Just a quick note on my -alongs.

Well, 'tis the last day of the month, so I'd best post my 'alongs. I have a Unfinished Object Along through Kat with a K, so I need to mention that I'm still working on the husband's sweater. I also finished the mittens from forever ago, that I had going. That picture is in the last post I made.

A couple of posts down, you'll find the socks for my Holiday Headstart-along, much fun, through Spinnerella. Now, I've lost my information about that -along, so I can't enter TypePad yet and post on the site. BUT I did complete the socks, which is one more gift out of the way! I love that. Very exciting.

I also have the Knit From Your Stash-along, from WendyKnits, and I'm still mostly adhering to it. I have had to buy supplemental yarns, if I didn't have enough to complete something, but I'm not counting that. My budget is so grateful that I haven't bought any sweaters' worth. Yay!

So no pics on this entry, and I'm only in three -alongs, except for a KnitOff from Yarn Monkey that starts very soon! I keep checking my email to see when to start. Wheee!

Well, I was wandering around blog land this morning, and read The Sheriff of Knittingham's site, where she shows The most gorgeous sweater. Oh my gosh. I hesitate to show my little projects now, but I have become the small project Master! If it's little and portable, there's a chance it will get done. Otherwise, it's anyone's guess. First, the husband's socks, 72 sts, 2 by 2 ribbed pattern, very easy. Still took awhile. I knitted them on #1 needles, but I really should have used 2's. I don't usually like 2's as well, but the sock yarn was thicker than it appeared on the skein. Very weird, that. Ah, well, they'll be warm =)

Then a pair of mittens, striped, using up my Wool-Ease. I bought four colors back when the school was short of mittens, and I've still got enough left to make a couple of pairs. Kids mittens take very little, but I'm thinking of making myself some very soft mittens soon. Hopefully before winter is out! Now it's back to the husband's sweater, which I REALLY want to finish, because I want to knit myself a sweater. I know I'll never get back to his cream colored sweater if I start that cute rust colored one I have in mind for me. It's shocking to think how long ago I bought the yarn for that.


Remember when we all used to knit alone? For years, I'd pick out a pattern at my local yarn shop, gab a bit with the owner, maybe have a spot of tea, then go home. Heh. Another soul wouldn't see that yarn until it was gifted or worn by me. And when you gave it as a gift, who knew if the person would ever wear it? Knitting was very fulfilling anyway, but isn't it great now? I can show stuff, you can show stuff. We can meet and knit together, send patterns to each other, and look up patterns in the middle of the night, if we want. We can order our yarn online (from other than Mary Maxim), or still take our pattern to our LYS. I still try to do that, really. The lady is very nice, and not on the Internet yet, so I have to support her in person. Yup, things are much funner now. I'm glad we all can meet (in 2-D, for the most part, but I like it anyway) and admire each other's work and gain inspiration. Rock on, you bloggers. This is a very good thing.

Another week of fun!

Here at the Cobbler household, we've been partying hard. I don't care if I don't see another cupcake before Christmas, but it was fun. Cupcakes on the birthday morning, more to the kid's school, surprise party with cake, cupcakes at the pool party - too fun. Parties were NOT celebrated like this when I was a kid. What's up with the spoiling? I don't know, but I feel compelled to create memorable parties, year after year...

Here are pics of the breakfast cupcakes, then the cupcakes for the class. My daughter has a great teacher, who made much fuss over her and frequently overlooks her over-the-top enthusiasm and concentrates on the intelligence within. (That was a terrible sentence. Been a long time since grammar school, apparently)

Then the surprise party at the pizza place, much fun. My daughter had never had a surprise party, and it was AWESOME. That's a direct quote, folks. As I said, she's an enthusiastic child, and when she's excited, you'd think her head was going to come clean off her shoulders. Fun to watch, really, if public screeching doesn't put you off. Here's a picture of the nasty cake decorating I did, because I only had 20 minutes to decorate it. I would tell the full story about why that was, but it meanders on and includes much driving to the store and back. Don't forget your wallet when you're on a timeline. For some reason, we never deliver cupcakes without a gift bag for every kid, and I never remember that until I'm making the cupcakes. Oh, and looking at these pictures? I just now realized that I didn't cross the "T". Good heavens, I can't believe that. LOL




Then 0.o a pool party!!!! We started with face painting and mask making, but I can't show those pictures, since I don't have parental permission to place their kids' pics on the Internet. Then to the pool, where much splashing by 13 preteens was done. Only one bloody nose from a diver (no diving allowed!) and one child got hurt feelings, because someone rushed her in the shower. I say - not bad!

