42 stitches

Countdown to Grandkids

2010-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I had to laugh at my son yesterday. He and Brooke bought a family car (otherwise known as a Chevy Equinox.) I never thought I'd see the day that my son - the one that had to have a sports car - would be driving a family car.

They recently had a photo shoot in Galveston - check out the great pictures! I just wish my daughter was here so I could get similar shots of her and Aaron.

Three more weeks and we will be grandparents. I can't wait to meet Parker and the Schneiderling (since we don't know the sex of Sharon's baby - this has been his/hers nickname during the pregnancy.) I can't wait!

blessings ~~ Mary

Love this quote

2010-06-06T11:59:00.001-07:00

"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." - Will Rogers

In Grandmother mode

2010-05-05T11:26:00.001-07:00

Cuddle Me,
originally uploaded by Denebir.

Starting the knitting with this blanket. I'm using Berroco Comfort in worsted weight which is heavier than the pattern called for. Details are on my Ravelry account.

Off to the mountain

2010-04-03T07:57:00.001-07:00

Well, if it won't come to me, I guess I'll have to go to it :)

Monday morning at 7:30am I'm leaving on a jet plane for Little Rock, Arkansas. From there I will journey up to one of my favorite place - Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton AR. It is about 2 hours NW of Little Rock.

This state park holds some precious memories for me. Over 20 years ago my family would meet at Petit Jean in the summer for a reunion. We did this about 4-5 times. It was great to get my parents, all 3 of us kids and all of the grandkids together for a week. The children ranged in age from around 2 up to about 10 years and with 7 of them around, it was always fun! We hiked, roasted marshmallows, swam in the pool, played cards with my parents and ate, ate, ate!

1986 - First summer. Left to right:
Cathy, Chris, Lindy with Sarah, Bill, Michelle, Mom, Dennis, Amanda, Dad, Erin, Tony, Me
I have no idea where Sharon and Fred were?

1986 - Sharon, Cathy, Tony, Amanda, Michelle, Erin
(missing Sarah who was only 2 at the time)

1986 - Sharon

1987 or 88 - at the base of the falls:
Erin, Michelle, Dad, Cathy, Sharon, Bill, Amanda, Tony and Fred

And now, 20 years later, I am returning alone for a personal retreat. I have one of the rustic cabins reserved and plan for 4 days of rest along with hiking, reading and just glorying in the splendor of the Lord. It will be a time when I can have uninterrupted time to pray and reflect on the path that my Lord has set on my heart. (Plus read the pile of books that Fr. Craig sent along!)

On Thursday I will journey back to Little Rock to meet with the Dean of the Anglican School of Ministry where I have been accepted as a student in their diaconate program. This has been a journey that I've been called to for a long period of time and with a lot of prayer and discernment, the time has come for me to follow God's lead. Pray for me!

:)
~~ God bless
Mary

Change of directions

2010-02-26T08:08:00.001-08:00

Long time since I've posted! Wow lots of things have changed ... all for the better. So what is going on you ask?

-I'm still knitting a little. I always have a sock on the needles and now I have a couple of sweaters also. I find it a good activity while watching TV. But since I don't watch TV much anymore, the activity gets little attention. Except during the Olympics!

-I'm still quilting a little. I'm in the process of gutting my sewing/office so that the floor can be replaced. Once that is done I'll be rearranging things and moving the mid-arm machine and frame out to the loft so that I can set it up to the full 12 feet instead of the 8 feet it currently is set for. This will give me more room in the sewing portion of my studio to actually sew and more room in the office section.

-I'm quitting my job at the end of March. I've loved working for the Bernina dealership but I've got a new direction I'm heading and working just doesn't fit into the path. I will miss my friends and customers but not having to be at the shop all the time. I might work fill-in and teach a few classes.

-I'm going back to school. Details to follow but I'm certain that school is in my future for the next 18 mos to 2 years. This will be an interesting path as I've not taken any college classes in 15 years and graduate level classes in over 30 years. And the degree path is so different from my science background. I'm not sure I can remember how to write book reports and in-depth papers! But I will have help .. LOL.

So, I'll keep you guessing as to what I'm up to for now. I can say that this has been a decision that has taken a lot of discernment and listening to the Lord. I'm excited and scared but at peace with the decision. God is calling me to serve Him and His people and I can't ignore Him anymore.

till later ~~ Dene

Five on Friday

2009-07-31T08:44:00.001-07:00

Well, since it is obvious that I've neglected this blog for way too long, I'm going to strive to post at least once a week and see how that goes :)

Since last Friday,
1) I've had to put my dear cat Starkitty to sleep. He had been battling diabetes for a long time and had been on insulin for over a year. We had 12 good months with just a few setbacks but he began to decline this month and when he stopped eating and drinking over the weekend, I knew it was time. We spent some time together saying goodbye late Sunday evening and I sent him on to better things on Monday morning. He was and will always be my "heart kitty".

2) I actually embroidered 2 things! Small things .. LOL. One was a small cross that I digitized on a piece of church linen and the other was an apron for our church's cook. I did work on digitizing an applique but could never get it right so a co-worker had to show me how. I learned some new things!

3) I persued a new serving opportunity at church. I can't talk about it at this point because there is still some people I need to discuss it with but I'm excited. I've been praying about it and hope that I'm discerning God's voice correctly. It is still in the very early stages but I'll keep you informed.

4) I found a china pattern I *LOVE* and put it on my Amazon list .. OK kids - have at it! It is totally not something I would have normally picked but I find it so appealing. It is called "Chirp" by Lenox. I have china that I received when I was married but never really have loved it like I do this stuff. And I never have the need for china .. but you know, it is a girl thing :)

5) Lastly, I got to talk to my daughter in Thailand. She had called on my birthday about 2 weeks ago but then she called again to relay her sympathy about loosing Starkitty. It is so good to talk to her and realize that she is OK half way around the world. I am so glad she is going to get to come home for the wedding in October and I'll get to spend some time with her.

OK .. small start to posting :)

till later ~~ Dene

View of a Room

2009-03-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

My sewing room just got crowded with the addition of a new machine. I am now the owner of a HandiQuilter 16 with a Pro-Stitcher on the Studio Frame. I only have it set up for 8 feet right now but eventually I'll have to find the room for the last 4 feet of frame.

So here is a peak of my sewing space:

This is just half of the room - the other half is my office which is too messy to photograph right now. If you need a legend of what is what, click the following picture to embiggen:

And some detail photos:
This is my new machine - HandiQuilter 16 with Pro-Stitcher computer. Yes, another windoz machine has invaded my sewing space. This machine was a store demo that I purchased - I've actually been demo'ing this machine at work for 7 months and I finally bit the bullet. I've sewed one small quilt on it using the computer. It was made with old fabric and is now a "dog quilt" - Curley loves it :)

This is the wall where I expanded the shelving to accommodate all my magazines, UFOs and other stuff. The drawers have fabric and yarn in them. Please note the sleeping cat in the box. Also of note are the fridge and coffee pot. I may never go downstairs again .. well, yeah I will - no shower up here :)

Said sleeping cat (CH Denebir's Xandria aka Andi):

Every quilt room needs an empty box for a cat. I also have a quilt on top of the Isacord cabinet for the cats to lounge on in the afternoon when the sun hits that window.

Now I'm waiting for my Bernina 830 to come in. I have the table, all the accessories, etc ... but no machine yet.

till later ~~ Dene

From Little Green Men to UFOs

2009-02-02T07:44:00.001-08:00

In the process of cleaning up my crafting area(s), I keep finding UFOs (Un-Finished Objects). My goal for the last 25 years of my life is to finish all projects and start fresh.

:::: Pausing for those of you who know me to stop laughing ::::

I won't even go into my quilting projects but some of the knitting projects that were started were painfully close to completion so I had a good short-term goal to aim for.

First off are the Seaweed socks that lacked only ribbing on one sock and a cast-off for both socks. Since these were toe-up, I had been looking for a cast-off that I liked. I settled for EZ's sewn bind-off edge and it seems to work better than others I tried. I'm still not totally happy but I'll keep searching for a favorite toe-up cast-off. The socks fit wonderfully and I'm looking forward to wearing them soon.
Specs:
Pattern: Seaweed Socks by Wendy Johnson - WONDERFUL pattern :)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock in Alabaster colorway purchased at The Hook and Needle in Bryan, Texas
Needles: Size 0 double point
Notes: toe up using Turkish Cast-On and EZ's sewn bind-off

Second were the Leyburn's that I actually started in January. I joined the Socks That Rawk group on Ravelry and this pattern was the current project. I used a skein of lightweight Socks that Rock that had been languishing in my stash since I don't wear much green. Plus it was a colorway that hadn't been claimed. I probably would have picked something else but for that last fact. But it is good to get it used.
Specs:
Pattern: Leyburn by PepperKnits
Yarn: Socks that Rock by Blue Moon Fiber Arts in the County Clare colorway
Needles: Size 1.5 double points
Notes: Cuff down using 72 stitches, 35 on flap heel, 18 pickup on gusset. I modified the pattern so that is came to a point on instep and did not repeat on the foot of the sock. I like smoother fabric on the foot section.

Third is a charity project that I also started in January. I had seen the Shedir cap pattern on Ravelry but didn't want to have to buy that expensive skein of Rowan Calmer to do the hat. So I tried it with Cascade Fixation with great results. I can stand doing a bit of cabling ... this hat was just pushing my patience when it was done so perfect. This hat will go to a local hospital as a chemo cap for a cancer patient.

Specs:
Pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade Fixation (used almost entire skein) in Red (3628)
Needles: Size 3 circulars, knit using the magic-loop method
Notes: On the small size - would go up to size 4 needles if I knit again with this yarn. The cap is soft and very stretchy.

Next up .. a shawl that is almost long enough to bind off.

Specs:
Pattern: Lacy Ripple Shawl by Cathy Hardy - I received the pattern from Debbie Macomber
Yarn: Berroco Comfort (color 9807) purchased at Twisted Yarn in Spring TX
Needles: Size 8 bamboo straights
Notes: I love the color and feel of this yarn. Very fast knit. I'll post final pictures when done.

That's all (whew!).

Till later ~~ Dene

Little Green Men vs Cats

2009-01-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

The carnage on the window ledge:

The culprits:

Nikki (CH. Carriag's Unique Etoile of Denebir) and Andi (CH. Denebir's Xandria) both seal point Birmans

The verdict? The cats won.

Till later ~~ Dene

Powerful message

2008-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Invisible Woman:

till later ~~ Dene

Nothing but "no net"

2008-08-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

I'm infatuated with the summer Olympics! I love it all except for an sport that involves a net. I started reviewing which sports I'm watching and realized that if the sport involved a net, I wasn't interested. Very strange. No basketball, volleyball (beach or otherwise), hockey, badminton, or table tennis.

I love the swimming (except for water polo which involves a net)! Go Michael Phelps! I'm amazed at his accomplishes and hope he can win the remaining 3 golds he is going for. And wasn't Cullen Jones just the cutest?

I love the gymnastics although I think China's gold in the woman's team event is tainted because there is no way these athletes are 16 years old. Shawn Johnson is amazing and so positive about herself and her team. And I ached for Alicia Sacramone when she fell off the beam. The guys were amazing! I was upset when Raj Bhavsar didn't make the original team but cheered him on as the guys won the bronze against all odds.

I love the equestrian events and was thrilled that Gina Miles won a metal. And even the Kayaking and Canoeing events are super - Love the Togo kayaker that won the bronze - the first for his country.

So that is what I'm doing these days - watching the world compete against each other. My Olympic knitting is a pair of socks that I ripped back half way last night after realizing they were too long (toe up). Have I mentioned that I don't like knitting toe up *sigh*.

till later ~~ Dene

Egads!

2008-06-22T14:10:00.001-07:00

It has been over 2 1/2 months since I've updated the blog. Life comes at me fast sometimes.

Let's see - biggest news is that I'm no longer episcopalian. On April 20th, about 80% of my church family (over 500 people) took a stand against the national church's abandonment of Biblical principals and walked out of Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Tomball Texas. We quickly formed St. Timothy's Anglican Church and this is where most of my time has been going since then. Since we left all of the church's physical property, I've been working on sewing new things for the church including acolyte albs. I've also embroidered over 100 polo shirts to sell for the building fund. It has been a very busy time but also very fulfilling to see God's hand working in our church family and the community of Tomball.

The other big news is that I just returned from vacation. I'll post vacation pictures once I get them uploaded to Flickr. We went up to Mt. Rainier for a few days (in the middle of a snowstorm) and then on a 7 day Alaska cruise (in the middle of unseasonable clear weather). It was a great cruise and we managed to pick great excursions this time and saw amazing things.

But .... what the heck???? We were on the Celebrity Infinity which was decorated in modern art everywhere.

On the stairway landings there was art stuck in a little nook - each stairway was different. Example - there was this and this:

And then there was this!

Let's look closer:

Art of a guy holding a Pfaff sewing machine? So much for getting away from sewing machines on vacation!

But on the other hand, I found quilt shops in 3 of our ports and came home with fabric for several quilts and small projects. I also found yarn in 2 ports and bought lace and sock weight yarn dyed by local artists. Stash photos to follow.

Till later ~~~ Dene

New project to add to the list

2008-04-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm weak....

While browsing around on fabric sites, I spotted this project and my credit card suddenly started to vibrate which meant that I *had* to buy it. What I'll do with the wall hanging afterwards, I have no idea but I'm sure it will find a home.

I saw 2 of these quilts stitched up at the Dallas Quilt show - one in red and one in blue. I purchased the kit to do the red version. They are cute and the motifs can be used on other things. I'm not sure I will set it together the same was as illustrated but probably will. It is redwork so will stitch out quickly.

The machine embroidery designs and the fabric were purchased from Lollipops Designer Bindings. This company packages their premade quilt binding as a "lollipop" that is very creative and cute.

You can see a better picture of the project here.

I've not accomplished much in the past 2 days - maybe the weekend will spark my creativity :)

till later ~~ Dene

Roof Kitty

2008-04-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

This month we celebrate the 14th year of living in our home in the woods NW of Houston. When we bought this house and the surrounding 4+ acres, our family consisted of 2 adults, 2 kids (12 and 15 years old) and a dog, Abby. The lady selling the house had 2 outside cats that she couldn't take with her so we inherited them with the stipulation that the owner have the cats tested for leukemia and vaccinated. One of the cats was positive and the owner chose to have it put down (it was aged) and the other, Sylvester, came to live with us.

I had 2 cats when we married in 1975 - my beloved Rigel and Deneb. Perceus joined us within months. After the last of these loves passed on, my dh declared that there would be no more cats in our house. Having Sylvester, though, opened that door and what an opening that became.

Within a month, we obtained Tweety. My son and I were buying catfood one afternoon and there was a lady outside with a box full of kittens. The typical "Mom! I'll feed it! It can stay in my room! You won't have to do anything!!" arguments followed and a little, yellow striped girl kitten came home with us. Well, of course the kitten didn't live in my son's room and I ended up feeding it and changing the litter boxes but a new member of the family was welcomed. She was an inside/outside cat and got along well with Sylvester.

After Tweety came to live with us, Goofy, Stella, Sandy, etc. along with a parade of other animals including Sugar the horse, Curly the dog, Daffy the duck, Oreo the pig, Frisky2 the hampster (don't ask about Frisky1) etc. came to reside at our abode. Over the years, all these animals have either disappeared (in the case of most of the outside cats) or passed on... except for Curly the dog. And the other group called the foo-foo kitties joined us starting in 1997 - I started raising and showing Birman cats. After 4 years, I stopped but still have 4 Birmans as inside pets.

