One down, 17 to go.

Ha, Ha, like that's actually going to happen.

A very soft, silky short scarf, ...

as modeled by: Woman-with-really-bad-hair-hidden-under-hat.
It can be worn like a tie with the short end hidden behind or

Jabot style. My personal preference. Once I get another one knit up, I should have the kinks worked out and be able to post the pattern here.

In the meantime, a square for Comforting Jenn hopefully finished today. So I can get going on everything else.

Meet the other member of the family. She has lived with us for nearly two years, but doesn't get many photo ops due to the difficulty of capturing moving fish in an interesting or clear way. Her name is Dorothy as in the name of the fish on Elmo's World and she lives in the annoying useless corner behind the sink. Having her there makes having to scrub pots much more interesting.


Must get back to knitting now. So much to do. Sigh, why must I be so good at procrastinating?

All hail, the freezing rain.

Now many of you expect freezing rain to make everything look like it's made out of glass like this or this. But the stuff that fell yesterday was more like little pellets. Sort of like Hail's little brother only really slippery. When you walk on it, it feels and sounds like you are walking on really coarse salt then you walk in the house and whammo, on the floor with you or so I've heard.

Ahem, anyway, there has been progress on both scarves, but this one shows it more. I'm on the increase section and hoping to have it done today.

The square for Firefly's project is done and ready to go in the mail as soon as I get to town. Now one more for Comforting Jenn, then 9 dishcloths and five more short scarves and a hat and I'm done with Christmas.

I won't be able to visit as many blogs as often as I like to due to all the knitting for Christmas, but know that I am wondering how you are all doing and I haven't forgotten you. Anna, I'm in Central Standard Time.

"Yeah, like these were going to get folded anytime soon."

Tuesday, quiet Tuesday.

I just got a call this morning that I will not have the little Mr. as he and Mommy are not the best. I think that may be a good thing as I woke up with a wicked headache and one little one will probably be enough. Here's hoping for a reasonably quiet day.

Yesterday I said I was going to concentrate on this so that I can be done and have it in the mail. Ha, Ha. It didn't even get unrolled.

Instead this one grew a little bit. I put it on the back of my neck every now and then. It is like wearing a cloud. Light, soft and warm. I think I may make this a short scarf though. Just long enough to go around the neck and tie neatly or to wrap once around itself if I can find some really small shawl pins or pretty broaches. Then it can be worn all day if they like as an accessory to an outfit or as a short scarf tucked around their neck.

This though, is what I was really working on. It's another square for Firefly. More masculine, because men sometimes need nice knit stuff too. I think if a family gets to the point where they don't have a home anymore, it is devastating to a man's self esteem. I know if we became homeless, the Mr. would be a mess. He stresses enough because we don't have a three month safety net right now. We are lucky though because we have an end to the debt in sight.

On another note, if you have been wanting one of these, but haven't wanted to spend that much money on one, here's a good reason to reconsider. Frozen solid. Normally this cracks plastic bottles.

Especially when they are so full that they have the imprint of the cap on top of the ice. I think that little bit of a air bubble helped take some of the pressure off, but I've seen other bottles crack for less. The real test of endurance is if it can get dropped after spending the night out in the car at -40, but for now, I am impressed.

One benefit of being an only dog is that you get to snuggle with your food dish while you eat. We still think he would love to have another dog. Someday, he'll get one.

Just a couple of rectangles.

Oh, and some winter. It may be making a comeback.

The Mohair/silk scarf is coming along. This is a really nice knit considering I am hold two very furry threads together. The skeins are keeping my lap really warm too and that's always a bonus.

The white scarf is coming along too. Although it is harder to knit now that I have such soft distractions near me. I plan to knit on this most of the day, then switch to the other at night when I am too tired to concentrate on pattern repeats.


Tonight is our second to last choir practice. One more practice on Thursday and then the two performances on Sunday. I feel a little butterfly-ish already. Good thing I'm not in the front row, that's all I've got to say.

It's a Deal!

This my friends, is S.R. Kertzer's Ovation Kid Mohair and Silk. Normally around $12.00/ball. Click on the picture and see the price I paid for it. Yes, I am bragging. So soft, so silky, so fabulous deal! (Too hard to read the price tags, I paid $4.99!)

I'm making scarves for my MIL, SIL and Nan-in-Law. They should go fairly quickly and I hope to get them done in time to send out to Newfoundland for Christmas. I'm holding two together and using 6mm/US10 needles with a simple K1, *YO, K2tog* end K1, pattern. I'm going to decrease in about an inch or two so I can have a nice flare at the end then do a matching increase at the other end.

Kindergym yesterday was a blast. I finally managed to get some pictures. Our little gymnast in the making. She loves it as do all the other kids who come to run around and go crazy on all the Gymnastic Clubs equipment. She always naps really well after too.

Saturday Sky

Today is bright and beautiful.

With a nip in the air and a lingering chill on the ground.

