Ah to Crochet.....

Aren't they the cutest? The patterns are written to crochet and I don't crochet, boo hoo. They are in my latest aquisition of Knit Simple Magazine. I am a sap for all these cutsie things but half the time they are crochet items. It took me twenty years to pick my knitting needles back up again after my grandmother taught me and I have yet to needlepoint again. I doubt I am going to learn how to crochet that easily. My girlies will have girlies of their own by then. I can look and perhaps try to bribe someone with soap or lotion *wink* wink* *nudge* *nudge*

No Sheep For You Swap

Resistance is futile. Especially when it comes to swaps. I just have a difficult time doing it. My two closest soap friends, Ela and Cindy could not believe I went cold turkey on not doing soap swaps for three whole months in 2006. Cindy still asks if I am holding out on her like I did a secret swap or something and not tell her. Ela wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes when she was here last weekend and saw it with her own two eyes when I only had two boxes to show her from this year. She was amazed. She was shocked. She was very surprised. She was happy to take home some soap even though it wasn't her usual amount. (I give away the soaps I get that I can't use like the ones with animal fats and oils or lanolin or other ingredients I am allergic to)

Btw, a soap swap is very different from a knitting swap so not to confuse you. We do have one on one swaps and secret swaps too but those are few and far between. Usually a soap swap is where there is a host/hostess who sets the number of swappers who in turn send in that number of items be it soap, lotion, bath salts, etc. Then you get one of each item from each participate back in your box. So, if there were 20 different swappers, you send in 20 of the same thing but get 20 different items back. I was doing 2-5 of these a month (number of participates varied though from one on one to I think my max. swap was 50)

Okay so here we are, it is March, I have done 2 soap swaps already, am signed up for I think 2 more so far, I am supposed to do three for this one group automatically by years end, so that makes another 5 I still need to do, I am sure there will be more because who can resist a soap swap?!?!

Now my new problem: yarn/knit exchange/swaps. If I can't resist a soap swap, how can I resist these?!?! I am doing the Knitter's treat Exchange and Sally tunes me into the No Sheep for You Swap so, of course, I had to sign up. How could I resist first a swap and second a swap that included non-wool items? I just couldn't. I really couldn't. Plus it is Interweave. Plus Amy Singer is coming to my neck of the woods this August and I am going to meet her if at all possible with book in hand.

I am not only going to be doing soap swaps, I am going to be doing yarn/knitting swaps. The mail carrier is going to hate me this year even more, LOL I do hope knitters love handmade soap.

KIP

Yesterday since it was such a nice day outside, roughly 60 F or 15.5 C for those Europeans who are readings (you know who you are, wink, wink), I took little Miss Sunshine to the park after school for lunch and to play before we had to get the Princess off the bus. I, of course, took a small knitting project with me. I could easily tuck the yarn in the pocket of my fleece jacket and knit while standing and watching Miss Sunshine run from slide to slide. As long as it was a simple pattern and I didn't have to count, I could easily do both, no problem. In my head it was easy, no worries. She didn't even seem to care. I was watching her feats of acrobatics and doing something I wanted to do at the same time as well. The only time I really needed to put it down was when she wanted to be pushed in one of the swings which wasn't a problem since it was small, I just tucked it in my pocket.

However, you should have seen the looks I was getting from the other parents. It was if I had three heads or something. Or worse, nursing in public. (you should have seen the looks when my girls were younger and I used to do that, sheesh) How dare I try to knit while watching my daughter. One Mother who was looking at me particularly funny cracked me up because she has the audacity to do it while she spent almost a half hour chatting on her mobile phone which I think is worse. As her 18 month old toddled away from her with her back turned and she couldn't even hear her because she was busy chatting away giving ME Dirty looks because I was knitting and keeping my eyes not only on her kid but mine as well. I simply smiled, waved my needle at her and pointed it at her daughter wandering into the swings. Boy did she run off in a hurry after her. I hope she was a bit embarrassed.

