Life is good

Its been a busy week already and its only Tuesday lol. Enjoying the activity though and the desire to get my life back to some of the normalcy it once had. Been dealing w/allergy and sinus symptoms to the point of having laryngitis. Starting to feel better but realize I'll prolly be taking some decongestants for the rest of winter so I don't get a sinus infection like last year.

On the knitting front, started my scarf using 10s but not sure I'm liking the look or the feel. Its rather tight and I really want a more loose. Will prolly frog it and start again w/13s or 15s. Planning some socks since I've a ton of sock yarn that is calling my name. Just checked out a new sock book at the library and can't wait to take time to look through it. Its call Country Weekend Socks by Madeline Weston.

Well, back to work and more later. Have a great one!

~ 2009 Reading List ~

Home Education
Winter Study
Among the Mad
Guardian of the Horizon
The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday
Breaking Controlling Powers
Philosophy of Education
Formation of Character
The Hidden Art of Homemaking

New day

its been a week and I've not much to report. I'm working more than I normally do and now all the kiddos have jobs. Lord help me. Fortunately, the Lord has helped because I was becoming overwhelmed with the whole schedule thing. I'm readjusting my personal schedule for work and home so I can rest more. I know I need to earn more $$ so I can buy yarn, food, yarn, pay for graduation, yarn but I don't want to do so at the expense of my health and sanity. I'm working on my mystery project and finished another scarf this week ~ yeah. I'm reading Winter Study by Nevada Barr and its good. I'm also reading "Among the Mad" ~ Maisie Dobbs ~ love that character. Off to get some housework done ~ menus, laundry, groceries, etc. Have an awesome day!

Booklist 3/09

Current Booklist

Math ~ MEP Yr 5 & 6
Grammar ~ Grammar Smart Junior & Grammar Smart Perfect
Literature ~ Ivanhoe, Scarlet Pimpernel, The Good Earth, The Great Divorce
History ~ Romans & Birth of Britain
Science ~ Earth Science
Poetry ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson & Keats
Bible ~ Strong's Concordance, Ephesians, Proverbs & Psalms
Art ~ Botticelli & Friedrich
Music ~ Liszt & Mahler
Shakespeare ~ Love's Labor Lost
Plutarch ~ Titus Flamininus
Computer ~ Mavis Beacon 9

Extras
Health ~ weight training, walking, skating
Life Skills ~ CPR, cooking, gardening
Hobbies ~ knitting, woodworking
Videos ~ Standard Deviants
Skill Bldg ~ Where in the World Carmen Sandiego, Crossword puzzles

2008 Reading List

Emma
Crocodile on the Sandbank
Murder at the Vicarage - BBC Radio version
Murder at the Vicarage/Take 2
Birds of a Feather
Hippopotamus Pool
The Last Camel Died at Noon
Mansfield Park
The Main Corpse
Careful Use of Compliments
Kalahari Typing School for Men
The Knitting Circle
Yarn Harlot: Secret Life of a Knitter
Philosophy of Education
Formation of Character
When Children Love to Learn

Something new....

in preparation for making my Mirepoix Bodice, I have agreed to work on a simplified fair isle pattern. Now fair isle is not for the faint at heart nor is it really for a beginning knitter. I have advanced from a beginning to an advanced beginner but I am also one who is willing to take a challenge and run with it. So when the kal for this lovely sweater came along I was all for it because its so beautiful. However, I've never done fair isle and my wonderful new knitting mentor thought I'd like trying something simpler and to practice sweater making while I'm at it. I agreed w/her wisdom and as we were looking for substitute yarn for the sweater, we began looking for something to make in the interim ~ the kal begins in October. We discussed the "tomato" and I have done a swatch using cascade sierra and got my gauge w/8s instead of 7s (tight knitter syndrome). I've been looking for more of the lovely color of this yarn so that I could begin when I received my copy of Creative Knitting in the mail. In this issue, is a simplified fair isle sweater called "color play vest" using worst weight yarn. I pulled out several skeins of TLC essentials and some Caron Simply Soft to determine which would work. The actually vest was made with the Caron but I didn't have enough colors to make one that would be interesting to wear. LOL

Today, with Riley's help, have selected my 6 colors and created a swatch. The pattern called for 8s but I didn't get gauge with those and moved up to 10s. I did and began work. I'm pleased to say it is a lot of fun. I'll take a pic in the morning its too dark in here for you to see it clearly. I've been working on the left front of the vest instead of starting with the back ~ I was concerned that I wouldn't like it so didn't want to waste too much time or yarn on it. I'm pleased to say, I do like it very much and it looks very nice, well except for the first row of color change where I held the yarn abit too tight. I've managed to loosen it as much as possible so hopefully it will not be too obvious or create a fitting issue. Here is a pic from the article.

