WIP, Sock Bag, and exciting news.

First off I would like to thank the owner of WEBS for trying to make things right about the vest pattern. She offered to refund my money for the yarn and the pattern, but since the total was under 20.00, I told her that it was ok. The pattern designer was the one that told me the pattern was not proofread or test knit, and well, after knitting it, I believe the pattern designer. At least WEBS was, and is willing to do what is right. All I want is a corrected pattern.


I decided that I have to get over my fear of garments. I have never knit one. I have started them, just never finished (and that is not entirely my fault!). I thought that I would start with a small vest for James. Knitting for someone with a 19.5 chest sounds good to me!

I am using the Blank Canvas Vest pattern, and the new yarn from Crystal Palace, Merino 5. I am really loving this yarn. It is so soft and it shows the stitch patterns nicely. I plan on making one for each of the kids.



Now my SP11 asked me what I use to take my WIP's in when I leave the house. Not too long ago I bought a Posey Sock Sack from Nana Sadie Rose. I LOVE it so much. It's only for small projects, but it works for a sock on the go or a small vest ;-) Someday I hope to order a larger bag from her.

Now for my big news....... Jimmy Beans Wool is my newest retailer for KnitWit Momma! They placed a HUGE order from me, and I am very excited to add them to my list of retail stores!

I'm off to make more markers!

Pattern Problems....is there a frog in the house?

It's been a long few weeks around here. My husband had surgery and I have been playing nurse. He hasn't been the best patient, he just won't let me take care of him like I should. Now he has gone back to work when he should be at home healing. Men. And because someone will ask, he had a mass of varicose like veins tied off. No, they were not in his legs....that's all I am going to say about that :o

On to the problems. I found a vest (Greenwood Cable) on Ravelry (here is the link to it on Rav) that I fell in love with. I waited and waited for the pattern to be released from Webs. It's a pattern or one of their new yarn lines, Northampton. Once I got my greedy little hands on the patten and yarn I casted on. I found the first mistake right away, but was able to correct it and plug along.

A few rows into the pattern it just wasn;t looking right to me. I found the next mistake in the lace chart. I caught it and kept on knitting. After one repeat of the cable and lace pattern I just HAD to email the designer. The vest was not tuning out ANYTHING like the picture. I even called Cath and my Mom to make sure it wasn't user error.

See, can you see the cable? Nope? That's because it is supposed to be reverse st st right up to the cable....but the chart has garter stitch on both sides of the cable....the cable just doesn't pop like it should. So here comes the frog part. Hurt my heart to have to rip that out!

Turns out that WEBS hires this designer to make the patterns. The only problem is that WEBS doesn't pay her to have it test knit, nor does anyone from WEBS proofread the patterns. I made a list of all the mistakes so far.....and remember I was only one repeat into the pattern.....and emailed them to the designer.

So I guess I am a little miffed. Doesn't usually a test knitter get compensated? Does WEBS make a practice of selling flawed patterns? How can they not look them over and make sure they are right? It is their name on it! Now there is this awesome vest, and I have no desire to knit it.

So anyway..... Tomorrow I will show you the new WIP. My SP asked what I carry my WIP's in when I leave the house. I thought I would show her instead of tell her, so look for that too :-)

Happy and Mad all at the same time!

The first person to help me with the codes to put pictures from my Flickr account on here will get any set of markers that they want! HELLLLLLLPPPPPP. (yes I know I can "blog this" but I haven't figured out how to make that work with more than one pic per post)

Right now I am so mad that I am shaking. SHAKING!

But first, this is a knitting blog so we will start with some knitting. I finished a hat for Kate. It's pretty, but I will never again use this wool for anything that someone will wear. It's just too scratchy for that. It's been banished to the FELT ONLY list.

Kate's Hat
Pattern: Ann Budd
Yarn: Pattons SWS

Also, I have been working on the cables blanket for my Father in Law. He is doing well. His tumors have shrunk with his chemo and radiation. I don;t believe that they are saying he is remission....just better. They don't like to tell us too much. I think that they are trying to shelter us from that fact that he is sick so it's like pulling teeth to get any information.



The yarn is the greatest, Lion Brand Thick 'N Quick, but I needed something that was a quick knit and something that they could throw in the washer and dryer. It's turning out nice even though the size 15 needles are killing my hands!

