Things are going better...

Things are slowly getting back to normal in this house. I have most of our stuff put back in it's proper place, closets cleaned, some purging done, and it is looking a little better around here. I always feel so good after I declutter. Ahhhh..

The countertops and floors are all in. We just need some toe-kick installed underneath, and it will be complete.

Looks better than the old, eh? I like it. (sorry for Brodie giving you all the evil eye there)

There has been a little time for knitting. I finished one of my Panda Cotton socks. It feels really good on my foot.

I kinda love the way they look too hehe.

Isn't it a nice looking sock? Lie to me if you hate it.

Well sorry for the quickie, totally-lacking-in-deep-thinking post. I need to get off my butt before it gets any larger, knit on my other sock, and help my daughter get ready for prom. Oh yippee.

Oh and clean. Remodeling has left me with this.

Yeah. That is what every surface of my house looks like. This could take a while.

I may just go insane!

I think my right eye is twitching. The remodeling mess is really getting to me. My house is in chaos people, yes, total drive-me-crazy-utterly-unacceptable chaos!

That's the front entry. Ugh. But oh, it gets worse!

There's the progress on the kitchen. (Notice I am missing a stove and refrigerator.)

Oh wait, there they are, in the freaking dining room! GAH!!!! This is driving me nuts. We had to empty a huge closet/pantry for the job, so part of it is all over the dining room table. Poor Brodie is stuck in the middle of the dining room too. His bed is usually in the bath off the kitchen. I had to remind him this morning where his food is.

And......all that stuff from the closet that didn't come close to fitting on my table?

It's currently residing in my bedroom. Sniff. I can barely get to my closet or my bed, and it might be a couple days yet until I can put it all back in it's normal neat order. (You can't hear me wailing can you?) Oh, just put me out of my misery.....or send yarn.....your choice.

Observations

Apparently I am in a thinking/contemplating mood. As a result I have a few observations.

*Perhaps I am a really bad blogger. Sniff.

*If you have self esteem issues, maybe you should not blog. (lack of comments can be devastating if you let it)

*I am much snarkier in person than I am on the blog. I find it very hard to let my real personality come through on the blog.

*Did you know you can do a Chicago yarn crawl and not buy one thing? True. Really. I did it yesterday. Amazing.

*I make the same typo every time I am on the computer. Couple is not spelled coupld. I know this. So, why do I type it this way constantly?

*Loose and lose are not interchangeable words. Some bloggers do not know this. You do not loose a knitting needle. You lose it and then pray you find it back before you sit on it and need to have it surgically removed from your backside.

*Reading blogs can be good and bad. Very inspirational, and fun, yet I can waste so much time doing it, that I get nothing of my own done. It can also cause crafting ADD and/or internet addiction problems lol.

*Sunny skies and temps above 70 can make a person deliciously happy.

*Finding the perfect crochet pattern for a little lace cardi can take a very long time, or quite possibly, never be achieved at all.

*Having remodeling/redecorating done on your house can really disrupt your knitting, blogging, crafting, and online activities. (the adhesive used for laminate counters stinks so bad it can cause an immediate excruciating headache)

*I want a housekeeper. I find this hilariously funny. I AM a housecleaner for others, WHY can I not keep my own house clean?

*I think the chicken came first.

Imagine a great title.

I don't have one. I have completely random things to show today too. The creative side of my brain must be on vacation this morning (and I am in a hurry).

First, I made some progress on the pink sweater. I really should put it on some waste yarn and try it on, but eh, I am being lazy.

If it doesn't fit, I will be sorry. This pattern is very simple and easy to take along wherever I go. I want to finish it quickly, because Green Gable is next on my list.

I started some new socks too. They are my own pattern in the new Panda Cotton. This yarn is really interesting. It is a little like Fixation, but finer and much easier to work with. I love the soft color too. It's such a nice periwinkle color! I think these will be very comfortable socks. So far I really like them.

Thanks Sue for letting me try this yarn!

