It's Friday, can I have a WOOT!

One mitten done. This is Liidia's glove from Folk Knitting in Estonia made into mittens, thumb side showing. So, I guess technically they are Liidia's mittens. The yarn? Knitpicks Andean Treasure You can't really see the cuff because of the rolling. Too bad too because that is my favorite part. I would say some blocking is in order. I'll show it again when there is a pair.
So, I guess there hasn't been exactly nothing around here all the time. Just some of the time. Mainly when I sat down at the computer the other day!
More?
Yes, there's more.

Wonderful handdyed, handspun yarn from Karen being made into thrummed mittens. Please join me in a hearty Mmmmmmm. Thrums. Can there be any better warm device for those afflicted with extreme cold hands? No, there can not. I could use them right now in fact. It is a wonderfully refreshing 56 degrees F. (13 C to the rest of the world) which means, because we are too frugal to turn the heat on this early, that the inside of the house is a bit nippy. What I wouldn't do for a fireplace right now. Why didn't we buy a house with a fireplace?
The rest of the goat of the goat feet:

You can see that he did not have any interest in me because I was not holding goat food. Beast.
:)
Up!

It's a nice day here after a beautiful start:

I hope your day is as beautiful, in it's own way.
(anyone else think of that song when they read that line?)
~~~~~~
Please visit Snooze and consider buying some of the wonderful yarn she is selling.

The tree skirt by the way would be used as a table covering under a small, artificial tree. Just so you know! :)

Oh, it's sad, alright. I have nothing.
Nothing to show. Nothing to say. Nothing knit.
How could it be?
I am happily coasting along, the days whizzing by so fast. I have been hardly knitting since Bub. I can't settle in on anything.
So, I wonder how many ways I can say nothing.
Nothing.
Zip.
Nada.
Any more?
A picture of nothing:

Goat feet at the Red Apple Farm
ADDED LATER:
To clear up the floating goat hoof mystery, the little guy has his feet on a wire fence to boost him up so he could try to rip some goat food out of some unsuspecting kids hands. No pun intended on the Use of the word Kid.
:)

Lucky sky!

So much to say, so little time!
:)
~~~
I can't even believe it myself, but look here. That is a photo of mine from last summer, Freedom, NH, Danforth Bay to be exact. Theresa entered it in this contest, that I did not even know about. AND IT WON! Thank you, Terri! :) As I was busy with my sky contest, the email came in telling me that my picture would be the inspiration for a YARN COLOR. Be still my heart! Could there be anything better? This particular picture is the inspiration for some handyeing by the wonderfully talented Mary also. This picture gets around!
And speaking of pictures, Reader Jenny and her hubby Mr. Jenny sent me the most wonderful sky pictures that I wanted to share with you but I have been having a HECK of a time posting them. I do not understand why my blog will not post them. Dangitall. Sorry Jenny. And Mr.
~~~

This is a counted cross stitch tree skirt made by my Mom. She wants me to finish it off for her. Her requests are these:
~that it be a round shape
~that it not have a slit like most tree skirts
~that it have a backing and filling, similar to a quilt
~that it have a bit of a ruffled edge to it
She knows what she likes. See where I get it? So. My question to you is this. Can I sandwich this like a quilt ( I plan to use a very thin wool batt inside) and not do any quilting? Will it be all bunchy? This is aida fabric and is not condusive to top quilting. What do you think?
Here's some closer views.



It is so gorgeous!
~~~
The requested Apple Crisp recipe. Yum. This recipe if from the Joy of Cooking and altered a bit by me.
Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with Pam shortening (you can halve the recipe and use smaller pan)
preheat oven to 375degrees F.
Peel and core about 15-16 apples, Slice into 1-2 inch chunks and lay in pan. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg
Mix together in large bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinammon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Add: 2 sticks cold butter
Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until mix is like course breadcrumbs. Or use a food processer. Scatter topping over apples.
Bake until golden brown and bubbly. about 50 - 60 minutes.
~~ And speaking of Joy of Cooking cookbook. I went on a kick a while back and got some great old cookbooks from ebay. I just love them. I have the first edition joy of cooking. Okay, I'm not so sure it's the FIRST edition, but it's the first one that they published in 1931. I just love it. My favorite cookbooks, though, were the old old ones that LOOK their age but also have handwritten things in it along with clippings from magazines or newspapers. Heaven for me.

hey, BUB! Whatcha doin?

