dog gone it

Isn't she cute? It's gosh darn lucky for her that she is, cause...

This is how I think yarn should be:

This is how my puppy Purl thinks it should be:

Thankfully, it isn't one of those kinky yarns that folds in on itself and gets all tangeld so I was able to undo the damage with relative ease. (Thank goodness also for the ball winder - if I didn't already have one, I'd certainly be getting one!)

I'm not sure what this yarn will become. I bought it for the capitan's hat, but in looking at the pattern again, I think it is just a tad too bulky. Maybe the yarn harlot's unoriginal pattern.

mousies

Not only are these mice fun to knit, it turns out they are great toys for standing in line at Disney World! Dd was perfectly content to set up an entire fantasy world while we slowly moved along waiting for the next ride or show. That made everything more pleasant. The last picture is the wildlife at Disney. What a great place to be a squirrel!

The pattern for the mouse can be found at
http://yarnigans.vox.com/ Just scroll down a ways. The doll is a blast to knit too - pics coming soon.

One of my prizes for finishing the sweater was a great apron and a bunch of cupcake cooking supplies, which arrived today just a head of the kiddos getting sent home early for a giantsnow storm (which was just rain for most of the afternoon)

Perfect activity. Some how, miraculously, I had all the ingredients for the cupcakes – but just enough butter. I used a “Boston Cupcake” recipe that called for mace, which adds great flavor. I filled up the 12 baking cups as the recipe specified and wondered briefly why I had extra batter, but I figured that happens. Well, half way through the cooking time I figured out why - I’d added twice as much milk as called for! It turns out, however, that this is okay, it just takes way, way, way longer to cook! But they are so worth the wait.

Then for the frosting – again miraculously, we had enough powdered sugar, but not really enough butter. I found a recipe that would work anyway – hot water and powdered sugar, but why stop there? I added what little butter I had left, some milk and Fluff! I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a frosting recipe calling for Fluff, but it works pretty darn good. The kids loved it. Of course, how could they not with all that sugar?

If you're interested, here's the recipe:

2 tablespoons of hot water, 1 tablespoon of vanilla in a bowl.

Mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Add 2 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 tablespoons of half and half (or milk)

Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Fluff

Add another 1/2 cup of powdered sugar if it doesn't look thick enough.

Add a few dabs of food coloring if desired.

It occurred to me later that I could just have used the fluff.

Haiti

I've had no time to post and little time to knit because I've been doing double duty around here. DH was sent to Haiti last Friday to write about Harvard's humanitarian efforts there. After reading what he has written, I'm glad he went. He is a marvelous writer who can show readers with his words what he sees. And, it's so important to see what is going on there! These doctors have created hospitals out of virtually nothing. They are doing it on largely on their own dime. They didn't take the time to raise funds, they put up their own money and took off hoping to work out the finances later. They are giving up so much to take care of some of the poorest and neediest people in the world under some of the harshest conditions in the world. I may be giving up some free time, but it's nothing compared to what these people are enduring. If you are looking for a worthy cause or a way to help - this is it.

Al's first article:

FOND PARISIEN, HAITI — Nearly a month after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, paramedic Anthony Croese looked into the crowd outside a destroyed orphanage near Port-au-Prince and spotted an emaciated baby cradled in his father’s arms.
The baby looked far too tiny for his eight months of life, and a short conversation explained why. His mother died in the Jan. 12 quake, and his father, Emilio Eliassaint, in the weeks since had been feeding him sugar water, devoid of the nutrients in mother’s milk.
Croese, who feared the baby wouldn’t survive long on such a diet, bundled him into a car and sent him to a field hospital that has sprung up amid the thorny trees and dried grass at Fond Parisien, near the border with the Dominican Republic. full article

Mousie Mania

What could be better to follow up a long complicated pattern than a really quick easy one? Enter the mouse. I found it during the great sweater race and even enticed Allison to take a side tour to knit one (sorry about that).

