Socks? You gotta be kidding!

So much for being fearless with those darned socks! I say, anyone who knits with fingering weight yarn or smaller is nuts! I couldn't hold the yarn never mind the size 2 dpn's...my fat fingers had managed to get about 3 rounds in when I made a mistake. Yup, you guessed it. I frogged the whole thing. I won't give up on socks, but I won't make the mistake of trying to knit them with anything less than worsted or aran weight yarn. Patience, I'm learning, takes more patience than I can think of mustering. If I had all day and could concentrate on it maybe I would continue on. In any case, I've already agreed to make a trade with a girlfriend. She wants the Sockatta yarn and is willing to trade a couple of skeins of 100% wool for it.

I've got a coin purse I'm in the process of felting and I'm anxious to see how it comes out. If successful, I'm going to start making purses and matching coin purses to sell at fairs this coming summer.

This is short because LD's having his lunch! Gotta go check on my project!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

Finished

I finished the felted bag last week and I'm now just getting around to posting. This sweet little bag was so easy to make and the felting process was very easy, too. I wasn't sure how it would all work in my HE front loader. I put the finished bag in the washer with a couple pairs of jeans. I set the washer to the hottest wash cycle with a little bit of Tide detergent and let it run for 10 min. I checked the bag and it was felting nicely. Then I let it run for another 10 min. It was the perfect size but dripping! Even though I had read cautionary tales about letting the finished product go through a spin cycle (it could be permanent creases in the felt), I figured I had to give it a try. So I put it on the rinse and spin (I kept the jeans in the spin cycle, too) and after it went through it's complete cycle I took the bag out. It was beautiful! And mostly dry. It only took some shaping and I let it finish its drying on a towel for 24 hrs. See for yourselves!


I also made a beautiful hat for my best girlfriend but neglected to take a picture of the finished hat. I'm hoping she'll take a picture of it or of her wearing it so I can post it here and on my Ravelry page. Here's a picture of it still on the circulars:

It was a beautiful little rolled brim hat design on 16" size 15 circulars. I also frogged a sweater vest I started years ago with Noro Silk Garden and now I have a mess of Silk Garden. I'm going to ball it up, somehow, and put it to good use on another project. I have about 4 or 5 skeins altogether.

So that's what I've been up to with my knitting this past week. I'm really tempted to start on my socks. I'm just afraid that they'll take so long to knit up that I'll lose interest!

McD's has been fun. My hours were so messed up last week that none of the evening managers knew when I'd be in. This week will be better. Thurs and Fri weren't very busy and I spent a lot of my time running for drive thru, stocking and making fries. Sat night was steady busy all night! I like being busy better than just standing around. Plus we had a really good crew on that night. The people on assembly and grill were fast and efficient and aside from waiting for some really big orders the food went out quickly. Drive thru was backed up for a while. A lot of people love McD's! There are several couples amongst the employees and I guess it's pretty common for the crew to hook up with each other. They also love to gossip! It's fun, though. I love to listen to what's going on. Since I don't know anyone, I don't have anything to offer to the conversations and I feel pretty safe to say that I don't have an opinion one way or another. So I just listen. It's interesting being around a bunch of 17 yr olds! The manager had expressed an interest in getting me into management. I don't even want to think about that at this point. Since I can't afford daycare and don't really care to put Nate in one anyway, making a committment to learning all the shifts just won't work for me. So for now they'll have to be content to have me as crew. I'm not looking for anything full time until Nate goes to school. Then we'll see.

Hubby has been really sick for the last two weeks. I told him if he's not better by the end of the week he's going to have to go see a Dr. He swears it's just a cold he can't kick because he's so exhausted. I agree that he's tired and it can slow down the healing process but I'm starting to worry about him. He's never sick and when he is, it's only for 2 to 3 days tops. I don't want it to be something more serious, like pneumonia or something.