So recapping, we now have in this house 2 adults, no kids (yeah!), 13 yr old dog Curly, 4 inside Birmans and believe it or not, Tweety the little orange cat that is now 14 years old. After the show cats came to live in the house, she moved perminantly outside. How she survived being attacked by all the critters in these woods can be summed up in one phrase - she became a "roof kitty".

Whenever the weather is not too terribly hot or cold, you can usually find her on the roof of our house. There is a tree growing along side that she is very adapt at climbing and that is how she gets up there. From the loft, I can access the roof over the den and she is usually there next to one of the skylights. She loves for me to open the window and give her a good scratching. We do feed her in the garage and leave it open for really cold weather but this little scrapper of a cat is our sole survivor of all the outside cats. Love this little girl. The last picture of her was taken a couple of days ago at age 14.

till later ~~ Dene

Klutz and Christmas Pillows

2008-04-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

I was such a klutz last week. The day after I sliced off a bit of my thumb I got my middle finger of the same hand caught in the bobbin of my machine.... don't ask ... dumb mistake. Anyway, I had 2 fingers bandaged and then singed a third on that hand using the pressing sheet with the iron.

Did I give up? NO! (call me stubborn!)

Result of the last 4 days of sewing (and also don't ask why I'm doing Christmas in March/April!)

These pillows are designs from the "Star of Wonder" embroidery set by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart. They are put out by OESD but I've not been able to find them on the internet. They were available at my local sewing store It's a Stitch.

Close ups:

Bethlehem - the first and probably the hardest one to do in my megahoop due to the constant repositioning of the hoop during stitch out.

Wise Men - I had a little trouble on the color of the final camel. The design called for Isacord thread but because of a delay in shipment by a company that won't be named, I had to use my collection of Medeira thread. The software converted the colors but somehow the final camel translated into a not-so-lovely green color. I had to change him back to brown.

Shepherds - this was by far my favorite of the pillows - wonder if it is because I love sheep?

Nativity. So sweet with the cow and sheep :) Joseph turned out a bit greener than I wanted though.

Gloria - can't have a heavenly event without at least one angel. There are 2 more in the set but 5 pillows is probably enough to round out a set.

I have more fabric and may do some more pillows for gifts once my Isacord thread arrives. It will be interesting to compare the stitch translations between the 2 brands.

I've been learning more and more about the embroidery machine as I use it. I had to laugh because at one point, I set up my Bernina 153 machine and was sewing pillows together as the 730 stitched out designs. It was quite a production.

I stitched out a "Welcome" bouquet design that was part of a class - will photograph once I get it made into either a pillow or a small quilt.

till later ~~ Dene

Attack of the rotary cutter

2008-03-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

In my many, many years of quilting ... after using a rotary cutter since they were first introduced (in 1979), I've finally had my first serious accident. Envision a new sharp blade, a distracting podcast, a tired quilter who had spent the morning doing a software lesson, and ... well, you get it. I'm very lucky that I only sliced the very tip of my thumb off and won't have any permanent damage. It is hard to sew now, though. I've not tried knitting.

The project was a digitizing exercise using the applique tools on my Designer software. I was finishing the project when the accident happened. Here is were it is at the moment - binding to be added tomorrow.

Now, after looking at the design carefully, I've decided my "leaf" is so misshapen that it actually looks like a thumb - Freudian slip? Not sure how or if I will fix it :)

Anyway, this was one of those learning projects and I think I learned more than just the program - like KEEP YOUR BODY PARTS AWAY FROM RAZORS!

till later ~~ Dene

Life is too short ....

2008-03-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

To read all the blogs I subscribe to ... ACK!!@@@!!!

 
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

I just checked my Bloglines feed and found I'm subscribed to 123 blogs and have 1,625 unread posts. This is split between several categories (and I know it doesn't add up but I'm not counting again)

Knitting blogs: 78
Quilting/embroidery blogs: 12
Church blogs: 5
Travel/Technology/ Misc blogs: 17
Cooking blogs: 8
Photo albums: 2 (family)

The only reason there are more knitting blogs is that I've been following knitters longer than any other category. I find I'm adding more quilting and embroidery blogs lately and taking some of the knitting ones off.

But *REALLY* - do I have time to read all these?

till later ~~ Dene

Done Dogs

2008-03-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

The embroidery on the Calico Dogs quilt is done. I still have to put the back on both and quilt. I'm glad to get the embroidery behind me as that was the time consuming part.

Notice that one little doggie got turned around :)

till later ~~ Dene

Keeping the Past Warm

2008-03-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

I've been working hard on getting 2 quilts done for babies that are now 8 and 6 months old. I won't talk about the one that is 2 1/2 years old and still doesn't have her quilt. All it lacks is some handwork to tack down the binding.

Anyway, I finished up piecing the 2 tops while waiting on this:

And after they both were pieced, I marked the blocks for embroidery. I need the chalk lines to be able to center the designs in the embroidery hoop - not an easy process since the tops will already have the batting in place.

Oh, and why wait on the box? Inside was the thread I needed to do the embroidery. Behold the lusciousness of thread (all you non-sewers can be excused now).

After 3 days of embroidery, I have the Sunbonnet Sue's embroidered in place and the top is ready to back and do the quilting. (click to embiggen)

And I've started on the calico dog quilt - the sample motif is pinned over the top to give me an idea of what it will look like. At the time I was taking pictures, I hadn't started the actual embroidery but now have 5 done. More pictures later.

And yes, I know it was suppose to be the gingham dog (vs. calico cat) but I don't have any gingham scraps and I'm trying hard not to buy extra fabric. So the kid will be scarred for life for having calico dogs :) I love the 30's reproduction fabric and these projects have reduced my stash of this type of fabric by a little over half. I still have 2 more quilts to make using this fabric.

I'm trying to get all my embroidery out of the way so that I can take my machine in for an overdue spa treatment and firmware update at my Bernina dealer later this week. I'm heading up to Dallas on Thursday to attend the Dallas Quilt show so wanted to have the machine in before I leave. I can do the quilting part on my backup machine.

Till later ~~ Dene

Delectable Mountains Quilt

2008-03-05T11:23:00.001-08:00

Project details
Pattern: Delectable Mountains (Quilt in a Day publisher) by Eleanor Burns
Size: 68 inches square
Fabric: various cotton prints
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom 80/20
Details: Free motion machine quilted in a rose pattern with a leaf border design. The rose design was chalked on using a stencil before quilting.

This was a "languishing" project from about 2-3 years ago. Originally, this was to be a shop sampler for a now out-of-business quilt shop. The top was easy to cut and assemble using Eleanor's special ruler and there wasn't much challenge to the piecing. The quilt has actually been almost done for about a year - I just needed to get the binding on it which is what I just completed. I used a rose print in the center for extra interest. Detail (click to embiggen)

I used the top to do a test run on a friend's HandiQuilter 16 sit-down machine that was on loan to me for a year. This is a small long arm machine that sits flush in a table and you move the quilt under the needle for the stitching. Although it did a nice job, I don't think I'll be purchasing the machine in the future. I'm just too spoiled by stitch regulators which it lacked. I'm not real happy with my freemotion skills and my inexperience shows in the quilting on this project.

I think this quilt will end up on our living room wall for now. I need to put a hanging sleeve and a label on it first.

Till later ~~ Dene

Embroidered Table Runner - Class Project

2008-03-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

I took a class at It's a Stitch to learn how to embroider on quilts using my Bernina. Although I already knew the basic concepts, the class was fun and it was great to interface with other quilt and embroidery fans. The project was to piece a 3 block table runner and then use the embroidery module to do the 'quilting' part of the project You can't really see the design in the blue section of the piece but the blue contrasting thread on the yellow turned out nice. The thread was King Tut 40 wt which I purchased at the Houston Quilt Festival at the Superior Threads booth. The fabric was from my stash. Overall, a fun class and I actually FINISHED something!

Till later ~~ Dene

Hankie Blankie Pets

2008-03-05T10:08:00.001-08:00

The Bernina Dealer (It's a Stitch - Champions) had several of the Hankie Blankie pets made up as store samples and I fell in love!

The fabric is Minkee which is a super soft, cuddly knit that make perfect baby items. I wish you could feel how soft this mini-blankie is. The face and lettering were done on my Bernina 730e.

Not having any grandkids (yet), I made one for my niece's baby Ian. I also have a kit for another that I plan on making for a friend at church. I think I'll do the dog next time.

till later ~~ Dene

Savannah Socks

2008-03-05T10:05:00.001-08:00

Finished!

Project details:
Pattern: Savannah Socks by Lisa Parker. Published by Wildhorse Farm Designs
Yarn: Opal Uni in turquoise
Needles: size 1 bamboo double pointed.

Easy knit with the lace just on the cuff and the ribbing extending down the instep for a good fit.

Much better ... but still

2008-03-05T08:54:00.001-08:00

The top is pieced with the mistake corrected ... but then I find others that are not quite in the right place. But you know, I'm leaving it as is. The Sunbonnet Sue appliqué on the right is what will be added to the large white boxes once I get it marked and the batting on the back. I'm trying a new technique where I put the batting on first, do the appliqué and then add the backing and finish the quilting. This will give some dimension to the appliqué without the 'ugly' side showing.

It is a bright sunny day in Texas and should be in the lower 70's today. I am going to try to get some of my finished projects photographed and posted.

Till later ~~ Dene

What's wrong with this picture?

2008-03-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Current progress on first baby quilt. The top 1/3 is pieced with the other 2 strips partially pieced. No matter how long you stare at something, inevitably you miss something "major" or at least you think it is major since you know it is there and your eye goes to the mistake immediately.

This quilt is random scrappy blocks. It sounds easier than it actually is because you don't want the same piece of fabric grouped together. I stared at this setting and totally missed the error. Can you see it? Check here:
Still can't see it? Try this:

Yep, the same fabric 4 times in one row. Arrrrrgh! (stop laughing Lauren and Pat!)

So, I'll do a bit of "unsewing" and insert 2 different blocks to make up for my mistake. But that will be tomorrow after I get some sleep. I can be taught not to tackle mistakes when tired!

BTW - the larger white blocks will have Sunbonnet Sue embroidery in them eventually :)

till later ~~ Dene

Quilting

2008-03-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying quilting again and spending way too much time and money on the embroidery module of my Bernina. I'm also taking loads of classes and making new friends. I'll post some pictures of my completed items soon - I'm on a roll!

What I accomplished this weekend:
Wait .. those are the trimmings :)

Try #2:
These are blocks for 2 baby quilts done in the 1930's reproduction fabrics. On one quilt I'll embroider Sunbonnet Sue's and on the other baby motifs. The embroidery area will be 8 inch plain blocks framed with these quarter square blocks.

You might wonder about the pile of trimmings. I like my blocks to be a perfect size and thus I cut my fabrics just slightly larger than I need them to be and then trim once they are sewn into blocks. For example, for these quarter square triangles, I should have cut the fabrics 5.25 inches for a 4" finished block. I instead cut them 5.5 inches and then trimmed them exactly 4.5 inches when pieced. This ensures that the quilt top will lay perfectly flat when seamed and I won't have to beat any blocks into submission to make them work. At least that is the theory.

I've finished a Delectable Mountains quilt, a pair of socks, a shawl and a table runner in the past few weeks. Another baby quilt is just lacking tacking the binding down. I'll get the camera out soon!

till later ~~ Dene

DisneyWorld 2008

2008-02-19T08:22:00.001-08:00

Fair warning - this post is going to be picture heavy. You can click to enlarge any photo or just go to my Flickr site to see these and all the pictures I took on vacation.

We arrived at the Contemporary Resort at DisneyWorld on Thursday evening, February 7th, after a nice trip out on Continental (both of us were upgraded to Business class - YEAH!). There was a cheerleading competition being held and the plane was full of skinny high school girls which was interesting.

First stop was Magic Kingdom Friday night and since the park was very crowded, we didn't do many of the rides or shows. We took the train around the park, walked through the shops on Main Street and headed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We took the river boat ride, ate dinner and then waited for the fireworks.

We saw Princesses:

Whoever thought up the idea of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a marketing genius - there were little princesses all over the place! I can only imagine the amount of money spent on princess gowns and hair extensions!

We saw Pirates:
Along with heavy marketing of Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow was everywhere!

We saw parts of the Electronic parade twice!

(if you can't tell, this is part of the Little Mermaid section)

And the fireworks:
We actually saw the Magic Kingdom fireworks 3 times. The first was Thursday night from the 4th floor observation deck at the Contemporary Resort. They were impressive but we could not hear the music that the fireworks were timed to so it wasn't as impressive as seeing them in the park. We were able to do this Friday evening. Then on Sunday evening, the best show was from the top floor of the Contemporary Resort in the California Grill where we had perfect seats and could see everything along with the music which they piped in.

Then on Saturday evening, Fred's company chartered a bus and took us into the backdoor of Epcot so that we could have dinner in Norway and dessert in China (likely combination!) The dessert was served on a reserved section of the lake's edge where we could see the Epcot fireworks that evening. Very impressive and heavily ladened with environmental messages which I find amusing given the amount of fire they were putting out for the show! Since the group assembled were all environmental engineers, it made for a lively discussion.

Sunday was spent at Animal Kingdom where we made a bee-line to the African safari ride to get fast-passes. It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed the park's many animal exhibits and the safari ride (though a bit corny, they did have good animal exhibits). We also went to the Finding Nemo stage production and Fred's favorite Disney show/ride which was "It's a Bug's Life" found at the base of the tree in the center of the park. And of course, the parade through the park which was very well done. After dinner at the resort's restaurant, we were very tired campers!

Monday was spent at Epcot where we crashed a space ship with the help of Gary Sinese at the Mission Space ride, saw Nimo again at the Seas exhibit (MINE! MINE! MINE!) and got shrunk at the "Honey, I shrunk the audience" 3D show (which wasn't as good at the bug one at Animal Kingdom.) We then headed into the World Showcase and made it all the way around the lake. It was a lovely day but we were tired by the time it was all over. It was nice that the monorail ran back to our resort so it was easy to get back.

We returned home on Tuesday, coach (ick) with a plane full of similar skinny high school cheerleaders. It was a great trip, very relaxing and fun!

till later ~~ Dene

Dene .. now that you have survived FLU HELL, what are you going to do?

2008-02-05T17:21:00.001-08:00

I'm going to DisneyWorld!! We leave on Thursday and will be there 6 days. I'll post pictures once we have internet connectivity in Florida.

Till later ~~ Dene

5 Vultures

2008-01-25T15:19:00.001-08:00

you know you are really sick when you look out your back window and see 5 huge vultures lurking in your yard. I wish I had my camera but that would have entailed me climbing a flight of stairs which at the moment isn't possible. Nasty flu.

till later ~~ dene

Up next

2008-01-19T13:33:00.001-08:00

The last pair of socks that are on the needles are the Savannah socks. I've started several different socks using this yarn until I finally settled on this pair. The cuff is very stretchy with the lace ribbing. I continued ribbing down the instep for better fit.

(as always - click to embiggen)

Project details:
Pattern: Savannah Socks by Lisa Parker. Published by Wildhorse Farm Designs
Yarn: Opal Uni in turquoise
Needles: size 1 bamboo double pointed.

