It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

...which can only mean one thing ... I'm stitching my ass off. I am in full blown holiday knit. I've got 2 1/2 pairs more to make by Christmas.....so far I have 1 sock done. No, not a pair, just ONE sock. Thankfully, I"m doing it Modea Dea's Sassy Stripes which is more of a sprt weight so it goes fast. I'm using #2's (Knitpicks of course) & am doing them on 2 circulars. So far I've got this one...






Color is called "Crush" and for an acrylic it's really a lovely colorway-pinks, magentas, a chocolate brown....the giftee will love them I think.

I've finished one in the Lime N Violet colorway from Lisa Souza and Oh. My. God. I LOVE this yarn. It's fabulous to work with & the picture just doesn't do the color justice. I'm so completely torn over a.)giving this as a Christmas gift to someone I KNOW will love it or b.) being a greedy fiber piggie & keeping it (and it's mate when I finish it) for myself. I have a feeling I'll have to buy some more & make another pair for myself.






BTW, please be sure to check out Lisa's recent colorway, Violet's Pink Ribbon. Proceeds from the sale go to an amazingly good cause. The minute I get my next paycheck I'm buying .... be sure to check it out.

Lots of stuff going on in this neck of the woods but until holiday knitting is over, I'm keeping this one short & sweet. Valuable knitting time is being wasted as I type !! Happy Holidays to all .... as socks are finished I'll post :-)

PS If anyone's thinking of getting their nails done soon you MUST check out OPI's new Holiday Collection. I fell in mad lust with Music Hall Curtain Call ....it's my new favorite & perfect for the holidays if you don't want to go the "red route"...it's all glittery & coppery & satiny...like a Christmas ball...only better.

Sock It To Me

Socks are not only done....they're done, worn, washed & worn AGAIN. They've also been taken on vacation where they were fawned over. It made them feel much better about themselves. (Nobody tell them but they're ACRYLIC. Shh!)
Here they are in all their handcrafted glory....









I finished these then started AND completed ANOTHER pair. Oh yeah, who's yer Daddy? Pics on pair #2 to follow (just as soon as my sister takes photos of them. I'd barely had the toes Kitchenered before she ripped them out of my hands.)

I'm now on pair #3 & so far, these are my favorites:






I'm doing a very basic sock on 2 circs using Lisa Souza Superwash Sock Merino in the Lime n Violet Colorway. I love this yearn ...it's soft & squishy & just FLIES. I'm a slow knitter & I completed the cuff ribbing today at lunch (I cast on last night but only worked on it for a little bit before dinner started tying to kill me from the inside out. Roasted Brussel Sprouts with butter & garlic are deadly weapons). As usual, I'll post pics once these are done.

Sock Lessons

I can't believe it....I'm on sock #2! #1 is done & completed & I'm on the gusset of #2. There's issues on both but I can live with them since this is my 1st official pair. I'll post photos when the pair is complete.
Some things I learned while knitting these socks:

1. Double points can & will jab you under acrylic fingernails, making a bloodblister & putting a dent in the acrylic. For safety's sake (and because I don't want to pay to un-dent more acrylic fingernails) & because I just love the way the yarn slides on those cables, I adore the Socks on Circulars method. It is FUN!

2.Picking up stitches where the yarn splits is not technically picking up stitches. It is making a mess.

3. Trying to keep track of how many gusset decreases you've done whilst having a marathon conversation with Anne and Sindy is impossible. Not because I can't concentrate on decreases but because laughing too much while talking about our husbands makes it too hard to hold needles never mind count.

4. Cats love expensive sock yarn more than they love tuna & mice. Dachshunds do, too but they're easily distracted by a squeaky soccer ball from their Auntie Peep.

5. Making socks is like smoking crack. One hit & you're addicted.

6. Knitting socks in the lunchroom at work will always lead someone to believe they can either touch your work in progress with WENDY'S BURGER GREASE ON THEIR DAMN HANDS or can ask you to make them a pair. Sure....that'll be $25. Yeah. Didn't freakin' think so Burger Boy.