Bubby Bear knit with Karen's homespun and wearing what every chic bear is sporting this fall, a Noro scrap garter stitch scarf! I call him BUB for short. Which coincidentally is what I call Fig the cat most of the time. You know, when Fig walks in the room, "hey bub!" So Bub to me, is a part of my life. Bub it is.
Since there was no swatching for said bub, he is much smaller than the 7 inches, measuring in at 5 inches. A mini bub, I guess. He's cute. And easy to work up. And fun to have around. I made him simply because I could.
~~~
Yesterday I took a trip to my Mom's house for a quick visit and to pick up something that I need to do for her. Mainly put a backing onto a counted cross stitch christmas tree skirt, which I WILL be showing you another day (because frankly, I'm too lazy and cold right now to take pictures of it today) and asking your opinions about.
What did we do?
We went to the Red Apple Farm, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from her house.

Where, by the way, the sky was gorgeous in all it's autumn glory and a bit apple scented, truth be told!

We picked apples of course!

Our favorites, Macoun, only resided on the tree, not in the store yet. So we obliged and split the 20 pounds that we picked! Guess what is for dessert tonight?
APPLE CRISP!

Tickled Sky Blue!

Wasn't that fun? I hope you have been visiting other people's blogs to see a bit of their world. I hoped to link everyone but I'm afraid I won't be able to. Be sure to visit yesterday's comments and go sky surfing!
Sky. I have seen the sky above dear friends and new friends, sky from neighboring towns in Massachusetts and from far away places like Barcelona, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong and everything in between. I have seen sunny skies, cloudy, rainy days. Sunsets. Sunrises. Pinks, golds, blues and grays. The sky is vast, as is this world. But the past few days, it's seemed a bit smaller with all the warmth and friendship being extended.
May your sky always be beautiful.
I have TRIED to comment to each of you, but I am not successful yet. I will visit you if I have not yet.
The winners?
Lorna's Laces, Gold hill (sorry, Norma) Wannietta Send me your address Wannietta!
And...
The winner of the Lorna's Laces, Vera yarn?
Cheryl! It's her birthday on Sunday! How appropriate!
Note about picking winners: I assigned each email a random number and then went to THIS random number generator. Totally random. How on earth could I have picked one winner out of those lovely sky photos?
Thanks to all for making me feel loved.
Right back at ya!

The sky is the limit!

Posting a sky/weather picture on your blog can win you this (picked at random among participants)

2 skeins Lorna's laces, colorway gold hill
and another

2 skeins lorna's laces, colorway vera, prewound, even better! This lovely yarn is not quite as garish in person as it seems in this picture!
2 chances to win. WOWEE KA ZOWEE! Go ahead, post a picture. It doesn't have to be spectacularly colorful. Rain and gloom is weather too!
Check these out:
Norma, Donna, Rosemary, luvtocraft, Karyn, Rachel, Kate, Becca, Margene (she hasn't put up a new one YET for this contest, but being a fellow weather nut, she posts plenty of beauty at her blog!), Kathy B, Tim, Michelle, Libby the former lurker, Laura, and Hilary. How about yours? Leave me a comment to direct me where to look!
Joy. Seeing all these sky pictures from around the world just brings me joy.
Thanks for playing along.
Let's see.. we need an ending date, don't we? How about Friday. 5:00 pm EST. Be there, or be square!
What's your weather?

No pussyfooting around, there is good news and bad. Always with the bad following

Good news:
Oh, wait. There WILL be pussyfooting around. Pink Pussytoes, to be exact. In my garden. "Garden" being a generous term for the overgrown patch of weeds in a planned area. A package from Norma awaited my arrival home today. She boxed up her roots and shared the wealth. I wish she would have mailed herself to me, I could use a little help with the weed control. Digging a hole to plant a new plant should be an easy thing, but there is a lot of work to be done before a simple hole is accomplished. And today is rainy. My plan is to sprinkle the little darlings with a drink of water and put them in tomorrow. It's only a day away.
Thank you, Miss Norma. My future garden thanks you too.
And now the bad.
As an adult some decisions have to be made. Some of those decisions are good. Some are bad. I have had to make a bad one. But for good reasons. I will not be able to attend Rhinebeck this year. I want to. I planned to. I had all kinds of plans with all kinds of good people. But those plans have to go unfullfilled. Family finances have taken a hit lately and the Rhinebeck frivolity didn't fit in.
boo hoo. I know. But I already have plans to mail a certain someone some money so I can at least have the booby prize. A skein of Brooks Farm yarn. Granted, not as fun as spending a couple of evenings knitting, laughing and sharing my inner soul with like minded people, but I will do my best and wrap the brooks farm yarn around my neck and snuggle with it while I pay my bills.
Not the same, I know, but it beats NOT having BFY around your neck while writing checks.
My random thoughts for the day:
~Why won't my printer take only one page at a time to print?
~Hi, my name is Sandy and I'm a benadryl addict: Still taking it at night. Bug bite foot still swelling. This can't be good. I DO, however, sleep like a baby
~Is there any better dinner than chicken stir fry? Hmm?
~I'm craving apples
~I wish the whistling bird next door would get a touch of laryngitis. Just for an afternoon. Not permanently. Just an hour!
~Are you still reading this? Good, because there will be a contest. Sneaky, huh? Because I am a weather freak, take a picture of your sky to share with me, post it on your blog, leave me a comment to let me know where to visit your weather and I'll pick a winner, randomly out of the participants.
I will show you tomorrow what the prize is. And when the deadline is.
The SKY is the limit!
:)

Cat's got my tongue?

Cat's got my tongue lately. I have been noticing that when something worldwide happens that is catastrophic, I have a bit of trouble finding my voice after. I can't explain it. I don't understand it. It just is. I'm hoping you are still stopping by to read this.
~~~
It seems that somedays are a mail delight. And most others are a mail bore. Saturday was a delight.