If you have hopped over here from Keri's blog, Hi (waves). She makes me blush with all the nice things she says about me. I will let you in on a little secret.... My doing nice things is a selfish act. See, my making someone feel happy, makes ME feel happy, and I like that.

I have always been like that. When I was younger, I lived outside of Washington D.C. If my parents were planning on a family trip to the city, I would pack baggies full of sandwiches the night before. I would take them with me and hand them out to the homeless. I can only imagine how my parents felt. I am not sure how I would feel about my own children approaching strangers.

I do see the same trait in my daughter. We go for pizza sometimes at a local pizza place. We always make sure to go with quarters so that they can play the games and get the trinkets out of the machines. Last time we went, Katie blew through her 2 dollars in about 1 minute. Turns out, she was giving her quarters to the little kids that didn;t have any. A parent told us that she was giving away her money and I think she was surprised that we were ok with it. It made Katie happy to see the other little kids smile. Why would we take that away?

So now that we have all the good feelings out let me tell you why I am pissed. By the way, I need to stop saying that. My 6 year old asked me if I was "Pissed Off" the other day. Ummmmmm, no Sweetie and we really shouldn't say that word. Do they have to listen to EVERYTHING I say?

Ok, sooooo Bank of America. Specifically the credit cards, THEY SUCK. THEY SUCK SUCK SUCK. We have been doing a credit counseling thing for 5 years now. I pay the CCC service each month and they pay all the credit cards. It's been working and we have 1.5 months left before we are blissfully debt free. 5 years of scrimping and cutting corners and it's almost over.

Well, I was calling to check balances last month and B of A tells me that I am all paid off. I have been all paid off for OVER A YEAR!I had a credit balance on my account of over 1000.00. Of course I asked HOW I was going to get that money back. They said that they had mailed a check months ago to me. Only problem with that is they mailed it to an address that I lived at 5 years ago. Now people that's 4 moves ago!

So they needed to research it and find out what happened to the check (I am sure it was sent back) and I completely understand that. They told me 7-10 days for research and 7 days after that to get my check. It's been over a month and still nothing. I know you have heard the phrase "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" soooooo squeak I have done. I call every other day for a status update. Every day I get a different answer. Today I was told that in my situation they will not be sending my my $$ back. I laughed at her and asked for her manager. Then she HUNG UP ON ME. HUNG UP. I called right back and her office is closed.

You better believe that I will be up at the crack of dawn...ok, maybe more like 6am, to call. No one hangs up on me. No One.

SP11 is here!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Humm, well, I like to knit with wool of course. I am not really into novelty yarns or any yarns that are "fuzzy" such as mohair. I don't like cotton because it hurts my hands, but I do use it to knit dishcloths.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a needle case for my DPN's, but nothing for my straights. My circulars are stored in their original packaging.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting for about 3 years now. My Mother, who learned when she was a child, taught me to knit. It's hard for me to say what level I am. I can knit lace very well, but a sweater scares me.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do. I'll have to update it. Its an amazon one and I will link to it when I update.

5. What's your favorite scent? I love cooking smells. Pumpkin pie or coffee candles.....smells like that.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? A BIG one. I love Tootsie Rolls....but really any chocolate makes me happy!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I cross stitch and would really like to learn to do more beading. I don;t spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I listen to everything, but mostly pop and country.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love soft pinks and soft yellows. Also earth tones are nice. The only color I don;t like is Christmas Red!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married and have 3 kids ages 6, 4, and 2. We just got a cat last week named Peaches.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Scarves, Hats and Mittens, Yes. Poncho's, no.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love to knit socks, and hats are fun too :-)

13. What are you knitting right now? A blanket for my FIL, socks for me, a tank top, and a couple of dishcloths.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Of course.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like DPN's for socks. I just got some Knitpicks DPN's and I am in LOVE with them. Both circular and straights have their place. As well, metal and bamboo have their place.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes to both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? hummmm, a year or two

18. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's my favorite time of year!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect? COWS!!!! I love cows. I am also slowly collecting Noro Kureon for a Lizard Ridge blanket

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I would love the KnitPicks Options circular needles. I have been dropping hints for Christmas. They also have a sock set that I would like.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I would like to do colorwork

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yup! I wear a 7.5 ladies shoe

23. When is your birthday? Jan 8th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? I am and it is KnitWitMomma

So, So, Busy!