LD has been a very busy little guy. He's been running non stop. We went to visit my FIL at his new home (new assisted living center) and it's much better than where he was. Nate loved the long carpeted hallways and the huge activity room! He zoomed about for several hours! He needed to let off some steam! We caught him the other day sitting on the recliner with his favorite pet, Dolomite. Dolo was a little disgusted by the whole thing but he decided to be tolerant of his little buddy. For once his fur was being stroked instead of yanked!


Gotta run! Ciao and Happy Knitting!

At a Glance

Once again, KnittingDaily comes to the rescue! When I start feeling a little discouraged about my knitting, all I have to do is read their newsletter and I am rejuvenated! Especially after reading todays issue!

So I have progress to report. As I said before, the yellow mittens for my MIL are finished and were mailed off. I just heard from her tonight and she absolutely loves them! She said the cuffs go all the way up to her elbows and she's never taking them off! So I consider them a great success. Also, I should be done with my felted bag tonight...yup, you heard it right! I just have to finish knitting the clasp and seam the bottom. Then I can do the felting process. I'm tempted to do it tonight before I head to bed. I'm just too excited to see how it will come out! I did mess up on two things, but since the bag is for me, I'll just say it has character. Take a look:



As you can see, I attached the I-Cord incorrectly to the bag. The seam is supposed to be on the inside. Oh, well... I also twisted the second I-Cord handle and didn't notice until I was all done. So those were my two big errors. Otherwise everything turned out beautifully. So I'll go on to finish the clasp and felt it! Yeah, me!

LD had his Dr's appointment on Monday. He's a whopping 34+lbs and is over 36" tall! And he's only 18 months old! He's popping out of his 2T's and I'll need to start saving for a new 3T wardrobe for him. Dr says he's healthy and well proportioned so I don't have to worry that he's overweight.

My third night at McD's was really REALLY slow. I was hoping for some busy moments but for the last two hours I pretty much just stood there. I like staying busy so I'll have to start asking the shift manager for clues on what to do. I can't stand simply standing there. Hopefully tomorrow night will be better. My schedule was finally fixed, too. I'll be there 6pm to midnight, Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights. Bummer for any social calender activities, but it's not like my dance card was full or anything.

Hubby is slowly getting over his terrible cold. I suspect it was the flu because he was sick for so long. He is going in early tomorrow so I'll need Dad to watch LD for a while when I go up for my shower. Next week Hubby will be a trade show for a couple of days so it'll be just me and LD on Tues and Wed. He's getting some OT which will be very nice indeed. Things are especially tight this week. Thank heaven I get a paycheck this week or we wouldn't be able to afford groceries. I kid you not. Sucks, BIG TIME! Especially when we are used to going out and buying whatever we want regardless of the cost. Those days have been over for a year now and we are still grieving them. No one wants to lose their home and declare bankruptcy all in one year. But it's a new year now and hopefully a fresh start.

Well, I need to sign off for now. We need to entertain LD for an hour or so until his bedtime.

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

2nd Day at McD's

Last night was pretty fun! It seems the employees enjoy trading their ages with others and as a result found out that one other woman is my age and we are the oldest of the whole bunch - including the Hiring Manager! He's pretty close to our age so he can count as one of the oldest. Anyway, most of them, as you would expect are very young - about 17 or so. The shift managers are in their early 20's and there is a spattering of others in their 20's or so. I'd say there is a variety of lifestyles shown and what these kids are relating to their friends shows they have a lot more confidence in their early lifestyle choices than back in my day. Yup, you got it "back in my day." Whew! I never thought I'd utter those words!!! Yet, 20 years ago, when I was a Sr in high school, it was not a common thing to be OUT. Embracing alternative lifestyles was not a commonly accepted theme where I came from. So to hear these kids talking openly, confidently and comfortably about being gay is a wonderful thing. If they can continue to believe in themselves, they'll end up on the successful side of life. It's never easy to admit to who you are, even when you get older. Or maybe it's especially difficult once you're older. I don't know.

