The Wooly Frog

Gardening!

2007-05-24T18:35:00.000-05:00

Once again, hope springs ("Springs"...get it?) eternal, and we've planted a vegetable garden! It's not much yet, but hopefully we can keep the bunnies and bugs at bay (without excess chemicals) and remember to water things faithfully (for some reason, I tend to stop watering sometime around August).

In front, there are planters with salad-fixin's: lettuce...

and tomatoes...

and herbs...

In the back (the former owners' dog-pen), there's broccoli (a first for us):

and onions and garlic: (the big ones are left from last year)

and carrots: (again, the big ones came back from last year)

and green peppers (back row) and canteloupe (another first for us!)

I also planted some spinach, but didn't take a picture.

I'll try to take update pics about once a month - hopefully there'll be something to blog about! Last year the rabbits battled us for a while despite the dog!

Everybody's Doin' It..

2007-05-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok, I yield to the peer-pressure of the "7-things meme". Sheesh! It's EVERYWHERE!

The scoop: List 7 random things about yourself and tag up to 7 other people to do the same.

Here goes...

#1 I skipped third grade. (and consequently don't know the state capitals or presidents very well)

#2 I finished college (undergrad) in 3 years so I graduated at age 20 - I had a BA but couldn't legally buy a beer. (note the word "legally")

#3 I do the Sunday crossword in pen. (when my husband and I were dating we would compete to see who had finished the daily crossword faster)

#4 I teach at the same elementary school I attended. (I was in the first-ever graduating class there too. AND my daughter attends there now as well.)

#5 I don't mind snakes, spiders, or most bugs....but CAN. NOT. STAND. Beetle-type bugs - they completely creep me out.

#6 I have ridden a horse bareback. (great fun!)

#7 I am a completely self-taught (thanks to books and the Internet) knitter due mostly to the fact that I am the only person in my entire family that has ever knit!
(I am finally learning new things from my knitting group and guild, however!)

Ok...I tag Jamie and BadAmy and anyone else who hasn't been tagged! (I think everyone else I know with a blog has already been tagged somewhere along the way!)

Mother's Day, Schmother's Day

2007-05-14T16:48:00.000-05:00

While my flesh-and-blood offspring was GOOD to me (waffles - check, dishes done - check, laundry - check), the four-legged variety has been a little, um...less so lately. First off, proof positive that a 10 year-old DOES in fact do her own laundry:

Please ignore the perpetual clutter that is my kitchen. She even irons now - I am NOT making that up - she just up and asked me one day if she could iron!

The dogs, however, have decided they'd like to be archeologists - except they dig up nothing but dirt and can't seem to bring in any grant money to fund their digs. Ahem. I give you....exhibit A:

Yes, that is what passes for "yard" at our house - truly shameful. But the front looks green and everything - honest! We even have to mow it!

Here is the alleged perpetrator of the crime:

Looks downright proud of his work, doesn't he?

I also give you exhibit B: (or...Caught at the Scene of the Crime)

We expect our shed to collapse into a hole the size of a small moon crater any day now...sigh.

Anyone got any ideas for stopping the digging? I think the under-the-shed business is directly related to various small critters living there (rabbits and cats have been seen in the vicinity). The random ankle-twisting holes all over the yard? No clue.

What would the Dog Whisperer say?

Knitting!

2007-05-10T15:19:00.000-05:00

Why, yes, I HAVE been knitting! I've been super-busy with the rest of my life, but have managed to work on a couple of projects. Neither is finished just yet, but progress has been made!

First up is a sock for N. She picked out the yarn - Opal's Flamingo colorway. I started knitting her a sock over a year ago and by the time it was finished, her foot had gotten too big for it! SO...I started over! (Her foot is now only 1/4 inch smaller than mine! yikes! She's 10!)

