Just Sit Back & Knit

Don't Call it a Comeback

I love L.L. Cool J.  I can't help it, I really can't.

So, I'm back, again.  I have tried posting a few times lately, but get so upset with my computer and slow uploads of pictures, I have walked away cussing each time.

I have decided to keep it short and sweet, and make a commitment:  to post at least once a week, even if it's too short. 

Barb, I love your meme (which I plan to steal) and your randoms thoughts, which I paln to copy!!!

I do have injuries that prevent or at least really slow down my knitting!!!
******WARNING******** the following picture is graphic and gross:

   
these injuries are well on the way to healing.  I was walking down the drive-way just over a week ago holding Fletch (We were going down to "see what the worker guys did to our street") when I slipped and fell forward taking all the weight and momentum on my left (thank-you, thank-you, thank-you) hand.  It was nasty and hurt worse than childbirth (I kid you not).  Fletch started crying right away, but once he saw my hand and my face he stopped.  He was so sweet and helpfull.  I stayed on my back on the driveway for at least five minutes.  Then slowly made my way up the stairs, across the porch and inside to my living room floor, taking breaks to muffle shouts and wimpers.  Fletch got the phone for me and I called my sister who left work to clean my hand, pick out the pebbles and bandage me up.  The whole time I was unbelievably whimpy.  I'm not sure how she put up with it.  She did though, patiently and sweetly - that's what sisters do.

I'm back to knitting now, still just a bit slowed down. 
Fletch is asleep, Jim is out. 
Tonight it's just me, the t.v., my knitting and Turkey day leftovers. 
I was so excited, then I did this:

burned my yarn-tension fingers while heating up my dinner!!!!!!
This may be the night I look into continental knitting.

random thoughts and pictures:
Thanks to my MIL for being here this weekend.  Having her around to knit with inspired me to get back to work on Fletcher's airplane sweater, and past my problem of getting my in-the-round sleeves joined and not looking TOO sloppy for words:
  I still don't love this sweater, but, I still want to finish it.  I want to get my first sweater behind me and I do love the airplane and FLY above it.

Kathy gave me some beautiful yarn and a pattern from her stash.  I will start it soon - a new SKP!  I will make it for myself!  This is really very exciting because I never want to spend my yarn money on things for me, I always want to get things to make for others first, thank-you Kathy.

Just before I burned my fingers I finished a scarf for
my little (who is taller than me by lots) brother Matt. 
 
This scarf was modeled  after a scarf my Stepmom, MaryLee, bought from a friend. 
Matt picked the colors and I got to work.  Again I wasn't crazy about it as I was
working on it - I'm not real fond of the super bulky yarn. 
Once I started sewing on the pockets I fell in love. 
I think it will look awsome on Matt and hope he likes it as much as I do.
I'll post a picture of him wearing it soon.

I just have to mention how disapointed  I was in the movie The Davinci Code.
I loved the book and hated the movie. 

I think Fletcher is an amazing person.  He makes me laugh all the time with his quirky humor.
During conversations - i love conversations with my three-almost-four-year-old-  I am ofter struck dumb by the complexity of his thinking process. 
I'm not trying to say I think he extra-ordinary in comparrison to other children.  I mean he is extra-ordinary to me, but I just think children are amazing and he constantly reinforces that knowledge. 
It's truly exciting. 

And so, here are a few recent pictures of him:
These are from our two most recent outings
with our home-schooling group.

building a shelter:

trying out the shelter:

face-painting with rocks (this is from the week after halloween, he
was a SCARY GREEN VAMPIRE BAT and wears the costume at
least once a week):

inside a replica of an early native-american dwelling:

I think I am done for tonight.  I am excited I took the time to contribute, and want to say thanks to you Barb for starting this blog and inspiring me each time I read your entries.

One last image:

This is what is left of our Thanksgiving pies and goodies I must, and will throw out first thing tommorow morning in order to stop eating them!!!  I made the pumkin pies from scratch this year, it's the second time I've done it.  There were very good, and I must say I make a mean crust.  However, when I bit into my dad's apple pie, I realized I've still got alot to learn about crust-making.  Nothing beats my dad's pies.

My Life Field Trip: Food

I thought I would try something new. A little field trip into my life. And the subject of this field trip? Food. Something we all love to hate. Or hate to love. Or something.

I have food issues. Well, I really have one big food issue that creates several smaller food issues. The big issue? I am really, really picky. And, I'm almost thirty. It's not going away. It's nothing my parents did--they have two picky children and two non-picky children. They tried different ways of breaking my pickiness but mostly they just learned how strong my gag reflex is.

Here are a few ways that my pickiness manifests itself:

1. Mixy foods are out. Quiche--out. Most soups/stews/chowders--out. Sandwiches--out. Casseroles--out. I don't completely ban mixed foods. I like lemon yogurt with dry roasted peanuts mixed in. I like lasagna as long as there is no meat (and no really big chunks of vegetables--small and smallish chunks are okay). I like salads (with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, croutons and ranch dressing (has to be Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Recipe made from the packet--if you're a ranch fan but you buy those bottles of ranch that don't taste good (come on, they really don't) you're missing out. Try this dressing--look for the BUTTERMILK RECIPE on the package--the regular milk recipe doesn't taste right. And you need to buy real mayonnaise--no low fat or canola oil version. Just try it. The difference is truly amazing).
   
