Thank you for the birthday wishes. Thirty, so far, doesn’t feel any different than 29 … maybe I’ll feel more mature tomorrow. Ha!

As most of you have noticed I revamped my blog yet again. This time I am truly happy with the outcome of it. It feels like me.

Yesterday I decided to do a 100 Things (about me) list. I somehow convinced Laurie to do one as well … I actually think she thinks I dared her … I’d never do anything like that.  Here is a link to my 100 Things list. It will always be in the side bar under Pages, so if you don’t get a chance to read it today it will be there for a future peek into who I think I am. It was really hard to come up with 100 things, but once I had 100 I thought of a few more. I haven’t added them, but maybe I will eventually.

Last week we had a giant inflatable water slide in our back yard. The kids enjoyed it immensely. This is a picture of a shivering Lily with Owen and Ethan. Owen had stopped sliding about 10 minutes prior to this photo op, but Lily is a trooper and didn’t care how cold the water was.

Michael took Ethan in our pool for the first time about a week ago. We would have taken him sooner but the water wasn’t warm enough. He really liked the water, but it was hell on his eczema. :(

My plans for today include knitting, but I have laundry to fold and put away first. I also promised the kids they can go swimming … and its a hot one out there so I won’t be knitting while I watch them swim. It’s way too humid to be holding onto wool. LOL

Have a great day!

Hello hello! Today is Thursday July 17, 2008 and it is my thirtieth birthday! I have friends who dreaded turning the big three-oh, but not me! Age is only a number. It doesn’t bother me at all. I am actually going to embrace this decade and have fun. Hooray for thirty! My birthday party was last weekend. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t take any pictures, but Valerie took a couple …

Speaking of Valerie, she gifted me with a beautiful addition to my yarn stash. She gave me to balls of her hand painted yarn. The purpley one is called “purple haze” and the bluey-green one is called “frog pond”. I can’t wait to knit something up with them.

Yesterday in the mail there was a package. I saw it and thought “I didn’t order anything, did I?” and when I pulled it out of the mailbox I realised it was from Rhonda! Two balls of sock yarn! Hooray! I even think I have a sock pattern picked out already. As you can see my yarn is as important to me as my wine. :) Thanks Rhonda! :)

My friend Laurie gave me a gift certificate to Mary Maxim, which I am ever so excited about, but I also realise will also benefit her (sneaky girl that she is, though I can appreciate that!) … She doesn’t drive and recently discovered that if we use her directional brains (I’m directionally dysfunctional) and my driving skills we can get there together as a team! I’m hoping to go soon to buy some yarn for a sweater for myself. Yes ladies and gents, you heard me right … I’m going to knit a grown-up sized sweater!

Here are the knits … sorry for the crappy photos, I took them last night after sunset and had to use the flash.

The completed back of the Sirdar Cardi. I finished this piece yesterday and cast on for the front left immediately afterward.

The Argosy baby blanket. I love this pattern. Its totally fun.

The cotton hat. I’ll be gifting this. Although it fits Ethan, it is one hundred and ten percent the wrong colour for him and I will knit him another cotton hat in another colour … I have some green floating around somewhere.

I’m in no hurry to knit him another one though because as you can see by this picture, he is no hurry to wear it …

That’s all for now, folks! Have a great day! Knit on! :)

Well I don’t know if I’m exactly a bad Knitter or not, but I’m certainly back in love with knitting. I have cast on for yet another (two) projects and have another one planned for the very near future.

I’m working on the Sirdar cardigan for Lily. I had the back about 3/4 of the way finished and had to frog it because I screwed up big time. Now I’m almost done the back.

Sunday I was over at my friend Laurie’s house, but didn’t want to take the Sirdar cardi because I didn’t want to screw it up so I cast on for a simple 2×2 ribbed hat for Ethan. I’m using Super 10 Cotton I had in my stash.

I have been working on Mom’s crunch afghan. It makes for good (but crunchy) tv knitting. It’s at 40″ wide now, I’m thinking I’ll do to 45″.

And today I cast on for an Argosy Baby Blanket. I’m using Patons Decor in charcoal and new teal. Whoops! That makes four knits on the needles. I’ll be done the baby’s hat today so that will bring me back down to three.

My next plan is to knit the Invisibility Shawl from Charmed Knits. I actually cast on for it the other day and screwed up almost immediately. One of my three children interrupted me and I lost count and yarned over when I should have k2tog or something …

Have a great day!

Recently I was looking online for a felted wine bottle cozy, but couldn’t find anything that really sounded the way I wanted mine to be so I took it upon myself to create an easy wine bottle cozy pattern. Voila! Incase you’re interested here’s how it came together. :) It’s not rocket science, but it worked quite well.

Materials

8mm double pointed needles (set of 4)
Colour A: 1/2 ball Patons Classic Merino Wool
Colour B: Small amount of contrasting wool.

