Ho, ho, ho! I hope Santa can find us as we're heading to New England for Christmas, then to the North Georgia Mountains for New Years Eve. Nothing like spanning the globe. I've kind of missed the Christmas Shopping, decorating and dinner planning but I guess there will always be next year.
So, to whoever reads this blog (besides me) I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a New Year that is good to you.
See you in 2006 and Knit On!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Still Rogueing Along
Libby says: "Merry Christmas"
Wow! I had a comment! So, since the comment was about Rogue, this entry will be about Rogue.
Yes, there are cables - cables everywhere! I just finished the front last night (I"m doing the cardigan) and I'm surprised the world didn't hear me holler! Even the dogs barked. I have ripped this thing out and redone it so many times I was one happy kid when it was finally done and done right.
There are cables under each arm on the sides, cables on the front sections and cables going around the hood. The sleeves have cables too. I've done cables before, but this one has kicked my butt. It's not the pattern, the pattern is great, if you follow the pattern. I decided I'd rather have a cardigan and those directions aren't so clear, but, I've done it, somehow.
I very rarely make myself sweaters, or anything to "wear" because they never fit. I did my swatch on this one and came out to the same needle size as the pattern but I tried it on this morning after doing the shoulder seams and it seems a little small. I'm hoping I can add an inch or so when I do the front button bands, if not, some lucky person smaller than me will be getting a new sweater sometime. THAT's why I never knit myself anything!
So, if you're going to do the Rogue, go for it, just have lots of sticky notes to mark your place and lots of patience! But, this is one sweater that you won't get bored with and that's why I decided to make it. I've got the pattern for Eris and will do that too, just a bigger size and I'm doing it exactly as the pattern says, no more changing things for me, it's too much work.
Enjoy! And thanks for the comment lv2knit! It's nice to get comments and mine are very few and far between.
Wow! I had a comment! So, since the comment was about Rogue, this entry will be about Rogue.
Yes, there are cables - cables everywhere! I just finished the front last night (I"m doing the cardigan) and I'm surprised the world didn't hear me holler! Even the dogs barked. I have ripped this thing out and redone it so many times I was one happy kid when it was finally done and done right.
There are cables under each arm on the sides, cables on the front sections and cables going around the hood. The sleeves have cables too. I've done cables before, but this one has kicked my butt. It's not the pattern, the pattern is great, if you follow the pattern. I decided I'd rather have a cardigan and those directions aren't so clear, but, I've done it, somehow.
I very rarely make myself sweaters, or anything to "wear" because they never fit. I did my swatch on this one and came out to the same needle size as the pattern but I tried it on this morning after doing the shoulder seams and it seems a little small. I'm hoping I can add an inch or so when I do the front button bands, if not, some lucky person smaller than me will be getting a new sweater sometime. THAT's why I never knit myself anything!
So, if you're going to do the Rogue, go for it, just have lots of sticky notes to mark your place and lots of patience! But, this is one sweater that you won't get bored with and that's why I decided to make it. I've got the pattern for Eris and will do that too, just a bigger size and I'm doing it exactly as the pattern says, no more changing things for me, it's too much work.
Enjoy! And thanks for the comment lv2knit! It's nice to get comments and mine are very few and far between.
Monday, December 12, 2005
My New Collectables
Aren't they cute? The big one is from my oldest daughter and the little one is from Canada, in Disney World. I also bought a little, wooly keychain at my local yarn shop on Thursday but he didn't get here in time to make it into the picture.
Christmas Traditions New and Old
I was reading http://zeneedle.typepad.com blog and she was talking about Christmas Traditions, so thought I'd share my memories of Christmas on my blog too.
Up until we moved to the south we had Christmas with both sides of the family. On Christmas Eve we'd head to BTB's (my new name for hubby) Mom and Dad's house for the traditional feast, tree decorating, gifts and lots of talking around their big dining room table. There are 5 kids in the family so by the time you add on all the spouses and kids over the years, it was quite a croud. They were originally from PA. so it was a learning experience for me to see how different Christmas Dinner could be (I started going there when I was 13 years old). And, while growing up, the kids always thought that Santa brought their tree on Christmas Eve. Thus, the reason we decorated it on Christmas Eve - after dinner, after the dishes, and then the mad rush to decorate because no presents till the tree was done. The kids used to get a little carried away with the tinsel, being the last thing on the tree. Thinking back on it though, I think it was their Grandpa that taught them how to throw it all over the tree, to hurry it along. He loved the gift giving part as much as the smallest child.
