them all, which was harder than it sounds. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I did some grocery shopping for my company, and some laundry. Went to Wally World and got a new coffee pot for the house, a bookcase to hold the three new bags of books I picked up at the library “Basement Buck a Bag Book Sale”, and a baby gate to keep Mira out of the bedroom that the company will use, since I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want a dog sleeping on their pillows. Other than that, not much happened. I got to spend a lot of time at the creek, did a lot of reading, spinning, and knitting. Also did a bunch of just sitting on the porch enjoying the experience. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Bob’s Dad and Betty came up on Monday, August 30th at about 3 pm. We had a nice little visit and Italian Dinner. We went to Three Lakes, which was apparently named “The Best Single Town in America” for 2010, on Tuesday. We took a short tour of the Three Lakes Winery and I bought (more than) a little wine. They import <i>chocolate and raspberry chocolate </i>wine! Sounds like an unbeatable combonation, and it is very tasty. I couldn’t resist. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We went to a couple of little antique shops and several tourist-y shops in Eagle River. Had lunch at a soda shop/diner, then headed out for the quilt store. Betty and I had a good time there!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">On Wednesday, we headed towards Lac du Flambeau because Russ wanted to track down one of his cousins who lived there. I decided to see if I could find any information on my phone for her, and I tracked down somebody who knew where her husband worked, which happened to be Woodruff, so we headed in that direction. We found her husband, Ken Ferg, and he told us that Carolyn was on vacation in the U.P. with some of their grands and great-grands. But at least he got her new address and they can keep in touch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We went to the little antique shop in Woodruff near McDonald’s after lunch. Betty and I both found a few things that we couldn’t pass up. Then we went thru some more shops in Minocqua. I have picked up a few little things for Christmas presents, so I’m ahead of myself there. They wanted to tour some of the model log homes, and then we went home for supper and to visit some more.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">They left early Thursday morning after the roofers left. I did a bit of straightening up, then some knitting. For those who are interested, I am about half done with the Triple S Shawl that I started when I got here. It’s looking really nice. I have the blue wool singles to ply, but I’ve been having a little trouble with the wheel, and have to create a lazy kate. I really hope to have that done before I get home.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So, that’s what’s been happening around here. I still have to tweak a few more pictures before I can post them. I haven’t exactly been able to figure out the most effective way to get photos to the blog, Ravelry, and email from this Mac. The mail program seems to not recognize me, so that makes it a bit harder. I’ll be working on that pretty soon, since one of the books I got at the library sale was Mac for Dummies. Like I said before, I think I’ll head uptown to upload this and to do some laundry. I really wish the laundromat had WiFi, that would be very good. Maybe that should be my new career, laundromat/internet cafe. Hmmm</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The sun started peeking out just as I was leaving for town. Still cool and windy at 2:30.</span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-88050118223994206282010-08-26T12:02:00.003-07:002010-09-03T13:23:30.541-07:00Sisters<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">August 25, 2010</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Well, my sisters came up late Monday night and it was wonderful to see them again! They got here around midnight, and we stayed up talking until about 2 am. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We took a nice long walk out to C via the bike path on Tuesday morning. The weather was cloudy and cool. Mira thought the walk was fabulous. We found some blueberries and blackberries, so we had a tiny snack.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I took a quick bath in the creek, then we headed out to Eagle River. They wanted to check out a little quilt store, which turned out to be not really little. The store, Karen’s Quilts, has a really fabulous selection of fabric and patterns. We all found some things we couldn’t live without. Margie is quilting some really cute things using hand dyed wool fabric and applique. I couldn’t resist a snowman pattern and a table runner kit. The people there do really great machine quilting. The samples in this store were among the best I’ve ever seen. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">On the way there, we stopped by a pier company to check out the selection. We are going to put in a new pier next year. We all agreed on the size and color of it. Its decking is a composite material that won’t wrap, rot, or get icky in general. We will have it installed, since none of us want to do it.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We all did a little needlework in the afternoon, after a nice time in the creek. Margie was quilting, Karen was cross stitching, and I was spinning. I did get the llama/silk blend singles done before bed Tuesday, and plied, washed and have it hanging up on the porch right now. It’s looking pretty good.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We tried out a new restaurant that has been around for a while, but none of us had been there before. It’s called Marty’s and it is on 51, just a bit south of M. The atmosphere was very nice, the service was not rushed, the drinks were great, and the food absolutely delicious. We had the stuffed crepes for a starter. They were fabulous. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Over dinner, Karen and Margie started telling me about the barn quilts that they have seen and love. People paint big pieces of plywood in quilt patterns and then hang them on the barns. Some people paint the entire sides of their barns in quilt patterns. Karen wants to put one on the Creek House, and Margie and I thought that’d be a good plan. Ours in going to be 4 feet square. Each of us was going to design a square, and then one to represent Mom and Dad. We ended up deciding to each do a square based on the quilt pattern that Mom made us. So I will be drawing out a Grandmother’s Fan, 22” square. We are all going to sign our block, and then I have to mail mine to Karen. She and Margie will be doing the painting. We decided to do a pine tree block for Mom and Dad. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">After dinner, we played three games of pinochle. Margie didn’t have such great luck. Karen got double pinochle in two of the games and I got it in the third. Very unusual! On hand I hand 66 meld! A run in diamonds, a roundhouse, and a double pinochle. That was a quick game. It was so fun to talk and laugh and just hang out with my sisters.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Today they took a much longer walk in the morning. I didn’t go. When they got back we went to Wolf Pack for breakfast. Those are some great pancakes! I have no idea why they are, they just are. Their motto is “Peace, Love, and Pancakes”. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Then we went to the hardware store to pick up some parts to fix the drain for the toilet, some things to create a lazy kate, and a coffee pot. For some reason, the old pot has disappeared from here. We had to stop three places before we found what we wanted, the aluminum percolator kind. They had one at Sayner hardware, but only one. And since Margie wanted one for her house, I told her to take that one home, and I will get one tomorrow when I go into the big city.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We took a few pictures of us on the pier at the creek. After much effort, I finally got one that had everyone sitting on the pier with nobody’s head cut off. Mira had her usual good time chasing sticks. We had a bit of a snack. then Karen went to Minocqua to pick up a picture that Margie found at a flea market, and Karen had framed. It’s a really nice picture of a big sister reading to her two little sisters. We hung it up in the living room. It’s really a nice picture, and it’s in a perfect place.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We spent a tiny bit more time on the porch, and they left around 5. I spent a little bit of time straightening things up, hunting for Margies missing earring and my missing tape measurer. I found my tape but not the earring. I think it may have been lost in the creek. I’ve uploaded the pictures and gotten them ready to post tomorrow when I go to town. I am going to put the tractor away, then we are going to have a bite to eat, do some knitting, and maybe go to bed early. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">It was a really great two days.