Monday, January 31, 2005

crabby...

Today was a Monday and a half. Too busy and too many crankypants people at work (although I did chat with two nice knitters) and though the evening was nice overall, it ended on a grumpy note. Harrumph. Have sent two emails to my secret pal, but I don't know if she's gotten them. Boo hoo, poor me. (smirk smirk) Have started a practice piece on circulars for the first time, and I'm not sure that they like me or I them, but I suppose I should go further than the cast-on row to find out. Got some buttons up, but I don't think they link. As Charles Schulz so eloquently put it, *sigh*.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Thursday is a crazy, lazy day..

Harry Nilsson was right. No bosses at the office made it an enjoyable noshing-on-bagels-and-slurping-java morning, and the rest of the day was uneventful. Hometime now, child abed and time for knitting. Weekend seems to have filled up with Brownie meetings and spring cleaning/rearranging. Hoping to get time to attach a lovely SP4 button to the blog. To quote me mum, "We'll see..."

Monday, January 24, 2005

secretpals4 quiz (yay! a quiz!)

Joy! Rapture! Soon I will have a secret pal! Looking forward to finding out about said pal and finding delightful things to forward to her/him. Work has been not-too-awful of late, and I am actually starting to work on a publication I've been asked to assist with, so all is good in my little desert corner of the world. Got out and did some yard work yesterday, and aside from being viciously attacked by a pyracantha bush (it was provoked, as I was pruning it rather severely), I came away with my usual post-backyard-work glow. Hummingbirds are busily feeding on the gnats in my compost pile, even if the compost isn't turning itself into a worthwhile substance. I mean, maybe by the next ice age it'll be "black gold", but who are we kidding here? Anyhow, it's feeding the birdies. I did take my knitting to the park yesterday while Marion scoured the place for playmates. Still working on her "spring" poncho, and I'm getting the blackberry stitch (tho I'm calling it the "Marionberry" stitch) down pretty well. Here's the SP4 info:


1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? natural/wools & cottons are my favs
Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? gosh, no!
2. Do you spin? not yet....Crochet? a bit, yes
3. Do you have any allergies? just narrow-minded humanoids
4. How long have you been knitting? just about a year, I guess
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no, but I'll gladly take any Lachenael english concertina e-bay has...
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) cotton! mints and citrus, mild vanilla's ok, too
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? no, all of them favor sweets. dark chocolate and nuts are yummy
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? doodle, crayon, paint, make wire jewelry and wirethings, garden, sing, bake (especially bread, if it isn't 9 million degrees outside)
9. What kind of music do you like? real rock (Who, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, ELO), classical, blues
Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) think so
10. What's your favorite color? grey
Or do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? greys/greens/browns-foresty colors, but I'm getting partial to wine/maroon/dark purples as I age.
11. What is your family situation? married, one 7-year-old girlie
Do you have any pets? a Welsh springer spaniel who is NOT a show dog and an old cat who's losing teeth
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) to raise a happy, independent child into a cool, happy woman, to stick with my darling redheaded man forever, to travel as much as possible to all corners of the globe with people I love, to evict President Skippy from the White House
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? not been at it long enough for brands, but WOOL IS GOD, cotton is almost as good and better for my hot area of the planet
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? probably polyesters or slick acrylics
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? trying to find something easy enough but cool enough to make for ME!
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? again, the newbie thing. I've done a dishcloth, 3 scarves and a poncho, and a hat that came out way too big. still impressionable.
17. What are you knitting right now? a special thingie for my secret pal and a scarf for my best friend on the planet
18. What do you think about ponchos? don't know if I'd make one for me, but they're easy to do and my girlie likes them (someday she'll look back at the pic of her grinning in the first one and scream at me for making her a bath towel to wear, but as for now, I'm a cool mom ;)
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I like both, but use straights more often.
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? ooooh, easy one. Bamboo and birch GOOD!
21. Are you a sock knitter? not yet, but am willing to try
22. How did you learn to knit? I asked my mom and found a couple of great books (wish I'd done it sooner, but it's that "right thing at the right time" theory I love to espouse)
23. How old is your oldest UFO? don't have any (yet)
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I'm a birder. Always have liked raptors (birds of prey like hawks and such), but the little ones are pretty cool too. Had a big exciting moment in southern Mexico last December when I saw a vermillion flycatcher (OOOOH, RED! PRETTY!)
25. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween. BOO!
26. Is there anything that you collect? elephants, things with pretty leaves or leaf patterns, small boxes

Thursday, January 20, 2005


My hero... Posted by Hello

Frog for Jackie 12/04 Posted by Hello

Aimee in her scarf! Posted by Hello

Aimee's flag scarf 1/05 Posted by Hello

Nearly Friday (yay)

President Skippy's coronation is tonight. I'm avoiding the telly and working on some long overdue tidying of my oh-so-cluttered bedside table. Lots of thingies from the recent trip to Oaxaca with most of the other ladies in my family (such a lot of fun), drawings from my childie, and some less useless stuff as well. Have begun a smaller poncho for Miss Marion, but only working on it sporadically as it seems to be spring here in Arizona. Boo, I want more rain and cold weather. The sooner it's lovely here means the sooner it's intolerably HOT here. *sigh*

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Wednesday night note

Musn't dally too long here, but I am pleased to announce that the flag is done! I'll likely try to post a photo in the next few days when there is a teensy bit more time to dabble in that. Also got some nice shots of the wire frog I made for a friend for Christmas, they may just appear as well. It's supposed to be raining here, but it isn't. *sigh* At least it isn't hot yet. Looking forward to participating in the secretpals 4 exchange. Looking forward to the weekend.

Monday, January 10, 2005

In the beginning...

Good evening all. Welcome to my blog. I'm not quite sure where I want to start, so I'll pay credit where credit is due. Thank you Knitty.com! You make my heart pound and my pulse quicken to see the fabulous thingies other knitters have created and designed, for heaven's sake! It gives one hope. I am finishing up a scarf in a flag motif for a friend whose hubby is in the Army Reserve. She is almost never without a flag on at least one garment, so I'm adding to her collection. I really should be finishing it up right now...but I'll go soon. I have proudly finished a dishcloth, one long and one short scarf, and a poncho for my kidlet. I have also saved all my beginner pieces to make into a Franken-blankie at some point in the indistinct future. For the record, I also love to doodle, garden, birdwatch, make thingies from jewelry wire, and go places other than here. More on this story as it develops......