Happy New Year

Happy New Year Wishes

We hope that you and your families have the best New Years ever,

and that in 2006 all your dreams come true.

Sandra, GT, Sara & Gunther

Thank You Secret Santa

It was a wonderful surprise when GT came in from getting the mail and bellowed through the house, "MMMMOOOOOMMMMMM, YOU HAVE A PACKAGE!" So ran down the stairs and I grabbed the box and then ran over to my desk to be a maniac for a few moments while I opened it and went through all the goodies. Thank you so much Brianna, for every thing. I'll be knitting baby items for my cousins baby (who I just found out is having a girl and naming her Sarah Lizabeth) while watching my DVD. And the Pampered Chef items are terrific.

It Was A Wonderful Christmas

I had a great day on Christmas. It was quiet, the food turned out perfect and I got "stuff." The statues are of Buddha and of Morgana. Morgana is from Excalibur, she is Merlin's equal and Luther's daughter. The Concert for Bangladesh, was a surprise and a great gift. Aging myself here, I remember when it came out in vinyl and playing it to death. Mr. and Mrs. Smith is good, I watched it last night and really liked it. The kids got it for me because I wanted to see it at the movies but was too busy during that time. I got a couple of electronic toys which are pretty cool. An HP Pocket PC, which is wi fi so I can get online anywhere, anytime, and they got me a TALKING Pedometer. I told them the first time it calls me a fat ass, it's in the garbage. LOL. Then another surprise was the book Zen And The Art Of Knitting. I have been wanting this book for a long time and every time I got to Barnes and Nobles I read a little bit of it. About a week ago I noticed that it wasn't there and figured that someone had got it. The kids got it for me and were laughing their butts off at me because I was disappointed that it wasn't there. LOL. They also got me a new camera cases. So I did pretty good. I still have some Christmas money that I haven't spent yet so I have a little spending fun ahead of me.

Gunther had a wonderful time. He played in all the wrapping paper, and found all his toys and treats under the tree (and a few that weren't his)LOL. He got a new collar and leash for Christmas. I'll be posting some of his pictures on his blog in the next days or so.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and you are making plans to have the best New Year ever!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

From all of us, may you have the best Christmas ever!

(the presents were moved from under the tree because Gunther got all excited about his first Christmas and wanted to open them early. LOL)

The Baby Cable Socks

Here they are all finished. The bad thing about the photo is that it makes the sock look like it's 2' long. LOL. But they turned out wonderful.

Now I'm focusing on the other solid socks and the baby blanket. I would like to make a pair of tabi socks. I've found a couple of patterns that look interesting, has anyone out there made a pair? I've seen them also listed as flip-flop socks. I checked with the sockknitters group on Yahoo and got several suggestions so that was pretty cool.

I'm off to finish up the shopping, have a great day. 

Knitting, Shopping & Tennessee

If you ever have a chance to experience the Gatlinburg/Sevierville, TN. area, do so. You will be able to find something for the whole family there. One of the reasons (other than my mom lives there) that I like going is because of all the spinners. The artist area of Gatlinburg is really something else.

This trip though I didn't come home with any "one of a kind" yarn, but I did come home with yarn. Mom took us to a store called "Tuesday Morning." And there to my surprise was 3 skeins of Polar Spun and 3 skeins of Cotton Ease (in Banana Cream) both by Lion Brand Yarns. I got all 6 skeins for 9.99. While up there I got the Saxon Braid scarf started. My son who is VERY low key, got so excited about this scarf, that he is telling everyone that it's his. Right now I've done 6 pattern repeats. Here is a glimpse of it from a few days ago.

Mom surprised me with an appointment with a WONDERFUL Hair Stylist who just moved to Gatlinburg from LA. The salon is called "Hair We Are In The Glades Of Gatlinburg." The Glades, is the area of the artists and creative people. Anyway, my Christmas present from Mom was a new hair cut. I've been over do for awhile now and so it was time for a change. Here is a picture of the "after" me. I love the cut, it is so easy to take care of. Wash, add product, scrunch and I'm done.

Now in the past I have talked about how different my kids are. (one loves the camera, the other hates it). Well we have never really gone and gotten the "family portrait" or anything like that so the following photo is what we have now labeled our Family Portrait. The story behind it goes like this. Mom wanted to take us to the newly opened Bass Pro Shop. Several reasons, my cousin works there, they have a Starbucks and a huge knife selection. (GT collects knives). So we went. Mom, being Mom, decided not to tell us that the place is covered in taxidermy animals. Hell they had an 8 foot Christmas tree decorated in taxidermy birds. Anyway, if we had known we would have left Sara in the car or at home. She looked at the floor the whole time we were there, except when we were at Starbucks. I just never looked hard enough at them. GT, as usual didn't want his picture taken at all, so here is the picture. Sara is crying because of what she is standing next to and GT is irritated because he had to cave to his grandma. (this was the day before my haircut)


Now one more photo. Friday, on the way back from Gatlinburg, we noticed it was getting late and so we decided to stop somewhere to eat dinner. We decided on stopping at an all you can eat Catfish restaurant and though the food was fantastic, it was really because of this.

(they dress him up for Christmas, no shit, it's the Santa Catfish)ROFL

Tagged "What's In Your Knitting Bag?"

Ok, here we go, it really isn't that bad because two weeks ago I cleaned it out after knitting class. When I couldn't find a matching needle I kind of figured it was time to do some cleaning. But, in the past two weeks you can see how easily things creep in.