2. No substitutes please (or Rosarita, why?). Ranch dressing (see #1). Heinz ketsup. Rosarita Vegetarian Refried Beans--except! When I was about twelve they changed the recipe. I noticed something was wrong right away--with my first bite of my bean and cheese (only, thank you very much) burrito. I checked the can (could my mother have bought some other brand--oh! the horror!) But no--it was much worse! It was right there on the can, in yellow, if memory serves, "NEW IMPROVED RECIPE". My burrito eating life has never been the same. I've tried other brands on occasion (and even tried to make my own refried beans once) but to no avail.
   
3. No menu, thanks. At nice restaurants I generally have to get a steak because the chicken choices tend to be very mixy (it all seems to be stuffed with ham or cheese or something--really I try not to look at the descriptions--I want to keep my appetite). At some restaurants I don't even need to look at the menu. I know what I want because it is the same exact thing I've ordered ever time I've been there. You know when you go to a restaurant and the waitress comes to take your order and you need more time? That never happens to me. Never. I sat across the table from my sister last night as she perused the Tahoe Joe's menu. She couldn't decide what to get. This happens often. She is like my mom--they like trying crazy new foods. I just honestly can't imagine what that would be like. I look at a menu and go nope-mixy, nope-sandwich, nope-blah, blah, blah. I find THE thing I want and then start thinking about all of the questions I have to ask the waiter about the food (what comes on the salad? does the dressing come on the side? What does your chef consider medium? what about medium-well? can my steak be medium-medium-well? are those garlic mashed potatoes or normal mashed potatoes (you all can guess by now that the garlic ones are out--here's a tip--cheese and potatoes do not belong together. Neither do garlic and potatoes. It's just not right!))
   
4. Smells and textures matter. I can't stress this one enough folks. If something smells bad or funny or just generally wrong--it shouldn't go in your mouth. Most mixy foods have generally wrong smells. You can't tell what's in it from the smell. It's all too mixed up. When I was little I used to have to pinch my nose shut in order to take my "three brownie bites" of QUICHE (my mom LOVES that stuff). And scalloped potatoes? Besides breaking the "cheese and potatoes don't belong together" rule, they just smell really, really awful. I remember many an afternoon when I would come home from school and smell that awful smell and know I wasn't going to eat much for dinner that night. Cause you know what? In my family, pork chops often come with scalloped potatoes. And you know what else? Pork is out (unless it is in the form of breakfast sausage and there is IMITATION maple syrup to dip it in). But to go back to quiche for a minute--this one is a double whammy in this category. Knocks me out with its smell and makes me gag when the custardy-nastiness tries to slide down my throat. Uggh. Custard. Out. And leftovers? They smell and feel and taste different from their fresh counterparts. Mostly, leftovers-out.
   
5. I really don't eat sandwiches (mostly). You may have noticed that I dismissed sandwiches with little fanfare. People just can't believe this one. They are shocked (and sometimes seem truly offended) that I can exist without slapping mustard (yuck) and mayo (yuck-unless it is well mixed (hah! mixed) together with buttermilk and ranch dressing mix) on two pieces of bread and smashing anything and everything else in between the slices and calling it food. But I must admit that sandwiches are not totally out. Grilled cheese sandwiches are okay. Once or twice a year I get a craving for a turkey sandwich and my husband and I will go to Subway. His order: Blah-blah-blah sandwich with everything. My order: Could I have a turkey sandwich on a french roll but just ONE slice of turkey, lettuce and pickles and oh, extra pickles. I'm not so fond of slice meat so the pickles bring down the taste of the turkey. And on hot days (especially if I've been swimming) a peanut butter sandwich (Laura Scudder's Chunky and my mom's homemade wheat bread) really hits the spot.

I hope no one thinks I'm complaining here. Yes, it does get boring. Yes, I wish we could just eat once a week and get it over with, rather than having to eat daily--several times a day, in fact. Yes, I get a little tired of the same few things over and over. Yes, I used to hate eating out. When I was younger I actually cried once because there was nothing on the menu that I could eat except for dessert (Mexican restaurant that had only black beans--sad, sad day. We were on a trip and my parents made me order a dinner plate that cost twelve dollars when I begged to be allowed not to eat anything. When those black beans really wouldn't go down they gave in and ordered me a sundae). And yes, it made it hard to spend the night at friends' houses (but the homesickness made it even harder :) and I've been gently teased and not so gently teased and embarassed at times. And I used to hate it and even feel ashamed and think why can't I just grow out of it like everyone always says I will. But you know what? Now I've kind of grown into it. I'm okay with it. I don't mind it so much. In my secret heart of hearts, I kind of like it now. I kind of like that I don't eat all the strange food that is out there in the world. I just can't fathom seeing something with unidentifiable ingredients and thinking, "Yeah, I want that in my body!" I think I've come to a point in my life where I'll stop calling myself "picky" and start calling myself "selective" (connotations are everything, you know?).

