2009's last finished object

I finished the most current Bus Sock project, and this pair is probably the last thing I'll get finished in good old 2009. I've got a few other things still on the needles, but they won't be completed this calendar year.



I love the way the self-striping worked out -- sah-weet!!!



And this will be the next Bus Sock project:



2009 - you've been rough in lots of ways, but on the knitting front you've been pretty cool. I'm looking forward to 2010.

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas over, another round of gifts bought and given, another Christmas lunch enjoyed (pork roast with crackling, roast potatoes and parsnips, gravy and the trimmings), another chance to be thankful for having family home safe and sound. I can't think of anything more wonderful than a day like I've had today. My family and I are blessed.

My Hubby got me a Knitzi (displaying my current bus socks):



It's made of Yellow Heart, a hardwood native to Brazil. It's really like its name: a beautiful "mellow yellow", with a shine so deep you could get lost in it.

This is the 6" length.

My son gave me a spa set of aromatherapies from Bath and Body:

There is lotion, sugar scrub, body wash/foaming bubbles, and hand soap. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find me luxuriating in the tub tonight, surrounded by the scrumptious scent of orange ginger bubbles. I love the way using these products make my skin feel.

I asked my daughter for a new pair of slippers with hard soles, which I got:

They're super soft and toasty warm. I've got happy feet!!

What I didn't know was that my daughter had seen a piece of sterling silver jewelry at her work, JC Penney, and she snagged it for me as a surprise gift.

"Mom, Because of You...."

"I know kindness", "I dream bigger", "I feel inspired", "I still believe in miracles", "Life is fun", "I can do anything", and more phrases, are etched into the bangle. It's so beautiful. What a gorgeous gift.

I love all my presents and I hope they all liked what I got them, too. The whole shebang of shopping, wrapping, and gift giving is so much fun for me.

We had a white Christmas! We don't get those very often, but Christmas Eve a large storm system moved into the area and dumped as many as 6 inches of snow by Friday morning. It looks beautiful, all velvety soft on the ground. It's caused some traffic problems, though, as we Tulsans don't really drive on this stuff all that well.

Skully love

I made this for a dear friend to help keep his head warm during the winter. (Well, yeah -- what else are hats for?) It got given away without me taking any pictures of it, but all worked out fine because now the pics have his head under the cap.



The ultimate in skull hats, We Call Them Pirates by Adrian Bizilia, knitted with KnitPicks Telemark sport weight. I didn't follow the pattern completely (left off some skullys) but love the finished look.

Can you believe it?

Yes! It's knitting! There's actually been a bit of progress to show all over the place. These socks have been finished for quite awhile.



My newest Bus Socks project.



My daughter's stole, Wings of a Dream; getting closer to the last chart, almost there...



Classic Lines Cardigan KAL. Well, it's over for most intents and purposes, everyone else is finished, but here I am, still plugging along on it.



And finally, some of my Christmas knitting. I'm using KnitPicks undyed organic Simply Cotton worsted yarn to make lace faceclothes. Then I'll match up each facecloth with a hand poured all vegetable base glycerine soap containing unique oil blends. Found the soaps on Etsy at a store called AmethystSoap.



(top left) Christmas Lace Dishcloth
(top right) Tulip Lace
(bottom) Little Lace Kitchen Cloth

They still need to have the ends woven in and put through the laundry to plump up the fibers. A few more to knit, and I should be done!

Happy 19th Birthday!

19 years ago today our darling daughter was born. She's grown into a lovely young woman, strong-minded, funny, smart, beautiful, and such fun to be around. Happy birthday, my dear, we love you!!

(As for knitting, there's been lots of it lately, I just need to get the camera out and take some pics.)

He's here!

There has been excited anticipation on both sides of the ocean, as we waited for the UK baby to be born. He arrived this last weekend, weighing in a little over 6 pounds, not sure on the length.

Other good news is that I think the sweaters I knitted will fit him. :)

Welcome Maxwell! Welcome to the world. It's so exciting to be a part of this world, and you have the best luck to be born into a wonderful family full of fun, cheer, and love. Hope to see more pics of you really soon.

~ Great Aunt Suzy

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

There are times I wish I were a cat.

Noah? I want you....

..... to build an Ark. And here's why:



That's Haikey Creek encroaching into our back yard when it normally burbles quite contentedly in its banks, on the other side of the fence. It's still raining and shows no signs of stopping tonight - time to put on the waterwings.

Little Man Vest toggled

Yep, finally got the toggle buttons on the vest. Now the in-laws can take both the stranded red sweater and this vest back with them to England and to the mum-to-be.



There now exist two finished sleeves to the Classic Lines Cardigan (I'm woefully behind in the KAL for this, but it will be completed).

