So the time has come to retire the Devan Along. It was really cool hosting it and I "met" some very cool women because of it. Of course mine is not yet done, but fear not, I think I may still be finished by midnight. If any of you are online around 12:01 AM (EST) come see if I made it in time.

Since my completed Devan's page hasn't worked well in a quite awhile, I thought I would showcase all the finished Devans here:

Carrie's



Stephannie's



Chris'



Brynne's



Roxy's



Katy's



Thanks for participating and check back at midnight. I will post a pictured if I have finished.

I had a very busy holiday weekend, unfortunately that means that I got very little knitting done.

On Christmas Eve my husband and I drove out to Ikea and bought a few things. That night I put this together:



My new bed!

On Christmas day I sent Rinaldo and the boys to his family's dinner, without me. I stayed home and put these together:



I also re-did the boys' room now that I have the bookshelves so that kept me quite busy. I was really very depressed and more than a bit weepy. The first holiday season without my mother was hard. So I decided back breaking labor was the way to improve my mood. I have to say it worked quite well. It has also led to this whole "let's fix up the apartment mood" for me and Ray.

Yesterday instead of hanging out in the city with Katy and Jody, I was stuck in Home Depot buying more things to spruce up the house. I don't recall ever having such a compulsion to fix things up but I suppose it's another way of putting this year behind me.

I received some nice things for Christmas but I won't bore you with a list. I will say that Maribel got me Knit Wit, which I had been dying for and my favorite gift was a set of speakers for my IPOD. They're so cute the IPOD just docks right in the middle of them.

I will be retiring the Devan Along on Friday, let's see if I can finish mine by then!

Wednesday is Gift Day

The number one search that leads people to my blog is "ipod cozy". Now I have made two felted cozies that were frankly pretty sucky. I have always felt bad for those web surfers who when probably looking for a pattern, end up only finding a picture of my poor efforts.

The problem is that much like small dogs and children, IPODS must be kept warm in the cold weather. I don't really understand why this is but the batteries drain faster in the cold and the response is slower when you are using it. So I have continued to harbor a desire to make something to keep my friend warm.

This year Apple introduced IPOD Socks. For $29 you can buy 6 socks that are one size fits all for the IPOD. I looked at them in my husband's store and said, "hey, I can make a cooler sock than that". So here they are, my IPOD sock cozies:

first the mini



I don't actually own a mini so I used the store display at Ray's store. The wonderful and charming Ulysses is standing in as my hand model. While I have always loved Uli for his wicked humor, charm and good looks, I had no idea he had so much talent hidden away.


and the full model

(and yes that is my own Special Edition U2 IPOD, I'm a sucker for anything in black)



and the pattern:


IPOD Sock Cozy

Size 2 DPNS
Scrap sock yarn
Gauge 10st = 1"

Cast on 42 stitches (54 for the full size)

Knit in a 2x4 rib (K2, P4)
Continue until tube measures 4"(mini), 4.25 for full size.

Use the three needle bind off.
Turn inside out.

It's really basic and it's completely planned with simplicity in mind. It works up really fast and the best thing is that uses those small balls of yarn that get leftover when you make socks.

It's nothing anyone couldn't come up with, I simply did the math for you!


Ian performed in his first school show yesterday. So I will leave you with a completely gratuitous shot of my baby in a Santa hat:



Merry Christmas!

I had a fairly low key weekend. Ray worked on Saturday, so the boys and I just hung out at home. Thankfully just as cabin fever was about to set in he called from work and asked if we wanted to meet him and go to Unos for dinner. We did the online curbside pick up which was pretty cool. The boys and I were very happy to get out of the house.

On Sunday we went to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Unfortunately Ian was not really in the mood to hit the shops. He really just wanted to run around. I remember when Avery was 3 he was the same way. I think he was 5 before we took him back to the mall.

