Knitting Interrupted, kind of

Lately, the knitting has been going slowly for me.  My knitting time truly took a hit in the last few days, but please don't get me wrong...I am NOT complaining.  You see, there's a really good reason that I have not been knitting much lately, and this is it:

(in a sing-song-y voice) 
I got an iPod!  I got an iPod!!  No you can't touch it, 'cause it's my iPod...

That's right, folks!  Step right up and take a look!  I have a smart phone (Droid, not iPhone):

Aaaaand now I also have an iPod touch, 4th gen, gifted to me by a family member...YAY!!!

(That's right, folks!  I managed to get pictures in of the technology 
AND the baby, 'cause that's how this Gramma rolls...)

Anyway, the knitting took a hit so I could play with my new toy, and I had so much fun with the iPod, that it actually inspired new knitting!  (That's right, folks!  I cast on a new project with wild and reckless abandon...no concern whatsoever for the other projects floundering around on my needles...I am outta control!)  Because, of course, every beloved technological device deserves a cozy, right?!?  Right!

Yep, in my possession less than 24 hours, and it already had a cozy...isn't it pretty?  Oh!  I have more sock yarn scraps, I think I am gonna go make it another!!!  Squeeee!!!  See ya later!

Almost forgot, thanks for stopping by!, and Knit in Good Health for your technology!

...of FROGs* and laundry

I have not started to FROG* the bind off on the Abalone.  
However, I have ripped and started the re-knit on the sheep.

After that, I just stood there at the FROG* pond for the longest time, trying to decide how and where to jump in.  Finally, I just gave up and did some laundry instead...after all, the new washer and dryer arrived on Saturday...look how white and shiny!

OK, so they're not that shiny...but they are brand new!  I realized over the weekend that it's the first time we have bought a new washer and dryer...ever.  Our old set was a second-hand deal, over 20 years ago.  The ones the appliance store hauled off on Saturday weren't even a set, because the original washer went to the great appliance store in the sky 5 or 6 years ago, and it was replaced by a second-hand washer from a friend that was clunking as it cleaned for more than 18 months!  So, while these are not fancy, schmancy, HE machines, they are brand new and working like champs...dirty clothes in, and clean clothes out, purring like a kitten during their cycles...it's like a dream come true!  Yep, that's right...I dream big...lol!

In Knitting Knews, there has been much knitting.  A rip and re-knit means that lots of time has been spent on sheep, but I have not taken photos. . .and I did re-start the hat for Dollface, but all I have of that so far is ribbing. . .and I finished and gifted socks to Mindy (formerly Wifey-Poo, see first January post for 2012), and she loves them!  She (and I) actually jumped up and down when she opened them, and there were many "Yayyyys!" involved!

Oh, and I bought more patterns from KnitKnoodler (look for her links on Ravelry and in Etsy)...because you can never have too many knitted toys, and everyone absolutely NEEDS a knitted alphabet!  Don't you agree?  (Then go get some patterns for yourself!)  These are just fantastic!

Well, I guess that's it.  I just wish I had more time to knit every day.  Right now, Thursday is my favorite day of the week.  Thursday is the day that I get to spend 4 hours knitting, relatively uninterrupted, aaand I get to laugh with this bunch:

I love you girls!  And I love that tomorrow is Thursday!  Maybe a new day will give me the courage to head back to the FROG pond and work on that bind off. . .or maybe it will be a day to celebrate castonitis**, and knit a couple of toys!

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

For my non-knitting friends, here is a key to some of the new vocabulary in this post:

*FROG - when you rip-it, rip-it, rip-it, pulling out your knitting failure

**castonitis - an illness that defies all knitting reason, causing the knitter to cast on multiple projects, even though she (or he) has many projects already in progress, and nowhere near completion.

Sometimes it's a Struggle

Most of the time, my life just goes along smoothly.  I truly am blessed with a Sweetie who loves me and takes good care of me and our family.  I have a good job, that is both a challenge and a joy (most days).  To top it all off, I've got two great kids, a son-in-law and daughter-in-law that I adore, and a darling granddaughter who steals our hearts and never has to go "fishing" for attention!

Still, sometimes I struggle.  I struggle to get everything done that I want to do.  I struggle with eating right and exercising (she says, as she mainlines chocolate and peanut butter, as though she is helpless against it's power).  Sometimes I even struggle in my stitching. . .

