Happy New Year!

Here are a couple of warshrags I've made recently. I don't think I've posted them before and I haven't taken a lot of pics of my work lately. These were fun, needless to say. I also knitted a snowman in white and an airplane in medium blue, but they were both Christmas presents that I forgot to photograph, so they're gone from my stash! Anyway, I'm now knitting a white baby blanket and will hope to get a picture soon to upload. The Baby will be arriving in early August, so, of course, I'll be knitting a lot of baby things!!!

We're just staying home and I'm knitting this evening. Just a couple of old fogies acting old, but we seldom do anything extra on New Year's Eve. A toast at midnight and then probably to sleep. If you read this blog, have a wonderful 2007 and keep on knitting!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful family Christmas with our daughter, son-in-law and son. We also had a DH's family Christmas party on Christmas eve and about 20 of us had a good time together. We did the meal, my DH and myself. Lots of work, but a great way to give a family gift to everyone, especially his mother who used to give these parties. We have missed other members of our families, but have spoken with most of them on the phone.
Our greatest gift this year was when our daughter and son-in-law arrived on Friday night. They told us they are pregnant!!!! We are going to be grandparents for the first time and we can hardly believe it! They are due in early August 2007, so guess what my knitting and other sewing will become almost immediately??!! I've already pulled out some chenille for a baby blanket. It's acrylic and pure white and will make such a pretty blanket. Don't know where I'll go next with knitting, but I do English smocking, too. I know I'll be smocking and sewing for babies, boy and girl. I've offered to help with the nursery sewing, too. Tomorrow morning we're going out to buy her first maternity outfit before they go home on Wednesday. They live about 5 hours from here. We'll have to visit often to see the progress, for sure. Can you tell I'm excited!!??
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading my blog!
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I'm so excited! I received a Christmas present yesterday that I bought for myself. I ordered from Knitpicks the kit including Kat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. The kit included two circular needles in size 1, the book and a skein of natural yarn. I would love to think I could dye the yarn, too, but I think I might just put it away for that possible project at a later date. I have plenty of good, lovely merino yarn with which to knit these socks. I also ordered in the package a pair of circular needles in size 2 and a "Sock It To Me" card. The card is just the sizing for all sizes of feet and will be a big help. I haven't done the circular socks up to now, so this is going to be a fun adventure. I've always knitted socks top-down, with double pointed needles. I'd love to try the toe-up with the circular's, so eventually I'll report here about my new adventure.
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Well..................guess what?! I've been busy with Christmas preparations, so that my knitting and other crafts have suffered. My small, pathetic idea of knitted gifts has been to no avail. I have, however, enjoyed preparing for Christmas and the tree is done. The packages are wrapped! (Except for the few to arrive in the mail, yet!) The house is clean! I need to bake and prepare for the family party on Christmas eve. We're doing it all and have to carry it to Grandma's community room, but it should be fun, anyway.

We met David's great niece on Saturday and she's a real cutie. 6 months old and her name is Layla! If I can get some digital pictures I'll post them after the party on Sunday.
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Discloths done!

This is one of two dishcloths I finished and blocked today, to give to a friend for Christmas! It's a teapot, in case you can't figure it out and it's done in pale green (the color isn't the best today with my camera!) Peaches and Cream cotton yarn.

This is another Peaches and Cream dishcloth for my friend's Christmas gift. I love using the cloths as a practice for other stitches. This entrelac wasn't the easiest and I did have to rip out a few times, but I think I'm getting it, finally! ;-)

Finally blocked and ready to wrap!

I'm so pleased with this scarf. Hopefully Tom will like it, too!
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Another addition to my stash!

I purchased this in Destash's blog and I'm really looking forward to using it for a small decorative shawl for Spring. It's pink and blue silk tweed yarn and I have several skeins, so I can do something really fun with it! It will, however, have to wait for a few wintery things to be done first, along with some socks. I'm almost done with a few dishcloths for Christmas gifts and can hopefully get back to my socks and a shawl that are on the needles. I also have a beautiful sweater on the needles, but I think that one may not be finished until next winter. Who knows?
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More new yarns!

