Something new...

Well, I got up early, and decided that I should change the look of the blog-ya know- new year, new look- and I had heard that the new blogger is easier to use. Okay, I am basically an idiot when it comes to all things techno-but I DID manage to change some things around. I am not sure how to get everything over to the new look, but I am working on it.
On to other news-Robyn, over at Red Bird Knits (http://www.redbirdknits.com/) is having a terrific sale. Fleece Artist, sock yarn, lace weight, Colinette, all kinds of lovely and beautiful stuff-go on. I'll wait. Go and look. And yes, I made a small order. And hmm-what else? Oh yes- Big Blue is definitely going to be a vest. I have tried all kinds of sleeves on it-hate them all-so vest it is. And Annie and Bear were out frolicking in the snow yesterday- I will try to get pics up today. Man, they had fun!

just...stuff

Right now I am working like mad on a scarf for a co worker. Actually, the co worker has commissioned the thing, and wants it for the first day back in January. Soooooooo- I am working on it, although I would really really rather work on my own knitting. It will be nice- grey cashmere, ruffle, small cable rib on the body-I will try to take pictures when I finish, maybe even write up the pattern for it.
I had ordered a vest kit quite some time ago, as a Christmas present to me- and it came on the Thursday before Christmas. It is the Celtic Vest from Fleece Artist. I ordered it from Rochelle, at Grand River Yarns (here- http://www.grandriveryarns.com/index.htm ). She is great to order from- you should see the 20 dollar scarf kits from Fleece Artist- way cool. Anyhow, I ordered the kit in "Origin" colourway- very similar to the swatch- more burgundy/brown in it-but very nice. I also ordered the pin to go with it- it is a pewter circle with a wooden stick through it. Good prices, and very easy to deal with.

I would like to start on it as soon as I finish up the purple Manos and take the sleeves off Big Blue. Yep. You heard it first. Big Blue is now going to be a vest- I just couldn't settle on sleeves-it seemed every sleeve I put on it looked odd. I am also going to change the buttons- I have some Mission Falls buttons that I like, so I will be changing the Fimo buttons that are on it now to some burnt bone ones.

We went to the in laws yesterday- wait until you see the quilt my mother in law made! Holy Cow!!!!! I will try to get a picture of it in the next few days-just wait until you see it. Apparently, it will go into a quilt show in the early fall (I hope to God I don't get anything on it before then!)

First things first.....

I trust everyone had a lovely Christmas- we certainly did-more later. But first of all-a big thank you to my oh so wonderful Secret Pal!

She is soo soooooooooo soooooooo good to me- she is currently newly pregnant, and still manages to get things to me (hey- don't you remember those lovely morning sickness days?) And here is what I got just before Christmas (sorry the thank you is late- technical problems)-But look at the beautiful gift! The lovely variegated looks to be a hand dyed worsted weight-lovely burgundies and roses with ivories and taupes (LOVE it)- 5 skeins to boot!. And two skeins of Peruvian Highland Wool- rich rust and olive- I have been wanting to try this stuff- wow- is it soft! And chunky Misti Alpaca-in a soft rust- oh my- buttery soft (maybe a hat?) And that lovely skein of Regia Silk Color? It did come in a ball-but the Bear thought, well, it WAS a ball, and got excited, and then thought it was fun to pull it all apart (bad dog). So now it is a rewound skein . And Bear has had a rather stern "talking to" about this bad habit. He said he was truly sorry (you should have seen how he can change his expression to look oh so sad). And what else- oh yes- two packets of Chai Tea Latte mix (yum!) Thank you, Secret Pal- you have chosen wonderful, beautiful, and very appropriate gifts for me- I love them all!

And my little one- sang her heart out in her solo at the Winter Concert (yeah, I am pretty proud of her) She said she was nervous, but she was just great!

And Bear/Forest? He has discovered the fun of Christmas presents- here he is just about to open his new Grunt (a furry hedgehog).

