Keep on Truckin'

Yesterday, I went to NYC to do some work. I took my camera with the intent of photographing my sock in Times Square. I didn't get to do it. I also didn't get to eat lunch or stop working from the time I arrived (9:45am) until about 6:50. I was famished! Good thing I can afford to miss a meal. I am telecommuting today so that I can actually do work as opposed to going to the office to do a bunch of meetings...or one big giant long one. Thank goodness for telecommuting.

I'm still not a seamstress. I hemmed my son's karate pants and they look awful. My DD gets her uniform on Thursday so at least I get another shot at it....got my white thread all ready! I did sew the patch on very nicely though. (flashback: having to do crewel embroidery of the Girl Scouts emblem circa 1973, damn satin stitch, endless. Buttonhole stitch: not too bad.)

Anyway, I have another problem. The pink wallaby is done and will be mailed to my niece in FL. who is about 2 1/2 now. The blue wallaby, for her brother, is well underway but I must've miscounted and I have one less stitch in the body. Yes, I'm a perfectionist and it's going to be frogged, four inches. C'est la vie! C'est la guerre! At least it wasn't hacked by DD, a/k/a "Texas Chain Saw Massacre Kid". I'll rip it out back to the ribbing to fix this.

So, being I rode the train yesterday, I got to work on the Tofutsies..They look soooo much bigger, hah? ... ahem......I've had it, time for the heel! I have to get these done. I am working with acrylic on the blanket, cotton / acrylic for the wallaby and the tofutsies. I am having wool withdrawal.

By Janome, I think I've Got it!

Back to the game show.....

Today, I bought something that I've been meaning to buy for a very, very long time. One of those things you think about and never get around to doing. Then, one day, you're old and you say, "Drat, never did do that".

Fortunately, I have lost the desire to skydive. No, I didn't buy four years worth of tuition at a college in a college town. I bought: A Sewing Machine.

I never really owned one before. Back in the day, my mom didn't sew. She really didn't know how and said that sewing on a machine was a difficult task for lefties. In fact, she complained about being a leftie in a right-handed world all the time. She would iron and bowl with her right hand. I grew up in a house with a backwards refrigerator. I always had to switch the loaf of italian bread around to cut it. Once, she bought meat scissors and took them back to the store and told the lady that they don't cut meat. They don't work. I loved them...! So, she never learned to sew. I believe that she knitted in the same direction that I did but she didn't knit continental, which is weird. She crochetted leftie and I taught her to do that by facing her. She claimed you couldn't sew leftie, all the controls were made for the right hand. Surely, there must've been left-handed seamstresses, no? My sister sewed a bit and we had a Kenmore in the house that I used often. She and the machine live in FL now.

Being a musician, albeit former musician, I know the importance of buying an instrument from a store that is an expert in the field. Off to find a machine, I went to an expert. I went to Mr. Vac and Mrs. Sew. A mom and pop shop, a blast from the past these days! Located in a double store front only a few miles from my house. A expert. Not to mention, Mr. Vac and Mrs. Sew are very, very nice people. Guess what? They're really married to each other (I guess she kept her maiden name.) and they have SEVEN children! Seven children in 19 years. Oh my! They're not two little old people, you know, they're hopping! They are busy! They run the lovely store and they have to run a house with SEVEN children.

Mr. Vac and I sat down and chatted over the Singers in the little room he has set up dedicated to Singers. I walked in pretty set on the Singer Touch N Sew. He recommended a computerized sewing machine. Hmmn..Let's see, the last one I had was a Kenmore and it was fancy because it did zigzag, had a free arm and had a four-step buttonholer. Before that, Home Ec, Mrs. Kelly. She was a meanie but she could really sew. That machine didn't do anything either. He did a nice demo. He then showed me the Janome DC2007LE. It was great and was even cheaper than the Singer. He also showed me two Brother machines that were very, very nice but were really for someone much more advanced than I. I need this to make curtains, do hems, sew patches on my kids karate uniforms, help DD when she becomes a Daisy / Girl Scout, etc. I would love for her to learn crafts and music, too. The Janome DC2007LE seemed to be a great buy, was on sale and was my favorite color: green. (and white!)

Not knowing a Janome from anything, I did a little research on the web and found out that this machine was actually given to Rosie O'Donnell and the studio audience on The View. You can see the clip here. Being it's the end of 2007, Mr. Vac had marked these machines down and I paid way less than the list of $650. It has a lot of nice features found in higher end machines.