This one is for a special certain 4 year old who loves yellow!

Check out this site: http://yarnigans.vox.com/ for the mouse pattern, a darling bear pattern and a delightful doll.

Mr.Greenjeans complete

I told my friend Allison and Bonnie that I wanted to knit a sweater this year, so they challenged me to a race. First one done gets a prize from the other two. Who could resist such a challenge? We all used the same yarn, but different patterns. Mine is Mr. Greenjeans from Knitty.com.

I wanted something with special details but knit from the top down to avoid seaming, which I hate because I don't really know how to do it. I also knew from all my reading is that the advantage of top down is that you can try it on as you go to make sure the size is right. That's a great idea if you know what the heck you are doing, which I don't. I tried it on at several points and it always seemed fine. Except that it really wasn't. It's too big. Not a lot too big, maybe a size or so. I will admit that I didn't actually check measurements - I just assumed I should use the size I usually wear.

I modified the collar, making it a shawl collar using short rows. It doesn't fold over like it should and keeps coming around to being flat. I wonder if I should have done the short rows at the edge of the collar instead of closer to the body?

I'm also not terribly pleased with where the button falls. It's not quite as flattering to my body type as I had hoped. This is one of the disadvantages of not being able to try on a style before you spend hours and hours knitting it!

Overall, however. I love the color and the yarn is wonderfully soft and warm.

I am also thrilled to be done. which I am only because of the motivation of my friends. Being in a race helped me stay focused and put off other projects that would otherwise have distracted me.

I am now more determined than ever to figure out how to design my own patterns. So often, I like some of this one and some of that one. I want to become proficient in putting all the pieces together.

Oh, and by the way, yes - I did "win" :)

A mistake discovered - what to do if you find a hole

So I was knitting along on a sweater the other night - the one in which I'm in a race with two other friends to finish (The first one done gets a prize from the other two) - and I notice that I seem to have created a gap between stitches. At first, I wanted to believe that it was just a normal space caused by uneven stithces. Afterall, I'm in a race and I was in the middle of the collar, which is 238 stitches.

This has happened to me before only I didn't have enough experience then to realize that something was wrong. First, I checked for a dropped stitch, which of course would have been easy to fix. Alas, there was none. I thought about keeping on and figuring out later, but I know from experience that's never a good idea. So I pondered. The hole looked vaguely familiar - like something achieved during making short rows. Then it dawned on me. There was a reason why when I had gotten to the end of the previous row that I felt like I was on the wrong side - because I was. As I was knitting that row, the puppy did what puppies shouldn't do in the house so I promptly dropped the work and took care of her business. Then I plopped back down and a little too carelessly picked up my work and took off, only I'd taken off in the wrong direction! I didn't pay close enough attention and turned the work in the middle of the row, just like you would for a short row only I didn't want one at this point. There is only one way to fix this - tinking back to where the work was turned. I didn't actually time it, but I'm fairly certain that it takes three or four times longer to tink than to knit. I was relieved, at least to discover that I had correctly diagnosed the problem.

I'm sharing this story not only to brag a little but also as a warning/guide for my fellow knitters who have to stop in the middle of the row or who find an unexpected gap.

Here is the aforementioned puppy - doesn't she look so innocent?

We love Santa

You should wish you were at our house today. CJ and I have been baking with the supplies Santa brought for Christmas. I'm not entirely certain, but I think Santa must have dusted them with magic powder because everything seems to taste just a little bit better than usual!

Our favorite is he square muffin pans. What will they come up with next? I'm not entirely sure there is any advantage to them, but they certainly are fun. We used them today for apple muffins. I think CJ might have preferred chocolate chip. Maybe next time.

The business of Yarn

Part of my day job is writing a column for the Boston Herald about small business. Every now and then, I find a way to sneak in a bit of yarn talk.... afterall, fiber is as much a business as anything else!


