Well I realized that I never really posted a picture of the Sheepish Mittens except for the one in the picture with Cass, but you can’t see the backside of them.  I also finished the mittens I started yesterday.  I am rewriting my notes (written while in the waiting room yesterday) to create the pattern for them and then I will stitch out another pair before sending to a test knitter.  They were easy and fun to make.

 Sheepish Mittens

Windows on the World Mittens

Grandpa kindly took the kids to their co-op today since everyone decided to play at the park due to the obscenely nice weather.  Spring is most certainly here.  My lillies are blooming and other things are poking out of the ground.  We are planting our onions this week and in another 2 weeks the rest of my garden should be going in.  Woo hoo.  I am so excited about my garden.  I can’t wait to watch it bloom and grow and then reap the benefits of it the rest of the year.

I am off to knit some more mittens while the house is sooooo quiet.  I probably should take a nap, but I won’t. So I shall knit instead.

…well I couldn’t think of a better title for this post, so that will have to do.

 I have been trying to post some pictures of this weekend’s events, but alas, right now there is a problem with my server and I can’t upload pictures.  Hopefully soon.

Saturday Jim and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.  We didn’t do anything grand or anything like that.  We did go out to eat but that’s about all.  Our middle son (age 11) asked grandpa to take him out as he wanted to get us something.  He asked the other kids to chip in, but no one wanted to, so he got all the glory and all the hugs when he brought home a bouquet of red carnations.  Cass turned 13 on Sunday.  I got a great picture of her with all the books “Auntie” Carol sent.  Carol, she is so totally in love with that series and just thinks you are the bestest!  She sends a great big hug and thanks to you.  She also got two really neat beaded bracelets I bought from Amanda.  She loved them Amanda and she said she couldn’t wait for church on Sunday to wear them.  She now has a huge box of her own beads and spent yesterday making book marks for each of the books “Auntie” Carol sent (color coordinated to the cover as well), along with a few necklaces and bracelets as well.  All in all she was pleased and the day was a happy one for her.

It’s somewhat offical.  I have a broken head.  Ok, we are waiting for the x-ray results, but doc said even if the x-rays show no fracture, he’s going to treat it as such since I took such a hard knock to the head.  So I am on limited activities for a bit.  He also prescribed Tylenol 3 for the headaches, but you know, I don’t think I want to take the coedine, so I will probably just stick to regular strength Tylenol for now.  The bruising is slowly going away, but the swelling is still there as well as the facial pain.  It hurts to raise my eyebrows (and do you know how hard it is NOT to do that with my 5 kiddos hanging around all day), it hurts to smile or laugh, it hurts just to touch that area…so I am just gonna take it easy for a bit and hopefully that will make it all better.  Yea right, take it easy.  Ok, so I will TRY.

I did actually pick up the knitting needles on Saturday for my monthly knitting group.  Didn’t get much knitting done and when I got home I ripped out what I started.  I did pick them back up yesterday and worked on a mitten while at the hospital waiting for the doc, the x-rays, the meds, etc.  I hope to be done with them today or tomorrow so I can post them for February’s mitten a-long.

Today the kids have co-op, but I am not sure we are going. Since I am not allowed todrive right now, we are at the mercy of my daddy.  Not sure what his plans are for today, so we are just winging it.

Hope you all have a great one.

I know…February isn’t over yet, but I wanted to post all the things I needed to post along the way this month and didn’t.  I didn’t realize I had gotten so far behind in posting finished projects.  I still haven’t knitted since I got sick, but I did warp my loom and am half way through another scarf.  It should be done by the end of the weekend.  I did put enough warp on the loom for two scarves…so hopefully I can get them done and show them off soon.

Weaving

Here’s the red scarf.  It’s white tencel and red cotton/viscose.  I kept this one for me.

This one is black wool and a turquoise alpaca.  It will be winging it’s way to a friend of mine tomorrow….could you be that friend?

Knitting

I went a little hat crazy and created several patterns. First I bring you Oragne.  I have no idea how to pronounce that, but it’s the name we came up with.  It’s knitted with worsted weight yarn.

This pattern I created is called Waves ~N~ Raves.   This version, has a purled brim and flat top.  Another worseted weight project.

This version of Waves ~N~ Raves has no purled row at the top and is more rounded.

And this hat and mitten set is called Sheepish.  The patterns will be available soon.  Both hat and mittens are knit using DK weight yarn.

Ok…finally, enough is enough.  I have decided I am through with being sick.  So I am better.  Ok, not all the way, but getting there.  Finally.  WHEW.

Whatever attacked me last week finally left, but left me utterly exhausted.  Of course, the hitting the floor with the face thing still lingers.  I am still bruised and while that’s getting better, the pain is actually getting worse.  Can one break a cheekbone or an eyebrow?  Seriously, that’s what it feels like.  But life goes on.