Ok, now, I have to take it out of the box and use it! Today, I will. I guess those socks are going to sit some more.....

DD and DS have been enrolled in Karate. They have these uniforms that are huge and the pants have an inseam of like 50. I will need to hem and take them down as needed. DS got his yesterday and DD's should be in this week. She was a little too small for the size 0 and needs the 00. They've gone to two lessons so far and they love it. I want them exercising and this is so good. DD loves to do "FIGHTING STANCE" and "JAM JAM" instead of Jab Jab. They're too little and inexperienced to spar so this is fine. They'll have to do that to get belts later on.

Well, I have to go and play with my new toys. Pictures coming! I can't wait to take it out of the box. My new, Janome DC2007LE...ah....toys!

Knit Night!

Last night was knit night at The Village Knitter in Babylon Village. After a grueling day at the rockpit, I headed out and arrived a little late. The good thing about working late is that I can make it from my office to the Village Knitter in about 9 minutes. The bad thing is that I really don't like to work until nearly 7 o'clock.

Anyway, I made a few new friends. Sorry ladies, it's been 12 hours and I have forgotten your names!!! We have Erica with a pocketbook to be:

and a brand new knitter on her first project, a scarf out of beautiful yarn! I am so proud of her, her stitches are all nice and even and the choice of color is very lovely indeed!

and a nice pretty plushy baby hat, not a first, but an early project. It is very soft and pretty, too!

I didn't want to show you another still uncompleted picture of the Tofutsies so I'll so you a picture of my sock family. They're all saying good bye to the dark blue broad spiral ribbed socks which are currently in transit to my aunt in Florida. She should receive them today.

In other news, the puppy who is now a dog has been enrolled in Doggie School and starts Wednesday the 26th. Stay tuned to see if they have to send her to reform school. Remember the baby fish? They've all been incorporated into the general population. Some of them are soon to be parents! It seems that none of the babies were boys. This may very well be a bad thing. First off, there will inevitably be some incest. Secondly, I will need a bigger fishtank. Good thing I don't raise gerbils. We'll have to wait and see. Experts can tell which are the girls and which are the boys at about six or seven weeks. I know that the black tailed ones are certainly girl fish; however, the blonde ones are younger and haven't really developed yet.

My oldest dog, Bonnie, has developed a tumor and has bad arthritis. She is going to be checked out at the vet tomorrow to see how she's doing. She had her fourteenth birthday July 14th and is really starting to show her age. I am sad.

Speaking of pets, the kids are well. DD loves school and DS is settling in, finally. So far, it's been going very well. I hope he doesn't tell the teacher that he's a superhero and dives off the desk and uses his 'powers'. DH is working very hard at his job and hasn't smoked in over six weeks! I am very proud of him. He's even exercising a bit but has still gained a little weight. I don't care, he's relatively normal sized anyway, just large enough to need the undersized extra large Wallaby.

As for the crochet baby blanket, that may get done tomorrow! I have about 25 squares, I think I will make it 7x6 or 6x6. I need to edge in white and either crochet or sew together nice and neatly. Then, we can start a baby blanket that will be knitted for a baby that is due Christmas Day.

Well, time to rouse the children and get them off to school!

New Pix - Crochet Time!

Good Morning, another rainy weekend. We were supposed to cover our pool today but I don't think that that is going to happen. It's 64 and rainy and husband is off at work for about three hours. Perfect knitting weather!

The baby blanket is currently underway. I can make a square in only a few minutes and it's much faster for me to crochet a baby blanket than it is to knit one. I have one to finish by October and one for a December baby that is due on Christmas Day. I think these squares have just moved up to be my current portable project. The yarn is Paton's Astra that I had from a previous project. The pattern is nothing special, my own. This will be a boy blanket and I may do the edges in baby blue, haven't decided, that or white. I lean towards white on these things for some reason. I figure I have to make 36 squares, probably this will be 6x6, each square is about 6 inches across plus a small edging around the entire thing to even it up.

Meanwhile, in sock land.. do they look ANY bigger??? I guess they do. I am nearly ready to start the heel flaps. Being the baby blanket is mindless crochet, I can do that when I'm tired. As for the socks, my goal is to get to the heels today and then get up to the foot (two at once, feet?) no later than Monday. If I get up early enough every day next week, I can probably sail through the feet in two days. Then, I can screw up the toes and leave it to age properly for two or three months along with the Jaywalkers.