If I may weigh in on the subject, I don't believe it's a choice to be gay, I believe one is born gay. Why would someone choose a life that will be riddled with ridicule, hatred, possibly violence, the inevitable prejudice that comes with being "different" and, most difficult, the fear that one will not be accepted by family and friends. How can it be a choice? I won't even contribute to the subject of what the Bible and Christians say about being gay...there are too many ways to go wrong and should there be any judging to be done, then I leave it up to God to do - since it's His bailiwick anyway. I will say this, despite what people will quote to me from the Bible, God has always said that He loves us unconditionally - that should trump any hateful rhetoric from the religious right.

Well now, I didn't intend to go on like that but there it is. I have had gay friends my whole life and they have been some of the best people I have ever met. Even if someone were to show me every passage in the Bible against gays I will not change my mind or my attitude. And if that proves to be a sin, than so be it - again, I will be judged by God and God alone.

Ok, enough of that. I finally finished the blasted yellow mittens for my MIL! Yay me! Unfortunately I wrapped them up before taking a picture so you'll have to wait to view the final product until she gets them and I get to take a pic of her modeling them! I was going to immediately start on my purse but then I realized that I needed a nap more. Last night was brutal. Hubby was sick, sick, sick and LD woke up around 2:30am and would not settle down until around 3:45am. So, I've been up for a while without a solid block of sleep. I finally shooed Hubby out of the bedroom because his coughing was keeping LD from falling back to sleep. (LD shares an adjoining room with us right now. We hope to move him to his own bedroom sometime this summer, if we can).

I have another hat on tap too and I'm still trying to find an easy, pretty camisole pattern to add to my queue. I'm still trying to figure out when I'm going to start my socks. I foolishly bought fingering weight yarn and I'll have to knit my first pair on size 2 needles. I'm not so good with the smaller needles. Ah, well, I have to do it if only to say that I knit one pair and no more! The yarn is a pretty self striping mix of cotton, superwash wool and nylon. I'm not as nervous to be knitting on dpn's as I was - I've picked up a few tips from Ravelry and the wonderful knitters there.

Tonight will be my solo appearance on the registers at McD's. It is supposed to be a busy night and I'm hoping that people will continue to be understanding of me. The register is a touch screen PC and has a myriad of options. Once I learn my way around, it will be ok. I hope it's busy enough that I will just take orders and not have to run a lot of food - it gets a little confusing wondering who is running food for whom. I hope it will be fun, though!

LD goes for his 18 month visit to the Dr's on Monday. I'm anxious to see where he is developmentally!

Anyway, I have a dirty diaper to change so...

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

McDonalds

Started my first uniformed shift last night at McD's. I ended up watching more training videos. It's no wonder they've been so successful with their business, the training videos are so comprehensive. Of course, they are geared to the younger set, the ones who are just starting out. Those of us that have been around the block a few times could use a more condensed and to the point version. Although I have to admit, the session I viewed last night was most helpful. It makes the prospect of using the front counter terminal tonight a less daunting experience. Some of the kids warned me that the video is a bit outdated, showing an older version of the terminal than the ones I will be using. However, the fact that I'm being trained on the front counter is more attractive to me than being on the grill. I think, should this be a positive experience, I would like to learn all aspects of the business. It is really quite interesting. Since I've been in the corporate sector for so long and virtually behind the scenes, it will remain to be seen how I interact with the general public. I remember, back when I was working at the movie theater, that I normally had a pretty good time. It was fast paced as this job will be and I relished it because it kept me busy. Even in the downtimes, we had plenty to do. Maybe my mistake was aiming too high? Nah! Given the opportunity to make the same or better bucks working as a db admin during the evenings, I'd take it in a heartbeat! I think it will be a fun experience. I need to resist the temptation to join in the chatter of the younger set. If I keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, I should be ok. And those of you who know me will laugh at that! Since when have I ever been able to keep my mouth shut!

Switching to knitting, I admit to being a little slack lately. I'm still working on the yellow mittens for my MIL, although I am almost done the 2nd mitten. Finally! My goal this time is to have them done by Sunday. We'll be visiting my FIL in his new nursing home and I'd like to give her the mittens then. If I can knit this afternoon during LD's nap I should be able to finish today and if I can't get it seamed, I can do it tomorrow.

I'd speak further of my FIL but I don't want to air dirty laundry here. Suffice to say, my MIL is a SAINT!

