Nothing like a double stranded wool hat….ready for the summer! This is one of the projects I recently finished. Iin my quest to get back into knitting and crocheting, I wanted to finish projects I started and put down. This was started over a year ago.
I used Lion Wool (from Lion Brand) and knit it double stranded. The colorwork is from the Vermont design in the book Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 3: Color Knitting. I CO 84 stitches and then worked in 2×2 rib for a couple of inches.
I have decided to resume blogging again. I am knitting, crocheting, and designing again. I am back! I don’t know how frequent my blogging will be…so bear with me. Also, I have lost my domain name….so I can either reinvent one or just use the wordpress one. I haven’t decided.
Just because I stopped blogging, doesn’t mean I stopped reading blogs.
A lot of personal craziness has happened in the past 9 months that I would love to share with some of you, but am not comfortable posting all the details of it for all of the internet to see.
I will just say that this year has probably been one of the hardest, most challenging years for Tony and I. I got a job, lost a job, gained friends, lost friends, Tony lost his father, I had my purse stolen, and we both have had to deal with identity theft.
On the plus side, my kids are healthy and happy and we have been looking to find the positive around us.
So…back to what I love to do…my fiber arts:
I have designed something for the home. It is crochet and I think it is Publish Worthy. So, should I self publish? Should I try to get it into a magazine? Does anyone know any books looking for patterns?
I want to take a picture of it so bad and post it…but I know that if I am going to get it published somewhere I need to keep it to myself.
Yep, it is pretty darn silent around here. With both kids in school it is weird. For the past 7+ years there has been some type of kid noise in this house, practically 24/7. Now every day I will have 3 hours of pure silence. Even the husband is taking it in…sleeping style. Nothing goes better with a little afternoon silence than an afternoon nap.
I didn’t get the job I was interviewed for last week. It was such a hard let down. I felt so confident about the interview, especially with both people telling me “good answer” each time they asked a question. Unfortunately they gave the job to someone with more health care experience. It was just a school health clerk position, I am pretty sure anyone with substantial health care experience isn’t going to settle for a 4 hour a day job (a few bucks over minimum) with no benefits. Though…it would have been perfect for me.
So I am now applying for more “would be perfect” jobs, and crossing my fingers that I at least get an interview. It is disappointing to get notified by email that I didn’t get a job, when I didn’t even get an interview for the job.
A little voice is telling me I need to rewrite me resume or something. Tony tells me there is just a exceedingly large job pool here, and he is right. This county has a huge unemployment rate, apparently it is the 6th worst in the state of California. So, it really isn’t me…it just is what it is. On top of that, I am returning to the job market from being a mom…and…I don’t speak fluent Spanish, which is a big deal in my area. Perhaps I need to invest in Rosetta Stone.
Soy…I mean so, I was knitting with Tofutsies, which is suppose to be odor resistant…and well, it stinks. The first sock doesn’t have a smell. The second sock though has this odor that is strong (like burns the nose hairs strong.) I can’t place the odor. It isn’t a fishy smell and it isn’t a poop type smell (thank goodness.) It is a strong odor and it bothers me. My sniffer is a super sniffer though. Tony can’t smell it. The kids can.
I do have to say though that I really like this yarn. It has a really nice drape to it and when I put the sock on my foot is nice and warm and perfect.
I am sensitive to smells and almost can’t tolerate candles. I can’t tolerate the stores that have a large amount of candles. I can’t tolerate any kitchen counter cleaner. Tony bought Lysol 4 in 1, GAG!! Oh, it is so gross. I can barely tolerate the Clorox Green. It has almost a “pure” lemon scent, but Tony doesn’t think it cleans good enough.
I had a job interview today and it went really well. Of course, replaying it I can always think of things I could have answered better. However, overall I think I was a star. I had them telling me, “good response.” That is a good sign, right? I am staying positive. I really need this and the hours are PERFECT for me! I can get the kids to school and make it back with plenty of time before picking up and can still do Girl Scouts.
That would be the name of my newest invention….if only I knew the magic formula. Kool-Aid and renter’s “white” carpet just don’t mix. After some research I found out the only way to reduce the stain is this:
1. Wet stain with warm soapy water.
2. Lay down absorptive cotton towel (or old flannel baby blanket.) I thought those tea towes work the best.
3. Put your iron on steam setting and iron over the top of the towel. It pulls the warm soapy water and stain into the towel.
Repeat steps 1-3 until stain is gone…in my case it was never completely gone, but it went from bright red Kool-Aid stain to barely noticeable stain.
We have been watching the Olympics and have been enjoying it. Sierra has enjoyed it the most. She is at the perfect age (7) and is just soaking up the whole cultural aspect of it. She loved the opening ceremony, watched the whole thing again this morning (we have it taped in the DVR.) She was impressed that the Chinese invented paper and the kite. Of course, really impressed with the girls that were in the ceremony, the singer, the piano player, and the one flying with the kite. Who wouldn’t want to be any of those girls?