They are very pretty though. It's just the constant ribbing takes alot out of me...and I knit continental because I am really a crocheter at heart. Next pair of socks will be big man socks. I just haven't decided whether or not to make them out of wool. I am missing wool a bit. The baby blanket is acrylic, the socks are Tofutsies and the Wallaby is cotton/acrylic. I may need a Cherry Tree Hill or a STR (I have Mudslide on hand!!) for a wool fix.

Pictures of my sock family and staff are coming. Please stay tuned.

No New Picture Friday, Part Deux

Here it is, Friday. I am really slacking in posting. I've just been so swamped, kids are back at school, house is a mess, I'm enjoying my new washing machine. I don't even know if I told you about that or not, that's how much my head is spinning.

Well, cliff notes: Old 15 year old washing machine crapped out and we got a new one. It has all these nifty settings and I love it. Washing clothes has never been so much fun! So much fun that I have been neglecting the rest of the house.

There is junk everywhere. I have to call 1-800-GOT-JUNK and have them come in and throw everything out. But, there is just so much that I want and need. I just need a bigger place to keep my stuff.

I haven't been doing all that much knitting. I will show you some pictures tomorrow but don't get your hopes up. Things have been kinda the same. I am not knitting at lightening speed at all.

The Jaywalkers: Still on the back burner.
The Poncho: Still needs to be blocked and fringed.
The Tofutsies: Still knitting the legs, slow going, I tell you.
The Wallaby: Much progress but needs the pouch to be added.
The Baby Blanket: No where near done.
The Baby that will receive the Baby Blanket: 1 month till he comes! (It is a boy!)

AND, I have a nice new camera and no new pictures to show you.

Tomorrow, husband is working in the morning for awhile. I will probably let the kids sleep in until 8 or so and then have some alone time. Maybe even time for an illustrated post!

As for now, kids are jumping all over the place, have to go and watch them and knit some socks!

Some Things Never Change!

So, here it is September 10. My DD is four today. FOUR. That went so incredibly fast. Not only does she no longer need me but she's really not a baby any longer. We had a cake for her yesterday. She was so excited all day. I would think that she won't be able to contain herself today. She also promised to stop sucking her thumb when she turned four so let's see what happens.

She is really looking more and more like her mommy every day, I feel like I'm looking in the mirror alot of the time.

As for me, it's still going slowly. Saturday morning, I ripped out about six rows of sailor's ribbing. I put it back and then Saturday night ripped it out again. As you can see, the socks aren't really any bigger. I must have brain issues, this is not a hard pattern. It's that through the back loop thing that just blows my mind. That and it's so simple that I don't pay attention. I must be a lace girl. The Wallaby is in need of a pouch and I will try to get that going today. I have been doing some mindless knitting around and around on that one, maybe past the point of where I should've gone and now I have to count rows to make the pocket line up perfectly. That's ok. I've made this twice before now so this one should be cake. Just like the socks, cake.....ahem...

As you can plainly see, the socks aren't any bigger. Speaking of which, I have some time this morning so let me work on the socks a bit. I'm going to try to get through the heels today.

In other news, I thought I would update you on my fishtanks. I don't have any pictures of the baby fish but they've been mixed in with the general population now. I have a bunch of mid sized blonde guppies. My male black guppy has passed away but his lovely daughter, alas, is expecting. She's very young for this so we're keeping an eye on her. After all, in fish years, this would be a teen pregnancy. The pretty male guppy that was formerly attacked by the wicked skunk loach pictured below, finally has his tail growing back. I really do like the skunk loach but he just doesn't play nice. He has met his match in the gourami tank and things are much better. He doesn't mess with Brutus, my largest 'ready for the grill' blue opaline gourami. In fact, no one messes with Brutus, not even me.

I took this picture late at night, the only time the little feller comes out to terrorize the other fish. It's a bad picture but at least you get to see him. I think it's a him...hard to tell.

In any event, off to rib!

All about Life

Today's post will be nothing about knitting. Ok, ok, one thing: I didn't get to knit at all yesterday.

Yesterday, my number one little pumpkin went off to Kindergarten and it took me a full day to recover. We were the first ones there, lining up at the school. He looked like such a big boy in long pants and a collared shirt. I thought about the day that I first held him when he was one day old (right, I only briefly saw him when he was born and I was too sick to hold him until the next morning). I thought about when I changed his diaper, the first time I fed him, the first time he smiled at me. I remembered the day when he was only seven months old how I did peek a boo and he said, plain as day "BOO", which is how he got his nickname, "Boo". How he was only 8 months old and he waved and said "bye bye". How I used to count the words he said and how he was over 100 before he was one. I remembered the day I was folding laundry and had him sitting on the floor next to me and he pulled up to stand by holding the basket....and I missed it. How I took care of him when he was sick, how I rocked him to sleep every night because I couldn't put him down. Here he was, my big boy, all ready to leave me. He was so happy to go off to school, my little baby!