Avery and I also had to hit the library for the report he is working on about Colonial America. Unfortunately the library in my neighborhood is closed on weekends due to budget cuts. So we went down to the main Bronx library which is open on Sundays. We found 3 books for him to use so it was a successful trip. If anybody has any info on tools used during Colonial times, please share!


I realize I forgot to mention the 2 things I learned when I made Avery's ear flap cap.

#1 - I learned the cable cast on. Now it really isn't that different than the knit cast on which I already knew, but it's always nice to add to the repetoire.

#2 - I actually did a single crochet edging around the hat to keep the stockinette from curling. This is fairly amazing for me. I've always had problems doing more that a crocheted chain, but I have been secretly trying to learn. I've been using my Family Circle Knitting magazines. I succeeded a few weeks back in doing a swatch in single crochet. That inspired me to try it with the hat. It looked really good. It gave it a nice finishing touch. Even my husband commented on it.

I set aside the scarf this weekend so I could work on a secret project. I had hoped to share it today, but it's not quite ready yet. I am now planning for Wednesday.

See you then...

I had an excellent evening of knitting last night. I had bought The Misfits DVD a few weeks ago for $5.99 and last night I finally got to watch it. I really love that movie. Of course I have a huge thing for Montgomery Clift, even in his later years.

I was able to finish Tashie's hat. She was very happy:



I also started yet another Multidirectional Scarf:



This one is for my mother's doctor. She was so supportive and wonderful during my mother's illness. She was also always admiring my knitting. So I thought she would appreciate a knitted gift.

I was finally able to pin Ian down to take a picture with his hat. He's always willing to take a picture, he is not always willing to wear his hat!



It really is looser than I planned, but with all his hair it actually works. He even likes to wear it when he's outside.


This was on one of the Knitting lists this morning. It's amazing what people can do when they have time on their hands, they can even crochet chaos. What do you say Bron are you up to the challenge?

And finally yet another quiz, this one courtesy of Stephannie:



You're a punk rock mommy! DIY is probably your
motto, because you're a punk mama at heart.
Your kids are getting your independent spirit
and guts, and learning to solve problems
themselves. You love it when they show their
independence, even when it's breaking your
heart.


What kind of a freaky mother are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yup that's me...



Have a great weekend!

Let's Do the time Warp Again

I had a very strong sense of deja vu on Monday. Maribel and I were on the phone discussing concert tickets. We are going to see Motley Crue in March and Duran Duran in April. Can somebody remind me of what year it is?

My husband is threatening to leave a comment on my post from Monday telling the world that I am lying about his sweater being finished. It's a minor quibble. The sewing is done so I consider it an FO. The ends however are not yet weaved in so he can't wear it yet. He is not happy about this. I had planned on weaving them all in last night but I would have had to have stayed awake past 9 PM to do that. That did not happen.

Tashie is also very upset with me because her hat is not yet done. We are having quite the cold spell and she keeps complaining that her head is very cold. Do you see the pressure they put me through!

I realized that I forgot to do my show and tell of what I got in the mail last week:



Yes, at long last it's my Charlotte's Web. I ordered a kit from Ram Wools. Here are the colors close up:



I'm very excited.

Finally I finished something big. The striped sweater is complete:



Forgive my poor husband looking exhausted, it was 11:30 on a Sunday night and we had a very busy weekend. I am happy to say he loves his sweater.

Here are the promised pictures of the ear flap hat:



and from the side:



Avery was also very happy with his hat as you can see. He decided not to have the braided strings hanging down from the sides. I think the hat is a little too long but he likes it and it keeps him warm. I'm beginning to suspect that I will never really be happy with any of my finished products. I always seem to be pointing out the flaws that I find with them.

Tashie's hat has been ripped out a few times. Various things have gone wrong. The gauge was off, one of my children tossed it off the couch and ended up causing stitches to drop. You get the picture.

Look at me posting at midnight, I'm insane. Time to go to bed. I have to go to work tomorrow and leave early to take Avery to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Happy Monday!