She announced today that she wants to be in the Olympics. Tony told her she needed to be good at a sport. At which she declared it would be….Swimming. So, we will see. Wait until she sees Women’s diving and Women’s gymnastics (my favorites!) Oh…and synchronized swimming. What little girl hasn’t pretended she was a synchonized swimmer?
Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have an interview on Thursday. 
Apparantly, they now sell yarn at Target. I don’t know if this is limited to online only or if they actually have yarn in the store. I know this isn’t new as at one time they sold yarn in their dollar bins. They actually look like they are building a small selection. They aren’t limited to yarn, though. They even have knitting needles and roving too…as well as all sorts or needle felting supplies. In my opinion, if they are going to sell yarn, they might as well carry a full selection and not tidbits of something here and there. Perhaps this is the beginning…
A few weeks ago I knit a couple of hats for my grandmother. Here are two of them. I have since made her one more and have more to make. She had brain surgery at the end of the spring. She started to do well, then got a staph infection in her brain. They had to go back in and remove infected bone. She almost didn’t make it. She did make it and is doing well now. I enjoy making hats for her.
Pattern: Shedir (Warning .pdf file)
Yarn: Berroco Love It (very comparable to Rowan Calmer)
ps…I really do “love it” when it comes to this yarn.
Pattern: Crochet Me – Gulf Shores Hat
Yarn: Kitchen cotton – like what you find at walmart.
This was an EASY pattern! I have made two of them and will make more.
Patterns:
Hat: Berry Baby Hat
Cardigan: Eyelet Yoke Cardigan
Bootees: Saartje’s Bootees
Yarn: Little Lehigh DK – It’s a Girl
contrast: Red Heart Care Free Cotton – Kiwi
I bought these buttons at walmart. It is hard to see the detail of the roses on the far away picture so I cropped the button so you can see a close up.
This baby layette is going to my friend Krista. She had a gorgeous baby girl about 3 months ago. (I don’t know or think she reads my blog.) If she does…Surprise…ha ha. I will be sending this out sometime this week. I need to buy a nice card first. Knitting this really gave me the baby bug. Seriously.
Something shocking has happened to an exboyfriend from my past. It was tragic and I suppose finally puts closure on my past. I am just still finding it hard to digest the news. I know I am being all secretive, but if you want to know, just email me. I just can’t post the details here.
I have been needing to come here to update my blog. I have some finished items I will post later this week, a few hats and a really cute baby set. This summer is just wizzing by.
In the Job Front:
I am madly applying for jobs so that we can get caught up in our bills. It is just getting harder for us with everything being more expensive. I can’t stand to read anything news related that makes it sound like these harder times are in our heads…they aren’t. They are here. I know for a fact I pay more for electricity to cool my house this summer then last summer. We pay a lot more for gas. Food is more expensive. Hello, have you noticed the price of milk is not that much cheaper than gas? We aren’t getting that from the middle east, either. What is up with that? I have been trying not to be too personal, but I think I am safe by saying that my husband’s raise this year didn’t even cover the cost of living increase. Heck, they raised health insurance again and it didn’t even cover that. So he is making less this year than last year and everything is more expensive.
The sad fact is I am taking off my school hat and am replacing it with my work hat. It is hard to get a job when you have been out of the work force for awhile. I have been trying to get a job within the local school districts as a paraprofessional, health tech, or some type of school clerc/secretary. Keep you fingers crossed for me, okay? We really need it.
In the Garden news:
My tomatos have been growing like crazy. The plants are huge! I don’t have as many tomatos as last year, but I have big plants. I am thinking I will have some late crops. I haven’t had any ripe enough to eat. I can almost harvest a small handful off of my cherry tomato plant.
I had a mystery in my garden, in the tomatos. I had been seeing these charcoal black pellets showing up under leaves, on leaves, and on the ground. I could not understand what it was. Was it coming from the tree above? Was it a type of mold? Was it poop from a bug?
Well, it was the latter, and the bug was giant horned tomato worms. I stood out in my garden on Sunday with a friend, trying to solve this mystery. When all of a sudden I saw one. The plump green thing was dangling from a leaf. It grossed me out. I swear I almost threw up in my mouth. I don’t know why. Maybe it is watching too many Fear Factors or Bear Grylls episodes. It isn’t like someone was going to force me to eat it, but it had a high ick factor. My friend though is fearless. She is a science teacher and thought it was cool. She helped me “pick” them and kill them. I had 5 on Sunday and found 1 today. I am sure there are more out there, but I have HUGE tomato plants so for me they are hard to find. One mystery has been solved.
My zucchini plant and yellow crook neck squash are another story. They flower, start to fruit but then die. Sometimes the flowers just die. I don’t know what is up with them. Last year I had a bumper crop. My dad went out and had a look at them and told me the plants looked healthy and good. He doesn’t know why they aren’t fruiting either. Perhaps they aren’t getting polinated, I don’t know. I am going to give them another week and then I will have to take matters (polination) into my own hands.
