Obsession (the compulsion not the perfume)

Crochet is, well, addicting. Granny squares, with all the new colour and yarn choices are far too alluring to resist. And to put the icing on the cake, Country Home puts a gorgeous throw on the cover of the March issue and I am aflutter. I'm liking the hexagons. This one is from Pine Cone Hill. Then did you see the cover of Period Living? Need I say more? Elizabeth had the right idea when she decided to get this book.

Knitting? What's that? That two needle thing? Come on. As I have said before, I may have to change my name to "Btchwstick".

Bitten...by the crochet bug and it hurts

After reading the inspirational ramblings of Bella Dia I have succumbed to crochet. I kneel at the feet of the person that invented this fabulous craft. I love it. It took me a whole weekend to figure out but I am definitely loving it. But man does it eat up the yarn. Here I am thinking I will use all the small balls of left over yarn for this little lap throw/afghan. Brilliant idea yes? Except when you realize you are running out and have to actually PURCHASE yarn for your stash busting project. I know, counterproductive but necessary. So after much toil I am almost finished this little project. The Bella Dia pattern and tutorial is available on her website and it is loosely based on the one that Yarnstorm did a month or so ago. Now I am not quite a novice yet (I only know how to chain, single crochet and double crochet) but I am an apt pupil and plan to continue learning more and more. I must admit however, there are only certain items that interest me that are crochet made. Blankets and such are lovely and I want to learn the granny square thing. 200 Crochet Blocks is next on my purchase list.

I am still on the pincushion wagon and will continue to whip up more of those little cuties. In the mean time there are kids to feed, drive, and yell at so if you will excuse me...

Sew Cute!

Well, can you believe me, the one that abhors sewing up actually sewed something? These little cuties were just too adorable to pass up. Not to mention I don't have a pincushion so voila! The fact that I cannot sew didn't seem to stop me. I know I won't win any awards but it will suit me just fine. But damn aren't they just darling? You can get the pattern at Whip Up which by the way is a great site.

Totally off topic, but must comment on the news item today about shoppers that frequent Winners and Homesense. Apparently their computers have been hacked and everyone's credit card and debit card information is at risk. Little worried here. I kinda live at these two stores and always use credit.

No new knitting really. Just looking for a good kid mitten pattern for a chunky yarn to do up a quick pair for DN3. Was about to do one I found on the net. Til I got to the part where you have to crochet the thumb closed. Hello...Crochet??? I can't crochet. I want to crochet but unless you can seam a thumb with a wicked chain stitch than that ain't happening. Do most people assume that if you knit you can crochet? Just sayin'.

PS Did you notice all the new blog links I gave you? Your welcome.

Kung Hei Fat Choy

So I am a little late with the traditional New Year salutation so now I am early for the Chinese one.

How the heck is everyone? My Christmas was quiet and restful. My husband and I slept in almost everyday and then we would stay in there most of the morning drinking Timmy's and watching tv. My knitting goodies included a Lantern Moon bag that I am returning (lovely but too beach baggy looking for my liking), a darling little hat kit and the Mason Dixon Knitting book.

Everything else is pretty much the same. Not a whole lot to report. Although I do have a charming new blog I would like you all to visit. Her name is Melissa and she has wonderful patterns and brilliant ideas. Visit her at TinyHappy and tell me what you think. I have knitted her adorable little Fingerless Gloves and am now doing the Gum-Nut Hat.

Oh and the bag? Don't you just love it? A little gift to myself. I bought it off of Ebay and couldn't be happier. Of course you can't see the delightful greens and burgundy but you get the idea?

Basically blissful.

Block Socks? Not.

Am I the only one that knits them and puts them right on, moments after completion? Patience has never been one of my virtues. My bad. These little babies are gorgeous though. The Trekking XXL is fab to work with and the colours are brilliant. I did purchase the Knit Socks! book so my next Trekking pair will be a pattern from this source. I did tell you I have another ball of this heavenly wool, yes? Trekking XXL 107, drool if you must.

Finally completed the Irish Hiking Scarf. What a cosy looking delight this is. Wish it was for me but it is a teacher gift for Christmas. That has been all the knitting around here.

