A bug invades and not much knitting...

Yesterday afternoon A3 suddenly started vomiting. The poor kidlet was up all night long and once her tummy was empty she had dry heaves until well into today. I had to shampoo the carpet in her bedroom and wash all of the bedding. The good news is that she's starting to feel better. The bad news is that this 24 hour bug is extremely contagious and my guess is that we'll all take turns hugging the toilet over the next couple of days.

A1 & A2's bedroom has been painted and most of the molding and window framing is completed. A1 wanted purple and A2 wanted blue. The compromise was pale periwinkle with white trim and both beds have purple, blue and green paisley bedspreads. That was the last of the paneled bedrooms. I hate paneling. The laundry room still has paneling, but I don't care too much about that.


There were several inquiries regarding the knitting thimble that I purchased several days ago. The picture was horrible because it was dark and the thimble was still in the package which reflected the flash. Here is a picture of it out of the package I haven't tried knitting with it yet. It seems pretty loose though and it feels like it will spin around while I'm knitting. If this is the case then I'll just resume the two-handed (one and half for me, I'm clumsy) method of fair isle.


The weather was overcast and cool today but there was no rain so I mowed the lawn. Tomorrow I'll work on the weedeating. Well, off to make some popcorn and then the girls and I are going to watch Amadaeus.

A1's School Report

Since Dad's away we posted some pictures for him of A1's display for her report on Influenza. She was particularly proud of her drawings.




A3 has been a real pill these past couple of days. She will look right at me and do something she isn't supposed to do and when I tell her to stop she continues. She keeps running away from me too. Because I was up all of last night with A2 I wanted to rest this afternoon, but A3 prevented this. She ran from one thing to another making messes and getting into mischief. The final straw came when she took my Copaxone injection from where it was warming to room temperature and squirted it all over the floor. Not only are those expensive, but this was dangerous. They all know to never touch my syringes or pills. I sent her to her room while I cleaned up the mess, but before I could deal with her she had fallen asleep. Good thing that she's cute while she's sleeping. Now I know why some animals eat their young.

The end is almost nigh...

Tomorrow is the last day of preschool for my youngest daughter, A3. Today students were allowed to bring their pet to school for show and tell. Because our kitties do not tolerate car trips well or enjoy being man-handled by hoards of small sticky people they were granted pet day amnesty. As a result one of our chickens was bestowed with the honor. Auditions were held and the competition was fierce, but in the end Raven's beauty, talent and congenial personality made her the obvious choice. Actually, she was the only one I could catch. All went well and she's back safely with her chicken sisters and has probably forgotten her adventure already.














I started another pair of socks for the Christmas basket. This pair is from the leftover "Purl's Delight" that I dyed for the charming and effervescent PoMo Golightly. They weren't supposed to stripe! Darn it anyway.

This afternoon I had to make a much-dreaded trip to WalMart. I really hate going to that store. Anyway, because the girls and the chicken weren't with me I wondered over for a gander at the Red Heart and Novelty Yarns. About the only fiber there I'd consider knitting with would be the Peaches & Cream cotton for dishrags. Anyway, this tool caught my eye so I picked one up. Most of you who frequent LYS's have probably seen these before, but most of my fiber comes via the internet so I hadn't. I'm planning on making a fair isle pullover with some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and maybe I'll give this a try for holding the yarn. For the last fair isle I tried the Philosopher's wool two-handed method.

Tonight is A-1's Girl Scouts' Awards ceremony. I also have to make a main dish for A-3's last day of school potluck. Aack, that means another trip to the grocery store, we have nothing here that other people would eat! Cheers all.

Another pair for the Christmas basket!

I finished off another pair of socks today for the Christmas basket. My goal is to make socks for almost everyone and have those destined for overseas recipients out by the end of September so I don't have to pay a fortune in shipping.

Sometimes I forget just how pale I am until I see body parts luminescing back at me in photos. Yikes! All part of living in western Washington.

So here's a dilemma that I'm sure many of you face or have faced. What do you do with all of these leftover bits of sock yarn? I don't want to throw it away, but combining some of the colors and different types of sock yarn would make for an ugly and uncomfortable pair of socks. If anyone has any ideas or can suggest a pattern then I'd be extremely grateful!

20 things I love about knitting

Gina over at Sleepy Eyes Knitting has asked her readers to post their lists of 20 things that they love about knitting. After reading others' lists I doubt mine will be as insightful or creative. But without further ado and in no particular order:

1. I'm nervous and knitting gives my hands something to do. The bonus is that because it's usually productive I don't feel guilty for being idle.
2. I have something to show for my efforts. Unlike housework, which is never done, especially laundry. And some of the net results can be used for presents.
3. The ability to make a wearable garment provides a mental challenge (okay, maybe not for some people, but I've never been very good at math).
4. If anybody ever tries to mug or molest me (it could happen) I'm always armed with a sharp and potentially hazardous weapon.
5. I can passively irritate my husband by knitting. Passive annoyance, it's kind of a Ghandi thing.
6. Knitting is portable.
7. I love the different colors and textures of yarn.
8. My Grandmothers both taught me to knit and it makes me think of them.
9. I can't sing or dance and this makes me feel like I'm not such a loser.
10. It's a nexus to others throughout the world.
11. No two projects are the same, so it's always new.
12. I grew up on a farm and although we never had sheep, (are goats close enough to sheep?) knitting appeals to my inner hick.
13. It's warm and comfortable to knit during inclement weather.
14. I can make anything from Willy Warmers to baby clothes using the same tools.
15. I'm teaching my girls to knit and someday maybe they will enjoy it as much as I do. Then at least we will have that in common. After all, I doubt I'll be thrilled with future boyfriends, probable tattoos and the inevitable piercings, but I'll always be happy with what they create.
16. It's less expensive than scuba diving and not as dangerous as sky diving.
17. You can talk, eat and drink while knitting.
18. I have a new reason to visit eBay.
19. Yarn is small and pliable and therefore new purchases can be stashed in a variety of locations without detection.
20. I have a reason to dye my own yarn and it's as much fun as knitting!

Now back to my knitting!