New Year Resolutions?

Well how 'bout that...its been almost a year and let me tell you its been quite a year. I wrecked another car, the squatter got his drivers license, Rebecca's almost ready to graduate as a LPN, Pierce maintains a 4.0 gpa, Bronson turns two and is talking, we've added a new kitten to the bunch... and I got fake nails and i love them and my dads having a romance via the internet!

I won't go bit by bit thru the last year but I am going to try to maintain this blog a little better than I have been. Considering I haven't maintained it at all last year..but there are some people who actually read this and have been asking about it so here goes.

As usual I continue to spin and knit. I am seriously going to try and curb my yarn buying this year. i was on a free for all last year and though I continue to put stuff in my shopping cart I always come to my senses just before check out. Well with the exception of the 4 skeins of malabrigo sock...but come on it was malabrigo sock. I made some mitts (gallus mitts) out of the african violet color way. I made some knotty gloves for my mom out of boccelli red, (I made sme for me out of Fleece Artist Casbah (or is that Handmaiden?)and I still have a green and a chocolate brown...but I don't know what I'll do with them yet. I can't see them being socks as I don't know h0w well the malibrigo will hold up.

I didn't do much Christmas knitting...just some rattlesnake creek socks for my mom

I knit Rudy the Reindeer (still needs eyes). Be careful they are addicting and I have a bag of reindeer parts as I speak. I also did these three Santa ornaments. Adorable aren't they? and of course I started the sock blankie as did so many others.

well that is all I will bore you with for this post. I'm Judith on ravelry if you want to see more projects they are listed over there. I will try to post monthly. Wish me luck.

Moose Trouble

Soooo Monday wasn't the best day I've ever had. I hit a moose when I was on my way home from work. Not too much damage but had to get the windshield replaced etc. Thank goodness my "work" car is a beater. The windshield guys also suctioned cupped out the dent she left in the hood as best they could and buffed off the scuff marks...so I'm good to go. For all you who are wondering the moose is fine, I was going fairly slow when I hit her (actually brakes were on and by the time she slid off the hood and onto the ground I was stopped....of course nothing like a huge moose stopping you) She got up and continued on down the road in front of me and I could see she wasn't damaged externally at all! Whats this got to do with Knitting? Well I had to take the car into town on Friday and therefore couldn't knit. I did take the Charade Socks and knit them while I was waiting but all that time I spent driving and I could have been knitting.

I'm sick of the charade socks anyway. They are the ones I always have "on hand" when I am out and about and to be honest its time they were finished. I guess it seems this way as I was knitting them on 2 mm and eventually had to be honest with myself, realize they were going to be too tight and frog them, so I am just now back to where I was before I frogged. It doesn't help that I got a bunch of new yarns from Red Bird Knits yesterday.


I won't put up the six skeins of Cascade 220 (my first, btw) but I will show you the Fleece Artist Somoko in popsicle, the two (2!) Skeins of Schaeffer Anne,














1 skein of Collinette Jitterbug in the colorway Lobster Pinch...being from the east coast I just couldn't pass up that colorway! (LOVE IT), and I got Robyn (from Red Bird Knits) to kit up the Lativian Sock Kit from February (07) Sock of the Month Club. Just had to have it. And I've been holding off since Feb 07. So here it is.

So you can see why the English paper has been put on hold...(what was I thinking signing up for that class???) While I frantically knit on my Pretty as a Peacock Shawl (Row 119 of 218 WOOT!) As you can see the lace is at it's "Cat Yak" stage. I'm hoping it will open up nicely once its blocked. (Gauge swatch? .... Huh? Who me?) and the Charade socks and try to get somewhere so I can can on something new. Of course you realize that I "normally" would cast on something new any time I want but as I have been listening to the knitting podcast and reading blogs the theme this year seems to be "finish". (Knit from your stash was so last year!)


Although Sharon from She-knits suggests ripping out is very freeing and counts as finishing I don't dislike my projects enough to rip them out...yet. And it seems to be a waste considering how far along I am now.


I am planning on finishing the hillswick Lumbar AND mom's red cables this year as well!


One other note: I wanted to show a pic of the new Knitting bag I got for Christmas! Its a Haiku bag and my mom ordered it from Scouts Swag. I love it. When I went to town yesterday I put my Charade socks (in their own project bag from Piddlee) and I packed in my Peacock Shawl along with Chart, reading glasses, notions bag...(also from piddlee) , pens (2) memo book, 2 toddler books I had to mail to Bronson, 1 movie I had to take back, my wallet and still had room to spare. Very, Very nice and handy. More roomy then one would suspect. Although it may take me a couple of days to find everything I put in all the pockets!

Oh and I did a bit of spinning. Tried to spin fine enough so I could do 3-ply and still have a light fingering weight. I did get this. But still need some practice as when I was plying it the singles broke quite often. (very frustrating btw) Even though when I was spinning the singles I was sure I was over spinning them. Oh well. Practice, Practice, Practice!

First Finished Project of 2008

Does it count if I started it in 2007? i hope so 'cause here it is done. Gwen is finished. It was a relatively easy knit. But I didn't really enjoy it because of the color. Actually the pictures look more pink. This Shell is definately red, Red, RED! I'm not a red person. But I did promise it to mom. Now for the new year I hope to finish up some of my other UFO's or WIP's and that includes another red cabled sweater - with sleeves! I hope to just power thru it. Of course I did cast on my "Pretty as a Peacock" shawl today (I got my pattern at the Loopy Ewe) and will work on that along with the other unfinished stuff and working out of my stash as well. Its going to be a good year.

I have taken the week off from work and have been knitting like a fiend while watching past seasons of the Soprano's. I always wanted to see it however didn't want to jump in midway thru. So I've gone thru season 1 - 4 this week. Maybe 5 and 6 over the weekend? maybe I'll ge the Pretty as a Peacock shawl done while I'm watching? Project 2 down?

MIDGE SAYS: HAPPY 2008 TO ALL!