Happy Halloween!

I've been doing a little making it up as I go along knitting the past couple of nights.

The Saint wanted an "ear muffler" for those cold mornings when he has to be outside at work. What he requested was... "something like a head-band that will cover my ears".

This is what I came up with.









Whatchu think? Too comical? Great colors for Halloween, you say!

Actually, the company he works for has an orange logo...


I'm curious to hear what "the guys" think when he throws it on tomorrow morning and dares them to say anything, ROFL. Especially since he'd wear it even if he hated it just because I made it. I don't call him The Saint for nothin'.



I guess when you're 6'3" and 280 lbs you can wear whatever you want with no fear, he he.



But now it's late and about bedtime for my sleepy man...g'night honey. You don't have to model any more tonight, lol.


And here's another shot of that cute little Winston. It's pretty boring around here since he left. He's enjoying the view from his new living room window now. On a black leather chair. My daughter is more practical in her furniture selection than I...


Sam: Now that the little brat is gone I get the new toy, mwa-ha-ha-ha! This Loofa Dog is great! You should get one.

Keep on knittin!

Thanks and thank goodness with some FIADE, last edition, thrown in

Thanks a bunch for all the input about comment email addresses. It's great to hear from everyone. I'm being told that there is an extra box to put your email address in when you leave a comment but maybe not everyone is getting that. hmmm curious...

It's been a really busy week. We've been helping Rena and Chef Wes paint and move to their new place. It's so cute! This was taken at night but you'll get the idea...

Home Sweet Home

She won't be right down the street anymore but she'll be in a nice quiet neighborhood and the new neighbors that they've met seem to be very nice. There's a neighborhood watch so people are looking out for each other and that's a great thing to have in any neighborhood. So we got all the painting done inside that they wanted to do before moving in (the thank goodness part of this blog) and they finally got to spend the night on Wednesday. I know it seems like a never ending process but I've promised her that one day she'll look around and everything will be put away and life will be running along smoothly again. It's great how life works that way.

I haven't gotten much knitting done, wait, no, yes, I have made great progress on my Neopolitan Monkey. When did I have time to do that? I didn't go to City Knitting yesterday since Rena had to work and I was a good doobie and got some things done around home. I love that you can knit and do laundry at the same time, hee. And here we have it...


A little blurry but it's been a long day, my patience is limited and the sun is almost gone. I've turned the heel and done about 4 rows of the foot. I'm hoping to get most of the foot done this evening. So the ASJ is languishing for a bit but I'll get back too it soon. Since I have the mo going on this sock thing I'm gonna stick to it. The Monkey pattern is so interesting and once you get the hang of it, it's simple to knit. I did at one point the other night make the mistake of stopping and looking at the sock and saying to myself "this is really looking good" at which point I messed it up and had to tink back a row and a half. meh. Note to self: No admiring the sock before it is finished!

Winston (Rena's dog) has been spending the night with us since the big move started a week ago. He likes that he can play with Max and Sam when he feels the need. Mostly he likes to do this...


He's been extra happy to be here since The Saint and I rearranged the living room last night. Now the white leather (white?, were we crazy!) sofa is now in front of the living room window and he has exclusive access to the view of the street since Max and Sam aren't allowed on the furniture. I know they're cussin about it too. lol

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Fall Into Autumn Dishcloth Exchange

How was your experience in the exchange? Did you enjoy the folks you met? Did you just love the cloth and goodies you received? Please share any thoughts, criticism, and things you loved!

I had a great time putting together the package I sent to Grace. It was fun having her as my partner since we had already met on the Lucky 13 Dishrag Tag team. I haven't received my package yet but have heard from my spoiler that it will be on the way shortly. I'll post some pics when it gets here. This was fun. I'd do it again.
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I'm off now to knit a bit and unwind in preparation for the work week that starts again tomorrow. bleh We'll have a new GM tomorrow, maybe a few things will be different around the place. Guess I won't be wearing jeans, lol.