After this pair is done, then I can do some stash diving to find the next pair. It will be nice not to have any UFO socks. Not that I don't have plenty of UFOs, though! I'm also working on some sweaters and lace projects.

Last night, I set up the embroidery module on my Bernina 730 and stitched out this appliqué:
This is a test stitch-out - I've never machine appliquéd with this machine before. I learned several things with this including the need to use spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the stabilizer. Also, heavier stabilizer will be needed to keep the stitches from shifting (see issue with boy's sleeve). I have 12 files to do all 12 months of sunbonnet kids (this was February obviously). I hope to do a quilt for my grand-niece.

Till later ~~ Dene

Completed

2008-01-19T13:29:00.001-08:00

The Not-Inside-Out Socks! are completed.

Project details:
Pattern: Inside Out! by Kaci Kyler Hays. This pattern was part of the Rockin' Sock Club that was offered by Blue Moon Fiber Arts.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Medium Weight. Color Lagoon
Needles: foot on size 0 and cuff on size 2 US
Modifications: I didn't knit the cables on the cuff as they made the sock too tight and I could not get it over my heel. These socks were knit toe-up using a garter stitch short row toe and heel. The foot was knit on size 0 and the cuff on size 1. Since I didn't change the # of stitches you can really see what effect needle size can make on striping of the yarn. These socks are nice and thick - very 'cushy' yarn.

till later ~~ Dene

A is for .....

2008-01-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

Abstaining. So many of the knitters whose blogs I read are participating in an ABC along. I tried in 2006 and didn't make it very far (I just looked - I made it to E and then abandoned the project). So I'm abstaining from the pressure to do a blog post about something every 2 weeks that starts with a specific letter. I do enjoy reading the posts and experiencing the creativity, but I'm sitting this one out.

Finished are the Not Inside Out socks and I'm working on the last pair of UFO socks that were on needles. I'll post progress as soon as the sun returns so I can get a decent pix.

till later ~~ Dene

Still digging out the UFOs

2008-01-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

Another project started last year and now finished! I present:

Ringwood Pattern sock

Details:
Pattern: Pattern: Loosely based on the Gentlemen's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern by Nancy Bush. Found in Knitting Vintage Socks.
Yarn: Opal Handpainted color #13
Needles: Size 1 bamboo double points
Started: sometime in 2007, finished 1/11/2008

I love the pattern, I love the yarn but hate the color. The red/greens/golds and browns in this yarn appear 'muddy' except in certain light. I'm glad these are done and out of my UFO pile.

I rummaged around in the UFO box and dug out the next pair of socks to work on. I give you:

The Not Inside Out! socks.

Pattern: Inside Out! by Kaci Kyler Hays. This pattern was part of the Rockin' Sock Club that was offered by Blue Moon Fiber Arts.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Medium Weight. Color Lagoon
Needles: foot on size 1 and cuff on size 2 US

I liked the pattern until I hit the cuff and all the cables. This pulled the cuff in so much that I could not get the cuff over my heel. If I moved up to a size 3 needle, I lost the stripes and got horrible color pooling. So I ripped back to the heel and moved to a size 2 needle with a straight k2 p1 rib.

I hate the color btw which is why they have been languishing in my UFO pile. I just need to knit the second sock to finish this pair out.

I also pulled out a newborn sweater that just lacks sleeves. I'll post project details soon.

till later ~~ Dene

I can dream can't I?

2008-01-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

I noticed on my bloglines page that I have 125 blog feeds that I follow. Wow! no wonder I don't have any time lately. Most are knitting blogs but there are also categories for church issues, technology, travel and quilting. But the favorite category are the food blogs I follow. I can't eat most of what I see, but it is fun to dream about homemade oreo cookies or maple banana bread! So that you can enjoy along with me, these are the ones I follow:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks! This site has wonderful homestyle cooking with fantastic step-by-step photos and instructions. I want to live in her kitchen!
Smitten Kitchen another site that has fantastic step-by-step photos and instructions. Home of the homemade oreo cookie recipe.
Cookie Madness OMG - this site has sinfully tempting recipes.
Cupcake Bakeshop Ditto for cupcakes.
Cooking for 2 Great site for adult-type recipes for those of us empty nesters.
Slashfood News about food. Great for links to other sites - most of the ones I've found came from this site.
Serious Eats Another news/trend blog.

Any suggestions to add to the list?

till later ~~ Dene

Neverending project list

2008-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

I've pulled out 2 more knitting projects to work on. Both were started last year and are about 60-75% done.

First off is a prayer shawl I'm knitting for our church's Prayer Shawl Ministry. I've completed 8 pattern repeats so far and think it will probably take 11 to 12 to finish. As is, it takes me about a half hour just to do one row since it increases each row.

Specifics:
Pattern: Alix's Lace Prayer Shawl by Myrna A.I. Stahman.
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool - I love the subtle variegations in this yarn.
Needles: Size 4 Addi Turbo circulars

Also dug out of the project box is a pair of socks that are about 75% done.

Specifics:
Pattern: Loosely based on the Gentlemen's Half Hose in Ringwood Pattern by by Nancy Bush. Found in Knitting Vintage Socks.
Yarn: Opal Handpainted color #13
Needles: Size 1 bamboo double points

I like the pattern and the yarn but have a hate/hate relationship with the colorway. The yarn has reds, browns, greens and golds and close up in the right light just makes my heart pitter-patter, BUT the yarn comes across muddy in most light and from a distance. I've tried about 4 patterns with this yarn only to frog the project because the colors pooled or just didn't fit the pattern. I finally decided to just knit it up and live with it.

Till later ~~ Dene

First FO of 2008

2008-01-08T08:43:00.001-08:00

My first finished object for 2008 is the Waving Lace socks for Joan:

Project details:
Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark. Found in Favorite Socks from Interweave.
Yarn: Regia Bamboo Color 1065. Purchased from Twisted Yarns in Spring Texas
Needles: Size 1 (2.25mm) bamboo
Size: Generous 7.5 US Womens
Notes: I knitted the socks exactly to pattern with the scalloped top. The pattern was easy to memorize after a couple of repeats and easy to knit. I would recommend!

Also progress has been made on the Mary's Own quilt:

The 16 blocks have been pieced together and the top is now 72x72". Since it is square and not large enough for a king bed, I have some decisions to make as to how to finish it out. I believe I'll add a plain border with 4 more pieced blocks as a pillow topper at the top of the quilt. I don't have enough of 2 of the fabrics (the darker brown being one of them) but I have other fabric that is 'close'. I'm going to go ahead and piece the additional blocks and then see how it looks.

till later ~~ Dene

What's on the design wall today

2008-01-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

Taking a peek today: (as always, click to embiggen):
Making progress on the Mary's Own quilt. The quilt is made up of 18" blocks and will be set 4x4. There are actually two blocks that are mirror image of each other. I've finished 8 of block A and am working on the 8 block B's. Using your imagination, you can sort of see what it will look like :) The blue fabric pinned to the design wall is a possible border - I've pinned it up there to audition.

The Waving Lace socks are about 2/3 of the way done. The recipient was over last night and tried on the finished sock. They fit perfectly so it is all speed ahead on finishing these up hopefully this weekend.

My life is settling down into a less hectic routine. We had our small group over last night so yesterday was spent cleaning and cooking. I made a huge pot of beef stew (turned out yummy!) and strawberry pound cake for dessert. I even hung some pictures which have been sitting on the floor since the remodel was done 2 years ago. I keep reminding myself that small baby steps is best.

Today I had lunch with a former co-worker. Had fun and it was good to catch up on quilting projects and family.

Now the huge question today is .. what is worse to watch on TV... political coverage or Brittney Spears being loaded into an ambulance? *sigh* I think I'll watch DVDs.

Till later ~~ Dene

Making progress

2007-12-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

Seems I'm making some progress in certain areas that had been woefully neglected in the recent past. Getting things organized is creating some sense of order and well-being that I've missed. Good way to end this year and start a new one!

Up first is an update on the Waving Lace Sock. I've finished the first sock and have cast on for the second. These may or may not be ready for the recipient to take these home on Thursday - I'm not making any promises.

Notice the project list over there <----- on the left? Well, the next project isn't anywhere on the list. I looked at all the quilting projects in the baskets on my shelves and decided I felt like piecing something that was already started but put on the back burner. So I grabbed one of the bins containing UFOs and found "Mary's Own".

I had started piecing this quilt several years ago (2004?) but only had 2 blocks done and only part of the others cut. I had run out of one of the fabrics and the quilt shop had to order more. By the time it came in, I had lost interest in the project and had put it aside. I know you can't see much of it from the picture - those are my strips ready to pieced together. The quilt was designed and named for me by Marcia Hohn over at Quilters Cache. I'm a pattern tester for her and she knew I loved neutrals. Thus this pattern was born. Check out my blocks from the link on the second page of the pattern.

One of the items I insisted on having when I moved up to the attic room was a design wall. Mine is a 4' x 6' piece of wall foam insulation covered with a flannel sheet. This is what is pasted on it today:

More UFOs! Not that I'll do any of these any time soon, but it is better than an empty wall. From left to right -
- Blue/Yellow star design that was the product of a class at Houston Quilt Festival 3 or 4 years ago. I can't remember the instructor - that is how forgettable this class was!
- Tessellating Star quilt top from a class with Liz Porter of Fons and Porter also from 3 or 4 years ago. The top is done, just needs quilting but I didn't know what pattern I wanted to use. So staring at this for a couple of weeks has given me time to decide how I want to quilt the top.
- Accidental Landscape - Beaches - small wall hanging from a Houston Quilt Festival class this year with Karen Eckmeier. I also know how I want to quilt it, but just have to do it :)

I've also been cataloging my yarn stash over on Ravelry. Since the site is still in private beta, you can't seen the fruits of my efforts unless you are a member. Suffice it to say that I have so far yarn for 98 pairs of socks and I'm not even done cataloging them yet! If you are a member, look me up under Denebir.

Till later ~~ Dene

More waving

2007-12-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite classic movies "I Remember Mama" was on TBS last night and this gave me an opportunity to make significant progress on the Waving Lace socks for Joan. I've now turned the heel and am working my way down the instep. I've stretched the sock out so that the lace is visible. (As always, click to embiggen)In the mail today was a future project - counted cross stitch Santas from The Prairie Schooler. I ordered the patterns, canvas and floss from ABC Stitch Therapy and received wonderful service. I'm not sure when I'll fit this project in but hopefully can get at least the 2007 Schooler Santa done by next Christmas.
I spent most of the day cleaning up my old iMac computer that has a full hard drive. I moved all the podcast subscriptions over to the MacBook and deleted a bunch of email. The drive is still at 90% so I have some more archiving to do. Also on my 'clean' list today was my sewing area. This is in advance of a sewing blitz that I hope to start soon to finish up some 'almost done' projects.

Till later ~~ Dene

:::: Waving :::::

2007-12-27T10:11:00.002-08:00

My current project: Waving Lace Sock

This is the sock that I promised to make Joan as part of the gift exchange with my church's small group. I took a bag of yarn to the party and allowed her to pick out what she wanted. She choose a pinkish Regia Bamboo sock yarn and left the pattern up to me. I had trouble selecting a pattern that would show against the busy-ness of the yarn.

(as always - click to embiggen)
Specifics:
Sock Pattern: Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark. Found in Favorite Socks from Interweave.
Yarn: Regia Bamboo Color 1065
Needles: Size 1 (2.25mm) bamboo
So far, I've knit the sock as written with the scalloped edging. The yarn is lovely and has a nice sheen. It is a bit 'splitty' but not bad at all. I hope to have these completed by January 3rd.

till later ~~ Dene

It was a Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T12:39:00.001-08:00

A very blessed Christmas occurred in our home this year. With a frantic few days trying to get everything ready with very little time, it turned out to be a good time.

As I mentioned, we went to a Christmas dinner on Thursday 12/20 at a friend's house. This is a creche they had set up in their bedroom - I just love the innocence and the execution of the scene in clay.

For the gift exchange, I offered one gift of a Yankee Candle in the Jack Frost scent and also a certificate for one pair of hand knit socks. The socks were snatched up quickly! I received a most unusual and wonderful gift of a reindeer made from turkey wishbones and wool roving. I'll take a picture soon. I love it! The pies turned out OK - the lemon was a bit bland (need to add rind next time) but all was eaten.

Friday I spent getting the cards out and Saturday we went shopping and put up the tree. The cats approved and have since started the demolition :) Below is our lilac-point Birman, Tia, pretending to be a present.

Midnight candlelight mass was wonderful this year with spectacular music and fellowship. It is my favorite service of the year at church (Good Shepherd Episcopal, Tomball).

Christmas was very relaxed despite all the cooking. Brooke (my son's significant other) was ill and they delayed coming over until about 11am. This is the latest we have ever opened gifts as the kids usually are up at dawn wanting to tear into them. My son was so funny when he opened the unexpected helicopter toy - he was just like a child. It was all fun - I even got a Nintendo DS which was on my wish list. Got to love a son who shares your gadget-itis.

Dinner was fine with ham, sweet potatoes, and the required noo-noos and krinkies (Mac & Cheese with French fried onions). Heaven help me if I don't serve this every holiday!

I'm hoping you and your loved ones had a super holiday. I'm busy finishing a few knit projects and starting socks!

till later ~~ Dene

Let them eat PIE!

2007-12-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'm going to a Christmas party tonight with a group of 5 couples and I'm to bring the dessert. Normally, I'm a great dessert maker but lately I've had to modify my recipes to cut the sugar out and I'm finding it difficult to get the same results.

So I give you:

The Christmas Pies

On the left is the mandatory (at least according to my husband) Cherry Pie and on the right is a Lemon Meringue. I found the recipe for both over on the Splenda site. I have my doubts about the lemon but we shall see.

The bags hold the goodies for the gift exchange which is the first year we have done this. Should be interesting. I'll reveal contents tomorrow in case there are wayward eyes looking in.

For my first day unemployed, it was busy. I started the day at church for morning prayer and then did lots of errands including the post office (BIG surprise - no lines!), grocery and Vets. I know .. really good blog content there. The best thing was the hour I lounged while listening to the latest This American Life. Life goes on and the sky didn't fall in today. So all is good.

till later ~~ dene

"Are you bored yet?"

2007-12-19T19:55:00.001-08:00

This was a question a co-worker asked me 10 minutes after I signed off from my job for the last time this afternoon. I'm still giggling and also tearing up. This was a hard decision and I'm still not 100% convinced it was the right one. After you have been with a company for over 9 years, it is just hard.

As I enter unemployment/retirement, I don't know what is ahead of me. For the first time in many, many years, I don't know what I'll do tomorrow. Well, I sort of - I need to get Christmas packages sent, make pies for a party tomorrow night and do some housework (watch out cats - that litter box is going to be scrubbed!). But the pressure of effecting the bottom line of a company is now off my shoulders and that sort of feels good.

So, here is to waking up at whatever time I want to tomorrow! No more client calls at 7:30am :) Wait - I have morning prayer at 7:30am - *sigh*

till later ~~ Dene

Wow - I created something!

2007-12-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

Not much but at least I worked with some fabric :) This cute folded star ornament was super simple and great for scraps! Pattern is on the second page of the Folded Fat Quarter Stars found on the Acorn Hill Quilts site (middle of free pattern page).