We went to the County Fair on Saturday. It was fun. The best part for me was finding a small group of local spinners sitting and spinning in one of the exhibits areas. I have been wanting to connect with them for awhile, so it was good to finally meet them. I got some good insight on how to clean this llama fiber that was given to me last summer. I enjoyed the fair. I love seeing the exhibits. I am always amazed by the artwork. I saw some really nice quilts. I laughed at the knitted fun fur hats that I could make with my eyes closed. I am always reminded that I need to enter something in the fair. Too little, too late!
The kids are healthy and Tony and I are doing pretty good, too. I was proud of Sierra today. In swim lessons she jumped way out off the diving board past her instructors and swam by herself to the edge of the pool. This is a girl that didn’t pass swim lessons a few weeks ago. This is her last week of lessons and I am hopeful she will pass. She starts 2nd grade on the 18th. Madeleine starts preschool on the 4th. Oh, man, that is next week. Time sure does fly. Summer days, indeed!
Last week was an emotionally stressed week. Tony’s mother passed away. We drove ASAP to Washington last week and made it in time to see her. The week was very surreal and we are still trying to process it all. I find myself getting upset at little things and it is hard to try to pick up my life where I had left it. Oh, and *oops* I forgot to pay the bills last week. (Not like I had the money to do it, either.)
One day at a time, though, right?
It makes things like my Options needle breaking not seem so bad. (Or any of the other misc. sucky things that have happened over the last week.)
The one thing that really helped Tony through all of this was his family. It was wonderful to see all of them, it had been awhile. We brought the kids with us as well. Tony and I realized that even the “parenting” of them wasn’t so bad as it took our minds away from the present.
I think it has really made me re-evaluate my life and the things I find important and to really pursue the things I want.
I don’t think I want to talk about her passing as it really is a private thing for Tony’s family. I do want to say that I love her and miss her. I am deeply saddened that my children barely got to know her and am hoping that they will cherish memories of her. I hope that Tony’s father can move on.
I am starting my garden late this year. I just couldn’t find the time and wasn’t feeling well enough at times to go out and weed my planter box. I have almost half of it done now, worked my butt off (I mean back off) yesterday. Today I am finishing it up. I bought my plants (already started by Home Depot) and will plant them today. I decided it was better to have a late garden one that may or may not be bountiful then no garden.
However, last year I had tomatoes all the way until the late fall. In fact, when I pulled out my plants this winter they had green fruits on them.
Last year I only planted 2 tomato plants, they were both Better Boy Hybrids. This year I am planting a variety of tomatoes. (Cherry, Better Boy, 100 Sweet, and Roma.) I am also planting yellow crook neck squash and zucchini. I think I might also see if I can get some watermelon to grow. We don’t really have the room, but perhaps I can think of something clever.
While weeding my garden, I looked under the wheel barrow and there was a HUGE black widow. It was the biggest I have seen in a long time. I have only seen small ones this year. It scared me. They always do. I called the girls over to see it as I really want them to know 1. How prevalent they are and 2. what they look like. Then I killed it.
At the Junior college I go to they don’t kill black widows, but rather move them to a location away from where people are sitting…fools. I know this because one day I saw some spider webs under a bench outside of my class. I looked under it and Lo and Behold, a Black Widow. I went to the office department of that building. They didn’t seem to care. I stressed the serious of it and then they called someone from the Biology Department to come and get it and move it to another location. You would think they would call someone to just come over and kill it. I suppose I could have tried to kill it with my shoe.
Seriously, they are not in any way endangered and they make 5 to 10 egg sacks which contain 200-900 babies, though the babies do eat each other, several offspring come from each egg sack. In this area we are not lacking in black widows.
Tony is almost done with putting down the patio stones. He has to redo some of it and buy a few more stones. Then we will be all set up to sit out on the patio and watch the garden this summer, something we both enjoy doing.
Yesterday I found time to re-pot all of my house plants. They have been needing it for awhile. I also chopped the top of my rubber tree off. I was hoping I could just cut it off and throw it in water to see if it would propagate. Later I read online that you have to wound the plant, wrap it in moss and wait a couple of months for it to form a root ball. Then you cut it off. The plant is pretty tall and so I am thinking about doing this and making the top of the plant a new plant. I shouldn’t have let it grow that tall. It is just long and awkward.
I knit a few dishcloths/washcloths and gave them to my girl scout co-leaders as a Thank You. I needed to create something for Sierra’s teacher. Perhaps I will get her a gift card. I just am not sure if I have enough time.
Sierra’s last day of first grade is tomorrow. The last year sure went by fast! In the fall, Madeleine will start preschool every day for 3 hours and Sierra will be in 2nd grade. What will Tony and I do with no kids at home? Ha ha.
I am not sure what is going on with my and the Junior college. I registered for Summer school, but couldn’t afford to pay for my classes. The day school started I logged on to drop the class and couldn’t. They froze my account because I didn’t pay the fees. So now I owe for a class I never attended and will have to withdraw and it might just cause me huge problems. I was so busy with other things that I didn’t realize that was going to happen. This weekend we are going to have a mini garage sale, all proceeds will go towards groceries. Then I think we will work on our backyard.
