Heat Wave!

Northern Michigan never gets this hot. That's why I try not to complain about it. It gets cold and really snowy in the winter, and you can wear lots of warm knitted stuff! I complain a lot then!

Instead of a knit pic, because I still don't have a battery, how about a beach pic? This is Lake Michigan, just a few blocks from our house. Breezy and cool! It was on the day this pic was taken, anyway, since it was October!


These next pics are from Sleeping Bear Dunes. Beautiful place. If you ever come to Northern Michigan it is a place to see! We go there once or twice a year, at least. Once in early summer, and once in fall before winter traps us in our house!! LD took the pic of me and The Don. My kids are pretty good with a camera.





I've been knitting a little bit, here and there. I knit in the car, as long as The Don drives. Haha. I have so many WIPs. I am going to finish them, before I start anything else! Famous last words, right?


Just got back from the beach in that first picture. The waves are great. What a nice way to cool off. Well, stay cool, and knit when you can!!

It's the weekend--Almost!

I love the weekend! The Don doesn't have to work. I can knit, or try to learn to spin. I can go shopping and get a camera battery!! Yay!
But, no new pics of knitting or spinning until I get one. It's a good thing you can't see my spinning attempts. Why does it look so easy? I feel like I should be able to just do it! Here are Stacey's spinning pics. She emailed me that she's not doing well. Don't believe it! Look, she has yarn! I have fuzzy, twisty weird stuff.

So, here are a couple of pics of some speed dyeing and knitting and felting! I got the yarn with a gift card after Christmas, dyed it with kool-aid on January 7th , knitted the fuzzy feet pattern from knitty with a few adjustments on January 9th,
and I was wearing them on January 11th. I remember it was so hard to wait for the wool to dry after I dyed it. I love the way the ball looked all rolled up. The yarn was Patons. (and some fuzzy stuff- I can't remember) I just doubled it, dyed it, and knitted it up!

I had my last kids knit club, group thing yesterday. There will be more classes after school starts.

Looking at these pictures makes me want to dye more yarn. I love the colors, and the way they go together, and stripe, and blend! Pretty! I have a couple of ideas I want to try. As soon as I sell some, I can get some more, and do it all over again!! I guess I'd better get on that selling part!

Thanks for reading my knit-babble!! Gotta go do some work, and then I'm going to master that spindle and show Stacey some yarn!! Hehe!

I almost forgot!! Have a great weekend!!

More old knitting WIPs

Here are some replies to the comments from the other day:

Roo-bee-fay: Yep. MI is nice. Especially in the summer! The school is the main reason we stay here. The kids get a lot of individual attention.

Whimsical: It was fun. I drew the letter on graph paper, then knitted from that like a chart. Thanks for the compliment!

Del: Thank you!! Yep, bummer. I might just put the yarn pics up, and worry about the bracelets later. I need to sell my sock yarn so I can get more!

Stacey: Thanks! I got the link. I am going to teach that spindle a lesson!! Real soon!

Jennifer: Thank you! That's really nice to hear from someone who makes such neat-o stuff like you do!

Alliesw: Yep! That is so true. So, what did you do with the baby socks?

Ok, so I really need to get batteries for my camera. At least I have old pictures from my past knitting, and dyeing adventures.

First, to the right here's a picture of me (yes, I am a dork). LD took this after Christmas 2005. I dyed the yarn, which I got for Christmas, then knitted and felted the hat. The rest of the wool went for a my so called scarf. It was LB Fisherman's wool. It felted up really well. Sadly, the scarf also felted close to the end of winter. I think I can get rid of the felted fringe, refringe it, and have a smaller, felted scarf.

See the fireplace behind me? It is really a bookcase that I covered with brown wrapping paper, and painted. I'll have to post a pic of it sometime, since it turned out so well.

These handbags are from Hello Yarn. The free patterns are on the left side of her website. Adrian knits the most awesome stuff. She has a bunch of really cool free patterns: like these skull bags, and skull socks and other stuff. Check it out, she's amazing!!

The green and orange yarn is dyed (by me) Patons wool , and the black is just black Patons wool. I love this pattern. These bags were so fun to knit. I feel like making more felted bags, but I have to finish something before starting any more projects!