Next up is Branching Out - a free pattern from Knitty (www.knitty.com). It's a super-easy beginning lace pattern (some would argue it is only pseudo-lace as every other row is purled). I was able to figure it out by myself and will be teaching it in a class this summer at Yarn Haven (see sidebar for photos of Yarn Haven)! I'm knitting it in this:

Yup, Hand Maiden's Sea Silk in the Forest colorway. I picked it up at the Fiber Fest in BG last month and I haven't regretted it at all! (Which is saying something for a $30 skein of yarn! But it has over 400 yards, so ... yeah.) It's 70% Silk and 30% SeaCell which is 95% Tencel with 5% Sea Weed. It's soft and shiny and PHENOMENAL to knit with. Hunt some down if you can. Do a quick web search to see other's opionions and results!

Here is a better picture to show the shine - it's not quite this shiny in real life, but this is a little truer to life.

Lace always looks so darned scrunchy and aweful while you're knitting it:

It's about 3-4 feet long (pre-blocking). I still have a ton of the skein of Sea Silk left, so I will be knitting for a while longer. I tried to pull it out a bit to show the pattern, but remember - this is still pre-blocking. I promise to post some pics post-blocking eventually!

Williamsburg had SHEEP!

2007-04-13T14:10:00.000-05:00

Yea Sheep! There were just a few and they were off to the side grazing in a field.

One was very sociable (for a sheep) and really enjoyed getting scratched behind his ears. Here's a close-up view:

Here's another view:

Apparently, sheep were mostly for eating(!) rather than knitting during Colonial times. They did spin and weave with hemp, linen, and cotton, however (and silk for those that could afford it). We toured the Wythe house (a signer of the Declaration of Independence who tutored Thomas Jefferson AND John Marshall in law!). They had a spinning/weaving house on the property:

There was a knitting shop in regular (non-colonial) Williamsburg, but we were off touring places during all of their operating hours. :( All in all, it was a great trip and one I'd recommend highly. Now that we know Washington DC is only ~7 hours or so by car, I want to go there next. It's downright embarrassing that I'm 37 years old and I've never seen our nation's capital city!

Spring Break!

2007-04-11T06:45:00.000-05:00

Yes, we've been on vacation since Monday. Thankfully the hotel has free wireless and the rest of the family sleeps later than me, therefore allowing time to upload pictures of our trip so far! Since this blog is primarily a knitting blog, I decided to create another blog called "The Bastians" (found here: http://www.bastianhouse.blogspot.com)

Check it out to see our latest pics - keep in mind they are un-edited - straight from the camera pics - I haven't had the time (nor motivation) to even name them - there's nearly 100 pics from the last two days!!

This is the first pic I took - we stopped for lunch on the drive and found this retro Denny's Diner - it was very 1952/Happy Days on the inside - fun!

New Kids On the Block!

2007-04-07T22:08:00.001-05:00

Yup, the rumors you've heard are true...there's a NEW yarn store in town! (ok, it's in Perrysburg, but close enough!)

The really cool thing is it's owned by two friends of mine that I originally met at a local knitting night!

It's in down town P-burg at 146 E. Second Street.

No webpage yet, but hopefully this summer I will be rectifying that for them. For now, their phone number is 419-872-YARN (9276). They're open M-W-F 10-6, T-Th 10-8 adn Sat 9-4. They'll be open some Sundays starting soon! Go check it out!

I will also be teaching some beginning-level classes there starting in June!

I put a Flickr badge of photos in the sidebar, but here's the front of the shop...it's in a cute little house! (To view any of the pics in the Flickr badge bigger, just double-click on one and it will open up and even let you leave comments on the individual photo!)

Yarn Haven outside
Originally uploaded by toledonative.

Wow...25 more of me out there somewhere...

2007-03-31T18:57:00.000-05:00

Kinda weird when you think about it, eh?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
26
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Read much?

2007-03-12T18:45:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's a meme that's making the rounds of the blogosphere faster than a virus at my school! It has been duly noted that this is not everyone's top 100 books, and yes, there are many many good ones missing. However, it's fun! I added a twist to the basic directions below and half-bolded, half-highlighted books I've half read but got bogged down in for one reason or another but still feel I want/should finish at some point. Have fun!