Here are the other two hand-dyed merino yarns I purchased on Ebay. I'm obviously into purples right now, but they are soooo pretty! I'm anxious to get back to my sock knitting, but I'm trying to make some dishcloths for Christmas presents right now. Hopefully I'll finish those soon and can finish the socks on the needles and start something new. I want the nice warm socks, too. I'm really feeling the cold this winter and it isn't even winter, yet! ;-)

New yarns to play with!

Here are a couple of new hand-dyed merinos that I purchased on Ebay. Aren't they pretty?
I've got to finish my first merino socks and then will knit some more with this and a couple of others I bought with these. I'll post them soon! ;-)

Finished scarf

Here's Tom's Christmas scarf. I'm really pleased with how it came out and I think he will like it, too. I have to block it and then wrap it for Christmas. One gift down!! Don't know how many more to go with knitting, but I've done a lot of my shopping already, so I'm a little ahead there.
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No pictures???

I can't figure out why there isn't a way to upload pictures on the blog today. I sure do hope this is temporary for blogger. It's frustrating. I checked last night, too and it was the same. I even took some pictures of a finished scarf for Tom and some of my newest yarns, pre-knitting. Actually, pre-winding, too! I really love the winding. Wish I could do it more often, but I'm afraid that's all I would do for a while if I had enough stash to just wind. Then I wouldn't get any knitting done! Oh, well, I'll have to wait to post pictures for a while, I guess.
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Big Blue

This is another picture of Big Blue. My daughter and son-in-law are his people and he's named for the mascot of Old Dominion University where they both graduated. He and his sister, Katrina, were adopted from the Norfolk SPCA several years ago and they are the sweetest kitties. Blue is the welcomer of the house along with their dogs, Falco and Gabbi. The dogs are German Shepherds and they love the kitties, too.
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No knitting pictures

I still don't have knitting pictures, but have been knitting quite a bit. I've almost finished Tom's scarf. Just have the ends to weave in and it's done, so I hope to finish before the end of the week and will try to take a picture to post. I've been working on my purple sock and am almost finished with the one. I'll start the second one, soon. I've also been knitting on my burgundy merino wool shawl. It's so plain, but it is so easy to knit. No thinking involved, so it is really theraputic when I need no thinking.

This picture is my brother's kitty, Squeeky. She's a scardie cat, but really pretty and when she gets to know you she's nice.

Thanksgiving!

This is Katrina, the little, bashful sister of Blue. They are both sweet kitties and very small, but full grown. I think they are 8 or 9 years old and only weigh 4 and 7 pounds respectively. They were strays from the Norfolk, VA SPCA when Helen and Chris adopted them.
This is Blue! He's our other grandkitty and was so welcoming at our daughter's home for the Thanksgiving holiday. We took a full-sized coffee maker and we no sooner got the pot out of the box than Blue jumped in. He loved it, like most cats would, and stayed in it for a long time. The coffee maker did a great job. Our daughter has a 4 cup coffee maker and we knew with our grown son joining us that we would need more coffee at one time.

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Helen and Chris did themselves proud with the food, especially the sweet potato soufflee, a recipe from Chris' grandmother. We all ate a lot, but I really think we all were pretty good this year. Healthy eating rules!

I did get some knitting done the past couple of weeks, but will post about that later in the week.
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Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

This is how OK sleeps most of the time. It is his chair! We rarely sit there because he has it coated with his fur. The pillow belongs there, but not in the middle, only on the side so he can stretch out whenever he wants. He sits there to watch us and the tv. Watching me knitting and my DH reclining and watching tv. Ok was a stray who adopted us a couple of years ago and he knows how good he has it now. He's a sweet animal, too. We are really lucky!
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Newest project

I purchased this yarn in Williamsburg, too! It is for Tom! A scarf to match a cap he already has. As a matter of fact, we just got home from a trip to Las Vegas and I was able to get quite a lot of this scarf done while we were gone. Airports are great places to knit. So is my brother's house. I worked on my beautiful merino purple socks, too, so I'll soon have more to show off.