I have so many projects nearly completed that I want to show! Grrrr. Knit faster, Carrier, faster.... Sunday School today, then a class trip to our local bounce-arena, then back for pizza. Who ever said this was the weekend??? Back on the Monday treadmill tomorrow, where it's possible I'll get the house clean. Oh, and in life news, my best friend since babyhood had her first child! Yay! Beautiful baby girl. So perfect. And those are the reasons why I haven't been blogging, though I've been thinking about it!

And glad to be here! All the Michiganders are glad, too, because we brought some of our warm weather with us. We trapped in the plane and wouldn't let it out. You shoulda seen them in Texas, glaring at us as we grabbed the warmth and left. HeeHee.

I did, in fact, get the Christmas socks done, for the Knitting for the Holidays-along. Pretty, aren't they? Wildfoote yarn, size 2 needles, 64 stitches. The sock is a bit loose for my foot, but my sockies always shrink a bit when I wash em, so this will be okay, I'm sure. And lookie what else! I'm knitting with my handspun yarn! WooHoo! I was concerned there wasn't enough yarn for my handwarmers, so I went with a hat. No matter how much I knit, we seem to be short of knitted stuff in the winter clothes bin. I can't explain it, unless the kids are sharing handknits, which is possible. They keep me knitting, anyway!



A bit at a time, I'll post up some pictures. These are of my kids at South Padre Beach, playing by the ocean. The shells were so sharp the girls had to wear their shoes, but much fun was had. See the sand art? Windblown hair? Family trying to dig down to water? And what could be better than burying your sister? Heh. Much fun. Good times.

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Hey, so it's Random Acts of Kindness Week, didja know? Me, neither. I found out about it on Friender's blog, and I highly approve. I am the total biggest fan of random acts of kindness. I was explaining to my kids what they were, and I realized that RAofK are completely what I am trying to teach my kids about. There is a good force that moves around the world, and it is helped along by doing kind things, thinking kind thoughts, and smiling when you don't even feel like it. It's my blog, so I can tell you 'bout the good energy that is in the world. If you make a wish? That's moving some good energy (if it's a good wish, not like the time I wished my brother would get sick cuz I was so mad at him). There's negative energy, or how would there be good? But fight it, peoples. Negative energy = the sux. So move some good energy around. Help someone. Leave a 20% tip, if you can. Money is tight for us, but I know there are people who need it worse than I. But certainly money is the least of ways you can move good energy around. Just look for it. Opportunities are everywhere.

Which reminds me of something I've been meaning to mention for awhile. I am so very grateful when someone is kind to me. I mean, really grateful. I know that there are people in the world who just expect to be treated well and for good things to happen, but I am so surprised when someone is good to me, or helpful. I haven't figured out yet why that is, but as soon as I iron my psyche out, I'll know. (It's hard to examine anything as wrinkled as my inner being) Anyway, that's something I've been working on examining, and I wish I wasn't so surprised when people were kind. I wish that I saw more goodness and worried less about the evil going on. Oh, and while I'm wishing - where are all the dragons? Don't tell me they didn't find some way to evade us. By all accounts, they're much smarter than we.

Vacation - going well. Took the kids to the zoo yesterday, then souvenir shopped. I told myself repeatedly that we are never. on. vacation. and we should have souvenirs! Made spending the 70 bucks on t-shirts and coffee mugs a bit easier =) And I'm knitting! Remember the socks I said I couldn't make in one month? I'm halfway through the second sock! WooHoo! Pics on the feet when they're done, which should be soon, hopefully before I get back to Michigan. Like I said, I'm jammin. I'm considering washing the spinning and hanging it in the shower, but I'm afraid of the maids, who are so efficient. They'll throw away that beautiful yarn or something. I was spinnin in the exercise room yesterday - heehee. No way to look like I was using the treadmill while the kids played, so finally we just hiked back to the room. I know when to give in to an addiction. Keep warm! We're off to museums today. I'll let ya know how that goes with a two-year-old....who was running away when I took the below picture.

Mmmm, so warm....