</span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-8703358501941676672010-08-21T14:07:00.001-07:002010-08-21T14:10:52.310-07:00And for today, an essay from the dog....<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">How to Handle a Thunderstorm</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">by Mira </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">First, if you are not alone in the house, make sure your mistress is awake to protect you from the scary thunder and lightening. This is most effectively accomplished at 4 am by crawling up to the pillows, leaning hard against her, and shaking uncontrollably without stopping until she wakes up to find out what’s wrong. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Then, once she is positively awake, hop down to the floor and try to crawl under the bed, even though you don’t fit under it. Make a bunch of noise with whatever is under there. This is more effective if she has no idea what is under the bed, then she will have to get a flashlight and investigate. This will assure you get more time to shiver and gain more sympathy. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Then hop back up and try to wiggle under the covers. If that doesn’t work, hop down and try to squeeze behind the headboard. If your mistress starts to get cranky, jump back up from the floor and back again a few times to let her know you aren’t upset with her. Then jump back to the floor and find the tiny corner next to the dresser to sleep through the storm. It helps to make a lot of noise by scratching the carpet for a long time to get the nap just right. The floor will be a safer place than the bed because you can’t see the lightening as well, and so you can totally ignore it.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Because you know she will be awake for a while to make sure that nothing bad can happen, you can now safely go to sleep.</span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-44231683543554345022010-08-19T14:42:00.001-07:002010-08-19T14:44:08.474-07:00Update from Up North<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">August 19, 2010</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">A quick update.....written at the Sayner Laundromat, which is a fair use of time if I do say so myself.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Let’s see, how shall I sum up the last 10 days? Fabulous, wonderful, relaxing, quiet, green, with a decent amount of thunderstorms, not too many deer flies, and mostly really nice weather. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">We’ve played in the creek, messed around with yarn, fiber and needles, gone for walks on the road, washed the kitchen floor, purchased fudge at Dan’s, groceries at Red Owl, and postcards at Pastimes. I may actually write them sometime. The bat did make it’s way out of the house. We saw a <b><i>huge </i></b>wild turkey. It’s body was bigger than Mira, and she weighs 40 pounds. It could have fed a big bunch of hungry Thanksgiving guests. I haven’t seen it since. Maybe it knows I have the shotgun loaded. I also haven’t seen a single deer. Lots of chipmunks and a few little squirrels. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Things I’ve realized so far: a front loading washing machine really gets your clothes clean (and it’s way more fun to watch than mine), 25 cents to dry a load of laundry for 9 minutes seems a little steep (good thing we have a dryer at the Creek), I read really fast, my dog prefers her sticks to be thrown in the deepest part of the creek, spinning on the porch makes your yarn more even than at home, I like the farmers market in Woodruff better than the guy who sells veggies by the road in St. Germain, listening to my Mom’s voice on tape describing the old photos can make me cry, and that not working with the wood stove for so long makes you forget how to keep it from smoking up the house.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I have my sisters coming up on Monday which will be really great, and then Dad and Betty coming up the week after for a few days. It will be wonderful to see them all again. The roofers are also coming, but I didn’t think they would be of general interest.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I may try to post some pictures, but I really haven’t taken that many, and the hummingbirds are not cooperating. There are 6 or 7 of them around the feeder, but they go away when I pick up my camera. Tricky little things. And just so nobody is surprised, you won’t see any early morning pictures. They are too hard to take when asleep.</span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-85597115370879774012010-08-15T15:46:00.000-07:002010-08-15T15:49:23.882-07:00Up North<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">August 9, 2010</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">Got to Creek House yesterday around 6:30 pm. Started on Saturday, just Mira and I. Drove to Prairie Rose State Park in Iowa and camped at a really nice little spot. It was hot and humid.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">The cruise control was broken, but the air conditioning was not, which was a blessing! I unpacked the car and went in the creek. It was wonderful! The creek is high, and wasn’t too cold. The mosquitos had not realized I had arrived, so the creek time was absolutely perfect.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">After that, I got my stuff sort of organized and put away, read on the porch and went to bed. Mira has had a great time running around in the woods, playing in the creek, and napping on the porch. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I was woken up at 5 am by a BAT flying around my bedroom! It brushed my face and freaked me out a little bit, since we all know how much I really hate those creepy things. I heard it out in the main room, so I shut my door and went back to sleep. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I got up at 9 or so and looked around for the stupid bat. Couldn’t find it, so I started opening the windows to get a breeze in the house. When I opened the kitchen window, there it was. It flew out of the valance above the sink, and tried to get out of the window, but was stopped by the screen. Eeewwww, creeped me out!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">So I quickly slammed the window shut, trapping it, and tried to think about what to do next. I went to the garage to look for a fishing net or something to catch it in so I could let it go outside. There was no net, but I found a little bait bucket that I thought I might be able to use. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">When I went back into the house, it had disappeared. That was not really great, since there was no place it could go! So I looked closer, and saw it had tucked itself up in the window track way up at the very top. I opened the window, very carefully so it wouldn’t fly back into the house, then opened the screen so it could fly out. I’m waiting to see if it figures it out. Until then, I am keeping the window shut. And no, I am not taking a picture!</span></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-91614337372577196302008-03-03T17:12:00.003-07:002008-03-03T17:17:52.373-07:00What a slacker!I've decided to go ahead and finally post again. Ravelry has been taking up a lot of time, and I can hardly believe was the end of last May that I wrote last. <br /><br />OK, I can't really blame Ravelry for all of that time, hence I've been a real slacker.<br /><br />There's no way to catch everybody on everytime that's happened in a year. I have gotten quite a bit done, knit- and crochet-wise. I'll try to get the photos up. I did get a couple posted over on the Photos page. But I have forgotten to take pictures of some of the stuff.<br /><br />Right now I'm just finished with my daughters flip top mittens and will be starting on my sons as soon as I get off the computer. I have to swatch for his, since the yarn isn't something I've worked with before. It's a wonderful soft charcol gray alpaca...yum.<br /><br />I'll try to be better at posting, but you know me!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-75219167565633343442007-05-29T21:11:00.000-07:002007-05-29T21:28:15.470-07:00Time Flies.......and sometimes with super sonic speed, as in the case here. A knitter with good intentions of blogging on a regular basis, which was never meant to be every third month.<br /><br />I did get a lot done since my last post. Lots of knitting, lots of painting inside my house, lots of company (that explains the painting), lots of weeding in the garden, and lots of pictures taken. Lots of kids home from school and a new High School graduate. Just so you know, in case I haven't bragged enough about the kids, they are all doing great. Mike is a new Lance Corporal and will most likely be going to school in Fort Collins next fall; Meg did wonderful in school last year, is a new assistant manager at an athletic shoe store and is getting her own apartment for next <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">semester</span>; Matt has chosen Fort Hays State University to study Graphic Design at ( I think he gets his creativity from me) and is excited about moving on.