Our trip was fun. We stayed with Ward for 3 nights and then spent 2 free nights at Main Street Station. David and I entered a slots tournament and even got to the finals, just didn't win. It was different and fun. Downtown Las Vegas is fun and the Fremont experience still is worth seeing any evening. We like the strip, but it is much more expensive.
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Trip to Williamsburg

Look what I bought at the Twisted Sisters Yarn Shop in Williamsburg two days ago. The red is actually a bit darker than this picture, but it is beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn! The turquoise and purple is a ribbon yarn from which I'm going to make a triangular shawl, mostly decorative.
The shop was full of wonderful things and they offerred a 15% discount to us conference attendees. I was attending the VLA(VA Library Association) annual conference and it was quite fun! Learned a lot and I helped the Scholarship Committee quite a bit, too.
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Dishcloth Done!

I just knit this the other evening and it was really easy and fun! I think I'll give it as a "stocking stuffer" for Christmas to someone in the family.
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Vote! Because you can!

Finished scarf

I finally finished this scarf tonight. I started it last winter, so now I'll be able to wear it soon. It is pretty true to this photo color, made of Flutter yarn, which I knitted on size 13 kneedles. It is really simply done with all knitting. I figured with the flutter finish any other stitches wouldn't be seen. This should go well with my black and kakhi raincoat. It's pretty thick, so it should block the cold and wind well.

New Socks on the needles

This is some yarn I purchased on Ebay in August and it is absolutely beautiful!! It is hand dyed 100% Merino Sock Wool, in shades of blue, purple and pink. The seller was KBRECE and she has more up for auction that I'm watching. The quality of this yarn is superb! it is very soft, the colors are very deep and it knits into a really nice finish. I'm knitting on size 2 (US) bamboo needles and I'm knitting with the pattern in the picture, which is River Rapids Socks. This is a pleasant pattern, too. I'm really excited about this project, so hopefully it won't take too long to get done.

I'm off to Williamsburg on Wednesday for a library conference (VLA annual) and home on Friday evening. Then on Saturday my DH and I will be flying to Las Vegas to visit my brother and have some fun for almost a week, so my postings will be few and far between for a couple of weeks.

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Saturday in Virginia

This is the view from my front porch, today, and I am enjoying it as often as I can. I can hardly wait when the trees start turning for the "yellow" day in the front yard. The yellow leaves are still hanging from the trees, but the ground is covered with them, too. When the sun shines on this in the afternoon, it is the most beautiful fall warmth of all. It only lasts for a day or two and is gone until next year, so I really relish being able to enjoy it today, on my day off!! I just hope more people can enjoy it too!

I have gotten a lot of errands and jobs done around the house today, but have taken the time to stop and enjoy this view as often as I can. It is such a fleeting pleasure!
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No pictures

I want to knit a stripped scarf for Tom and he wants some color, for a change. He wears a cap this fall with a medium denim shade of blue, with black and red stripes. This should be easy enough to replicate, color wise, but I'm not sure what yarn to use, so I'll just have to wait until I can get to a yarn shop. I might go into the city and go to a shop with Tom to let him pick out the yarn...not sure!
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This is Mr. Nikki, once again. He's gone now, but he was our Halloween cat for 16 years. In his memory I'll be dressed all in black for work!

Happy Halloween!
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It's finished!