I was a basket case.

We waited outside for awhile and then we went into the building and I felt the tears well up. We walked into the classroom and the teacher said "Good Morning!" and I burst into tears. She got her tissues out. My neighbor, the mother of twin girls, one of which is in our class, was just as bad. The teacher smiled. My baby found his seat. He happened to be sitting right next to a little girl who also arrived early and I was talking to her mom on the line outside. Her name is also Joanne, her husband is also a teacher and we each have a 3 turning 4 year old as well as a first born starting Kindergarten. We also drive the same minivan. Ah, suburbia.

After I composed myself, I was ready for a picture.

Gryffindor and the Eve of Destruction

Well, isn't that an interesting title for today's post? Why, you ask? Let me tell you. Firstly, Gryffindor. DS wants the Quidditch sweater from Charmed Knits and I ordered the yarn for it in Gryffindor colors. Eve of Destruction because tomorrow is the first day of kindergarten. The day that the school system officially takes my baby boy away from me. I'll be in tears and he can't wait to go. Of course, this isn't too big of a change for him. He's been in a daycare/school setting since he was born but now it's official. :(

First, I have alot of pictures to share today! I took this first shot because it was the most adorable little stick of butter I ever saw. Isn't it cute? I sure thought so. It's a half a stick, a peanut! A baby butter stick. Now, is that a good way to cut calories or what!?

Next up, Gryffindor colors from my most recent yarn order.

Official Gryffindor colors to make a nice Quidditch sweater and possibly a nice scarf for him. It's Plymouth Encore, my first project with it.

Our next photo is a picture of one of my DS's notebook covers. He'll be working out of three notebooks. Times have sure changed. When I was in Kindergarten is was just paint, blocks or color, cookies and milk. Now, it's real work! Anyway, look closely at the cover, it has a field that I didn't have on mine and it really caught my eye....

It's the third line. I think it used to say Name, Subject and Class? OK, bored yet? Time for some nicer things. For Labor Day, we went to the Theodore Roosevelt Park in Oyster Bay.

I had never been there before and it was lovely. That's an inlet from the LI Sound and it's hilly, as close as we get to mountains on Long Island!

Here's some more, a shot of low tide one of my happy hubby and his happy wife. As you can see, everyday is bliss and I remind of him of that regularly. DS took the picture of us, that's why it's a little crooked and also the reason I posted it. I don't appear in too many pictures.... You can see even more Long Island Mountains in the background. There are some houses in those hills and they cost double digits millions. What a gorgeous view and what a gorgeous day!

We had some snacks for lunch at the picnic tables and discussed next year's vacation. We are considering camping with two or three other families for a long weekend up at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park. This would be next summer but I have to plan now. This would involve a purchase of tons of camping equipment as I am not a camper, I am a Holiday Inn kind of gal. I suppose I could last in a tent as long as I wasn't in the backwoods like the Yarn Harlot did this past weekend. It would be car camping, real facilities. I just picture the 3AM, "mommy, I have to go potty" and there being bears out there. I wouldn't be afraid if it was Yogi and Cindy Bear though so Jellystone it is. LL Bean, here I come.....

I have been avoiding the issue but I should update you on the Wallaby and the Sailor's Rib sock.

First,the Wallaby. I was happily knitting along and came to a knot in the yarn. I'll be able to hide it behind the pouch. That hasn't really grown much since I last showed it to you. As for the sock, this twisted ribbing and ribbing in general is just a slow go. I also had to rip out 10 rows because I skipped a row and didn't notice. It looks like an easier pattern than it is I think. It's not hard but requires some thinking, certainly not mindless knitting. It looks very nice and makes for an interesting fabric and I am beginning to actually like the Tofutsies that I'm making it out of, except for the color.

They're coming along nicely. I'm going to try and finish them this week but we'll have to see how it goes. I'll be home all week, working Thursday and Friday from home. Next day in the office is September 10th, DD's fourth birthday!

So, I think that that is all I have for now. Time to get running around, doing errands, returning a library book that is past due and cleaning up even more.