7. If one keeps trying ON the sock it makes it difficult to finish.

8. Continually trying on the sock makes one realize how incredibly badly a pedicure is needed & how truly icky toes look without polish.

9. Reading ahead on the sock pattern directions & getting the entire toe done & kitchener-ed before the 3rd & final sock class will give you this incredible "Oh yeah, who's yer Daddy?" kinda feeling. Sock Smugness I call it.

10. Making socks is like smoking crack. One hit & you're addicted. (OK, that was #5 but I wanted to make sure everyone realizes it. Just saying "NO" does NOT work on this stuff).

From The Mouths of Babes #2

Our house liked the whole question & answer thing so we're back with #2. #3 is on the board now & we're all taking turns with doing the asking. Danielle thought of this week's question & Wow....was it a doozy:

If you could be president for a whole week what would you change in society?

Wow, pretty deep for a 16 year old .... their answers blew me away. Danielle said:

I would change the way we are treating Iraq. (Who says kids aren't aware of world events?!)

Mine was pretty wordy (I figured I had a week to get stuff done):
Fair warning-this one's llooonnnngggg (or just skip ahead to Day 7-that's the best day)

Since I have a week, I’m planning on getting more than one thing done (what can I say-I’m an overachiever!):

• DAY ONE: I’m the Commander in Chief which puts me in charge of all military. As my 1st decision, ALL troops stationed outside the USA are ordered stateside. Troops in Iraq head home 1st –the fact that our troops are being killed by Iraqi’s pretty much tells me we’re not welcome at this party anymore. We’ll be taking our toys & going home.
• DAY TWO: Close all of our borders. All of them. If you want to leave, fine, have a nice day. Coming back, though, will be tough. You must be able to prove you are a LEGAL US Citizen to re-enter this country. Don’t feel like you should have to prove that you’re a legal citizen? Tough nuts. Go to North Korea – they could use someone to test radiation poisoning on. (By the way, those troops that just came home? They’ll be standing guard along our borders to make sure no one gets in without permission). That same day English will be declared as the official language of the USA. All government forms, information, directions, etc will from now on be in English only. Don’t understand how to apply for Food Stamps because it’s not in your language? Learn. My ancestors did (my grandfather could read & speak 7 languages with a 3rd grade education; the least you could do is learn how to speak the language of the country in which you now LIVE). Anyone found to be here illegally gets no free passes. Go. Leave. Now. We’re sending you home. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
• DAY THREE: Cut off all foreign aid. Yes, all. To everyone. Charity begins at home and our “home” here needs some serious work. At the same time, declare all foreign debts owed to the US as “paid in full.” No one gets anymore money. Any private citizen can donate any monies they want to any cause they want but public funds won’t be used. We’ve helped the world for a long time-we need a financial break.
• DAY FOUR: Cap the price of a barrel of crude oil at a fair price. This is the most we’ll pay. That’s our final offer. Don’t like it Sheik Abdullarama? Tough. Sell it to another country that will pay your price. We’re your biggest customer ….we’ll be fair with you, you be fair with us.
• DAY FIVE: Declare the death penalty unconstitutional. If you’ve received the death penalty as a sentence then it’s a good bet you’ve done something horrific. Death is too good for you. You get to suffer in jail for the rest of your life. And not some namby pamby jail either. One out in the desert with nowhere to run to, where the food is awful, the heat is ever present & the sand flies are as a big as a Collie. The Warden? My sister, Meredith (and those of you who know her know what an inhuman punishment that is). All those empty cells on Death Row? Empty them out, clean them up, remove the bars & turn them into homeless shelters. It’s not pretty but it’s warm & dry & a better place to sleep than Central Park after dark.
• DAY SIX: Direct every single cabinet member, Congressman & Senator to take a pay cut of at least 40%. Cap my own Presidential Salary at $65,000. Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $8.00/hour. Pass legislation to include an automatic annual inflationary increase in the Federal Wage level. Individual states have 12 months to raise their state minimum wage levels to meet the Federal Wage.
• DAY SEVEN: Knit. Even God rested on the 7th day. I’m going to need all the rest I can get. I’m just getting started.