Look at the list of books below: *Bold the ones you’ve read* Italicize the ones you want to read* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.If you are reading this (and haven't participated yet), tag, you’re it!

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18 The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (George Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) (en Francais et Englais)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Spring Knitty!

2007-03-07T16:08:00.000-05:00

Spring Knitty's up today! Yea Spring! There's a few cute things as always. And a few clunkers (in my view) also as always. Something for everyone I suppose! It is a little frustrating to see so many patterns that make excuses for using "discontinued" yarn/colorways. For Pete's sake (and my sanity!) use yarn I can buy in yer patterns! Re-knit it if need be prior to publication! Sheesh! /end rant.

Anywho... you can find yer little dose of spring (despite the 3" of snow currently in my yard!) right here:

Noro Silk Garden beanie

2007-02-26T19:43:00.001-05:00

Noro Silk Garden beanie
Originally uploaded by toledonative.

Knitted this hat very quickly using the free pattern found here: http://acunningplan.typepad.com/andsheknitstoo/patterns/silk_garden_beanie.html

The colorway (no. 201) is mostly deep blues/grays/browns... despite the pinkish tone of this picture. There's a little circle of plum at the very top of the hat, though!

I actually had some left over - maybe enough for another round or two in the body which might just have made it long enough for me.

BUT....it did turn out to be the right size for the teacher across the hall from me's husband who is currently hairless due to chemo to treat essentially terminal esophogeal cancer. And he likes it! And he wears it! And it keeps his head warm!

Which, after all, is the main purpose of a hat!

Fat Tuesday!

2007-02-20T22:26:00.001-05:00

Packis 07
Originally uploaded by toledonative.

Happy Packi Day!
Mmmmm.....a perfect plate of packis!
Made the old fashioned way - with lard!
Only in Toledo, people, only in Toledo!

Tomorrow starts (re-starts) the "healthy eating" :(

Lakeside Retreat!

2006-05-09T14:55:00.000-05:00

Knitting Retreat at Lakeside, Ohio......or.....
If you knit faster you won't run out of yarn!

Um, yea....ya kinda had to be there....but apparently, it's true! Pee-yer-pants-funny, but true! Also pee-yer-pants-funny: "PUT IT DOWN!!!!" " Oh, were you talking to ME?"

As noted above, you had to be there. And if you missed it, you simply MUST join us next time - we had WAAAAAAY too much fun. And food. Lots and lots of food.

As one example of the foody goodness, I offer you:

Vicki's Lemon Bars

1 box yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Mix cake mix, oil, and one egg with mixer until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup.
Pat the rest into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Cream together: sugar, one egg, lemon juice, and cream cheese.
Put on top of baked crust. Crumble reserved crust mix on top.
Bake for 15 miuntes.
EAT! (And share with me!)

Yes! I am Still Here!

2006-01-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok,....I haven't updated in a while! (or two weeks...whaterver!) But I have a good excuse! Honest! It's called ... GRAD SCHOOL + SCIENCE FAIR + SEMESTER GRADES all at the same time!!!!! Seriously...it's been a week. And a half.

But I'm back! (I think!)

And I took a quiz! Here are my results:

toledonative took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Needs a peaceful environment. Wants release from s..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Take it yourself and let me know how eerily accurate it is for this particular moment in your life!

In fact, if you read this blog, please drop me a comment! I found out tonight that tonight, THE FIRST TIME IN OVER FOUR MONTHS I MISSED TUESDAY NIGHT KNITTING DUE TO STRESS, that TEN people showed up to Tuesday night knitting because they READ MY BLOG!!

Way cool, people! But leave me a comment so I feel guilty enough to update more often! (If I think no one's reading it but me, I'm much less likely to update! I already know what's going on in my life!)

Needless to say, knitting opportunities have been rather scarce these past two weeks. I am still working on my mom's birthday hat. Her birthday was January 11. 'Nuff said.

First Annual Fiber Field Trip to Findlay!