Things are more hectic than I realized. Yesterday, while shopping at the grocery store I lost my list. Checked the ground, my purse, the bananas, no list. Guess where it was? In the bag with the onions. We all need to slow down just a wee bit me thinks.

As if I'm not busy enough. I had to direct, produce, do make up and wardrobe for the Chin Puppet movie DN2 created for a school project.

When does it end? And do I want it to?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Peaceful Kwanzaa and to all a goodnight!

The Born Supremacy

Miss me? I was travelling the world looking for my favourite shoes. These shoes are amazing. They are comfortable, stylish AND have height. I looooove these shoes. But I had to go to Buffalo to get them. Why can't a world class city like Toronto carry Born shoes? I called EVERYWHERE looking for the suckers. Nada. And now that I have pair you would think I was happy, yes? No, I want more. That's how great these little babies are.

So, as I was saying, I went to Buffalo Friday morning to shop. We visited the Walden Galleria but they have mostly the same stores we do now so nothing spectacular (other than DSW Shoes where I purchased the aforementioned holy grail of footwear). We also went to the outlet mall that has, can you believe it, a Coach outlet store and a Burberry store. Not that any of those deals were particularly worthwhile. However, my girlfriend did hit on some nice deals at Bass. Great store, kinda Eddie Bauer-ish. She got some great clogs there, half price. Nice.

From Buffalo, we went to Niagara-the-Lake. We ate dinner and spent the night there. On Saturday we headed up to St. Jacobs for yet more shopping. Lots of little shops and warehouse outlets. Quaint but getting on the over commercialized side. From there we hit Elmira, Elora then Acton for The Olde Hide House. Elmira, not so great. Elora is always great. OHH? Well ya gotta be in the mood for the aromatic whiffs of cow and lamb hide. BTW did not buy one single Christmas gift. Can you believe it?

Continuing to sock knit. Working on a second sock with fanfriggintastic yarn. Trekking XXL is brilliant both in colour and feel. Loving it.

Anyone try this new stuff from Lion Brand? More expensive than Paton's Merino which is about 228 yards. The Lion Brand is only 158 yards.

Did I tell you last month my daughter got her IPod stolen at school? Well missy lost her pink razor phone yesterday. It's not all fun, games and shopping at the Btchwstix household.

Didn't You Just Know...

That it would be a man behind this?

Nature has a way of telling women their childbearing days are over. It is called menopause.

Betcha' Thought I Was Lyin'

Well here are the promised pictures after I searched for the camera AND found batteries. You are all worth the effort! I also had to wait to post as the shawl and tea cosy are gifts and she checks out my blog once in a while so here it goes.

The shawl is just a basic triangular pattern done in a burgundy cotton. She hates wool, acrylic, mohair and many other fibres, so I was extremely limited to the yarn I could use. The tea cosy is my pattern done with Patons merino wool. This stuff felts wonderfully and the pink and brown combo is brilliant. The crappy picture does not do it justice. The pram blanket is for a cousin that is expecting. It was done in a cream wool, the pattern is from that British Knitting mag that costs like $11.00 here.

Thats pretty well it.

Long Story, Short?

Found the camera. Was under my bed and I was the one to put it there. Fighting with DN1 one night and as she is insulting me I decide to take away the things that mean a lot to her. No not her picture of all of us, no not the crystal rosary or her favourite stuffed animal. Her flat iron, cell phone and the CAMERA. I stick them under my bed and well, you can kinda guess I forgot it was there. So it is back and I will post some of my accomplishments shortly.

In the meantime, I have to give you this audio clip. I heard it this morning for the first time and it is HILARIOUS! A guy driving in to work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area witnesses an accident. This is what he sees. His laughter actually brought me to tears.

Double Crap

Anyone out there know where my camera is? Thousands are waiting out there for pictures of my latest accomplishments and I have no camera...

Quickly

Do you know Rosie says there has never been a publicity photo of her that has not been doctored/airbrushed?

Piss me off.

Still No Camera

"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters."

Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)


I just know when he made this prophetic comment he was thinking of me. I have not posted as I still cannot find the camera. And I feel my little blurbs are pretty boring without accompanying pictures.