I have been informed by my favorite 17 year old, my cousin Natasha, that I must amend number 10 on my list of 100 things. It should read "I am glad I don't have a daughter, except Natasha". As you may have guessed if you read the comment that she left last night, Tashie has no self esteem issues whatsoever.

In many ways she is right though. One of the reasons I enjoy the relationship Tashie and I have is because she is my ideal daughter and yet not my daughter at all. This allows for much more openess in our relationship. I like to believe that she feels she can tell me anything without fear of reprisals. It's always been that way between us and I think parents and children can really only get to this point when the child is grown and even then I suspect even in the best of relationships there are always things you can't tell your mom!

Having said that, I will say that if I did have a daughter I would want her to be just like Tashie. Who is growing into an amazing woman in her own right.

I was surprised at how easy it was to do the 100 list and also at how much more I had to say. Guess I love to talk about myself, big surprise there, I also don't have too many issues in the self-esteem department! I have decided to blame the lack of comments not to a lack of love from my readers but to the fact that the Harlot posted her 100 the day before. Obviously my thunder was simply stolen from me.

I finished the ear flap hat but forgot to upload the pictures. I've started a hat ordered by Tashie to her specifications so I hope to finish that this weekend. I am also plowing along on finishing the striped sweater for DH. I actually finished the collar last night.

I will also be attempting to control myself from buying this (the first kit on the list). Please remind me that I live in an apartment. I have plenty of yarn. I barely have time to knit, why oh why should I learn to spin. If one believes marijuana is a gateway drug, this is surely a gateway tool. Leading up to a spinning wheel, which I swore I would never get until we own a house where I have room for it. Stop me please!

I also got a package in the mail this week, but I'll tell you all about that on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

I don't typically follow the crowd but...

100 Things about Me

1- I was born and raised in the Bronx.
2- When I was a kid I was dying to leave, now I never want to.
3- I was the only white kid in school throughout most of my elementary years.
4- I never had a problem with that.
5- It gives me a unique perspective on the world.
6- Both of my parents were completely blind.
7- I didn't live with them until I was 4 years old.
8- I lived with my grandparents, until my grandfather died.
9- I have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful sons.
10-I am glad that I don't have a daughter.
11-Mothers and daughters in my family always have tumultuous relationships.
12-I love my husband very much.
13- Marriage is hard work.
14- Not as hard as I expected it to be.
15- I suspect it is harder for him.
16- Because he's married to me.
17-I can have very severe mood swings.
18- They've gotten much better since I've gotten older.
19- I have a very angry, violent streak.
20- I'm ok with that.
21- I've learned to work with it.
22- I think it makes me stronger.
23-I've know my best friend for 24 years.
24- Our sixth grade teacher sat us next to each other.
25- I don't know how I would have survived without her.
26- I used to think I preferred being friends with men.
27- I realize now I just knew the wrong women.
28- All my closest friends are amazing women.
29- I tend to make and keep one close friend from every phase of my life.
30- I was considered gifted as a child.
31- I was also considered an underachiever.
32- I attended Stuyvesant High School, one of the top schools in NYC.
33- I dropped out in 10th grade.
34- I am a walking contradiction.
35- I love that about myself.
36- I have Eminem on my IPOD.
37- I also have Rosemary Clooney, New Edition and Motley Crue.
38- See what I mean about contradictions.
39- I got my first job because I was offended that my boyfriend's sister worked in a bookstore.
40- I felt she wasn't worthy.
41- I knew I was.
42- Once I got a job in her store I dropped him and kept her.
43- I was 17.
44- I've been a bookseller ever since.
45- I've worked at 2 Barnes & Nobles, an airport bookstore and NYU's Main Bookstore.
46- When I was at Barnes and Noble I aspired to be a book buyer.
47- Now at NYU, I am.
48- I got my GED at 20.
49- I started college at 22.
50- I have an AA in Early Childhood Education.
51- I'm supposed to be continuing my studies to become a school counselor.
52- So far I've been too lazy to go back.
53- My youngest son has a speech delay.
54- This bothers me more than I can say.
55- I think the disabled are marginalized by society.
56- My parents and their friends were.
57- I think that's why I have issues about my son's problem.
58- I realize I am probably seriously over-reacting about it.
59- Both my parents died of cancer.
60- At age 63.
61- I figure 62 is going to be really rough year.
62- I have been overweight for most of my life.
63- I'm ok with that.
64- I still feel like I'm the same size I was at 17.
65- Though I am far from it.
66- I think I've gained too much this year.
67- I don't feel healthy.
68- I'd like to see the other side of 200 again.
69- That's my goal for the new year.
70- I'd be happy to stay at 199.
71- My grandmother taught me to knit.
72- I didn't do much with it.
73- Four years ago I saw a book called The Knitting Goddess
74- I bought it as a way to get back in touch with my spiritual side.
75- I ended up with a knitting obsession.
76- It makes me feel creative in a way I never have before.
77- My spiritual side still gets short shrift.
78 - I considered myself a witch as a teenager.
79- And a pagan as a young adult.
80- Now I think God is a power that is impossible for the human mind to fully grasp.
81- So any face and mythos we choose is a way to bring us closer to that power.
82- Therefore no religion is wrong.
83- Or right.
84- I still prefer a female deity.
85- I raise my kids Catholic.
86- I want them to fit in.
87- Until they choose to be different.
88- I love to sing.
89- I'm pretty good at it.
90- I wanted to be a rock star.
91- But I had nothing new to say.
92- I now want to be a star in my profession.
93- I'm getting there.
94- I love Fantasy and Sci-Fi.
95- I also love fiction, history and biography.
96- I also love comic books.
98- My husband and I collect them.
99- My favorites are female superheroes.
100- I have an impressive collection of Wonder Woman comics and memorabilia.
101-I could have gone to 150.

