I've been bad with blogging

Hey There! It has been some time since my last posting. I have not disappeared into the netherworld of cyber space. Rather, my time has been taken up with chauffering 2 boys to various activities. I have also been on the hunt for ideas for our kitchen. We are going to be remodeling our kitchen and between scoping out cabinets, countertops and flooring and also getting quotes from various kitchen remodelers, I have not done as much knitting as I would like.

I have worked on a few things--got some rows done on my scoop du jour; a few rows knit on my ballet wrap sweater ( from FCEK Winter 04/05) and of course, worked on socks. I also got my Sockapalooza 2 pals name and have picked out some nice Weavers Wool from my stash---my pal likes wool socks. It is a color called Silverbow---I think it is a nice color to wear with Jeans and also with dressier pants. I have a pattern called Schiaparelli Slipper Sock pattern that I am going to use. I think they will turn out great. I can also use #2 needles for the yarn, which is good since all my # 1 dpn's are in use.

I also got a little stash enhancement this weekend in the form of 4 skeins of Rowan calmer in the Khaki colorway ( which is actually a sagey green color). I got a great deal from Emily at Yarn Miracle--http://yarnmiracle.gweezlebur.com/. Thanks Em! Hope you are feeling better.

I can't post pics tonight---my husband took the digital to work with pics of our kitchen in it's current state. He is sending them to a custom cabinet maker who is going to give us suggestions on how to improve the design and flow of the area.

Happy Knitting!!

Happy Birthday Anthony!!!

15 years ago today at 6:01 pm I became a Mom! Anthony was 21.5 inches long and 9lb 14 oz. He is now about 5'11" tall and wears a size 12.5 shoe ( he is now taller than Grandpa --my dad). He had beautiful blonde curls which he now cuts off in favor of a buzz cut. He has been a challenge a lot of the time but still tells me " I love you Mom"---even if front of his friends . He is a sweet kid with intelligence and humor. He is growing into a wonderful young man. Now, if can only talk him out of wanting to join the Marines after he graduates. Any suggestions??

Happy Knitting

New Puppy Update!

Well, we got a Puppy today. We didn't drive the 2.5 hours to look at German Shepards. We drove 1.5 hours to a neighboring county humane society.

My son picked out a 13 week old Lab/Chow mix. He is a sweet tempered ball of fluff. His name is Dusty. He is soooo cute. He starts Puppy Class tonight and as soon as my hubby gets back from his trip I will post pics of him and also some knitting pics.

Happy Knitting!!

Swatching, Ripping and the hunt for a Puppy!

I spent Tuesday swatching some Cashmere Luxury Aran yarn I picked up with an AC Moore gift card I won a couple weeks ago. I have had my eye on this yarn but needed to wait until they replenshed their stock. It is a really pretty pink ( my favorite color) that is destined to become the Tempting sweater from Knitty. I got gauge on the recommended needles( amazing-- I usually need to up the needle size). I now have about 1 inch done on the sweater.

I have 3.5 inches done on the back of Scoop du Jour. It is going slow as I am not overly impressed with the Cotton Ease. I actually don't like most cotton yarns ( except for Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece which is 80% cotton/20 % merino wool and knits like a dream). I will continue on with the cotton ease however, since I really like the yellow color.

I pulled out a UFO from about 2 years ago when I was still taking knitting classes and ripped it apart. It was supposed to become the " Where's the Opaque" sweater from the Sally Melville knit stitch book. I looked at it and now, with more knitting experience, knew it would swim on me and I would never wear it.

Now, onto the Hunt for a Puppy. We are going to let Anthony (our 14 almost 15 y/o) get a dog for his birthday. We had actually gotten a dog a few months ago 5 month old Rat Terrier/ Chihauhua /Shepard Mix). Unfortunately, he was very aggressive and actually bit me during an Obedience class ( a hard, break the skin bite). So, we returned him. We are going to get a puppy that has stayed with the litter and Anthony really wants to get a Pure Shepard. We may be making a 2.5 hour road trip out to look at some tomorrow. Any dog we get will have to get along with our other dog---my sweetie---Kendall. She is a Collie/ Shepard mix we adopted 2.5 years ago. Our other dog Paige, was getting up in age, and since he was a large dog, we figured he probably only had

another 1-2 years with us. Unfortunately, he only lived about 6 weeks after we adopted Kendall. He got very ill and our vet ran tests and diagnosed liver cancer. He died while doing his favorite activity--going on a walk with his boys. We miss you Paigey!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Good Morning Everyone! I was so excited to see some comments on my new blog! I'm not the only one viewing my blog.