<br /><br />Before I forget, <a href="http://photobucket.com/">here</a> is the link to my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Photobucket</span> space. Right now it's password protected so here are the details. My user name is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">LindaKGS</span> and the password is 615olive. There, that should get you to some good stuff. The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">sub album</span> of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">bootcamp</span> trip is horribly out of order, which drives me nuts, but if I waited to fix it, well you know...<br /><br />Another reason I needed to blog tonight was that I decided the Twisted <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Stitcher</span> group is going to meet on Wednesday nights starting tomorrow. The location we picked for right now is Pikes Perk on Academy just north of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Vickers</span>. The time is 6 pm to whenever they kick us out, which will be 9 or 9:30, I can't remember.<br /><br />See you there.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-52145284622513197352007-02-07T22:18:00.000-07:002007-01-02T16:11:59.068-07:00Ok, who said it could be February already?Holy Smokes, time sure is flying by! I have nearly gotten used to writing 2007, but the fact that February showed up this fast is boggling my little mind. So much has happened since I wrote last. This is going to be one long post! Also, when I get the pictures in, it will be rather picture heavy. My apologies to the people with slow connections. <br /><br />The photos are going to be added later. I have a ton of photos from our trip that will probably go into PhotoBucket shortly. I got a new camera and have to play with the software for it before the pictures go up. Links will be added later as well.<br /><br />WARNING: THIS POST HAS A LOT OF NON-KNITTING CONTENT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.<br /><br />The Big Event of January for our family was Mike’s boot camp graduation. Yes, we now have an official Marine in the family. The trip out to San Diego was short but packed with lots and lots of activity and fun. We left really early on the 10th out of Denver. When we got to San Diego, the weather was overcast and cold for them, but felt warm to us. Meg was pretty impressed by the palm trees, and the fact that bird of paradise flowers grow everyplace and that jade plants are used as shrubs was very cool.<br /><br />We were all so tired from the early flight that we spent some time napping in the car at a neat little place downtown call Seaside Village (I think). It was a neat touristy place and we had a snack there before picking up my sister at the airport in the afternoon. We expected the California prices to be higher, but over $7.00 for a smoothie was a little shocking. <br /><br />We found our way to the hotel in Del Mar, checked in, got showered and dressed and then out to dinner at Red Robin. We had a great time. One of the things the kids noticed was that there weren’t any dirty cars. Anywhere. And no older, slightly “used” looking ones either. <br /><br />On Thursday, we got over to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot early. We got to see the guys practicing for their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor ceremony, and finally figured out which one was Mike. Then we strolled around the base mall (a small open shopping and food area) a little bit before being guided over to the place the guys would be for the start of their “Motivational Run”. It’s their last company wide event before graduation, and the company commander, battalion commander, chaplain, and other important people including the senior drill instructors and drill instructors all run as a group. This is a big deal for the recruits, and it gives the families a chance to see their sons for the first time in 13 weeks. It was really an emotional time for me, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. It was great seeing him again, and I seemed to get pictures mostly of Mike trying not to cough. Megan made fun of their running shorts.<br /><br />We all lined up by the Theatre and waited for the 3-mile run to finish. It was cool. Then they ran off to get ready for the ceremony and we saw a short presentation in the Theatre. The base commander is Brig. General Angela something. (I’ll look it up later). The Drill instructors were introduced, and I have a short video of that. I’ll try to get that posted someplace.<br /> <br />The EGA ceremony is where they officially become Marines. It was awesome. Mike was a squad leader and got to hold the pins while the Drill instructor went down the line giving each one of the guys in his squad their pin. The sound of all those marching feet and of them all snapping to attention was something special. There were over 480 men in the company. The ceremony started at 11am and when it was over we got to spend until 5pm with Mike. He was thrilled and surprised that Margie came with us. <br /><br />He got to eat “real” food for the first time at the Food Court. Meg thought it was really funny that his posture was so perfect, that he had to salute people, and that he stood at attention at the credit union. She made me take a picture of that. She loved the prices at the store. He showed us around as much of the base that he could. It was so nice just to spend time with him.<br /><br />We went back to the hotel and then out to dinner at Rubio’s. It’s a Mexican fast food franchise that had nice fresh food. It was delicious, but Meg was a little put out that when she asked for “queso” she got grated cheese instead of what she was expecting, which was melted cheese dip. <br /><br />Everybody else went to bed fairly early, but I was up until the wee hours of the morning finishing the sweater. It did get finished, and I like it a lot, but there are a few small things I’ll be tweaking to get it put together better. So that makes two sweaters finished in the last two months. Not bad for a girl who never made herself a sweater before!<br /><br />We got to the base early Friday as well. We had breakfast and then went over to the parade deck for graduation. It was a fantastic ceremony. The sun was shining, the Marine Band was playing, and the excitement was everywhere. The Marines looked so good and the families looked so proud.<br /><br />After the graduation ceremony Mike got his bags and stuck them in the incredibly cool mini van that we rented. We spent a little time on base, and then went back to the hotel so Mike could change into civvies. He spent some time in the boys’ room showing stuff to Bob and Matt. Then we went to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Park and rode the tram around and saw all sorts of great animals. We got there late, so we didn’t get to see the lions for Megan. She wants to own a lion cub, and was planning on taking one home from there, so maybe it was just as well.<br /><br />We ate at a pizza place that night and had a wonderful time. The kids spent some time in the gym and hot tub. It was nice to know they had a chance to catch up without the parents around.<br /><br />Saturday I drove Margie back to the airport and then we took Mike to an emergency health clinic to get something to fix his pink eye. We ate lunch at an In-n-Out burger place and then went to Legoland. It was very cool. The kids went their way and Bob and I wandered around looking at the neat Lego creations. Meg and Matt got their Lego Driver’s licenses. They all went on the roller coasters, which look really tame, and they all thought the rides would be mild. But I guess they were more exciting than they looked. Maybe because they were all open cars, not like the monster roller coasters with tons of safety bars and padding.<br /><br />We had a really good time at Legoland and then drove south on the Pacific Coast Highway. We stopped at a beach that I was for sure going to remember the name of and stuck our feet into the Pacific Ocean. The kids had never seen an ocean before, so it was a neat thing for them to be able to do. We found some seashells and watched the sunset. It was peaceful and relaxing. After that, we went to Marie Calendars for supper. The food was wonderful, and the desserts were perfect. Thank you very much to the person or persons responsible for making that happen. It was so nice to have everybody together again. We spent a lot of time talking and laughing, it was really good.<br /><br />Sunday we got a late checkout and watched the Bears win the NFC Championship. That was great, but we won’t mention last Sunday’s game. Remember, there’s always next year! We flew back into Denver Sunday night. What a rude greeting, weather wise. Man it was cold!<br /><br />Mike spent the rest of his 10 days of leave at home and is now back in California at Camp Pendleton doing his Marine Combat Training. He graduates from that on the 13th of this month, and will be headed for Fort Sill (that’s in Lawton, OK) right after that for his MOS (military operations school). He again made squad leader, which is good, but he describes it as a lot “like herding cats”. He will be there until the beginning of April. He has a cell phone that he can use now, and we will be able to send letters and cards there as well. I’ll have that address in a couple of weeks. Let me know if you want his contact info.