Doing good can be good for business
Charity gives customers incentive to buy
By Jennifer Heldt Powell / Small Business Matters

It can be difficult to entice shoppers into a store in the dead of a chilly winter when they’re still tallying up their Christmas bills, but last weekend Yarns in the Farm in Beverly was hopping.
Yarn enthusiasts were drawn in by a “reverse sale.” Ten percent of everything they bought was sent to Haiti to help earthquake victims. Full Article

gratuitous dog pics

Too tired to write too much - puppy is an early riser. I'm hoping some exercise will help her sleep! We spent a good chunk of the day at Nahant Beach. We managed to get out before the rain.

This wonderfully gorgeous puppy represents a whole new way of doing things for us. Usually, we are impulsive. Usually, we get the fever and have to have it now at any cost or interest rate. But this time, we talked, we planned, we dreamed, we researched. We found the breeder we wanted and then we saved and waited, and waited, and waited and waited. She was born on Veteran's Day, which meant nine weeks of excruciating waiting and longing for sweet puppy belly. Today was the day, at last, when we got to drive up (three hours) to retrieve her. It didn't matter if it was six or nine or twelve hours, it would have been worth it. She is as adorable and sweet and soft as we'd hopes. We're sure she's wicked smaht too.

organizeder?

I finally returned to my studio/office after two weeks of working anywhere else in the house since we had guests and little people mucking about. In the intervening time, this space was the dumping ground as other rooms were cleaned. As a result, I literally couldn't see the top of the table that serves as a desk and crafting space.

The frustrating thing is that I could have written this post last year! I remember distinctly starting out 2009 determining that I was going to get organized once and forever. Every room in my house would be clear of clutter. Everything would have a place and I would return it to that place and stay stocked up with just enough of the right supplies so that I would have what I needed in hand. So why, a year later, did I have to spend 30 minutes moving piles just so I could put down my computer?

I should let myself off the hook at least a little bit in that I share this house with a number of other people who have various capabilities and desires to clean up after themselves. There are, in fact, several areas of the house that have been organized several times over the year because little people have repeatedly unorganized them.

Still, it seems that if organization is my goal year after year after year, I should be further along than I am! It makes me wonder if I should just quite torturing myself and give in to the chaos. Can organization be achieved? I am as organized as I ever will be?

I think an honest assessment would reveal that things are better than they would be if I weren't trying so hard. I'm not naturally inclined toward neatness. I'm just too busy. I buzz from one project to the next and I hate stopping the progress to put things away. (Yes, I do recognize that sooner rather than later progress stops anyway since there is no longer room to move).

I also hate throwing things away. I am plagued with the common "I might need it someday" syndrome. There is a reasonable basis for this issue. Often, I find that I really do have need of something I saved. And, at least once this year I was seriously burned because I disposed of something I shouldn't have.

I guess the quesiton is do I have too much stuff or that I just don't know how to put it away properly? Or that I don't put it away even if it does have a space?

If you've got any suggestions - send them my way. Meanwhile, if I discover any silver bullets, I'll post!

Happy New Year

This sweet little puppy by the name of Pearl (or Purl as I prefer to spell it) will be joining our family next week. To say the least, we can hardly wait!

Pics for post below

Merry Christmas

Christmas is coming wicked fast (as we say around here). I was way far ahead and now I'm way far behind - how did that happen? At least I've managed to finish the one gotta present - a mistake rib scarf with a ruffled edge and an unoriginal hat (yarn harlot pattern.) The yarn is Webs Valley - very nice to work with. Two for the scarf, one for the hat.

The knitted crock will likely have to wait a bit longer. I have a backup present ready to go just in case.

I would dearly, dearly love to finish a lace scarf I've been working on, but with each row taking 90 minutes, it's unlikely.

Hope your fingers are flying and that you're having fun!

(pic to follow if I can talk blogger into it!)

note to self about home made coffee mocha

Note to self (and anyone else who likes chocolate coffee): It is not a good idea to put a packet of hot chocolate mix in with the coffee grounds while brewing coffee. It does work out wonderfully well, however, to put said mix in the coffee pot.