Needless to say, as it gets warmer, I am going to start taking Miss Sunshine to the park more often. Be warned dear park parents, I will be knitting there too. You can do both at the same time as long as the project is small and can be tucked away and the yarn can't get away from me. Like a nice washcloth.

What Tarot Card Are You

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Never Let Me Wind

This is one of my prize possessions. First because it is cotton chenille and oh how I love chenille, second because this is a discontinued chenille (boo hoo), and third because it is in both the princess's favorite color (pink) and Miss Sunshine's favorite color (green) at the same time. Then I go and try to wind and and you can see on the right what happens. I am an accident waiting to happen. I want to cry.

Before you say anything. I own both an umbrella swift AND a ball winder. HOWEVER since childhood I have been accident prone and if I was meant to mess it up, I would. I still knock over my drink cup, drop plates on the floor, and trip over nothing on the floor all the time. I am the clumsiest person I know. I can balance absolutely nothing. I should have known better.

The first time I tried to wind something, and a disaster happened, Miss sunshine was home with me and since she was three at the time and needed all my attention and likes to pull at my yarn and run through the house willy silly with it I got to blame her. This time no such luck. It was just me the swift and the winder.

Thank the stars for my knitting buddy Aileen. I called her crying. She said throw the yarn in a bag and she would fix it. Then she would wind the rest of it too. I am giving her my swift as a gift. I am never touching that thing again. Heaven forbid I ruin another hank of yarn. I will just pay her in soap, lotion and bottles of wine to wind my yarn for me. As a matter of fact, we are going to the Melting Pot tonight so I will buy her a drink for saving my yarn and my fanny yet again.

Poor Frogged Yarn

I think I have frogged this poor skein of Sugar & Cream about 4 times now. It has always been a washcloth, which I have done at lease 100 of before but this year I have decide to switch it up a bit and do different ones than my regular mill square and my regular mill round to give a bit of variety. Of course, that is what is getting me into trouble because I just can't seem to find a pattern that I can make that I can do in my sleep, so to speak like my run of the mills that I love.

The first one I started didn't look quite right and didn't quite show a pattern. The second one, wasn't showing the colors at all for some reason. the third, well, I forgot I had started it and I completely forgot what pattern I was making. hey, like that never happened to you. The fourth, well that was just yesterday and well, that just looked odd to me, little triangles, then pick up stitches. I am not afraid of the short row. heck the round washcloth is all about the short row. Knit x number of stitches, turn, etc. This one however was not a good one to start when you are watching a bunch of toddlers though. Note to self: never start a pattern you need to remember a bunch of complex repeats when watching a bunch of toddlers. Ribbit Ribbit.

So, I went back through my handy dandy lovely Dishcloth Boutique and found another cloth to try. I tell you I love that web site. It definitely has given me tons of washcloth options therefore when one option doesn't work, I can easily find another without pulling more hair out of my head.

What Is So Wrong With Fun Fur and Eyelash Yarns?

I have been reading a bunch of blogs since I signed up for this Knitter's Treat Exchange to see what other knitters are like outside of my own little world of knitter's group and to read their questionnaires if they filled it out yet. I think they still have a week to fill it in actually. I have been in awe of some of their knitting experiences and their talents. I have also been reading about their dislike for eyelash and fun fur type yarns. What I don't get is why? I know they aren't natural fibers and I know it is quite difficult to see the stitches in the needles but why such tremendous animosity towards these types of yarns. They aren't that expensive, they come in funky colors, they were very popular not to long ago.... wait, perhaps that is it. Perhaps it is knit overload when everyone they knew was asking for a scarf knit in these materials?

I mean, not that fun fur and eyelash is my favorite or anything, not that I want to receive it as a gift or anything or go out and buy tons of it, not that I could pass up on a recent sale of it when it was a $1 a ball in various lovely shades of striking colors, and not that I knit it every day but, I was just wondering why more than half of the knitters out there really thought of this as their least favorite yarn to knit with. Then again, not every knitter has a natural least favorite like me so they'd have to select something else.

