crazy cables

Friday knit-along is starting again at my LYS and this time it's a cable challenge. Not that the cable should be challenging, it is a knit along, but it's a chance for us to challange ourselves to do something different. I had to be a difficult person and plead for a cardigan because I don't usually wear pullovers (the knit along pattern). So I chose the one below. Well it's a challenge. The pattern is not written correctly so Maggie, Laura, and, I have worked to adjust the pattern so I can make it. My first creation!!!!!!!!!!!. sort of. The yarn is Classic Al, Elsebeth Lavold and it is so wonderful and soft and this cable thing is pretty fun.

Jackson proclaims himself King of the Box and Guard of the Yarn Stash

rescue story

I posted this picture on the KCCL blog and when I saw the pictures on Chris's (excuse me Chaos's blog), his relatives found an odd spot to sit in, I was reminded of a tough day for the Libbster.

Early one morning I heard this sweet meow but could not find the cat behind it. As I was tracking the cry I realized one of the cats were missing. Where was Libby? I swore to Zach that the meow was coming from the floor. He obviously thought I had finally lost it, a crazy cat lady now! Well I lift the vent and see a white paw. It was Libby. She had climbed into the vent in the front of the house, gone across the floor to the back and was stuck. How to get her out. The landlord had me put food in the air unit out back, where she could get too, the Critter Gettr' couldn't help, and neither could Animal Control. That left the fire department. After a few chuckles on their end they have me wait 12 hours just in case she get out on her own, then they arrive. Sirens and lights the whole works. The neighbors have come running and the job begins. They use the big saw to cut the floor, have I mentioned that the floor was concrete. After an hour and a HUGE hole in the floor Libby was tempted by my hand bearing chicken of course and she came out. Her coat was kind of gray but she was unharmed. All of our vents are now screwed to the floor. And you can see she has not lost her desire to be in dangerous places!

No kitty was harmed in this photograph

ribbons

The Birch Lace Shawl took Honorable Mention at the Maryland State Fair, not too bad. The others that place where very nice pieces of work and the winner of second place was by a knitter I know from the LYS, Lindar Romar. Congrats to her. Zach was amazed at the woman demonstrating spinning on a loom and some of the weaving demos. He was happy to hear that I would not be taking up either of those crafts, even though I would love a loom!

Where have I been, I can't believe I have neglected this blog. Things have been very busy at work and home. I have however gotten quite a bit of knitting done on my Aunt's blanket and the various socks I am working on. I've also been exercising and diet which make me a little grouchy and that's putting it mildly according to Zach. School is on brief hiatus (2 weeks) so I plan to do some serious cleaning around the house and Labor Day weekend will be filled with putting up a fence and various other outdoor projects. Following that life will suck, I have to go in for a horrible mouth surgery thing that I won't go into detail about but let me say it is a liquid diet for a week! Guess I'll lose the weight then. On a better note I sent in the lace shawl to the State Fair, I should find out if I won anything within a few days.

I leave you with a note from the elusive Teddy, it is rare to get a sighting of this cat, he is sooo shy.
"I certainly hope that she never neglects us, as she has her wonderful readers...where's my tuna?"

free at last

I have submitted my last paper for this quarter. What a strain, I really need to learn not to put these off until the last minute. Maybe I will actually sleep tonight. Such a stressful weekend had a great hightlight..thanks so much Kelly I really needed it. Noon on Saturday the doorbell rang..mailman to the rescue with an airmail package from Canada. Several weeks ago Kelly and I set up a swap and the package from her arrived!


super soft dishcloth yarn that matches my kitchen perfectly!