Good thoughts go out to my friends in other parts of the country where they're not having the good fortune to enjoy a beautiful autumn day. Let's hope that Georgia gets the rain they need to relieve their water shortage and that the fires are put out quickly in Southern California. That whole fire situation is just too scary to me. We know we are so fortunate here in so many ways and count our blessings daily. Be careful out there!

needing a little help...

Max and Sam here to say hey to everyone on this lovely Wednesday morning. We're sending out good thoughts to all our friends in dry-as-the-desert Georgia and the fire-stricken Southern California. Hope you're all safe and sound and feeling peace in your hearts this day.

We also have a question for our friends that know more about this blogging thing than AllyB does (which is not a difficult thing to do, ROFL).

O-k, O-k, here's our question...

How is it that people who's blogs she's commented on can reply directly to her comment?

She hasn't figured out how to do it in on her own blog.

This is slightly distressing to her as she's not always able to find the email address of the commentor by her usual private detective-type means. lol

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and have a great day! woofs and licks all around

Phew! What a week!

Remember this from a couple of weeks ago? It's growing...

Hey all! It has been super hectic around Chez B this past week. There's been way too much work at work and a bit o' extra work away from work too.

It's budget time at the job so I have a bit extra on my desk as our business manager is busy with the budgeting process so I get to do all the things she doesn't like to do in the first place. meh And being the OCD, superly routine oriented person that I am, this is killing my work days! It has certainly messed up my flow!

Our daughter, Rena and son-in-law, Chef Wes, are moving to their new home and we have been helping them a bit with moving and painting. Well, The Saint helped with the moving yesterday and I've been helping with the painting the past couple of days. I am no longer in shape to be working late, up and down a ladder and painting things that are above eye level. lol I need to get some more regular exercise!

I am so not complaining about helping out, so Rena don't be getting all apologetic! I'm just sayin...I'm 51 and don't usually climb ladders and spend countless minutes with my arm above my head...I'll certainly be glad for my head to hit the pillow tonight! Knitting is way easier but it really doesn't promote good physical condition! lol

I'm so happy for them to have their own place. No more noisy, pot smoking/selling, multi-children-bearing neighbors with scooters and wading pools and dogs that they don't clean up after...let's just say it's been a long couple of years over there at the four-plex. It's been super handy to have them right down the street but I can certainly understand why they want to get the hell out of there. It is so nice and quiet at their new place and Winston won't have to be tormented by the little children that aren't taught proper manners. ahem And, I can rearrange my living room so my chair isn't in front of the picture window where I can see down the street to Rena's house. I just won't be carin' what goes on down there anymore after she's gone. So I'm sad and happy at the same time. Isn't if funny how so many things in life are that way? I'll miss her but I will be so glad for her to have some peace and quiet.

Well, there hasn't been too much time this week for knitting but I have actually accomplished quite a bit in the short time I had to devote to the projects that I currently have on my needles.

Here's the EZ Adult Surprise...and my latest Ballband Dishcloth

...the EZ has taken on a life of it's own. Every time I get near a yarn shop I pick up a new color or two of Cascade 220. I decided that the stipes as they started out were too simple so I've added a few transitional colors to the mix. Yesterday while Rena and I were at City Knitting I picked up a heathered green and a heathered blue. They'll get mixed in between the blue, black and green stripes you see here. I'll probably have enough yarn left over to make a whole other sweater when I'm done, hee hee. I feel a couple of felted projects coming this winter with the leftovers.

Well, you all have a great week. Enjoy the fall colors and the weird weather. I believe it was almost 80 degrees here in West Michigan today. It's October! Hey weather man...it's supposed to be sweater weather now! I've gotten all my wool socks out, I'd like to be wearing them instead of my flip flops!

Hope all my friends down in Georgia get some much needed rain. I'm very sad to see how low Lake Lanier is now and can only imagine what Lake Alatoona must look like. I remember many holidays in the park near Alatoona, with KFC and cold Pepsi...uh, I was never really a Coke fan. Maybe that's why I don't live in Atlanta anymore, lol. Let's all do a little rain dance for them.