Today's tale is one of knitting struggles.  There will be tinking, and possibly frogging to fix the fine mess this has turned into:

The sweater is Abalone, and it's supposed to hang openly, framing my frame and gracefully grazing my hips in back.  However, just after finishing the I-cord binding (is that the longest-ever bind off, or what?), I slipped it on to check the fit.  The bind off is too tight.  It draws in at the corners in front, and rather than gracefully grazing my hips, it pulls and puckers in all the wrong places. . .sigh!  I tried to block it into submission, but it's not submitting. . .I'm gonna have to rrrrrrip out that I-cord, and either re-do it with a GIANT needle, or using another type of bind off.  

My other struggle is a little sweater that doesn't look like it's going to be big enough for the recipient.  I got gauge (it's a miracle!), but it still looks too small. . .without the wearer close-by for try-ons, I guess I am just going to just keep going and see what happens. . .

Worst-case, I suppose that I'll re-knit, but maybe it will be fine.  Still, it feels like a struggle.  So, on this snowy Saturday of struggles, I am glad that I have some time to spend with my favorite Peanut!  Here's a little snippet of the kind of Saturday sunshine she can bring if we'll only add a little chocolate ice cream.

I hope that your Saturday is full of joy and free of heartache, and I hope that your stitching is struggle-free.  Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Wordless. . .

. . .both because it's Wednesday. . .aaaaand because this:

This is simply too cute for words!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

That ain't bad...

Life is full of decisions.  


Some decisions are easy, like Chocolate or Broccoli.


Some decisions require a little more thought, like "paper or plastic" for your groceries.


And some decisions are very difficult, requiring weeks of research...like whether to get a Nook or a Kindle!


I'm not sure which category today's decision should fall into. . .I mean, at the outset, it looks like it should be a no-brainer. . .then I start thinking. . .then I remember why I hate to make decisions!!!


Well, here. . .let me show you.  This is my desk, without me. . . 

I spend 40 hours each week at, or near, my desk.  Without me, it looks lonely and sad. . .but look at this:


This is my Sofa, without me. . .

I probably spend 30-35 hours a week on, or near, my sofa.  It looks pretty lonely and sad without me, too!  But wait, there's more.


This is my current knitting. . .

I would estimate that I spend 20-25 hours a week knitting. . .most of that happens on my sofa (and some of that time might-or-might-not be at, or near, my desk. . .believe what you will about that).


So, what's the big decision?  Well, here it is. . .

Every Friday afternoon, when I leave my desk, I agonize a little about the things that I didn't get done.  It seems that there is always at least one. . .sometimes I even consider going back on Saturday to finish up, even though the "great, unfinished things" will surely wait until Monday. . .so, can I just let myself off the hook, and try again next week OR will I wonder and worry, all through the weekend, that I am not worthy of my great job.  My perfectionist self says that my sofa and my knitting will understand if I stay later at the office to finish up on Friday (and other days occasionally), right?  


However, my inner weekender says,  "NOT!!!"  Besides, if I make my Sofa and my Knitting happy, that's 2 outta 3. . .and I hear that 2 outta 3 ain't bad!


I hope that you are making your sofa and your knitting happy this weekend, and that you are Knitting in Good Health!

Take Your What Where?

I have unofficially declared today "Take Your Mochi to Work Day."  If you haven't left the house yet, go grab your Mochi, and take it with you!  If it's too late for today, do it tomorrow...this is a loose holiday at best, and its observance comes without a lot of "have to" rules and regulations...which is kindof nice in the work-a-day world!

I observed the new holiday yesterday, a day early, just to test my theory that this would be a good day to celebrate on a regular basis, and I believe the experiment to be a smashing success!  After all, the bunny and the cupcake really love to be a part of the action...here they are, playing on my desk:

Looking at them up there, just having a grand time, it's hard to believe how rough the day started out yesterday...you see, I had just finished my first cup of coffee, when I noticed someone hiding behind my mug... 

It was a tiny Mochi Easter Bunny, and he had a BIG question!

"Excuse me, please! But, where did I come from?"

"Ummmm, it's 6:30...in the MORNING...!"

"I know that, but I really am curious...do you know where I came from?"

I was a bit taken aback by the question, but I figured that I would rather he get the right story from me than to hear some garbage on the street...we DO live in a pretty rough neighborhood.  So, I sat him down, got another cup of coffee, and took a deep breath.

"Well, you see...ahem...it's like this.  Sometimes, when yarn and knitting needles love each other verily, very muchly, they decide to work together to create a thing of beauty.  Sometimes the thing is small, and sometimes it is big.  Whether big or small, blue or pink, acrylic or wool, the thing they create is an expression of their love, and should feel very special to have been made.  You know what else?  The knitter loves the thing, too!  Just like you, little Easter Bunny!  I love you very much.  You know that, right?"

