Surprise Surprise Surprise!

Baby Surprise, that is. Been working on this one for a few days now, for the newest member of the Zeiser household, one Miss Yara. I'll be seeing her Auntie Sindy in 13 days (not that I'm counting down the days until vacation or anything, ya know. I'm just saying it's 13 days is all) so I want to have it done done done! Then, maybe some socks (yeah I know I promised the Baby Sock Pattern but I royally f*cked up the toe so it will have to wait until I get back. Believe me, it ain't nuttin' but a thang). I had a little trouble finding my Zen place with EZ's pattern but I had my "aha!" moment when I found Dawn Adcock's notes. They cleared things up for me immensely and I've been using them in tandem with EZ's formula. It's made ALL the difference.

I hit the Noro Sale at my LYS on Saturday. My budget, while small (and unbeknownst to hubby, heehee), was enough to score some Iro in colorway #9:

Its current destiny is a fall shawl for me - nothing fancy, just some plain garter stitch, maybe a wee ruffle ... all for me. I loves me some Iro :-)

Been thinking on moving over to Word Press. Blogger has been giving me all kinds of trouble lately, especially with Flickr. And, since I needs my Flickr for my Ravelry I'm thinking about changing. I dunno - what's the general consensus on WP over Blogger? Leave me a comment & let me know what youse think.

By the way, did ya' notice how I slid that Ravelry comment in there, all smooth & subtle like? Oh yeah ...I am IN, baby! Addicted doesn't even begin to cover it. Jes & Casey have done such an amazing job - it's something special. If ya' haven't signed up yet and you knit and/or crochet, go...run...flee...sign up NOW. Invites are getting churned out & it's only a matter of time before they're out of beta so ...go on now. Away wit ya' ...what are you still doing here?

Noro On Sale!

The owner of our LYS, Kim, called me home tonight to tell me she's putting Noro on sale....

30 % off people. 30 freaking percent.
(sale's on until June 23rd)

I love me some Noro. I think it's time to stock up. The new Knitty went up yesterday and, wouldn't you know it, the one pattern that I loved, Askew, comes, not only in "healthy girl" sizes but is perfect for, you guessed it....

NORO
(wall of Noro @ LYS)

Have You Ever Done It in a Public Place?

This past Saturday was WWKIP Day and we had a blast! I was watching over our LYS while the owner, my dear friend Kim, was enjoying her anniversary "down the shore". My crocheting friend, Cathy, & I decided we'd represent. We set ourselves up right out front of the shop, plugged in the iPod, turned on some Lime ' Violet and at 9:30 AM away we went (we had to change over to some Ren Faire music later on since the traffic in front of the shop drowned out L&V). Later on, some other shop regs came & KIP'd with us (hi Kris, hi Noro Kim!) and we really had a great time. We stuck it out until 1:30, when the sun & heat chased us inside. We had a BLAST!!

Hot Dogs! Git Your Hot Dogs Here!

**Disclaimer: There is no knitting content in this blog post; there is a wee bit of crochet but it's hardly worth mentioning. Move along if you don't care to see gratuitous shots of cuteness. Knitting content will resume later. If you're lucky and I'm in a good mood, there will be more gratuitous cuteness in that next post in the form of baby wear (and possibly a free baby sock pattern if I get my head outta my butt & write the thing down).


Gratuitous Cuteness #1 Oskar pouts because no one EVER plays with him, he is kept on a diet of thin gruel & moldy bread & is basically neglected. He is the canine equivalent of Oliver Twist. (please note the blanket upon which His Sadness lays. It's the one that took me 2 years to finish, won a blue ribbon in a county fair & was subsequently scorched by the faulty heater. It's what all neglected dogs are given to lay upon. The Red Heart makes them itch. Oh the inhumanity of it all!!)

Gratuitous Cuteness #2 Orange Gorilla (I resisted the urge to call it Magilla - that would put us past ain't it cute into insulin resistant cute) is one wee doxie's favorite toy. Gorilla is small, slightly furry & so yummy to chew on. This is Mr. Man and Gorilla, sharing a moment.

Gratuitous Cuteness #3 (which should really be titled Wee Doxie Evolves From Cuteness Personified into Pit Bull with an Attitude*) Daddy had Gorilla. Oskar wanted it. Daddy lost. (please note the evil look in wee doxie's eye. That's one vicious wee doxie)
*no offense to the Pit Bull

Gratuitous Cuteness #4 There are 3 photos just prior to this one that I couldn't get. They are, in order The Stalking of the Stink Bug, The Barking at the Stink Bug & The Pouncing on the Stink Bug. Wee doxie, ever victorious, wins again. I give you The Enjoying of the Stink Bug (in fairness to the wee doxie, though, a certain Auntie Peep had treats she was giving out & we think he got confused over what to eat):

Gratuitous Cuteness #4 The last of them, this one breaks up the monotony of doxie cuteness & gives us some Border Collie cuteness. Wee doxie's cousin, the aptly named Domino, shows us how the bug stalking is really done. Appearances can be deceiving - while Domino appears to be the canine equivalent to a dumb jock * he is actually very smart. He does not eat the bugs he stalks, preferring instead, to let them live another day. For him, they are entertainment & not protein.
(*no offense to the dumb jock)
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Towanda!!

Ahh, the sweet smell of victory is in the air tonight. After the events of last week, I've been thinking a lot about my mother in law, believe it or not. She is a strong woman, that mother in law of mine, and takes crap from no one, least of all her children (all grown now of course). Her house is run on her terms, her way & no one questions it. Even the grandchildren know "Grandma's house, Grandma's rules."
Today, I channeled in a little bit of my mother in law & a little bit of Towanda. It's Donna's house, Donna's rules. They're pretty basic:

1. Clean up after yourself. You leave it out, I throw it out.
2. Don't test me. You won't win.

Both rules are being tested as we speak. Shall be interesting to see what happens when someone goes to look for a piece of their work uniform & can't find it because it's in a landfill somewhere in New Jersey.

I Love Lucy

...and she loves me! This is my new favorite bag. Why?
Because it fits all my crap & doesn't drag to the ground. (I have lotsa crap. LOTS). I only ran it through the wash one time ( I could have gone for 2 but I was happy with the size after 1) & blocked it over an old piece of Tupperware (hmm, I'm noticing a trend of using kitchen ware as blocking tools. The Gladware better run).
Did I mention that I LOVE this bag?
I do, in a unnatural, wooly way :-)