<br /><br />Okay, so on to the rest of my life. <br /><br />Meg’s doing fine. Working hard, going to school, and playing rugby. Yes, even in this weather. They have a tournament somewhere the weekend.<br /><br />Matt’s doing great also. He’s getting excited about graduating in May. We are going to look at a college over President’s Day weekend. He also has a new job at Quizno’s.<br /><br />I started and finished a pair of socks from some yarn I got on my trip to Wisconsin in September. They are very comfortable and bright. They cheer me up on gray, cold days. What more could you want from socks?<br /><br />I also started the Fair Isle cardigan that we are doing as a Knit-a-long in our Saturday knit group. I am a little behind everyone, but no matter, I’m enjoying it and there is no deadline. I had to change needles, the first ones I tried caused a lot of struggle and readjustments. The new Addi’s I’m using are, as expected, so much easier to knit this sweater with.<br /><br />I have changed the first orange and green checkerboard stripe to fawn and green. The fawn is an orange-y brown, it’s a little more subdued than the straight up orange. I like it a little better, it’s not so…oh what do I want to say? It is more me than the orange/green combo. The next orange and green stripe will also be changed slightly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.colorstrology.com/colorstrology_sniffer.html">Here’s</a> a neat little thing I found online. It gives you a description of you and your “perfect” color, based on your birthday. I’ve looked up the birthdays of some of my family and friends and it seems fairly accurate. It was a fun way to waste some time in between calls at work.<br /><br />Also in knitting news, my friend Christy of Crazy Monkey Creations, was mentioned in Lime and Violet’s yarn p0rn segment of their podcast. Issue 22, if I remember correctly. So Christy, if you were wondering about a spike in your hits after January 10th, this may be why. They loved your stuff, especially the tropical colorway. <br /><br />I plan on updating all of my links and buttons, as well as pictures very soon. Of course I planned on doing that before, so it will be a pleasant surprise for all of us when it actually happens!Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-64959435869924313312007-01-01T01:02:00.000-07:002008-12-10T13:44:23.576-07:00Happy New Year!It's hard to believe it's 2007 already. Where does the time go? I hope everybody has a fabulous year, and that peace breaks out all over the world. A pretty big ambition but hey, dream BIG!<br /><br />I'm not planning on making any resolutions just for the new year, I make them up as I go along. I stopped the once a year resolutions shortly after I decided that doesn't really work well for me. That was over 25 years ago. I do really like the Knit Fom Your Stash in 2007 KAL, but I won't be joining. At least officially. I am going to try to use my stash yarn whenever possible, but I am well aware that I would be making so many exceptions it would be ridiculous.<br /><br />So far I have yarn for two more sweaters and some sock yarn that I want to use that are already on the list of things I really want to knit up. Not to mention the bootccamp sweater. Which is almost 2/3 done! I have the back done up to the point of the neck decrease. And I have the front ribbing done. Whoopie, 11 whole rows. I will be knitting the fronts at the same time instead of one at a time. That should be pretty interesting, since the cables are mirror images of each other.<br /><br />Here at last, a picture of Megan's last year present. The true color is difficult for me to get a picture of, even outside. The bear is a little bit redder, and slightly darker.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014982781251613170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWmmnMlVg96qTD40t31k0rXfh7wKwReQT_GDs-H2cyLFaO9Gn_RMSki_KLQIerIll_nCfOD-xwYzkjeDk_VlcIRCZFB4nZFY5wFInDgh0BpvjDwU5YOaZk-IwhV5cWgJ2Dztn/s320/IM002301.jpg" border="0" />All of the pieces were knit quite a while ago, but I was procrastinating big time on the sewing up. I don't know why, I actually am a very good seamstress. The pattern was from Sirdar, as was the "Funky Fur". <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5014982772661678546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTG0fAPTOYYOSiAIHY7NkOp4KCxok31goh_0kvFue6vuymCkt3cNl1aDewxAJyX_UzN01A45Ua9ZGPvTDU18ARXTHBI5jbf1efscN7lkcFFhH7CfclFKlvVOzqumeZ0YoBQUy1/s320/scan.jpg" border="0" />The fur color was Ruby, which I personally think would be a good name for this bear. But the bear is not mine to name. Perhaps Megan will post a comment when she decides on the bears name. Of course, she hasn't seen the bear in real life yet.<br /><br />The bear is hanging around under the tree with presents for my son Mike, who will be home soon. The tree skirt was made by my Mom as a Christmas present the first year Bob and I were married. It's felt and sequins, not my normal style, but my tree would look very strange without this under it. And Leo the cat is behind the bear, you can only see his butt. He has been sleeping under the tree since we put it up. He is going to be fairly upset when we finally take it down.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenq2x6jwpeJGVQrOIF478z22I5yMVJ-UOa7m_aIBaqcHkGsUjzwHeyBDU-mHc4B4XLd1Migj8CozWP-EY9m-GKpEwEn9uFgj49QNQn-oWH_dfzDERTio4JN_xilhpQ7BlMTNz/s1600-h/scan0002.jpg"></a>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1166594776454439122006-12-19T22:53:00.000-07:002006-12-19T23:06:16.466-07:00Holy Crap, it's the 19th?!?!?!?!That means I have 6 days...no, let's be realistic...5 days and 1 hour since I'm writing this at 11 at night....to have everything done for Christmas. Stop laughing, it really isn't funny. No pictures today, can't find the camera.<br /><br />On the knitting front, there is no Christmas knitting. Score. Well unless you count Megan's present from last year that is knitted but not sewn together. The bootcamp sweater has both sleeves and 2" of back done. There are several things I'm dying to cast on but so far I'm controlling myself on those.<br /><br />I also have some fabulous roving calling from the craft room. I'm thinking keeping the door shut is helping, but if the wheel adds it's voice, I'm sunk.<br /><br />I have NO grocery shopping lists created, so no grocery shopping done. That obviously means no cookies baked. This is a big problem.<br /><br />Presents this year are simple. The most time consuming will be stocking stuffers. We don't have a lot of people outside the immediate family that we buy for anymore. And our family's "big present" this year are airline tickets to San Diego for Mike's Marine bootcamp graduation. We will be visiting places like Sea World and the Zoo and having fun in the sun. It's probably our last family vacation all together, that makes me sad but I plan on enjoying every second of the trip.<br /><br />How's it going for you?Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1164945576862700932006-11-30T20:21:00.000-07:002006-11-30T21:01:29.803-07:00Whoa, two in a week!I know, hard to believe. Two posts in a week. Very unusual. There really hasn't been a lot of progress on the sweater. Maybe two or three rows, so no picture of that. There was knittting, and a completed project!<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4972/2166/320/99665/IM002290.jpg" border="0" />I ran across this pattern on a message board. It's from dixiehellcat and it is her <a href="http://www.limenviolet.com/mb/viewtopic.php?t=1212">obscenely simple knitted house sox </a>pattern. I printed the pattern, just so I wouldn't lose it, and then it sat on my desk and mocked me for several days. It taunted me to knit up a quick pair since the yarn was in my stash. Yeah, I will admit it, I have some Lion Brand stuff in the stash. It's good for some things, like these socks!<br /><br />It whispered things like "I'm a quick pattern, the sweater won't mind being put on hold. And besides, your feet are a little chilly." So who am I to resist a pattern that wants to be knit? I cast on the first sock last night at around 9 pm. I finished it in just about 4 hours. Yes, I was up until 1 am. That's not unusual, but it was pretty cool to have a sock done that fast. I even remembered how to kitchner the toe without dragging out a book. I cast on the second one shortly before 2 this afternoon and finished it a little before I took this picture at 7:30. This is a picture of my desk at work. Very vanilla.<br /><br />I knit it the second sock at work between calls, so 5 1/2 hours, minus a 1 hour lunch that I spent running around doing errands, is not too shabby. They fit OK, and even though they have too much acrylic in the fiber, they are still going to be neat little house socks. Actually, they would make great hiking or snow shovelling socks in a bulky wool.<br /><br />Hmmm, as I typed that last sentence I remembered a nice vareigated red Lamb's Pride super bulky hank of yarn in my stash. The temptation to drag it out of the bin and whack off another pair of these is overwhelming. But I promised the sweater that I would finish the sleeves up until the increases stop. And since I want the sweater happy, I'd better get moving.