We put up our tree last weekend but I didn't get to take a picture until last night.



You may notice that it is boxing in my knitting corner, I'm surviving though. Ian likes the fact that we had to put the end table behind the tree. It allows him to climb back there and get DVDs out whenever he wants (the DVD rack had previously been turned to the wall to prevent us watching never ending marathons of Elmo, Bob the Builder and Dora everyday).

I started this on Friday:



Of course you can't tell what it is, it's an ear flap hat.

I spent most of Friday and Saturday on the ear flaps themselves since they double as swatches. Avery you may remember picked himself out some Alpaca at Rhinebeck to make a hat out of. I suspected at the time it was too thin but he had his heart set on it. However once I started knitting it was obvious that it really was too thin. I showed him how thin the swatch was and proposed that I double strand it with some Paton's Classic that I had in my stash. He reluctantly agreed but once he saw them knitted together he was happy again. I have to admit they look quite good together:

(Sorry the closeup is a little blurry, but I was too tired to take it again.)
He had also requested the design of it and so far he's pretty pleased. I'm happy because it's going quickly. After this Tashi has requested a hat made to her specifications so I guess of the few gifts I do actually make this year they will almost all be hats!

I am doing the world's slowest job on the finishing of the striped sweater. I have the shoulders seamed and about 1/4 of the stitches picked up at the neckline. Unfortunately the Stepford Wives was very short and that's all I got done and I haven't picked it up since. The movie was funny by the way, but I like the original so much better. I may pick the sweater back up tonight unless we decide to watch Hero. Subtitles and seaming just don't go together very well...

I finally finished the hat for Ian. Unfortunately he is at school so Curious George has volunteered to model it for me:




and here is the side view:



I've made this pattern before but I had huge problems with it this time. I kept screwing up the short-row shaping at the top of the head, while I was on the train yesterday. In the end I had to rip back about 6 rows when I got home to re-do it. I also am not too crazy about it in this yarn. It feels too loose. I should have done it at a tighter gauge. The yarn I used before was a Merino spandex blend that came out beautifully. I'll try it on Ian when I get home. I'm sure it's going to be fine and looser may be better for him because he has a fairly large head and a lot of hair. I do love the look of it. The colors worked out just like I wanted them to.