I am excited because it really is like working a cross-stitch project using yarn. I've only done needlepoint once but cross-stitch I love just as much as crocheting, I love reading the charts and figuring out how to get the picture on the blank cloth that was on the cover. I love puzzles too which is why I was intrigue by making the Mirepoix. It looks like a larger cross-stitch pattern and jigsaw puzzle all in one. ;D

Overall, its be a good day though it didn't end as I'd hope. Which is why I'm glad I'm enjoying my new project. We were set to go to a free concert this evening to hear the group "Leeland" but we didn't get to go nor to the knit night. I was feeling abit bummed because I have been looking forward to this all summer but I'm getting better as I work on the sweater. My peds are coming along lovely too ~ I'm 6 rows from finishing the heel flap of the 2nd one.

I fixed dinner but it was something new too. I've never made this before but it was a hit. I took some fancy macaroni noodles ~ these were ones purchased at Williams Sonoma ~ and added a can of diced tomatoes, ground turkey and various seasons. I served it with green beans. Even my picky eater had seconds though I ended up w/her tomatoes ~ she doesn't eat them. ;D

I'm off now to return to my knitting and listening to audio books. I've finished Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith and almost done with The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters. I have a love/hate relationship with the heroine's of both books series. I'm enjoying it very much. More tomorrow, must update my file on simplifying my cleaning practices and my lovely clean kitchen ~ especially the sink. ;D

Whats goin' on....

Around here, lots. I worked the weekend at the store ~ which btw is a bear when its dreary outside and no one comes in. ;D I worked today but that was okay. Yesterday, I was exhausted, I think ~ I really don't know what was up w/me. I was tired, achy and just had no energy for anything. I did manage to take pics of the goodies I received on Friday though I need to go over and thank these folks publicly on the group blogs ~ sorry ;D I managed to finished off my first "Not Ped" and start the second ~ no one sock syndrome here. I spent a good deal of time working on the WUA squares and finished off the last charity hat. I didn't get to the wristlets but since it is an ongoing project, I'll get them done. I found a really cool pattern over at knitty's that Sk8Chick has been working on ~ she's done 2 sets and working on the 3rd. The pattern says they can be done in a weekend which she did and some. I may just venture to do these instead of the ones I had planned. They are called "Fetching" and are under the archives for gloves/mittens, if your interested.

Without further ado ~ here are my packages.

First up ~ SP10 reveal: The lovely Kris ~ please stop by and visit here and tell her I sent ya. She is an absolute wonderful woman. I am very grateful that she was my SP and loved everyone minute of the exchange.

Here is the group shot of my goodies:

~ Lovely yarn ~

~ Books & patterns ~

~ More yarn and Brittany needles ;D ~

~ Wonderful treats & chocolates ~

Next up ~ Knitters' Coffee Swap ~ from the lovely Wendy in sunny Cal. She is amazing and it was very hard to shop for this here lady ~ she is a spinner and dyes her own yarn along w/teaches knitting. Man, it wasn't easy but I hope I was able to get her something she could use. You can visit her here and if you are in her neck of the woods, make sure you stop in and see her.

Group Shot (please forgive me, my lovely "Yarn Garden" bag was in use so missed the photo shoot ~ I'll take one tomorrow :D)

~ Delicious yarn in reds ~

~ Yummy treats ~

~ Oh la la Coffee ~

~ Book & more ~

*close of up stitch markers coming

Here are the peds and I'm now off to bed b/c its almost midnight here and I'm tired.

I'll update this post tomorrow w/details of each package but gotta go, please forgive me ;D

I'm seeing red n its.....

beautiful. My SP sent me a package. Whew! I was having a very exhausting day and it was nice to have something waiting for me when I came home from work. She had sent me an ecard to let me know it was on the way ~ it arrived today! She lovingly wrapped each item in red tissue paper and it was in a red package. Red is my favorite color ~ didn't you know?!

Now since the camera is still w/o batteries, and Sk8Chick's is charging (she got one as a b-day present from a family friend today), I'll have to tell you what I got. Later I'll add a pic. ;D

Yarn Love
luxury sock yarn ~ Brown Sheep WildFoote in Blue Blood Red. This is very lovely yarn and I had been wanting to try out some Brown Sheep. :D There was also some LB Micro Spun in Turquoise ~ very lovely and bright. I'm already matching it up with some of my stash to make myself something pretty. I will also need to find a sock pattern for myself too.

Sweet Tooth
delicious chocolate ~ Cadbury Dairy Milk. Yummy, my favorite.

Library additions
two books ~ Not Your Mama's Crochet and Days from the Heart of the Home
The Days is a daily journal ~ I once checked out the book this journal is based on from the library and had planned to add it to my wishlist one day. I didn't know there was a day book for it ~ its great.

I love each and every piece of my wonderful package from my SP. She Rocks! Thank you from the bottom of my heart Knitty Secret Pal ~ you're the bestest!