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1164695593476045272006-11-27T23:16:00.000-07:002006-11-27T23:33:13.486-07:00Happy Monday!Yes, believe it or not I am happy this Monday. I wasn't until the mail was brought in, up until then it was a boring, normal, icky Monday. But I love mail, and especially mail from my son at bootcamp. We got 3 letters today, so I am a very happy Mom. He's doing fine, things are going about how he expected, and he is not sick anymore. Yay!<br /><br />Speaking of bootcamp, here is a picture of the sweater. Again, the color on this picture is showing up a much brighter red than the cranberry color it really is. Someday when I remember, I will take a better picture in natural light. That should help. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002287.jpg" border="0" /> I am knitting both sleeves at once so that all of the increases and decreases happen at the same place on both sleeves. I have about 10" done. He is about 47% done with bootcamp, I am about 15% done with sweater. I am using the sleeves as 25% of sweater theory.<br /><br />My friend Anne said sweater sleeves are about one third of a sweater. I will continue to use the more conservative figure, thereby tricking myself into thinking I need to go a little faster. I'm not worried. Yet.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1163627076739397102006-11-15T13:26:00.000-07:002006-11-15T14:44:36.806-07:00Two Weeks Worth....<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/1600/IM002278a.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002278a.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well, the days are getting shorter and the view from my travelling knitting studio has changed quite a bit. I don't have to worry about parking in the shade to stay cool and comfortable at lunch anymore. I am starting to park in a sunny spot to take advantage of not only the great view, but to have a little extra warmth. A note here, I work a later shift and my "lunch" starts at 4pm. It has been cold enough to wear the Trekking sweater, but warm enough to knit in my car at lunch. Colorado weather is wierd, but I like it a lot.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/1600/IM002280.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002280.jpg" border="0" /></a>I finished spinning up the brown Teasdale roving, and then finished doing my first ever 3-ply yarn. It's not as even as I'd like, but it looks pretty good. I have about 211 yards, and that may be enough for a pair of mittens. We will have to see what I decided to do with it. I need a new digital camera, this one does not have a macro mode for close-ups, or a decent zoom lens, which I will need in January at bootcamp graduation.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/1600/IM002286.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002286.jpg" border="0" /></a>Speaking of bootcamp, I am out of the swatch stage of the sweater. I have 1/3 of a sleeve cuff finished. If you use the guidelines of the two sleeves making up approximately 25% of a sweater, I figure I am....hmm....really not far enough along. Mike is 35% done. I think I still have a decent shot at wearing the sweater at graduation, please don't let on that you know I am delusional, OK? <br />This picture looks slightly lighter and redder than the reality. The picture of the swatch in the prior post actually shows the color better. It is more of a darker cranberry color than this.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1162611853551246532006-11-03T20:26:00.000-07:002006-11-15T13:26:19.603-07:00A First for MeIt's a first for me. It's a sweater I knit for myself. The sweater was knit using Barbara Walker's "Knitting From the Top Down" book, basic raglan pullover. I love it. I finished it last Sunday but have not gotten a chance to wear it because..... get this..... it's been too warm! All that snow and now it's too warm to wear the new sweater. How unfair is that?<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002241a.jpg" border="0" />I used 8 different shades of trekking sock yarn, holding two strands together throughout, and size 7 needles. The color combination was from a <a href="http://twistedstitcher.blogspot.com/2006/10/third-and-final-trip-thoughts.html">previously posted pattern</a>. I think the next one may have a more subtle blending. Yes, there will be another, probably in browns and greens and blues.<br />Now I have to get cracking on the <a href="http://www.ingenkonst.se/vkc4_e.htm">bootcamp sweater</a>. Mike is 23% done with camp, I am 50% done with the swatch. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002244.0.jpg" border="0" /><em></em>I know it looks like a whole swatch, but the gauge is off. I am optimistically believing I'll only have to change needle sizes once to get the right gauge. It's a neat little texture, I like it a lot. The designer calls it a fake rib pattern.<br />I've also done some plying of the brown Teasdale, it's also looking pretty good. There is still some roving to spin and then finish plying.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002243.0.jpg" border="0" /> I have started the first of 13 helmet liners and that is going OK. I'm not perfectly happy with the needles I'm using. The circumference of the circular needle is only a tiny bit long, but the length of the tip is too long. I am constantly shifting stitches and that's kind of annoying. I have made very little progress on sewing Meg's present. I had to throw that info in, just in case she's reading. <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1161927365723285752006-10-26T21:30:00.000-07:002006-10-26T22:36:05.733-07:00Colorado Weather, Gotta Love It!We had a beautiful weekend here in Colorado. There was great company on Saturday, Lisa has pictures on her blog. She always remembers not only her camera, but also to actually take pictures! We had a Spin-In at the Llama store. I got quite a bit of the light cocoa brown Teasdale fleece spun up. After a very helpful tip from Anne, it was nice and thin. It's almost even as well. I spun a lot more after I got home as well. I should be plying it this weekend. I'm going to try a 3-ply, since I finally have yarn thin enough to do that without getting a super bulky finished project.<br /><br />On Sunday my youngest son and I went to my daughters rugby game. This is a picture of the great weather and Pikes Peak from the stands. Pretty, no? And there were no major injuries during the game, which was great. Not even much blood :o)<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002221.jpg" border="0" />The wonderful weather lasted until today. I woke up to take a call from the place I work saying the site was closed, stay home. Now I don't know about you, but the feeling that I get when a "free" day appears makes me very happy indeed. I used to live for snow days when I was going to school, and I love them more as an adult. Yes indeed, a snow day. Actually, a blizzard day. By one o'clock, this is what my deck looked like:<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002223.jpg" border="0" />About 2' of snow on my table. The dog nearly vanished in the back yard when I let her out. The snow was up to her back, all I could see was the top of her cute little brown head. She's a Springer Spaniel, and was bouncing all over the yard. She absolutely loves snow, I had a hard time convincing her to come inside. <br />You would think a lot of knitting got done, but you'd be wrong. I got up late and then did a lot of nothing, and it felt really good. I did spend some time updating our friends and family on my son's last call from boot camp, and talked to a friend I haven't spoken with in way too long. <br /><br />Late in the afternoon the snow stopped, the sky began to clear, and the shoveling began. I shoveled out my car so I can go to work tomorrow. I also shoveled a bunch of space by my mailbox, since I'm hoping a letter from Mike will show up there tomorrow, and I want the path clear for the mailman! I was really hoping for some mail from bootcamp today, but the mailmen took the day off too.<br />Shoveling the wet, heavy snow was a pain, but it had to be done. Here are a couple pictures of my reward:<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/640/IM002234.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002234.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/640/IM002234a.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002234a.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A beautiful sunset sky. <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1161323043904970682006-10-19T20:04:00.000-07:002006-10-19T22:46:23.770-07:00Fall? Really?This is what fall looks like here in Colorado Springs. This is a picture I took of my front yard on Wednesday morning.<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002211.jpg" border="0" />Here's a picture I took on my way to work Thursday morning. <img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002213.jpg" border="0" />Part of what I like about living here is that one day there are slidey streets and crappy weather that makes you want to hunker down at home with an afghan, tea, a good book, a classic movie, and of course your knitting...and the next day it's blue skies, sunshine and nice temperatures.