I owe you a FO picture! Here it is.....

Dublin Bay Socks
Knit With Koigu
Made For Mom

This was a fun pattern to do. I changed it up some by decreasing the number of stitches that I started out with. I wanted to use a size 2 needle and I always cast on 64 stitches for my socks. I did a little math and Voila :-) Mom seems to like them so I'm happy.

I have been working on the newest round of Secret Pal and it has taken up a lot of my time. Not to mention that school started on Monday for my first grader, and now my middle guy is in preschool. I didn't think it would be as hard as it was to send him off for his first day..... I was a bit teary eyed the whole time he was gone.

I have some great pictures of our trip to Monterey and the beach last week...but I can't for the life of me find my camera cord. I also have pictures of our newest addition to the family.... a sweet cat named Peaches. Peaches is all black. The name cracks me up.

I have SP matches to get out, a order to fill, and soccer camp for Ben tonight.... I am tired already!!!!


***Just want to say Hi to the reader that I have from my town. My Handy Dandy Stat Counter tells me I have someone in my town reading my blog...so Hi :-)***

Contest

How could I not enter this contest.

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a LCD TV courtesy of Best Buy!

FO post as soon as I take a picture!

...and I'm finished

Got the book at 10am. Finished it at 8pm. Today I can say that I am really happy that I am a very fast reader :-) The epilogue..... made me tear up. I can see a whole new set of books coming from that. I know she says she won't....but I would buy them!

Good thing Greg's been home and I am still "injured". I was able to hole up in my room and read :-)

And I can knit again :-) Hurts a wee bit, but not anything that is going to make me stop.

Thanks!

My hand is doing much better. The bandages are off and the swelling is going down. I tried to knit, and that didn't go over well at all :-) It's actually kind of boring sitting around being taken care of, so I have been taking pictures of my stash for Raverly.

I also came across this contest......My Rock Star Baby is having a contest and giving away the cutest baby set. I am not sure if they have it in James size, but I know it would fit the baby next door if I were to win it. They really have some cute stuff! They asked for Toddler sayings for their shirts.....all I can come up with is "Hold it right there Mommy" That's James new saying when I am going towards him while he is doing something wrong :-)

And now this..... I have way too much time on my hands....

Ouch

Surgery went well. Yesterday I was actually thinking that this would be an easy recovery......it was that lovely local block of my hand that was fooling me! Today the pain has kicked in, making me feel like I will never knit again! I am off to take some Tylenol with codeine and sleep!

Of Yarn, Questions and Hurts......

On Yarn....

My Beautiful yarn that Susie made just for me. She was inspired by the colors of my wildflowers on this blog and made me this yarn. I have a couple of skeins of Susie's yarn in my stash, but it is so awesome to have yarn that NO ONE else will have. She may add this colorway to her her line up, but I will always have the first :-) Go check out her Etsy site and her yarns over at the Loopy Ewe!

Now on to my interview. Katie had a great interview on her new blog, Daily Thread, and then sent me interview questions. So here goes.........

1. How/where/when did you meet your husband? Fill in with all of the details you remember. I remember exactly how I met Greg. I had moved into The Quads in Boise, ID, while I was going to Boise State University. They are kind of like dorms...you rent a furnished bedroom that connected to a shared living room and kitchen. When I moved in I choose a co-ed one. 2 girls room and 2 guy rooms. There was only one guy living there, and he was in Montana for 2 weeks at a time working. I had been living there almost two weeks when I walked out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. Now the bathroom door that is shared by the two girls opened up to a hallway. on the other wall is the door to the living room. So I walk out and see a man sitting on the couch, It's Greg. I change and come back to introduce myself. he doesn't deny it....not even a little....but he had a hard time looking at my face. His eyes were focused elsewhere if you know what I mean.
But he came to be my best friend while I was there. We didn't date each other at all while I lived there. In fact, I used to try and set him up! That was 10 years ago...and we still are best friends.

2. Which of your children is most like you, personality-wise, and why? This one is a hard one. My oldest is a LOT like me. She is headstrong, determined, and likes to be in control. All traits I have, and all traits that make me thing teenage years will be difficult. My middle child is the other side of me. He is sensitive and extremely kind, caring, and loving. I see myself in him as well. But then my youngest is outgoing and the class clown. I see myself in him too, just not as much as the other two.