Labor day push

It's Sunday, the night before Labor Day, and the in-laws arrive tomorrow. T- 23 hours and counting. Is the dressing room finished? Well, yes, and no. Yes, because I think both Hubby and I have reached maximum saturation levels of redecorating enthusiasm, and no because there is still a little bit left to do. But, honey, it just ain't gonna happen.

The dressing room itself is done, and my oh my, it's gorgeous, if I may say so myself. Take a gander:








See those louvered doors in the mirror's reflection, in the picture above? Behind those doors is the closet, and it's what didn't get and might likely won't be finished by the time the in-laws arrive tomorrow evening. The flooring will be eventually laid into there, making it look nice and flowing from the dressing room. But I think we're done. We'll sweep up the dust from the concrete, store the remaining boxes of flooring in there, and call it good for now.

Have to say it again: Hubby is freaking awesome at this kind of home redecorating. There's nothing he can't do, that I've discovered so far. He wired an additional ceiling light by cutting a hole in the ceiling, crawling up in the attic amongst the fiberglass, spiders, and goodness knows what else to run the wiring, and huzzah - brand new lighting!



Anyhoo, I finished the cabled bus socks the other day and managed to find time last night to take a few pics:

Last one for tonight

The spaces at each side will be finished off with trim pieces.

It begins to take shape

After a weekend's worth of work, we have progress. The floor has been laid and the wallpapering is done. It'll be painted in a few days, after it's set on the walls a bit.



Hubby is having to do a lot of plumbing to make this new set up work. He's pretty clever about it all, I think. There's still a lot to do, though.





The countertop slab is in place, for the most part, the sides pieces aren't in yet, and we just set the sinks on top to get an idea of how it will look. I think it's lovely. Hubby's holding one of the faucets we'll be using; doesn't he look thrilled to have his picture taken?

Destruction ensues

Hubby and I gutted our dressing room. It's something we've wanted to do since we moved into this house back in 1999. It had a hideous brown laminate countertop going from wall to wall, with a brown cast iron sink (which disappeared when we tossed it at the side of the curb), and wallpaper that made me cringe everytime I looked at it.


See the wallpaper? Embossed floral. Not my cup of tea. This was the same pattern the previous owners used in the entry hall. It's going to be replaced with a patterned wallpaper designed to be painted, and we'll use the yellow scheme from the rest of the house.

The new countertop will be delivered tomorrow, it's a lovely varigated green that will tie in with the bedroom colors nicely. Hubby has to re-plumb everything so that we can go from the old one-bowl setup to the new two-bowl design. It's a flat slab of material that he'll drill the drainholes into, so the new frosted glass sinks can sit on top of the counter, and not be sunk down into it. I'm very excited about this!

The cabinetry is white, which should set off beautifully the wooden flooring we'll continue on in from the bedroom through the dressing room. (We finished putting the wooden flooring down in the bedroom about a month ago.)









































Our plan is to have this all finished before the in-laws arrive for their visit next month. They come all the way from England, and stay for about a month; it will be nice for them to be able to enjoy the new dressing room.

Holy Mismatch, Batman!

Calm yourself, Robin. I'm working on two pairs of socks at once, albeit in different locations. The brown cabled sock (KnitPicks Risata in colorway Cocoa, 42% Cotton, 39% Superwash Merino Wool, 13% Polyamide, 6% Elite Elastic) is my current Bus Socks (on the heel of #2), and the black tweedy sock (KnitPicks Stroll Tweed in colorway Black, 65% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon, 10% Donegal) is what I knitted up during our drive to and from Fort Knox. I almost finished the first tweed sock on that trip! Now the second sock is getting knitted on at home.

I'm loving how the Risata yarn hugs my leg, ever so gently. It's the elastic that's doing it, plus the cable pattern helps, too. The Stroll Tweed isn't as huggy, but it makes up for it by being so so soft.

Mad Dogs rule!

Our son graduated August 2 from a month long ROTC Leaders Training Course conducted in Fort Knox, Kentucky. During this time the Cadets learned "what right looks like" from their Cadre of 2nd Lts. LTC is an intense four-week introduction to Army life and leadership training of the reserve Officers' Training Corps; the aim of the course is to motivate and qualify Cadets for entry into the Senior ROTC program.

It was quite an experience, both physically and mentally. He succeeded marvelously - we're very proud of him!



being blindfolded before jumping off the diving board during water survival exercises



doing sit ups with fellow cadet


waiting to be released for family day (we drove to Fort Knox to celebrate his graduation)


after a rather muddy exercise


his platoon won four of the five streamers in the field exercises - go Mad Dogs!!!



Battle Buddies


My father is a retired Lt Col in the Air Force. He was very proud to be at his grandson's graduation.