And here are the two of them, after everything was opened.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

and the day is almost over........

God bless us everyone........................................

Oh dear God....

It truly IS the 21st, right? And I haven't finished my shopping- I don't even have the tree up (too afraid the dog will eat it- he has had some issues about eating things that I don't consider are usually edible) Oh dear God, I gotta get the lead out- I wonder how many hours I can cut off sleeping in order to be ready??????????????????????

Number one daughter has a solo!!!!!!

I am going to the concert tonight- my daughter has a solo-I got the gingerbread houses made-will try to get a picture or two- more later..........................................................

Poodle Is as Poodle Does.......

We have decided that we need to rename our sweet poodle. He has had quite a history with names. His first name, from his first owner, was TUG. Hmm I said- how's that? Apparently, this owner was hearing impaired,and she had hoped that this guy would be a helper for him, and, as the story goes, that little puppy tugged at her heart strings, so Tug he became. But alas, she got very very sick, was unable to care for him any longer (or for herself, apparently) and Tug had to move on (at the ripe old age of 10 months). The next owner wished for Tug to become her helper (she was disabled) and so his name needed to be changed- because Tug is a command that is used doors need to be opened, or cupboards or whatever. So he became Bear-actually Care Bear-and learned to answer to that one, sort of. I guess he stayed in a kennel for 2 months. And then we got him (at the age of 13 months). He was a bit wild, not quite house trained, but truly loving and beautiful. At the time, Sean and I both felt Care Bear wasn't quite the right name for him, but felt unsure about changing his name on him again. So we shortened it to Bear (actually, we call him Bear Bear when we want to get his attention). But now that we know the beastie better, and he has become much more comfortable with us (that took quite awhile)-we have discovered that he has the personality of Forest Gump. Yup, my big white poodlehead is a Gumpster. And when he runs- legs akimbo, truly determined, as fast as the wind-he reminds me of that scene when Forest loses his leg braces. And he shares many of the other characteristics. He is guileless. And sweet. And gentle.

Life is just a box of chocolates.

I have been working on my Christmas knitting, and a wee bit on my own personal knitting (I just couldn't help myself!!!!) And painting the stage set for the Winter Concert, or Holiday Celebration, or whatever they are calling the Christmas concert these days. And also managing the building of about 27 gingerbread houses (my class project). Yeah, should have rethought that maybe.

Work

Sometimes, I go to work (I am a teacher) and I think-oh man-why oh why am I doing this to myself? But there are more days when I say to myself-gee-this is a great way to make money. But I like to believe that when a parent entrusts their child to me for 6 1/2 hours everyday for about what? 190 days of the year, that the child is safe. So my heart goes out to that school in Prescott (I think I got the town right)-an 8 year old boy was killed when some tables fell on him. At school. My daughter is 8 and I know what 8 year olds can get into. But what the hell happened here? Little boys are not supposed to go to school and then not come home. This time of the year, there are a whole lotta things going on at schools, and kids are perhaps a bit rangier than usual. But what happened? We may never know, of course, but oh my. That poor family. That poor school. So tragic.

How many projects can you have at one time????

Oh man- dis-satisfaction has hit again- I have Christmas presents to finish (not many this time- finish a second mitten, half of a short scarf, and one fingerless glove). But OOOOOHHHH I want to knit my purple sweater. And this green one that I started, but made a mistake in-I sent it to its room for awhile to let it rethink the error of its ways. And work is CRAZY. The Christmas concert (or the "Winter Holiday Celebration") is next week, and they want a backdrop-want me to paint it, and I still have to work full time!!!! So- I suggested that I need time away from my class to paint. Oh yeah- no problem. But when I suggest times, there seems to BE a problem. Oh- I just want to knit........to be fed peeled grapes by a (ahem) (add correct fantasy figure here).....and maybe some of those President's Choice chocolate truffles.......la la la la....I'm losing it, yes I ammmmmmmmmmm..........