In random household news:

My disgusting countertops are being replaced this week. I can't believe I have lived with them for this long (they are about 16 years old). I ended up with some nasty discoloration underneath my bread box and cutting board. See those yucky yellow/brown areas? Ugh. They are in such bad shape. Good riddance. I will show you the new stuff when some of it is installed, cuz it is much prettier! Woo hoo! Oh, and I am getting a new floor too! Yay!

This week I have been spending lots of time at soccer games (the 3rd one this week is tonight) and catching things up around home. Today it is back to work, but that is okay, because I need some spending money. My friend Sal and I are going on a bus trip to Chicago on Sat. I bet two crazy knitters can sniff out some yarn shops, don't you agree?! And just think of all that knitting time on the bus....yeah....like 7-8 hours worth! Woot! Have a fibery good day!

New stuff

Ok, I hope I didn't freak ya all out last time with my silliness. (especially you Maia) I was just goofing around as usual. I am a little crazy sometimes, in case you haven't noticed yet. I try to calm it down a little for the blog, but sometimes it just spills out.

I have started a new project.

It's the Split Neck T Shirt from Knitting Pure and Simple. Their patterns are really clear and easy. I hope to make a lot of progress on this one today at the voice competition. I will probably be knitting like a crazy woman just to avoid a panic attack. I'm using pink Cotton Ease from the stash - yay!

Ok I am mentioning Maia again. Not because I am obsessed with her or anything, but because yesterday I received this in the mail from her.

Yupp that's a skein of her gorgeous handspun. I just love it! It is the softest green color, and she even made her own tag! Thanks again Maia.

I also wanted to let you all know that my friend's sock pattern is now available.

Go here to check it out.

Brodie says Hi ya all!

5 Questions

I was reading Maia's blog the other day (I love it by the way!), and I really loved this post. I commented to her that I liked it and she offered to send me some questions. That Maia, she is so nice, I stalk read her blog regularly, for inspiration (I want to grow up to be a spinner like Maia hehe). I love reading about her spinning. Ahhh anyway, enough about my secret crush admiration of Maia and on to her great questions.

1. Obviously, your favorite color is pink. If you had to give up pink (horror!) what color would become your new favorite? I loved this question, especially her little "horror" stuck in there. (Not kidding, I would have totally said "Oh, the horror!" at the thought of no more pink.) It's true I definitely love pink! I actually love a lot of colors. I wear a lot of brown (it's my favorite color in my wardrobe right now), I like soft greys, burgundy, some greens, and light aqua. So, I guess I didn't really pick a new favorite, but I do like all of those colors too.

2. You are the mother of three really beautiful children. In what unexpected ways have they changed your life? Well first, thank you, I think they are beautiful too, but yeah, they are mine, so I have to think that hehe. I love being a mom, even though sometimes it is the hardest thing in the world. It is challenging, yet definitely rewarding. I think they have made me grow up for one thing. I had The Musical One when I was only 21 and I was still such a baby myself. I had already been married for 3 years, but still, I was so young. I would never recommend getting married that young to my children, but it worked for us. They have also taught me a lot about love, responsibilty, personal accountability (they are watching your every move) and not always having to be #1. If you don't know it already, when you are the mom, you are rarely if ever #1. So if you are a selfish drama queen, don't have kids! Not sure those things are completely unexpected, but those are some of the changes.

3. What is your favorite thing to do on a date night (just you and hubby and I'm only asking for PG13 details at most)? Actually, we are a little, um, BORING lol. We will usually go out to dinner and either stop at the store, do a little shopping or just sit at the restaurant and talk. We are just happy to be together. Many times we have just stayed home, rather than go out. We are both incredibly content people and really don't need to eat at fancy restaurants, go to every movie that comes out, or be out socializing every weekend. Yupp, kinda boring, but happy.

4. Congratulations on your new Majacraft wheel. What got you interested in spinning? I have a great group of online friends and most of them are great spinners. I said I would never learn to spin, but they convinced me that I really NEEDED to learn. They were right. I love it. Love it. Love it. I'm still a little spin challenged, but the love is there. (I figure the skills will come later, no?) Another thing that inspired me was all the gorgeous handspun all over the internet, especially the crack gorgeous fiber from Crown Mountain Farms. (I am dying to get my hands on some of that stuff.)