There is a button on each side so they can be reversed. I can see making more of these for the tree and I have tons of scraps!

And I feel sane making these .. LOL!

till later ~~ Dene

Sanity pending

2007-12-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

December 19th it will commence :) Reason? My last day on my job is the 18th.

More to come later but I've been making lists of projects I want to do in my head for when I have the luxury to decide my activities during the day.

till later ~~ Dene

Ravelry - First impressions

2007-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

After exactly 2 months waiting for an invitation to the beta release of Ravelry, Sunday was the fateful day when I was finally able to log into this much-hyped social networking site for yarn-people. As a veteran of social networks (it is my profession you know) I was very interested to see what the buzz was about.

First impressions were very good! Navigation takes a bit to get use to but is pretty intuitive. This is important - you should be able to get where you want to go without reading directions on how to navigate. I enjoyed browsing different users, projects and yarn.

So all was going great until .. yeah, here is where the shoe drops .. I go to fill out my profile. Again, really nice interface until I get to the profile question "Fave curse word" ... excuse me? On most social sites, if you leave a field blank it will not show so I try that. No luck .. that question still on my profile.... insert grumble.

So this is what I put and I feel very strongly about profanity and cursing on the net:
I really don't like having this field on my profile as I don't like seeing profanity on the web. I don't think it is needed on a crafting site.

I know I cannot keep people from using curse words on the net - I'm not that Pollyanna - but to encourage it is another matter. On blogs, if the author uses what I consider too much profanity, I have the choice to not view that blog - I had to do with one of my favorite bloggers. But on a site like Ravelry, I believe promoting the use of profanity is inexcusable.

I am hoping the owners of the site remove this profile field before releasing the product out of beta.

till later ~~ Dene

Someone with too much time on their hands ...

2007-06-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

But truly amazing work anyway. Go see here

Happy Memorial Day

2007-05-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

Flag quilt - more here

This is the first Memorial Day since my Dad passed in February. He was a member of the U.S. Army and served in WWII. He didn't talk much about the war and his time over there but I know it had a dramatic impact on his life. He married my mother shortly before he deployed overseas and I have a picture of him looking at her picture while in Europe. By God's grace, the one time my Dad volunteered for an unknown duty it was the best job he could have been given. My Dad drove Jeeps during the war and was one of the safer options given that he was often on the front lines in Germany and France. Dad kept up with his Army family over the years and even went to some reunions later in his life.

On today, I remember my Father and the service he performed, not as a duty to his country but as a honor to serve to keep us all free.

Till later ~~ Dene

6 months

2007-05-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Is how long I've been gone from blogging. Various reasons - too many to detail but suffice it to say, it has been a strange year :)

But, I want to re-invent this blog so some changes are coming. First off, I'd like to move off Blogger. But to do so, I need to have my web server move me from a very archaic server onto a new server so that I can use Typepad. I tried to do this last summer but ran out of steam mid-effort and just let it die. If they won't do what I want, then it will be time to move to another web server.

Second, I'd like to ditch my www.denebir.com site and move my blog there. I've not updated that site in years (maybe 3-4 years?) and all of the content is dated. Most of the links on the cattery page are broken also. So, organization is coming .. I hope!

It is funny that I still get people asking for kittens. There must be a site out there that still lists me as a breeder. I know I plainly state on my page that I am no longer a breeder but I think I just need to take the whole cat thing offline.. LOL.

News on this end. I'm still knitting, though not as much. I have about 6 pairs of socks started along with a sweater and a couple of shawls. I have a yarn stash that will last me for years and the good thing is that I've not bought any yarn this year other than what I receive from one sock club I belong to. My goal? Keep knitting!

I've also revived my quilting bug. I found a new shop in our local town I'll talk about in another post soon and it was good to be back in a quilt shop. I bought a few yards of a white TOT and some fat quarters of repro fabric for a niece who is expecting a baby. A friend and I have tenative plans on meeting on Thursday nights when they have their sit and stitch at the shop.

I've moved my office and sewing/knitting studio upstairs. My son *finally* bought a home and he and his girlfriend moved at the end of February. He was living in our upstairs "apartment" - long room (14' x 47') with a half bath and a separate entrance from the garage along with an entrance from the loft. So, this space became mine once he vacated it. I've repainted it a soft medium minty green with white accents and am working still on the lighting and wiring. I bought new office furniture and have moved everything up from my old space (spare bedroom 14' x 14'). One half of the room is my office for work and the other half is a sewing/quilting/knitting area. They are separated with 2 reclining chairs and a TV. I love the space but I've still got a lot to do before it is truly finished.

Other news, I've been traveling. Both coasts and 2 spots in between. I was in Dallas most of February when my Dad passed and I was up there again for mother's day. In the last month I've been also to California, Boston, and New Orleans. All of these were for work although I did have some relax time in New Orleans and got to see a lot of the tourist spots. I leave again June 3rd for a week's cruise to the Western Caribbean. Should be fun!

My husband has been gone for 7 weeks with his job and will return this Thursday. This is a special day since it is also our 32nd wedding anniversary. Although I can talk to him almost every day (he has a direct line into Russia), it will be wonderful to have him home to snuggle with. It has been way too long. We are waiting to see what the job market shakes out as to if he stays home a while after the cruise or not.

Well, enough rambling. I promise pictures and more detail on events and knitting/quilting content soon.

Good to be back in blog-land.

~~ Till later Dene

I'm still around

2006-11-16T05:10:00.000-08:00

Busy but I leave you with St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

till later ~~ Dene

I Stalked the Stalker ....

2006-09-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

But I did not stalk the deputy ..... Sing with me!

I know I've been gone way too long but I blame Stalker Angie. You see, I *SCORED* several weeks ago by stalking the famous Knitter Stalker when she came to Katy. I was waiting for her to post her story because .. well, she tells it better than I could ever do it.

So from my perspective
.. she was late but that didn't surprise me.
.. I was waiting in ambush and she did look surprised to the point I almost thought I'd made a false ID on her.
.. she didn't remember who the heck I was. I had stood behind her in the Harlot line in Austin but we were separated by about 5 other knitters and really didn't converse. But I knew who she was because I'm a fabulous stalker .... errr... Stephanie called her by name.. LOL.
.. this gal loves yarn! We pawed through a lot of yarn in Yarntopia and she forced me to purchase enough cotton to make a lace shell. Yeah, talk about twisting your arm - STalker Angie can do that.
.. she is lovely - one of the nicest person you could know. Check out her blog report - I totally agree with her perspective. There are no ugly knitters!
.. And yes! we do need to get together again next time your in this neck of the woods or I'm in yours.

So anyway, what else have I been up to? Well... one word - work! I won't go into detail but there is a certain nameless client that is driving me bonkers. So not much knitting time. But what I have done is finished a bunch of projects. I took stock and I had 10 pairs of socks started - oy! TEN pairs! I decided to dive in and finish the ones that at least had one sock done. I finished 3 pairs that way. Pictures pending.

Then "that urge" happened .. NO, not that one - husband is overseas - the one where you just got to start something new. I found the Forest Canopy Shoulder shawl on Susan's site and knew I just had to dive in. I had several skeins of Mnt. Color Weaver's Wool Quarters in my stash so I grabbed a color called LadySlipper and cast on last Friday. It is a quick knit and I would have been done with it by now but I decided to use up all the yarn and added some body repeats. It is truly a one skein wonder. Pictures pending (yeah, I know, I'm lazy about shooting them).

That is about it. I've been doing really good about getting up at 6:15am every morning and hitting the church for morning prayer and then walking for exercise right afterwards. Now if only that box of Cheez-It would stop calling out to me *sigh*.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Best-est Pal!!

2006-08-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

OMG - I received my package from my swap pal for the Knit Socks Kit Swap. I couldn't believe who had my name! Uli from Canada whose blog is here, had my name and she sent some super stuff. I'm just blown away!! I've been reading her blog since late last year and followed her through the birth of her son and all the things Little Miss does - I feel like I know her :) It is so special to receive a package from her.

Click for larger

So, I know you can go to her blog and find a picture, but I had to do my own. As you can see, I received 2 bags. The larger one is just perfect for packing several projects for long trips and even though I usually don't like green, I love this color of green and the stripes are slimming - LOL! The smaller bag is in my favorite colors of blues with yellow. I have an entire bathroom done in these colors. I have already been using the smaller bag to hold the Opal yarn that she sent. As you can see, I had to cast on immediately with the Brittany Birch DPNs she sent. The pattern is one she wrote for me and is spectacular! It is called 'Chain Link Socks' and looks great in the red Rottweiler Opal yarn that I can't get here in the states.

I also received 2 skeins of Regia stretch. I've done a lot of socks in Regia but have never used the stretch before so I'm quite excited. She sent a pattern called 'Esther' that is just beautiful. Also included is a box of orange tea that will be so refreshing chilled during this heat wave. There is also a cute cat calendar and a green chibi!

The most special things in the box were the hand made stitch markers and the beaded lanyard for the stitch counter. Uli made the stitch markers and they are just beautiful. And Little Miss helped to bead the lanyard - it is simply wonderful and I will think of her every time I wear it. I also thank JR for being good so that Uli had time to put so much thought into this package.

Thank you again Uli and Little Miss :)

till later ~~ Dene

Sock Kit swap

2006-08-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Update for theKnit Sock Kit Swap - I finished my pal's bag a while back and had it felted - I just finished putting the straps on today. Here are the before and after felting images:

Pattern: Booga Bag from Black Sheep Bags
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Color 159 - 3 skeins. Purchased from Twisted Yarns in Spring, TX
Needles: Size 10.5 Denise circulars
Love rating: 6 <3's

The pattern is cute and the directions were really nice. I found out that I don't love felting which is OK. I'm glad I tried it.

Included in the bag is:
Socks that Rock medium wt in the color Rose Quartz. Purchased at Coastal Yarn in Cannon Beach, OR.
Needles: Crystal Palace 6" bamboo DP's in size 1; Brittany Birch in size 2
Chibi
Lantern Moon sheep tape measure
Keychain Sock Blocker with sock directions
Sample of Soak Wool Wash in flora scent
Copy of Here There Be Dragons sock pattern. I finished this pattern recently and just loved it so I bought another copy to send to my pal. The upscale socks should be perfect for the medium weight STR.
Plus some eatible goodies :)

I hope she enjoys it.

Till later ~~ Dene

It's SHOCKING ....

2006-08-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Pink !!!
A lovely pink scarf for the Summer of Lace.
Pattern: Mountain Streams Scarf by Susan Pierce Lawrence - also available here!
Yarn: Freza Kid Mohair (85% Mohair, 8% Nylon, 7% Polyester) - gift from Susan (thank you!!)
Needles: US size 6 Susan Bates Silvalume circulars. Not my favorite needle but when you are stuck in a place where there are no yarn shops (Mesquite Texas), you make do with what you can find.
Love rating: 9 <3's

This is the first time I've worked with mohair and it wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. The pattern is wonderful and very easy to follow. The scarf is not difficult but I would not recommend it to a new lace knitter. Now I just have to find cold enough weather to wear it.

The other pink thing I'm working on is what has been labeled the ugly sock yarn project. I belong to a sock-a-month group (Twisted Socks) at my local yarn shop,Twisted Yarns in Spring Texas. The shop picks a yarn, pattern and you get a brown paper grab bag so you don't know what color you are receiving. The first project was the Anne socks I posted back in June and I loved the yarn, the pattern, but not the color. The July project was out of Claudia's Handpaint and the pattern was Y2knit's Lace Rib Socks. I wasn't thrilled about anything in the kit. The yarn is 100% merino wool so I have my concerns about how long it will wear. The pattern is OK but with the color that I ended up with (Fresia) it looked awful. The yarn looked like someone had taken pink, purple and lime Skittles and tossed them into a blender.

I tried and tried to get it to look good .. even trying a child's size .. and it still looked awful. I even complained to the shop which is something I rarely do. But since I had already balled the yarn, there was no exchanging it. I learned to ask before I wind the yarn.

Anyway, this yarn has been the bane of my existance and I was about to toss it out but I decided to try a simple stockinette anklet and see how it looked in a smooth pattern. It is a world of difference! I still hate the color (the acid green/yellow is just not my thing) but they will make a nice charity pair for CIC. What do you think?

When I went to pick up my August kit, I grabbed a bag out of the basket and opened it to find some lovely Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Flathead Cherry. I love the color! I then found out they had put aside a bag just for me so I would not end up with a 'bad' color this time. I went ahead and kept the Cherry and am still wondering what color was in the bag. But thank you gals at Twisted Yarns for thinking of me :)

Not that there aren't problems *sigh*. I put the yarn on my swift and counted the number of 'rounds'. I then divided in half and wound that many into a ball. I then wound the rest into another ball. That is my usual way of dividing a skein exactly in half. But ... I found 2 knots in the skein and some places that were thinner than the others. Plus some places where it looked like the yarn had been spliced. Not at all the standards of Mountain Colors. And the balls did not weigh equally. But seeing that I complained last month, I decided to just settle in fear that I would be labelled a trouble maker. I do love the color, though. The pattern is Mountain Colors Leslie's Double Eyelet Socks. I've done this pattern stitch before but can't remember where but that is OK. I tried something different and cast on toe up using the Magic Loop method. Should be fine.

Till later ~~ Dene

Dragon sighting

2006-08-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

First off, WELCOME to everyong coming over from the Harlot's blog. I'm blown away that I was mentioned - thanks Stephanie!!

I have fallen head-over-heels in love with a sock pattern. Check out Theresa's Here There Be Dragons Socks. I did the upscale version and loved it so much that I cast on a second pair before I even finished the first. (click for larger)

Details: Here There Be Dragons Socks - Upscale Version
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy - color Sapphire
Needles: Size 2 bamboo DPN
Love Rating: 9 <3's

The only thing I didn't love about the sock was the 'stretchy-ness' of the yarn. The 100% cotton just doesn't stretch and I knew that to start with. They fit snug but I can get them over my heel so that is a big plus. I started another pair with Cascade Fixation hoping to solve that problem. I also added a garter stitch cuff to the top to help with the curling. I think they will be a super pair also :)
Even Nikki (mother Birman) likes them cause they match her eyes.

till later ~~ Dene

I also Quilt

2006-07-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I know that all of my blog in the past 6 month concerns knitting, but I also quilt. I use to quilt a lot, now not so much. But I have so many UFO's to count so now that the remodel is finished, I decided to dig out something to work on.

First up is a top that I started maybe 2 years ago? It is my own design and only lacks the outer borders. I plan on doing a few flying geese in the corners and the rest will be the blue print. Can you tell I like Americana colors? You can see more of my quilts on my very out-of-date web site . OMG - I just realized I haven't updated that site in 3 years .. shesh!

I also pattern test for Quilters Cache. Marcia has ~~threatened~~ promised to put me back to work this week :)

Till later ~~ Dene

Harlot Trek

2006-07-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

What a great day! After getting up at 6:30 am after a night of little sleep (that part wasn't great), I was off on a trek to Austin from my home NW of Houston. It is about a 2.5 hour drive so isn't that bad. I had a book-on-iPod to keep me entertained. My mission was to attend a lecture and book signing by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee the Yarn Harlot. It was her only Texas appearance on this book tour so I just had to go see her. (All pictures are clickable for large).