Life of course, has been whacked out crazy here with the start of school. Three kids at 3 different schools is definitely a mother's nightmare and welcome to it. DN2 did make it into the school she was trying to get into so that was wonderful. She is still receiving letters from US universities, the latest from the University of Wisconsin. This cracks me up that these schools are talking to her and she is 14 freakin' years old.

I did go to the Kitchener Waterloo Knitters Fair which was fantastic. The weather was a little a dreary but afterwards we visited Erin and went for Afternoon Tea and shopping. If you have not been there you are missing out. The whole area is alive with art, culture and crafts. You will thank me. Needless to say the cash my husband slipped me the Friday before was a big mistake.

Having teenagers in the house, most of the time is hell on earth, but occasionally having them around to teach you the latest and greatest on the internet can be considered an asset. Especially when it comes to knitting. Please visit Michael Wang's Knitting Show. And be sure to see the closing credits of all involved in the making on this instructional tutorial.

Gotta love YouTube!

There is more going on in my life but I'm trying to pace you.

PS Ever have something so embarassing (notice the word bare-ass in that word?) happen to you, even if it was years ago, stick in your mind? Like the time you left the house with only dark lipLINER on and no lipSTICK? And your neighbour saying "hello" stares at you incredibly and the guy at the cleaners wonders if you maybe pour a little Bailey's on your Cheerios instead of milk?

Waiting with Bated Breath

For all you Grey's Anatomy patients out there.

Click here to watch video.


Thanks to Knitting Nurse.

I really love the song.

Is Lebanon Harper's Katrina?

What is the Canadian government doing to quicken the evacuation of these people? Not enough apparently. My sympathy goes out to these poor people fleeing with fear in their hearts. I know he has detoured to help the process but with so many (50,000+) trying to escape can we not send more rescuers?

DN1 is still in Ireland. She is having the time of her life. She kissed the Blarney Stone. She talks will a distinctive lilt. And best of all? She now says "shite" instead of "shit" and "feck" instead of...well you get the picture. $6000.00 for a linguistics course, definitely worth it!

So it goes without saying I am missing her like crazy. A month is waaaay too long. The children have been told that they cannot leave me again for that long of a period. DN2 has asked how she will go to a US university? I have told her I will live with her on campus. There is parent accomodations at these places right?

I cannot post pictures as DN1 has the camera. I finished DN3's Regia socks. I used this pattern from Spun magazine and they came out fantastic. Try and use your imagination and will post some pics when my camera comes back.

I am also trying out a nice pillow cover from the current issue of Knit Simple Magazine. Not a bad issue and for some reason I am getting them mailed for free. Not that I am looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Cosiness Tea Cosy

I was having a hell of a time finding a simple pattern for a tea cosy that I liked. This seemed to be my best bet. I made it up as I went along. The result is a very cosy cosy (did you like that? You know, the adjective and noun usage? As if my posts aren't difficult enough to comprehend...)

I did contemplate this one but it somehow reminded me of a tagine. I also wasn't really interested in the bells and whistles.

Do you know it only took me two days to make? Sort of an upside down buttonhole bag. The felting went quickly this time, the eggplant shrunk much quicker than the apple. Very mindless knitting indeed. You know how sometimes you need that? I was also thinking this would be a great teacher gift. I'm kinda running out of time though.

Graduation for DN2 is on Thursday. She has a mass in the morning and then the "Clap Out". This is when the whole school comes out of their classrooms and claps and waves "goodbye" to all the grade eights. DN2 just may get emotional. She has had such a wonderful experience at this school and has participated in so many events, I just know she may get a wee bit blubbery. Then at 3:00 she has her hair and nail appointments, then the 6:00 award ceremony and dinner.

And one week after that both DN1 and DN2 leave the same day. DN1 to Ireland and DN2 to Cape Cod.

Speaking of blubbering...

Where I Am Now

Just a quick post before we go to my MIL for lunch. I finished this last night and found it thought provoking and a very interesting look through a window I have never looked through before. If you have not read this I urge you to check it out. And quite a few twists near the end.