2006-01-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

Alrighty folks - here it is! The long awaited pictures from our trip! Our ever-industrious Tuesday night knitting group decided we needed to go on a field trip! So off to Findlay, Ohio - Flag City, USA we went! First up we have our first stop of the day: The Crooked Needle. We pulled into the parking lot right behind the employee who was opening up the store for business that day! (We're nothing if not a prompt goup!)

The store was a little bit disappointing - being more of a quilting shop than a knitting shop. But they did have some yarn! And books!

Elaine and I oohed and ahhhed over this pretty shiny yarn called Impression by Louisa Harding. They had a sample hat made up in it which we all modeled and which caused us to promptly buy some! Here is Elaine modeling the soft and shiny hat:

Despite us all stating that the store didn't offer much yarn, look closely at how many of us are clutching packages as we leave the store! lol

The next stop on our little tour of Hancock county didn't open til 11:00 am. And it was now....9:45 am. SO....what's a group of knitters to do? Why, find the nearest coffee shop
and invade them for a bit of caffeine, sugar, and knitting! Here we are at George House:

They have a great selection of locally-grown herbs as well as good coffee and GINORMOUS cinnamon rolls! The walls are lined with artwork and books for sale and there's lots and lots of seating! It was a neat little place!

After "breakfast", we drove out into the country a little ways and found...

THE YARN FARM

The Yarn Farm is exactly what the name implies. It is run by this lovely woman,
Sue Child.

She is a true animal lover and has barns full of various animals, many of whose fiber is available in the shop as roving or yarn. She also has dogs. A LOT of dogs. A lot of REALLY BIG dogs. And all but one cranky oldster are total sweethearts. Most have free run of the shop and love to shamelessly nudge your hand for some pettin's. This was my favorite:
CLYDE THE BIG WHITE DOG

Yes, he is truly white, despite what the flash did in this picture.

Sue also took delivery of a young donkey the same day we were there. Being the insane animal addict I am (not to mention official trip photographer), I tromped off over frozen clods of dirt to the barn to meet..

WEBSTER

Oh, yes - there was YARN in the shop as well! Lots and lots of yarn!

And even more yarn! And comfy places to sit! And more yarn!

Yes, we probably all wanted to stay all day, but we got hungry. Several of us spent a serious chunk of change in this store! We all wanna go back soon! It was by far EVERYONE's favorite stop on the whole trip! Thanks, Sue!

After that, we headed back into town for lunch at:

Apparently, it used to be called...

ELAINE'S ON MAIN

(Which was funny to us because there was an Elaine in our group.)

They had really cool hand-painted ceiling tiles - mostly advertising for local businesses:

And, yes - they had decent food - here we are enjoying it!

(Or, as I like to call this picture - "Everyone CLOSE your EYES!")

After lunch, we were craving CHOCOLATE! So off to, where else?

DIETSCH'S!!!!!

They had LOTS of yummy handmade chocolates! And ice cream!

After pigging out on sweets, we swung by our last scheduled stop of the day, Alpaca Jack's:

We'd heard it was an actual alpaca farm! (true) And that they had lots of yarn! (SO not true.) It was lovely, but sad. They had a few skeins of really really expensive (but oh-so-soft) Alpaca wool and a lot of Alpaca sweaters, toys, and blankets. I bought a small toy Alpaca (made from Alpaca) to be a friend for my woolen sheep toy. Nobody else bought anything. Elaine, however, did try on a really cool hat:

We made a stop at Hobby Lobby on our way out of town, and returned home exhausted. But we all had a lot of fun! Can't wait for our next adventure! (We're already planning a knitting retreat in Lakeside, OH for the first weekend in May!)

FLAK...or...I Must Be Out of My Mind!

2006-01-04T20:49:00.000-05:00

O my! Two posts from me in one day! Can you stand it?

