I love Westminster chimes!

So the ongoing conversation went something like this ...

Flashback...15 years ago..."So Pete...I think you should give me Kevin's clock" (translates to brother that owes money).

" I can't give you Kevin's clock, it's Kevin's"

"Sooo...not really...it's yours"

Flashback...last year " Don't you think Kevin's clock would look good in my apartment?"

"No"

"Aww come on...look right over there"

" Maybe if you (insert lewd comment)"

"Eww...no! That is NOT my job!" Subject closed....not going to happen!

Flashback...two weeks ago phone rings... "Jeanne...which one of these clocks are you going to take?"

"Whadda mean which clock?"

" You want the battery or the wind up?" (completely in shock now) "

" I want the one that plays Westminster Chimes"

" They both do"

"Well I want Kevin's clock"

"But you have to pull the chain every 8 days, the other one is better for people that don't want to bother"

"Peter...I think I can handle pulling the chain...I want Kevins clock!"

"Ok, I'll bring it over tomorrow"

"Really??? Really??"

" Yeah but you gotta give it back to Kevin when I die" "SWEET!!!"

Holy Shazbat! I can't believe I have Kevin's clock in my house!!! And it chimes so darn purty!

Talk about monotony! OMG this was the mother of all boring projects! I was good for about the first 10 rows but then after that I kinda wanted to shoot myself. That yummy fairywing stuff put me to sleep a few times. And the mobius...very tricky business trying to put it on.

still, it turned out nice and the yarn was a dream! I don't see myself making another one tho, I would probably end up in a coma if I did.

Project Scoop

Pattern: Crazy Girl Mobius Wrap ( hand out from Stitches Midwest)

Yarn: Blue Heron Rayon Metallic (40 bucks a crack girls) Marshgrass Silver 550 yrds

Needles: size 7 circs

Entertainment value: mindnumbing

This little beauty has taken it's time getting here. I am pretty sure that I had to rip it out at least fifteen times before I got the braided cable right. One down and one to go. I have no intentions of starting mitt #2 until I have an entire evening ( or shift) of un-interrupted knit time.

See how Brodie gets his face into all the pictures?? He is a camera hog!

Like a butterfly

From flower to flower

Sometimes...I wonder where my head is at!

I have had this problem all my life...I see something, think it might be fun to learn, then I launch myself into yet another project. What were you thinking?? I say that to my many callers at work (under my breath of course). I blame my mother of course... she did raise me this way!

This week I thought it might be fun to make polymer beads... so I impulse shopped my little self to Michaels, buy a couple of packets and off I go. Now I used to be heavily into ceramics and pottery back in the day, so much so that I drove my mother crazy digging up the clay from the back yard, making beads and flower pots in the oven. And that worked for me...I am a little bit bohemian and of course every pot and bead I made was unique (lots of macrame hangers around the house). As an adult I find that I am striving for a uniformity that just isn't there.

THE BEAD PROJECT:

In theory they should have had a pinwheel design like this.

The reality was more like this!

And lets not forget, just another in a long series of the calamity events in my life, the bead that I dropped into my coffee cup... which I drank anyway.

I get the concept of course, but the application usually seems to be lacking...ah well...it is therapeutic at any rate.

I do try to do things myself as much as I can, I hate being dependent on someone else. Things like hanging curtains, or say blinds. In which case Mark aka He-Man ( I am not She-rah BTW) comes over and looks at my handiwork, (which I find completely acceptable by the way), points out where I went wrong, the basically pats me on the head and says "Honey, you stick to answering 911 calls, I'll take care of the man work". I think he likes me to be dependent on him. Nah... he's not really chauvinistic...riiight!

On the "I mostly know what I am doing front" I started the mobius shawl from that pretty sparkly fairy wingish yarn and am nearly finished. Can't really screw this one up, it is a no brainer.

On the other hand... This poor little cabled fingerless mitt... I have frogged 3 flippin' times! Not because I don't know what I am doing, but because I just don't pay attention.

Again...I blame my mother, she did raise me this way! If nothing else...I find my life boredom free. ( I do still plan to take that spinning class)

Yarnfest Time!

