Ode to my LYS

How I love thee, City Knitting...

You're a hive of activity on Saturdays,you stock lots of yarn and provide comfy seats to entice me,

you've attracted lots of knitting friends for me to hang with, hey to Carol, Roselyn, Maureen, Brandon and Christine...just to name a few...











You inspire me...

Yesterday within your yarny walls I actually progressed on my Scout J Kill Bill sock

and The Saint's Bigg A$$ Sweater in Berroco Ultra Alpaca.
This shot is of the back half with the bottom rib. I think it gives a good representation of the color and the texture of the fabric. It's super soft and slippery-like. mmm-mmm


Thanks Lorilee, Jessica, Darlene, Kathy, Ruth and Kim for working so hard to give us all such a great place to hang out and be inspired!

I actually took a Saturday lunch break with Carol and Christine. Which I don't normally do since I want to make good knitterly use of every hour possible on Saturdays, lol We walked around the corner to Szechuan Garden for some great Hot & Sour soup and an egg roll.

Brandon was doing a great job of promoting the book 50 Baby Booties To Knit, here are the ones he's finished already and he was working on the duck feet yesterday. Too cute! And they're all for their little one that's on the way. Congratulations Brandon and Maureen! We couldn't be more excited. We all better get started on those baby gifts huh?




















I'm sorry that Rena had to work. She missed a fun day but I know there'll be lots more.

Love you Rena! Everybody says hey!

embracing the bathroom color scheme

I finally decided to quit denying the existence of the black and white hexagonal tile in the bathroom. The fact that it's been there about 50 years is undeniable. I've tried to overwhelm it with insanely different colors on the walls over the years. Right now it is a really yucky gold color, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I did that. So I'm trying a new tactic with that ugly bathroom...I'm gonna go black and white! Here's the first step...



my version of Nana's Bathmat from the Lion Brand website. The distance from the sink to the potty (which you have to step between to get in and out of the tub) is quite small so I wanted the mat to be small too. I think I've succeeded, lol. It took 4 skeins of Sugar & Cream cotton in white and a smidge of black. The black is 3 rows of single crochet.

I want to thank my friend Carol who hosted a knitting sleep-over at her beautiful Heritage Hill home last Friday night. Thank you, Carol, for letting 14 knitters take over your living room for the evening. We had drinks and snacks and talked a lot. It was great fun. I didn't get to sleep over as she has a couple of adorable kitties that would have made for difficult breathing in the night, I'm allergic. And I didn't get to go back for breakfast on Saturday morning because I had to go to work for the big move, gah! I'm hoping we will be doing it again soon.

There was a nice toasty fireplace that was perfect on a cold Michigan night.

Patrick & Emily took a break from knitting to put together the breakfast casserole

Patrick was knitting a beautiful sock and don't you love his clogs?

He and I were partners in the first class I took at City Knitting. Felted Clogs. We each made one half of a pair of children's size clogs that day. The pair we made were the same color as the ones he's wearing here. He's the smarty that told me I needed to start over on Marialis because I had failed to work 4 rows of seed stitch to start, lol. Love him!

And yet another reason why I love our lava lamp...


sometimes it's just too weird for words...

My friend Marc from work is recovering nicely from his heart attack and subsequent stint placement surgery at age 44! Thanks for your kind thoughts on his behalf.

The Saint has an appointment with Grand River Endoscopy tomorrow so nothing but clear liquids since noon today, he's not a happy camper. I'll have to drag him over there kicking and screaming, I'm sure. Wish me luck! hahaha

Thank Two Men and A Truck...

After a 10a-3p Saturday workday of moving, bossing, arranging... this is what was accomplished in my area...welcome to my new work space...

to the left off the main hallway...







go past the pillar...through here...take a left past the cabinet wall,













past the bigg-a$$ printer...and, ta-da!












this is where you'll find me...maybe, if you're lucky...lol.

And this is the view out my new windows.