Fast and Fun to Knit, Works for Me

Okay so I am still a novice knitter in most ways even though I learned to knit when I was 9/10 years old. I don't think I will ever knit socks since I think those needles are way too small for me cables are pretty but I can never remember those repeats and all that Intarsatia (I can't spell) or Fair Isle? I don't think so. Besides, any one ever hear of those fancy Irish or Scottish patterns knit it Cotton? Yeah right. I don't knit that often thanks to an over active almost 4 year old who loves to grab at my needles and pull at my yarn and has ruined more than one hank of extremely expensive yarn for my taste. Chenille no less that when it knots, it isn't pretty and it breaks. I bought little miss sunshine her own little Ball of yarn at the local dollar store but wouldn't you know little miss start parts knows the difference. At least the last ball of yarn she ruined was only $8.00 and a gift as opposed of her previous ball of $30. Shh, her father doesn't know that and I don't think he reads this blog.

So I have yarn in my baby collection (recently discovered I really don't have a collection at all but that is a different story) from $1.06 (that's PA tax for you) love a good Fun Fur sale to A Cherry Tree Hill Sale, around $12 a hank, to Blue Heron Chenille Retail $30. I do love this one yarn that is very chunky that knits up very quickly and I don't really care if little miss sunshine gets it all tangled because in the realm of things it isn't my most expensive yarn. Okay, it isn't the cheapest either it is one of the more expensive of the lesser expensive yarns. How is that for descriptive? My knitting group makes fun because the name of it is kind of funny of it is also descriptive, Thick and Quick. Well it works for me and I have used it to make hats, slippers, scarves in my Mom's blanket and now this hat and vest set. If I can use it quickly, Sunshine can't ruin it too badly and I can make stuff, it works for me.

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

I love swaps and I accidentally stumbled upon this fabulous knitting one called Knitter's Treat Exchange. So, of course I signed up for it. Here are the answers to my questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?
I LOVE Chenille yarns. Those in my knitting group would say I am addicted or obsessed to it, LOL. It is so soft and fluffy and when you rub it on your skin it feels so soft and comforting

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn? Any animal fiber yarn since it makes me itch and I am allergic

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop? Ask where the non-wool yarn is located. Then I obsess over all the gorgeous hand painted colorways that I can stare at but never touch :-(

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do? Soapmaking, painting, making chocolates, crafts with my kids

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to? Creative Knitting but I might pick up a copy of Vogue or interweave at my local bookstore if I am feeling especially needy that month

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference: Knitting/Other Craft/ Celebrity/ Gossip/ Food/ Fashion/ Home/ Garden/ Crochet (I don’t know how to crochet)

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet? I like to make things for my daughters; I just learned how to use circular needles (hooray!); learning to knit lace, hats for charities (Ships Project), slippers, washcloths for my soaps, whatever catches my fancy

8. Are you allergic to anything? Animal fiber yarn especially wool, lanolin, I don’t really use any animal based products just in case I might react to it, certain chemicals used in lotions like silicone, cats, cigarette smoke

9. What do you like to* smell of?(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of) Citrus, sweet like candy or fruit

10. What's your favourite way to relax? Knit, relax with a really good cup of coffee or herbal tea, that once in a blue moon soak in the tub

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first? Go to the Italian café.

12. What do you come out with? Get a really good cup of café con leche sit on the sidewalk with my knitting and watch the people walk by while I sit, drink and knit. Now, that would be ideal.

13. Where do you go next? Now this might be a toss up. I LOVE having a proper afternoon tea and have even taken my older daughter for an afternoon tea here where I live so, I might say the dainty tea room. However, I have a sweet spot for delicate decadent sweets so, I might say Victorian style sweetshop

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal? Since we didn’t get asked favourite colors, mine is any shade of purple (notice the purple, LOL) including lavender. I love chocolate but what woman doesn’t ;-) and I am very much looking forward to participating in this swap! (I hope who I get paired with someone who likes handmade soap......)

Deficiencies of a non Wool Knitter

I am doing one craft show this spring and it is a drop off type but you have to work one 4 hour shift. My shift was last night. I check out how my stuff was doing and it looked as if my soaps and potions were doing really well compared to the other two soap vendors Hooray!! I even got confirmation of this from the organizer of the show. Little victory dance for me.