Well, actually, I did start those fuzzy pink slippers last night. I might knit them for a gift, though, and gift knitting doesn't have the same rules. Right?

I've been trying to spin. I'm not so good, yet. Frustrated, actually. I've been working on my hedera socks....pics when I get batteries!! I've been knitting on that bright red scarf, and looking at that pink/green handdyed sock yarn, but not starting those. Not yet, I promise!!

Tomorrow is the last kids knit club. I'll do more after school starts. The kids were talking about a sleep over some of them had, and one of them said "We were all knitting on the top bunk...." It's so cute! They were also talking about where they like to get their supplies for knitting, and how to get their parents to buy them yarn. The oldest ones are going into the 4th grade. Cutie, cuties!!

Well, life beckons! Gotta run. Knit On!!!!

I'm a knitter, not a photographer

Thanks for the nice comments about my kitty pi. That is a great pattern. Billie likes it anyway. The wool I knitted it with was dyed by me, of course.

Well, I am going to post my yarn, and some beaded bracelets I made on etsy, but not until I get new batteries for my camera. The yarn needs new pictures, what I've already taken look like poo. I haven't taken any pictures of my bracelets. I turned the stupid camera on to take pics for my shop, all excited, and the darn thing wouldn't stay on. That's how dead the batteries are. I'm ready now! Why isn't the camera?

Since I can't take any new pics, I'll show you all, a couple of old ones. This is a small bag I designed for The Don.

Left = pre felted
Right = post felted

He has a nice bocce ball set, that we take along to family reunions, ect. It has a nice heavy duty bag to carry everything except a note pad, pencil, and measuring tape, for score keeping. So this keeps all of those things safe. It is left over hand dyed yarn from Billie's kitty pi. It's one of the first things I'd ever knit with a motif on it, and it pulled in a little after felting. He likes it, though!

We (of course) left the whole bocce set home when we went to the family reunion on Saturday. We had to drive to Kalkaska, MI. I've only driven through there before, but last year and this year his family had a get-together there, at this little camp ground that has this tiny little lake. I got quite a bit done on my hedera sock on the way there. I wish I could show you a picture. Then, I helped (if you call it that) my friend C, who is learning to knit with her scarf. C's hubby is my hubby's cousin.

I'll show you my WIPs again as soon as I get batteries. I'll also post to etsy. I'm knitting kind of slowly these days, because I'm busy with that spindle. I want to learn, I feel like I should be really good at it, but so far.... not so good. Thanks for reading! Knit on Knitters!

I started my etsy shop! I'll try adding some hand dyed wool tomorrow. And post here, too!
Happy knitting!!

All knit blogs have a cat. Right?

I can't believe I got so many comments the other day. Thanks everybody!! I've been trying to spin, but I haven't gotten it yet. I'm going to keep trying, but I might have to meet Susie for a lesson. I think it'd be great to meet her in person anyway.

On Whimsical's blog , the other day, she showed her kitty pi beginnings. After your done here, go take a look. Here is my finished product. Introducing Billie Holiday and her kitty pi bed. She never stayed out of my felted knitting bag, so I knitted this for her last year. She doesn't sleep in it any more. She plays in it, and we keep her toy mice and My Little Pony toys in it. She used to steal LD's My Little Ponies all of the time, so we had to get her her own. She really plays with them. It's wierd!!

We had another power problem the day before yesterday. I heard it was a tree falling from the storms before. I heard it was a car crashing into a telephone pole. I heard...I heard... That's the way it is around here sometimes. Small town, ya know. My poor hubby, both times the power went out it was finally his turn for the computer, and he can never do his thing. I admit it, I am a computer hog. I did do a little knitting in the dark, and now I have to fix my mess ups.

Looks like it's going to rain. I never pay attention to the weather report. Everyone around me says what they saw on tv, and all of the channels are different anyway. I hope it's nice tomorrow, since we have to go to a family reunion. I am taking my knitting. I'll knit on the drive there and on the way home, but during is always a big question mark.

Have a great weekend. See ya back here on Monday. Probably!!

I've Been RAOK-ed

We had a huge storm last night. We had no power from about 6 or 7 pm until about 4am! Some communities near us still don't have power. There was hail, and wind, and rain. I heard rumors of a tornado, too. It was really something. My dog totally freaked. The kids liked the oil lamps, but not so much the no tv or video games. Haha..