On Christmas Day we'd go to my Mom and Dad's for more! We always had our tree up a week before Christmas, so that part was different, and Mom is such a kid at Christmas, we usually did gifts as soon as we walked in the door and got our coats off. Years later, when my Grandparents were getting older, somehow Mom waited till after dinner, but in the years that my kids were little, we didn't wait. We'd have the big feast with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash (winter), turnip (my favorite), Grandma's homemade yeast rolls, lots of pies, some fancy cranberry relish my Dad makes every year (I'll take the cranberry sauce), fudge, Mom's delicious butter brickle (which I am finally old enough to have the receipe for) and sugar cookies of every shape and description. After eating all that food and doing the dishes Mom always wanted to go for a walk, which now, at this age, seems like a wise idea, but back then? We were so tired from putting toys together until late Christmas Eve and all the rushing up until Christmas Eve, BTB and I usually crashed on her couch and had a nice, long nap while she, my Grandmother and the kids went for the walk. Don't think she liked it too much, but dang, we were full and really tired!
Now we're in the south and everything is totally different. I don't want to put a frown on the holiday, but it's just not the same. Our son lives 4 1/2 hours from us, my oldest daughter and 3 grand kids are an hour from us and my parents are 6 hours from us. We all try to get together for Christmas but this year it's not going to happen. Bob's mother is sick so we decided several months ago to go back home to Rhode Island and spend Christmas with her and all his family. His Dad passed away 1 1/2 years ago and this could possibly be the last year we can celebrate the holiday with her. I'm dreading the 20 hour ride, worrying about the snow storms that might pop up while we're driving and not spending the holiday with my kids, my grandkids, my Mom and Dad and not being home! I didn't bother decorating, didn't bother even putting up the tree and haven't bought gifts for everyone yet. My mother-in-law wants no gifts exchanged so we're going up there with an empty sleigh. Kind of a sad, meloncoly time of year. After spending almost 2 weeks up there we'll head to the mountains and have New Years Eve with my parents, my Baby Girl (who will be with us anyway), our oldest daughter and her 3 little ones. We'll have Christmas with the kids sometime after we get home. Two weeks away from home on Christmas is really weird and we've only done it once before in all of our 30 years of marriage and that year we went to Disney for Christmas and never had Christmas in RI again as we ended up moving south the following August.
So, if you're all celebrating Christmas, I hope it's very Merry. And I hope you all have a much better attitude about it than I do this year.
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe New Year.
Up until we moved to the south we had Christmas with both sides of the family. On Christmas Eve we'd head to BTB's (my new name for hubby) Mom and Dad's house for the traditional feast, tree decorating, gifts and lots of talking around their big dining room table. There are 5 kids in the family so by the time you add on all the spouses and kids over the years, it was quite a croud. They were originally from PA. so it was a learning experience for me to see how different Christmas Dinner could be (I started going there when I was 13 years old). And, while growing up, the kids always thought that Santa brought their tree on Christmas Eve. Thus, the reason we decorated it on Christmas Eve - after dinner, after the dishes, and then the mad rush to decorate because no presents till the tree was done. The kids used to get a little carried away with the tinsel, being the last thing on the tree. Thinking back on it though, I think it was their Grandpa that taught them how to throw it all over the tree, to hurry it along. He loved the gift giving part as much as the smallest child.
On Christmas Day we'd go to my Mom and Dad's for more! We always had our tree up a week before Christmas, so that part was different, and Mom is such a kid at Christmas, we usually did gifts as soon as we walked in the door and got our coats off. Years later, when my Grandparents were getting older, somehow Mom waited till after dinner, but in the years that my kids were little, we didn't wait. We'd have the big feast with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash (winter), turnip (my favorite), Grandma's homemade yeast rolls, lots of pies, some fancy cranberry relish my Dad makes every year (I'll take the cranberry sauce), fudge, Mom's delicious butter brickle (which I am finally old enough to have the receipe for) and sugar cookies of every shape and description. After eating all that food and doing the dishes Mom always wanted to go for a walk, which now, at this age, seems like a wise idea, but back then? We were so tired from putting toys together until late Christmas Eve and all the rushing up until Christmas Eve, BTB and I usually crashed on her couch and had a nice, long nap while she, my Grandmother and the kids went for the walk. Don't think she liked it too much, but dang, we were full and really tired!