Then I walked around to see what else was in the little shop. I also wanted to see if the little bird house, pink and purple, wind chime the Princess saw on Sunday when I set up was still there and it was so I set it aside at the cash register so I could pay for it when I left. Princess really wanted it, she was having a really good week and it wasn't too expensive.

Then I saw some beautiful bags out of the corner of my eye. I walked up to the rack and they were in various colors, shapes, and sizes. I obviously couldn't touch them. They looked so interesting. Not that I ever carry a pocketbook or anything. As I got closer I realized they were in fact felted. I have seen tons of patterns and books on felting. I have seen tons of blogs and web sites on felting but, I obviously have never felted. You can only felt, so I have been told, with wool and since I cannot knit with wool nor any animal fibers I cannot felt.

It looks so fascinating the way the materials just blend together, the way the colors intertwine but it will never happen for me. I was not meant to be a wool knitter nor a capable of felting. A shame too she was asking a minimum of $85 a bag!

Happy Anniverary Montco Sit and Knit!

My knitting group celebrated it's 2nd anniversary last night. We had quite the turnout too. I donated some sock patterns for door prizes since I don't knit socks and some roll on vanilla to the first 6 people to arrive. The group's organizer had solicited, collected and donated a few other door prized including some of my soaps and lotions that she had purchased recently. We had cake too. One member brought everyone daffodils since it was the first day of spring.

I love going to my group's meetings because I get to relax and knit for an extended period of time without a little miss interrupting. I won't be at the next meeting because of the holiday so I have to wait 4 weeks till the next one. I will have to try to squeeze knitting in some where.

Anyway, Happy Anniversary Sit and Knit! To another wonderful year of knitting together!!

Entrepreneurial Daughter

The Princess tells me this morning she has a lot of things on her wish list of things she wants to buy and she can't wait till her birthday which is in October. She needs to earn money to buy those things on her list and the money can't go into her Disney trip fund. I say Okay. She wants to know how she can earn money other than take care of Spyder her dog (who lives at grandma's house), clean her room and tidy up after Sunshine and herself. I asked, what can you do? She said, I can go into the family business. I said, Okay. This Spring I am really not doing too many craft shows but more party favors so she really doesn't have ample opportunity but I am doing a few this summer. She said, Okay. What do you want to make? I want to make some fancy glycerin soaps, she tells me. Okay, I said, like what? Well, she did make some very lovely spring soaps that are at a Craft boutique at the moment. So, I did tell her if any of those sell, she will get the money from those. She got very excited. She did make them even though her mom designed the label and wrapped them.

She told me she wants to make some peppermint-pine leaves, some candy smelling flowers and hearts, maybe some layered soaps and get some toys or bracelets to put in some soap. I though, how creative. She even told me she liked the smell of rose but I thought that was too much for her target audience of kids.

I told her when I do the shows, she has to go with me to sell her own soaps and what ever else she makes because it will be her items to sell and her money to make. She agreed and got very excited. Not sure if she knows what she got herself into. Not sure I know what I got myself into. Should be interesting.

The Truth Hurts

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and George W. Bush went to a fitness spa for some fun. After a stimulating, healthy lunch, all three decided to visit the men's room and they found a strange-looking gent sitting at the entrance.

He said, "Welcome to the gentlemen's room. Be sure to check out our newest feature, a mirror that, if you look into it and say something truthful, you will be rewarded with your wish.

But, be warned: if you say something FALSE, you will be sucked into the mirror to live in a void of nothingness for all eternity!"

The three men quickly entered and upon finding the mirror, Bill Clinton stepped up and said, "I think I'm the most intelligent of us three," and he suddenly found the keys to a brand new Bentley in his hands.

Al Gore stepped up and said, "I think I'm the most aware of the environmental problems of us three," and in an instant, he was surrounded by a pile of money to fund his next Presidential Campaign.

Excited over the possibility of finally having a wish come true, George W. Bush looked into the mirror and said, "I think...," and was promptly sucked into the mirror.