How cute are these cats!!! They are made by artisians in third world countries and distributed at a local shop near Kelly and the money is sent back to the artisians. I love these kind of co-op organiztions
I have saved the best for last. Imagine petting the softest thing you can..that might come close to how soft this yarn is. Handpainted angora from fleece artist. The colors are beautiful, I think a pair of booties might be perfect for this yarn..for now as I told Kelly I think I'll cuddle with it.

is it over

Isn't she done with those papers so we can play!

energy

Just as I am feeling drained of energy trying to push out 2 HUGE papers by the end of the week...tada I get the energy bill. This is the first with the new degregulation crap from BGE. For those of you that have gone through this and those going through it need I say more..YES. Can you believe that my bill seems to practicaly double and that is with Maryland stepping in at the last minute and adjusting the rate hike from originally 72% down to 15%. It works out to save me about $70, this new difference. However, when a family of 2 has to pay over 200 a month in energy cost something seems very wrong. Guess I'm going to have to get the light up knitting needles so I can turn out the lights!

Aren't we cute

Look at the girls...they are showing off their new haircuts.

sock massage

Look at these yummy yarns. My LYS just them in Thursday, I got there just a few hours after and many were already gone. Claudia Handpainted is my new favorite yarn. Just like a foot massage when these finshed socks are put on. The one is called Walnut, rich warm brown tones. The other is called oops, blues and purples almost like a beautiful waterfall. Check out Kelly's blog for what she thinks about this new yarn! It's even cat approved!

flowers and socks

Look at the flowers Zach got for me last night.



The rainbow 2 on 2 circular socks are moving along pretty quick. I love the stripes on the heel.
Yet another photo slideshow this one is some macro shots of the roses in my garden and other flowers. I'm getting a tripod from my parents to work on some more photos. I'm really enjoying this macro feature especially with the flowers.

sidebar change

I made some additions to the sidebar. I put in a link to slideshows, one of my pets, and one of my summer stuff. I think I'll keep changing that one through the year to have a photo gallery of what I'm doing. The pet pictures will likley change too. I'll make a link in the blog posting if anything major changes. I tried adding my finished Jo Sharp tank, blogger wouldn't post it but you can see it in the flickr badge
This is the svale shell from Designs by Judith. The yarn is really soft. I don't think I'll work with it again, it tends to split easily.

pictures galore

These pictures are from the Freer Art Gallery. The gallery was comprised mostly of Asian art. The first two are from the peacock room and the last is a Buddah statue from the Buddah art collection.


Click here to see the zoo pictures if interested. There were too many to post.

busy busy

My weekend was so busy. I don't even have the energy to organize the pictures. As you all know went to the Aquarium on Thursday, the a crab feast on Friday, then to Washington DC for the zoo and some museums. Sadly the big cat section was closed and there was only 1 gorilla that we saw. They are my favorite part of the zoo and I was saddend to hear that 2 of them recently died. Saw the baby panda Tai Shan and other cuties, the orangatuans were climbing the o line, saw beautiful art at the Freer Gallery and was bored to death at the Air & Space museum. I'll get pictures uploaded to a photo site for viewing pleasure. Knitting news..I finally finshed my Jo Sharp tank. I turned the heel and did the gusset on the rainbow 2 on 2 socks but I had to take one of them off the needles. I could not figure out how to turn the heel and pickup the stitches with them both on the needles.

what I did on my summer vacation

My mother and I took my niece and her friend to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It was so hot in the city..temps were in the 100's with heat index around 115. Made for a long day but we had a good time and I got to play with my camera some more. You can almost pretend I am traveling with Jeff Corwin experiencing the wilds of the jungle...just ignore the glass reflection in the pictures. The first picture is looking down at the aquarium from the observation deck of the World Trade Center.








Of course I had to feature my sock..ode to Yarn Harlot and the rest of the knitting traveling socks out there.

macro shot

I've been playing with my camera, trying to get nice shots like everyone else has and I think I'm getting the hang of it. I tried using the macro setting but it was blurry. Ah Ha, you must hold the camera very still and my hands were to shaky. I propped up the camera and tried it. In the last post I tried it with the yarn and then with a live animal. Jackson is the perfect model, he loves to have his picture taken. I love the way everything else in the shot is slightly out of focus and he isn't. I snapped the picture just as he looked away so no glowing eyes either. A while back I submitted his picture for the ASPCA calendar contest.. I think this one would have been much better