So, look what I got today:

A PACKAGE!!!!

I've been a lurker at this one blog for a long time. Well, I left a comment about her awesome hand spun yarn, and she emailed me. She's from Michigan, too. So, Susie asked for my mail addy and offered to send me a little prezzie. Can you believe this? Wow!! Want to see what was inside??

A spindle, and wool roving stuff, (yes I sort-of know what I'm talking about) and a super nice card. The stuff already on the spindle was not put there by me, because I have no idea what I'm doing yet. There are also instructions, and tips, and an offer to help me in person if I can't figure it out. Isn't that the nicest thing? I think so!

I am going to learn this. I've been wanting to forever. I can do it!! I taught myself to knit socks for goodness sakes! I can do this. I will do this! I'll keep ya posted, but looking at the mess I'm making so far, I think it'll be a while before I show any pictures. Hehe!

After knit class today, I took my hubby to the dentist, and there were two of my little students. My daughter gave them some of her yarn. It must have been quite a sight: Me working on a scarf, LD weaving on a loom, and the two little girls from my class finger-knitting, since they didn't have any needles with them. What fun getting a new generation fiber-addicted is!!

Well, gotta go roast marshmallows. That makes me remember: We haven't been on a bike ride in a few days. Probably should do that someday soon.

Keep knitting!

Two Socks and a Slipper

First off, thanks, del of cozy's place for reminding me where that neat-o list came from. Ginx's blog is where I borrowed it. Adrian did one too. At first, I thought Stacey did one, but oops!! It was someone else. I like reading stuff like that. Seeing what other people have done, and remembering stuff I have done.

Here are my hedera cuffs, AGAIN! I'm yelling at my knitting, not you. The cuffs, and toes, and heels will be yellow with orange spots, (from some hand-dyed I messed up), and the leg, and foot will be hand-dyed orange left over from my best friend socks. I reswatched and I'm using size 2 needles. I have to use bigger needles alot. I don't care. If it turns out, I'm happy. The pink and green yarn is still on a time out. Haha.



This other picture is from a funny little kit my hubby found in Target. I was chatting with an old friend, that I haven't seen in forever, and he was cruising the clearance aisle. It's a knit your own fuzzy pink slippers kit. The yarn is polyester, but it's soft. The needles are junky, but it was on sale for $3.74!! It came with a Learn How To Knit DVD. I think I'll give it to my friend, C. (Not the one I met for knitting on the 5th. A different friend, C.) She and her daughter are learning to knit. I'm going to knit the slippers, and either keep them, or gift them to a relative that I know will like them. I haven't decided yet. We'll see how they turn out first. If they aren't good, I won't gift them. I think they'll be neat, though.

I knit a lot for myself. I refuse to feel guilty for it, though. The people who appreciate my handy-crafts do get hand made gifts from me. I have knitted, or made other gifts by hand for certain people who won't get something hand made from me, again. I'll buy them gifts if I have to.

Do you knit mostly for yourself, your kids, others??? Just wondering.
I knit for:

• myself
• my kids (a lot)
• my hubby (a little)
• his mom, and my mom
• my best friend and her kids
• any new baby I hear of. Hehe.

I wonder who all y'all knit for. Let me know; I'm nosy!! Haha!!

Well, gotta go do some stuff, so I can sit down and knit those socks!! Or swatch for the rpm ones from knitty. Just keep knitting..Just keep knitting..

Sock Yarn: 1 Arleta: 0

Ok, I borrowed this from someones blog a while ago, and I can't remember whose. Sometimes, I just go knit blog hopping, and I just read and read, and it was one of those times, that I found this. If it was your blog; leave me a comment so I can come back. I remember liking the blog. Maybe I'm just losing it!!


Bold the ones you've done..

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (my hubby)
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it (my kids and my hubby every single day)
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (I want to)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea (How about Lake Michigan)
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower (I was little and I missed most of it)
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero (I had the wonderwoman under roos!! I was probably 5)
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater (I even worked at one for a summer)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (four of em)
81. Gone white water rafting
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (how about the Mackinac Bridge)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (belly button--soon)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet (A roommate did and it stunk!)
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident (Almost)
150: Saved someone's life

I hope I didn't miss any. I want to do so many of those! Most of the ones I bolded I did with my best friend, Lisa. I like remembering stuff, if it was good stuff, anyway!