Now let me explain the "knitting bag." Yes, your eyes are not telling you stories. It is a backpack. I use it because it carries so much freaking stuff, which sometimes includes laptop computer, files and office items. Also, it has an area for my MP3 player and headphones. I figured too, if I loose my mind and want to run away from home, I'll still have room for some clothes. LOL.

So right now, I have in the bag...
3 sock projects
1 baby sweater,
a scarf (I have no idea what I have that in there for)
Dove deodorant
Stomach meds
Darning needles
Ink Pen
Inhaler
Size 10 needles
Size 8 bamboo needles
Antibacterial ointment
Sample size antibacterial hand cleanser
Wal Mart cough drops
Wal Mart Day Quill
Burt Bees Hand stuff
Burt Bees Lip Balm
2 sign in sheets from my knitting class
Index card with daily affirmations
Flash light (small)
Scissors
Patternworks catalog (Knit Picks would have been in there but I pulled it out yesterday to look at while I had a few minutes)
Comb

What I took out two weeks ago:
Measuring tape
2 balls of yarn
Good To Great by Jim Collins
Kleenex
Empty bottle of Antibacterial Hand Wash
Gunther's empty bag of dog treats
Out dated Coupons for O'Charlie's
Other Digital Camera
MP3 Player
Stitch holders (millions)
Rubber bands (I have no idea why they were there)
Extra ink pens
Cell phone case

Tonight after knitting class, I'll load it up again with stuff, since we are leaving in the morning (6AM) for my mom's. She lives near Gatlinburg, TN. It's only about a 4 hour drive. I'll have my computer with me, so I'll still be around maybe not as much though. We'll be back on the 18th.

Now it's my turn to tag a few of my favorite blogs. Show us your stiff Knit Diva , Hundgestrickt , And She Knits Too! and Chappysmom.

Have a great day!

Sock Progress & Secret Santa

It's been a little more busy around here than I planned but I have had time to get a few more rows done on the socks. It's turning out better than I thought. (it's always good when that happens).

If you haven't been to Eat-sleep-knit you are missing out on some great inspiration! Her Saxon Braid Scarf is to die for. Just totally beautiful work. So guess what, she was kind enough to put her pattern and information on the blog so those of us who's mouths started to water when we seen it, could make one too. It's been YEARS since I did any cable work, and I loved her scarf so much I went out this morning before I gave a private knitting lesson and bought everything I needed for the scarf. My son is going to love it when it's finished. Thank you Cathy for putting all the good stuff on your blog!

Now for some fun stuff. I got tagged again! I LOVE IT. This time Diana got me with the " What's In Your Knitting Bag?" This will be fun. She found money, I can tell you that there is NO money in mine. LOL. I'll post my picture tomorrow.

While I'm thinking about it, I wanted to go on record that my Secret Santa package is out of my hands and into the hands of the United States Postal Service. She should get it while I am in TN. so I'll watch her blog while I'm gone to see if she says anything about it. (ok I'm a little excited, I wish I could have done more).

Be safe, Be Happy, Knit a lot

Just for the hell of it

For some strange reason today, could be the weather, could be just crazy ole me, but I started another pair of socks. I got inspired. The pattern that I'm using for my solid socks KAL, I thought would look pretty in a heavier yarn. So, out came the size 6 double points, a couple of skeins of Wool Ease (it's the white with the gold thread through it) and after a 40 stitch cast on, here we are. What do you think? I'm thinking that they will be nice and warm to wear on Christmas day while I bust my ass cooking. lol. 

Knitting, Busy Stuff, Knitting, Busy Stuff, Knitting ...

Here in the Atlanta area we have had some strange weather, hot but rainy, then cold and rainy, I miss the warm and rainy. But no matter what the weather it's always a good time to knit. This morning I got a call from a lady who is wanting private lessons, so now I have three current private students. (I love those because we meet at the cafe and have coffee and knit.) Tonight is my class. I have no idea how many will show up. With it being December I am not going to be surprised if the numbers are low. We have 3 classes this month, then I'll start back up the 2nd Monday in Jan. (ok, that sounds weird, January is almost here).

I've been getting some knitting taken care of. Nothing new, just a few rows here and there. The solid socks I'm working on got some attention over the weekend. One of the things holding me up was deciding what pattern I wanted to do out of the book Sensational Knitted Socks . I'm doing the Baby Cable Rib on page 37. One of the reasons I picked that pattern was because I didn't want to stray away too far from keeping socks a traveling project. If I had chose a pattern too detailed then it would be a stay at home project. I also was looking for a pattern that would have a little texture, some shadow and look more complicated than it really is. (just being honest). The other socks I have on needles (2 circulars) are progressing. I'm on the heel of the second sock. I'm still in a love hate relationship with the 2 circulars. My whole purpose for learning to do socks on circulars was so I could knit 2 at the same time. I still have to try that before I totally go back to only doing socks on double points. And last but not least, the baby sweater I'm making for my cousin's baby is now ready to start the decreases. SSSSSSSOOOOOO, progress is being made it just doesn't seem like it. (that's usually when a lot is getting done) Ok, we are updated and all is well. ;-)

Oh before I forget, I got my Secret Santa yesterday. I am so excited about it. I just missed by one day the Secret Pal, and that bummed me out. So when I seen Plumpy Knits had the Secret Santa going on I had to jump in. I'll have my surprise ready to send out by Friday. Next week 13th - 18th I'll be in TN. visiting mom.

Blessed Be

Too Funny

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