Thanks to enthusiastic prodding from Vicki and Knitting Group, I have joined F.L.A.K. - Follow-the-Leader Aran Knit-a-Long. Now, I've never knitted a sweater (never even knitted anything where gauge mattered) and have only done a little cabling on my still-unfinished Irish Hiking Scarf. Ahem. So...yes! I can knit a complicated - fit-it-to-your-own measurements CABLED sweater! Of course I can!

Thankfully, the directions are super-well writen (it's being run by Janet Szabo) and there's a very active Yahoo group to go along with it. Plus I've got Vicki to run to if I get really stuck.

I'm doing it in Cascade 220 - Ruby - which is a deep bluish-red. Thankfully I got a gift certificate to my LYS from my hubby for Christmas which helped offset the cost of the yarn immensely!

I also got a yarn winder for Christmas from my mom so that has helped wind the first two balls. (Ok - we're just not gonna talk about the first ball that got umm...tangled....nope.....not going there at all!) And I do believe I'll be getting a swift for my birthday (which is tomorrow!) which will help prevent that which we do not speak of.

I've added the button that links to the FLAK info on the left. Check it out and join us! It's only just started - we're only knitting the cabled swatch.

Yes, I am still alive!

2006-01-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well....let's see...umm....it's been a really busy December! No - really! And when I went to post today I couldn't belive I only had these three pictures to add! Sheesh!

First up is the famous Big Red Santa Hat! Knit from Rowan BiggiePrint and some acrylic crap from Hobby Lobby for the pompom. Based loosely on the Rowan Hat I made for N in Pink in the post way down below. Made it bigger all around to better fit a grown-up's head. Which is why it looks so big on N. Took it to Mark's work's Christmas party - they have a "White Elephant" gift exchange - each present can be "swapped" up to three times. The hat was a huge hit! Everyone wanted one! It was cool!

Next up is the Big Red Tassel-Hat I made for my dorky brother for Christmas. I'd made hats for everyone else in his family (blue with random orangy bits for the boys, Rowan hats for the girls and a black cabled hat - Coronet from Knitty - for Mary). I decided he needed something funky. Hence....

Wonderfully modeled by the newel post. Made from Wool-Ease Chunky. Pattern based loosely on the RowanHat pattern - again - made bigger and this time knitted in the round because I finally broke down and bought size 17 dpns because I HATE HATE HATE seaming hats. Also added the tassel as I didn't think a pompom would "go" with this particular hat.

In further Christmas knitting, N got two hats and my mom got a simple scarf. Which I neglected to take a pic of. Everyone loved everything and wore their gifts immediately upon opening and with the exception of the 4 year old nephew - kept them on all day! :) Mom has worn her scarf everywhere and just loves it too. Yea for appreciated knitting!

Silent Night...

2005-12-05T20:45:00.000-05:00

Duane and Barb stopped by Sunday evening to drop off our Christmas present early. Believe it or not, it's made of ceramic - no trees were sacrificed in the making of this candle holder. Duane has been playing around with natural forms for a while now - he makes absolutely stunning sculptures that defy my meager attempts at description. He made a similar candle holder last year and Monica and I both told him how much we wanted one next year.

He remembered.

This is a close-up of the other side to give you some idea of the detail involved. This is truly a gift we will treasure for always. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Duane!

One Flew Over the Canary's Nest

2005-12-05T20:39:00.000-05:00

We stopped by Duane's in-law's (does that make them my in-laws once removed?) on Saturday to pick up the finished costume. Duane put the finishing touches on while we watched! Pretty impressive!

Practicing her "flapping":

Who IS that masked bird?

Thanks Duane - you're awesome!

If it Looks Like a Duck and Sounds Like a Duck...

2005-11-28T17:36:00.000-05:00

It's a CANARY! N is a Canary in the Christmas play at school next week. Duane (Mark's Dad) volunteered to make her costume. (Yea Duane!) We went up to his house outside Adrian MI for a fitting on Sat.

After a busy day of trying on a costume, lunch at a fantastic little Mexican restaurant, traipsing around Adrian mall, and playing with other dogs (ok - that was Casey only!) - Casey and N fell asleep on the way home. Awwwww....

Thanksgiving Feast!