Now we're in the south and everything is totally different. I don't want to put a frown on the holiday, but it's just not the same. Our son lives 4 1/2 hours from us, my oldest daughter and 3 grand kids are an hour from us and my parents are 6 hours from us. We all try to get together for Christmas but this year it's not going to happen. Bob's mother is sick so we decided several months ago to go back home to Rhode Island and spend Christmas with her and all his family. His Dad passed away 1 1/2 years ago and this could possibly be the last year we can celebrate the holiday with her. I'm dreading the 20 hour ride, worrying about the snow storms that might pop up while we're driving and not spending the holiday with my kids, my grandkids, my Mom and Dad and not being home! I didn't bother decorating, didn't bother even putting up the tree and haven't bought gifts for everyone yet. My mother-in-law wants no gifts exchanged so we're going up there with an empty sleigh. Kind of a sad, meloncoly time of year. After spending almost 2 weeks up there we'll head to the mountains and have New Years Eve with my parents, my Baby Girl (who will be with us anyway), our oldest daughter and her 3 little ones. We'll have Christmas with the kids sometime after we get home. Two weeks away from home on Christmas is really weird and we've only done it once before in all of our 30 years of marriage and that year we went to Disney for Christmas and never had Christmas in RI again as we ended up moving south the following August.
So, if you're all celebrating Christmas, I hope it's very Merry. And I hope you all have a much better attitude about it than I do this year.
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe New Year.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Peruvian Sierra Aran
Well, I was going to show some stash enhancement but either Blogger or AOL decided otherwise. Anyway, I got my box of yarn from Elann today. It's 45 skeins of Peruvian Collection Sierra Aran in the most scrumptious shades. I got enough to make the Emelia Earhart Cardigan, the lace cardigan that is free on their website and also enough for the shawl/poncho on their website. Yummy stuff. I also got a "My first glove" pattern because, well, it was only 35 cents and the one I tried didn't work out so well. So, when blogger or AOL gets in the mood to show pictures on my blog, I'll post them.
The Builder is taking me out on a date tonight! Just the 2 of us. The Baby Girl is at an Honors Band Program at a college in the big city so it's just us tonight. She's doing so well with band, and this being her Senior year, she's having quite a ride! The director of bands at the college she's at called her band director yesterday morning and asked if Baby Girl would play her A-tude for the Clarinet Masters Class today so they could hear how it's supposed to sound! She was so excited about that, not to mention she made 2nd chair in the honors band. Also got her SAT scores last week while we were in Disney (thanks to a friend, who has a computer and checked it for her) and she raised her math score 20 points. So, hopefully her final score will be good enough for the college she is dying to go to. Keep your fingers crossed. I was going to put a picture of her on here, but I still can't get the pictures on here. We're going to that said college Sunday so we'll be there bright and early on Monday for College Day, where the high school seniors can go and check out the college. She's been going there for the past 3 summers to their band camp and knows that's the one she wants, really bad! So, I'll have lots of knitting time up and back and hopefully the college will decide she's the one they want.
Okay, speaking of knitting. I think I've finally figured out what my problem is with Rogue. I'm about to forget the whole thing because I just can't get past Chart B without a ton of mistakes. My brain just can't understand that the [ -] on a right side row is a purl and a knit on the wrong side. I've done it over so many times now I've lost track and I'm also afraid I've messed up where you bind off for the back. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it; keep going or rip it out and say forget it. One thing I enjoy more than anything in the world is my knitting, but not when it gives me a major headache and is nothing but stress! So, I'll just see what happens with the old brain if I do try it one more time. Somethings gotta give.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and hopefully sometime soon I can get the dang pictures in here!
Happy Knitting
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