June's super dooper wonderful handspun yarn. Do you read June's blog? You should. She's nice people! She's also selling more of her handspun. All proceeds will be donated to the Mercy Corps, to help Katrina victims.
I need to come up with a wonderful pattern for such wonderful yarn. I'm hoping there is enough for a pair of socks.
And.
Trekking XXl yarn. Colorway number 108, muted rainbow. What wonderful colors! I can't wait to start a pair of socks with this yarn.
One more thing was in the mail.

Trekking XXL, colorway 105, autumn. Just what the doctor ordered. (Or is that "the Doktorfisch?") I started knitting right away, I could not resist. The shading is so subtle that you do not see it until it is knit up. Very interesting yarn to look at. A joy to fondle. Oh, did I say that out loud?
:)
This color really DOES look like autumn. In fact, I found the fall plant in my yard blooming and I wonder, are these twins separated at birth? You decide..

Sedum and Autumn trekking side by side. Can YOU tell the difference?
I, by the way, have never met a sedum that I did not like. I feel the same about hosta.
Sedum lover R Us.
SLRU.
A very secret club.
~~~
Remember Brody? (Scroll down to August 20) Team Brody raised $42,688 for the Leukemia Society. Way to Go! I would like to publicly thank Nanette who not only talked the talk, she also walked the walk. She volunteered to be part of Team Brody and participated in the Light the Night Walk. Thank you Nanette. Now, everyone go read her blog. :)
If you are interested, the local (Seattle, Washington) TV station interviewed Dipti, Eric and Brody and have a link on their page. It is entitled Mother and Child Both Battle Cancer under video on demand. You do have to sign up for the page, but it's free and a short form. It's a great interview. I'm not sure how long they will have it on their page but for today it's there.
~~~
Monday. It's almost done. Hope yours was great.

Look upwards

When I wake up to a view like this, it's almost worth getting up at this ungodly hour. I'm glad I did not miss this today. It energized my soul, just what I needed.
I'm hoping for some rain today. It's very dry and we need it desperately. The New England Foliage is not as good when it's too dry.
My foot is getting a bit better every day. Not as much as I'd like, of course. Impatience is not a virtue. I thank you for your well wishes. If only I could enjoy the near catatonic state induced by benadryl every evening with knitting, but alas, snoozing is the only way.
So, that's my life right now. Snoozing and itching. Could be worse!
Hope your sky is beautiful today too!