I am swatching for some socks, I have two patterns and yarn for two pair that I have planned. The pink and green is not right for hedera. I think it will be better suited to another pattern. Maybe rpm. Dead or Alive. Ha, my hubby loves them. Music is his thing. I'll let ya know and post pictures of the socks, if I ever get somewhere with them.

KNIT ON!!!!

I think I forgot how to knit

Where is my hedera sock? Ha! I was knitting along feeling good, cuff done, leg close to done, then I saw it. Did you hear me screaming? I messed the pattern up by one stitch, and it threw the whole thing off. So, I tried tinking back and ended up frogging the entire sock. That was after teaching knitting to five little girls today.

I put that bad sock into time out, and went to the dentist office. I knit there when the kids or I go in for our cleanings. I also taught one of the receptionist's daughters how to knit. So, I got my scarf out, and found out that I had left one of the needles at home!! What in the world is going on? I want to cast those socks back on, but maybe not yet. I probably will as soon as I sign off.

While I was teaching knitting, LD took craft class. She made a collage of her favorite things. She put the Beatles for her big bro, and if you look real close you can see a basket full of knitting. Puppies, kitties, chocolate, and knitting. Smart girl! See the motorcycle, I knew I should have called her DangerGirl!

Thanks for the comments about the yarn color. I am going to set up shop soon, probably Etsy. We'll see. Tonight, I can't seem to do anything right. I think I'll go yell at that pink and green yarn until it does what it's supposed to. Have a good one, and keep knitting; even when it doesn't listen.

One More Pair

As Whimsical Knitting says: Sock knitting is just fun!! Yep, it is!

These socks are for me, as most of the socks I knit are. The pattern is hedera lace socks , from (surprise) knitty dot com. I really like their patterns. They're free. That's good for me! I started this pattern once before, but then I switched to the falling leaves socks. I knitted them for my best friend. I might do the same thing to this pattern. I'm knitting them with my own hand dyed yarn, on size 1 bamboos. The color is very spring like, so I think one of these patterns is perfect for this yarn. I even swatched!! Sort-of. Gosh I'm a lazy girl!

I have to get off my duff and set up a shop. I have 8 or 9 skeins of hand dyed sock yarn, and some jewelry I made. I just have to do it. This skein was dyed a long time ago; just for me. I guess I'm feeling a little selfish today.

My legs are so tired. We took another bike ride, with the kids, the hubby, and the MIL. It was fun. We estimate that we went about 10 miles!!!! Doesn't that sound really far?

LD and I also drove to my friend's earlier. Her daughter is the same age as LD, but a lot smaller. We dropped off some hand-me-downs, and picked some up from my friend's little sister who is bigger that LD. We love hand-me-downs. Really, more money for yarn, right? Haha!! While the kids played we chatted. I love to just sit and talk. (See, lazy) I think the two of us might go get our noses pierced together. Man, that'll take money, too.

LD got her Disney Magazine today, and about fainted because it's full of the Pirates. She is crushing hard on Orlando. Since the first movie actually. She's funny now, but in a few years, oh geeze!!

Well, gotta go clean up the kitchen, then I can knit on those socks!! Yeah!!

More Socks?

Hi, there! I found a pair of socks that I missed when I did my count. These are broad ripple from Knitty. I made the cuff shorter., because I like it like that. I knitted them in my own hand dyed merino wool. They made short little stripes of dark red, and turquisey blue. I didn't plan these stripes, they just happened. The other side of the socks are red where the blue, is and blue where the red is. I don't remember what size needle I used. I might have even used the size called for!! So, I guess my sock count is 21, now. Since I added these and my JW socks.

I am a terrible photographer! When I was small I thought I'd be a photographer, but I guess it's good that I didn't. So, here are the wristbands, or pulse warmers, if that's what you call them. I didn't use the yarn that was called for. I used....gasp...oh..my..gosh...acrylic. Yes, it's true I am a poor knitter who sometimes uses Red Heart! It's sport weight, and I used size 2 and 3 needles. They are for MM, and LD. They actually know the difference between this and good yarn, because if they use my good wool for finger knitting or tying something up, they hear about it! I keep some cheap stuff for the kids to use for crafts or whatever and if it'll work for something I want to do, then, so be it!