And, once again, Brady, who is 10 just said it all:

Make peace in the world so we wouldn't have to fight.

Well. That pretty much said it all. Damn. Kids get you every time.

Blast From The Past

This is worth watching for the special dancing guest star .... I LOVED Mr. "I'm A Little Bit Rock n Roll"....you can't watch this video & not laugh...it was a great way to start my day !

From the Mouths of Babes

In our kitchen we have a dri-erase board for notes, memos, etc. This week, inspired by reading "Welcome to the Great Mysterious" I posted what I hope to be a weekly question for our family. It's something fun & hopefully, will make us all think just little outside of the box. This week's question was:

"If you could have the ability of any animal or insect, what would it be & why?"

Danielle (age 16) and I answered it ...Brady, who is 10, also answered it. Here's our responses:






For those of you that don't read 10 year old, here's a translation of Brady's response :

Kmodo Dragon. Why? Cuz I'd be huge & be able to eat a car.

Leave it the 10 year old to be really basic & say just the right thing. Wouldnt it be a pretty cool world if some of us were huge enough to eat a car? (OMG, I just realized how HUGE my ass would be in that world!)

So....what ability do YOU wish you had?

Room With a View

OK, so not so much a room as an office. Here's my view, a bit blurry but you get the idea....






And here was the view out my window a few weeks ago:






Yes, indeedy folks that's a Praying Mantis. And it was heeeuuge. It was also incredibly cool. I was so infatuated with this bug that I had to go outside & get pictures. Everyone in my office thought I nuckin' futs & laughed the entire time. My friend Loren walked behind me saying "Now you know if that thing flies off the window & tries to eat your face off I'm gonna laugh like hell". This is Loren with a fuzzy smirk:






I laughed last, though. Zeke (what I'd dubbed my new buggy friend) stayed calmy on the window & let me snap away. It was very sad to see him be torn from the window by a nasty crow a few hours later but it was kinda nice while it lasted.

Le Cinema (or How I Will Spend My Wednesday Night)

OK, now I know I don't have a life (although my sister Katie does tell me that, while I don't really have a life, it is life like in many ways) but how sad is it that I'm getting excited over a night of TV?
It's not sad at all when you consider the line up:

7 PM CSI Repeat (I so want to nibble Gil Grissom's umm...never mind)

8 PM Jericho (It's like the movie "The Day After" only better acting & with nummy Skeet Ulrich (I would start at his toes & stop at all the good parts)

9 PM LOST Whatmore can I say? It's LOST for goodness sakes! There's all KINDS of yummy man goodness on that show (and a question for any other LOST fans...am I nuts or is Michael Emerson just the teeniest bit hot in a creepy kinda way? I think Id nibble...but just a bit)

10 PM Project Runway - this is it - almost the last one. Oh Lord, please let that freakin' psycho Jeffrey fall on some scissors or something!

And of course, while watching all of this I'll be working on this:






Yes indeedy....it's a SOCK! And far far better than the 1st one I ever made. I've turned the heel & am working on gusset decreases now (I'm half through that)....I'm halfway done. I can't wait to finish it.

Bad Blogger, Bad!

Holy Craptastic Batman, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've blogged ANYTHING.
"Bless me Blogger, for I have sinned. It's been 25 days since my last post." Oy.
I have good reasons. Honest.

1. Work has been kicking my ass. And, if you've seen my ass, you know how huge of a job that is. I am now comfortably esconced in my office (office, yes I said OFFICE! I am no longer a cubicle dweller! I have real walls, a ceiling, a door & a view of the parking lot! Go me!) and no longer have the multitude of distractions that I used to have in my (rather cozy) cubby. Which means, undeniably, that now....I can get more work done. While a good thing in the professional sense, in the personal sense, it's incredibly exhausting.