On Thursday, I met up with Elizabeth and we did a little shopping at Village Yarns then went for tea at Montgomery's Inn. I only ended up with a pattern for a simple shawl.

Not much else, aren't you sorry you clicked me now?

One Skein Wonder... One Year Later

Not that it took me a year to make. Just that it took me a year to finally decide yes, I do want to make this and I have the perfect yarn for it. What a brilliant project. I ordered the pattern online and was in the throes of blissful knitting ten minutes later. There was one small caveat but I am sure every other knitter out there knew exactly where the sleeve was going. I think I will make many more of these and enjoy it while doing so. Will this become another Buttonhole Bag addiction? We all remember me with that, yes?

I should be doing housework right NOW. Things are looking kinda unkept over here. The children are still sleeping on flannel sheets. Yes, you Toronto readers are gasping. The onset of 40+ celsius temperatures should have motivated me but the list of "to do's" here just seems to overwhelm me.

The laundry is calling me. The dishwasher is calling me. The vacuum is calling me. What's that I hear? Gotta go...One Skein Wonder is calling me. My bad.

The Week of Letters (no knitting content)

The "better get your act together or you can forget the summer in Ireland letter".

and The Good Letter (phenomenal actually).

The week of letters. First I receive the "Letter of Concern" from DN1's school. Your child's average is still respectable but some attention must be paid or she may be at risk of failing. Wonderfreakinful. And I'm spending over 5k to send her to Ireland to go to school for an extra credit. Someone better get their act together but fast.

And the second letter. I honestly needed to sit down for this one. My 13 year old daughter received a letter from YALE UNIVERSITY!!! They have been following her hockey career "with great interest". Apparently, NCAA rules prohibit them from sending recruiting material but they will be contacting her after March 1 of her grade 11 year. They will "be in touch" when rules allow. She has received other letters from American colleges and universities but Yale? I had goose pimples. And the ironic part? Up until last week no high school had accepted her yet because she had applied out of our district. Funny, life.

Clapotis(hit)

And I have the balls to call myself a knitter. I can't even get through the famous "Clapotis". It just ain't happnin'. I've tried to be patient. Did my PMs and the TBLs but I just cannot enjoy it. I've had this going for about 2 months now and NO inclination to pick the damn thing up. None. Usually when I am on a project I can't wait to get back to it. You know, screw dinner, I'm going to spend the afternoon knitting? I know it's eleven o'clock and I gotta get up at 7:00 but I must finish this tonight? So the question is does this go in the pile of the other Useless Unfinished Never Know When I'll Get To It Again Pile? Or do I yank? The yarn is that gorgeous mercenized Greek cotton stuff. I dunno. Help me, I am useless.

Life has been a long list of shopping, church stuff and parties. Shopping because everyone needed new stuff for the Communion and Confirmation. Shopping because Chesty Morgan aka DN2 grew out of the outfit I bought her for the wedding in January and needed a brand new outfit for confirmation. Shopping because grade eight means not only Confirmation but Graduation as well. Church because of C and C and my church believing that the parents of those having confirmation and communion know absolutely nothing about the process and must be at meetings and brunches and retreats to fully understand the process. Isn't that why I had my confirmation and communion? Yes, you are detecting sounds of bitterness. And parties for the above noted religous events. If I do not partake of another crucifix encrusted piece of cake for the rest of my life it will be too soon. (there's Bitter Betty again)

I am losing my knitting mojo. I want to knit, but I don't know what. I have vats of yarn and don't know what to start. When I do start something, I lose interest. Kind of a Fiber ADHD.

Cappy is doing well. Thinks he owns the joint but we're working on that. He managed to tear up a pair of pantyhose, a slipper and an old piece of foil from a chocolate (don't know where that came from) in my bedroom yesterday. All this happened between 10:00 and 10:02 . We seem to be coming to an understanding. He can eat/munch/chew what ever he wants provided I don't see him do it and I don't have to clean it up after it has had the Grand Tour through his digestive system.

Sharing

You know how sometimes you come across a blog that you want to share with everyone? P. T. Barnum said one was born every minute. That's me. A sucker.

I found it while I was here. Scroll down to April 10.