Pics of palm trees later, when I've dug out my camera. Yes, palm trees in Texas. There's a lot of stuff this Michigander doesn't know, and that's one of them. Palm trees? Florida or Hawaii to me. Now I'll probably find out that there aren't any in Hawaii, right? Oh, wait. There are. 'Kay. We brought warmish clothes, at the advice of one of the husband's local contacts, but lemme tell ya, 69 degrees is not cold. When we left Michigan, it was 15. We are very happy here!
Just before I left, my brother brought in the nicest box from the mailbox. All you people who wait for the mailman? We have a large mailbox. I didn't know I had a present out there! Amanda from BlackCats Handspun and Fiber had sent me an email asking what kind of fiber I liked to spin. I don't even know enough to know what to suggest, but then she sent me a huge box of roving!!!! I wrote on sticky notes what they all were, but I left those notes at home, so I shall have to do my best here! There is some beautiful merino, hand-dyed and handpainted, one from an online shop she bought at, and I'll include that name later. She painted the purple and pink roving, and sells her beautiful painted roving on her Etsy shop, tala.etsy.com. I'm so impressed with her entrepreneurship, and she does a beautiful job! Go check her out, ay? I'll wait...


She also sent baby alpaca wool, which was so. soft. I made everyone in the house handle it, along with the angora (a/k/a bunny magic), which I am so in love with I'm afraid to spin with it. I know I'll wreck it, and I don't know right now how to combine it with another fiber, so I'm waiting for more skill to fall upon me. There were silky pieces, and an awesome blend, which is the grey, neon green and black one. It is so cool.

The nice blue piece is a kind which has extra long strands, for easy spinning, and a sparkly substance in it, but I can't remember the particulars =(. I'll have so much to blog about when I find those notes. For now, I'm spinning the pale beige, pink and a tad green one. My singles this time are really thin, because I'm finding they really poof up on washing!! So when I think I'm spinning a nice worsted with the green wool, I'm actually spinning a bulky. Alarming!



Thank you all for the nice wishes on the trip. I'm looking forward to the day! The time change is a bit different here, as the infant got up at 3:00 a.m. and the other kiddies at 4:00. We'll be laying down for a nap later =) For now, breakfast at the "breakfast room" downstairs. Thanks to the husband's boss, big time! Our room has a living area, with microwave, fridge, t.v., couch, chair, the desk the husband and I are computer-ing at, then a bathroom, then a bedroom with two doubles. I'm in heaven here. Not to give too much financial info, but we don't get to take these sorts of vacations usually, what with three kids and me being a stay-at-home mom. So yay for the fam! More later, when we've been out enjoying the weather and searching for an accent. So far, haven't heard one. We're just above the border of Mexico, but they didn't know what a taco pizza was last night when we tried ordering one. See? Who knew taco pizza was a Northern Michigan regional delight? =)

Hey, found the camera! Singles, small as I can make without breaking them....

Yay! We're going on a trip!

Turn off the lights and lock the doors. We're also packing the cowboy hats and boots, cuz we don't want to scream Tourist in our school colors t-shirts. (Well, we might still be wearing those, but also with boots) The husband gets to work in Texas for a week on a programming thing, and we get to come along! The 8-year-old says flying on a plane has been her life-long dream. I'm so proud that she's realized it at such a young age! I'm a little concerned that she's going to coast from here on out, but perhaps we can replace it with another lifelong dream, like, say, performing a heroic feat or feeding the homeless. This middle child, giving us the Fonz move, has a lifelong dream to be a cowgirl, so we're going to have to keep our eye on her, make sure she doesn't run off to a wild horse ranch.

I'll still be blogging, but I haven't been for the last few days, what with all of the preparations. I get on Bloglines this morning, and you've all been blogging like crazy! I've got some definite reading to catch up on, so I'm off to it. I hope I packed correctly, and no one asks us to a fancy dinner...

So, about those socks...

Well, the Holiday Headstart socks for February aren't off to a very good start. I'm supposed to knit them on size 2 (U.S.) needles, so already I'm a tad out of my comfort zone. Me likes 1's. The gauge is 8 1/2 sts to one inch, and I only got 7 1/2 sts to the inch. So what does that mean? I hate math. Let me see... I cannot figure this out. Does this mean, at 64 sts, my socks will be bigger than the pattern wanted? That's what it means, doesn't it? So I should knit the gauge on 1's, and see if I get 8 1/2 sts to the inch, right? But what if it would be good if they were a tad bigger? *sigh* I hate when a gauge doesn't just work out. It's why I usually just go, and figure things will fit. The pattern, though, is neat and for me a bit tricky, from Knitlist.com. I know I can do it, because I screwed it up once, but I understood why it didn't work.

