Ann Hood, "Knitting Circle"

This is the first of the complimentary book from DK that I have completed. KnitLit. Parenting, mourning, women’s lit. as a social worker I had to suspect this woman was writing a great deal of non-fiction in this novel. A quick perusal of her website confirmed it. She experienced the sudden and unexpected death of her 5 year old daughter in 2002. after a 2 year journey through depression and inability to focus, write or think straight, she emerged with an essay on grief and then this book. She is, in deed, a knitter. She did not learn to knit to write the book. She learned to knit to save her life and the book came from that. She has even offered a little gift to the readers, listeners and supporters of her latest effort.

http://www.annhood.us/blog

I will bring the book to DK tonight and pass it along. it was a very quick read.

I'm learning Japanese, I'm really learning Japanese I really think so

Apologies to the 80's band that covered that song. Here are the boys working on their Rosetta Stone Japanese. I was floored that one of them ASKED to work on it after having finished two gruelling tests in other classes. Neat! Also very expensive. Here is a link to the full-version online demo. http://tinyurl.com/y49std

and something still OTN after 17+ years

Our marriage! Seventeen years married and nineteen years together. We had planned to spend the weekend with my family in Oklahoma, but honored my father's wishes that we not travel due to the storms. We missed out on some great fun, but enjoyed a rather quiet and long weekend here. This is Ginger with her present, flowers and card. I'm not telling what she received :)
We had a nice lunch at a dim sum restaurant, shopped clearance racks together for hours and generally enjoyed each other immensely. The boys were good too. Of course an XBox rental helped that along...

another FO or two

Another pair of Fuzzy feet, freshly felted. Shelli is modeling them. They are WOTA mulled wine and Outback Mohair on the cuffs and toes.

The sweater is on the blog back in August or September. I credit Target with getting it finally off the needles. There was a camisole on sale for $4.98. It's hard to find one in my size and this fits over the bra so I could finish this sweater and wear it. As you can see I not only finished it, but washed and blocked it and wore it all in about 24 hours. It's Leaf pattern from Tahki Stacey knit in BS Cotton Fleece in gold dust. (thanks Denise for shopping!)

The postman rang twice...

but that's because I was busy recovering from grooming the dog (no, I'm not really hurting him, he just HATES to be groomed), encouraging the boys to focus on their respective work and doing laundry. When I finally answered the door he was holding the box that contained my KnittingParents gift exchange. thanks Eliz! (sorry, Sara pointed out I had not mentioned the contents! 2 skeins of rowan Big Wool and 2 skeins of Skye Alpaca Organic Cotton! A book I have never seen, written by a lesbian knitter and LYS owner :))

Fudge, super Yorki

Fudge, the super Yorki lounging on his buckwheat travel pillow (outgrown by the boys) on his way back from Tulsa after a long holiday weekend with his buddy Gunner. We're heading back in a few more days so he'll "assume the position" again. He's the BEST dog! Rarely barks except when necessary, hikes, bikes, camps, sails and gets along with all dogs and cats. He's getting older and is the only dog now. He did pull a quick stunt a few weeks ago and stealthily stole the meat from the middle of a sandwich (leaving the bread unmoved). He was chastised and dropped the meat. For years we have said we could leave the thanksgiving turkey on the table over night and he would not touch it. It also turns out we have blamed him for occasionally getting in the trashcan, when in fact, it was the cats! We returned from our holiday trip to find the living room trash can spread on the floor. We would routinely have blamed Fudge, but he was with us the whole time. That, of course, leaves the darling cats as the culprits. We owe him an apology. I don't think a trip to the groomers is considered an apology in doggyland but that will have to do as he's quite a mop and I would prefer him to be more dashing for our upcoming trip.

another FO, but sewing not knitting

This top was a dismal failure
I altered and measured and basted and it was ultimately chucked in the trash.
This top
was not a failure, but despite massive measuring, even sewing a dummy, it still pulls across the bust in real life. so the next one will be altered yet again. Perhaps this is why I prefer knitting? While it takes much longer, the resulting fabric is more forgiving of larger areas.

Pizza!

Homeschool science. While studying about chemical reactions, the subject of cake batter as an example of an endothermic reaction was mentioned. Energy in the form of heat. That lead to pizza dough, which lead to pizza. It was excellent by the way. Look at his cute little shirt too!

some new FO's for 2007

Picasa is not cooperating with the "blog this button" and I have tried 3 times. Here are 3 Fo's. I am not certain when they were done. I think they were all completed since Jan 1, 2007. (remember, I have a dementia problem) the aqua socks are technically a re-knit of my mother's birthday socks. They were too short so I ripped them back to the heel turn and added an inch before turning the heel and changed the cuff to a mini-cable since a K2P2 was simply too boring to do again. The pair flecked with color is KnitPicks Bare with donegal. I LOVE it. They are my father's birthday present. The wine colored pair is actually yet another pair of fuzzy feet for a friend. I have yet to knit the pair for her companion, but I will, I promise.