I'm off to Avery's school this morning for the Middle School Fair. He's in fourth grade so I don't really have to worry until next year but with all the issues in NYC with the middle schools I figure the earlier I start preparing the better.

I got this in the mail last night:

This book is written by Joelle Hoverson of Purl, which is located right near my job. How I found out about the store is a funny story. In the Summer Avery goes to camp down here in the Village. Now that he's older they bus him out to a campus on Staten Island, but when he was younger he stayed in the building down here. They would walk the kids down to the neighborhood pool everyday. One day on the way home Avery said, "Mommy I saw a knitting store on my way to the pool". I didn't quite believe him but the next day when I picked him up, he walked me down to where it was and thus I discovered Purl. It's a beautiful store with very friendly people, but a bit too pricey for me I'm afraid. I think Manhattan rents and yarn shops are a bad combination as a rule.

Back to the book. I really like it. It has some adorable projects. I paticularly like the Baby's Denim Drawstring Pants and the Child's Placket Neck Pullover. I also love the way the book is divided by the hours it will take to make a particular project. Obviously all our speeds are different but when you need something fast it's great to know which chapter to look at.

The hat for Ian is coming along, just not a quickly as I would like. I have only been knitting on the train coming into work. It's too crowded on the way home. Although I did get a good portion done during Desperate Housewives on Sunday. This has become my favorite hour of television to knit during. Between that and Lost I have a small glimmer of hope for network TV again. Once Alias is back in January I'll be set. Who knew ABC could be cool...

I have to admit I have not done much knitting. Work has been a little busy as we prepare to send out our first orders for the Spring Semester. This means that when I get home I am more exhausted than usual. Also Ian's cold turned into a truly nasty eye infection, so he missed 2 days of school. He was much better this morning although he still had a little cough and a runny nose but when I told him he was going to school he got very excited and ran to get dressed. I take that to mean he's just fine.

The consensus on the hat is to try it as I go but that doesn't work with this pattern as it is knitted from the bottom up and the bottom starts at the neck. Not to mention that it is on dpns so they would stop Ian's head from going through. The second most popular answer is of course to measure him. Of course I knew that but I am lazy as sin and Ian hates being measured but we'll work it out, he and I.

My best friend Maribel gave me a gift yesterday. She called me and said, "how would you like a stress free Thanksgiving, and no cleaning up for it either?". How does this happen I ask? Well we are going to cook at her mom's house, while her mom is in Florida. Of course there's the after dinner clean up but no worrying about getting my house in order for company. Yeah! Love ya Bel!!!

Best wishes to you and yours for a great thanksgiving.

I had a good weekend. We didn't do much but relax. On Saturday Avery had his final soccer game of the season. His team finished the season in second place. Which was a far cry from last year when the only game we won was the last one of the season. The teams change every year and this year he had a great coach so he really enjoyed himself.

Ian did well on his first day of school. The teacher said he was very shy at first but "found his smile quickly". He enjoyed circle time and story time and he even took a nap. He cried when he got on the bus the first day but the second day he ran right up to it and climbed on himself. He told me "bye bye" and gave me a kiss and marched over to his seat. His speech therapist came over on Saturday and was saying how far he has come in the three months she has been working with him. She says the teachers at school will be surprised by how quickly he picks things up. He was trying to sing the ABC song this weekend for the first time and he can now count to 10 perfectly (not clearly but all the numbers are correct, for awhile 7,8 and 9 were all 8). So we're very happy. Of course as it seems always happens when a child starts school for first time, today he is sick. He's been running a fever off and on since last night so unfortunately he had to stay home today.