'Kay, I think I've got it. With 64 sts, at 8 1/2 sts to the inch, the sock would be 7 1/2 inches around. At 7 1/2 sts to the inch, at 64 sts, the socks will be 8 1/2 inches around. My foot (yikes) wants me to knit something like that, as there's a half inch of stretch (meaning with a measuring tape, while stepping on my foot, I measure 9 inches around). Will a half inch of stretch be enough? Or will it do that nasty bagging thing with shoes? I'm just wondering, because by the time you read this, I'll have started, going with the size 2 needles (and pretty rusty-colored Wildfoote yarn). After all, it's only a sock, right? A couple of weeks of work, what with the other projects on the needles, and it's only February. PLENTY of time =) Thanks for reading, I think I'm done thinking out loud....

What I did during the Super Bowl

I finally found the perfect use for the Fisherman's Wool sweater! Nothing could have been better for working on while watching the game. Almost nine inches of the practically stockinette got done, until the fourth quarter, when I finally lost my enthusiasm. (For the game or the sweater? You guess) I thought the Bears put up a good fight, though, and it was a fun game. The kids, in fine tradition of their mother, were jumping and yelling and could hardly be contained, there was so much energy in the room. Now, it looks a little wonky in this picture, but I'm hoping things will smooth out on blocking. There might be a couple of tension differentials in this particular piece of knitting. =-)

And I got to see the artist formerly known as Prince, during halftime! I was way excited about this, because I know he's done some incredible work since the 80's. I was so sad when he came out and performed his 80's stuff! Do you know what this means? It means I have reached the point of middle age where my generation is being mass-appealed to, by placating us with music from our youth. Oh, yikes. Is this how the baby-boomers felt when their retirement plans started being touted, when in fact they were all about fighting the man, and property being theft, when they were young? Of course, my kids had so, so many questions, since I was quite excited about seeing Prince (insert symbol there, please). "Mom, why does he have that cloth on his head?" "How do they make the smoke?" "How come he changed his name to a symbol?" "Is he famous, or his dancers?" Puh-leese. I was trying to watch! Can't a mom get a little love? Of course, when they got to the curtains blowing up, with Prince silhouetted behind them, my husband said that he wanted a set for Christmas. TeeHee.
Well, I enjoyed the game so much that next year I'm having a Super Bowl party. I didn't even consider having one this year, but I should have. It would have been fun. Here is a picture of the hand warmers I zipped out for my daughter. She was silently jealous of the other child's orange scarf, and I noticed, of course. She was so happy, she wore the hand warmers all day! They're just sport weight acrylic, a modification of my mitten pattern, with the cable being from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks book, then the cable reversed for the other hand.
And the pot pie I made for dinner was so pretty, I took a picture. I'm such a square. HeeHee. Today is a snow day, so more baking will be done, as we try to keep the house warm! The poor furnace is working overtime, as wind chill is between -15 to -30 Fahrenheit. I'm also starting holiday socks for the Holiday Knitalong, but I'm a little concerned. I don't think I can make these before the end of the month. I wonder if one sock will count?

Saturday musings

This is just a stuff-and-nonsense entry, but I was checking my email this morning, and there was a KnitPicks free download offer. HeeHee. "Valentines Boxer Shorts for him and you," or something close to that. I was giggling even as I clicked on the link. The shorts, by the way, look very nice and official, but if I were going to knit something Valentiney for the husband, it would likely be in a different form, more befitting for the beach, except not.

It is so cold here that I am running from car to building, and making my children do the same. Unbelievably cold, and I have lived in Minnesota, where this is normal. I've been in Michigan for 9 years now, and I think I've acclimated to around 30 degree Fahr. weather for winter. It is below 10 degrees now, and it's a biting cold. I know, because I had to go out at 10:00 last night to pick up my kids, who were at the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES SALE SEND-OFF!!! Sorry. Girl Scout cookies make me want to cheer. Other than the price, which is exorbitant, but they're so yummy!