The hat is done. I got a decent shower curtain (well, as decent as it gets when you buy to amuse a soon to be three year old) so I can take a picture in a brighter mirror. Not that it will be any better, just less fuzzy and dark.

Last night was Moonlight Madness around here and the LYS was taking part this year. In the display, was a pair of socks handdyed by me! That is the Orange Grenadine colourway in socks for a four year old. They are on top of more yarn by me.

10 Cool things.

This is a hat, or it will be soon. I love it and it is a quick knit, but since this is all I am working on until it is done, I thought I would distract you with other stuff.


10 Cool Things

Inspired by one of my favourite magazines Popular Science.

1. Cervical Cancer Vaccine This is could save thousands of women's lives and that makes it the best new thing in my book.

2. Hurriquake Nail Big deal you say, what's so special about a new nail? Well, there has been nothing new about nails since we went from using wooden ones to metal ones thousands of years ago. So innovations at that level are always cool in my book.

3. Grand Canyon Skywalk Something I may one day be able to see myself.

4. Gregory Backpacks For the active people among us who like backpacking. My aunt for one.

5. Liquid Breaker This could have saved us some money and contractor headaches.

6. Earth Race Maybe someday all pleasure craft and cars will be fueled by renewable biodiesel.

7. Home Windmill I want one of these. Maybe someday I'll have the $10,000 (US) + Shipping and Handling to have one. Of course, I have to find out if they tested it at -40 first.

8. Mini Drill A great gift for the Mr. or the handyperson in your life. I wouldn't mind having it myself.

9. Museum of Museums A great place to look around. Watch out though, there are so many cool links that you can lose a few hours looking at all the stuff in them.

10. Space Pictures I will never get to space, but I love to look at it. Everything you ever wanted to see in space all neatly categorized.

Maybe tomorrow I will have more than a hat to show you.

Happy Thanksgiving

To all those south of the Canadian Border, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.




All pictures courtesy of Free Foto.com.

I write like a guy.

It's a new Meme I saw over on Saunshine's blog and got from here on Cara's blog. Look at me all name dropping and such like. It's based on the new Mastercard commercials only you won't get sucked into high interest rates and never ending debt here.

My Life. My Blog.

You can click to enlarge if you are having trouble reading my scrawls.

My childhood dream sometimes makes me laugh when I think about how much I hate gore. I didn't know back then how nasty it can be to be a vet. I always pictured hugging and playing with animals all day long and they miraculously recovered from any illness. None of them were hurt and everyone always wanted their pets. If only that were true.

The scarf is as finished as it is going to get for now.

I'm going to concentrate on the hat and hope I can get it done in no time. So I can move on to more gift knitting. Wish me luck I'm going to need it.

The view last night.

Last night around 5:00pm I looked out the window and there was a really cool cloud formation. So I took a picture, because my first thoughts were of all of you. "Hey look at that cool cloud. I should show everyone."

Then about 25-20 minutes later, it looked like this, hmm, that's strange. I started to wonder if something was on fire. Since the landlord is still burning over across the road, I wouldn't be able to smell if it was, since everything already smells like a fire. For four weeks. *Deep breaths to calm down* Anyway...

Another 15-20 minutes went by and I knew it had to be a fire and from the size of it, I'm guessing someone pulled a kiln too early and it was a kiln fire (really hot balsam like to combust when it hits cold air) out at the lumber mill. Purely a guess though.


I put the scarf down for a bit. I managed to do a few repeats on it, but I am running out of yarn and my will to knit is draining in the face of a few crappy nights of sleep. I needed something new to do to keep myself occupied and vaugely awake.

Enter a square for Firefly. It's one repeat of Inverness Diamonds with a border around it. I think if I ever wanted to do just one repeat again, I would start in the middle of the pattern repeat and work to the end, then go to the beginning and work to the middle. I do like how it looks like a fancy Roman Numeral X though.


Look what came out of the dryer. I washed Apollo's bed last night and I thought I had gotten the worst of the fur off of it. Aparently not. When I pulled it out, this perfect little hollow ball of fur rolled out. Again with the wanting to show everyone. I need to get out more.



Hey Tee, I'll show you mine if you show me yours. I need proof of Alpaca and Cashmere together in one yarn anyway. ;D

Edited to Add: Thanks for the heads up Kristy. The link to Firefly's blog has been fixed.

Happy, happy, joy, joy ...

I came home from choir tonight and look what the Mr. brought back from the mail box! From my Secret Pal 9 pal, so happy, I love presents! Well, who doesn't really?

Sock yarn. Pretty pretty sock yarn from Perchance to Knit. It's called ChaCha and it is fabulous. 100% Superwash Kona Merino Yarn approximately 500-525yds.

The coolest thing, look at it with the jacket the Mr. got me for winter. There is even a pretty little stitch marker to go with it (click on the picture for a better view of it). I will make some simple socks with it and hope I have enough left over for a lacey little scarf to go with my jacket. Thank you, Secret Pal this is awesome.