I did finish all the pieces of the striped sweater, but I never sat down to do the finishing. I started this hat for Ian, but I'm a bit concerned. The yarn I am using does not match the gauge in the pattern. No big deal I just re-worked the math. The issue I have is that there is no listed row gauge on the pattern. Normally row gauge is not a big deal because patterns are often written with measurements (i.e. knit until piece measures 3" or something like that). This one is written by rounds, "do 20 rounds in K1 P1 rib". How should I account for the thinner yarn for the rows. Should I just add a couple of extra rows to each section? Should I try to measure the various parts of Ian's head? What do you guys suggest...

Today was a big day at my house. It's Ian's first day of school!



We had found a spot at a good center for him (he gets free pre-school from the state due to his speech delay) but then getting the busing arrangements together took over a week. They literally called us at 5 o'clock last night to say the bus would be here at 7:30 this morning. I wasn't ready. I actually stayed home from work today because I seem to have a sinus infection. The good thing about that is that I can be here to get Ian off the bus. He was very excited at first when we were getting him ready, but when he realized he was getting on the bus alone he got very upset. I know he'll be fine but it's really hard to put a 3 year old on a bus. Of course as I recall it wasn't much easier leaving Avery at the school myself, he cried everyday for months!

Since I am home today I am going to run a few errands, maybe clean up a little (ha, ha like that's really going to happen) and hopefully knit. I have about 5 rows left on the striped sweater sleeve but I think I will save the finishing for the weekend.

If any of you have seen the Incredibles, you have no doubt seen the short that opens the film. For those who haven't it's called, "Boundin'"
and it's about a lamb with the most beautiful coat of wool who gets sheared. Now just so you know what my dear husband thinks of me, he informed Avery that the unseen person who so callously grabs the lamb, shears him and throws him back stark naked, was me. Yes, he said that I would do that for such beautiful wool, tsk, tsk...

...how well he knows me...

I am down to the last sleeve on the striped sweater. I had great hopes to finish them both this weekend but the boiler in my building broke on Friday. We were so cold that on Saturday we decided to go to my mother in law's house and hang out. Now this should have meant some quality knitting time. Sitting in a house where my children can run around and there's someone else to watch them, someone else cooking, you get the idea. There's a catch to that, you must bring enough yarn. Now to be fair to myself, I knew I was running out of the main color. I even went and grabbed another skein out of my knitting basket. The thing I failed to do was to put it in my bag. So when I went looking for it, there it wasn't. Oh well I took a nap instead.

Here are the 3 finished pieces:




I really love the striping on this sweater but I gotta tell ya, there are so many ends to weave in it feels like intarsia. I am so not looking forward to the finishing on it. I have been trying to get into the habit of weaving in as I go along but there are stripes where you change colors every 2 rows, so I didn't bother.

Devan Update

It feels like forever since I did a Devan update! I still have not ripped back the sleeves and re-knit them to fit the rest of the sweater. In the meantime Katy has finished. Scroll down to the October 19th entry to see her Devan.

When I tried to update the Devan page, I somehow broke the links to all but the 2 most recent Devan pictures. I am hoping to get it fixed soon.

Jasmine has picked up her Devan again after a few difficult months. She's working on her second sleeve and hopes to move on to the finishing soon thereafter.


For all you Buffy and Angel fans, only you can truly appreciate my most recent collectible purchase. Go check this out. It's a pre-order but I can't wait until March.

Finally, yes it's time for another quiz. Thanks to Katy for the link:

I am Progressive Girl Click on the picture below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

I finished the front of the striped sweater. I know, I know where are the pictures? I have been busy every night this week. You would think I had a life! Last night there was a fundraiser for our school at Chuck E. Cheese. Yes, feel my pain. I can't complain the kids ran my husband ragged while I sat and knit. We got home very late and then it took awhile for the kids to wind down enough to fall asleep. I finished the sweater front while watching the first half of the Alexander the Great special that I Tivo'd on Sunday.