Knitting, Carrie, knitting.... okay. Same old things in the works, but now I'm thinking about the Holiday Headstart-along I joined. I need to come up with a Christmas gift to knit this month. Mittens, I think, to match the Hermione hat, but I also have some beautiful wool for a three-color hat. Last year was scarves for Christmas - could this year be turning up hats? Perhaps Hat and Mitten Sets, since I've been getting such a head start on this.

I've got a contest perking in my mind, which I told myself I would do when I got 30 subscribers, but things seem to have slowed down. I'm grateful for you 24, so thanks! But I may have to break my rule and run a fun contest, just to take the edge off of winter. Don't worry, it's not a sweater-making contest or anything, or a guess the baby's weight, which is fun, too. Just don't guess what I guessed, kay? Gimme a chance =-)!

Women, United!

Today I got to go to a women's meeting, from an organization that produces a magazine solely for businesses owned by women. Hey, that's me! thinks I. So I hemmed my pants (being not petite and not medium, simply shorter than average), put on some makeup and good jewelry, and considered the wardrobe. My pants were a bit snug, making me wish that I had actually bought a thong the last time I was at Target. My 9-year-old wondering what the heck it was stopped me. So, no pantyline avoidance there. Oh, well. We would all be women, right? Women are nice about pantylines. (right?) My other dress pants were a size bigger, and really too loose and hangy, which is not a bad thing, if you're into pantyline avoidance. But have you ever seen these? They're body shapers, and I swear that I was 15 pounds lighter than the recommended size on the package. Yet I could barely put these babies on. I now believe that their unadvertised purpose is to make you one full size smaller than you were when you started. My snug pants are comfy! Huzzah! I am going to go buy stock in this company. One sec...

Okay. Dropped the kid at Grandma's (thanks, Mom!), and off I go! My business cards didn't come in on time, which was too bad, as it was a meeting where people likely expected a card(!!!). But okay, thank you to the card company for giving me one less thing to keep track of. The meeting was cool. A bunch of women networking is a very cool thing. After the first couple of tries, I didn't even feel uncomfortable about pitching my business. Everyone understood that that's what we were there for! I give a womens-only meeting the total and complete thumbs up. And yes, someone told a phallic joke, but just one teeny one. *grin* And the guest speaker was all about how serious we all are, and how we take that seriousness home with us to our families. It was very motivational, about how are we going to be viewed, and how are we going to handle stress when it's thrown at us? I know when I'm being motivationally spoken to, and I'm usually resistant. But in this case, I couldn't think of one good argument to counter having a good disposition. =)

In knitting news, the husband's sock went with me, to keep me company and mentally grounded. His sweater needs four rows on a sleeve, and then the front, so I'm totally good for this month's UFO project. (Look at the sidebar! A button!) After that, something spicy and colorful, methinks.

Why watercolor paints are perfect for a 2-year-old.

1. They wash off (important).

2. You don't have to put them away. Drying out won't hurt em a bit.

3. When you use them to paint your toenails, Mom doesn't get mad. (See 1.)

4. They create the most interesting art. (Heavy on the blue this time.)


5. If you eat them, the only one who sees what happens internally is mom, and hey, she wasn't watching in the first place, so it's sort of her fault, right?

Eek! Quick, a UFO!

I finished a UFO project for January, but apparently didn't post the picture. Good thing I took a moment and checked! It's part of a knitalong started by Kat with a K, and a darned good knitalong it is, too! As soon as I get a half hour, I'm going to figure out how to put the button up and have it go to the correct place, not just a picture on my computer. Anyway, the Hermione hat.
I love this hat so much. It's current, and pretty, with lots of stuff going on, so I didn't get to knit and watch t.v. It's exactly the type of knitting I'm enjoying right now, which is something that requires concentration and isn't just plain stockinette. (Perhaps this is why the husband's sweater is still a UFO?)

The husband's sweater is my UFO project for February, though, because if I just suck it up and knit the front, ta da! He'll be able to wear it and be warm, warm, warm. It's made of fisherman's wool, by Lion Brand, and the pattern is very simple. I shall finish this sweater! Thanks, Kat, for the motivation.

A girl of my word.