2005-11-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ok - this post is only a few days late! Mom hosted Thanksgiving this year despite having the smallest dwelling of us all! But we all fit (somehow). This is most of the table - note the pumpkin soup in the bowls. Everyone is watching N recite her Thanksgiving poems.

Here ya go - this is what they were watching!

This is my grandma - she'll be 90 in February and still lives in her own apartment! Go Grandma!

Knittin' on Tuesdays

2005-11-28T17:21:00.000-05:00

Sheesh! I'm almost a week late with this post! Meant to blog it right after last Tuesday's knitting night. ANYWAY... here are some of the group at the Perrysburg (Levis Commons) Books-a-Million. Even though it was two days before Thanksgiving, we were there - knitting like fiends on all of our Christmas knitting!

Yes - it IS as complicated as it looks! Knitting on two circular needles is supposed to be easier than double-points. Hmmmm...I haven't gathered the courage to attempt it just yet!

Elaine is learning a new technique! Notice my GINORMOUS orange knitting bag next to her! Hey - I used my coupon at Michael's! And this way I don't forget stuff - everything's just in the bag! (That's in theory of course - the reality is I leave stuff on the coffee table at home all the time!)

Which Super Hero are YOU?

2005-11-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

Cool! I'm NEO! I get to wear the awesome trenchcoat!

You scored as Neo, the "One". Neo is the computer hacker-turned-Messiah of the Matrix. He leads a small group of human rebels against the technology that controls them. Neo doubts his ability to lead but doesn't want to disappoint his friends. His goal is for a world where all men know the Truth and are free from the bonds of the Matrix.

Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

One Hat, Two Hat, Pink Hat, Blue Hat

2005-11-21T19:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, the "it'salmostChristmasandIdon'thavegiftsmustknit" panic continues at my house! As evidence, I present the four hats (and one mitten) I've knitted over the last two weeks. Dutifully modeled by N who says the purple Coronet (from Knitty) is her favorite. As further evidence - I haven't blogged in over a WEEK! (sorry faithful reader!) And if I were better at html, the pictures would be layed out much more attractively. I'm just lucky they're all on the page!

Where Are YOU From?

2005-11-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

Check this out! Yup - I'm a blogging geek - jumpin' on the latest cool blog stuff bandwagon! Seriously, though - add yourself to my map!

Cabling and Grafting and Politics, OH MY!

2005-11-10T07:01:00.000-05:00

Y es, typical me - pick a cute pattern and say - oh - that looks so EASY! I can do THAT! Ha! Then find out I have to learn a bajillion (ok - maybe only 2 or 3) new techniques to complete the project! BUT...thanks to Shay at S-n-B I can now pick up stitches in a way that is EASY and actually looks good! Thanks Shay! :)

So the Coronet is now cruising along - I may have to make more for the neices if this one turns out wearable. No pics yet - sorry!

In other news....Toledo has once again lost it's collective MIND! Does no one REMEMBER his last tenure as mayor? After listening to us discuss his myriad um..."issues" my 9 year old says "I don't like him - he scares me! He FIGHTS with people!" Yea. What she said.

Sigh...well at least it won't ever be boring around this town again! And we'll probably get in the national news more often! Yea us!

And now it's off to TEN STRAIGHT HOURS of parent-teacher conferences! It's a good thing they give us tomorrow off - I plan on doing nothin' but knittin' all weekend long! (Oh ok - and clean the house I suppose!)

Another Christmas Present Done!

2005-11-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, finished the loopy scarf last night - whew! Won't post another pic as it looks pretty much like the pics below - just longer. One skein was enough but it's more of a "fashion scarf" which bothers my husband a bit as he says scarves should be about function over form. When I hang it around my neck it reaches to my waist and it is long enough to wrap around my neck, so I say it's long enough!