Today I make the purchase I have been dying to make. I am going to order my Charlotte's Web. I was never able to time it right to get one of the kits from Threadbear, invariably I would see the colors I wanted, I would e-mail and it would be sold out. So I am going to order it from Ram Wools. I am very excited. I plan on beginning it January 1. On that note I have decided that I don't have enough sweaters. What I mean is that I don't knit enough for myself, so my early new year's resolution is to do more projects intended for me. I have had a very difficult year, I think I deserve to pamper myself a bit for the next 12 months.

On a somewhat sad but important note go visit Kerstin's site for her 11/11 post to hear from one of our female soldiers in Iraq. It is sad but true and it's something we should all be talking about.

I have been working pretty steadily on the striped sweater. I am just about at the neck shaping for the front. I really love the way it is working up. The Wool-Ease Chunky is much softer than I would have thought. It really feels like it will be a very comfortable sweater.

I have been very remiss in thanking Stella for my candy, in the candy exchange. I'd love to show you a picture but it arrived a couple of weeks ago and is therefore all gone. Surprise, surprise. Just so you don't think me a complete glutton (I am only a partial one), my husband and son helped a great deal in it's disappearance.

I was disappointed last night because I missed the knitting group at Barnes and Noble. One of my publisher's sales reps got me tickets to the Knicks vs the 76ers game last night at the Garden. I am not a basketball fan but since it seems we may never have an NHL game again I thought it might be my only shot this year to hang out in the Skybox (gotta love those publishers!) Tashi loves basketball so I took her and her girlfriend and of course Tisha went because through all the pain and disappointment she still loves her Knicks. I have to say it was a good game and I really enjoyed it. I didn't even pull out my knitting once....

I made good progress over the weekend on the striped sweater. I didn't have a chance to take pictures though. I have finished the striped section on the front. I don't want to go too much further with it on the train tonight because I am pretty sure I made the back a bit longer than suggested, so I would like to compare them.

I am itching to make some small things though. Not baby sweaters! I want to make the fingerless gloves from Weekend Knitting, especially after seeing the pair that Alison made. My office gets quite cold at this time of year and I would love to have them to type with.

I have also decided that my beautiful purple Four Play that I bought at Rhinebeck should be Clapotis. I think the pattern will really show off the colors in the yarn and the blend of 50% wool and 50% silk is the same as the Lorna's Laces suggested by Kate in the pattern.

I have also decided to scale back on the holiday projects. I'm not really feeling the holiday spirit for obvious reasons and we plan on going away for Christmas, just us and the kids. I figure I will have enough emotions going on that I don't need the added stress of deadlines. I will still do some but I will try not to pressure myself to get anything done in time.

Poor Devan sits neglected because I am far too lazy and distracted to work on it. I can't deny that part of the reason I am so lackadaisical about it is the fact that it is a bit big. Suddenly there is no urgency. It can be a late winter/ early spring sweater instead. How's that for rationalization...

There is no joy in Mudville-

the mighty Kerry has struck out.



(my apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer)

Get out there and vote!

...even if you're voting for Bush. If he does win this time I would like it to be because more people voted for him and not because a court gave it to him.

I did rip out the cast off on Devan but it's going to take way more stitches than I would like to get it to the size it needs to be. It looks like I will have to rip it back and re-work the increases a bit. That is far too complicated for me today, so I cast on for the front of the striped sweater for my husband. I finished the ribbing on the train coming into work. Ahh the instant gratification of chunky yarn.

A little fun for what looks to be a stressful day and long night of watching the election returns:


You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Nothing like a good quiz to lift the spirits!

I hope everyone had a good Halloween. We certainly did. We went to trick or treat up at Natasha's mom's house up in Haverstraw, NY. I think we terrorized the neighborhood:



Would you run screaming from that crew? Avery was Harry Potter in his Quidditch uniform, his little brother Ian was Thomas the Tank Engine. Natasha was an escaped convict, her sister Cheyenne is a little devil, her baby sister Zeyda was Blue from Blue's Clues.