Later- Yes, I switched to some new fangled version of Blogger- and got the post 4 times. Instead of the one time it showed. Seems the gremlins are at work.

A Public Thank you

I have been knitting for quite a long time. And I really love it. And I am proud of my ability to knit all kinds of things (some successfully, and some, well, we won't talk about those). I have also been tweaking and designing for myself (and others, but mostly me). And when Knitty (http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/index.html ) first came up, it really got me curious about whether or not I could design well enough to make other people want to knit what I saw. And Amy Singer and her team thought, yes, I did. I have 2 designs in knitty.com. And then one in "Big Girl Knits". And now, there is another one coming out in "No Sheep For You" (in the early spring, I believe). And, because I knit a little baby bikini in Knitty (in leopard print, no less), Vickie Howell emailed me and asked for a design, and next thing I know-she published one of my ideas in "New Knits on the Block"! But I never would have had the guts to do any of this if Amy Singer had not started up her knitting magazine. And got me going in this direction.
So-here it is-
Thank You, Amy Singer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How many more sleeps until little reindeer hoof prints????

This is what my backyard looked like early this morning. What is it about snowfall that makes me want to hunker down and knit like crazy? I have the back and one front done on the purple sweater. I have modified the front-it called for 6 ruffles (actually more like double inverted pleats with a little bobble at the top of the pleat) (very nice and tailored looking). But 6 pleats across my hips. Oh good Lord no. We don't want to be scaring the little children, doncha know. So I cut it down to one pleat on either side of the front, and instead of a boxy sweater (no shaping) I put in an a-line shaping from the bobble up. I think it will look very smart. And I just want to get into my jammies, with a pot of decaf coffee, and knit like a fiend with a good movie, or Stargate reruns, or something good on the tube. And not go to work. (Grade 6/7 kids are fun, but new snow and Christmas make them a little unpredictable).
PS- Bear wasn't too sure he was going to like this new white stuff (he was just a little puppy last year, and I don't think he remembers too much about snow). So he finally went out, and had a little poke or two, and then a giant crazy poodle head romp!

My SP9 Contest

We were asked to write about our favourite recipe. Tough one- I have a lot of favourites-I really do. I love to cook. And I came from a long line of cooks, as well-both my mother and my grandmother-excellent cooks. In fact, when I was in university, I heard about a rather tony restaurant requiring a pastry chef for the summer. Well, honestly- I had been baking since I was about 8 or 9, so I knew my way around a stove-so I applied. And, when that part came to say why I was the best candidate for the job, I was prepared. I had cooked some of my favourite desserts! Black chocolate cheesecake (with a solid dark chocolate crust, and a surprise white chocolate ganache layer) and lemon blueberry cipote(it's a French Canadian thing-sort of a deep dish pie)- rich, syrupy blueberries (wild ones, mind- not those farmed ones) with lots of lemon peel and a dash of sugar in a regular bottom crust-but with a sour cream puff pastry topping-with crystals of sugar over the top and cream puffs-tiny little ones with spun sugar wrapped round and round them, filled with pastry cream (made with fresh cream and half a vanilla bean). Well, I got the job. I still cook, but it took me years to make cheesecake again (that was one of my "jobs" in that kitchen). And it took me quite some time to want to cook anything fancy. But my all time favourite? Hmmm-it's something I have never made myself. Every New Year's, my mother makes this jello mold thing-in a loaf pan-red and pears in one layer, green and pineapple in the other, and the middle layer is pineapple juice and dream whip. I LOVE it- but only for New Year's Day. She didn't make it last New Year's, and I really felt something was missing. I have never eaten it any other day-it is just the tradition of it. Like my birthday cake is always graham cracker crumb cake with raspberry jam filling and sea foam icing. I have had the same cake, every year, since I was about 8. So I guess my favourites have to do with my mom. She's pretty cool for a 77 year old. (yeah, she'll shoot me when she finds out I told her age! She has been 39 for a really long time). BUt that is the reason why those recipes are special.