3. Why do you knit, make stitch markers, craft in general? I started knitting for a strange reason, at least I think some will think it's strange. My maternal Grandmother knit and crocheted, and my paternal Grandmother just crocheted. My Grandmother taught my Mother, and I didn't want that tradition to die out. I never met y paternal Grandmother, Bertha, and I was too young to have my maternal Grandmother teach me. So this is a way to connect with the past generations of women in my family.
Now, starting a business with my stitchmarkers was something entirely different. I just needed to feel like I was contributing to the income of the family.....and it's fun :-)

4. Have you ever had a beauty disaster? If so, explain. Hummmm, a beauty disaster. Well, most of my hairdo's in the 90's were a disaster. I would show you , but don't want to freeze up your computer!

Now if you would like to be interviewed, let me know!

Now on to the hurts......

I have and surgery on Monday. Nothing major, just removal of a cyst. Minor surgery that gets me out of housework and dishes for a week :-)
But I have finally found out WHY my right hand hurts so bad. 18 months of tests, of being poked and prodded.... I have torn My TFCC. Triangular Fibrocartalage Complex. fancy name for a very small, vital of my wrist and hand. Surgery to fix it is major. Recovery is long. That makes it hard to get fixed when I need to care for the children. I think that in January we will have it done. My parents have offered to come help out, and Greg will be able to take some time off. Seems like my hand is hurting more and more these days and I really can't wait to have it fixed. Of course some of the pain comes from me not being able to take any meds until after the surgery on Monday..... and that leaves me a bit cranky :-)

Up next will be my awesome SP10 package...... I still need to take pictures! Of course minus the PEZ candy since my son ate it when I wasn't looking....but I did steal the COW dispenser back, Thank you very much :-)

**** Nice.....in searching for links about TFCC, I see one that tells what you need for surgery. One item is a surgical wrist shaver. Just want I want to know...

Fire all around......

I have never been scared of fire. I have never had an evacuation plan. I am now scared and now need to formulate a plan. Have you heard about the Lake Tahoe fire? It was being contained and today about 3, it jumped the lines and is spreading. It's much too far to burn all the way here (I hope), but we have friends that lost a house, and we have friends that work up there. My husband is the manager of a grocery store, and one of the stores up there is being evacuated. This fire is hitting too close to home for me.

** Edited to add..... From my house to the fire it is 37 miles. The fire will never reach here. I will NOT think about the 35 mile winds that are to come tomorrow, and I will not think about the fact that the winds are going to blow in my direction.

On the other side of us there is another fire. This one is small and will probably will be put out soon, but the thought of fire scares me. We live IN the forest. Right smack dab in the middle of it. If there was a fire, the houses would go up in flames in a minute. I really need to put some things together in case that ever happens.

I had my post planned out to show you this beautiful sock yarn that Susie dyed for me. It's beautiful and it really deserves it's own post. So I will leave you with a picture of 2 boys making "Bug Soup". :-)

There will be bath's tonight!

Socks, Yarn, and More!

I started this sock while I was seeing Stephanie speak in Petaluma. I didn't have any good travel knitting, so I thought a plain vanilla sock would be perfect. I bought this yarn off of Etsy, from Twisted. I just LOVE the way that the colors are striping. I have had 3 non knitters ask me to make them something out of this yarn. Sorry guys, this sock is for ME!

I also found this beautiful yarn on Etsy. I had read about it in a post from Laurie, I think.....so I jumped over to Sophie's Toes and read about their next update. I sat on the computer, hitting refresh over and over again just hopping that there would be one of this colorway in her update. I was so lucky that there was ONE skein, and I got it!!!!



Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!!! It's called American Patchwork. I can not wait to start knitting it.

I also joined a new sock club over at Wool Girl. It looks like it will be fun, and it's not a huge amount of money like some.

I am still working on Butterfly, but it's slow going right now. I can only knit it when the kids are in bed, and I have been so tired lately. I have a few orders and samples that I need to get made for KnitWit Momma. I am more than likely going to have surgery on my left hand to remove a cyst and I have a feeling that my knitting and stitchmarker making will be slowed down a bit by it!

Meeting the Harlot......

Harlot and I
Originally uploaded by KnitWit Momma

Petaluma was a blast. The talk that the Yarn Harlot gave was wonderful but really the best part was getting away for the day with my Mom. It was nice to spend some time with her without three little whirlwinds running around us.