Instructions

Make Base
Cast on 40 stitches using a provisional cast on, with colour A.
Join in the round being careful not to twist stitches.
Round 1 & 2: Knit
Round 3: k2, k2tog around.
Round 4: knit
Round 5: k1, k2tog around.
Round 6: knit
Round 7: k2tog around.
Round 8: knit
Round 9: k2tog around. (5 sts remaining)
Cut yarn leaving a 6″ tail, weave tail through remaining stitches.

Make Rolled Edge
Undo provisional cast on, putting all 40 stitches back onto 3 double pointed needles.
Using colour B and with left needle pick up the stitch four rows below; knit together the picked up stitch with the next stitch on the needle.
Repeat for all 40 stitches.

Make Body
Switch back to colour A.
Work in stockinette stitch for 35 rows.
Switch to colour B.
Knit two rows and then bind off.

Weave in all ends and felt.

I’m almost finished! I did the seaming this afternoon; all I need to do now is the buttons. What do you think of the button on the sweater in the picture? Good, yes/no?

That’s all I’ve got for today! See you soon!

These kitty funnies are from one of my favourite sites for a giggle I Can Has Cheezburger. Enjoy!

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

Knitting content in my next post …
Have a great weekend folks. :)

Happy 141st Birthday Canada!!

Good morning! Today is a beautiful day, and according to the weather forecast it is going to remain a beautiful day for all the Canada Day festivities.

It is also a beautiful day because I have actual knitting to share with you. Pictures of knitting. Amazing, isn’t it?

Presto Chango - All I have left to do is finish the one front and then knit a couple panels for the front. I could have been done by now, but I’ve been slacking.

A Wine Cozy - I made this pattern up … I will share it once its felted and I have a FO to show you.

This is some wool from China my aunt gave me. A friend of hers went to China or knows someone in China and got it for her. Unfortunately for my aunt she likes working (crocheted afghans) big balls of bernat or red heart acrylic (squeaky squeaky) … fortunately for me she likes working with squeaky acrylic. This yarn is pretty nice. I have no plans for it at this point in time, but I’ll figure something out.

Yesterday my friend Laurie and I took her mom to Mary Maxim and I bought a few things. Bookmarks for the kids that I have to cross stitch.

A Sirdar pattern and some Sirdar Country Style DK yarn for Miss Lily.

And finally some charcoal coloured Patons Decor yarn for a cardigan for Ethan.

Have a great day everyone! I’ve got to do some cleaning before we begin our Canada Day celebrations … my sister and her hubby came over last night and the kitchen is a mess! Yuck!!

… no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks!

Yesterday was the last day of school for Owen and Lily and now we are into summer vacation! Hooray! Its only day one and already there has been bickering and a time-out for each of them. I’m going to need a lot of wine to get through this summer. *wink*

Here is something for all parents to remember:

Presto chango is nearing completion. I still don’t have any batteries for my camera because Michael is an ass keeps forgetting to bring my battery charger home from his work van. He took it for some silly reason, but I need it so it better appear in my house soon or there will be trouble!

I think I have decided which blanket I’m going to knit for Ethan. I already knew that I wanted to use Super 10 Cotton but was never sure of a pattern. The other day it hit me. I’m going to knit him the Baby Moderne Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. Rather than doing the greens and yellows I will probably do blues and creams with maybe a splash of red or something.

Since I have no camera right now I will have to leave you with a picture of Michael and I. When this picture was being taken he had “had a few” … I thought we were having a nice picture taken of us, but noooo, he had to go and be silly. I think its funny … so I’m sharing to his embarrassment.

Have a great weekend! Hopefully the next time I post I will have some pictures of knitting!!

I know I haven’t talked about this much here in the last few weeks, but I want to thank you for your on going support to my family and I.

Last night at approximately 6pm my grandmother died.  She had been in the hospital for over three months dying from terminal cancer; not well enough to go home, and like the brave woman I always knew she was she refused treatment knowing that it couldn’t do anything for her except prolong her suffering.  I’m doing quite well, as I have had the last three months to prepare knowing that she was going to die.  I was also able to prepare my children and they’re doing quite well with it too.  Last night Owen drew her a picture so he can put it in the casket with her.  He is sweet.  Lily doesn’t quite understand where she has gone, but she knows we can’t see her anymore.  She asked if we can go visit her, I told her no, she said “Maybe she’ll be in outerspace and there will be aliens.”  Funny kid.  I find solace in the fact that she is together again with my grandfather, the love of her life, and that she is at peace again.  My grandmother was Christian, but here is a beautiful Pagan prayer … she wouldn’t mind.

Go your way to the land of the Ancestors,
where they wait for you with open arms,
there on the edge between this world and the next.
See; there they stand.
Ancestral spirits, welcome this one
to the place where we all must go.

Have a good day everyone … I have been knitting, but today is not the day to post about it.