NO KNITTING to report for over a week.  Amazing.  Shocking.  Almost unheard of.  Jim did say that he was a little relieved though as he did see my needles smoldering a few times last week and just feels they need a rest.  The loom, though. That’s another story.  I still haven’t shown the finished red scarf, but finished another, and warped the loom for two more.  Pictures tomorrow.

Mainly wanted to check in and let ya know I am here and well on the road to recovery.  Thanks so much for all the kind notes, the prayers, and thoughts.  They were all very much appreciated.

Just a quick note to let you all know that thank God I am still alive, but am still very sick.  It’s been a rough couple of days to say the least.  I had a cold over last weekend, but Tuesday I went downhill fast.  Sent a cryptic note to hubby along the lines of “slept all day, daddy at work, kids ok”.  I went back to the couch to lay down.  I am not one to sleep during the day.  He came home early to find me with a temp of 102.7 (which is extremely high for me since I normally run under the average).  Later that night or into the next morning, I went to the bathroom, bot dizzy and passed out.  Hubby found me sprawled out in a puddle of blood and his combat medic instincts took over.  He sized up the situation, got me up after I roused, cleaned me up bandaged my head, and got me back to bed.  He took my temp again and this time it was 95!  Wednesday was another day spent on the couch.  Sitting in the shower to wash the blood out of my hair took every bit of strength I had.  By Wednesday night I couldn’t keep down the smallest sip of water down.  Jim, turned Drill Sergeant on me and forced a sip every 10 minutes.  I did start taking some meds to help me from throwing up and it helped some, but getting water down was really hard.  The doctor stayed in contact with us and ruled out food poisoning (as that was a thought with the recent peanutbutter recall) and just treated for the stomach bug.  An awful stomach bug at that.

So, with that being said, I am WAY behind in getting some packages out, my email box is overflowing, but I will get to it shortly.  Just sitting here writing this, has taken all my reserved energy.

I sure hope no one else in the family gets this mess.

I am sorry that I didn’t blog over the weekend.  I was feeling rather under the weather…read that as sick, sick, sick and I didn’t have the energy to write.  While today I am still sick (ick), I am forced to get up and go about my day.  So, without further ado, meet Squishy!

Yes, Squishy is that lovely pillow pack that goes into the dishwasher.  #2 child named said dishwasher soap Squishy while still stationed in KY and was so pleased that after 14 months of hand washing the dishes, we were able to bring Squishy back into the fold at the new house.  She grabbed the bag and started talking to Squishy telling it how much she missed him and loved him and that he was so gentle to her hands (too mny commercials, eh?).  She loves Squishy.  So, who’s the winner?  Well, no one actually guessed Squishy as the disherwasher soap, but Paula from Golden Oasis guessed our dishwasher.  We felt that was close enough since there was no absolute guess.  So congratulations to Paula.  And even better then winning the Squishy contest (seriously, can anything be greater then that?) is that he hubby is HOME!  So, I think she will be away from the computer for a bit, but when you do get back and settled, email me and let me know where to send your prize.  What’s your prize?  No, unfortunately not a year’s supply of Squishy, but instead a scissors fob of our choosing.

Huuby says this is what happens when one has too much fiber and have run out of places to store it.

We just start hanging it from the ceiling!  Seriously though, I think it was Friday (this weekend is sort of hazy) the girls decided to decorate their room with their scarves (that they had made on their looms).  They found that by throwing them up in the air they caught on the pop-corn ceiling.  It made a very cute under the sea look.  Well, they decided to do the same for the livingroom and surprise their dad when he got home.  He liked it and also thought it was cute.  Ok, it really doesn’t match my everyday decor and it will come down today, but we had to humor them a bit, you know?

The red woven scarf turned out great and I even wore it to church yesterday, but forgot to take a picture.  I will get that up this week along with some other finished objects. 

And while I would like to crawl back into bed, I have exactly 10 minutes before alarms start going off for the kiddos to wake and start our day.  So alas, I shall sign off for now and enjoy 10 minutes of peace over a quick cup of coffee.

…seriously people, my car sent me an email!  My dearest hubby renewed my onstar for me and with it he had them set it up to email me monthly reports.  My car told me how many miles it has on it, what’s remaining on the oil life, the pressure in each tire, and a few other diagnostic test results.  That’s scary!

  Took the red scarf off the loom yesterday.  It’s been wet set and is drying.  Am hoping for a picture tomorrow.  Getting ready to put some black on the loom and will be weaving alpaca!  It’s going to be a soft scarf for sure.  This one has a potential  home already but we will just have to see how it turns out before that is unveiled.

 I participated in Secret Pal 9 (and still say I had the bestest spoiler in the whole world) and ended up winning (out of my group at least) for the most posts during the swap period.  I was surprised to say the least and at first I thought it was kind of cool.  Then I got to thinking about it and wondered if I just post too much?  Do I?  Does that mean I talk a lot?  Cause if it does, that’s not a true reflection of me in real life.  I am pretty quiet (unless you ask my kids and they will tell you I can be quite vocal).  Ok I still think it was a neat thing.