"Yep.  I know.  What's that stuff...over there?"

"Well, that's yarn."

"My Mommy?"

"Kind of..."

"Can I touch it?"

"Sure..."

"Hmmmm...what's this?  This cupcake looking thing?" 

"Well, that's a tiny, Mochi Cupcake."

"Can I eat it?"

"Ummm, I'd rather you didn't.  You know, it's kind of like your sister..."

"Ohhhhh!  I get it now."

"Can Sissie and I come to work with you?"

"I think that could be arranged," I answered, after a short pause and a quiet declaration of the new holiday in the living room, sans audience.  I did not want to wake Mr. Pretty with this particular announcement.

So the bunny and the cupcake spent the day in my office.  They played a bit, and they napped a bit, and they spent more than enough time watching the clock and asking when it would be time to go home.  Work wasn't as much fun as they thought it might be, but I think they enjoyed the day.

When we got home, they told me they want a little brother.  
We'll see what we can do.

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

What did you say?

Sometimes I know just what to say.

Sometimes I have a lot to say, but I shouldn't say any of it.

Sometimes I say it anyway.

Sometimes I am too busy to say much of anything to anyone.  I think that these are the times that God protects me from myself.  Today is one of those days, so lets talk about knitting.

Today, as I turn the next page in my stitch-a-day calendar. . .

. . .I notice that it is yet one more variation of holey fabric.  Sometimes it bugs me when I look for variety but find a bunch of the same-old, same-old.  This year, I am hoping to not be so bugged by that.  I have cast on a new sweater (but have not taken pics yet), and I am planning to knit toy after toy for my dear Peanut (she soooo loved those dolls!).  I have two books of mochimochi patterns, and I just downloaded 7 patterns for jelly bums, so it seems that 2012 will be the year of the knitted toy at Pretty's house!  After all, toys don't really care what you have to say, as long as you play with them. . .

I promise pictures, as soon as my life doesn't feel so full of holes!  Today it just feels like time is slipping by so fast, and I am not getting much accomplished. . .but I hope to have some project progress sooner rather than later!

I hope that you are having knitting success so far this year!  Is 2012 the "year of something" for you?  Tell me what! 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Hey there, 2012!

Now that the holidays are but a blurry reflection in the mind's eye, it's time to move on to the changes that are sure to come for 2012.  I have said before that I do not make resolutions to mark any new year, but that doesn't stop the changes!  After all, just look at 2011!

Snake and Dollface got married, and joined the wall of fame at our house.

New knitters were "born" very late in the year, 

and more "established" knitters knit for miles and miles!

Peanut was born, and is now nearly a year old. . .

and there was much knitting (my feet are soooo, soooo warm)!

There was good and bad, happy and sad, but overall, I think 2011 was a darn good year.  I know that change will follow me as long as the world turns, and I think I am ready.  Just for fun, I am also going to shake it up a bit with a little change of my own. . .

A short history of the Blog Names. . .

A while ago, I changed the DD and DSIL names to Snake and Dollface (College Girl and Boy-Friend just were not cutting it once that engagement ring hit her finger!).  Over time, Mr. Pretty has also been known as Sweetie and Pop-Pop, depending on the photo and circumstance.  Pretty has always been Pretty, because (of course) she is Pretty!  There's also Beagle-face and Puggle-jumper, and the nameless cats, not much to worry about there!

Now it's time to address Army Boy and Wifey-Poo. . .who will not always be in the Army (although I am not sure when that change will come).  Now that they are parents, and they get many more mentions in regard to Peanut, I think I have finally figured out what their permanent (shorter and easier-to-type) blog names should be (it's only taken me three years!).

Since they were small, I have thought that my kids are out of this world. . .for a short time, some of my boy's friends even called him an alien.  (Truly, I think I may have missed something at the time, and I was never quite sure how to respond to that, but it was what it was.)  With that in mind, I would like to reintroduce you to my son and daughter-in-law, the parents of Peanut, Mork and Mindy!

For you younger readers, I include this link. . .it's just the opening credits and theme song, but you can look up more (just Google Mork and Mindy), if you are into that kindof thing.  Nano! Nano!

And now it's time for me to run off and knit.  I would hate to start 2012 feeling as far behind as I felt when I said so-long to 2011!  I know it's bound to happen, but I want to enjoy being "ahead of the game" while I can!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!