--------------------------

My Mom forwarded this to me. Isn't she funny?

Blanket Stripe Finished

I didn't need poking or prodding. I didn't need reminding. I didn't need phone calls. I didn't need everyone asking, "So, where is it?" and the summer rolling around and MJ going back to OJ empty handed without my blanket stripe but everyone else's and the nice ladies of the Ventnor knitting group wondering why they let me win such a lovely door prize (which it is). I FINISHED my blanket stripe!!. It does have a few little pattern glitches in it since a little over half of it was knit with little miss sunshine jumping on my back saying"mommy stop your knitting, come play with me" I wanted it knit before our next Sit and Knit meeting which is this Wednesday. I finished it last night. definitely turned out wider than i would have liked but it is definitely 24 inches long. Made with a very nice Lion brand Jiffy Yarn (it was all I had on had at the knit-in we went to in Ventnor, NJ). It actually took almost the entire skein of yarn too, which surprised me. The remains went into a baggie of extra yarn for my next scrap blanket that i may eventually get around to making.

Now, one to another project. Another hat in the round perhaps (boy do I love that new skill)

I could still pass High School, Thankfully

My brain, from being a SAHM, playing with kids all day, from not going to the work place and having what "the other side" might call a "real" job has yet to turn to mush. I still have it, LOL. I took a very simplistic quiz but still pass with flying colors. Yeah Me! I can still get A's in High School

You Passed High School with an A

You have the brains of a high school graduate... at least!

Could You Pass High School?

Snow in March?

You bet! Little Miss Sunshine (note the green coat, sorry, hand-me-down snow pants) had to go outside in it and decided to attempt to clean it up. She did fail miserably but at least she attempted. It is more than I can say for her father. I really can't fault her for wanting to go outside. I had told her father that if it looked really bad out, then to get a hotel room near work and just stay near there or he has a friend that lives close to work (about 5 minutes from work) crash on her couch instead of attempting to make it home. We live half an hour from where he works on a good, no traffic day. In a bad day or snow filled day it can get pretty bad. Plus we live off of 2 hills. He could not get his 20 plus year old heap of junk of a car in our driveway. So, I went out to help him attempt #1 to get it in but, of course, I was useless. So, smart man that he is, drove it further down the hill and tried to go around where he got even more stuck. Now he insisted I get both girls dressed in their snow gear, drag their little fannies outside so that we could help push his car to gosh knows where in attempt #2 and 3. By the time I found all their gear, got them shoved into all of it, I guess he realized how ridiculous all that sounded. He left his car at the bottom of the hill on our street and was back in the house. Princess was all to eager to take everything off but Little Miss Sunshine was like you shoved me in this stuff now I am getting good use out of it. So outside She and I went. Hubby left the shovel outside from when he tried to dig the snow from under his car so she picked it up and tried to shovel the walkway. It was so cute. She got extra treats last night for being a real trooper.

BTW, those white dots in the picture are snow and ice still falling. Not my poor picture taking which is usually the case.

Green Day

Little Miss Sunshine's favorite color is green, in fact, her favorite shade is lime green. We got a note home from her preschool that they would be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in her class at preschool today and to please wear green. You don't have to twist her arm twice to wear green. Off she went to school wearing her green dress, black leggings, lime green socks, and green sparkle shoes.

I had to speak to the director for the school for some reason or another and she told me that Miss Sunshine was in all her glory with all the green and loving life. In fact she is calling it Shammrock green now and painted up a bunch of them for everyone.

A shame we aren't really Irish but someone told me we are all a little Irish on St. Patrick's day. So, I guess little Miss Sunshine can enjoy her green day and enjoy it.

New Knitting Mentor!

Yesterday as I was designing and printing labels for all my goodies for this weekend there was a lot of downtime as it takes a while for the labels to come out of the printer I did some web surfing. I discovered a new book called "No Sheep For You" The name itself intrigued me. Hmm, no sheep, did this mean what I thought it meant? No wool? Or was it a play on words? I have read most of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee 's books and although I find her very funny and I can relate to some of what she writes, she does push woolie items on people all the time and doesn't understand anyone not obsessed with wool and with me being allergic to wool and other animal fibers I cringe at this prospect.