Hey to my secret FIAD swap partner...you'll know in a couple of days who you are...I sent my package on Thursday.

Toodles!

FIADE Topic of the Week

Now that it is getting cooler here, it makes me think of apple picking and hay rides. Are you the type that likes to go to participate in all the fall festivities like apple picking, pumpkins, decorating for the fall, hay rides, baking fall goodies, etc. or do you just sit and count the days till Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah?

As I've gotten older, and hopefully wiser, I consider every day important. It's fun to see all the holiday decorations that others put up but I am not a holiday decorator myself. I enjoy the cider and especially the apple cider donuts that are available this time of year. Last weekend when The Saint and I were in Traverse City I even splurged and had a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. It was a little weird, like liquid pumpkin pie in a cup. lol

Maybe tomorrow I'll buy some apples at the Farmer's Market to bake an apple dessert. Although, this is the weekend that Rena's moving so we'll be a bit busy for the next few days. Thankfully apples keep a while til you get ready to use them.

Halloween doesn't have the same appeal now that my children are grown. I used to knock myself out making costumes for them and it was loads of fun. Guess that's just the progression of life.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Wedding Bells

Congratulations to Jennifer and Dan! What a fun wedding and reception we had the honor of attending on Saturday. The venue was very interesting (the old asylum) and the food was fabulous at Stella. I did keep thinking about The Shining though. The place was just a little creepy in a haunted kind of way. lol

The Saint's references to a guy in a hockey mask with a machete didn't help.

Now that the festivities are over I can show you all the nifty bag I knitted for the happy couple a while back. It's big enough for a couple bottles of wine, and assorted accompaniments. It was lots of fun to put together.

So here's the bag...

I topped it off with some fall color dish towels, it was impossible to take a photo that would show the sparkly-ness of the yarn...how do you like it?

We took the opportunity to turn the wedding trip into a wonderful relaxing weekend in Traverse City. We stayed at a nice little no-frills motel called the Mitchell Creek Inn, had dinner on Friday evening at Red Mesa Grill (we highly recommend this place especially if you like a quality margarita) and a yummy breakfast at Mustard's on Saturday morning.

Most fun was a stop at Yarn Quest over on Garfield Rd. They have an amazing mass of yarn there and the nicest people you could ever want to assist you.

So now we're back home and steeling ourselves for the return to work tomorrow. gah! I wish weekends were longer. Have a great week.

FIADS - Topic of the Week

Either flash your needles and other items you use to make your wares or, if you don't have a camera, describe your goods for us in detail. Dpns, circs, straights, hooks, tape measures, darning needles, favorite stitch markers, needle holders, cases, the works!



Every knitter needs lots of marking tools so here's my carry-around pack of misc marking tools.

My favs right now are those pink, blue and white markers in the lower left corner of the picture. They're not complete circles, they have an opening in them so you can slip them on that all too important middle stitch when you're working on your EZ Surprise Jacket. lol


Being the OCD type, even in knitting, I try to keep all my needles in this black leather basket. That way I can go there and find whatever I need in a hurry, you know, for those knitting emergencies...hee.

I made those nifty needle holders on the lower left when I first started knitting last year (when my quilting mojo was still my friend) and then made the felted needle roll that you see in the lower right corner of the basket with yarn leftover from my first felted purse.

My most favorite of all my needles is the KnitPicks Options and they split their time between the super handy binder from KnitPicks and my carry around bag.

And this polka-dot beauty is my handy-dandy $12 knitting bag I found at a little shop in Petoskey. Perfect size for a project or 3 plus lunch and snacks when I go to work.





And I must mention my vintage needle stash. These are all needles purchased on eBay in an effort to make up for the fact that I didn't get any of my Grama's needles when she left this world. I found a nice bunch of needles that look like they could have been hers...I just pretend and that's ok with me. They surely belonged to someone's Grama, don't you think? I like how they look in the vases, like flowers...that never die, lol.

So there's my tools...let's see yours.