Thanks to amyartisan for her comment, aren't socks great? I need to find another pattern for this special yarn I've been saving. It's pink and green. Very springtime-like.

Mouse; you are so right about Johnny and Orlando, but I did think of one thing that is better: 3 hours of Captain Jack & Will Turner, and 2 hours of knitting time, plus a finished sock!!

Stacey; See the movie; it's yummy. (I can't seem to stop posting about the Pirate movie.) The kids at my knit class even talked about it today. There is a whole thing on Knitter's Review about it, and Johnny Depp. BTW; my branching out isn't quite as bright as it shows up on here, but it's close. I really like orange.

Better go get busy, or pick a new sock pattern and start new socks. Have a good one!!

That's What I Get for Knitting at One A.M.!

Well, we had a great time at the drive-in. I had plenty of time to knit, while waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start. Pirates was wicked! I loved it. Johnny and Orlando. Wow! Great actors!! MMMMHHHHMMM! We also saw Cars. I didn't think I'd like it, but it was really cute. We didn't get home until 3:30 or 4 am.

So, last night I wasn't tired, and I decided to finish the Zombie wristbands . I did, but as I was taking pictures at about 1:30, I apparently pressed my knee on the metal dpn that I had been sitting on for about a half an hour. Warmed metal bends really easily. It didn't want to bend back so easily, though. Thank god it wasn't one of my bamboo needles. I like them the best!

We had thunder and lightning on and off all day, yesterday. We kept the computer unplugged for most of the day, and all night. We (The Don and I) just went online long enough to check our emails real quick. We saw a huge rainbow over our house, then, we cooked out on the grill, in the rain! I took pics of the rainbow, gotta crop them and stuff.

I think I'll send pics of those Jaywalker socks to Grumperina for her gallery. I'll probably send pics of the Zombies to Jennifer, too. If I can get a good picture of them! I was having a heck of a time last night! It could have been because it was so late. I tend to stay up late, and make mistakes on my knitting. I just feel like, since everyone's asleep, I can get a bunch done, but I should really be asleep, too.




I tried to get a pic of the finished Zombie on here, but it won't work. So, I'll try tomorrow. I also took a pic of some socks that I forgot about. They were waiting to be washed. For some reason, I never took a picture when I finished them. So, two pics planned for tomorrow.

My first Jaywalkers (they almost match):

• knitted with Knit Picks Simple Stripes in Snapdragon
• On size 2 Clover bamboos
• I made a few mistakes, but I'm not pointing them out
• Fun pattern, I don't know what took me so long to finish them

It's a cold (in the 60s) gray day, so I'm going to weave in ends, and start new socks, while LD bedazzles everything she can get her hands on! Have a great one!!

Can a tombstone be funny?

'What" will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

After complaining about my weight yesterday the result of this quiz is kind of funny. I wanted an easy bake oven when I was little. I remember being mad because my mom got me a Holly Hobby oven. It worked the same and I did bake little cakes in it a couple of times. It was just such a hassle when I could just go help in the real kitchen.

We just got back from another bike ride. My MIL came with us. It was fun. Not much wild life this time, though. The animals were probably hiding out from the hot sun until later. We also got tennis rackets, and we hit the ball around when noone is looking, because we really stink at it.

So, off to the drive-in tonight. We are going to see Pirates and Cars. It's a real drive-in theater where you have the speakers that hook on the side of your car window, and everything. You can also tune into a radio station now, and hear the movie. That cuts down on the bugs flying into your car. It'll be fun, if the kids can be good. I'll bring my knitting and work on that darn sock, until it gets too dark, anyway.

I went and started a new project. It's the Zombie pattern by Jennifer T. I'm making them for the MusicMan. He likes wristbands, and if I don't start something small, I'll start more socks. I'm going to start some anyway, but there are just so many patterns to choose from.

I knit SkaterPunk hats a lot. I did a wicked cabled beanie. I basically took a picture of a hat he liked, and changed the parts he didn't like, then rewrote the whole pattern. He lost it somewhere. It's a little tough to think someone has a one of a kind hat that I made just for him. He bought the yarn he liked, and it turned out really well. He's just going to have to wait until I feel like making him a new one, now. Hope that teaches him!