Well, we need to finish up some math (are ya hearing me, Kel?) and then it’s lunch time.  So I better get busy with that.

Yesterday our Home School co-op held our weekly get together.  The girls had a tea party and the boys conducted science experiments. 

The girls got to dress in dress up clothes and drink from Mrs D’s grandmother’s china tea cups.  They played traditional type parlor games and ate finger sandwiches and scones.  I prepared three different teas at  home and brought them in thermal containers.  We had Valentine Tea (chocolate strawberry), Orange Decaf, and Cranberry.  All flavors are available at Adaigo Teas. The girls really loved them and I brought home very little.

I thought the boys would conduct “gross” science experiments,  but alas, they were more of the traditional kind.  I was able to snap a few photos but the only one that came out is of an egg resting on a bottle (lit matches were put in the bottle and eventually the egg got sucked into it as well) . They did a few other things as well, but it just wasn’t as fun as the tea party :).

What’s For Breakfast At Your House?

So a few of you wrote me privately for a better description of our eggs-cellant toast.  Here’s a picture overview of it.

Start with an ordinary slice of bread,

Use your cookie cutter to cut out a center portion of your bread,

Transfer the bread to your griddle and crack an egg in the center, (I crack the yolk but that’s a personal choice)

Add as many slices as you need (or in my case the griddle holds at one time)

Flip (we make sure the yolk is fully cooked so you can eat on the run without the egg running away from you)

Eat and enjoy!  These are great for eating on the run, for eating while camping, or for a quick breakfast.

Spinning and Weaving Stuff

I spun up some of the wonderfully yummy fiber Lynn sent me in January.  It was labeled Wenslydale.  It was soft and silky and shiny.  The colors are mainly red but there’s orange and gold thrown in there.  I had thought I would weave it with black, but I am thinking gold is the way to go.  Now to go dye some gold tencel.

Sorry for the picture.  It seems as though I just couldn’t capture the look of this without getting too much glare.  I  think it was the shine.

This pastel rainbow is also Wenslydale and is currently on my wheel.  I am thinking of a light blue to use as my weft but am open to suggestions.

And a finished object.  I actually wove this last year, but packed it for the move and forgot about it until last weekend.  I finished tieing the fringe and wet set it.  It’s rainbow mohair I spun and it’s woven with black tencel.

(don’t mind Cass…she’s aspiring to be a model these days)

Home School Group

Our Tuesday afternoon co-op meets today.  The girls will be having an English tea-party and the boys will be doing gross science experiments.  Pictures to come soon.

Squishy

The guesses are awesome.  No correct guess, but someone is close

In my Life Overflowing swap, I have the wonderful “Miss Charlotte” as my partner.  I so hope that doesn’t sound rude Charlotte, but after living in NC for so long, I often think of Charlotte and southern living and grand planatations and hoop skirts and such fanciful things. Oh anyway, Charlotte’s box arrived on Saturday.  She told me to expect it but didn’t tell me it was just overflowing with things.

Two amazing smelling coffees.  One purchased through her church and the other through her co-op.  We can’t wait to try either one.  (Jim and I had planned to sit down for a nice cuppa and just talk this weekend, but alas work got in the way so we never had our chat time…next weekend….maybe)  Anyway, there was a box of assorted teas, cool stickers, “K” sticky notes, a cute sheepie, mohair top for dyeing and spinning, and lots of seed packages.  I can’t wait to plant the seeds around my veggie garden (daddy got the frame started on Saturday for my raised beds….YAY)  Also a cool cross cookie cutter.  The kids were beyond excited about this.  Not so much for cookies but for our “eggs-cellant” toast.  (eggs-cellant toast is our version of eggs in a basket by using a cookie cutter to cut the center part out of bread and cooking an egg in shape left by the cookie cutter).  Thank you so much Miss Charlotte for making my weekend.  We were blessed for sure.

 Lots of knitting going on here but stuff I can’t really show off yet, but hopefully soon.  I did sit at my loom today and get a lot done on a scarf I started before Christmas.  Should be done this week.  Chris volunteered to wind warp for me for another scarf I have planned.  I finished spinning the weft threads yesterday so that will get warped as soon as I am done with the current project.  Am also spinning like crazy.  Don’t know why the sudden real push for it, but I am going with it.  I spun for several lovely quiet hours this morning before the kids got up.  Jim left early early again today so I just watched some quiet TV and spun…in the dark.  It was amazing to spin in the dark and just let the fiber flow from my fingers.  It actually turned out really well too.

An update on SQUISHY….many guesses have been given, but nothing close yet.  I am still open to guesses til the end of this week, so keep em coming.

More later.  The mailman just arrived with my books from Keepers of the Faith.  Woo hoo