Saturday Morning

Nothing much to post these days.

We are sticking close to home this weekend and I am doing a mountain of laundry.

I have, however, been knitting.

I made these slippers last night for a penpal (a USPS penpal and not an email pal) I have in Alaska. I really enjoy getting a real piece of mail in my mailbox that isn't bills. A nice surprise.

She is a retired lady who is taking care of her husband who has fairly advanced Alzheimer's. She asked me if I would make her some good old fashioned slippers so I sent her some photos of slippers and these are the ones she picked. The pair did not take long at all to make.


Here is my scarf in progress. As I mentioned, I am using the Feather & Fan pattern. I know it is nothing fancy but I like that it is really easy, as lace goes (only 1 row of pattern for every 4) and it makes this nice scalloped edge all by itself.

The pattern for this scarf:

Size 8 needles
Any type of yarn (change the needles based on your yarn)

Cast on 40 stitches

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K2, purl to the last 2 stitches, K2
Row 3: K2, k2tog (3 times), YO, K1 (6 times), K2tog (6 times), YO, K1 (6 times), K2tog (3 times), K2
Row 4: Knit

Repeat until the length you want your scarf to be and bind off.

I am off to the mall later today for a bit of shopping by myself. I still gotta figure out what to get my hubby for our anniversary. I have no IDEA. I was thinking a card but it appears that he has purchased something and so......it goes.

Felted Tote Bag

Here's a photo of the finished tote bag I made for my SIL in England.

It turned out really well and shrunk down considerably! It is still a good sized bag but not as big as it appeared before it was felted.

I am now trying to find just the right pattern for the left over yarn from my hearts shawl to make a scarf as a birthday present. I tried the lacey scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and I just didn't like it in fingering weight yarn. So...this morning I started it in Feather & Fan and it looks much more like what I wanted for the yarn.

OK, and I saw this article about Barbara Bush visiting the evacuated people in Houston and am appalled.

SnB Tuesday

There was a good group as usual at Coffee Rush. Kim is probably at her last SnB for awhile since she will be getting in an airplane for China in 5 days! Good luck in China!!!! I know you will all do great!
Michelle & Heather.
Melanie working on her Argyle vest....she tried bobbins but ended up with the ingenious idea of using baby socks! I think they would get less tangled than the bobbins.

Eva, working on a shawl with short rowing.

Bernice...trying to read her sweater pattern without all of gals talking to her!


Sherry working on 4 projects in one night and is going on a Knitting Cruise! What a great idea. I am jealous!!!!

I will post a photo of my tote bag next post. It turned out really well and will be heading back to England with our house guests in a few weeks.

Tuesday

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.

We are getting ready for the visit of David’s cousin & hubby to Arizona next Monday.

David has put together a list of “English” items he wants them to bring over.  I can tell you that their luggage will be much lighter when they go home, even if they do a lot of shopping!!!

The bag is felted and drying nicely out in the garage.  It is still pretty big but the handles can be tied up to make them shorter.  It is definitely a good sized bag.  Next time, I would make the “small” sized one, which I will extrapolate is still pretty good sized.

We are tying to get things together to get out of the house for school this morning.  It is not going too badly!!!!

Famous last words from me!!!!  There is still 20 minutes!

Holiday Monday

Here is a before photo of the felted bag pattern from Knit Picks. As you can see, it is substantial. I can't imagine how big it would be if I had made the Extra Large Tote!!! This one will carry a whole freaking meal!
Yes, there really is yarn at Target. Here is a photo from the new Target at Germann & Gilbert. The empty spaces at the top are for needles & a pattern book. The bright colors on the left side is boucle in really fun colors (75 yds for $1), the middle stuff the fuzzy stuff and the stuff closest on the right is very much like Trendsetter Charm.

And, here are my little pixie's reclining in our bed last night before heading off to their own beds. Do they look like they are relaxed???

Sunday Morning

Well, I broke down and got my hair professionally colored....as it is getting longer, doing it myself at home is getting tougher. I end up with big streaks in the back when I pull my hair up in a ponytail or something similar.

We will see whether it makes any difference or if my gray comes back just as quickly!

My hairdresser is pregnant and due in March. Congratulations! Arg...that means I need to find a new one around that time unless she decides to come back to work part time for sanity reasons. You Mom's out there know what I mean.

I have been knitting but nothing intricate. I am about 2/3 of the way through the tote bag for my SIL. I made the large size and it is substantial but will work well for hitting the High Street to pick up dinner on the way home in the London suburbs. British people have to shop almost daily because their refrigerators are the size of dorm fridge's!