Well, better go see about a shower. Then I'll get my knitting ready to go to the movies!! Have a great weekend!

Edit: Here's how new I am to this. It says I posted this last night, but that's when I took that quiz and saved the code. I wrote the rest at about 2:30 pm Saturday. Michigan time!! I hope I "get" all of this stuff someday!

Next Time I'll Take My Camera!

No picture today. A little knitting stuff at the end of post.

We had a great bike ride, yesterday.
See, I was always a really skinny kid. "Skin, and Bones, and Bandaids." That's what my dad called me. I was a tom-boy sometimes, too. So, I'm 32, I quit smoking 3 years ago, and I gained a lot of weight. I'm not huge, but sometimes I feel like it. That's what the bike rides, and walks, and stuff are hopefully going to help. I don't like to be chubby. People used to say "You're too skinny! Eat a burger." Noone says that any more. (oh, poor me)

The kids and I saw a fire. It was along side the bike trail next to the road. We saw the firetrucks come and put it out. We're pretty sure it was started by someone tossing lit fireworks out of their car! We talked to other bike riders while we were all waiting on the trail for the firefighters to do their job. Geeze! People can be so stupid!! My kids heard a lecture about safety and respect for all living creatures. There is a lot of wild life around here, and there are houses along the other side of the road. Thankfully someone spotted it quickly and called for help.

Next time: I WILL REMEMBER MY CAMERA!! Yesterday was the second time we saw deer on our bike ride. We were riding along on our way home and LD stopped (right in front of me). "There are deer!" We saw a doe and two fawns that still had their spots. So cute, and beautiful!! They just stared at us while we stared at them and talked about nature, and how lucky we were to see them. Then they walked off into the woods.

The first time, a couple of days ago, we saw a doe, and I think it was the same one. I bet the babies were hiding near-by. LD first spotted that one, too. We also saw a great heron, (great blue heron?) and a swan. Not to mention the seagulls and red-winged black birds. I might be a big geek, but isn't nature amazing?

We rolled into the driveway right before The Don. (That's my hubby) He said "You already went for a bike ride?" Poor guy. We're going to wait for him to get home before the bike ride today. His mom is going to leave her bike here and go with us sometimes, too. Lots of fun!

Did you come here to hear about knitting? My hands are itching to start more socks! I made a big mistake on my j.w. socks, and I'm thinking about leaving it. Only another knitter who had their face close to my feet would even notice. If I was gifting these socks, I would definately fix it, but they are mine. I don't think it will bother me. They are so close to done. I actually did some house work this morning, so after this post I'm going to knit, knit, knit until I have to feed the starving horde that lives here. Then, maybe I'll finish these poor socks.

Here are a couple of funny things I said last week. I'll share 'em before I go knit:

• I was brushing MMs (long curly) hair, and he was moving around, so I said "Be still and let me finish knitting your hair!"
• I was trying to say Knock on wood, and I said Knit on wood.
• I actually typed knit up there where it says knock at first!

Is that why my family likes to call me a knit-addict?

Works in Progress

Thanks to everyone who left comments about my socks. I feel like I need to knit more.Ya know? I had a great time yesterday. I didn't ask to take any pictures, though. So, here is a pic of some of the things I'm working on. There are my Jaywalker socks, a scarf for a friend of my MIL, a shawl with some weird yarn, and a branching out scarf from knitty. I knitted a little on my heel flap and started turning the heel, and did a couple of rows on the red scarf, yesterday. I might rip out the branching out, it's my handdyed sock yarn, and I might use it for (surprise!) more socks.

Yesterday, I met up with my friend C and her mom. While we knitted, LD taught one of C's girls to fingerknit. Then we went next door to M's house, and chatted while all of the kids played. It was fun. I love getting out of this place. Sometimes I feel locked in or something. There's just so much to do around here. It's starting to look a little (a lot) lived in, if you know what I mean. It's summer and I don't feel like doing housework!

LD and I went to the summer rec. program. No fish for her today. I had three students, and a very little sister of two of the students. She drew with paper and markers while we knitted. For about a minute anyway. We sat out in the grass by the dock the fisherkids were at. The sun was out and it wasn't too breezy. I was going to show one of the other adults how to knit today, but she was a little busy running after the little sister who came along today. I've been telling her I'll teach her for a couple of years, when I taught one of her daughters to knit.