Another very cool thing was that when I gave Stephanie a gift of KnitWit Momma stitchmarkers, she looked up at me and said " I know who you are. I know exactly who you are." That sure made me feel good.

The next day Mom and I took the long way home through the Napa Valley. We stopped at a few wineries and just enjoyed the drive.

When I got home, the kids greeted me by telling me that I had to see the spider in the garage. Thankfully it was already dead when they found it.

Would you look at the size of this thing!!! I am not sure what kind of spider this is, but I sure hope he was the only one living within 100 miles of us!

Going to see the Harlot.

It's 8 am on the first day of summer vacation......When does school start again? *Sign*, it's going to be a long summer.

The yarn Harlot is going to be in Petaluma tonight and my Mother and I are going. I am super excited to be able to go spend the night away with just Mom and I.

Remember that oh so romantic trip to Tahoe? Didn't happen. Things were all set. Reservations at a hotel, reservations at Tahoe's best restaurant....plans for things to do.... and the day before we leave, THE CAR BREAKS DOWN. Greg was in a meeting in Tahoe, and on the way home the car dies. Turns out it was the timing belt. So all our vacation money went into the car. Oh well. We just have to go in the fall.

So anyway, not much knitting has been done....but I plan to do some tonight.

Pictures after the Harlot!

Butterfly

Butterfly
Originally uploaded by KnitWit Momma

The start of my Butterfly. I t wasn't easy at first, but after ripping it out 4 times, I go the hang of it. I am really amazed at how fast it's going!

I a not feeling too well, so I am going to go back to laying on the couch and watching movies.

(Right now the Da Vinci Code is on......Loved the book, but the movie? Not so much.)

A New Store

You have to check out this new online store. It's Great! It's Awesome! My pocketbook hates me!

Go see WOOLGIRL!

She has an amazing mix of unique yarns. Yarns that I haven't seen anywhere else. She also has a great program starting. On your 7th order, you get a goody bag from her. Who doesn't want free yarny stuff?

So go check her out :-)

** I am in a way affiliated with Woolgirl. She sells my markers but that it NOT why I am posting this. Lots of stores carry my markers and I usually don;t talk about knitwit momma on my bog, but this store is really really nice!

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Mini, Laurie, Rebecca, and Chris
for the 7 random things Meme. I am supposed to tell 7 random things about me, and then tag 7 other people. So here goes.

1. I do genealogy. And while that isn't so odd in itself, when I research a person, I feel like I know them. I talk to them while looking for them in the census, ask them questions like I expect them to answer....and deep down....I really think they know that I a searching for them.

2. I can not move away from my parents. I can't. Just the thought of it brings tears to my eyes. I want to go back east so bad but I can't. If they will come with us I will move. If they won't? Then I am stuck in California. I don't think it would be so bad for them if I moved....but it would be for me.

3. I have to ice in my water. You have to put the ice in the glass first, and then pour the water over it. I can tell if you didn't, and I will dump it out and get new water.

4. I am terrified of bee's. It's to the point that my husband think I should get help. My children are starting to be afraid of them too. I really really have tried not to show my fear when they are around but I don't think I am doing that great of a job at it.

5. I love to eat out. On the other hand, I like to cook. Eating out is something that I love to do but it stresses me out. Eating out with 3 children is not fun except for the rare occasion that all children have decided that they would like to be little angles :-)

6. When I was a little my parents both smoked. I used to hide my Father's cigarettes in this old crock that my mother has. Or I would blow gently on them while it was in the ashtray so that it would burn faster. Dad would get so mad at me. One day I want that crock :-)

7. I am addicted to some TV shows. I LOVE CSI, and NCIS. I don't miss them. Thank goodness for TiVo. Oh and one last one..... I can not STAND IT if anyone calls me Jenny. :-)

I am supposed to tag 7 people. there are not 7 people in blogland that haven't done this. Oh wait. Cath....you have to :-)

Oh and I have to say that this MeMe is awesome. My bloglines is empty, no new posts, so I have been clicking on the links to the people that everyone has tagged. I have found some wonderful new blogs that way!

Hummmm

I added Haloscan back to the blog after the template change....and now I can find my blogger comments!

I know some of you asked where I got the template, I got it here. It wasn't hard to change, but I still have to go back in and edit the HTML so that my rings and etc. will show.