Here is the brick doorstop all finished! Isn't it pretty? Mom really did do a good job. Anonymous asked if it was to be a doorstop and, yes, that's correct. Thanks for asking! I'm really pleased with the end result. I sure do hope Helen and Chris will be, too!
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This is my project for this afternoon. My daughter and son-in-law picked this brick cover from a group of completed projects from my 91 year old mother. Mom did this many years ago and it was never put onto a brick, so when Helen chose this to have in her home I said I would finish it for her. We are going to Helen and Chris' for Thanksgiving and I will take this to them all finished. It isn't too hard and they will get a lot of use out of it in their new home.
I'm happy to be able to put some of Mom's things into use. She knitted a lot, but I got her started in cross stitch and needlepoint many years ago and she did a beautiful job with her needlework. She never sewed much, so I did most of her finishing anyway. I have a couple of cross stitch items to do for myself, too. Should be fun and bring back some good memories.
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Today's slide show

This slide show is our Outdoor Kitty at his best. OK is a real "ham." This slide show was really easy to make and you can do it, too!
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Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

OK likes my knitting, after all!

Although I caught him with his eyes closed, OK is starting to show interest in my knitting. He won't sit right next to me, but when I put down my knitting, he reaches out to see what it's all about. I'm using my Denise needles, as can be seen, and am working on a shawl out of a beautiful burgundy shade of merino wool. It's really nice!
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Soctoberfest!

This is my newest sock yarn from Scout and I'm going to try to get started on a pair of socks for myself with this. It is yummy!! I can hardly wait. I had Tom try on the short socks the other night and they're too small for him, so I'm going to lengthen them and give them to Helen, who's feet are smaller. She doesn't care for short socks, however. Now I have to find something in my stash to knit for Tom. I'm looking for a scarf yarn for him, too. Something tweedy with a brown or tan base color. I've bought a Noro yarn on Ebay and hope it arrives soon. Maybe it will work for Tom's scarf. We'll just have to wait and see.

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One of my favorite pictures and a great memory

This is a picture of Morro Rock in the bay at Morro Bay, CA. My family moved there when I started high school in 1960 and my mother still lives there with a gorgeous view from her home. Mom was an avid knitter. Each fall as my sister and I would be starting school we would go to the stores to buy new skirts and then Mom would take our skirt to the yarn shop to find matching yarn to knit a sweater. When I started college, I had several sets of handknit sweaters with matching skirts. Wasn't I lucky? Mom is now 91 years old and cannot knit anymore with major arthritis in her hands. She still wears a lot of handknit sweaters and they still look beautiful. I'm trying to carry on the tradition with knitting for my whole family. It's fun! Socks, scarves, sweaters, etc!!!

Short Socks are done!

These short socks were finished last night and will be given to Tom today, as long as he shows up for a visit. They were made with Steinbach Wolle, Sockenwolle, Art. 39, from Austria.

My other kitty, Pumpkin

This is Pumpkin! She's about 9 years old and fat and sassy. Here she's sitting on the kitchen table, which is one of her favorite spots, because she can look out the window and watch the birds and the whole world go by. She is allowed to go out, but rarely does. She's really a big chicken! You can't see it here, but her tail is about 5 inches long and bent. She's truly an original and we love her dearly. Right now we're fighting some allergies with her, but she's healthy otherwise and not diabetic (the Vet checked!)
In the evening she usually sits on my DH's lap while we watch tv. She would sit on mine, but my knitting bothers her too much. I can't convince her to just sit quietly and let the knitting rest on her back, or for her to sit next to me, either.

28 October Ramblings

I went to Ben Franklin the other day to take advantage of their 1/3 off sale and had good luck. I'm providing a raffle basket in November at the VLA conference and I purchased several knitting items today to put into the basket. I got a knitting beginners kit, with tools and a book, 8 skeins of Lion Brand yarn for a lap sized afghan and 2 skeins of Lion Brand chenille for neck scarves. Also a package of knitting bras and two pair of circular needles. I think these will make a great basket for the raffle. Hopefully some people at work will contribute more knitting things, too! Fran told me yesterday that she would contribute some books and patterns, so this should be a great basket for the raffle.
I am currently knitting two linen hand towels from the Mason Dixon knitting book with the Euroflax yarns. I'm also knitting a pair of socks, and have started the Knitpicks FairIsle cardigan. There's a shawl in the works in a beautiful burgundy merino yarn. Who knows what else I have partially finished! I am constantly starting things and occasionally finishing. ;-)

A Great Time for my Knitting

I received and wound some new yarns in the past week. I've almost finished a new pair of short socks for Tom. I'm currently knitting two different Euroflax Linen hand towels, too. The beautiful merino/alpaca combination in a gorgeous wine color will be something like a pull over or a pocket shawl. Can't decide. My real favorite is the Soctoberfest yarn from Scout. I received a new book at the library today, too. It is Arctic Lace and it will help me knit my lace scarf out of the skein of Qiviut I bought in Anchorage this past August. I can hardly wait.

