FIADE-Topic #2 and BSJ WIP

This is the Topic #2 part...
When you knit or crochet dishclothes, washclothes or face clothes, what do you use?
KnitPicks circs. Prior to this day I have used the metal Options but yesterday I got these...
KnitPicks Options Harmony - aren't they pret-ty? Go check out Poppy Sassypant's review, it's a hoot!

What size needle or hook? US 7
Wood? what type? Clover bamboo
Metal? Plastic? I've never used plastic, metal is ok but I really like my circs
A specific Brand? as previously stated - KnitPicks
Why do you love that needle or hook so much? smooth, pointy and circs are easy to transport and you can work well in a small space if necessary
Is there one you are dying to try? No
Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for cloths? Only brand readily available here in GR is Sugar N Cream although I did get a ball of Peaches n Cream from a very generous swap partner and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
What is so special about it? It's readily available but I'm not sure that makes it special.

And now for the work in progress part...

I am speeding along on the BSJ, can you believe how cute it is? People keep asking me if I'm making it for someone special...the answer is NO! There are no little people on the near horizon. Or the far horizon for that matter. lol And that's ok. But, anyway, how do you like my little sweater?

Thankyouverymuch!

You're the best! I appreciate all of your Birthday wishes so much.

Clarabelle will get a surprise from the postman if she'll send me an email at allybelser at comcast dot net with her mailing address. She wished me a Happy 51st Birthday and that is how many I was yesterday. Yay!

There were presents and knitting.


Last weekend The Saint and I picked out this super cool new knitting chair for my favorite spot by the window. It's big enough for me and Winston, the grand-dog, to fit in comfortably. Allowances have to be made for the little animals too.

Notice the handy-dandy drawer for stuff! The theory being that all the stuff will be in the drawer instead of surrounding the chair...not sure it's ever gonna work out like that, nice try though Honey! lol


I was able to get some knitting in while The Saint checked out the fishing situation on the river. The sun was shining and the temperature was about 70 and I got to sit in the truck in the park near the Sixth St dam and knit for more than an hour in the peace and quiet, aaahhh.

Here's what I accomplished...It's the beginning of a child size Baby Surprise Jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I'm working it in Moda Dea Sassy Stripes in the Stormy colorway. I got a 10 pack of this yarn super cheap on eBay eons ago and this seems like the perfect project for it. And probably about 3 more sweaters, lol. It's practice before I start the Adult Surprise Jacket for myself.

Yes, I'm actually following the instructions from the Adult Surprise Jacket that say "we recommend that you knit a baby version first to give you a rudimentary idea of what you are doing". Since I have invested a nice sum of cash in the yarn for the adult version I don't want to be wearing it out trying to learn the concept of this design.

Sometimes others know best. This is a hard concept for me to accept in most situations. LOL

I got cards, and a gift card from Rena to use at KnitPicks! I'm going shopping as soon as I'm done posting this today. he-he-he
She also presented me with a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting which I have been coveting at my LYS. What a happy book it is. And, a ball of self-striping Sugar & Cream in a very pretty pink. She spoils me!

Jared returned from his trip to St Louis in time for my birthday! The Saint, Jared, Rena and I headed over to Bombay Cuisine where we enjoyed a fabo dinner and a nice bottle of Little Penguin Pinot Noir. Loved it!

It was a marvelous day. I am blessed.

Have a great day everybody!

Happy Birthday to Me!

The Pixie haircut was popular in 1961...when I was 5.

How many does that make me today? hmmm? There might be a prize involved...

When I found this picture in the photo album I had thoughts of my Grama, who departed this world 9 years ago and who I miss every day. She made the fabulous book this picture has been in all these years. All of the pictures are labeled with cute captions and the dates they were taken. A lot of the tape is yellow and brittle and the front cover has separated itself from the rest of the book but it is still one of my prized possessions.

My Grama taught me how to do so many things. She was a great role-model and a good person. Thanks to her I can sew, knit, crochet and cook a pretty good meal.

This forum gives me the outlet I lost when she passed. I can do "show and tell" to all of you and it makes my effort more rewarding knowing someone besides me sees the results.

Thank you very much.

Now let's have some cake!

Fall Into Autumn Topic of the Week

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I do like to use lighter weight yarns, especially cottons, in the warmer months. I try not to use my a/c at home any more than absolutely necessary so much of the summer we are breaking a bit of a sweat around here. lol

I like to work on things like market bags and more whimsical items in the summer but now that it is cooling off a bit I have begun swatching for a Zimmermann Surprise Jacket made with Cascade 220 in several different colors. You can check out my September 1st post for the colors I have chosen.

I'm also toying with the idea of a new felted bag for winter. This one is pretty cool it's called Jasperuvia and is offered as a free pattern from Berroco.com. I even like the colors as shown on the model.

His Girl's Fish Tales

The Saint took us fishin this morning. At 5:00 am!