A low-rent, barely above homelessness establishment. Always interesting things going on over there. Like "Nekkid Guy" who lives across the way and cooks his breakfast every morning with his blinds open, I wonder if he fries bacon for breakfast, ROFL.

The place reminds me of the album cover for Led Zepplin's Physical Graffiti. Anybody remember that besides me and Clarabelle? hee hee I wish I could turn the inside jacket over to show all the closed shades...

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Stop in and say hey sometime. We can sit and knit in the super comfy wicker churs.

Happy weekend, even if yours is short like mine. I'm off to Little Mexico to enjoy a chile relleno, margarita and the Mariachi's...

busy as a beaver...

Since Rena hasn't updated her blog in eons I thought I'd post this picture of the loafer she knitted and is going to felt. Isn't it purdy? Purdy HUGE!! ROFL

Phew, it's been hectic...at work and at home. Not sure why but it seems the planets have aligned and we're nuts, just plain nuts around here! The Saint has been busy with meetings and more meetings having to do with his big-deal executive status with a certain union local. It's pretty exciting that the head of the international just endorsed Senator Obama for President! Yay! Oh, sorry, I try not to be political here...sometimes I just can't help it :-)

There's chaos in my office, people are moving, from one floor to another and from one side of a floor to the other side (that last part would apply to me especially). I'm being evicted from my office but I'll be taking over palatial digs just a few yards away. It'll be nice, quiet, maybe even a bit lonely sometimes...heaven! Tomorrow at noon all productive processes will stop in my office and I will sling everything I've collected over the past 10 years into a few boxes (some of them from the post office, shh, don't tell, it's probably some kind of federal offense or something to use those nice big open mail bins for anything but mail ;-). Saturday the movers are supposed to arrive at 9 and move everybody else's desks and stuff. They won't be moving my desk, I'm not taking it with me. So sad, I've become so attached to it over the years. The paint chipped in just the right places and the return that is just the perfect height for my keyboard. Eh, I'll have 4 desks to choose from in the new area, I'll be desk-rich!

I'm too excited to sleep! Perhaps if I finish off that bottle of Little Penguin I can catch a couple of winks, hahaha. Hold on a minute...dang, only about 2 ounces left of that Little Penguin...it'll do, I guess. And walking past the tv I realize I'm missing Ace of Cakes...wah...I love me some Duff and MaryAlice...

I've also been knitting like crazy. Maybe it's the horribly cold weather, or the non-stop snowstorms, or, or, I don't know, just make up any old excuse and that'll do, lol.

I'm about 1/2 done with this new bath mat. Borrrrring, but functional. It's Nana's Bathmat from the Lion Brand website. The lavender one I knit a year ago is making me feel ill every time I look at it. Bought the yarn on sale, I should know better. I've decided to quit fighting with the black and white tile in the bathroom and just embrace it by changing all the accessories in there to white. We'll see how long that lasts.

Here's the new mat in progress...
and a close-up that's bright white Sugar & Cream...it'll have a black double crochet border when finished. I'll show ya when it's done, hopefully in a couple of days. I really dislike knitting on big needles, this is done on 10's, Knit Picks Harmony, big sizes not good for carpal tunnel syndrome...I'll be wearing the "hockey gear" to bed tonight (that's what The Saint calls my splints).

I was working on The Saint's Big A$$ Sweater during my lunch break today and several people walked through the kitchen while I was knitting. Each person stopped, asked what I was working on and after being told, they said a variety of things like...that's an ambitious project, hahaha or that's gonna take a whole lotta yarn, hahaha...it was quite amusing telling The Saint what they said. He didn't think it was very funny...Oh, I crack myself up sometimes.

I want to say hey to everyone who has stopped by lately and commented on my blog. It's always great to hear from you all. Thanks for being a part of this great community of knitters I've fallen into. When I look back over the past year or so I am amazed at who I am now. It's fun and exciting and comforting to know that there are so many people who enjoy sharing their creations and ideas with others.