<br />There has been some knitting this week, but not the bootcamp sweater or any helmet liners. I'm really not ready to admit that it's time to knit those, as if not knitting them somehow will change the fact the Mike is at Marine boot camp. Monday we did go to this building<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/640/IM002210.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002210.jpg" border="0" /></a>and said goodbye to him for 13 weeks. We thought we would be able to see his swearing in, but it turns out that had already happened earlier in the process. We did get a chance to visit with him for a bit, and I didn't cry, which surprised all of us. I had been carting my cell phone around with me since then (except the first day because I forgot to) in case he got an opportunity to call. He did get to call, but he called on the house phone at 7 pm last night, and neither Bob or I was home, so he got to talk to Matt. It was a 45 second call, all he was allotted, that went something like "I'm here, I"m fine, how did the Bears do?" He's on day 4, and I miss him a bunch. <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1160798943851566442006-10-13T21:07:00.000-07:002006-10-13T22:25:11.423-07:00FallI love fall, it's my very favorite season. For some reason, I seem to have more energy and get so much more done this time of year than any other. This includes knitting, but maybe not blogging. I have posted a couple of finished item photos, which feels great because it means <em>something</em> is done.<br />I am also getting the Twisted Stitcher group that used to meet on Friday mornings back together. For the time being, we will be meeting at the Pike's Perk on Academy just north of Vickers on Wednesday mornings at 8 am. I can only stay until 10:30, but y'all can come whenever and stay for however long. Everyone's invited, the more the merrier. I can't promise I'll be there every Wednesday right smack on time, but I am going to try!<br />I got some spinning done in the past couple of weeks, it's the gray Teasdale<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002176.jpg" border="0" /> and the blue sparkly mix <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002177.jpg" border="0" />from Estes Park. There is about 110 yards of each. I have no idea what to make. So naturally, I needed more roving from the store. This is a wool/silk mix called "denim". Seeing it in this picture shows how much I love these colors right now, it looks really good with the sweater yarn.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002175.jpg" border="0" />It feels fabulous, and I am looking forward to seeing how it spins up. While at the store, I picked up this wool (which was on sale) for mittens. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002174.jpg" border="0" />On the subject of roving that feels great, do you remember the roving we had processed up in Victor that was, let's say, a disappointment? Well, some other people had merino from the same flock, sheared by the same woman, processed at the same place and it turned out really fabulous. How weird is that? I will be trying to get a sample of what they ended up with and wander up to Victor to talk to the owners and see what the **** happened to ours. Stay tuned. (Hey WW, I lost your email address, tried to send an email with what I thought it was, don't know if I guessed right. Please get in touch with me, OK? I have a book you wanted to borrow.)<br />One of the things I want to learn in the next year is how to spin better. Not only more evenly, but how to get the colors looking the way I want to. I love the surprises I've had so far, but it would be nice to have more control.<br />The other current big project is the Trekking sweater. It's all bunched up on the circular needle at the bottom, but you get the idea.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002204.jpg" border="0" />I'm knitting it top down and have finished the rolled neck, a few inches of each sleeve past the spot where it is divided into parts, and down to a few inches under the bust on the body. I used the short row bust shaping from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Girl-Knits-Projects-Shaped/dp/0307336603/sr=1-1/qid=1160799793/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-5451812-1822440?ie=UTF8&s=books">this book </a>and I must say it seems to fit very well so far. I love being able to try it on in progress, because I can see how far I have to go and what adjustments I need to make. I did some decreasing for the waist and was able to just try it on to see if I'd decreased enough or not. How cool is that? It's a nice easy knit for work, just seemingly endless no-brainer stocking stitch.<br />There are a couple more projects in the works. Our Saturday group is going to do a KnitAlong for <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/Projects/itemid_50455220/projects_display">this sweater </a>starting in January. Some of us will not be changing the color chart, but there are a couple who plan to definitely mix it up. I'm planning on sticking with the pattern, but I have been known to veer from the path once or twice before and can't promise not to again. The box o' yarn for that is in my craft room, waiting patiently for it's turn on the needles.<br />But my biggest challenge for the next 13 weeks is to knit one helmet liner per week <em>and</em> finish <a href="http://www.ingenkonst.se/vkc4_e.htm">this sweater</a>. It will be just like the picture, but shorter, in red, and with no pockets. It might also get a cable around the bottom like the sleeve has, and may get clasps instead of buttons. But other than that, it will be just like the picture.<br />I have had a hard time blogging about this sweater and especially why I am knitting it. Some of you know the story, but most of you don't. Last July my oldest son told us that he was thinking about joining the military. There was much discussion and he did decide to join the Marine Corps Reserves. He has a 12 year plan and he has given careful consideration to this decision. We support his decision and are very proud of him. That doesn't mean I'm not worried. He is leaving for boot camp on Monday morning.<br />One of the things that was decided was that our family will be traveling to San Diego for his boot camp graduation. To keep my mind busy I decided to make myself a sweater that will be a challenge to knit to wear for the occasion. Then I got to thinking that seemed sort of self-centered and decided that knitting <a href="http://www.operationhomefront.org/Community/knitters.shtml">helmet liners </a>would be a good idea also. The one per week of boot camp seemed reasonable to me, until I remembered I wanted to knit a whole sweater also. I did not think that my deadline was realistic, but my friends reminded me of my Olympic knitting, so now I think I can do it. After all, compared to boot camp this will be a snap.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1160536427631361182006-10-10T19:49:00.000-07:002006-10-10T20:13:47.640-07:00Third and Final Trip ThoughtsLet's wrap up the trip details and move along to more current events. On Monday, the weather turned quite a bit cooler up north. The high was about 58 degrees; very, very chilly in the creek, I can tell you that. I took another drive and ended up here. <img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002041.jpg" border="0" />It's a cute little yarn shop just outside of St. Germain, WI called Sutter's Golden Fleece. The nice ladies there took pity on me because of the cold and poured a nice, hot cup of really good coffee for me. I love the wildflower garden in front of the place, and can imagine what a relaxing place the front porch would be to knit on in better weather.We had a good visit and I was just about to purchase a ball of locally spun yarn as a souvenier, and got totally and completely side-tracked by this sweater kit. <img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002173.jpg" border="0" />It's Trekking, which we all know I have a weakness for. I did buy the blue colorway, which will be great with jeans. The sweater is being knit as a top down raglan, I'm not using the many pieced pattern directions. The picture was taken when I got home, the kitty in the background is questioning my sanity. The rest of the day was spent beading the infernal green mobieus and taking a really nice walk around the property. Here are some pictures that do not show the incredible beauty of the place, but are enough to give you a hint.<img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002166.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002149.jpg" border="0" />Tuesday I got up early and drove back to my sister's house, and then went to the train station and caught a train to downtown Chicago. From there, it was a quick trip on the L to Midway airport, and a flight to Denver. My husband picked me up there and drove home. I think I spent over 16 hours travelling, but because of the great knitting time, it wasn't really much of an issue. All in all, it was a very fast, very wonderful trip, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a> Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1159414339655923792006-09-27T19:43:00.000-07:002006-10-10T20:29:13.933-07:00Part Two of the Big TripOK, so it wasn't a huge round the world kind of BIG TRIP, but it was a big event for me. When last we left our knitter....