I arrived in time to get great seat in the Baptist church across the parking lot from Hill Country Weavers, the host for the event. I had to smile since Stephanie spoke at a Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque on Thursday and here she is now in a Baptist sanctuary. That didn't deter her story about willie warmers, though :)

I had to take a picture of her taking her picture of the audience with her sock. That blurry black thing in the front is my sock. Stephanie's talk was hilarious, full of her wit and wisdom (wait, not sure about that one) and was well worth the drive to hear her. She loved Austin's motto: "Keep Austin Weird" which about sums up the city.

Afterwards, I was lucky enough to get in the second group for the book signing. It was great to actually talk to her and tell her my cute story about Black Sheep Gathering. Oh? you haven't heard that one? When hubby and I were checking into the hotel in Eugene last month for the fiber gathering, the couple checking in before us asked why all the hotels were taken. The clerk replied that there were several conventions in town including one called the Black Sheep Gathering. They asked what that was and the clerk replied that she thought it was some group of bad motor cyclist dudes. I didn't correct her.. LOL.

Anyway, the sock and I had fun and got our picture taken with Stephanie and her sock. BTW - this is my 3rd Trekking sock for the summer Trek Along With Me knit-along and is in color 104. The second pair attended also but were on my feet so didn't get in the picture :) I'll post pics of them once they are washed and photgraphed.

The Hill Country Weavers is a fantastic shop. VERY crowded after the lecture but less so after lunch. I am on a bit of a fiber diet so all I bought were a set of Brittany Birch needles for a swap and 2 pairs of size 2.5 (3mm) Crystal Palace DPNs. I hadn't seen that size before. Oh! and some wool wash for my pal also.

After we left HCW's, the sock and I ventured over to The Quilt Store in north Austin. It was fun to see some of the new fabric lines but with my huge stash at home, I decided not to purchase anything.

Overall was a super day and the weather was hot (104 heat index) but cloudy. Here is a Saturday Sky for Sandy:

Till later ~~ Dene

Am I a prude?

2006-07-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'm no spring chicken - having lived 50+ years on this blessed earth, I've heard or read about every profane word in the English language and several other languages on top of those. My job for the past 8 years has involved coordinating and moderating live chat and message boards for all ages so very little shocks me. But it doesn't mean that I enjoy reading it nor do I choose to.

But today I unsubscribed on Bloglines to one of my favorite knitting blogs. I have read this blog for a long time and have enjoyed both the knitting content and the personal lives of the authors. But I draw the line when an author spews a rant using numerous profane words. I will defend her right to do so, but I also make a personal choice not to expose myself to this behavior.

Does that label me a prude? If it does, then I will wear this title proudly.

Till later ~~ Dene

Velvet Moon

2006-07-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

I've been a member of the Socks That Rock sock club since the beginning and have finished the first 2 projects offered. I have to admit, that I like the lightweight yarn that they offer for socks but I'm not too wild about the medium weight.

The second project, Rock 'n Weave, was sent with some medium weight STR in a color called Fairgrounds. Think cotton candy, bright banners, whirling colors. It is a nice but I have so many 'pinkish' socks that I decided to switch yarns. I had a skein of a color called Velvet Moon already in balls so I used that instead of the Fairgrounds. I think the sock turned out nice but I also know it will not be one of my favorites. It is a bit heavy weight and doesn't flatter my thick ankles. But was a fun knit and that counts.

This month's socks is an anklet in a pattern that sort of reminds me of interlac, but isn't. I've not cast on yet because I already have on the sock needles:
1) Trekking socks
2) Lattice socks
3) Opal Brazil socks
4) Sock Candy dragon socks
5) Opal Masterpiece socks

Not that I don't have more needles.... but maybe I should finish up some of these projects first :)

Till later ~~ Dene

What I bought on Vacation

2006-07-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not - I've not unpacked the yarn I bought on vacation in June. I've kept it all in one bag so that I could take a picture for my blog before I stored it away in the storage drawers. So, now I can unpack!

This is what came home with me from OR/WA/CA:

Left to right, lower row:
-Cashmere! from Breezy Meadow Cashmere Farm in Bellingham, WA. Enough for a couple of scarfs in a natural brown.
-Baby Alpaca lace weight from Sporfarm in The Dallas, OR. Enough for a nice shawl in a variagated grey.
-Socks that Rock from Blue Moon Fiberarts 4 skeins - Rose Quarts in Med Wt, Lovers Leap in Lt Wt, Blue Brick Wall in Lt Wt, Rare Gems in Lt Wt. Yummm!
-Accessories - Crystal Palace bamboo dps, Sheep tape measures, stitch markers. (mostly for gifts)

second row:
Cascade 220 - red - found on sale and couldn't pass it up
Opal Lollipop sock yarn color 1016 rainbow colors
Meilenweit Multiringel sock yarn color 5030 - reds/greens/black
Sock Candy by Blue Moon Fiberarts - turquoise. 100% cotton sock yarn
Cap pattern with Fancy Image yarn in greens/browns
Blue Jeans cotton yarn - 3 skeins

I shopped at:
Fancy Image Yarn in Shelton, WA (blue jean yarn and hat kit)
The Yarn Corner in Aberdeen, WA (Opal and bag not pictured)
Coastal Yarn in Cannon Beach, OR (Sock Candy and Med wt STR)
The Wool Company in Bandon, OR (Meilenweite and Cascade)
Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR (everything else)

We also stopped at a couple of other yarn shops where I didn't purchase anything.

I'm overwhelmed at the amount of yarn I own. But that feeling only lasts a second :)

Till later ~~ Dene

Where I've been in the past 3 weeks

2006-07-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I posted. I thought it was only 2 :)

Where have I been? Well, it seems I go from one consuming event to another. In June it was the vacation - I wish I was still there. The week after we returned, I had some major work issues that I had to deal with that consumed my week. Then the next shoe dropped.

My Dad needed me. You have to realize that I'm a Daddy's girl - I always have been. My Dad can make me cry by looking at me in a stern gaze, he can make me laugh by wiggling his ears, and I worship the ground he walks on. But, in the past year, he has been battling kidney disease and has been on dialysis 3x a week since last fall. At 81 yrs old, this has resulted in him loosing mobility and sometimes his mind.

My Dad lives in Dallas and it is 3.75 hours from my doorstep to his without traffic. My sister has been looking after him and my mom since she lives 5 minutes away from their apartment. But, she reached her limit with dealing with him and needed a vacation from my Dad. DH and I went up over 4th of July weekend and stayed 3 days. We had to be home on the 4th so that I could put DH on a plane to Russia on the 5th. I also drove up to Dallas the past 2 weekends alone. So, with traffic, that is about 24 hours in the car for the month of July. My son will go up this coming weekend so I can have some time at home.

That plus 40 hours of work a week has left me drained and spent. I have been knitting at night, though! I finished another pair of Trekking socks and have started a 3rd. I've been working on the Mountain Stream scarf and a Booja bag for a swap. I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them.

So, hopefully, I can update my blog and show you more pictures from the trip soon.

~~ till later, Dene

2,100 mile TREK!

2006-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone - my sock decided to take over the blog today so with no delay - here is TREKKY!

Hi everyone! I'm Trekky and I'd like to tell you about the long journey that my mom took me on in June. This post is very long so please bear with me. The photos can be enlarged by clicking the thumbnail.

I was born in Pinehurst, Texas on a hot June day. My mom took me out on a few practice hikes along our country road. Here I'm hanging out in the mailbox ready to actually GO somewhere! As you can see, I'm a handsome fellow being knit in a beaded rib pattern out of Trekking XXL color #78. I'm destined to be a gift to a friend.

On June 15th, my mom, dad and I took a long plane ride from Houston, Texas to Portland, Oregon and began an 11 day trek across the Pacific NW. The first stop was in Troutdale where my dad took a picture of mom and I in front of the fishy statue.

We then proceeded to drive along the Columbia River and saw some gorgeous waterfalls and mountain streams. Mom was careful not to get me wet. See how big I'm getting! That's mom knitting on me while enjoying the cool weather :)

I have to say I was a bit jealous because mom was working on another pair of socks in Shaeffer Anne yarn. They were so soft and cuddly. But eventually she finished those and turned her undivided attention to me.

After we spent the day in Hood River, we drove north into Washington to visit Mt. Rainier. It was COLD and WET and I hid in my knitting bag most of the day to keep warm and dry. But that evening, we stayed at the National Park Inn and mom took me out to enjoy the sunset while gazing at Mt. Rainier. To the left is mom working on me while enjoying the view to the right.

The next day we again went northwest and ended up on the Olympic Peninsula. Mom got some stomach icky stuff and we had to spend an extra day in Port Angeles. She did knit on me a little when she was feeling better.

After the delay, we decided to explore a temperate rain forest and went to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. There I got to see a bunch of large trees and moss and ferns! I'll never get tired of trees and mountains :) We stayed overnight in Astoria and started out the next day along the Oregon coast.

Here I am enjoying the rugged beach of Oregon and on the lookout for one of the many lighthouses that we visited. I loved hanging out on the driftwood as long as Mom was careful not to get sand on me!

Oh look! I've got a heel! Yeah! I loved the lighthouses and all the parks around them.

I also enjoyed reading about the sea life although looking through the binoculars proved to be a bit beyond my talents.

I even got to meet a celebrity on my travels. My mom is a friend of Soxie - YES! that Soxie from PT Yarn the Opal distributor! She had dinner with her and her delightful husband and Soxie even posed with me :)

That evening, we ventured out into the California Redwoods and I posed with several of these awesome trees. It was right at sunset and we could hear the elk males in the distance. Was kind of spooky on that hike!

The next day we drove down through more of the Redwoods and of course, we had to visit the Lady Bird Johnson grove since she is from Texas. It was quite beautiful.

We then cut inland and north to Crater Lake in Oregon. This is where I became one finished sock and the beginnings of another. The lake was the bluest I've ever seen and the snow was everywhere! Quite a contrast in colors.

But, overall, the best time I had was at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene Oregon on Saturday before we left. It was so neat to see all the sheep/ goats/ bunnies/ alpaca! And the vendors were wonderful and mom bought lots and lots of stuff to make more socks, shawls and scarfs!

I even got to meet other projects being knit on by bloggers. Left to right are my mom, Dene, Tammy, Jen and Chrissy. It was super the way these gals made me feel welcome. Thank you!

Well, you may wonder if I was completed on this journey. Sadly, no.. but I was shortly afterwards. To the left is a picture of my travel-mate, Anne and to the right is me, Trekky!

Live from Vacation!

2006-06-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm currently on vacation in the Pacific NW and having a blast! We have seen more amazing nature and generally have been having a great time (not going to mention the day I had to spend in bed with stomach flu).

I've been knitting - finished a pair of socks and am working on my Trek-along-with-me socks. So far, I have pictures of my socks enjoing the mountains, waterfalls, temperate rainforest, and the beach. I'll post once I have time :)

I've also joined the Knit Socks Kit Swap. I'll get the button up soon! Anyway - here are my answers to

The Questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors? Blues, reds, brights or pastels, fall colors (except orange). Not fond of greens or yellows.

Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks? I've been knitting over 45 years and have been knitting socks for more than 3 years.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I love either. Not fond of jacquards.

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn? natural fibers - wools, alpaca, cotton

Where do you usually knit socks? anywhere I can! mostly in my easy chair or watching TV

How do you usually carry/store small projects? Yes - I just bought a nylon bag to carry my small projects. I have a lot of projects in zippered plastic bags.

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? challenging patterns that won't loose my interest

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques? lace, cables, most anything except fair isle

What new techniques would you like to try? maybe I need to try fair isle .. LOL!

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting? Double points. I've done magic loop also but prefer the bamboo dpns

What are some of your favorite yarns? Opal, Lorna Laces, Socks that Rocks, Mtn Colors Bearfoot. Fingering weight as opposed to DK since I live in the south.

What yarn do you totally covet? Shaeffer Anne

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? not really

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Bamboo dpns.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I would be Sockotta - a blend of cotton, wool and nylon. Cool in the summer but tough wearing.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Caramel and chocolate

What’s your favorite animal? Cats, dogs, horses, etc. I'm a former Veterinary Technician and also raised and showed Birman cats.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? yes - 4 retired show cats, a barn cat and a dog - Birman/Star/8 yrs; Birman/Nicki/8 yrs; Birman/Andi/5 yrs. Birman/Tia/5 yrs. Tia and Andi are Nicki's kits. Domestic Short Hair/orange tabby/Tweety. Dog - Greyhound/Basinji mix/Curley/11 years

If you were a color what color would you be? blue

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s).. my husband's snap up plaid shirt .. because I can rip it off quick (we have been married 31 years .. get your mind out of the gutter LOL)

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Snow covered mountains. Reminds me of the magesty of God.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. "Sanity is overrated"

Do you have a wishlist? on Amazon here

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? I love to be surprised!

Till later ~~ Dene

Cedar Creek Socks

2006-06-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

I finished my socks from the Socks that Rock sock club.

Specs:
Pattern: Cedar Creek Socks by Kaci Kyler Hays for the Socks that Rock Club
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in Rainforest Jasper
Needles: Size 1 bamboo DPs with size 2 used on heel
Note: I used the 'feathering' technique rotating between 2 balls of yarn ever 2 rows except through the heel and gusset.

I really like this yarn - it made a nice dense fabric that will be great in cold weather.

till later ~~ Dene

Swatching Gracie

2006-05-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm planning ahead and trying to make some decisions on the Gracie shawl that I want to knit. This is a beautiful Faroese shawl from Myrna Stahman's book Stahman's Shawls and Seaman Scarfs. Opinions are welcomed (click for larger image).

Yarn - Jojoland Wool Yarn fingering weight - 22 WPI - fingering weight

Top swatch was done on size 7 needles. I liked this swatch best unblocked but now that I blocked it (a bit too severly), it seems more open and floppy. In Texas, this might be an advantage

Bottom swatch was done on size 4 needles. Unblocked I thought it was too dense and firm, but it opened up a bit with blocking.

What does everyone else think?

till later ~~ Dene

Memorial Day 2006

2006-05-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day to all. Let us not forget all those that died for our freedom.

The above is a quilt I made several years ago. It comes out of the quilt trunk every Memorial Day and stays up until sometime in August.

I'm knitting a lot these days - it is good meditation. With all the stress at work and the loss of a friend, it is good to keep my hands busy so that my mind can center on what is important to me. I'll post pictures soon of my progress on various projects.

Till later ~~ Dene

Big Love

2006-05-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

For the Amazing Lace knit-along, I'm listed as having "Multiple Teammates". Since I'm self-admitted as being a project polygamist, then I might as well come out-of-the-closet and flash my teammates. Each has their own personality and satisfies in various ways *smile*
Click on images for larger view.

Teammate #1 - Print O' The Waves Stole
This lover is dark and mysterious. It was originally my Knitter's Olympic project but there was an error in the pattern (correction here") and I ended up with a Bode Miller moment and didn't finish. The correction was mysterious until the pattern author came through with a correction. I'm almost done with this project lacking only 20 repeats of the edge pattern. Slow and sure for this dark project.

Teammate #2 - Mountain Stream Scarf
This lover is the exact opposite of the Print O' The Waves. She is bright (PINK! Yikes!), flirty and bold. The yarn is kid mohair and is new and exciting as I've never knit with mohair before. Not something I would have picked out for myself, the yarn was gifted to me. The pattern is simply FUN and holds my attention. When I first received the yarn and pattern, I had to abandon all my other lovers for this lovely flirt of a project.