All this was the perfect and happy distraction from a blog entry about another two inches on the scarf. I started a square too, but I'm waiting to see if it is going to turn out all right before I post it.


Katy, I still have 3 rooms and two items of paper covered furniture. I hope your marathon of reorganization is going better than mine.

Hi there!

Look, it's another hat just waiting to be. This one is for a little boy so no "ponytails", just a nice rounded top. I hope.

Due to illnesses like "Couch Flu" wherein the couch continuously throws up unfolded articles of clothing, bedclothes and towels and "Dust-bunny-itis" wherein various surfaces begin hoarking up dustbunnies, the scarf is only one third of the way done. Although I believe I will have to make a call to the LYS for another ball or two of yarn too. Note to self, the same ball of yarn that made a 6' scarf held together with another yarn on 10mm needles over 16sts, will not make a 6' scarf when alone on 5mm needles and over 26 sts. Not even when it has lace. Imagine that.

What am I up to now? Maybe you'll see while I make it, maybe you'll have to wait until the recipient gets it. Who knows?

"You think you're going to iron these?! Fergiddaboutit."

"Hmmm, this looks like a good place to have a bath." "Hey, tryin" to nap here!"

What's up with you?

I've been organizing a little. Some of the yarn is in bins. I think I should have gone bigger. The stack is taller now than it used to be. Although I did get some yarn out of duffel bags and clear out the other corner. Don't worry Katy, there is still a whack of organizing to do in this place. You aren't behind.

My computer desk looks much neater too. Not as neat as I would like it, but it will do for now. Once I get some more stuff to hold all the yarn that isn't in bins, I'll do some more organizing and hopefully be able to shrink that pile a little more. Although finishing some planned projects might do the same thing. I'll go there soon. I have a very long list and I think after Christmas, I may have to go on a stash busting crash diet. Trailers aren't the best for out of the way storage options.


The yarn I dyed on Friday:

Two colour repeats. Violet Twilight and Superior's waves. They came out a bit paler because the yarn (Briggs and Little's Tuffy) is thicker than the Durasport sockweight.

Here are Flame (top, another repeat) and Orange Grenadine (bottom, new colourway). It reminds me of how a drink looks right after you add the Grenadine and before you mix it. Layers of colour from unmixed juice, mixing and grenadine settling on the bottom.

There were two others, but they were just grey Tuffy overdyed with red and blue. I like them both, but they aren't really colourways. Just colours. The red came out very dark as did the blue.

This one is for me. See the little white/black flecks ball on the top? I overdyed a full ball with purple. This stuff really sucks up the dye. I love how dark it got. I'm going to make a bag with this and see if it will felt without running into the other colour. I may have to reskein and rewash the ball again. I'll see if it starts dying my hands while I knit it before I decide.

Someone wanted to wind yarn too. She did pretty good too.


More Q and A

Suzanne read the title of my Salmon Citrus Bake as Salmon Citrus Bundt Cake.

I immediately thought of chopped salmon in a buttery onion, celery, sage and savoury stuffing with fresh chives and lemon zest. All mixed together with a beaten egg and baked in a greased Bundt pan. Is that weird? I wonder if it would work? It would look really cool if it did and had a nest of chives and lemon zest curls in the centre. I'm hungry.

Desperate Housewife asks:

Does your Grandmother's Great Depression Bread not need to be kneaded?

Nope. Although I did find it easier to use my hands to mix in the last bit of flour.

Secret Pal asks (about the Knit Mitt Kit Swap):

Oh, Dorothy. Why must you lead me into temptation like this?

Because crazy loves company as much as misery does. ;D

Katy mentioned a bird called Cock-of-the-Rock.

I had to look that one up for sure. It really is a pretty bird although at first I forgot to put the hyphens in. Yeesh, people need something else to do. Maybe a little respect for themselves and others too. Here are a few links to pictures if anyone wants to see them. Guianan variety and Andean variety.

and...

so what is your favourite halloween candy? did you sort by groups, stack and trade?

I liked the homemade fudge we used to get at one of my friend's Grandma's house best. It was the seventies/early eighties then. It was still safe to eat homemade stuff back in the day. You know I sorted, stacked and ate the candies I had the most of first, at least until they were equal to the next most then I alternated until they were both equal to the third most and so on and so on. It's a wonder I am not in a padded room. I only traded those licorice flavoured toffee candies though. I never could stand those.

Martina asks:

Apollo likes pumpkin??!!

Yep. He loves peppers (green is his favourite), carrots, celery (ribs pulled out), eggplant, squash (all varieties), turnip and cucumbers too (all raw). He loves anything that doesn't have an onion or garlic flavour to it really. I don't give him raw potatoes though, I've heard they have too much starch for animals and should be cooked first. He also loves all fruit except for citrus fruits too. I find that he will work harder and learn new tricks faster if I use fruits or vegetables for treats instead of dog bones.

Back to cleaning and reorganizing. Sigh. I'm not really sure all this new energy is a good thing.