How many goodies can you fit into a shopping bag???

THIS MANY!

Today my Co-worker (Lisa - new knit convert) and I went to Stitches MidWest where we pushed are selves to the limit...along with our wallets. Lisa worked last night and I have to work tonite so we forwent the whole sleeping thing...who needs sleep anyway, to take our happy camper butts to Schaumberg to get our yarn fix. For me it is like a pilgrimage, for Lisa...it was her first time.

One of the vendors likened it to a candy store...I think of it as yarn-crack. Completely addictive!

I went with the idea of buying a new swift...yah no... that did not happen, but I did get a few patterns and some shawl kits geared for the lace challenged knitter.

I bought some shawl pins (now I have to make the shawls), a book on drop spindling...as I am determined to learn how not to drop the spindle come hell or high water...

Bought some fantastic yarn at ...erm 40 clams a crack...(see... there's that yarn crack thing again). But it is so darn pretty,and you can't really tell here, but it looks like it has been sprinkled with faery dust! In fact it is so pretty, I couldn't make myself go to sleep until I took out my ghetto rigged swift and wound one of them (the one that reminds me of faery wings).

And of course, once wound I immediately cast on for the mobius shawl pattern I got when I purchased the yarn.

As Brodie patiently waits for his momma to quit playing and go to bed!!

My -How the time flies

Seriously, I had no idea! I know I tend to lose track of time on this un-natural shift but really!

I've not been idly losing time, oh no. I decided I needed to paint my living room. And well if I paint the living room then I need to paint the stairwell...three flights of stairwell....yahh right!

What started out as a simple paint job very quickly turned into an ordeal, then a major project. "Well if you're going to do it then do it right and paint the trim" Not really planning on that. and then, "Oh you should get six panel doors for in here" yah...didn't plan on that either. Plus I planned on hiring someone to do the stairs since the ceiling is like 25 high! "Oh no we can do this!" Well we did and it looks great, minus the fact that my hand rails aren't up yet and I have quite a bit of touch up to do around my new doors/frames. Painting, yah...not so much a fan...I now need a vacation from my vacation!

Brodie spends a lot of time doing this...

and he is looking at this little guy, who seems to like to graze right next to my deck!

I got this far on my jacket, ready to start the body on sleeve #two when I realized I was making something I will never wear, it is two big and....

Oops! It has a big boo boo on part #1 right at the begining of the body where I missed several stitches and had a big hole.

So I ripped out sleeve #2 and stashed the whole damn thing back into the closet.

Impluse knitting!

I made this hat and scarf in a twisted drop stitch pattern. In the time honored fashion of winging it without a written pattern.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I'm A Hero!

Yah...you already knew that right?? Ok, So maybe not quite a hero but I did have to call 911 the other nite. Sitting on my deck with Sarah and Raine, I was watching the traffic go by and I hear Bam-Crunch! Tires squeeling and cars sitting sideways. So we sat outside to watch the show. 4 squads a bambalance and an engine.

...here is the view from my deck. Not so detailed a view, but interesting to watch non the less. Interesting enough to brave the misquitos for about a half hour before we had to give it up.

I am in headband mode right now. I never really challenge myself in my knitting and I completely suck at lace knitting so I decided to start small. Really small! After a number of false starts I finally managed to make this headband. (Actually it is for me but I had Raine model it for me). I have headband (winter variety) on the needles in colorwork.

Project Stats

Pattern: Arrowhead Lace Headband Rav link

Yarn: Swish Worsted Squirrel Heather

Needles: 7

This is my other project I have been working on Childhood, modified to fit Raine of course. I found that the pattern (so far) is wide enough but I had to increase the length in the back and the sleeve. The other modification I made is knitting the sleeve in the round because I abhore seams. We'll see how that works out for me.