Teammate #3 - Triangular Lace Shawl
This lover is plain, steady, and faithful. Since the shawl is done in one motif, there isn't much to hold my attention. But it is always there quietly begging for attention. The pattern is from the Needlecraft University class that I took and didn't finish. The yarn is Merino Oro and is quite lovely to work with. The needles are Addi Turbo's that I've decided I hate for lace so I'll have to find another pair of needles to work this project on. I'm determined to finish this lovely, faithful teammate.

Teammate #4 - Fox Island Vest
This lover caught my eye at Stitches West last winter in the Black Water Abbey booth. Perfect for the Texas weather, this teammate promises to be interesting and fun to knit. The yarn is BWA's laceweight in natural so this vest will go with most anything I wear. I've not started the project yet so it will be a late summer knit after all the other demanding teammates are silenced.

Teammate #5 - Faroese Shawl
Elusive and flirty, this teammate has yet to show herself totally to me. I know it will be from this wonderful book - Stahman's Shawls and Scarfs. Which one has yet to be revealed. I feel like a kid in a candy shop! I have plenty of wool yarn from an impulse buy at Stitches West that I'm toying with dying before I choose a project.

Teammate #6 - Unknown project
Hiding in the shadows is this wonderful Knit Picks Shimmer yarn that was gifted to me. I have 4 skeins and have yet to settle on a project for this wonderful lace-weight yarn. Maybe a intricate scarf? Maybe a garter-stitch shawl? Something for myself or my mother? It will keep flirting with me until I finally seize the yarn and start something.

I hope you enjoyed meeting my teammates for this summer. They will have to share my time with my sock knitting and vacation but I'm sure they will beg for attention that I'll be able to finish several. I'm going to be tired!

Till Later ~~ Dene

Is polygamy a good thing?

2006-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I just joined this:

And this is how they listed me:

Project polygamy - is it a good thing? Actually, I'm working on 2 lace projects at the moment. I'm plugging along on the Print o' the Waves stole - 60 border repeats left. I also have completed one of the Opal Masterpiece socks in the lacy Angel's Peak pattern. You can't see it with the busyness of the yarn pattern, though.

Till later ~~ Dene

Cinco de Mayo

2006-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

It is Cinco de Mayo! I'm so happy this week is over. I've not been feeling well all weekend but things are looking up :)

A big THANK YOU to my Sockapaloooza pal Jane in London ENGLAND! Yes! I was one of the fortunate folks that got a pair of International Sockapaloooza pal. I was so excited when I received the package. The socks are so lovely and fit like a glove. I really like lace - especially in Texas! And the waves are groovy :)

As you can see, the package of Cadbury eggs is fairly flat - actually it is empty. They sure were good!! The oragami birds are in celebration of Project Spectrum and will hang from my bookcase above my computer monitor. The pattern is "Falling Leaves" from Knitty.com and the yarn is Opal. Thank you so much Jane!

The second pair I'd like to show you are my Dreamcatcher socks that I finished on the 3rd.

Yarn is Opal Dreamcatcher 1230 and the pattern is my own (k5,p1 rib). Notice how close they match? :: does happy dance:: I knit these on US size 1 bamboo double points.

Only 71 more lace chart repeats to finish my Print 'o the waves stole. I worked about 8 last night and then switch to my Masterpiece socks that took less concentration. I'm going to try the same Falling Leaves pattern that Jane used but from the cuff down instead of toe up. I'll see if it works.

Till later ~~ Dene

Lists

2006-05-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

I make lists for a lot of things. Last weekend, I made one for my top 10 knitting projects (either started or not) that I'd like to complete. I ended up spilling over to another list but I thought 10 would be a good place to start. So here it is:

Help cheer me on! 2 down, 8 to go. I've started on the Print o' the waves stole again after getting the pattern correction from the author. I noticed that she has not posted the corrections to the .pdf file so if anyone out there is as stumped as I was, here is the correction:
Edging chart: Rows 9,11,13,15 - add a K2tog after the last YO on the left edge.

I've done 2 repeats and it is lovely! 2 down, 78 to go :)

Pictures soon.

Till later ~~ Dene

Sockapaloooza Mail Day

2006-05-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! All the Sockapaloooza's out there are off to the post office to mail their packages to their secret pal. I've already received my package since it was mailed early from England. I'll post a picture very soon - they are quite wonderful and I have to take them off my feet to photograph!

But today I wanted to share what was going into my package to my pal in Minnisota (that is all the hint you will get). Anyone that has read this blog a while will know that I attempted about 5 pairs of socks before finally settling down with one pair. And no, it isn't the Pomatomus Socks that I blogged about from California. I got the cuff done and discovered that while the pattern is very interesting, it is also very holey and not very stretchy. So rip them I did. I used the same yarn to cast on a pair that I felt would fit better (being a rib) and I love them. I hope my pal does also.

Here is what is in the package:

There are 2 postcards there because the socks were knit in both California and Texas (and all other states I passed over in the airplane.) They were cast on in Campbell, CA, knit on also in San Jose, CA and Pinehurst TX. Also included are some Texas pecan pralines .. yumnmm!

Details:
Pattern: My own adaptation of the Yarn Over Cables from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch.
Yarn: Opal Cool Ocean #223
Details: US Size 1 bamboo double-point needles. Traditional heel flap and toe.

I'm hoping they fit!

till later ~~ Dene

Home again, Home again, Jiggedy-jigg

2006-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm back from California - again. After 16 days, I arrived home on Wednesday evening and was met with eager pets and husband. It is truly good to be home :)

I'm going to try and catch up with all my posting this weekend. One post at a time LOL.

I mailed off my baby socks for the Longest Line charity drive yesterday. I wanted to make 40 pairs - one for each day of Lent. I made it to 31 . Not too bad. Here are the new ones since the last picture (minus two stray pairs):

And here is a picture of 30 total. I had one stray sock that I just couldn't find the mate to and didn't remember knitting it. So I packed up the 30 and off to the post office I went.

I had no more gotten out of the driveway when I reached for my sunglasses and there was the missing sock attached to the velcro of my glasses case. So I dashed back in and got it into the package.

I'm glad to have this project complete so that now I can concentrate on my Sockapaloooza socks. I once again changed the pattern but love what I'm doing now and should be able to finish them tomorrow. I'll post pictures then.

till later ~~ Dene

Retail Therapy

2006-04-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Aww retail therapy is always good for the soul! Friday evening I spent at the B&N around the corner from the hotel. Came away with the Creative Knitting May 2006 magazine and I love the cotton sweater on the front. Call me crazy, but about 8 years ago, I started a cotton sweater out of cheap cotton yarn, finished about half of the front and then set it aside. The sweater was a heavily cabled pattern and I know now that it would have been a nightmare to finish along with wear as it would have been very heavy and would pull out of shape. So, I may just frog that sweater and make this little shell for moi :)

I also bought a copy of the Yarn Harlot's new book "Knitting Rules!". I absolutely love it! I thumbed through it last night and anticipate several hours of entertaining read.

This morning, I ventured out to CommuKnity in San Jose. The store is marvelous! Easy to find, park and very spacious. Plus, they had a SALE going on. Be still my heart! I managed to make it out of the store with only 2 skeins of sock yarn - just by the skin of my teeth. They had some wonderful yarns, books and accessories.

My purchase - Trekking XXL in a purple and Lana Grossa Meilenweit Tweed in navy. The purple will be gifted to a friend as socks.

Overall, I did well not to buy out the store. I'm trying very hard to knit down my stash!

Till later ~~ Dene

~ Waving from California ~

2006-04-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I flew back out to San Jose this morning so that I can do some training for work and also to visit my friend who is ill. It is good to be back but I miss my hubby already. He just got home from Russia last Thursday and here I go leaving him again. I should be home on the 19th.

Just so people don't think I dropped off the face of the earth with my Sockapaloooze pal, I *AM* working on it! I've started 3 different socks for my pal and think I have a winner this time LOL. I started some Jaywalkers in Socks That Rock but it was in the medium weight and with it being spring, I didn't want a heavy sock. So I started some garden trellis socks in an Opal Uni (Turquoise) but I think they are turning out too large. Soooooo.... I'm now doing the Pomatomus Socks in a discontinued Opal - Cool Ocean 223. I *love* this pattern!

Since I'm staying in a hotel this trip, I should be able to have time to finish these up before I head home. I'm also working on more baby socks for the Longest Line charity. I still have leftover odd-ball yarns to knit up. I'll shoot a picture when I get home.

BTW, some knitting bloggers are EVIL .. EVIL I say! They are such enablers .. ROFL. Susan traded some yarn with me and I scored! I received a skein of prototype Opal in red, 2 skeins of Wildfoote in a wonderful variagated red, and ... and .. she threw in a skein of bright pink mohair so that I can knit her Mountain Stream Scarf. Of course, I had to cast on immediately and made it through one repeat of the body. I love this pattern! No pictures yet since I left it in Houston so that I would be sure to finish my Sockapaloooza socks. It was hard to leave it .. it went in/out of my bag several times. I kept telling myself I was out here to work and needed to finish the socks for the swap first.

I plan on visiting one knit shop while I'm out here - CommuKNITy in San Jose. I'll let you know how it goes.

Till Later ~~ Dene

The Great Pretenders

2006-04-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

I have just a few TV shows that I follow regularly and one of my favorites is Grey's Anatomy on Sunday evenings. Tonight, 2 of the gals swore to become celebate and instead of men, took up knitting. Now it appears that Izzy can knit but Meredith - well, it was obvious that she was a rank beginner. I love this button that Good to be Girl made:

And yes, I knitted on baby socks during the episode!

This morning at church, one of the lay ministers asked me if they could borrow some of my knitting for a skit at the ministry fair this afternoon. I had baby socks in my purse on some size 1.5 double pointed needles but I didn't want to sacrifice them. So I told her I would bring back something a 'bit larger'. This afternoon while watching a tape of House I knitted up the beginnings of a scarf with some very old acrylic on size 8 straight metal needles. It is a good thing I did - the gal that used the knitting in her skit didn't know a thing about it and just by pretending dropped stitches in the middle of the thing. Nothing lost, though.

This week will be busy with work - first of the month means a round of reports to write. I'm also having a dinner at my home on Tuesday with 4 other couples and my hubby comes home from Russia on Thursday. While he is home this time we will be planning our vacation in June - we hope to do a driving tour of the Pacific Northwest for about a week.

Till later ~~ Dene

Flashing my stash - Finis

2006-04-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

*whew* I survived the loft! Continuing on:

Bin 6: Peace Fleece worseted wool in Artic White. 30% Mohair/70% wool. 10 skeins of it :) Future sweater or vest.

Add to count: 1 sweater

Bin 7: Wool. The natural is some homespun from "Bailey" one of my friend's sheep. The 4 skeins are Mountain Color's Weaver's Wool Quarters. And buried in the upper left is a skein of Mountain Color's Worsted in forest green. I have a Clapotis made out of this stuff that I want to frog so there is a lot more of it.

Add to count: 4 socks and a bunch of Miscellaneous.

Bin 8: Assorted wool. This is my 'buy one skein to test it out' bin. As you can see, I've not knitted much from it. Left to right: Louet Sales Gems Topaz in Red; 4 skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun sports weight in grey; Araucania Nature Wool in forest (I have another partial skein). Top middle is Cascade 220 in navy; below that is Nashua Julia in natural; top right is Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL Alpaca/Wool in cranberry; and buried in the lower right is a skein of lace weight black wool that I'll be selling soon.
Add to count: felted socks and bunches of miscellaneous!

Not in a bin but Lot 9: 20 skeins of Tivoli Wool Aran straight from the Emerald Isle. My daughter brought me this from Ireland and I wish I could find more. There isn't much on a skein.

Add to the count: 1 sweater.

Bin 10: Assored sock yarn. 6 skeins of Froehlich Special Blaudand. A skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in blues/purples/green (lovely stuff!). And 4 skeins of Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Rhapsody and Brilliant Bouquet.

Add to count: 6 pairs of socks.

Bin 11: More socks!
The top row are all Fortissima Cottolana and although I didn't show it, I have 2 of each. The rest of the bin are all Regia sock yarn.

Add to the count: 10 pairs of socks.

Lot 12: 20 skeins of Noro Silk Garden. I had this big plan to make several Clapotis' for presents .. till I made the first one and hated the design! So, the bag on the right ~~is going to be listed for sale soon~~ was sold here!

Add to the count: Unknown project - possibly a shawl.

And the Finis!
Bin 13: the leftovers.
Top left are 2 skeins of Sisu from Norway - will make a pair of socks. Below that is a started Jaywalkers in Socks that Rock. Top right are 3 skeins of Misti Alpaca Lace weight for a stole. The bottom right is my latest present from my Secret Pal 7, a huge 200g of Iron Pot Carding Montage mohair from New Zealand.

Add to the count: 2 pairs of socks, one shawl, and one unknown project.

Total count - Enough yarn for:
~ 91 pairs of socks (not counting 4 I already have started)
~ 7 Sweaters
~ 7+ Shawls
~ and a bunch of hats, mittens, and miscellaneous!

I'm getting a hot flash ~~

UPDATE - I forgot the Fixation cotton/lycra in the bedroom. Add 5 more pairs of socks!

Till later ~~ Dene

Flashing my stash - Part Deux

2006-04-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

Back from the luncheon - yummy salads and good company (was a church thing).

Now, back to the stash .. muhahahahaha

Bin #3 - the sweaters

This bin contains the makings of 2 sweaters. The blue is the Renaissance Pullover out of Classic Elite Renaissance wool. I love this stuff! Do need to finish, though. The heathered purple is for my FLAK sweater out of Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool. I've barely started it *sigh*.

Bin #4 - more sweater yarn

On the left are 9 skeins of Plymouth Galway Highland Heather wool in blue- unknown future project. Bottom right are 11 skeins of Araucania Nature Wool in cranberry - again, unknown future project. Top is 8 4oz skeins of Brooks Farm Four Play in denim. This 50/50% silk and wool and is wonderful! Future unknown project for this stuff.. LOL. On the Top right are 3 skeins of Black Water Abbey fingering weight in natural to make The Fox Island vest.

Bin #5 - Assortment

Top left are 8 skeins of Mountain Colors Bearfoot sock yarn. I *love* this stuff!. Top right are 4 skeins of Knit Picks Simmer in Turquoise Spendor for a shawl. Just to the right of that are 3 skeins of Kayten Kraft at Moonacre Silk Noil in plum that I received from my Secret Pal 7. Left to Right along the bottom are 2 skeins of red Alchemy Lone Star wool/mohair, 1 skein of Socks that Rocks medium weight in Pop Rocks color way, and 20 skeins of Jojoland Wool Yarn fingering weight in natural.

Dat's all for now but not all my yarn! I'm headed upstairs to find the rest of the stash - wish me luck :)

Till later ~~ Dene

Flashing my stash

2006-04-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Cop-out: This is going to take me all day to photo all my stash - sorry isn't it! I have a luncheon at noon and have to hit the post office before that so check back later tonight for the full story!

*as always- click image for larger view*

First off, some of my sock yarn. I store most of my yarn either in my Olfa wire baskets or in plastic bins. So let's go bin by bin:

Bin#1: This is all Opal sock yarn. I can't tell you how much I love this yarn. The socks I knit 3 years ago are still going strong. I was pleased when they finally came out with some solids and colors that didn't include black. I was tired of black/jacguard self-stripes. I have tons of it in this photo. ~~~ Total for this bin - 35 skeins for 35 pairs of socks.