I am also plugging away on the infamous Lost Points Shawl. It is good mindless knitting but as soon as I finish this bag, I will do something a bit lacy again....I think.

I resisted the urge to go to Fiber Factory yesterday for their 20% off sale. I knew I could not go there and NOT BUY ANYTHING!

Besides, Target is selling yarn and needles (knitting & crochet) in their $1 section. I saw it on a blog and wanted to check it out for myself. They were just starting to stock when I went at lunch on Friday but there is hope........fun gifts or just fun yarn!

We are sticking close to home this weekend. Nothing much going on at chez HB but knitting, laundry and errands.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Katrina.....

I am going to jump on the donation bandwagon today.

I can only watch so much television. I was crying last night when they showed a lady that had gone into labor. She had been swimming through to get to "the other side" with her 5 year old son before the contractions got too bad. She doesn't know what happened to her son! I can't imagine.

And don't get me started on our current shrub leader........................might have to call my Red family members, two of which always call me to remind who I should vote for in Presidential elections. This past one was a lesser of two evils (idiots) situation and I am not sure the other would have been a great prize but I bet gas prices would have been MUCH lower than they currently are with the blue candidate.

There are some knitter's keeping track of knitting donations, if you are interested.

If you donate, email givealittle at gmail.com and you could win knitting prizes, including Wendy's Peacock Feather's Shawl. No amount is too small.

One thing I would like you to note if you give to the Red Cross is to make sure you note or tell them that you want your money to go to the Hurricane Disaster victims...otherwise, it may end up in the general pot.

Have a great Friday.

Red Kangaroo Wines

There was a good group at Red Kangaroo Wines last night.

I have got tell you that the combination of wine and knitting is hard to beat! Plus, their snacks are pretty darned good too!













Here is Kim, in the middle, with a her friend Pam and another gal. Kim is off to China on Sept. 21...no pressure or anxiety!!! Yeah, right!

Good luck Kim!















A couple of relative newbies to the group are seen below.





Heather, as always working on something really lacy! It looks great! Pam, had to cut you out but she was there with bells on!!!!!!


And finally, I gave away the shawl below to the prayer shawl ministry. As many of you know, for me, knitting is more about the process than what I actually make! Knitting is cheaper than therapy for me and I find it very calming!

Air Guitar

We were watching the Eagles Farewell Tour I on Sunday night and when Joe Walsh did his song, Life’s Been Good to Me, everyone in my family was playing air guitar!



Even the little Prince tried to get in on the action.


Of course, Dad was leading the pack.


Hubby & I saw the Eagles a couple of years ago and it was a good show. Expensive tickets but a good show. I have to say, one of my all time favorites is still Prince! Awesome show and you gotta love a man that can walk in 4 inch, light up heels, wear a good amount of make up and still look pretty sexy.

Kids & Computers

Yesterday when my daughter had a friend come over yesterday to play.  The little Prince was upset because they would not play with him!

Horrors of Horrors!

To help him ease his pain, I turned on the computer and sat down with him to do some Playhouse Disney surfing and to show him how to use the mouse.

Apparently I did a good job because after I turned off the computer, he was back in there with the computer on and he had CLICKED ON HIS OWN PROFILE!!!!!!!!!  (Note to self, set up password protect on your account NOW!)

The kid is 3 years old!

This morning he did the same thing but also got onto the internet!  Holy Cow!

I found this amusing because I had two calls yesterday for “tech support”.

One was from a colleague (around age 50) who was having problems with his new Adobe Acrobat program.  He pulled up a pdf but it would not let him edit it.  Hmmm…could it be because it was not an editable page?  I have talked this same colleague through some basics of Quickbooks too.  You’d think he’d send some business my way.

The second call was from someone (age 40) who will remain unmentioned.  

Urgent call because they got a new computer and can’t get into their email.  Ok.  Is there some steps you can go through with an alternate email to reset your password????

Caller:      Yes, but it is telling me to paste the link into a new browser.  What’s a                browser?

Me:     Um, Internet Explorer.  

C:     But I use Outlook for email.

Me:     You need to open a new window so you can paste the address into it.

C:      How?  Where is that Window?

Me:     Go to Start and then click on the big E.  

C:      Oh, internet explorer.

Me:     Yes, that’s it.

C:      I don’t know what to do.

Me:     Send me the email.  Ok, we have to reset your password.

C:     I want to use *%#$(*$(.

Me:      It says that is what you used last time and you need to pick a new one.

C:     I don’t want to. I use the same one for everything!  

Me:     You have to change it.  Pick something easy and WRITE IT DOWN!

So, after about 5 minutes, I had the email up and running on the old and new computer.  I’ll send her my bill.  