Trouble is afoot

Please excuse the powder rimmed toes, but notice that on the right foot a bug bit me. Damned bug. I don't know what kind, in fact the thought of whatever creepy crawly being on my foot feasting on me kind of gives me the heeby jeebies. So I don't think about it much. At first I thought the red spot was a flea bite. What can I say? This time of year the fleas like to hop onto Fig and get a ride into a warm home. Doctor says this is no flea but was unable or unwilling to continue. She did say that she has seen 3 bites similar in nature this week alone.
My foot is swollen, so is my ankle and I am ITCHY! My kingdom for a scratch fest! Don't worry, I'm not scratching. I know that this leads to more. And more.
The prescription? Steroid prescription creme, which the pharmacy did not have yet, a steady dose of benadryl and the usual treatment of sort. Elevation, rest, and ice. The main parts of the RICE treatment.
So, I'm on the benadryl and the world is looking a bit fuzzy around the edges right now. I was hoping for a night of knitting with my foot being up and icy but I do believe that snoozing is the evening activity of choice.
Zzzzzzzzz...

Head, shoulders, (no knees) and toes!

If you were to take the KAT's right now, would you pass? You know, the Knitting Aptitude Test? Sort of like the SAT's that Bethany is getting ready for.
For instance, the following statement is true or false:
Opal sock yarn is opal sock yarn. Cast on 72 stitches and knit a sock. No matter which yarn.
I would have said TRUE.
But now I'm wondering. I even did some research on Opal Petticoat vs. Opal Rainforest. I truely expected that they would be different yarn weights. But they are not. So, it would appear that that KAT question would indeed be true.
But take a look at the petticoat sock sitting on top of the rainforest sock:

See the difference?
Yeah, and opal rainforest. Hmm. I'm not so sure about it.

I may just be getting too picky and way too grumpy in my old age :)! I am not feeling the love for this Doktorfisch sock. I love the colors. But then again, is that yellow really the color that should be there?
Picky.
Grumpy.
The sock is too big anyway, so between the gargantuan size and the tepid feelings of love, this sock is at a stand still.
My attentions are directed to the Marilyn Sweater done in Blackwater Abbey yarn. WOW! Now, there is some love for you!
Have a peek even though there's not much to see yet. The cables are not making themselves evident yet, it makes no rhyme nor reason. Yet.

Blackwater Abbey yarn.
And one more project keeping my attention as of late.
Mittens.
Oh, come on! Who did not see that coming?