Bin #2: The left 15 skeins are Opal (that makes a total of 50 skeins of just Opal!). Next row - down front are 2 skeins of Flotte Socke that I received as a gift from a friend in Norway. Above that is a skein of Opal Handpainted in color #13. I've frogged this yarn several times and it still hasn't told me what it wants to be. Above that and extending along the top are 3 skeins of Trekking XXL. The spring color and blues will be socks for me. The olive will be for my son. On the right bottom (hiding) are 2 skeins of Koigu in blue/white. Above that are 3 skeins of Sweet Feet sock yarn from Hill Country Yarn in honey butter, grape crush and Gig'Em (Texas A&M Aggies). ~~~ Total for this bin - 26 skeins for 25 pairs of socks.

:: head swimming :::

More later when I get back. ~~~ Dene

DeStash-ing

2006-03-31T15:13:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about the DeStash blog? Well why not! Susan and Teri have put together a great site that is just wonderful!

This morning I listed 3 skeins of Lorna Lace’s sock yarn and within 6 hours they were sold. Can’t beat that for a great day. The skeins were kid-friendly colors that didn’t exactly agree to with my 50’s+ style. I actually got them on sale at a yarn shop that was closing. So, they have a new home, I recouped my cost and I’m totally thrilled.

Now I’m looking through my stash to find some more things that need new homes. I have some Noro Silk Garden, some wool lace yarn .. hmmm… have to get listing! Go take a look!

Till later ~~ Dene

E is for ...

2006-03-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Episcopal Church

My church family is a very important part of my life and I’m dedicating the letter E to Church of the Good Shepherd Anglican/Episcopal Church in Tomball, Texas. I became part of this family last September and I strongly believe that God has a plan for my life. What it is, I’m not sure yet .. LOL. We are participating in Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose series so we will see what things I can get into.

I became Episcopalian in 1979 when my Mother-in-law drove me crazy enough that I escaped to church one Sunday just to get away. This was All Saints Episcopal in Baytown, Texas and my daughter was just 4 months old. We baptized her later that year on All Saints Day and my son was also baptized there 3 years later. Unfortunately, that church no longer exists which tears at my heart. We changed churches when we moved to Houston in 1984.

Good Shepherd has welcomed us whole heartedly and we have made many friends. I spent part of last weekend on a women’s retreat and it was just glorious. Beautiful cool weather, ranch B&B with a neat cabin, and bluebonnets blooming everywhere. It was great to get away and enjoy God’s majesty.

Till Later ~~ Dene

D is for Dogs

2006-03-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

D is for Dogs

I’m so far behind in posting my ABC along! Everyone else is on G and here I am still on D. *sigh*

Anyway, D is for the 4 dogs that have captured my heart in my life. As always, click the images for a larger view.

The first dog was “Schnitzel” who was a Dachshund mix (at least 75% purebred). I believe all the pictures of Schnitzel are at my mom’s house so I don’t have a shot.

I don’t remember when we got Schnitzel but it was when I was a young child in Pasadena, Texas. Schnitzel was the son of a friend’s Dachsy Fritz and was one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever known. Every morning he would go over to Fritz’s house (block over) and visit for a few hours and then come home. He moved with us to Belvidere, Illinois in the middle of winter and didn’t like the snow on his belly one bit! From there he moved with us to Kansas City, Missouri. I remember the day he died as he was out making his rounds of the neighborhood when he encountered a German Shepherd. Never one to back down, he paid the price in the ensuing dog fight. He made it back home only to die at the vet an hour later. I was in the 4th grade and was crushed.

When I turned 12, I asked for a Dachshund puppy and received “Schnitzel 2”. He was so cute but dumber than a doornail. He was also racist and would get really mean with people whose skin color was not white. No idea where he learned that one. He moved with us to Houston where I captured this picture of my older sister, Lindy, and him in our bedroom. Schnitzel got cancer and died when he was 10 years old and I was away in college.

Fast forward to 1986 when we were living in Houston, Texas and my kids were 7 and 3. My daughter was a Brownie Girl Scout and her troup leader had a puppy that she could no longer care for. She asked if we would like her. Having moved into our first home that wasn’t a rental, we finally got my hubby to agree. Abigail (aka Abby) came to live with us and was loved by all. She was a Cocker mix and very cute. The kids grew up loving that dog and she moved with us to the woods in 1993. She lived to the age of 12 and is still missed.

During the time we had Abby, Curly came to live with us. It was 1995 and I was doing my apprenticeship in Veterinary Technology at a clinic in Waller, Texas. Someone ‘overnighted’ (ie left on the doorstep of the clinic) 2 puppies of unknown lineage. One of the pups had to be put to sleep because of advance mange but the other was fine. This long legged pup came home with me and became “Curly” for his tail. We think he has some Greyhound and Basenji in his background. He also thinks he is a cat and will let my cats groom him and play with his tail. He loved all the kittens I had when I was showing Birmans. Curly will be 11 years old this summer and is starting to show his age. He still runs our 5 acres each day, begs for dog treats and is generally a neurotic mess sometimes. The remodel of the house last year really upset him and he is just now settling down even though the contractors have been gone 3 months. He is good company, though.

So there are the dogs in my life. I’ve loved each unconditionally and a little bit of my heart lives in each.

Till later ~~ Dene

Still Here

2006-03-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

I’m still here!! Each day I remind myself that I need to update my blog but each day it seems like I never do. It isn’t the time factor .. I’m not real sure what it is. Call it a blogger-slump – I don’t know.

But, I thought I’d post a couple of things before everyone abandons me! First off, my Secret Pal sent a package that I received today. Wow! A huge skein (200grams) of mohair from New Zealand in the most beautiful blue color. There was also a book about knitting, some needle holders and a stitch counter. I love it all. My camera is on the blink and I’ve got a new one on order so I’ll post a picture when it comes in. Thank you Secret Pal!

I have been knitting. My Lenten project is to make baby socks for the Longest Line charity drive that PTYarns is having. Info on my sidebar >>. I had 14 pairs done by last Friday and the count is now up to 17.5 pairs. They are fairly quick with each pair taking me about 2-3 hours to knit while watching TV.

I also have been knitting on a pair of Opal DreamCatcher 1230 socks in a basic pattern. The first is done and I’ve cast on for the second. I love this yarn and color way :)

That is all for the moment

Till Later ~~ Dene

Eeeep~!

2006-03-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

My apologies for my absence and there is no excuse that I’ve not kept up but sometimes life gets in the way. Or maybe it doesn’t but sometimes I don’t have the energy or drive to post. So, for now I’m going to try to catch up :(

First off is the ABC along. Everyone else is on E, I’m on C. So here goes!

C is for California!

About 2 weeks ago, I returned from 3 weeks in California. This state has a certain tie to me although I haven’t established this state as “home”. I’ve never lived there (can’t afford it!) but I’ve worked there since 1998. The company where I tele-commute is now located in Los Gatos. I started out as a contractor for them 7.5 years ago and am now working on the corporate level. Good people, interesting work, crazy state.

I come home to Texas and regale my husband with stories about this crazy state. His only comment is “only in California”. Things like – there are no drive-in fast food restaurants! It isn’t fast food unless you can order it from your car! Maybe it is the price of land that prevents burger joints from adding a take out window – I don’t know. The weather is crazy also. One day while I was there it snowed – yes SNOWED – in San Jose. Excuse me?

Don’t get me wrong – I love to visit California. I live in a flat place – Texas coastal plain. I love waking up and looking out the window at hills. To me, they are mountains, but they are really hills. And snow on top of them! I find a peace looking at nature’s beauty. And driving through them gives me a feeling of peace and awe. I particularly like the drive from San Jose to Santa Cruz along highway 17. I didn’t get to do that drive this year but did get down to downtown Los Gatos where it is also gorgeous.

Speaking of Los Gatos, I was able to visit the yarn shop there – Yarn Dogs. It was a cute shop with lots and lots of novelty yarn. I know they were preparing to go to Stitches West at the time and may not have been stocking fully but I didn’t find anything there that yelled “Buy Me”. So I just purchased some Addi Turbo’s that I needed. I’ll return, though, next time I’m out.

Now on to D!

Till Later ~~ Dene

Bode Miller Moment

2006-02-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

I’m the Bode Miller of the Knitting Olympics… no medal for me this year *sob*

Seems there might be an error in the border chart for the Print O’ The Waves Stole and I can’t figure out how to correct it. I’ve written the author of the pattern but she has yet to reply. The counts don’t add up, I don’t know now to make it work. So it sits with the center panel and the first borders done but no way to finish it unless I substituted another border which I’d really rather not do. So, I’ve withdrawn from the Knitting Olympics with a missed gate and a lot of frustration.

I’m a bit disappointed in several things about this project beyond the pattern error. The biggest disappointed is the yarn. It is the lace weight wool from Hand Painted Yarns and it is not the quality I was expecting. The yarn is definitely hand spun by someone who doesn’t know how to spin. It is thick in some areas and so thin in others that I was afraid to put any tension on it. You can break it with just a firm tug. It was “hairy” in a bad way and not the soft wool I wanted. I think once it is blocked out it will be fine but I’m not sure I want to use the other 3 skeins I have of this yarn (1 more black and 2 in a stonewash blue).

I’m also disappointed in how the back join looks. Since you have to seam the back to make the ‘waves’ flow the correct way on both sides, you end up with a visible join. Perhaps I’m a perfectionist but it just doesn’t look the way I wanted it to. I’m trying not to get too upset about it.

I’d post a picture but right now it just looks like a pile of black yarn since I have it on 32” circulars going around the entire circumference. I’ll post pictures once I can get the border figured out.

So, what is a gal to do? Cast on another project! I’ve received the yarn I purchased at Stitches West and have used the Socks that Rock in the Velvet Moon color way (not on the web site) to cast on another pair of Jaywalkers for my Sockapaloooza pal. She likes blues, greens and purples and this yarn has all 3. Maybe I can use the other skein of STR in Pop Rocks to make a pair for myself since the other pair of Jaywalkers went to a friend in Connecticut.

Off to watch Apolo Anton Ohno skate to see if he can get a medal.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Sockapalooza answers

2006-02-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

My secret pal for Sockapaloooza writes:
I've chosen the yarn for your Sockapalooza socks (I'm waiting for it to turn up at the moment), and a pattern: but, when you say you have a round heel, how does this translate into the sort of sock heel that you like to wear, please? And how long is calf length (I'm 5' 5.5", so I suspect that my calf is a different length from yours... since your feet are way longer than mine!)?
Take care
Secret-Sock-Pal

Oh! I love that she is asking questions on exactly what I want – I’m sorry it took me so long to reply :(

I’m not real picky on socks – as long as they don’t fall down or bunch in my shoes I tend to like them. I’ve experimented with a lot of different sock heels and the ones I tend to use over and over are the traditional heel-flap and gusset. I usually do half my stitches for the flap for about 2.5 inches, then do traditional short row shaping, knitting 2 stitches past the center then decreasing if that makes sense. I usually pick up about 18 stitches on the side of the flap if I'm using fingerling weight yarn and size 1 needles. This results in a heel that isn’t too pointy and is round.

As far as the calf length, I do everything from 8 inches down. The ones I have one now are 6 inches. I would even wear tennis socks :)

Thanks for asking and I'm so excited you are knitting for me :)

I bought the yarn for my sock-pal this weekend at Stitches West. I need to leaf through my sock books at home and find a pattern now.

Till later ~~ Dene

A promise of home

2006-02-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the day I get to fly home! YEAH! As much as I love California, 22 days is stretching things a bit. Plus, I’ve not seen my husband since January 11th and he is waiting patiently for me in Texas.

The icing on the cake for my visit, though, was Stitches West. I stayed over purposely so that I could attend on Saturday. My credit card is still smoking and I had to UPS my haul home since it would have surely put my luggage over-weight. I won’t detail what all I bought since it is now on its way to Houston but I will post pictures when I get the package at home. Just say I have enough for 2 more pairs of socks (Socks that Rock), 2 sweaters, and a lace vest (Black Water Abby laceweight). It was a wonderful show and I will be considering the Stitches East show this fall.

I’m behind on blogging, on the ABC-along (C will be for California for sure), my Olympic knitting (1.5 days behind) and a few other things but all will be good once I can get home, take a bubble bath in the whirlpool and general deflate from this trip. It will be wonderful to sleep in my own bed, snuggle with my kitties (yeah hair! The ones here are shorthair Tonks), and catch up with my husband and son.

The trip has been difficult but overall I hope I did some good for a while.

Till later ~~ Dene

Day 2

2006-02-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

** Bulletin **

Dateline San Jose: The results of Day 2 of the lace knitting competition shows that competitor Dene of Pinehurst Texas has moved ahead of the pack by completing 5 repetitions of her Print O’ the Waves stole in lovely black wool.

While planning on doing just 3 repeats today, the competitor pushed her limit and did a total of 5 on Saturday.

When asked, Dene reported that the process is one to push your limits and her results were typical of all the knitters participating in the Knitting Olympics. “We are all ~~weirdly crazy~~ obsessed with the sport and will give it our best.”

Till Later ~~ Dene

Olympic Torch

2006-02-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Woot! The Olympics have started and my training is complete. I stood as the torch was lit and held my needles high. I was cheered by millions as all the network cameras were trained on the Lace Knitting Team. We all reveled in our one moment of fame and basked in the winter night in Torino.

At least I did in my dreams as I was asleep when NBC finally showed the torch last night.

I had to work on Friday and it sucked! 5:30am is REALLY 5:30am in California instead of 7:30am in Texas. So instead of being at work at 8am, I had to be at work at 6am. So Friday was a long, long day. Plus the fact that it wasn’t an easy day suddenly made the opening ceremonies an effort to keep my eyes open. I made it through Iceland and then threw in the towel. I’ll watch it streamed on the internet LOL.

But! I did put out an Olympic effort yesterday and met my goals on my Print O’ the Waves stole. About 4pm PT I cast on (lovely red waste yarn LOL) and did the first repeat to establish a pattern and rhythm. Two more repeats (12 rows each) followed for a total of 36 rows. Since I need 34 repeats to finish, I figured if I can get 3 done a day then I’ll be right on schedule with plenty of time to finish the pretty border at the end and block. See my efforts:

Aww the glory, aww the open-ness of my lace, aww I hate this yarn but will preserver! Olympic Gold is within reach.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Olympics Training

2006-02-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

My training is over .. I’m ready for the opening ceremonies tomorrow for the Knitting Olympics! I’m still on the lace team but have changed my project so that I’ll have a chance of finishing. Since I’m not at home, some modification had to be made.

Instead of a Pi shawl, I’m doing the Print O’ The Wave Stole by Eunny Jang. I’m using a black lace weight wool yarn that I found on eBay. This is what my swatch looks like on size 3 needles .. I’m going up a size for the real garment.

I wasn’t able to ‘severely block’ my swatch since I have no straight pins here. But I did wet it and stretched it out a bit. I think I like the results.

So, now to wait for 2pm to cast on .. wait.. I’m picking up a kid from school at that time! Can I knit and drive? Nawww

Till later ~~ Dene

California Pixs

2006-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

As promised!  Pictures! As always, click for a bigger pix.