So here's my shout-out list: Cass, Nichole, Gnat, Cheryl, Rena, Clarabelle, Amy, Grace, Jess, Rachel, Purl, Linda

Everybody have a great weekend. Stay warm and safe.

And please if you have a moment send up a couple of good thoughts for my good friend from work, Marc. He had a heart attack yesterday at the age of 44. We're hoping for a speedy recovery. He'll certainly be missed while he's recovering.

Introducing...Neopolitan Monkeys!

Ta-da! Finally FO!








Aren't they lovely? I especially like how the Gypsy Girl Creations striped on the heel.
(edited to change yarn info)
It's been a pretty busy week for me. Crazy things happening at work, sort of like a circus only no clowns...oh, wait, maybe some of the players would qualify as clowns, ROFL. We're having a domino-type moving experience on two of the three floors we occupy in the building. Sales types are moving down 2 floors and programming types are moving up to the floor where the business offices are...this should be interesting...if not downright chaotic. I'll let ya know in a few weeks. I'm moving to more desirable digs in an alcove, all-by-my-self. Ahhh, the atmosphere...you probably had to be a Discovery Channel fan to get the reference, sorry.

Knitting like crazy this week trying to get the Monkeys finished, I got newly motivated when I heard that Cookie A is coming to CK in October to teach some classes. I got myself signed up for the toe-up class and I know it will be loads of fun.

I knit the first lace repeat of the Marialis Scarf from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. I was feelin pretty proud of myself for whippin out that lace so fast when my little friend Patrick, who's 12, showed up at City Knitting this afternoon. I asked if he could give me some pointers on getting a size 10 needle into the size 4 stitches to bind off the provisional cast on end, and he, not-so-gently, pointed out that I should have done 8 rows of seed stitch after said provisional cast on...gah! I'll be starting that over again this week. I was wondering how I was supposed to cast off the provisional end in that lace pattern, lol. Sometimes I have difficulty reading a sufficient amount of the instructions before beginning...

And here's my very own Ring of Cable hat. I've been wearing it to work every day for a couple of weeks and it's nice and toasty. I like the fit too. Whatchu think?

It was ever so much fun to wear my ASJ to CK today. I'm amazed at how much people like the colors in the sweater. Guess I'm jaded from looking at it so long during the knitting process. Thank you all for helping pick out the colors. You're the best!

I'd like to thank those of you who have been stoppin in or hangin around for about 102 posts here. It's been a true learning experience. I feel I've grown socially and gained loads of knitting skills. I appreciate each one of your comments and words of encouragement.

Everybody have a great week and git ta knittin!

It's a Sunday for PJs

Scroll down fast if you're looking for the knitting content...unless you want to count my super comfy felted clogs, lol. I learnt how to make them at City Knitting.

It's not even worth getting dressed today so I'm hanging out in my PJs.

Working with this...And planning our vacation with the resulting funds. Hahaha. Our "Uncle Sam" savings account.

I am really tired of winter. After my homeward commute Wednesday took 65 minutes instead of the usual 10 and now today it is "0" with -14 windchill...I'd really rather be here. Instead of looking at the view out my back door...

the dogs don't even want to go outside for more than 2 seconds!

Last weekend I did a bit of sight-seeing in my town. The objet d'art hanging above Fulton Street is this (look at the top 1/3 of the photo) see what looks like a man hanging from a beam? This is the view of him from the top of the parking ramp where I park everyday downtown.
Yep, that would be a bronze likeness of Sigmund Freud hanging out in GR. The art gallery in the building he's hanging on had him installed for the winter. Guess he's been in a few other towns before ours but I don't know if he caused so much alarm elsewhere...lol.

Controversial art...creepy...my supervisor at work even called 911 the day after they hung him up there, we thought someone was trying to hang themselves...go figure! I wonder what will be the next big thing here in GR?