On the subject of family, one of my SIL's is overseas in Teipei, Taiwan! She's there on business but has had a lot of good opportunities to get out and about. She's had some amazing food and some gross food. She's seen some beautiful buildings and temples. She's also posting her photos online so we can see them! There's this one awesome picture that shows the dichotomy of ancient and modern that is so common in Asia. We Americans don't see it here, our country is still too new. The photo shows two temples covered in flowers in the foreground and a modern glass front building in the background between the temples. What a visual lesson to us that we are such a young country and so full of new, modern things. Anyway, she's having a good time!

LD is doing beautifully. He had a pretty rough week as he's been sick but he's better now and sleeping through the night again. We just had a reading session and he's been reading about Noah and the Ark. He can point out the animals and he calls Noah by name. He's also using the color picture of God's rainbow to learn his colors! He can point out blue right away. Yellow and red are next so we are concentrating on learning those, along with orange, green and purple. He can pick out orange better now that he can relate the color with the fruit! His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! Hubby thinks he's really smart for his age but every parent wants to think their child is a genius! He goes for his 18 month check up on Monday. It'll be interesting to see how much bigger he's grown and at what %ile he'll be at!

I'm way behind in memorizing the verses I'm supposed to learn for service on the 27th. It's a long verse and I haven't done very much with it. I just hope the Pastor lets me use note cards or read from the Bible. I don't mind doing it but I'm afraid that it won't be verboten.

I'm off to play with LD - it's too cold and rainy to take him outside and it was so cold the last few days that we are both suffering from cabin fever. He's so rambunctious and I need to run a few laps around the house with him!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

New Job

LD's new haircut...isn't he precious?!! I just love that kid to pieces!

Well I started my new part-time job today at McDonald's. I think it will turn out ok. Granted I spent 3 hours sitting on an ultra hard chair watching orientation videos today. I go back on Monday for a marathon session of paperwork. I'll give them this...they are nothing if not thorough. If any of you have ever wondered how they could employ teenagers and get them to do anything I'm here to say that I've never seen such a comprehensive orientation. I take it for granted...I mean, I've been in the workforce for over 20 years and people expect me to know what I'm doing by now. I can certainly appreciate the work that has gone into this program for teens. It will really give them a step up and show them how to be diligent workers and have a friendly professional attitude. Now we'll see how long I can take working with kids half my age!

I've got a good start on mitten #2 for my MIL. I'm really hoping to get it done by tomorrow night so I can start on my purse. I ended up spending way too much time on Ravelry last night. I think I am addicted to their website. It's so bad that I login there before I even check my email! I was browsing some particularly yummy yarns and interesting patterns. It will be awhile before I can afford $34 balls of beaded silk yarn but I can still dream about it! I would love to find a simple camisole pattern and make it with the beaded silk as a wedding gift for a girlfriend who's tying the knot this summer. She's the kind of person who would truly appreciate such a gift. Especially if I tucked a little note inside explaining that it was handmade just for her. I'm still waiting for my other SIL to get back to me on the hoodie sweater vest I'd like to make for her daughter. She's not sure if Jenny would like it or not. In any case my SIL is in Teipei on business and won't be home for a week. I hope she's going to take lots of pictures!

I was a little nervy this morning thinking about my new job. Fortunately everyone made me feel welcome and the nerves fell away. I haven't experienced the jitters tonight so that leads me to believe I'll be safe tonight from an attack so I'm not going to pop a little white pill. I need to save what's left for when I really need it. Besides, I'm calling the Doc on Monday to set something up. Hopefully I won't need anything more that a mild daily dosage - even better, a take one only if you need it script. I just don't want to have a dependency on those things. I'm willing to concede that I may just need daily help, though.

Hubby spent the day watching LD. He has a better appreciation of what my days are like. LD was having some tantrums and tore the house apart as usual. He tempers it with bouts of affection and silliness. He's starting to know when to turn on the charm!