So here I am reading this title "No Sheep For You" by Interweave Press and find myself having to find out what this book is about.

"Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo, and Other Delights by Amy R. Singer

In a world where sheep-based knitting is the norm, do you feel left out? ......This how-to guide will teach you all about non-wool yarns, focusing on plant fibers including cotton, linen, hemp, soy, bamboo, Tencel, rayon, the new synthetics and more, plus the most delicious non-wool of all: silk. Learn why each fiber behaves the way it does, how to make it do what you want it to do, and when it’s time to try something else instead. This wild world of fibers is accompanied by 22 classic and wearable patterns for socks, scarves, hats, shawls, sweaters, vests, and bags—all created with fibers that never had four legs.

An entire chapter is devoted to tips and tricks that save time and money. Learn the inside scoop that will enable you to get the look of wool in your knitting while using the fibers you prefer. ....Take your knitting to the next level with No Sheep for You. " http://www.interweave.com/knit/books/No_Sheep/about.asp

WOW I need to buy this book. It is on order. I need to meet Amy Singer. She is coming to my neck of the woods in August. I have found a knitting author/expert I can look up to that knits with my kind of fiber (although I don't use silk because that comes from the tushies from bugs)

Mmmm Shea Butter

I made Shea Butter tins today. Bulgarian lavender and unscented in 2 oz tins and labeled them. That is pretty much all I really need to say if you have ever used Shea butter before. If you haven't, you really should. It is so soft and so smooth and feels so good on your skin. It is great on your face, lips, arms, elbows, belly and legs. Just about every where.

Shea butter has literally been used for over a thousand years. It can be used "as is" or for the protection and care of skin cracked and dehydrated by the elements. Shea is extremely moisturizing and gentle to the skin. It is obtained from the seed of the Karite Tree (Butyrospermum Parkii) common to West Africa so don't let anyone ever tell you it is from the States.

Me personally, I love it when I finish a container because I get to stick my hands into the remains of a container, like I did today. My hands were so soft all day. I was a happy camper.

Back to Reality

I have a week long craft show where the drop off is this weekend so, back to reality for me. If you'd like to see my soap goodies and want something to do starting Tuesday a sampling of my soap goodies and other tidbits will be at the Spring Craft Boutique from March 20 - 25 weekdays 10-9; Saturday and Sunday 10-5 at 181 Park Avenue, Chalfont, PA

Little Miss Sunshine helped me make some Dead Sea Bath Salts and some Hawaiian and Sea Kelp Bath Soak today. She loved mushing the sealed bags to blend the mixtures and kept smelling the peppermint and Rosemary oils and saying, "Mommy, that is so delicious!"

I decided to go with just some of my Goat's Milk Lotion since it has been very dry and it is my most moisturizing lotion (and I do so love the scent)

I made and put on some of my Aunt Harriet's Madagascar Vanilla on my lips. It is soooo smooth and yummy. I just love those little roll on bottles. they are so cute and smooth on the lips. How do people not just love these things?

We have a couple more things on our to do list, like make some cute toy soaps that are seasonal. Perhaps flowers, or bunnies, little ducks or something like that. Of course last but not least labels, labels, labels

What a Great Weekend!

First I have to say, what a great weekend away! I can't wait till next years weekend! Even though I only got to stay from friday afternoon till after dinner on Saturday, it was very relaxing, I got a ton of knitting in, went to my first "knit-in" won a terrific door prize, went yarn shopping and was in terrific company of some great knitting friends.

I learned how to knit in the round with circular needles and finishing off with double pointed needles, neither of which I had never done before. I made a very cute yellow hat which I originally intended for me but you know that never happens. As soon as I got home ans showed it to the princesses she decided it was for her even though it is not her color and appropriated itI combined about three different patterns and changed the yarn to make it because I can't just make a pattern straight from a sheet. Then it wouldn't be me now would it?

I made a promise to finish a blanket 24 inch stripe for the knit-in but then I think I want to try another seamless hat.