The Christams Season has begun

For us, Christmas unofficially begins after Halloween and with the the official launch on the day after Thanksgiving. It's just too big of a holiday for one day. Above is what Massachusetts looked like this morning. One day we had record warm temperatures and the next day it was snowing. It's amazing how exciting a little bit of snow can be for a couple of little girls who are already jazzed up about Christmas. This is our Christmas tree - or at least it might be in a few years. As it was, we went to a place where we could cut our own only to find that the place had been over cut and they had to ship in trees from other farms! They had them all propped up and you got to walk around holding a saw as if you were going to cut one down. They even had a tractor that would give you rides as if you were going to the fields where you would cut the tree. They're growing trees as fast as they can and hopefully they'll have more soon. Now, on to the celebrating....

the happy dance is being done

I never really doubted that I could crank out a 50,000 word novel in a month but there were many times when I felt pretty lost in the middle of it. I pushed my own creative limits choosing subjects that are on the outskirts of my comfort zone - a male main character and a fairy god mother. It was fun getting to know them although there were times when I felt like we were treading water in some fairly boring territory. What's good about the deadline is that you have to push on whether or not you like what you're writing at the moment. It would otherwise be tempting to stop and wait for some bolt of inspiration that might not ever come. What this proves to me yet again, is that mountains can be climbed. Given our lives, completing a novel like this is nearly impossible, but I have the support of a great husband and a little cheering section in the form of two little girls who like to fall asleep on the bed next to me while I write.

My other lesson is this - that sometimes you just don't know where you are going until you get there. You may feel lost and like you are never going to arrive at a destination and then suddenly you are there and all the pieces make sense. That's how I felt at the end of the book. I felt for much of it that I was just wandering aimlessly, trying to force the story in some direction, but it didn't entirely make sense until the end when it all came together.

Now what happens? I hope that I go back and edit this and smooth out the rough parts and turn it into something that might actually amuse and interest someone other than my mother, who is obligated to love anything I write.

My husband and family will be happy to have my attention back and just in time for Christmas. We've started the shopping and I've even started the knitting believe it or not! I have a scarf finished and half a crocodile. I love a deadline as much as the next person, but I'm not going to go over board. I want to finish the croc and make two scarves. If there's time, I'll add in a pair of half mits for my God daughter. I'm hoping that since they're in stores everywhere, she'll consider them fashionable instead of just an oddity.

amazing pompoms

I found a great quick-arts-and-crafts fix that can not only use up stash, but also make for cute floral arrangements, wreaths or package toppers: pompom flowers.

This one was made from using a tutorial at Blue Bird's Blog. The link will take you to her pompom wreath and off that is the tutorial for making great pompoms. I've tried several methods, including store bought plastic templates and this was the first time I was actually pleased with the result.

These could be almost as much fun as googly eyes.

garter stitch fabulous

My friend Allison found this pattern last year. At first when she described it to me, I got confused and knit the stripes vertically. It came out really cool but with a bus load of ends to weave in. Plus, the stripes took forever. Okay, not really because I did finish that hat - it just seemed like the project was endless.

After that, I got it in my head that I'd like to try the original pattern only in all pinks instead of the multi-colors in the pattern. I had a bunch of pink scraps and it's for a little girl who loves pink. The original pattern is much faster and still way cool. The flowers are crocheted with buttons sewn in the middle.

The only "problem" is thay my girls like it so much that they want one too but I used up most of my pink scraps! I think it's too funny that I might actually go and purchase yarn to make a hat that's so great for using up bits of stash.

The knitting has slowed down around here this month since I've once again taken up the Nanowrimo challenge to write a novel in a month. This one is about a low level ad exec living a completely boring life and the flawed fairy god mother sent to save him. Sometimes what I write makes even me laugh some of it I'm sure is the most boring prose ever. So far, however, I want to see how it turns out badly enough to keep writing.