Friday night was the Late Night Yarny Party at City Knitting. There was a big turnout and we all had a great time. I met even a few fellow Ravelers. Hey Christine, Shine, Beth and everyone else who hung out a yakked with us til midnight. I finished the purple Ring of Cable hat

and I'll be getting that in the mail this week to it's new home.

I got the 2 1/2 inches of ribbing done for the front of The Saint's big-a$$ sweater only to realize that I should have been using a size 4 needle instead of a 6! Gah! It's waiting in the bag to be frogged and restarted.

Marialis from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders on the needles and I really like it so far. It's my first real lace work, a nice beginner level piece.

I'm working it with some dark green fingering weight "mystery yarn" I got at Stonehedge Farm last summer. I'm just getting ready to bind off the provisional cast on, that's why the needles on opposite ends. Not sure how I'm going to get a size 10 needle into those size 3 stitches but that's what the directions say I need to use...eek!

And I've been reading this...
it's awesome! I never knew there was so much to know about yarn.

Well I hear The Saint in the kitchen washing the dishes so I'd better get in there and avert any pending disaster, lol. And I have to get the spaghetti squash in the oven or we won't be having any veggie with our dinner.

Have a great week. Git ta knittin!

Unfinished business

And some not-even-started, lol


I was supposed to pick 10 people who make my day and send this award to them. I'll give it a try, if I have to limit the list to 10 - here are my first choices...

Rena: My daughter, BFF, knitter, soon to be my dental hygenist (eek!, lol) Not a regular blogger but since I see her frequently I don't have to depend on her blog to know what she's up to. Love you!
Cass: her ShutUpI'mCounting slays me daily! Sometimes twice daily, hahaha.
Clare: a kindred spirit across the pond. Beautiful knits and great stories.
The Fairy GodKnitter: Fabulous knits. Strong, inspirational and motivational. I'm so glad I stumbled upon her blog one day many months ago.
Nichole : a fellow Dish Rag Tag member, dog enthusiast and rabid Patriots fan. Go Pats! Good luck to them today in the BIG game.
Grace: a woman with mad skillz with the lace! Fellow Dish Rag Tagger and friend.
Purl: A fellow sock knitter and Obama supporter.
Lorilee: Owner of City Knitting. Enthusiastic and super helpful she's a genius with the needles.
Rob: Favorite road-trip yarn shop owner @ Threadbear. Prolific knitter, blogger and yarn enabler. His frequent posts keep me informed about new yarns and upcoming fun events.
Jody: A young and energetic knitter and fabulous photographer.

There are so many more I could list here. I have 123 blogs on my Bloglines list. When everybody posts I have a difficult time choosing who to read when I'm short on time and can't get through the list all at once. Every one has given me great inspiration over the past year or so and I thank them all. If it wasn't for blogging I'd certainly have fewer friends, whether real or imagined, lol.

Then there is this unfinished business...


Ring of Cable hat (4th one in 2 weeks!) a great pattern I found in the latest Knit Picks catalog. It's ready to be grafted and then I'll be picking up the 88 stitches to make the body of the hat. This one's actually for me. I'll be making another but I can't tell you who for, that purple lovin girl is lurking.

Below we have the beginning of the Jersey Shore Weekender from Knitting at Knoon for The Saint. I'm hoping to get it done so he can wear it yet this winter. And hoping that all that Alpaca isn't going to be weighing too much when I get done. The color is called Buckwheat, it's Berroco Ultra Alpaca, isn't it pretty?


And lastly, for today, we have a nice skein of Plymouth Encore in a brilliant purple that isn't well represented by my photo. This will be yet another Ring of Cable hat for someone special on my Pay It Forward list. My goal is to get the Pay It Forward items done by the end of the month. Keep your fingers crossed.

Gotta go knit now, and do some laundry and listen to some football game that everyone but me seems to be really excited about ;-) bleh, and I really should download a new book to my Zen. I finished listening to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, what a great book! You should check it out if you're interested in the food you eat.

So much to do so little time...have a great week and thanks for stoppin by.

Git ta knittin!