Also - found some AWESOME "yarn-o-meters" to put on my site. You can grab the FREE code here: http://www.swatchnot.hender-son-s.com/finalyarnometer.html They're fun! Couldn't figure out how to put them EXACTLY where I wanted them on the side bar. When I attempted to put them in the middle, they ended up being placed ON TOP of the other stuff there - you could see both things at once - it was kind of weird. And extremely annoying. Must. Learn. More. HTML! SO....they're at the bottom of the side bar.

In other news - it's like the Wizard of Oz around here - the wind acutally woke me up last night it was so loud! All sorts of interesting things are blowing down the street like tumbleweeds and the dog is freaked out! We even had THUNDER in the night! And it's 60 degrees Fahrenheit! In NOVEMBER! In OHIO! Thanks Global Warming - We LOVE you!

What SHEEP are you?

2005-11-05T19:17:00.000-05:00

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

Hee hee! This was cute. I liked the icon for the "Geek Sheep" better but this is what I came out as.

Scarves a Plenty

2005-11-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas must be right around the corner - not only was Books-a-Million playing Christmas music at Tuesday's S-n-B, I am whipping out the SCARVES! I finished this pretty red one today - simple garter stitch in *gasp* (acrylic):

Sorry for the blurriness of the photo - it was the only one that was accurate as to color. It's a really soft and squishy scarf - the colors are beautiful! I haven't the foggiest idea what I did with the yarn info, but I do know it's man-made fiber.

This is the other scarf I worked on today:

It's a fun loop stitch that the wonderful ladies at my Tuesday S-n-B were kind enough to show me. It knits up really fast (although I'm only about half-way done) and is a good "mindless" project to take with you. I worked on it today while at the pediatrician's office with my daughter (no strep - just a virus - so it's back to schol tomorrow!).

Here is a close up of all the LOOPS! :

It's knit with Manos del Uruguay wool - gorgeous colors but it's turning the tips of my Denise needles blue! eek!

Irish Hiking Scarf Knit-a-Long!

2005-11-03T23:23:00.000-05:00

Found another knit-a-long for something I'm already knitting! (Thanks Bad Amy!) Finally - something in which I'm not woefully behind everyone else! (Only moderately behind lots of people!) Here's my inadequate pic of my progress to date.

Done in the predictable (yet pretty!) Cascade 220 dark gray wool.

It's my first-ever cabling project and BOY is it EASY! I love cables! I don't understand them - but I love them!

NaNoWriMo!

2005-11-03T14:42:00.000-05:00

Arrrgh! What have I done? I've gone and signed up as a "NaNoWriMo" participant! Arrrgh! Check out the link to the left to find out what it's all about. The premise both cracks me up and intrigues me. Doubt I'll actually try to do it this year though - I'm already THREE DAYS BEHIND! There's actually an apparently active Toledo group that meets on a regular basis (in November anyway!) to discuss the NaNoWriMo experience! May have to check them out at some point.

Moebius Bowl - XL

2005-10-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

I decided to try the larger sized moebius bowl from Cat Bordhi's "Second Treasury of Magical Knitting". It IS quite a bit bigger - but less stable as a result. It's still pretty cool though - it's kind of hard to see the twist in the handle in the picture, but it was the only one I took with something to show scale! Knit with 1 and 1/2 skeins of Arucania Nature Wool. (I don't know the exact color - sorry!)

Fuzzy Feet-A-Long!

2005-10-29T17:05:00.000-05:00

Alrighty - I'm jumpin' on the Fuzzy Feet bandwagon and joining Crazy Aunt Purl's Feet-a-long!
(See the button in the links section to the left.) Here's a picture of the yarn and the yarn label of what I'll be using:

I'm hoping I bought enough - it's a wee bit thinner I think than the recommended yarn. But I have small feet! And if it's STILL not enough - I have a daughter with even smaller feet!

Come on - join the knit-a-long - you know you want to!

First Post!

2005-10-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

Hello! Trying out this blog thing. I've had a live-journal account, but it's not quite the same, is it? Did finally come across the infamous "Llama Song" today - I no longer feel old and out-of-the-loop! Woo hoo! Here it is for you to enjoy!

"THE LLAMA SONG"