First up are my Jaywalker pictures.

As you can see, I ran out of yarn and had to resort to a solid toe.  The picture doesn’t justify the color of these socks.  They are black, purple and a coral-ly pink.  Very pretty!   Since I’m not at home, I can’t give you the band number of the Koigu that I used.

Look at the oranges!! I just love California!

Second up are my More Fun Than Cables socks from Marguerite’s blog.  These are in solid red Opal yarn and I love this pattern.  Unfortunately, I can’t get them over my heels so I’m going to gift them to a friend with a tiny foot.

I’m planning another pair with a 3 stitch rib between the cables so that it will fit ME

Third, I’ve only hit 1 yarn shop in California since I’ve been here.  I managed to find Rug & Yarn Hut in downtown Campbell last Saturday.  I came home with 3 skeins of yarn including a lovely TrekkingXXL and some yarn I’ve never seen before – Sisu wool/nylon made in Norway.

It is sock weight and looks comparable to Regia.  I’ll use it for my second pair of More Fun than Cables socks.

I wasn't impressed with the shop unfortunately. There was yarn all over the floor and it seemed very disorganized and "worn", you know what I mean? Oh well, there is a shop in Los Gatos I'll hit sometime this week.

Till later ~~ Dene

2006

2006-02-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm still in California! Busy busy but hope to take some pictures to post today.

In the mean time, I think I recognize every one of these:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that
they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if
anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the
screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the
first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and
you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your
coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this
message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on
this list.

till later ~~ Dene

Back in the Mother-Land

2006-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

I'm in San Jose at the moment and having an interesting time :)

My flight out here from Houston was awsome! The weather was beautiful (although a bit turbulant) and I was able to snag a business class seat on a row where I was the only person - so was able to spread out. I had downloaded an audio book to listen to on my iPod (Prayer by Richard Foster) and had my Jaywalker socks on the needles. It was very relaxing :)

When we were just crossing over into California, the pilot announced that San Jose asked that he slow down since they were backed up there. So he circled over Yosemite Park and took us on a guided tour from above. What a glorious place with all the waterfalls and snow. It was really fun!

Since I've been here it has been a non-stop marathon. I drove 7 round trips for my friend yesterday getting people where they needed to be. Things will be better once we figure out long term transportation solutions. But don't feel bad for me - the car I'm driving is a Jaguar S Type Coupe. A big upgrade from my Buick at home .. LOL.

I had a wonderful email from Diann in San Jose inviting me to lunch and to her stitching group on Wednesdays. I hope once things settle down a bit I can get out and meet some of the local knitters. And I *may* still be around for Stitches West later in February. Needles crossed!

Till later ~~ Dene

California Bound

2006-01-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note that I'm off to San Jose tomorrow morning and will post when I have time.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Thank you Secret Pal!

2006-01-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

Oh WOW~!!

I have this post office mailbox that I check about once a week since most of the mail comes to the house.  It is a left over from when we didn’t have home delivery and I’ve just never closed it.  Anyway, I’ve been delinquent in checking it since I knew I needed to mail off a couple of packages (one to my Secret Pal and one to The-Daughter with the socks I made for The-One-Who-Married-The-Daughter) so I figured I’d kill 2 birds with one stone.  I’ve been putting off mailing the packages waiting for an order to come in to include in one of the boxes.   Anyway – long story LOL – I went today to mail the packages and check the box and guess what?   A PACKAGE was there from *my* secret pal!  It has probably been there a couple of days but I didn’t check – oops!

Anyway, all I can say is WOW and thank you!  There was a definite purple theme this time and I just love purple.  Here is the photo (click for larger image):

In the package were 3 skeins of hand dyed Silk Noil in a wonderful smokey plum color way. It is from Kayten Kraft at Moonacre and my SP bought them at a local festival.  It matches the wool I’m using for my FLAK sweater exactly!  I’m going to have to figure out something to make to go with my sweater from it (scarf? hat???).  It is just lovely!  And there were hand made stitch markers done by my secret pal.  I’ve never owned beaded markers before but I’ve been drooling over ones on the internet.  Now I have my own!   And the cutest card was included that listed the symptoms of O.C.K.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Knitting Disorder).  I have to admit, I checked them all – I’m a long time sufferer.


One of the kitties (Andi) decided to explore the haul also and it met with her approval. And yes, those are uneaten candy canes in the background - they age well don't they?   Thank you again Secret Pal – you sure brightened up my day.

In other news, I may be heading out-of-town for a couple of weeks.  I have a friend in California who needs help with transportation because her husband (who is the only licensed driver in the family) has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer.  She is like a sister to me so I’ve been praying a lot for her husband and for her and I keep getting the feeling I am needed out there to ease some of her worry.  If I disappear for a few days, that is where I’m headed.  My main computer is a laptop, though, so I will keep up with the blog.

Till later ~~ Dene

Out of the Shadows

2006-01-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

There are days when I venture into my knitting drawer and see what I have on my needles that I’ve been neglecting.  Over the weekend I pulled everything out and made some decisions.

Shadow of Love socks from the 6 Sox Knitalong group in dark/light pink – frogged.  It is a cute pattern but a bit too cute for my 50+ year tastes and I’m sure my daughter would never wear them.  So into the frog pond they went.

Triangular Lace Shawl from NeedleCraft University in Merino Oro – will finish.  I like this yarn and the pattern – it just gets a bit boring after a while.

Mystery Shawl 2 from the MysteryShawlAlong group in Misti Alpaca – frogged.  I finished through step 3 and didn’t like the results.  I’m going to try Mystery Shawl 3 and see if I like that one better.

Stashbuster Spirals from the 6 Sox Knitalong group in 3 shades of rag cotton/wool – will finish, I think.  I love the way the colors come together on this one, just not real happy with the heel, so I’ve changed it to cuff down with a regular flap heel.  The jury still out on this one.

Jaywalker socks in Koigu – turned heel on second sock. Will finish

Renaissance Rollneck Pullover in Classic Elite Renaissance wool – will finish.  I’m almost to the armholes on the front with the back done.

FLAK Aran sweater in Elann Peruvian Highland Wool – will finish.  We just got the instructions for the back today.

Ribbed cotton socks in Fixation – will finish.  These are my ‘mindless knitting’ socks that can go places with me.

So that is what is in my drawer at the moment.  Now I just need to ignore the stash yarn that keeps calling me to CAST ON something different till these are done.

Till later ~~ Dene

B is for BIRMAN

2006-01-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

B is for BIRMAN

From the years of 1997 to 2002, I raised and showed Birman cats. I really enjoy this breed and currently have 4 Birmans that live with us now. The picture above is of 2 of the kittens that I sold (Yohannes and Yoda).

This is Stache who was my stud boy for all my kittens. The picture is of him at 5 months.

This is a picture of Stache's granddaughter. I sent a chocolate boy (Denebir's Yakima) to Canada when I stopped breeding and this is one of his babies. Isn’t she adorable?

Knitting and cats – they seem to go together.

Till Later ~~ Dene

Progress check

2006-01-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

It has been a week and it is only Thursday.  I’d be happy it was Friday tomorrow but that is my most stressful day at work so I’m glad when it is over .. LOL.

The-Husband called from Russia a few moments ago and said the baby sweater was a big hit and he may have some order for me.  *WAIT*   ORDERS??  Noooooooooooooooo.  The last thing I want to do is to knit for others that I don’t want to knit for – people I’ll never meet, people I don’t know if they will even appreciate hand knits.  *sigh*

:: catching my breath from that outburst ::

On the knitting front, I have started my saddles for the FLAK.  I haven’t done the measurements yet so I’m not sure how long they will be but I decided to go ahead and get started on them.  I’ll do the measurements soon as I’m at the point now that I need to know when to stop.

I’m using Addi Turbo needles which are not my favorite as they are too slick for my tastes.  I find the stitches slide off of them when I’m doing the crosses and at the end of the rows.  It should be better when I get more than 20 stitches on the needles.

I’m also making progress on my Jaywalkers and I *may* have enough yarn to finish the toes.  If not, I found some purple leftover yarn in my stash – I’m not sure what it is and it won’t match the Koigu exactly in weight or color, but will be fine for toes.

I also found I need a ‘mindless’ project.  You know - the ones where you don’t have to pay attention and count?  I started a pair of ribbed cuffed summer socks in Cascade Fixation and plan on just doing an entire sock of rib with my standard heel and toe.  Should give me hours of mindless knitting.

And the biggest news!  My prize yarn from Wendy arrived and it is just lovely.  I am planning a Pi shawl with this yarn as my Knitting Olympics entry.  (click for better pix)

I’ve joined the lace knitters team and we will be making a ‘holey’ attempt to complete our projects in 16 days.
Join the fun if you are as ~~suicidal~~ jazzed as I am.

Till later ~~  Dene

A Wonderful Weekend

2006-01-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful weekend! First on the agenda was watching the US Figure Skating Championships on television Thursday through Sunday.  I have this thing about ice skating that goes back many years.  I can remember when the skaters were required to actually skate figures!  Anyway, I loved the competition and am glad that Michelle Kwan and Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto will be going to the Olympics this year.  My fav guy was Matt Savoie – his long program was supurb!  I’ll be glued to the TV when the Olympics come around.

I was also productive while watching the competitions.  I finished the socks for The-One-Who-Married-The-Daughter.

They are my own design and although you can’t see it, there are diamond lozenges running down the side of both.  They are done with Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Granite Peak colorway.  I used size 2 Brittany Birch and once again snapped a needle.  I had done this before and the company had graciously sent me 2 new needles so I still had a set of 5 needles even after I broke the one.  I’ll just have to be more careful in the future.  These socks will be on their way to Virginia once I finish the novel I’m reading that I wanted to send along to The-Daughter to read.

After much resistance, I joined another Internet fad *sigh*.  I had started some socks in Koigu KPPPM back in September during Hurricane Rita.  I was using Maruerite’s More Fun Than Cables sock pattern but the mock cables were just not showing with such dark and busy yarn.  So I frogged back to the ribbing, increased 12 stitches to 84 and started Grumperina’s Jaywalker pattern.

Since it seems everyone is doing this sock I was not going to follow the crowd but this is such a wonderful pattern, I just couldn’t resist ~~the brainwashing~~.  I’m very pleased with how it is turning out in the Koigu.   The picture doesn’t show the colors well – they range between black to purples and include a bit of apricot-ish color in there.  I had to make the cuff a bit shorter because of my ~~ski-length~~ large feet and I’m still worried about running out of yarn.  If I do, I’ll finish in some pink yarn I have for the toe.  I guess I’ll have to see about joining the Jaywalker knit-along now.

I also took a trip to a yarn shop that I hadn’t visited before.  I live in the Piney Woods NW of Houston and rarely make it into the city.  Exceptions are for the International Quilt Festival each October and for shops that I really, really like.  Well, I found another I will visit again.  It is Yarns 2 Ewe on Shepherd St. in Houston.  I spent nearly 2 hours there on Saturday morning and my credit card is still smoking.  Although things seemed a little picked over after the holiday season, they still had a very nice selection of yarns for all types of projects.

I came home with several to swatch and see if I like.  They include Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in maroon– a lovely 50% baby alpaca, 50% merino wool worsted weight (I think).  I also brought home a skein of Nashua Julia by Kristin Nicholas in a natural shade.  This yarn ins 25% alpaca, 25% mohair and 50% wool.  I’m thinking this would make a lovely Aran sweater. GEMS Topaz superwash wool in red was another I wanted to try to make things for my relatives that don’t understand the term “hand wash”.  I may make one of my baby sweaters out of this for the next time my hubby asks for a hand made ‘something’ for a baby I’ll never meet.  2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM in a variegated blue came home with me also.  I love this yarn for socks.

On the way home, I swung by The Hen House on Louetta in Spring. Although I don't like this shop much (too many novelty yarns) occasionally I will find some yarn that I like. I managed to pick up 9 skeins of Galway Highland Heather in a lovely royal blue at a nice price. It will become a sweater sometime in the future.

I’m off to knit the saddles for the FLAK sweater and make up a package for my secret pal.

Till later ~~ Dene

2006-01-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

Got to love the knitting community!

I'm beside myself with excitement - I won some lovely yarn from Wendy at Wendy Knits. It is National De-lurking Week and I was the 22,000th commenter on Wendy's blog. The knitting bloggers are simply the best :)

The Shimmer will make a lovely Pi shawl. I want to do the one on the cover of EZ's Knitter's Almanac. I have started several shawls but haven't finished any of them. I took the trangular lace shawl class from Jackie E-S at Needlecraft University last fall but it is still unfinished. I started the MysteryShawlAlong2 and got to clue 4 and decided I didn't like the shawl so it will be frogged. I'm going to use the yarn (a lovely lace weight wool) for MysteryShawlAlong3.

Wendy posted a picture of Lucy in her blog today. She was so striking in her bride's outfit that Starkitty swooned :)

Now is this any way for a Grand Champion Birman to act? For those that are curious, he is Gr. Ch. Birpatch Upon a Star of Denebir (aka Starkitty).

till later ~~ Dene

2006-01-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

Unexpected FO

I love my husband of 30 years but I don't really think he understands my time. Last week he said, "I really don't want to ask but do you by chance have a homemade baby quilt I could give to a friend in Russia?". This was met with my best "You gotta be kidding" stare. Oh sure! I have dozens of quilts made up just ready to gift out to people I don't know - NOT! Nor do I have time to whip one up since he was leaving today to go back overseas.

So, I put on my thinking cap. The husband wants something homemade and I do have some baby socks I had intended to gift to CIC, but that just didn't seem to be enough. Then I rememebered something that I had knit about 6-7 years ago - somewhere in all my craft ~~crap, junk piles~~ stuff upstairs were 2 baby sweaters that I knit and never sewed together. They were made before I discovered the joys of good yarn and are most definately made of cheap acrylic.

So upstairs we go. Now, this is the hard part. When we remodeled the house last year, one of the victims was my craft closet. I had a wonderful 6'x8'closet in my bedroom that housed only my crafting supplies and projects. It was torn out and is now a breezeway between the living room and den. It really opened the house up, but gave me nowhere to put my ~~crap, junk piles~~ stuff. This was all dumped in the unused loft and mixed with all sorts of stuff from other areas of the house. Boxes and boxes of stuff.

Sifting through the boxes I spotted a cable needle I needed for the FLAK - eureka! Then I found my box of crochet hooks that I rescued. My daughter's GS uniform with a patch that needed to be sewn on - wait, she is now 26 yrs old - that can wait..LOL. You get the picture. Nowhere could I find the sweaters till I spotted a familiar yellow canvas bag - there they were.

One solid blue and one variagated pink sweaters emerged from the bag in relatively good shape. The blue one had a few spots on it that I thought would wash out and since the baby was male, I grabbed it to sew up the seams. About an hour later and after a good dunk in some Dawn dish soap, the sweater was out drying.

Nobody told me how long acrylic takes to dry *sigh*. This morning I went out to grab the sweater and wrap it before taking my hubby off to the airport and the thing was still wet. So I dumped it in the dryer. This stuff is indestructable and it came out fine :)

So, my first finished object of 2006 is an old UFO that I knitted 6-7 years ago just so I would have something to pass the time at shows waiting for my cats to be called to the ring. I was hoping it would be somethign glamourous and worthy of much praise, but alas no. But is is a finished object and for that I'm glad.

Now, should I finish the other one?

till later ~~ Dene