I also managed to finish Mya:



I didn't wash it or block it yet but it looks pretty good. I took Devan with me to fix the sleeves but I never really had a chance to work on it and tonight I'm too tired from pounding the pavement extorting candy from suburbanites.

As soon as I finish watching Desperate Housewives it's off to bed for me...

Happy Birthday Baby

Ian is 3 years old today. My baby isn't really a baby anymore. He's even going to be starting school soon. Where does the time go?



As promised here is my haul from the Sheep and Wool Festival:



It wasn't as much as I thought I would come home with but I think it was a bit of sensory overload for me. I touched anything I could lay my hands on but when it came to making purchases I was just frozen with indecision. It was all so beautiful.

As mentioned previously most of my money was dropped at the Brooks Farm booth:



The purple is the Four Play (50% wool/50% silk). The blue is 500 yards of kid mohair that I am just itching to make into a shawl for myself.

I also bought this on Avery's orders:



We had just left the tent with the Alpacas and he decided he needed a hat or something made from Alpaca yarn.

So of course I had to get something for Ian:



I am hoping to get a hat and mittens out of these. They match his winter coat perfectly.

With everything going on of course I have barely worked on anything. I am actually just about done with Mya. I am finished with the knitting I just have to put it together. Then I want to get back to fixing Devan's sleeves and put that together. I am on vacation this week but I have a full plate with cleaning my mother's apartment out, but yesterday I fell and badly sprained my ankle so maybe I can take advantage and really get some work done!

I want to thank everyone for their kind words on the loss of my mother. I was overwhelmed by all the e-mails and so I didn't thank you each individually but each and every comment meant a great deal to my family and me. Thank you.

We had been preparing for her death for many months but of course it was still a blow. I did decide Saturday morning that we should go to the Sheep and Wool Festival anyway. The kids needed something fun and distracting and frankly so did I.

Here is the lovely foliage we encountered on the fair grounds:



The kids loved the animals. Ian's favorites were the llamas but Avery loved the alpacas, he especially loved that they would put their heads right outside the fence to greet you:



Ian's favorite part after the llamas was the hay maze (and the giant slide and the angora rabbits etc. etc. etc.) I lost track of how many times he went through it:



I took pictures of many animals but I am only posting the Icelandic sheep in tribute to my cousin Ingileif who is Icelandic (though definitely not a sheep!):



My digital camera has been MIA so I haven't yet taken pictures of what I bought. It wasn't as much as I would have thought but my heart wasn't truly in it. Next year watch out. Here's a sneak preview of some of the yarn.

I bought this for Maribel:


I spent way too much time at the Brooks Farm Fiber area and most of my acquisitions came from them. They had the most amazing colors and blends. The yarn above is called Four Play and it is 50% wool and 50% silk. It feels wonderful.

My mom finally passed away today...I'm glad she's not suffering anymore.


My mom and her sister giving an award to Helen Keller, my mom is on the left:



My mom and me:

Barbara J. Wetmore
1941-2004

The Knitting Group at B & N last night was rather small. Of course Maribel was there (it's her store) Sonia and Chaymie (I hope I spelled that right) and a new woman who's name I forget. She had attended last month's group which I missed. We also had the funniest little elderly woman who sat in with us. She thought it was a group to learn to knit. She kept asking questions about our projects and how it all worked. She also didn't quite get the difference between knit and crochet, no matter how many different ways Maribel explained it to her.

Sonia showed off the sweater she was working on at the August meeting:



It's her first adult project. It came out beautifully. The picture doesn't really do justice to the colors. It's such a deep shade of red with different shades swirling in it. Really a great Fall jacket.

Maribel wasn't crazy about the Suss Knit Kit Poncho so she is using the yarn for a scarf:



I again had to rip out part of one of the sleeves of Mya so I didn't get much done. The sleeves are in the lower right hand corner (the rest is the body of the sweater):



It's the same sleeve everytime. I think it's cursed...