2. I have been a mad stitching FIEND. I've been taking classes (Continental Knitting, Stranded Knitting Parts I & II & Socks Part I) & working on the projects for those plus making a commission crochet blanket (which for some reason took forfuckingever). The next time I agree to make something from Lion Brand ANYTHING (but especially Homespun) will someone PUHLEASE hit me in the damn head with a brick? Dumb, Donna, incredibly dumb.

3. I've been sick as a dog. Twice. The whole upper respiratory thing, complete with cough, chills & mucus that is otherwordly. I'm on my 2nd batch of Keflex & my 1st batch of cough medicine w/codeine (Keflex + Codeine + Empty Stomach + Nausea = Puking X Hallucinations. What a long strange trip). All of this has made me incredibly irritable & my coworkers have a heard this statement more than once:
"If you don't leave me alone I will LICK YOUR PHONE."
It's effective if not a teeny bit disgusting.

My penance for letting all this stuff interfere with blogging? Besides the 10 Hail Marys, that is?
Photos, I promise.

A Sense of Place....Sept 11th, 2006

I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania, in a sleepy little town called Leesport. It's roughly 15 miles North of Reading (yes, like the railroad) and it's claim to fame is its Farmer's Market. A far cry from my birthplace, Staten Island, NY. I moved here to SE Pennsylvania in 1990 to escape NYC .... the dirt, the noise, the crowds, the hustle, the bustle. I was in search of peace, of serenity, of a slower pace & a better life.

I found what I was looking for here .... I lived for a time in a restored 1 room hunting cabin nestled in the trees. It was beautiful no matter what the season ....in summer it was warm & green, humming with insect sounds; in spring it was full of new life & smelling of clean freshness; in autumn it was crisp & bright, the leaves even more vivid & in winter it was a Currier & Ives postcard, complete with sled tracks in the snow. I so enjoyed living there in my single days....just me, my fur babies & my yarn (the ever present yarn-where would I be without it?!) I never once missed NYC ... the few friends I'd had there had moved on & we'd lost contact. Every once in a while I'd get an email from a former co-worker or an occasional holiday greeting from a high school acquaintance but that was it. People in my new life were constantly amazed by how much I didn't want to visit NYC on bus trips or shopping/sightseeing/theater excursions. I was joyful to have finally found what I'd sought. My Mother & 2 sisters had followed me to this peaceful corner of the world so even that last tie holding me to the city was cut.

I was in my car on the way to work on September 11th, 2001 listening to Howard Stern. I thought it was a joke at first when I heard the reports of the attack on the towers (one must consider my source). I got to work and watched it unfold on CNN ... stunned & heartbroken as the 2nd plane hit on live TV. It was a bad dream sequence in a B movie....things moved in half time, a fog swirl in my head. This could not be real ... this was NYC...things like this happened far away, in other places....places where I had no connection. It got worse as the day went....the unimaginable happened when the Towers fell. We were all stunned.

Work stopped that day for us, like it did for millions. The office closed early and we all went home, moving like zombies. I called Mom & the sisters, needing to hear them, to know they were OK. Katie had visited Windows on the World only the month before and while I knew she was far from it, I needed to hear her voice. We did what every family did that night...we drew each other as close to us as we could in any way that we could.

As I watched the TV coverage long into the night I began to feel something I'd not felt in 10 years .... I missed home. I missed the noise, the crowds, the traffic, the heart of it all. In the midst of all that carnage & horror I wanted nothing more than to get in my car & head for the Verrazano. I knew all at once what it meant to be a New Yawker .... to feel that pull of home.

I didn't head for the city as I'd wanted. Instead, I took out my hooks & my yarn & stitched. That night & for long nights afterward I stitched through tears & heartache, watching TV. I looked for familiar faces amongst the ash & smoke and saw no one that I knew but with each one I saw me & mine. I missed my home, true, but that longing was tempered with relief....relief that we were here.

For the last few weeks I've been listening to Brenda Dayne's podcast, Cast On. Her "Sense of Place" series has ended but for me has just begun. I've discovered that my home is not in bricks or mortar, nor in smoke or ash. I will always miss my birth home but I've just only recently realized that the old cliche really is true...home IS where the heart is.