I finished the Chevron scarf, and as I was weaving in the ends, the sun came out! I grabbed the camera so fast! It's unblocked, but since my daughter will be wearing it around her neck this afternoon, I won't bother with blocking it. It will likely be in the wash by this weekend, anyway. The yarn was Encore, 75% acrylic, 25% wool, so washable. There are no names for the colors, just numbers, but they're a goldenrod and orange, orange being my daughter's favorite color. This very bright, sunshiney scarf was just the thing to pick up these last two stressful weeks, as I get out of my comfort zone and learn how to ease back into the working world. It's been nine years, folks! Well, let me clarify. I've been working my BUM off, but not bringing in an extra income. If anyone suggests I haven't been sweating, frustrated and kicked around, while still trying to do a fantastic job, I'm going to put my angry hat on. =)



I also balled up the spun yarn - first effort! - and it will await a quiet moment to go on the needles for a hat. I have to do something with it! And I know it will be worn if I make a hat, because it is cold here, people! 17 degrees, and getting colder. The bank secretary (by now, my friend) told me that this weekend there is a warning for parents that little kids could get frostbite if they're outside for ten seconds! That's cold.

No FO's

I'm at a place in my crafting where I've got nothing to show. I'm still working on the husband's sweater. I had to take a break, because he wanted socks. I have one sock done, and I'm not posting a pic til I've finished both. I'm afraid I'll lose my momentum. The Chevron scarf is nearly done, and I told the middle child that I was making it for her. (I decided that for sure last night) She smiled very big and said, "How did you know I wanted it?" Ha Ha! Good Mom Moment! I need to record these. Seriously. Far too easy to forget that I have them.

I have nine things to do today. That's a lot. Oops - call the accountant. Ten things. I was so stressed about this that I was up until 3:00 a.m. this morning. Is this helpful? Not a bit. Plus, when I'm up that late at night, I get to acknowledge that we do indeed have a mouse. Just one, right? Heh heh. And I couldn't find my knitting (!!!), so the Chevron scarf didn't get finished with this idle time. I played the kids Nintendo DS's instead, the Animal Crossing game. It was fun, but even on the game, everyone was asleep. LOL Then, when I got up at 6:00 this morning, there was my knitting bag, sitting in the hallway, bright orange yarn sticking out of it. *sigh* Well, clearly it wasn't meant to be, and if I'd knitted on the scarf, I'd have messed it up horribly. I'm very lucky to receive so much attention from the knitting fates.

Drama club today - ten more practices. Yikes! No, no. It's cool. (Yikes!!!) Deep breathe, deeeeep breathe. They're fun kids, though. I'm enjoying it more than I realized I would, even, and I knew it would be fun. Awesome! Yet again, a fates move in my favor. Karma should even things out with a kick in the pants, but maybe I suffered enough already, and this is the golden time. Let's run with that, shall we? Have a great day! I'll try to have a pic tomorrow!

Welcome to Monday!

Last night I finally got a bee in my bonnet and decided to wash my first spun yarn, single ply, very chunky =) It was fun, but I can see I have oh-so-much practicing to do. I'm hating to use the pretty green roving next, because I still need to work on my technique, but that's the only roving I have, so there! I've got to go much finer, because it expands so much after washing. Goals! I love em.

Here is also a picture of the pretty spindle I bought. It's got inlaid wood, which my husband likes, so asthetically it makes him happy, too!

Other than this news, the new business continues on a pace. We figured out last night that, because our business is on a shared server (cuz we're not making any money yet), we aren't in charge of the backups. To actually retrieve any information from a backup that the service provider performs, it's $150. Yes, that's right. And they don't let us back up our own stuff, cuz we're not paying for a better account. Guess we'll have to fix that! In the meantime, though, ouch! Heaven forbid you actually need to get your information. Boring, ay? If you want cool knitted stuff, go see Arleta's blog. She's been busy crafting for a great cause. You can, too, if you have the time. It's a very sad thing the family is struggling with.

The sun is shining, and there's snow on the ground! It's good to be here in Northern Michigan. It was two degrees Farhrenheit this morning when I got up, but let's not dwell on that, eh? It was a balmy 17 degrees by the time I got the kiddies to school. We were trying to psyche ourselves out that it was getting warmer, but the baby cleared us up on that when I took her out of the car. She said, "It's not warm! Cold!" and she tucked her hands in and buried her face in my shoulder. Yes, dear. You can't fool the little ones. =)

Chevron, continued...