I have started on the Qiviut and am very frustrated. I cannot seem to work the lace pattern without dropping stitches. I don't believe I'm actually dropping them, just not coming up with the same number each row. Somehow the number gets lower, so I think I'm forgetting a YO or something. I've put it away for a little while until I feel more like attacking it again.

I started a swatch of the wine colored merino/alpaca yarn and it's knitting up beautifully. I can hardly wait to decide what to make with it. Maybe even a simple cardigan. Who knows?
I absolutely must have something to knit in the evenings and am almost finished with the short socks, so I'm trying to get ready for something soft and easy to occupy me while watching tv. Some nights I get more time than others. When the tv is good for watching I can really get some good knitting done, but when my DH surfs the tv channels and drives me crazy, I can't knit. I have to read or play on the computer to occupy my mind more.

I'm including a picture of the latest finished socks. They are made from Opal Zwerger Yarn in Sept. 2006 (Farbe Partie75% Scherwolle 25% PolyamidKnit) from Learn to Knit Socks—Peri-Twinkle toes for the cuff (a cable stitch)Cast on 60 stitches using size 2.75 double point bamboo needles .

That's all for this post. ;-)

More about the shelf

I have tried to change a few things on here and have made a few mistakes, but I'm learning each and every day. Maybe even more than once a day, I learn something about blogging with this blog.

This kitty is OK. He adopted us and before we had him neutered he lived outdoors, so we nicknamed him Outdoor Kitty. Well....we fell in love and officially adopted him, having him neutered and then allowing him indoors. He still loves to go outside, several times a day, but he is more than an outdoor animal, so we've changed it to OK. He knows he has a good thing, living with us, and he makes it very clear that he loves us, too. He sits in his own chair in the family room, along with sitting near the computer. Occasionally he deigns to have us pet him, but he's not a lap cat. In the room with us at all times, petting when he wants it, but no closer, most of the time.

That's it for now!

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Ramblings

In memory of Mr Nikki, I'm posting his picture to celebrate Halloween. He was an 16 year old cat when he left us and we loved him dearly. He had such character and charm. I miss him a lot.

He would sit next to me while I was knitting and would bat at my needles and play with some of the yarn, but the funniest thing he did was to drag my knitting out of any opened bag and literally drag it across the room to make a bed with it. He LOVED my knitting, possibly more than I did.

We have two other cats now and love them, too. They don't even know what my knitting is. One of them, OK, loves to sit by the desktop computer, right next to the mouse, and be petted, so we sometimes call him the Computer Kitty. The other one, Pumpkin, (pictures later) doesn't like my knitting because it keeps her from my lap quite a bit. If she would just learn to let it rest on her back, everything would be fine.

I'm knitting several things right now, but the main one is a pair of short socks for Tom, my son. I'll post a picture when they are finished. I'm also getting ready to start a pair for myself out of my wonderful Scout yarn. It is gorgeous!!!

That's all for this morning! ;-)

First thing on the shelf is books!

This is my first attempt to post on blogger and I have great hopes that pictures won't be an issue. I've tried Bloglines to blog and couldn't upload pictures with any ease. I want this to be easy!!

In this picture, I'm the one on the left. I'm a Reference Librarian and I purchase medical titles for my library, among other things. This is the newspaper release photo when the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation donated to our library to purchase books for our patrons to read. I completed this project in August 2006 and really, truly enjoyed this effort. They were very generous to us.