Away for the Weekend

I am going away for the weekend (well coming back Saturday night (without the hubby or the girls)! The picture roughly shows the view from the street where the house the knitting club rented (I got it off google) A winter escape to the beach.

I will be away with no responsibilities, no place I need to be, no worries. At least for about 30 hours. Probably not enough time but, it will have to do.

I took one project I have been dying to try. Something using circular needles where I will have to join them which I have never done. I also took a bunch of simple mindless projects that I should do to have for quick gifts and to widdle down my stash and that don't make me think too much. Those will be great for relaxation.

I will definitely miss the girls but I need the break.

Babies!!!

I am so excited!!! A very good friend of mine just emailed me to tell me she is expecting!! I am so happy for her. She is a little bit older and waited a little bit for her prince charming so I am so happy that they are expecting a little prince or princess so soon. Also gives me the opportunity to live vicariously through another friend

This makes two of my close friends who are pregnant this year. For someone who wanted a very larger family for so long, I am okay with just living vicariously through others. I look at my Princess and my little Sunshine and am very happy with what I have. They both give me great joy (and heartache) every day. I love watching them both grow up and watching them both develop into young ladies. I am not sure I could go through the whole baby thing all over again.

Anyway, I am very happy for both my friends who are having babies. One will get to experience having a third child and one will get to experience having her first and all that comes with it. I can be there for both. For the one having her third I can be there to watch the older two, help her out when she needs a helping hand and be an adult she can speak with when she needs one. To the one who is having her first I can be there for her when she has questions, concerns and just be there when she needs to talk to someone but not give too much advice because, she does need to enjoy her first experience as well.

I need to go an look at all those baby patterns I flip past. Little baby patterns are so much easier to knit and I now have a few reasons to make them :-)

Things I would like to knit when I find the time

I definitely have the yarn in my stash, the patterns in my library, I just need to find the time to knit them and the patience to sit. oh and getting little miss sunshine to not try to pull out my needles or unravel my yarn. Please do not tell me I have to wait till she is in school full days or off to college (eek!) As soon as she seems to see me pull out the yarn, she has to attack me or it. Poor me. Poor yarn!



Baby Poncho

I know a few people having babies this year. I can either get them store bought gifts, make baby blankets, I have one or three made already, or make cute ponchos out of different yarn than shown here but you can get the idea.



The Good Guest Dress

The Princess saw this in one of my new pattern books and fell in love with it. She selected a yarn for it from one of my splurges and keeps asking when am I making it for her. I distracted her with a sweater in the meantime since this is slightly a bit more complex than I am used to knitting and will take longer than I am used to as well. She did pick a yearn that I won't need to strip like this but will have the same shaping at least. Maybe she will get lucky and have it for 1st grade.



I have had the yarn for something like this shawl for my Mom for almost a year now. I am still not 100% set on a pattern yet. I did finally get the yarn wound into balls but, I am not crazy over any pattern for lace. Then once I knit it, will I be willing to hand something I painstakingly knitted over to my Mother? I am pretty sure I will be able to since it is my Mother of course, the woman who raised me, puts up with all my complaining, pains, cries with me, and all my joys and happiness. She deserves it of course. I guess that is why I can't settle on anything. Nothing would be perfect enough for her.

Now to find the time

How Rare Is Your Personality? and Could You Pass 8th Grade Spanish?

I have taken the full Myers Brigg and this short quiz came close but not quite....

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Had to take another one....

You Passed 8th Grade Spanish

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct! There is a shocker

Could You Pass 8th Grade Spanish?

Moonlight Madness

I went last night with a good friend of mine who scrapbooks to AC Moore's Moonlight Madness sale. It is a great concept. The leave the store open late on a Sunday night and put everything on 25% off sale but everything is only on sale between 6 - 9 PM.

I needed some needles for 2 projects I intend to do this year so I went. Notice I said this year instead of this month, this season, this week. I am beginning to learn my limitations. Anyway, the needles rarely ever go on sale so I figure a 25% off is better than nothing. I was very good. I only bought the 2 different needles I needed for the two projects I am pretty sure I am doing. Since I am finishing a sweater for princess, I need to make something for sunshine so one set is for her. The other is for a at least one throw, perhaps two.