Wow!!!!

To say I am really surprised is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

I have had a lot of fun finding little bits and pieces for my secret pal, Sauniell.

Anyway, I picked up the mail today and found a little package from the nice lady I have been "spoiling" as part of the Secret Pal gift exchange.

Look what she made especially for me!!! Personalized photo stitch markers of family photos from my blog!

They came in the cutest little green zippered bag. We all know how much I LOVE green, any shade!

How cool is that??????



It is hard to get non-blurry photos of these markers but they are just SO COOL!

The added bonus, is that they are not very heavy. Believe me, they will be getting put on the Lost Points Shawl that is languishing in a knitting bag!!!!!!! Maybe it will be an incentive to work on it some more and finish it again!

Could I use a couple more exclamation marks in this post?

Thank you Sauniell.

I am very overwhelmed at your thoughtfulness and also taking the time to make these markers for me. I will smile every time I get to a one as I knit.

I got nothin' for you....

It has been a very quiet knitting week at Chez HB .

I have been stressed with work but who wants to hear about that???????

Hannah got her first real report card, mid-quarter, and is doing great.

Simon is typically 3 and getting a new bump on his forehead every week! The kid has a variety of green on his head!

Here is a photo of Sophie....that cat is so secure that she was sleeping all stretched out like that, tummy up!

I am nearing the end of my shawl. The rows are around 400ish stitches on size 8 needles so they take a good amount of time for each row so progress is not quick. And...due to the work stress and commitments, it has really chewed into my normal knitting time! Damn work stress!

Hopefully I will finish over the weekend and then block it along with the two scarves this weekend.

That would be in between the zillions of loads of laundry I seem to have this weekend!!! Ugh....I need a laundry fairy!!!!!!

Tues. & Wednesday

AfriKelli...... and a felted cosmetic bag


Pam & her baby pink shawl. Heather & her Charlotte's web shawl.






Heather's hubby, Brain, trying to escape planet hormone at their house!










Mary & Mary.
Leah without Eva....cuz again, her photo was horrible. Sorry Eva, I had to cut you out to save your dignity.

















And, free size 8 and 10.5 needles! I got them for trying out a pattern book from the people that publish Creative Knitting!

Nice!

And I am obsessing at the moment......too much in town client stress!

Monday.....

Simon has a little bike he got from one of the neighbors that he is trying to ride. He just can't seem to get the whole idea of a lot of pedalling. He goes 1/2 and gets bored. Oh well, at least he has his other bike from his birthday that he can pedal.



My knit picks order came yesterday. Here is the yarn for the bag I was talking about for my sister in law. Chocolate, pumpkin and maple syrup. I think they will look really good together in an earth tone kind of way.

And the other part of my order. Yes, those are addi turbos you see along with the magnetic chart doo-dad and a row counter that hangs on my needles for circular knitting.

The Addi's are currently helping me finish the last 25 rows of my shawl. Apparently, although I ordered the only size 8's they had they came in a 47 inch length!!!! I have to say I like the cord and one of the joins on the Addi's. However, the other join is catching my yarn which is not a good thing considering my cheap needles weren't doing that before I changed them to the Addi's.

I suspect these are going back, at least for a pair with a smooth join and a shorter cord.


And finally, what is it about kids. You buy them all kinds of toys but when it comes down to it, they are just as happy with a couple of boxes that you were going to recycle and some markers to decorate them????

The kids were wearting them like "skirts" around the house. Go figure?!?!?

Beauty & The Beast

Hannah & I went to see Beauty & The Beast at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix. We had a nice girl's day out.

Hannah had her "Flower Girl" dress on at about 7:30 am this morning and wanted to know when we were leaving. The show didn't start until 2:00 pm! She also wanted her hair done like "Belle's" so she would be all ready with her Belle dress we bought at Disneyland.

Here we are on our way to Phoenix after a quick trip to the bank.

We went to lunch at Mi Amigo's at the Arizona Center.

And here is our Princess as Belle on the steps of the Herberger! She really loved being all dressed up.





There were quite a few other little girl's dressed up as Belle or in some kind of Princess ensemble!

Amazing that we bought the 7 year old sized dress and although it is big around, it is already pretty short on Hannah. I guess she is just tall for her age.

The show was fantastic!!! The scenery and backgrounds were great. It is amazing what they can do with stage sets these days!

My only negative about the show was the length of the production. It was nearly 3 hours with a 20 minute intermission!!!

Hannah was great but there were a lot of younger kids that were really antsy or fell asleep.