On another note, I promised my Pastor that I would memorize this passage for church on the 20th or 27th. It's long (Mark 21-24, 35-43) and I foolishly thought it would be fun and easy to do. I've only read it through twice and now I'm wondering if I'll be able to follow through on my promise. It feels too much like schoolwork! I'd much rather be knitting! I suppose, I should make an effort to at least copy it out on note cards so I can carry them around with me and practice. Tonight I just want to sit in front of the TV and watch the Patriots v Jacksonville and knit my MIL's mitten.

Ciao for now and Happy Knitting!

Decision Time

MOPS went really well today. It was nice to finally get back into the swing of things. We had movie time and watched a piece on making the best of a crappy situation - like how to make a hovel feel like a home to your kids. Between the movie and our mentor moment I felt like someone was beating me over the head, saying "This is you. Don't be ashamed to ask for help. God helps those who help themselves." I've been trying to figure out how to handle this anxiety that seems to be controlling my life.

Yesterday I had a total meltdown, screaming at LD for getting in the way of the vacuum cleaner. I actually stomped my feet I was so out of control. Later on, standing in front of an open window, I realized that I was not the person I thought I was. I thought I could handle anything that came my way. I handled little O's passing, so I thought, yet how come I break down in tears for no particular reason? Or why do I cry over some stupid sappy commercial on TV? That's not me.

So today, after our Mentor Moment and the film, I realized that God was telling me it was ok to ask for help. My new friend Tracy was there and she was so encouraging. She even gave me these stress candies from the natural food store. She said they help smooth down stressful feelings and being overwhelmed. She also has a friend who knows of a Christian therapist in my area who is supposed to be very good.

So, Monday I'm calling my Dr. and asking for an appointment, then asking for a referral to see this woman. Hopefully with a little more medication (maybe on a daily basis) and a lot of therapy, I can get a handle on this. Because, I'm telling you, I'm so sick of feeling this way and it's not fair to LD to see his mumma losing it for no reason. I want so much more for him. He deserves to be happy and make the most of his childhood. It's also not fair to Hubby, who I love dearly and can't live without. He's the most wonderful man even if he doesn't understand what I'm going through. He tries and that's what matters.

On another note, I start my part-time job at McDonald's tomorrow. At first I thought, how can I work there - it's such a loser job. That was the snob in me talking. I never thought I'd be in a position where I had to find a job to accommodate my having LD home all day. There really aren't any professional jobs in my town that would allow me to work at night. So here I am stuck with the burger joint. However, the ladies at MOPS and my family have helped me see the light. I'm doing what I can to help us make ends meet. We have a laundry list of things we need that we just can't afford and this job with help meet those needs. I also have a knitting habit I need to maintain to help me win the fight against insanity! So, in order to afford those $10 to $15 balls of yummy yarn to knit with I have to work. Mickey D's it is - I'm going to put my best foot forward and be the best darned burger flipper they ever saw!

Onto knitting. I have finished mitten #1 for my MIL and started the first few rows of mitten #2. It's coming right along and I hope to finish the mitten this coming week. I am really anxious to start on my purse. After that I want to find some comparable yarn to Rowan Big Wool. I want to knit a cabled hoodie vest for either my sister or my niece. I have found some Big Wool at discontinued prices but I'm not sure if the colorway is acceptable. So I would like to find a cheaper comparable yarn as an alternative.

Hubby says I'm obsessed with knitting. Well, maybe I am but there are worse things to be addicted to! Besides, most of what I knit I tend to give away. I'm also obsessed with books and he laughs about that! Anyway...

Time to relax and kick up my feet. I have laundry to do and a shower to take before I go to my new job tomorrow so I'd like to be well rested!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

Blocking...blah

Well, I've finished my brown wool tam. Can I just say YUCK! Let me count the ways I've messed this one up. First of all, I didn't make it deep enough to sit comfortable on the head. Then when it came to decreasing, my stitches came out too tight. So I decided to block the hat and try to shape it. I figured blocking would make it bigger right?? It made the headband so big that the hat looks absolutely ridiculous. Of course this was my first blocking attempt. So now I know. Check it out, it doesn't look so bad laying flat, but on my head???