We crossed Muskegon Lake before dawn headed for Lake Michigan. It was too dark and too choppy to take any photos and all concentration was focused on finding the mouth of the channel that would take us to the big water.

Rena's first trip out for salmon. The water was not too cold at 66 degrees but it still looked pretty scary with the wind whipping it into a frenzy. There was plenty of foam swirling around the boat and the spray was hitting us with regularity. She got a good taste of being a fisherman on her first trip out.

Having finally arrived at the mouth of the channel The Saint relinquished the helm to me and got the lines set. We putt-ed out and got the boat lined up for the north/south troll, the wind and swells made for an interesting ride. On our second southbound pass across the mouth of the channel we had a fish on and Rena brought it in with about a 10 minute fight. It was 7:30am. One fish in the box! Her first trip out and she had her first fish! Not so many fisherman are that lucky.

About a 6 1/2 lb King Salmon. Makes me so proud! *sniff*

Another pass north and south brought us more wind and larger swells, so it was time to head to the channel. As we approached the lighthouse we hit on another fish.


So Rena got to play Sakajawea while I reeled in fish #2. Turned out to be about 20 lbs, we can't be certain on the weight though as the dinky scale we had topped out at 15 lbs and couldn't register the weight of the fish. So...it was more than 15 lbs and less than 30...yeah, that sounds pretty good.




Hey wake up! I think he's done-for...






That's a whole lot of smoked salmon! mmm-mmm!

Rena: "Mom, that fish is almost as tall as you, ha-ha-ha"







The Saint did all the hard/dirty work. Thanks Honey! He always makes sure "his girls" have a great time.

Happy Anniversary Val & Wes!

Today is Val & Wesley's 1st Wedding Anniversary!

Congratulations we love you! Love you, love you, love you!

Here's hoping for many more happy years together.

Monkey Busy-ness

Ola! Hope everyone's having a great weekend! I know I am! My day started with a trip to Marie Catrib's with my son, Jared, for a delicious breakfast (our first together in a very long time) followed by a trip through 954 West to check out the latest vintage (second hand) clothing and then a few hours knitting at City Knitting. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Except that we will be capping off the day with a trip to our favorite Vietnamese soup place, Pho Soc Trang for a big bowl of Pho. Ahhhhh

This is the weekend at the beginning of a week of vacation. A vacation that does not involve any kind of packing or extensive travel. Ahh, the Fall Vacation. Time to relax, regroup and reorganize before winter comes.

This week will involve some salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, a trip to the shiney new casino called, um, I'm having a mental block, hang on, gotta go Google it...oh yeah, Four Winds. I'm not a "casino person" but who can resist something shiney and new and a short road trip from home?

The Saint is a pretty good Blackjack player though and this place is boasting "300 varieties of wine" so...WHY NOT GO?! He can play cards and I can drink some wine. Sounds like a perfect day to me. lol

And maybe, just maybe, I'll stop and visit my Dad in Benton Harbor while we're down that way. That is, if I can catch his busy-retired-self at home. lol

Why is it that retired people are never at home? My Mother's never home either...she is a widow and retired and is so busy running around the state with the "Seniors" that I can rarely catch her at home. (and if you click on this link, in the top row far right picture in the turquoise jacket, who do you see? My Mom! (wow, I didn't know she had a picture out there in the blog-o-sphere, I'll have to tell my brother & sister, they'll be so amazed) Mom's a celebrity! lol

Guess it's good they're both staying busy. Keeps em out of my hair, hee hee, JUST KIDDING!

And in the world of knitting, we have, ta da! A new and improved Monkey! See...

I took this pictures with Cass in mind *snicker*. Hey Cass! Hope you're enjoying your vacation! Are you there yet? (whiney voice - a little car trip humor) You really should try this Van Gogh stuff...mmmm, espresso flavor...and the bottle is pretty too.

Here's another shot without the bottle-as-leg-substitute...

in case you missed it on Let's Learn Socks Knitting. And speaking of which, if you are learning socks or learning new kinds of socks or just like to hang out with people who knit socks, you should join us. We like new friends!

And speaking of new friends...HEY! to all my new BFFs from Dish Rag Tag. What a blast we've had, even if we did finish 4th, drat! I believe that still puts us ahead of a whole bunch of other teams that haven't gotten their box to that giant mailbox in Alabama yet. That has got to be the biggest mail box I've ever seen! Hey, Emily! lol

Congratulations, especially to TEAM XDR, Rena's team, for getting in that giant mailbox first today. You came out victorious today. We want a rematch!, um, sorry, I got carried away for a sec...love you, Rena!

Thanks again for a great time. To Jennifer, Nichole, Grace, Katy, Susan, Lesley, Allison, Karen (who is blogless) and Rebecca it sure has been fun getting to know all of you! Stop by and congratulate them on a job well done.

I am proud to have been on your team.

Toodles!