Oh, and one more thing. I have the best husband. He'll eat anything (a good person to have around when eating away from home--I can move all the nasty things from my plate to his) but doesn't mind eating the same thing over and over (really good thing to have when eating at home--no complaints--ever).

And because posts are better with pictures,
and to prove that these aren't hard and fast rules,
and because this meal is leftover and mixy
(rice and chicken together! and there are onions and peas in there people!),
I present you with a picture of my lunch:

I think I am ready

To grow up as a knitter!  I may just put away that lazy knitter label and get serious (well, a little bit).

I started a guitar shaped pillow for Fletch the other day (from New Knits on the Block - full of unusual and pure fun stuff for kids), it's to be purple, green and pink - Real Punk Rock!  So, along I go and get about halfway up the back of the guitar and it's looking a bit smaller than I expected.  Strange.  That little girl in the picture looks at least as tall as Fletch if not a bit taller, there is no way her guitar is this small.  What's wrong here?  Is the picture misleading?  Is the pattern wrong? 
This is how far I will go to avoid the extra work I need to do.  This is bad.
Finally I pull out my handy metal gauge-swatch-checker.  OOOOOOOOh.  OK.  Well forget that, Fletcher will have a smaller guitar!  He won't know.  (I knit about six more rows)  It's bugging me.  Check the gauge again.  Yes, for sure where the guage should be 18 sts = 4 inches I've got at least 22 or 23!  So, Fletch won't know, but I will.  Every time I look at that pillow, I will know it should have, and could have been just a bit bigger (and a bit better).
So I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna face that FROGAPHOBIA head on and get this damn pillow done right!

Moving on in this painful process, my tea cozy has suffered the same fate.  The pattern calls for two skeins of Noro Keyreon, I ran out well before the end of the pattern.  It took me a good week to check the gauge there.  I just wanted to felt that cozy and warm up my tea!!!!!!!  I started frogging it last night.  It wasn't too painful.  With every wrap around my center-pull ball, and every rip of another row I pictured a tea cozy that FITS.

So now instead of knitting actual projects I have at least four gauge swatches (socks, diaper cover, guitar) on needles and three more(tea cozy, basket, scarf) I need to work on!  It's frustrating, but  it's got to be done.

I do have good/semi good news:

Fletch loves his slippers!
We have to put them up when he's not wearing them, Turbo loves them too, and will chew on them if given the chance!  The reason these beauties are only semi good news is that I, or rather the old me - lazy me, followed directions for the small slippers, instead of the medium!  I guess I am in denial about Fletch's growth.  So I had to stop felting early, to make them fit and they are not as tight as I would have liked, you can still really see the stitches.

Another Lesson Learned the HardWay I am happy with:

So, I knit another bowl of my own design.  I wanted to make a big one, and while knitting I realized I might run out of the yarn I was using, so I started to decrease.  I think I decrease too fast, because my "bowl" was flat.  Not only flat, but it had RUFFLES.  This being pre-frogging, I went ahead and felted to see what might happen.  It came out flat.  Surprise, surprise!  I was disappointed.  I tried forming it over a bowl, that did not work.  I was ready to cut it up for felted fabric, Fletch and I were playing around with it when I started turning those ruffles into pleats!  Funny, cause I can't stand pleats.  I used to wear pleated pants in grade school and swore off all pleats long ago.  WELL, hello pleats, you've saved my bowl:
   
I pinned it to dry.

inside drying with Fletcher's slippers.  Now that it's dry I am sewing those fabulous pleats!  I will post a picture when done.

Barb,
Can't wait to see you pictures from your trip, whenever your computer helps you out in that department.  Your Silk Garden Scaf is beautiful!

Bring on the short rows!

I love 'em!!!!!  I can't get enough of the short rows, I think they are RAD!!!  And whoever came up with them is TOTALLY RAD! 
Really, I can't explain my love for them, except to say I feel very satisfied while working them.  Call me a little bit nuts.
Here is my tea cozy in progress, helped along by my beloved short rows:
If you can see it, I have changed the color used.  Also in the picture of the cozy it is shown covered in buttons, this was not my intention to do to my own.  Fletch has other plans though, he saw the picture and is very excited about attaching buttons.  I'm not sure if it's the prospect of sewing them on - he loves to sew with me or just another chance to go through my button collection?  I remember I loved going through my mom's, they are so varied and pretty.  I will have to put my foot down as far as which buttons I will allow, our opinions of which are the prettiest buttons are a bit different!

From Kathy (mil) for my birthday I recieved: a green silk knitting bag, the every helpful contribution to my knitting fund in the way of a personal check and a great book:  A Knitter's Tmplate by Laura Militzer and Barry Klein.  While only a few of the garments are ones I could envision wearing - a couple I look forward to making some day - the great thing about this book is it's all about learning to coustomize a pattern to fit your own body!!  It has a wide variety of sweaters, tanks, jackets, and vests - and many great tips on finishing - this is what I need to build up my confidence to start AND finish a sweater.

So I have entered the diet world and am putting myself on a strict candida fighting diet.  I won't go into great detail here except to say I might be grouchy for a while and hopefully I will finally take care of my thrush.