I've been having a fairly relaxed Memorial weekend. We didn't go anywhere because the boys still have one day of school left( making up days missed due to the hurricanes early in the school year and also day missed from snow flurries).

My son Chris had a friend spend the night Sunday and they have been outside the whole time playing in the woods and catching Salamanders.

I got some knitting done. I have worked on some socks and got quite a bit of the cuff on both pairs done and also got about 1.5 inches done on my restarted ( again!) Scoop du Jour. I like it better using the #6 needle instead of the #7. The fabric is firmer but still soft. I also finished the 2nd sleeve of my Klaralund. I need to block it, and then stitch it up. I need to get a new card for the digital camera today so I can try loading some pics. If I don't have my husband show me today or tomorrow, I won't get pics up till next week. Tony is going out of town on Wednesday. He is taking a trip to Michigan (part business, part visiting friends and golfing).
He is going to stay with my rents. We both grew up in the Detroit area.

Happy Knitting!!

The " I can't think of a title " entry

Well, on to my second post. I spent quite a bit of Thursday making a batch of Baklava to take to the Old/New member PTA board dinner ( me being a new member--in charge of Skate Night next school year). I met some nice people there, and offered my services for the Fall Festival that will be held, well, next fall ( Late September/ Early October). The batch of Baklava I made yesterday turned out great. I did have my doubts after I pulled out the Phyllo Dough out of the freezer. I had 2 packages (different brands) and both packages fell apart. I even thawed them in the microwave and I had to take pieces of the dough to layer. I don't think I had more than 2 unbroken sheets in both packages. Oh well!! It worked and tasted great.

Since this is supposed to be a knitting blog, I'll bring you up to date on my knitting projects. I am almost finised with the 2nd sleeve of my Klaralund. I am using Noro Silk Garden # 87. Very bright and pretty. I hope to get the bed in the spare bedroom cleared off this weekend and get Klaralund blocked. I want to get it stitched up and some pics taken so the hubby can show me how to incorporate them onto my blog. Whats a knitting blog without pics of knitting.

I am also starting Bonne Marie's Scoop du Jour in Lion Brand Cotton Ease --Banana Cream. I made a swatch a couple weeks ago and my gauge was spo on with the recommended needles but after I started knitting it, I decided to up the size of the sweater and go down a needle size to get a bit tighter knit. I found some really cute flower buttons from Hancock's which I will show as soon as I know how to show photos.

Of course, I always have some socks I am working on. I have one started in Meilenweit Multiringel # 5090 ( Yellow, Pink, Orange and kind of Rusty Red ). Just a basic sock ( 1X1 ribbing) . I also found a great deal on 4 different patterns of Confetti Sock Yarn on ebay. They are new Spring colors . I got 2 skeins each of 1003,1004,1005 and 1006. I am going to start with 1005 since if has shades of Pink Yellow, Orange and White and will match my Scoop du Jour.

I also need to start a pair of socks in Socotta # 14 ( blue and green ocean colors for a friends birthday---her favorite place is the ocean).

I hope everyone has a Happy Day. I need to go to my sons 3rd grade awards ceremony and then help out at the end of the year party.


Happy Knitting!!!

New Blogger in Town!!

I have just entered the blogging arena and hope to start displaying some of my knits soon!
I am a married mom with 2 sons--Anthony 14 ( almost 15) and Chris 9. My husband and I moved with our sons to Asheville , NC last July after living for 17 years in Lincoln, NE. We love it here!!

I am trained as an RN but haven't worked since 1995. I will probably go back to nursing at some point--I would like to work in the OR eventually.

I started knitting in 2001. I have been addicted ever since. My absolute favorite thing to knit are socks. I took part in the Sockapalooza this winter and knit a great pair of socks for my pal and also
received a great pair.

I will try to post daily and show some pictures ( once I figure how)

Happy Knitting!

Traci