<br />Sunday morning I got to drive up to our family's creekside cabin the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I haven't been there in over 3 years, which is waaaaay to long. Especially since it is the place where I feel the most myself, if that makes any sense. I know you know what I'm talking about, that special place in the world where you feel connected and somehow more real. The place you think of first when someone asks where you would live if you could live anywhere. The place that has tons and tons of special memories. Enough already, let's get to the knitting.<br />I stopped by this place in Stevens Point on my way. Would have stopped at Schoolhouse Press, but it wasn't really on my way, and I was short of time.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002012.jpg" border="0" />Herrschners Catalog Outlet Store, or Mecca, whichever you choose. They of course had tons of stuff I really wanted, but being a good girl (at this point in the trip) I bought only these things...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002021.jpg" border="0" />Kroy sock yarn in a great color that now that I'm looking at it is MORE blue and green for me. Gee, I wonder what my favorite color is these days? And Socketta, gray with yes more blue and green, but darker, so I totally needed it. <p>I stopped at the grocery store on my way to the Creek. Here's what the fridge looked like.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002019.0.jpg" border="0" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Only the essentials: Cranberry-Raspberry wine from a <a href="http://www.fruitwine.com/">local company</a>, Wisconsin cheese and salami, Diet Coke, and butter. The bread and fudge were on the counter. The bread was for toasting in the oven (see below). The stove keeps the house nice and warm and makes great toast! And yes, I do know how to cook on the wood stove. My specialties are a killer fried egg, bacon, and toast breakfast, and fried chicken to die for. I made neither of those this trip. No dishes, what else needs to be said?<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002020.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>After I unpacked the car, which took all of two minutes, I headed down to the creek for a nice bath. Oh, did I not mention no shower in the house? The creek was beautiful and peaceful.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002015.0.jpg" border="0" /> The colors fantastic, and the forget-me-nots still blooming. The water was cold, so I didn't stay in the creek long.</p><p>The weather was warm and cloudy, but the sun came out in the afternoon, so I took a drive to see the fall colors. I really miss seeing red and orange in the fall. Here we get pretty much only gold. I plan on posting lots of pictures later, but here's a peek at some fall color near Trout Lake.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002032.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>I had a great pizza at the Sayner Pub for dinner, and went back to the Creek for an evening of knitting. Most of the time I worked on the mobieus, because "all" I had to do was stick the beads around the edge and bind off. What a pain in the butt....over 3 hundred stupid little beads that all had to be put on individually. It's finished, but I am sick of looking at it right now so I don't even know if I'll wear it.</p><p>I'm going to stick a collage of photos on the photo page for now, and will post more later. I seem to have caught some nasty cold/virus thing that has me cranky and tired. </p><p>Stay tuned...</p><p></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1159247837682069102006-09-25T21:38:00.000-07:002006-10-10T20:24:12.960-07:00I'm BackDidja miss me?<br /><br />I sure missed stitching with my friends these last couple of Saturdays. For those of you who didn't know where I was it was because I couldn't tell you I was going anyplace. So fortunately for you, you missed the whole discussion of which projects to bring, the debate of check the bag or carry it on, etc. With the new restrictions it was a little harder to pack, since I hate checking baggage. No liquids, gels, or aerosols. What a pain.<br /><br />I managed to bring the following projects: (clockwise from dragonfly socks)<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002022c.jpg" border="0" />blue and green dragonfly socks, a ball of yarn for a <a href="http://www.operationhomefront.org/Community/knitters.shtml">helmet liner</a>, the Pi shawl, a green mobieus with beads, some roving and my drop spindle, and in case I got bored, another ball of Trekking for socks. This really sounds excessive since I was only gone for 5 DAYS, but it made perfect sense while I was shoving it all into my bags.<br /><br />I flew to Chicago on Friday the 15th to surprise my sister Margie for her birthday. My flight left DIA at 6:15AM. Yes, that's really early. Ask Matt if you don't believe me, he was the lucky guy who got to drive me there. Did you know the security folks don't start until 4:30am and if you get there early you have to wait for them? And did you know the coffee and foods shops aren't open that early? Imagine a sleep deprived knitter waiting for her plane with no food or coffee. It wasn't pretty. I did have my new I-Pod with me, and I did download all of the Cast-On podcasts, so I had knitterly company anyway.<br /><br />After I got to Chicago, I took the L out to a place my sister Karen could more easily pick me up. We drove to her farmhouse in southern Wisconsin in her cool new Z3 with the top down. That was a lot of fun. She has 3 <a href="http://www.akc.org/breeds/newfoundland/">Newfoundland</a> dogs and a <a href="http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_pyrenees/index.cfm">Great Pyrenees</a>. Please don't check that spelling, I know it doesn't look right, but I'll fix it later. I'm guessing you could spin dog hair at that house from now until forever, if you wanted to. I did finish sock number two that afternoon, and it fit just fine. Then I did what I swore I wasn't going to do....I ripped out sock one to the start of the heel gusset and re-knit the stupid thing all over again. Now I have a pair of socks that fit and it doesn't take a lot of time and cursing to get them on. I have learned several things with this pair of socks, but I'm way to tired to go over the list. Here's proof, for those who may doubt...socks on my feet this morning before work.<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM002178.0.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p>We had a great time Saturday. My nephew Cody made me wonderful scrambled eggs for breakfast. I had fun surprising not only my sister but also my Mom on Saturday. I picked her up from the nursing home to take her to dinner. She was glad to see me, but more glad I think to be "sprung" from the place. </p><p>We all had a lot of fun at the <a href="http://www.galestreet.com/">Gale Street Inn</a> on Diamond Lake road, and my sister was totally shocked to see me. Lots of good food, yummy drinks, and the very best part of all, time spent with family. You just can't beat that.</p><p>I'll post more of the trip notes later. I'll update links, correct spelling, and add pictures. I promise, but I've had a real Monday here, so I'm going to bed.</p><p>*updated 10-10-06</p><p> </p><p></p><p></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1158293029263689152006-09-14T20:57:00.000-07:002006-09-14T21:03:49.273-07:00A quick updateNo exciting news to share. The dratted socks are still kicking butt (mine). The finished sock was tried on at knit group Saturday. It took quite a while to get it on, please don't anybody say anything about binding off too tightly. I know. And I still did it. At least it was good for a laugh. Lisa took pictures. If you must see, drop on over, her link is on the side.<br /><br />I had to unbind the sock and use a yarn over bind off from the Knitting Answers book that I will put up a link for later when I have time to do tricky stuff. And, yes I know it's not that tricky, but I am under a little time issue here. The new bind off is much better.<br /><br />The second sock is NOT done, even though I really wanted it to be, but I'll have scads of time tomorrow to finish it. I will be computer-less until Wednesday, but expect a long post either next Wednesday or Thursday night. Probably late, you know how I am.Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1158122846808927102006-09-12T21:05:00.000-07:002006-09-12T21:47:26.873-07:00Happy Birthday, Margie!Here's a picture of my sister, the Birthday Girl a "few" years ago,<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/1600/image0.jpg"></a> <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/image0.0.jpg" border="0" />and a picture of her at her daughters wedding last November. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/margie1509.jpg" border="0" />Not only is she beautiful, but she is fun, loyal, extremely kind-hearted, sweet, patient, hard-working, brave, smart, talented, believes the best about everyone, is a wonderful Mother, a daughter who takes incredible care of our Mom, and almost never made fun of me when I was growing up. There was that "Shamu, the killer whale" comment, but that's about it. She is also the only person on Earth that knows I am telling the truth about flying like Mary Poppins with my umbrella to school one day a long time ago when I was much, much lighter. <p>She was the person who knew me best while we were growing up and always was encouraging and supportive. We shared a room, sometimes co-operatively, sometimes not. She likes to sleep with the window cracked open even in winter, even if it meant I had to take a blow dryer to it early in the morning to close it because it froze open. She never used to match her socks, and hated her hair in high school. She never had homework and got good grades, which at the time was very annoying. She has a made a home that is warm and inviting, and always makes a person feel welcomed and valued. She is 364 days older than me and I always loved being the same age as her for one day per year. She reads the last chapter of a book first, which makes me crazy, but suits her just fine. I miss being able to share birthday cake with her. If you are ever blessed to know a person this special remember to tell them how much you love them. </p><p>So Margie, I love and appreciate you very much. I can't imagine how my life would have been without you, but I know it would not have been as rich and wonderful. I am so glad to be your sister. I wish for you always all of the very best life has to offer.</p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21423534.post-1157523904819593232006-09-05T21:03:00.000-07:002006-09-05T23:25:04.893-07:00Negative Progress, and then Positive ProgressI can't believe it's September 5th already. Where did the time go? Oh yeah, it's been sucked up by the sock. When last we left our story, the sock was seeming "a little loose". It turned out to be a <em>lot</em> loose and took another trip to the frog pond. I restarted the darn thing and finally got the size around my foot to be OK. For anyone counting this would be the second trip to the pond. The first trip was ripping <em>two </em>socks that were done up to the heel. <p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001979.3.jpg" border="0" />I was making great progress up the foot and around the short row heel. Looks good, right? And remember that this year was the year to try socks all different ways, toe up, cuff down, lots of kinds of toes and heels. You know, try to find the way I like to knit socks best...<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001985.2.jpg" border="0" />Well, apparently I can scratch off "short row heels" as a good way to make socks for me because the darn things did not fit! My feet are too, as Ann said on Monday at the bonus knit, "fat". The short row heel just does not have enough material to go around my heel angling up toward my instep. So it's now three trips to the pond, but this time only a short dip back down below the heel. Good thing I had my new best friend Charlene's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sensational-Knitted-Socks-Charlene-Schurch/dp/1564775704/sr=8-1/qid=1157516203/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9091950-0171948?ie=UTF8&s=books">book</a> with me. I stuck in a heel gusset, and I've worked one full pattern repeat up past the heel. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001988.2.jpg" border="0" />I have tried it on, and it fits OK. It's a little tighter than I would like, but I'm going to go with it and not rip out any more. This is not because I do not have the willpower to rip again, or that my self-imposed deadline is upon us, but because in a fit of full-blown, heavy-duty denial: <em>I believe that the sock will fit well, once I lose enough weight.</em> Try hard not to fall out of your chairs laughing and be grateful that you have a friend that wants to make sure your life is lightened by this moment of craziness enough to actually write that bit of insanity down for all to read.<br /><br />On to more positive things. I did go to Greeley to take Megan her stuff including her pet, Hypnotic. Here's a picture of the little thing. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001975.jpg" border="0" />Why yes, it <em>is</em> a rat. It shared my biscuit on the ride up. Megan likes her a lot, and I think she's OK, but I'm glad she is out of my house. The rat, not Megan.</p><p>I was going to stop and visit Cathy, but when I got there the girls had a list of stores that needed visiting, and a literal car load of stuff that needed buying. And please remember, I have a full size Bronco, it was <em>stuffed</em> <em>full</em>. I didn't leave there until after 4 in the afternoon. I was exhausted, but took the scenic road home through Loveland and Big Thompson Canyon. In Loveland I stopped at Woolen Treasures and picked up some books and patterns I have been looking for. The drive through the canyon was peaceful but rainy, so I did not stop to take pictures until I was past Estes Park. This picture really doesn't do justice to the view.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001977.jpg" border="0" />And here is a close up of one of the plants in my new garden. I am really liking the way it looks. It's so nice and cheerful, much better than the bunch of weeds we had before.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001973.jpg" border="0" />I have also made progress on the photo project. I have all of the scanning I wanted to get done finished. Now it's a matter of organizing the files. This is what the room looks like now, nice and empty of boxes and albums. The pictures are in nicely labeled boxes, sorted by date, and in albums that are more or less in order, and placed neatly in the closet. I took the picture at 1:30 in the morning and didn't feel much like folding up the ironing board, so ignore that, would ya?<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001984.1.jpg" border="0" />In the little basket on the floor, under the green pillows is where I am stashing my fiber to be spun. I think it's a manageable size. I might need more soon.</p><p>At knit group on Saturday, it was so obviously a hand-knit sock day, both Lisa and I had to take a picture. The people at the coffee shop think we are nuts.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001982.jpg" border="0" />Too bad for them, we have a lot of fun. That's one of my trekking socks on the left, Ann's socks in the middle, and Lisa's jay walking trekkers on the right. It's funny that her blue trekking and mine are both jaywalkers. OK, maybe not hilariously funny, but amusing to me. Notice the "fat" feet in my sock and the graceful skinny feet on my friends. I am not jealous at all, no, not me. That green sweater Darci's knitting, her own design. Talent there ladies and gentlemen.</p><p>On the trip to Greeley, one of the stops the girls and I made was at Wal-Mart. They picked up plenty of stuff, including some dish towels that are hot pink, orange, lemon yellow and lime green. They did not pick up any dish rags, or warshrags, whatever you call them. I don't know why, it seemed strange to me also. But the next store we went to was Hobby Lobby, so you all know what I got there. Yep, 5 balls of Sugar'n Cream cotton in the above mentioned 4 colors, plus a variegated pink, orange, and yellow. So I have been knitting on those at work and at my son's football game, which was Saturday after knit group. He did quite well, and the Palmer Terrors beat Chatfield 29-19. You will be getting updates on the season as it goes along, because I am a mom. Ignore it if you wish.</p><p>Here is how much dish rag I can knit during a game:<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001983.jpg" border="0" />Several people were giving me odd looks, but really, there is a lot of time not much is going on at a football game. I am not a bad mother because I need something to occupy my hands while watching a game. I'm glad it was a day game, because I can see that night games might be a little more challenging for me. </p><p>Here's a picture of the dish rag I finished at work, lounging in the traveling studio with the other yarn and the rag in progress. It sounds odd to think I'm knitting a "rag". But that's what we call them at our house, we have dish towels and dish rags.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4972/2166/320/IM001987.jpg" border="0" />This is really a long post, but I found a couple of things I thought were interesting, and since it's my blog, I decided to throw it in. Someone once asked how long I've been knitting, and I thought since I was about 10 or so. I know Barbie has a couple of stunning knitted tube-shaped evening gowns I made. Here though is proof I knitted more than I thought. For Christmas in 1981, I knit 3 sweaters, one for each of my sisters, and one for my niece Melissa. Remember it was the 80's, so be nice about the pictures. I also did some remarkable knitted yoked sweatshirts in 1987, and my daughters Christening gown in 1988. I might post a picture of that later. OK, the pictures will be on the finished object page, since I'm having technical difficulties getting them from the files.</p><p>that catches me up for now. Talk to you later!</p><p></p>Lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01747504376281070935noreply@blogger.com0