My chevron scarf continues on apace. For some reason, I'm in a bad mood, today and the past several. I don't know. Not enough sun? So when I sit down to this sunshiney scarf, I feel better. And the pattern changes every other row, so I have to concentrate. I can't just grumble and knit tightly. I have to sit and be peaceful. The yarn is really soft, so that feels nice while I'm knitting, too. It is very rare that I get this sort of tactile comfort from knitting. Plus the size 10 needles make it move faster than it ought to, considering how little knitting time I've been getting.

The husband nicely let me hang the scarf on him while he was doing the dishes. So that makes him double nice =). Then the little one said, "Me, too," and even said "Cheese" while I was snapping, even though she was facing the other way. HeeHee. I really need to get the first kid to basketball practice, then maybe sit in the car all by myself and listen to NPR. But what will probably happen is I will take the other two along, get some groceries, and struggle through a play date, what with the lessons on sharing and all. It's all worth it, though, right? Right? Children take care of their parents in their retirement, right? Because if they don't, the little ingrates, my retirement plan sux. I'm smiling. Blogging is fun.

Oh, what a day...

I had such a terrible day yesterday. It was the kind of day when you just want to take a quilt to the couch and pull it up over your head. I was so done with dealing with people, even my own... I was trying to do too much, I think.

First off, I'm new to this working from home thing. I get stressed if the baby asks for something while I'm on a business call. I try to wait for her nap, and hope it's longer than ten minutes. Then someone gets a tad difficult on the phone, when I'm trying to be pleasant, pleasant, pleasant. Not fun, but okay. I take a break to knit. I didn't tell anyone yesterday, but I started the Chevron scarf while knitting with Arleta, and I hated it. It was not Chevron-ing at all. It looks, honestly, like striped yarn. I tried three times there, then took it off the needles and threw away the pattern. I have never done that before.

I tried to open a checking account for the business yesterday, but the girl who has been helping me (the one who's been leading me by the nose) wasn't there, had in fact left for the day, a fact they didn't tell me for twenty minutes. So someone else can help me? I asked. Sure, they said. Have a seat right there. Sat. After a fair amount of "busy time" by the lady, I could come in. She looked at my documentation, agreed it all looked fine, and could I have a seat, she'd be right back. I did not sit down. I was getting unhappy.

She looked and looked, and it quickly became apparent to me that she had no idea what she was doing. Okay, I'm nice. I'm nice even when I shouldn't be nice. (I have a really hard time being not-nice). I explained that I had another appointment, and perhaps I could come back after it, and sign something? Oh, she was relieved. I left my phone numbers (this part's important), and went off to order drama club shirts and pick up my kids.

Back at 3:30, kids in the car acting like maniacs, and the lady is on the phone for a very long time. My kid starts waiving at me like crazy, so I go to see what they need. Nothing, she says. She just loves her new shirt from the t-shirt shop.
........
Lady still on the phone, I leave.

I take a break to knit. In fact, I hate being beaten by a pattern, so I dug the yarn out, recopied the Chevron pattern, and tried again, in an effort to *de-stress* from the phone calling (which I don't like to do, anyway, even without difficult people). The first time I knitted it, it looked like it did yesterday.


So I tried again, with knitting one row and purling the next, thinking perhaps the pattern was wrong about knitting every row. It didn't look like the pattern, although something was now going on, and it was curling.

Then I ripped, asked the kids Oh-So-Nicely to be quiet (yeah, right), as mommy was getting a bit of a headache. I tried again, and it seemed the colors just weren't showing up, though bringing the yarn to the front when slipping did make it look somewhat like the picture. I yelled at the kids again (why do they have to be so loud?), threw the yarn down and went to make dinner. (Perhaps they needed to be fed?)

After the loud dinner, where my daughter cried because I didn't care who got to sit in the favorite seat, as long as someone did, I started getting that couch feeling (see above). I was marginally interested in reading stories, so I got to play a get-out-of-jail-free card and laid on the couch, vegging. When I got up this morning, I realized that my scarf looked like this:


I do believe it's chevron-ing, even if the colors aren't as contrasting as I thought they would be. Must have been why I just couldn't see it yesterday. I like it. It's made from Plymouth Encore washable yarn, and it's soft, soft, soft. And see how happy the kid is? Apparently I don't upset them as much as I worry I do. She seems fine, and even as adoring as yesterday. Phew.

Oh, and finally, here is what happens when mommy works and leaves the two-year-old to do her thing for a bit....