Also someone asked what yarn I was using for Butterfly. I am using Zpeyher Wool and Silk in Suede . I started it last night.... 3 times..... and 3 times, I frogged it. I WILL make this, and it WILL be beautiful :-)

Oh and Rebecca, just email me what you need from Ancestry and I will be happy to look them up! I will get the MeMe today!

OOOO I love this template!!!

I thought I would change the blog to something more summery! I am sure that the cows will be returned in the winter.

Tonight is my daughters open house at school. After that, I plan in casting on for the Butterfly Dress.....well, I guess I should call it the Butterfly Tank :-) Cath and I are going to knit them together....I can;t wait to get started!

Where life gets in the way......

I have been so bad about blogging. I've been bad about emails, knitting, AND blogging. School has been hanging over my head....as well as KnitWit Momma. I think I will be showing at TNNA in Jan down in Long Beach. I plan on doing that one first and build up my experience for the big on in Ohio next June. I have a ton to do to get ready for it, but I am pretty excited. My first trade show :-)

I am also going to Petaluma in June to see the Yarn Harlot. I am always so jealous seeing other people that have seen her, I decided that I was going to go. OF course I asked Greg to go with me and he just gave me a smirk and said I really should ask my Mother. SO I did, and we are going and spending the night. I really am looking forward to some time away with my Mom....even more than seeing the Harlot!

My Mother and Father in law flew down from Montana. They were staying in Tahoe, and since that is only about 30 min from us, they came down to visit. It was a hard visit for me. My Father in law looks so sick. I just have to remember that he is in the middle of Chemo and Radiation, and that makes him sick. He has more testing done this week to see if the tumors are shrinking.

But the kids had a great time with Grandma and Papa. They wore him out, but it really was cute!

Well, that's all I got for you today. Knitting hasn't been really happening....I am trying to finish up some projects for school...I really should be doing that now! I was getting kind of tired of programming Macros in excel.....

Tell me why again Accounting is my profession of choice..............

SP10 Package

I have to post a BIG thank you to my secret pal. I think it's awesome that she read my archives and found some gifts that I just love, and that are so me! check out the packaging. each wrapped gift was numbered, and there was a small blurb about each gift in the card. I loved it!

Look at that! BACON FLAVORED GRITS!!!!! I mean really..... can there BE anything better? I haven't tried them yet, I am saving them for a special occasion. Maybe one morning when I am all alone. Well, no, it will be another 16 years before I am alone in the mornings :-) The candle smells so wonderful, and the candy..... I am not ashamed to say that I ate it all. EVERY ONE of the peanut butter cups was eaten my me :-) The yarn is a beautiful hand dyed laceweight that will make a beautiful shawl or scarf!

After I took the photo's, I saw another little package. In it was cow stitchmarkers. They are the CUTEST stichmarkers ever. (ok, mine are cute...but these are awesome!)

Thank you SP. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Knitters Treat Exchange

I am s sorry that I haven't posted this thank you. My Knitters Treat Exchange package came and wow it was awesome! There was one little thing in the package that just made it so special.

Isn't the packaging so cute?

Can you believe all this great stuff? The yarn, the cookies, the cutest cow, Burt's Bee's, and the hand soap was all wonderful. But the best thing in the whole package was the bracelet that she sent me. It's hand made by small children, who were raising money. It's beautiful and is already very special to me.

So who was this very generous person? NYCity Mamma! Go say hello to her! She is in Virginia right now visiting family and I am so so so jealous!

Awwwwww

I had to try and post this video. I had no idea that I could take video's with my camera! I promise a knitting post later, as well as pictures of my first SP10 package, and my Knitter's Treat package.

*** Ok, I have no idea how to turn this around....so watch it with you head on your shoulder :-) Also, do you hear what Katie says? "Ben's bopping me." He has decided that anything, and I mean ANYTHING, can be a gun, or bopper as he calls it. Please tell me they grow out of it.

Leavin' on a jet plane.........

And where am I going you ask????? To TEXAS BABY! I am going to go spend a few days with my best friend, Catherine. You know, Mama Llama herself :-)

I have been waiting for this day for months now. I am so excited to have a little break from the kids. My wonderful, darling, thoughtful husband took time off of work to watch them while I go on this trip. I am hoping that in June I will get to take a trip alone to Montana with the same wonderful, darling, thoughtful husband.