Knitting Notes

After our Saturday night, Sunday was pretty quiet. That is if you block out the constant fighting of the kids. Hannah seems to think that because she is older, she needs to "lecture" (also known as a dissertation) her brother on the greatness of all her ideas! I can't tell you how many times I have to tell her that she is not the MOM!

We talked to David's sister in England who is a faithful blog reader. Hi Ann!!!! She was commenting on how she loved the bags that I make (ok, hinting for one herself!) so I ordered some yarn in browns to amake this bag using the pattern from knit picks.

I also ordered some Addi Turbos, just to see what all the fuss is about. I was so close to getting free shipping it made the Addi's almost cheap, yeah, ALMOST.



I ripped out my "Beginner's Luck" shawl. I was BORED TO TEARS with the pattern and I wasn't even 1/2 done. It is now in its original form, seen in the ball of yarn.

David saw me unwinding it this morning and asked what I was doing. I said I really could not see finishing it so....it will become something else in the future.




I also finished the diamond scarf and the Branching Out scarf last night. I wove in all the ends and now just have to block them both.

You know what that means, I can start on my Cascading Hearts shawl this afternoon or in the morning.

I also ordered a magnetic chart holder and a row counter that hangs on your needle like a stitch marker. Don't worry, there will be photos when I get all the new gear. I am being forced to use the chart on the new shawl. I don't like charts but it is only for the middle gore and edges so I am sure I will survive.

I am also working on the Lost Points Shawl for my Dad's lovely wife, Linda. It is all knitting, forever, so it is not going really quickly due to the boredom factor. However, it is a good project for when I am tired or just don't feel like thinking. It is at the absolutely mindless part!

Small Town Saturday Night......

David & I headed off for an evening sans kids. One of his co-worker's was having his comedy debut in Carefree, AZ before the Hiroshima concert (the band was great). David saw them back in Los Angeles at Madame Wong's in the early 1980's??? Yes, you read that right, it says the early 1980's when I was just a BABY!

So, we leave the house about 5:30 pm and head our way to Carefree which is about 50 miles from our house. We take the scenic SR51 route because the North 101 was closed. It didn't take too long and I was able to show David just how far I used to drive after teaching at PVCC in the evening after my "regular" job.

We turned off of the 101 onto Scottsdale Road and headed north. OMG, what the hell happened? The place is all built up! I mean, Rawhide is only about 3 miles off of the 101. I remember when I moved to Phoenix in 1995 from Fargo, ND (yes, Fargo) and that place was in the middle of nowhere. The reason I know this? My alternator died at Cave Creek & Pinnacle Peak road at about 10 pm one night and there was nothing there but a mobile home park.

Driving up to Carefree was a trip down memory lane. My first boss in Phoenix lived in the Carriage Trails neighborhood and I could not find the place in the dark for love or money one night. I was staying with them (yeah, no pressure living with the boss) after I moved here until I found a place to live. We also stopped by an old co-worker's place in Carefree. Wow, I remember when Carefree seemed the end of the earth in Phoenix! Even with all the building, their zoning laws have kept even Target signs from being big and bright. Instead, it is desert colored and low to the ground.

We got to the venue and decided to have dinner at the hotel nearby. Hmmm...the manager tells us the restaurant is full even though the tables are maybe 1/2 full so we headed back into town and ended up eating at Saba's Mediterranean Restaurant. Oh my goodness did we smell like GARLIC CLOVES this morning. I think it was the Hummus. We had yummy hummus, David had a lamb shank in a yummy red wine sauce and I had baked prawns in a tomato feta sauce. We both had salad's with the house dressing which was a mustard vinegar type with fennel. Mighty tasty.

Here we are at dinner.


Did you know there was a yarn shop in Carefree???? Neither did I. David was mighty happy the place was closed. Typical summer Carefree hours, 10-4 Tuesday through Saturday.




















Here is our friend, Jim Girodo, doing his comedy sketch. Yes, that is a photo of him and "Big Pussy" from the Soprano's television show.

The photo below is a group of guys that came around for Jim's debut and to see the band. Jim was really good! I could just see all the stuff he talked about in my head! I hope this is the start of a budding career. Rodney Dangerfield didn't get going until in his late 50's so there is loads of time for Jim.

Left to Right:

Steve (a friend of Jim's), Kerry Dunn who was part of the group that brought the Super Bowl to Arizona, is very connected in the music business and an all around empresario (he also put David back in touch with David Cassidy about 5 years ago), Jim Girodo (new Comedian and great media guy), Al Molina of Molina Fine Jewelry,his son Austin and Reed Glick (a partner of Kerry Dunn, overall empresario, Celebrity Theater and Rage in the Cage).