In case anyone has read all the way down this far, I got my checking account today. Apparently the computer was down yesterday (and they could have called me. See why the phone number leaving is so helpful?) Instead of working around the baby's schedule, I brought her in with me today and let her create havoc until they managed to get me out of there. Hooray! Business checking! Today seems to be going better. =-)

A Present! For Me??

Last night, on a whim, I called my mom and asked her to dinner. My excuse was, I already had to go out for bananas and butter, why not throw in a margarita or two? She agreed with me, and I escaped from the children and headed out for an awesome steak burrito and drinks. When I went to pick her up, what did she have for me?



Presents! This is a knitting bag, of her own design. On the outside are nice long narrow pockets, to hold my straight needles all in one place, and on the other side are shorter, slightly fatter pockets to hold the dpn's. (I still haven't found the ones I lost over the holidays) The inside is nice and roomy, lined with a pretty blue, with inner side pockets to hold some skeins of yarn or scissors, tapes, all the usual stuff you can't find when you want it. Not only was this incredibly sweet of her, but she made one for my friend! I'm so impressed/geeked out/humbled by her "Who needs a pattern?" attitude. Very cool. Thanks, Mom!!

I didn't blog yesterday, as I was in recovery from drama club. Ten people wanted to sew, and five people thought they'd give acting a go. That means there were three adults for five kids acting, and, um, me. For ten kids sewing. Some of whom had not sewed before and thought that sewing fast was comparable to race car driving. "I win! Did you see the way I went around that corner? I cut three seconds off my time by cutting in so far - haha!" At least there were no injuries. Some of the kids were very dedicated to doing a good job. It's just that for five seconds I was helping someone pin a pattern down, and when I turned back, a kimono was taking on a new shape. I'm going to see if I can pick out the stitches, but the fabric really frays, so I may just make another trip to the fabric store. I'm starting today, so we'll see.

Other surprising news? I had to get a tax I.D. number from the IRS yesterday, and they were nice, helpful, transferred me quickly to the right department... I had to gear myself up to make that phone call, and afterward I was so happy that I escaped unscathed. The IRS was nice to me! Now, I realize I wasn't trying to explain why I couldn't pay my taxes this year, but still, it was a happy experience. Remember "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" on t.v., and it was the guy who worked for the IRS who won the whole kit and kaboodle? He was so cocky, wasn't he? Wasting his lifeline on the last question, just to inform his dad he was about to win. I thought Regis was going to have some fine words for him, but somehow he held back. (Paycheck, perhaps, or the realization that the guy could have him audited every year for the rest of his life?) Well, I've held that impression of the IRS dude in my head ever since, sometimes just shaking my head as I drove the kids to school. How conceited! How sure of himself! Well, thankfully, he doesn't answer the phone for people who are hoping to start a new business. Phew!

Today will be much the same as yesterday, with me slogging through the house and hoping people will call instead of visit. I'm going to get this place cleared out eventually, I just know it.

What I Did With My Evening

I made a kimono! A practice run for the drama class today, where we will be attempting to sew more of them. I have two spare sewing machines, birthday presents that need to be given a test run, anyway. The sleeves are what make this different, as they go all the way to the floor. This child's kimono took almost six yards of fabric! As it's just a costume, I didn't line it, because that would have been twice the cost, fussy and heavy. However, this satin frays like crazy, so lining it would have been a good thing. I just zigzagged the edges, and it'll work. The flash on this picture is unfortunate, but it's 5:00 in the morning, so there's no sun. Why is my kid up at 5:00 in the morning? Don't know. Sometimes it happens, but thank heavens, not often. She's gonna be crabby by tonight! Oh, and she says to explain that the first picture is her saying "Konichiwa."




The Husband's sock is lurking in the picture, trying to make me feel guilty, but I'm making black-bottomed cupcakes today, cutting out more pattern pieces and taking care of the two-year-old, so Mr.'s sock will get some attention this evening, most likely. I know you'll all realize how easily entertained I am, but I love working on little purple needles. Click, click, click, it just makes me happy.

Well, the early riser is looking bored, so I'll go give some attention there. If anyone has figured out how to clone themselves, would you toss me an email? I'm really desperate for this contraption, and I just know it's out there. Otherwise, how does everyone else make getting things done look so easy? Notice the cropped pictures? Messy house. Help! Cloning Machine! Cost No Object! (That last part's not true, but you tell me about the cloning machine, I'll make you a servant to work off the cost.)