Then I was very good. Since princess is crafty and she asked for a few things and had been sick I bought her a couple of pens for her scrapbooking and some floam. That is it. No yarn. No craft projects for the girls. No extra goodies I didn't need. I did look to see if that had Lion brands new organic cotton that I have been eyeing up but, they didn't. It might have been my one exception. they didn't have it, I didn't buy anything to replace it. There were women there with carts of yarn. Some with Homespun which comes in the most lovely shades of colorways and huge skeins and I HATE to knit with it. I almost said something but, I didn't. Some people might like it. It is very inexpensive. Just like some knitters don't like to knit with fun fur and I happen to think it is, well, fun and comes out looking very fluffy. There are others who can't stand it.

Well, at least I got my wooden circular needles on sale. I finally did one project using circulars so hopefully I won't shy away from them this time. Besides, I got them on sale at an AC Moore moonlight madness sale. What could be better?

Quick Scarf Give Away

I needed a quick gift to give away so I knited this scarf up. Some knitters are afraid of the fancy/fun furs. I love them. they tend to knit up very fast on bigger needles and look like they took a long time and that it was complicated but it really isn't. The owner loves her gift and i was happy to make it for her.

It's Time to Make The Lotion

One of my favorite shows is coming up very soon, in fact, how did it get to be March already?!!? I like it because it is several days long, I do not have to be there every day and the customers have great taste (they buy my goodies, LOL). I start making soap for the show as soon as the holiday rush is over. With soap, it is better to have it sit longer. The longer it "airs" or cures, the better it is. Like a fine wine one of my soap mentors once told me, a soap has a best if you wait age and a good handmade soap is better if you wait at least 4 - 6 weeks before using it.

Lotion, on the other hand, is better made fresh and used fresh. Therefore, I wait till very close to the show to make it because I want it to be as fresh as possible. I guess it is time.

I LOVE making lotion. Measuring out all the ingredients, the feel of the Shea butter and olive oil, watching what happens when you mix the oils and water phases together and amazed every time when it turns white and then deciding what scents to use for the season. It is kind of like a kid in a candy store. I stand in my "work room" smelling all the bottles, making little samples up, mixing and matching. At least I now stick with the same lotion recipe but every once in a while you might catch a lotion special on my web site.

I think this year feels a tropical year. Perhaps I will go back to coconut, mango coconut and my more tropical scents. Then again, I did get some nice fruity scents. Oh the decisions. i guess you will just have to wait and see.

Where to Find the Time?

I seriously do not know where I am to find the time. I was so happy a few years ago when I found my old knitting needles in my Mom's house when I was cleaning out my old drawers. I was even happier when I discovered I remembered how to knit. A few quick searches and I could cast on, purl and bind off. I was set. I'd knit when the kids were sleeping or playing. I'd knit on the weekends or I even found a wonderful group that meets every other week around the corner practically and my MIL said she'd watch the girls for me. Not a problem. The girls didn't touch my knitting. All was fine and dandy for several months.

Then little miss lump of clay turned into crazy monkey jumping around everywhere, touching everything and OH THE HORROR pulling my needles off the yarn and UNRAVELLING my yarn. Not only was it driving me nuts but also some of my knitting buddies as well. Okay, so, I can only knit when she isn't around. Okay fine. She does settle down every so often and she is in preschool now. There is a huge however. I also have to do tons of other things when she isn't home or when she has these calm spells. Oh and don't suggest when she sleeps because little miss sunshine hardly ever sleeps. Even at night. She checks up on me. I think to make sure I am not knitting or something.

This is why sometimes it takes me forever to knit something. Where do I find the time? I am knitting a lace scarf (see previous posting) and it is probably at the same point it was before because I can barely get through one 4 row repeat when she finds me and I have to stop.

I can research all the yarn, patterns and books I want but to do the actual knitting is a little tricky. Perhaps next year I will have her in school longer. Just kidding.