The 5 year anniversary will be full of memorials & tributes, homages to fallen heroes & songs of loss and sorrow. I will think of that day & shed tears on those we've lost. I will miss my birthplace to be sure but I will be grateful for finally finding my true Sense of Place .... my little place of belonging....no matter if it's here in this little sleepy town or amongst the din of the city. My heart knows its sense of place ... when my family is with me, in person or in spirit ....I am truly HOME.

Etsy Shop Is Up & Running

Stop by for a visit...so far not much but plan on adding more as time goes on.

bellisima67.etsy.com

Redneck Knitting

So this is what I'm working on.....



  


Yes, it's a camo skullie. It will soon be hunting season in these here parts and I'm trying to get a jump on some items I'm going to put either on etsy or eBay. And for those of you that are sitting back & laughing their tuckuses off (hmm...I wonder if tucki is the plural of tuckus? Bah, never mind, you get the idea) over the idea that I might know ANYTHING about hunting let me just say this.....

I bagged HIM, now didn't I?


  


Besides, I may not know much about hunting but I DO know fashion. Well, sort of....I know that people that hunt like camo for when they're NOT actively hunting & bright blaze orange for when they ARE hunting (guess which yarn I'm adding to my stash this weekend?!!?)

Ahh...Joy In The Morning

It was wonderful getting up before anyone this morning...the house was quiet like it hasn't been since Friday (when both kids came home from their respective trips. We weren't really expecting them until Sunday so it was a bit of a surprise). Just me & my furbabies....
made some coffee, ate a FANTASTIC bun from a European shop/deli that just opened up here (a prepackaged bun at that....yummy all the same!), turned on iTunes, read the news & stitched. It was lovely for about 3 hours...then everyone woke up. It was great while it lasted, though. I wish all my weekends could end like that.
Had a wonderful day yesterday, both in fiber & in my marriage. After getting my nails done (I ADORE acrylic nails. I'm vain...I admit it. Shoot me later), I wandered down to Yarns 'r Us, my LYS. The owner, Kim, is a wonderful lady & runs a great shop. She's been open for about 2 years and has done a wonderful job of keeping as many of her customers happy as she can. She stocks a great variety ...from alpaca to silk to wool to acrylic. She also makes sure to carry lines like Red Heart & Peaches 'n Cream - alot of people wander in just to buy that & wind up leaving with LOTS of other stuff, too.
I had gone in for an extra skein of Noro for a gift that I'm making & we got to talking. Before you know it, I'd sat at her table & we were happily knitting & talking until 3 PM. (FYI, I got there @ 10:30). We had a GREAT time, chatting & talking to customers who wandered in. Kim & I have an idea for a neat set of crocheted slippers w/deerskin soles from a pattern/photo she found in a book from the 40's. The directions are clear as mud so I'm working on the crochet portion of the pattern. Kim is working on the sole. Hopefully I'll have something ready for Thursday's Knit In. Go me!!
While I was there hubby called & we had the invariably routine dinner chat. Instead of the usual "what do you want? I don't care. What do YOU want? I don't care-let's have pizza", hubby surprised me with "I'm taking you out." At those words it was "bye Kim, gotta go."
Not only were we going out to eat, it was my choice. I happen to LOVE Red Lobster (yes, I know it's a chain but OMG is it a GOOD chain!) so that's where we went ...after that it was off to play Bingo. We had a great night, got to spend some wonderful quality time together (much needed quality time) & ate some good food. All in all, it was a great day, from beginning to end. :-)

Dogosaurus Rex

OMG, is this not THE cutest dog sweater pattern evah?!? I am thinking of doing this for Sava, my sis's Lhasa Apso, in yellow & purple. I think she'll be adorable in it!