It's getting loud in here. The kids are sick of being inside and we have to go enjoy the sunshine before it's gone. This is Michigan, after all, we don't get this kind of great weather very often! Everyone have a great day. I think we're heading out on our bikes.

That's alotta socks!

Thanks to everyone who sent nice comments about my yarn! I have only done the kool-ade, but I have some other dyes. I just need to get more yarn. I'll let everyone know when I figure the shop thing out.

So, hand knitted socks. Here's a list of the socks I can remember knitting. I think it's all of them, and there are a lot of people who've done more. These pics are all LB magic stripe or my hand-dyed. The red/orange ones are hand-dyed for my best friend. My first pair of toe-ups. The pattern was falling leaves from knitty, I think.

• 11 pair of women's socks
• 1 pair of men's socks
• 5 pair of little girl socks
• 2 pair of baby socks

I didn't count the Jaywalkers, which are sadly still on the heel flap. I was too busy yapping, and swimming, and eating, and getting a sunburn yesterday. I think it was one of the best 4ths I have had since I was a kid. The food was awesome, the sun was out, the water was 80 degrees, and the kids behaved themselves. I had a great time visiting with my sister, and sisters-in-law, and my mom. The guys played horse shoes and bocce ball. The kids swam with their cousins. I did show off my knitting, I just didn't have a chance to knit. Not a single stitch!

Today, I am going to go knit with a couple of friends. They're bringing their girls, and I'm bringing LD. I might have to change her name to DangerGirl, but that's a story for later. Neither one of them have sons, but SP is on his way to work, and MM has a date with the dishes. I'll see if the girls will let me show pictures of their knitting. I love to look at other people's work.

So, I guess I'd better get going, or I'll miss out on the knitting! Have a great one!!

I Love To Dye....Yarn

Here's where part of the Motley comes in. Colorful wool. Here's a pile of yarn I dyed with Kool-ade. I'm going to sell it at an online shop. I just need to set it up. I've got some finished knitted items, and some jewelry to sell, too.

This is all sock yarn, most of it is self-striping. I had so much fun dyeing this yarn. I have been very good, because I've wanted to use it ALL. I've only used one skein of the stuff. It was for a pair of gift socks for my best friend, so that shouldn't even count. Right?

I have some acid dyes I'm dying (haha) to try out. I need more wool, first, though. I dyed some wool for felted bags, a while ago, and it turned out great! I want to dye some more worsted weight for purses, or whatever.

I was going to post another progress photo of my Jaywalker socks, but it wouldn't look too much different. Just a little longer. The heel flap is the next step. After the gusset I just fly. Tomorrow, I'll have lots of knitting time while visiting with my brothers and sisters. I'm already thinking about what yarn I'll use for the next pair I'm going to knit. What's the saying? "I'm not an addict I can stop knitting socks whenever I want to. I just don't want to yet."
I did a count of the socks I've knitted, and next post I'll fill you all in and share some photos of them. It's really not that many.

Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate it!!!!

Bad Mom!

Poor MM, he is 13, and the middle child! He'd give you the shirt off his back, though. So, yesterday, he wanted me to play a video game with him. I said yes, but only if I picked the game. So, I chose, and he said "No, I hate that game. I can't play it...on & on". Well, I am the MOM, so we started the game I chose. In this game, you pile up tiles in certain color order. So, I'm beating him like crazy and I glance over to his side of the screen, and he is piling the wrong colors on each other. Oh my gosh! I forgot for a second, (BAD MOM) that my son is colorblind!!!! I started laughing like a mad woman, and he says. "I told you that I can't play this game."
He is red/green colorblind. He can see colors, but some look the same to him in certain light. That is a cartoony pic of him up there. It's not a very good one, but the kid never smiles in pictures, and I somehow got him to there.

Here is a pick of SP and his girlfriend. She will now be known as HG. They are so cute. And, by the way, I really am not old enough to have teenagers, but oh well!

Knitting next time, I promise!!

edited to add: MM wasn't mad. He has a great sense of humor, and now he has a funny story to hold over my head for years to come.