So anyway, I am stuck in the Sacramento Airport....all because of Dallas. The flight crew was late getting in last night, and since they need their rest, my flight is delayed 2 hours.

Funny Story about Dallas and it's airport. BC (before kids) my parents and I flew to Oklahoma (that's a story in itself). This trip had a layover in Dallas and being Dallas, there were thunderstorms all around us. The airport was packed, and I mean PACKED, because airlines were canceling flights left and right.

While my parents and I were waiting for our flight (it wasn't canceled), I noticed a short woman....with tell tale spider eyes. It was Tammy Faye Baker. And the make up? Even worse in person. She was being followed around by a camera crew. This being the days before 9/11, I thought it was a TV station or something like that. Since I was standing right next to her, I leaned over and asked her is that ever got tired. She smiled politely and didn't say a word.

Fast forward a couple hours, and there we are on the plane. We push back from the gate and the plane gets grounded. So we sit. And sit. And sit. For HOURS. it was bad. It was late, around midnight I think, and the crew wouldn't serve us drinks, or snacks, or anything. All while a hell of a storm raged outside. And there, a few rows in front of me, was Tammy Faye Baker.......and HER camera crew. Boy did I feel like an ass.

After sitting on that plane I swore that I would never fly through Dallas again. Well I did, and what happens? I get stuck again. Lets' not even mention the 1 am phone call from the airline to tell me the fight was delayed. 1 AM!!!! Thanks for the concern, but I am a big girl and know to check the flight before going to the airport. So, insert big yawn here, I am going to go get a Cinnabon and a Coffee. (But don;t tell, I am supposed to be on that south beach diet.....and that Cinnabon has enough sugar in it to send me into a diabetic shock!)


***In doing the links to this, I found out that Tammy Faye Baker has cancer. My thoughts and prayers are with her!

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn? I don't havea favorite type of yarn...I do like natural fibers and I would say my favorite that I have ever knit with is Debbie Bliss yarns.

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn? Cotton, only because it hurts my hands.

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop? Size up the sock yarn collection. Socks are hot and if there isn't mych sock yarn, then I know that this owner isn;t up on her trends.

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do? I bead....but as a business, not a hobby. I also cross stitch and am an avid genealogist.

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to? Interweave

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting/Food/Home/Garden - Fashion, Crochet, Gossip are not anything I read

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet? Socks, Hats, Sweaters, Scarves

8. Are you allergic to anything? Smoke

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of) ROFL, I like to smell clean :-)

10. What's your favourite way to relax? Tv and Knitting

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first? The Bakery!!!! Any type of good quality baked goods make me happy.

12. What do you come out with? A Pastry

13. Where do you go next? The gym :-)

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal? Have fun with this!

So much to blog

Does anyone else go around making blog entries up in their heads? I do, but I never seem to be able to actually sit down and type them all out! Today while I was eating a piece of baguette with some spinach dip on it I was thinking of an entry about my husband... skip the next two paragraphs is you want to get right to the knitting....

I met Greg when I went away to college at Boise State University (yes, the one with the blue football field....and yes birds do die on it). I moved into an apartment complex called the quads. It's kind of like a dorm...just not run by the University. You rent a room and 4 rooms share a common living room and kitchen. I picked a co-ed apartment because there was NO WAY I wanted to share with three other girls. Greg was one of the people already living there. He wasn;t going to school, he already had an MBA, but was going back and forth to Montana for work. I only saw him every other weekend.

He and I never dated while I lived in Idaho. In fact, I used to go try and find him a date! He and I used to sit up into the night talking. I was always so happy when he was around. I used to cook dinners for him and the roommate's...worked out great for me. I liked to cook, and they always bought all the food :-) Anyway, when Greg was home, we would go to Albertson's and buy a baguette and some smoked Salmon. We would eat cream cheese, smoked salmon and bread for dinner...watch movies and stay up till the crack of dawn. Cutting my baguette today made me think of that! Took me a move to California and a last minute visit to San Fran by Greg and some of his friends for us to realize that dating should be in our future..... 9 years later here we are :-)


Ok, enough mushy stuff :-) I have been knitting! I have been so busy that knitting isn't something that I have really had time for. Like right now.....the boys are asleep and Katie's in school...... I have a list of things that I could use this time for.....