5. I read that you have always lived in Michigan. If you were to move outside of the United States, where would you be interested in living? First, I would never move out of the states unless my ENTIRE family came with me. I am big on being close to family. But......if I had to choose, I might move to Hawaii (Hi Opal). No wait. Hawaii is a state. It does seem like a whole different world to us here on the mainland though. Yeah, I hope you all know I was totally just kidding. I would have to be a dumber than a box of rocks to not know that Hawaii is a state. So anyhoo, maybe I would choose St. Maarten. I have only been there on vacations for short periods of time though. I'm not sure if I would want to live there for, like forever or anything. I guess if I had to move I would just pick somewhere warmer than Michigan. I am getting a bit cranky after the snowstorm we had this week and temps in the 30's rather than the normal 50's. It is just not right to go from 75 degrees a couple weeks ago, to this nasty weather (again). And I have a daughter that is playing soccer now....outside....yeah you get it. UGH!

Well that's all folks, (if you're still awake) . Thanks again Maia!

A good weekend

We had a nice Easter weekend. Yesterday was also my daughter's 15th birthday. We had brunch at my mom's, an easter egg hunt/birthday celebration.

I did a little "plying" yesterday. I really had no clue what I was doing, as it was my first attempt. Is it yarn?

It looks a little bit like real yarn, no? I need to wash it yet or set the twist or whatever you call it. I know it is very uneven but I love it anyway.

I also tried spinning some of the "barf" roving. It actually looks a little better after spinning. I was hoping it would magically spin into something that doesn't make me want to hurl.

I have no idea what the finished product will look like, but at least it is good practice. I think from now on, I will be leaving the dyeing to the experts. Uh, clearly it is not a natural gift for me.

Ripplin' along....

The color of my pillow is off. It really matches nicely in person.

I like it! This is so addictive.

I really would love to make another one sometime, in cotton, all different colors.

Thanks for all the comments guys! I love you all!!!!!!!!! You sure know how to make a girl feel better. HUGS!

Hello?

Are you there? Have you all left me? I miss you guys! I think about 1/2 of my whole 8-9 regular readers have abandoned me. Come back!!!!! I will be good, I promise.

I have been knitting actually. I even finished my cardi. Here it is (pre-blocking), I just need to figure out the best way to close it.

(Marguerite, I even showed my head this time lol.) My daughter took this pic, and she was making me laugh.

I do like the little ribbon for a closure, even though I just grabbed it for an example. Who knows, I may just leave it like that. I don't particularly like the way the buttons are set on the original pattern. I probably wouldn't wear it buttoned up anyway, so a little tie like this might be the answer. Any other ideas for me? Maybe something other than ribbon to tie it with?

I am also test knitting some socks for a friend of mine. I just love this pattern so far.

She might have it available sometime soon. I am even using a not-so-favorite yarn, and I still love them. I was a little farther than this, but noticed a mistake and had to frog a bit. I hope she can be patient with me....these are going to be gorgeous!

My little dog got a haircut this week. I just love him!

Brodie says "Hi everyone!"

Spring Fever!

It is spring break here, which in Michigan, about 9 years out of 10, means super crappy weather. Today it was pouring when I got up. The next 3 days have temps in the mid 30's and SNOW! It is spring break! I am SICK of snow! Oh well, nothing I can do about it. I can still enjoy other things about spring I guess.

Hubby picked these for me yesterday (what a sweetie). I just love daffodils.

The spring knitting is going great! I am zipping along on the little lace cardi.

All the pieces are knitted, I am ready to bind off the button band stitches, and then I just need to set in the sleeves and finish seaming. Yay. This thing is flying off the needles.

Some happiness from the greenhouses for you:

And a little fibery drool too...

Gorgeous huh? If you want some for yourself, Coppermoose is the place to go! (Sugar maple is what I got.)

Have a good day everyone! Think spring!!!!