I think I need some more practice with blocking...

The weather here is fabulous today! It's 60 degrees in January in Maine! Everything is melting as fast as it can and LD is loving it! He got soaked and muddy today while we were outside sledding. He found a patch of grass that had been plowed over and melted into muddy puddles and decided to roll in it! He was so funny. I wish I had taken my camera out to record the moment! Anyway, Grampa was happy we were outside today. He took the old dog out for a walk and came back in to tell us to get outside! So we did and I'm really happy. The fresh air and sunshine did wonders for my winter blahs and LD tuckered himself right out! He's napping peacefully now and giving me a wonderful break.

I've started yet another new project - this one for my MIL. She's requested some long cuffed mittens like the ones I did for my SIL this Christmas. She loves yellow so I'm doing them in Bernat's Softee Chunky True Yellow. They will be a size smaller than the others so they should fit better. Despite no variation in color, the yellow is quite pretty. I could embellish with a stripe or some beading but I think she'll appreciate the simple quality of these mittens. After this project, I'm finally going to start my felted clutch purse - Fiber Trends Gelato Bag by Bev Galeskas. I can't wait! Finally something for myself!

LD is making noise like he's getting ready to wake up from nap time so I'll close today with KnittingDaily's New Year resolution - Knit Fearlessly!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

Playing Catch up

I've been busy working on a new project lately. I decided to do another tam. This one is in a nondescript brown wool that someone had given me a long time ago. It's working out pretty well. I stuck to the original pattern directions and I'm anxious to see how it ends up. I'm planning on doing another one soon in Moda Dea. I'm going to work my way up to a Fair Isles pattern. I think they are just beautiful.

I've also been trying to inventory my stash. Ravelry has been awesome! They have some really fantastic tools to keep things organized. So I've written down everything I have in my stash and now I need to photograph the nicer yarns and get them posted on my page. I'm trying to keep track of my finished work and my WIP's, and what I have for needles, too. They have a spreadsheet that will allow me to do that! Also they have a great section for projects that I would like to try. I can keep them separate and when I'm ready move them to the WIP section. I highly recommend their site. You can find anything you need there and get just about any question answered on their forum.

LD has been wonderful lately. He's so affectionate and he's been learning to hug. He now gives everyone bear hugs! I love that kid! At the same time, he's been getting into absolutely everything. His favorite thing to piss off Mummy is opening and slamming closed his drawers. He also takes everything out of his PJ drawer, not any other one, just his PJ's.



I've been feeling a little less anxious lately. I don't know if it's just the calm before the storm or if I really do feel better. I was validated today by another mom. She's a lady from my MOPs group. We're having a ladies night tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to it. She was telling me about being on several different medications for her anxiety and depression. She told me her breaking point was just after her fourth boy was born and she was helping her father take care of her dying mother. She was at the Dr's office crying and hysterical saying how overwhelmed she felt with it all. She told me there is nothing wrong with needing some medication to help me get through the day. She also recommended I see a therapist. She said she had a good one to help her learn some coping mechanisms. The therapist I saw was terrible. She already had a preconceived notion before I even walked through her door. I should have gone to see someone else but I have a hard time even admitting that I need help. All I know is I don't want to depend on medication for the rest of my life so I guess I'll have to just suck it up and find someone I can talk to.

We're heading off to see some friends on Saturday after LD wakes up from his nap. We're really looking forward to it! I've known him as long as I've known Hubby and he's such a great guy! His wife is wonderful, too, and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. He's Hubby's oldest and closest friend - they've known each other for over 30 years! We've helped him through a lot in the last 14 years, a broken marriage, his kids, finding his second wife. He's spent many nights crashed on our couch! Anyway, they are very special to us and it's always fun when we can spend some time with them!

Off to spend some quality time with Hubby (and knit of course)!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

Happy New Year!

Well, we did it! We have stayed up with Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year to ring in 2008. Let's hope this year is a year of many good things for all of us. Now hubby and I are going to go celebrate in bed by gazing at the inside of our eyelids!

Good night one and all and Happy New Year!