1. I could knit
2. I have orders for 3 yarn store to fill
3. I could do dishes (WHY do dishes multiply so rapidly?)
4. I could email my SP10 group
5. I could pick up the new book I got from Amazon that I am having a hard time putting down
6. I could do the MOUNTAIN of homework in my Peachtree class that I am letting pile up
7. Or I could blog

Guess what I chose? :-) The others will just have to wait until I finish this.

I have been knitting for my Father in Law. I made him a Fun Fur Chemo hat as a joke. A big, fuzzy, hot pink joke! He has been doing well with his treatments. There is another spot of cancer that they found. This time on his brain. We are all praying that the radiation will shrink it. SO far so good..... I have to knit him a real hat soon....the kids think I should knit him a purple one like the pink one....

He's such a goofball!

I am also almost done with a Regia sock. this picture was taken a while ago and I am now almost to the toe.

The small needles have been hurting my hands, so I called my Mom and asked if she would knit me the other one. She said yes, and knowing her and her speed needles, I will have a finished pair in a week or less :-)

And I had to add this picture of my daughter. See the hat she's wearing? My Mom knitted it for me when I was her age.

It's a varigated pink acrylic yarn, but it has stood the test of time and I like the fact that she can have something that was mine.

Regular blogging to commence....I have to practice what I preach for my SP10 group!

There has been a FO!

But I can't show you right now. I have until 5pm tomorrow to finish my worksheets in my Excel class. I have decided I hate Excel! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT!

I am currently pulling my hair out trying to use the IF function. Any Excel GURU's out there?

Post with pictures as soon as I finish all this homework.

And I thought March would be a good month for us......

This year hasn't started out well. Last month we saw the passing of my husband's Grandma. She was 96 years old. She had been in great health and just before Christmas she started to get ill. She was tired and ready to go. Her death was hard on me, but I am glad that I go to see her one last time while we were in Montana last summer.

March was supposed to look up for us. We should be able to pay off all our debt. This is a BIG thing. We have been working on this for almost 6 years now and paying it off will be a big accomplishment for us.

But the phone just rang. My Father in Law has lung cancer. Two types of cancer were found in his lungs. Next week will be tests to find out if it has spread. Surgery is not going to be done to remove the tumors. Chemo and Radiation are the plan for now.

Please keep him in your thoughts.

Oh, has anyone made a men's Chemo hat? Patterns? Pictures of the hats?

Hanging Head in Shame

I am such a bad blogger!!!! I haven't posted in forever.....I haven't KNIT in forever either! My little business, KnitWit Momma Stitchmarkers, has taken off so fast. I am so amazed at how many orders I am getting. My stitchmarkers are in over 20 shops around the country and each day I get requests for samples.

I am trying to redo the pictures of my markers so that I can get a small brochure/price list printed. I am picture taking challenged, so if anyone knows of a photographer that would like a small job, please let me know!

I am actually all caught up with my orders so there may be some knitting taking place here tonight!

I was supposed to go to Stitches West this weekend. Supposed to is the key word.......let me show you why I couldn't go......

And this picture was taken on Friday. It started to snow last night and hasn't stopped yet. I can't complain, we really needed the moisture!

Gotta Love a Contest

Check it out here!

Anybody have hammer?

Because I want to use it on my laptop. The thing isn't even a year old, and already the hard drive is dead. DEAD!

Not a very big deal, as I an get most info off and onto the desktop computer, but my email won't open, and I NEED to get info out of it. But at this moment, it looks like a lost cause. About the only thing that I am able to do on this computer is get on the internet.

I could show you just how much of a sock you can knit while on the phone with HP, but I can't get the photo's off my camera and on to the computer...... The part that makes me panic is that I can not find all the CD's I will need to reload everything back on here. Photoshop, Norton, Frontpage, are all missing and I can find ONE of the TWO disks I need to put office back on the laptop.

I will show you pictures of my new ball winder and swift that my parents got me....just give me a few days :-)

I have a meme to do also. Laurie tagged me a few days ago. She told me to step away from the stitchmarkers....and she is so right! Orders are pouring in, and there have been many requests for samples.

I promise to post pictures, as well as do the meme as soon as I can.

Oh and please please please please only sign up to play this if you want to waste countless hours of your life on the computer.

Anybody seen my hammer?