Summer Vacation

10 things I learned on my summer vacation

1. Driving 65 is more economical than 75 0r erm 85

2. Never stay at a motel that offers weekly rates!

3. Bring your own smokes! They were 8 bucks a pack in Rapid City!

4. The Badlands are still just as majestic as when I was 9.

5. South Dakota has the most beautiful rest areas I have ever been in.

6. Mt Rushmore is still pretty darn cool!

7. And 9 year olds don't care when each state ascended to the Union.

8. Minnesota is the greenest state I have ever been to.

9. Driving 2000 miles is too much for just one person.

10. And most importantly....Book your room before you go to Mt Rushmore, because after the show, there isn't any vacancies for 150 miles!!

I live by Murphy's Law

What ever can go wrong will go wrong...or just when you think you have it all planned out...I was never so happy to be done with something as I was my closing. What a pain in the arse. But finally I am here in my new abode, nearly unpacked and enjoying the peace and tranquility...sort of.

This is the view from the front window, if you look really hard you can see the "long and winding road" in front of my place. A fun road, a fast road! Across the street are protected wetlands. When I was a kid we called them swamps. Next to me also are more wetlands, so I don't have to worry about more new construction.

My front yard, such as it is.

As you can see, I still have a ways to go with the unpacking chore. Would have been nice had I closed when I was supposed to I would have had four whole days to do nothing but unpack. As it is I had to work a 12 the day after my closing, and have been working ever since.

This is bedroom #2, Oh boy, have I got some kinda mess happening here!

My loft...where I shall do all that bill paying crap...oh and maybe some work too.

This is where my " you really need to work out room" is, along with Brodies night time kennel. Ever since the boy came and installed my garage door opener I come in through the garage, grab Brodie and out the door we go for his morning constitutional. (Today he is supposed to come and hang the rest of my curtain rods so I am not living like a transient.)

Living room

Kitchen

Breakfast area...like I do that breakfast thing.

Goodies from Knit Picks, my Happy New Home to Me prezzie from myself.

And Viola! Kait's brite lite socks are finally finished and dutifully displayed on my new sock blockers. Slowly but surely I am getting there. And did I mention I had no internet for a flippin week??? Not being able to play Mafia Wars has been a real drag. 

Sad puppy eyes

Poor little Brodie, He knew something was up when his momma packed his living room bed. Not that he is shy about laying on the couch or anything but you would have thought his little world was turned upside down when I packed his little bed and blankie. Not that he still doesn't have another bed and two blankies in his kennel, and he is hardly neglected. But he is sad about it and has been nine miles up my butt ever since!

I tried to tell him how he was going to have a much bigger place to run around in, and stairs to run up and down, and a really long sidewalk to take his walks on, but he is not having any of that. Poor guy, moving will be tough on him, no Abby and Jeebs right next door anymore.

I on the other hand am very excited! 4 more days and counting! I have everything packed but 1 cup, 1 glass, 1 cereal bowl and the coffee pot!

Sarah and Raine came over Saturday and helped me with the last of packing.  Seriously, you would have thought I was the child they way she kept scolding me! "Mom...how many hair brushes do you need?? "" Mom...how much hair product is really necessary! Mom...are you going to use this hair dryer over the next couple of days? (I never dry my hair, but now that it is packed I want to)." "Mom I am packing your curling iron and straightener (but I might need that)" Mom...why do you have so much make up? you never wear make up!" and on and on it went.
                                                           (Kaitlyn's Sock)

I still manage to knit some, even though I had one of those nasty EMG tests on my arms, you know the kind where they stick the lightening rod in your muscle and turn on the electricity? Then they go, " yup you have a pinched nerve"...duh "in C6." Just flippin' Wonderful!

And I got a whole 4 squares done on my mitered afghan, and Raine's leg warmers are complete...Oh, she needs wool leg warmers in 80 degree weather!

We had a really big blow on Friday? I think. I thought for sure we were going to have a tornado. I was outside taking pictures of course. You can kinda see how fast the clouds were moving. For a while there we seemed to be in the eye of the storm, and I tried to get a picture of the tail that was starting to form but I had my damn camera settings wrong. 

Then just as the down pour started I turned to go inside and walked right through my patio door! Owwww, who would have thought a screen door would hurt so much, like my arms didn't hurt enough from the torture doctor as it was. Now of course I have to take it in to get it fixed before I move....In Four Days!