I could also size it up & make it Boxer-size for a certain cousin's furbaby. Methinks this one befits an Ogre the best :-)

My Brush With Greatness

Not only am I a happy knitter but I'm also a happy blogger .... I've got comments...from people other than my family....and both of them are of knitting fame....I'm all aquiver :-)

First, Miss Lime (of the infamous Lime 'n Violet) graciously commented on the loss of my Simba and then Ellen of Knit Sisters commented on my doggie oral post.
I feel so....well, I feel so cool (and the first one of my sisters that calls me a pathetic loser is gonna get a Knit Picks in the eye). Thank you ladies - I haven't felt this cool since high school (and the first one of my sisters who tells anyone how UNcool I was in high school gets nada for Christmas. Keep in mind I can knit cool shit now, like those AWESOME PATRIOTIC FOOTIES).
Like I've mentioned in a previous post, I'm truly non violent. I swear. I'll kick yo' ass if ya' don't believe me.

The Needles Are Here! The Needles Are Here!

My size 2 circs arrived today! (OK, so hubby picked them up for me...they didn't exactly ARRIVE)....now I can finish my footie....happy knitter am I :-)



  

  

My Sister Gets Oral from the Dog

(Oh my Gawd will I get traffic over THAT title!)
My sister is a half a whack job. She loves my Oskar. Apparently, he loves her back.



  

In a Snit & Can't Knit ....

...can't knit what I want, that is. Remember those awesome little patriotic footies I was working on? Well, I finally finished the one (pic to follow later) & I wanted to start the other one...testing my socks on circulars mad skillz. The Susan Bates size 2 circulars I was using were ferkockteh (and for those of you who don't know Yiddish, that basically means they sucked monkey balls big time) -the joins were AWFUL & my gawgeous "1776" kept getting hung up on them. So, I did what any self respecting knitter would do....
I ordered a pair of them from Knit Picks. Those nice pointy slippery shiny nickel circulars that I'm currently in lust with. The order was shipped 08/10/2006 which means they should be here by now (did I mention that Knit Picks has lightning fast shipping???).....since we live in BUMBLEFUCK Pennsylvania & our post office doesn't deliver the mail (we don't have SIDEWALKS here ), we have to pick up all of our mail @ the Post Office. The lobby is open 24 hours but for any packages pick up is between 8:30 AM & 4:00 PM & Saturdays 8:30-11:00. I work...at a real job...from 8-4:30. When the hell am I supposed to pick up my mail?!?!?!?! Don't these people know I NEED TO KNIT MY DAMN FOOTIE!?!?!?!!
ok...rant over....hubby is going to get them for me tomorrow morning when he gets home from work. If it weren't illegal to threaten a US Postal worker I'd tell him to stab them with the needles. I'm non violent though. Really, I am.

Yarn Porn!!!!

I REFUSE to go on a yarn diet. Its bad enough that I have to watch what I eat but I am so NOT going to limit my yarn intake. I'll go nuts & need Haldol if I do......
First up, some yummy Egyptian Cotton. I'm thinking Clapotis for this one but I'm not sure...note my swatch...and yes, it feels as good as it looks:



  


Some gawgeous Venezia from Lang...the picture doesn't do this color justice. It's a soft pink, like the center of cotton candy.....


  


Glitter Alpaca from Cherry Hill...not sure what I want to do with this but am tossing around either a lightweight scarf or maybe ...just maybe...socks.



  


Noro! Wooo Hoo! Lawdy, I love me some Noro! These colors are more amazing in person. This is earmarked for a gift for a family member ... not telling who or what but I'm sensing a modular scarf (maybe Edgar from Knitty?)



  


and here it is all in one place...notice everyone touching & feeling all the yummy yarn. Everyone that is, except my hubby, who is giving me the finger. What a manpig, that husband of mine.....



  

Knit....Knit Like The Wind

I got the new Knitpicks Options Needles. Oh. My. God. They are AMAZING. They have all of the advantages of the Addi Turbos but with mucho pointiness (Addi's are just too stumpy for me). The set is only $60 & with free shipping over $40, it was well worth the money (Addi's don't make an interchangeable set as far as I know & with one pair of Addi's retailing for around $16, the KnitPicks was the better option).



  

  

  


I cast on a sweater for Mom right away & it really flies on these needles:



  


Ignore my many mistakes...it's my first sweater. I think she's going to love it.