This is the knitpicks andean treasure yarn again. I know I've mentioned the love I have for this yarn, so I won't bore you again.
Or will I?
No. I won't.
~~~~
The lovely fall weather has come in and delighted me but then is playing a disappearing act today. It's 89 degrees F right now. Ugh. I am eager to be done with it.
Autumn is welcome here!

Knit Knack Paddy Whack, give the dog a sock!

Opal Petticoat socks basking in the autumn sunlight.
Needle size US1
I love these socks. I love how they look. I love how they stripe. I love how they were an easy, mindless knit. I had almost forgotten how wonderful knitting a sock can be. Blasphemy, I know.
A couple of heels:

Hey, Toe!

In fact, I liked knitting a sock so much, I immediately cast on for the DOKTORFISH sock.

Don't you just love the sunshine and shadows at this time of year?
On the new rosweood needles, heaven in a stick. They are a bit too long for my taste (8 inches), but heaven nonetheless. BUT something horrible happened at work. When I was putting my knitting away, I heard a crick. Just a soft CRICK. One side of the needle stuck in the side of my felted purse. CRICK. The dreaded sound to a knitter.

SOB! I had only used them for a couple of hours. It was way before it's time.
A moment of silence please for the Rosewood needle.
Good thing it was a set of 5. I only use 4 for sock knitting.

My roses are numerous

Today I had this intense feeling of thankfulness. There is no other way to describe it. Well, see, this is what I noticed:
The day was perfect. As in warm enough, but yet cool enough.
The kind of day that the morning was really chilly and the afternoon sun was nice and warm. Not too warm, though.
Low humidity.
Ultra Blue sky! The kind of sky that inspired Crayola to name a crayon.
My family? All safe and happy, alive and not floating in water somewhere.
My cat? Sleepy and cute.
My home, though a bit worn and paint scuffed, stands as my shelter.
I had a great dinner with enough for seconds or perhaps leftovers.
A quick afternoon trip to the yarn store armed with a gift certificate. The best shopping, I say. I ended up getting some Colonial Rosewood DPN's for socks. Size 1. They are scrumptuous. And beautiful. And then I wandered into the sock yarns because I am enjoying the mindless sock knitting as of late, so I thought I'd encourage it more. I came home with Opal Rainforest, Doktorfisch. Seen on that link page just as FISH. I like to refer to it as DOKTORFISCH. Just seems like the right thing to do.
And lately, I have been feeling a bit bad about extravagant purchases. Perhaps this is due to a tight budget with one in college and one onto college in a short year. Perhaps it's due to the rising price of EVERYTHING, of which I will not formally complain here. It's what life is about.
But, doesn't blogging seem a bit superficial sometimes? Like it's all a Gimmegimme fest?
Yeah, that's what I've been trying to avoid lately. I am trying to buy responsibly. Like June's beautiful yarn, for example. All of her proceeds will go to Mercy Corp. I was grateful to have a chance to donate to a good cause through a back handed way.
Man! I've digressed, haven't I?
Thankful. Remember?
Food, home, family, beauty around me, a couple of quarters in my pocket, yarn in my hands.
What more could a girl ask for?
I bet you have a lot to be thankful for too!

Get your yarn and donation here. Or at June's , actually!

This is your chance to get some of the greatest handspun yarn around! Go visit the wonderfully talented June and buy if you can. Not only will the money be donated to Mercy Corps but you will get some fantabulous yarn to boot.
I am again reminded why I am proud to be part of such a caring group of humans. Knitters! You can't beat 'em!

His bags are packed, he's ready to go..

Derek is now officially a sophmore at UMass Lowell. To say he's excited is an understatement.
Me?
I'll be fine.

All of our little bits

One Opal Petticoat sock finished. One to go.
This yarn is so fun! Such a pleasure!
~~~
By the way, Fig is doing well. He had 2 teeth pulled, which was very painful. He looks better today. His eyes are bright again, the staggering has stopped but he still falls into a deep deep sleep oblivious to his surroundings. One might wonder how that is different from having an elderly cat on any given day. Nothing is different except the knowledge of what he has been through, I guess. The only difficulty I notice is when he purrs, his mouth and throat hurt (from the breathing tube) and he started desperately GULPING. So, we try not to talk to him too long for fear of the purr/gulp.
~~~
I sit in the evenings transfixed by the images that I cannot rip my eyes away from. The hurricane victims suffering brings tears to my eyes. I wish that I lived closer so I could fill my car with loaves of bread and peanut butter and bottled water to give to the families that are starving. They have nothing. I have everything I need. And then some.
Join me in digging into our pockets to help. Just a couple of dollars helps. Perhaps you are contemplating a yarn purchase that you could do without for another couple of weeks.
Give a little, hosted by the wonderful Margene and Susan.
Feed the children is one of my favorite charities.
Give lots if you can. If you can't, give a dollar. Every little bit put together with other little bits makes a big bit.
~~~
I am woefully behind on all correspondance. I don't know how it happened. One minute I feel all caught up and in touch, the next minute I have 100 emails I'd like to give a response to and I haven't read a blog thouroughly in days.
Scheez.

A message from Fig

Hi Knitters!
I got home from the scary vets yesterday and now I know the name of the word woozy. My back legs wouldn't go where I wanted them to. It was hard to walk. And is my mouth sore! I keep drooling a bit. How embarassing really. When I got home, I couldn't stop meowing but then had to find a place to hide. I got up the stairs, with my Mom in back of me because I kept falling and hid under her bed. Would it kill her to vacuum a bit more. scheez. The humanity of it all. A cat like me sleeping in dust. It's not right.
After a couple of hours, I decided that this dusty resting place wasn't the best so I headed downstairs to get some attention. I almost fell down the stairs because of my back legs beeing so wobbly. I guess I can't take the drugs like I used to. Getting old is tough.
The Vet told me that I can't eat until the next day. He doesn't know me very well, does he? I sat in front of my empty bowl with the most pathetic face I could think of and soon Mom was giving me a couple of bites. Science Diet. A feast for a cat!
I ate a little and then had the strength to jump up into my favorite window spot. I'm still really sleepy and sore but Mom said I should start feeling better soon.
Thanks for all your good wishes,
meowily yours,
Fig the cat
P.S. I did not receive any of the morsels you sent me yesterday. Do you think my Mom ate them?