Al Molina, who we run into at a lot of charity black tie do's, is always after David to come help him raise his profits over at the store. Al was telling me that diamond's are an investment. I looked at him and said, "I love jewelry, a lot, but I come from a working class upbringing and I refuse to go into debt for a diamond!" Al countered that there are many people that just budget for such expenses, just like a retirement plan. OK....he apparently runs with a higher tax bracket crowd than we do! He spends the summers at his villa in Italy!

New Yarn....Yes, I do need MORE!

But first, Arizona Idol at Arizona Mills Mall.

This is the view from the front of the food court. Just a mass of people.


And the back side of Simon, Hubby & Hannah watching one of the contestants. The mall was not quite as busy as I thought it would be due to the Idol tryouts.

So, we go to see Dad and of course, end up spending money on the kids. Some dresses, tights ($0.30 each!!!) for Hannah. The tights were a steal, even though a couple of them ended up being about $1.50 each, because those microfiber tights don't last more than 1-3 wearings. The get holes or snagged or something so I bought a bunch in her current size and some in the next size!



Simon was obsessed with the crocodile at the Rain Forest Cafe and we had to check out the tree frog.

The kids are now napping, which gives me time for blogging. The Prince whined his litte heart out that he wasn't tired but he is out like a light.

The Princess also needs at least one nap during the weekend or she gets all tuckered out early in the following week. She swears she doesn't need a nap but it really does help her disposition!

Speaking of which, she just got up because she can't stop thinking about something fun she wants to do...ok, nap tomorrow!

I feel incredibly lucky that hubby & I have the opportunity to have one parent home a majority of the time with our little ones.

I was offered a full time job, working out of my house, recently and I turned it down. The only thing that making more money and working longer would change is that, I work more and our quality of life would go down....the money really wasn't that much when you factor in additional daycare and all of that stuff. You can't put a price on quality of life.

I told them that I would work more consulting time (I love creative working situations and I was willing to do what it took to make it work but on my own terms) for them but that I could not put a price on flexibility and time with my little ones. Case in point, being able to pick up the Prince at 11:30 am on Thursday and take off Friday with very little guilt!

Funny, when I told my contact at the company that they could not pay me enough for the flexibility, he said when he told the CEO my reason for not taking the job, the CEO said, "that's not a good reason!". Of course, they also knew what my answer would be before they asked but it never hurts to ask and I was flattered they asked.

All you Mom's out there know it is a good reason! Like I said, we are fortunate that I can still work part time (while paying off my student loans), out of my house and be available for sick days, to chaperone school field trips go to school recitals or events during the day and anything else that comes up. Plus, I get to drop my daughter off at school, finish my work day at 1:45 pm every day so I can pick her up.

Ok, Ok, I am off my soapbox about how great my life is....yeah, just ask Heather what was going on when I talked to her this morning....sounded like my kids were KILLING each other. Yeah, my life is perfect (utter chaos)!!!!!! OH YEAH...in what dream world do I live? Fantasy land but with LOTS of yarn.

Now for the yarn porn. I will let Heather show you hers all by herself!

This is hand dyed merino fingering weight wool from Mystical Creation Yarns in New Mexico. They have great prices on this type of yarn. It was about $22, including shipping & insurance (because I split it with Heather), for 8 oz which is approximately 1300 yards!

I am going to make this shawl with my yarn.

I bought the shawl pattern from the Knitting Zone. It was a downloadable pattern which is great because there is no additional shipping cost! I LOVE NO SHIPPING FEES FOR A PIECE OF PAPER!

Mary (at the Knitting Zone) said they would have more Heart Strings Fiber Arts patterns available by download next week since she just got about 30 more via email.

My kids are obsessed with my swift and ball winder! They love winding yarn. The problem with this yarn is that they don't always have good tension when winding and they end up getting the yarn all mucked up in the winder....hence two balls instead of one!

I do love having a swift and ball winder! I have been knitting for almost 20 years and only thought I needed one this past year. I love it! I don't think I would have had the patience to wind the ~1300 yards of yarn by hand using hubby's hands or the back of the chair as a swift!

I really want to start my new project but I have to finish the scarf before I start!

And to all of you worried about the little Prince yesterday, he is better today. He wasn't too bad yesterday but clingy and a mild fever so he spent a nice day with me on the couch. I have to admit, it was nice to have my little boy home by himself. That doesn't seem to happen much and it sure was nice to just have my baby....since he too will grow up all too fast!

Good god, shoot me now.......I am all nostalgic! Damn, that parenting makes you get all weepy. I swear it wasn't in the handbook. Oh yeah, there was no handbook, they make you wing this whole parenting thing! Can you believe it?