May 1st..hmmm

for lack of a better title. ;D Its been quiet but busy around here. I've casted on for my first baby sock. Woohoo! I'm using my new needles and yarn from my SP. The needles are so little, its awesome. Pics later because the camera needs batteries. I've finished a WIPs too as well as completed "Chicks with Sticks" which was absolutely hilarious. I've sent off my BABE package and another special one to my SP.

We got our book order in today ~ Yeah! Which includes our very own copies of Mason-Dixon Knitting, Favorite Socks and Debbie Bliss' Family Knits. We have one more on backorder since it isn't published until sometime this month.

We are getting ready for Sk8Chicks b-day. Yep! folks I will soon have a 19yr running a muck in my home and stash. LOL Its ok, I'm really alright with it ~ its really wonderful to see her bloom and become an adult. Makes this Mumma very proud indeed.

Ok, so on to the WIP/FOs front:
1. Baby Kimono ~ mason-dixon knitting book Done!
~ Peaches & Cream Baby Green: need to block, seam and wash.
2. Baby Kimono ~ #2 90% done
~ Lion Brand Microspun Lily White: need to add more 1" then block, seam and wash
* want to use this for my KC book project and it needs to be picture ready by Friday :D
3. Dishclothes ~ monthly mid-month project 90% done
~ need to finish up 11 rows for each cloth
4. Two Tone Socks ~ Simply Baby book (just started) ;D
~ DBs Baby Cashmerino #0007 w/LBs Microspun French Vanilla
5. Warm Wristlets ~ LB pattern (had to frog ~ cast on both using circs)
~ LBs Wool Ease ? can't find label ;D
6. Soap Sack ~ Done
~ Peaches & Cream Sherbet: need to make I-cord

I went to Hobby Lobby's and Michaels and didn't buy any yarn. Yeah me! I picked up some needed needles especially since HL has them for 50% off. What a bargain! We do need more yarn for our stash but it will have to wait until I've finished 4 more projects. That shouldn't take too long but I am okay with waiting especially since I've not seen anything that I absolutely have to have. ;D

~ SP10 Bootie ~

"My SP10 Goodies"

Okay, so I'm a little late in posting this, but I have a really good reason for not doing it when it happen. I have been suffering with a major toothache since last week and sometimes I'm not as functional as I'd like. So, I've only read a few blogs, comments, emails between the snatches of peace from the pain. I do get to go to the dentist tomorrow though and hopefully will get some real pain reliever ~ been taking tylenol and ibup with some oragel, all generic. They work when they want. The good news about this is ~ I've gotten some sleep. Yeah me!

Now about that bootie, mates.

My SP really is a gem ~ she sent me the most awesome box and I really needed something to cheer me up because I had been up for almost 24hrs in pain. I am still in awe of the abundance of my package along with the fact that she sent me 3 of the books on my wishlist. ;D How cool is that?! I am soo blessed and my family was too. Hmm, now I need to get busy on my downstream pal so she can receive some of the overflow of my blessings. Okay, here are pics of my bootie and I'll try to tell you whats in each one.

(red peeps, friendship bookmark, sweater shape needle holders, cherry note cards w/stickers, Royal Almond body lotion, baby project bag ~ stitch markers, Jojoba Rose hand n body lotion and #3 5" dpns and yummy chocolate ~ Raspberries in Dark Chocolate (hubby got this one) n Hershey's w/caramel (I wanted to try this one).

Yarn Love ~

Filatura Di Crosa Pure Laine Vierge wool ~ mint green

Fantasy Dark Horse Yarns nylon & acrylic ~ pale yellow

Breeze Heirloom wool, cotton & nylon ~ pale pink
Cascade Cloud 9 wool & angora ~ white and baby blue

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in red & raspberry

(yeah me!)

Book Love ~

Knit Along with Debbie Macomber Bk #3

Candy Babies

Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby

Absolutely wonderful. I'm one blessed girlie. Thank you dear, Knitty SP ~ you're the bestest. ;D

I got goodies!

You can read more about it here.

Knitting along...

Haven't said much in a week, but progress has been made. I have finished my first SAL goal ~ Yeah! Though I earned a strike at the end ~ boo ;( However, it was well earned. ;D

I will upload pics as soon as we can get the camera working or I buy a new one, which I think might be the best option. The CAS Seaman scarf that I was doing is done but it doesn't look quite right. I am hoping that when I upload the pic some of you more experienced knitters can help me out, then I can make a new one. I also finished the red/silver scarf which I named the skein of yarn from hell. LOL

I've started a child's sweater using some of my daughter's stash ~ its Red Heart Sherbet we got on clearance. Oh speaking of clearance, the items that earned me a strike were all clearance items. I picked up several skeins for my dc and secret pal but couldn't resist getting some of it for myself. Namely ~ Lion Brand Wool Ease for $.73 to $1.78, totally a bargain. Some of it will make socks, some will make scarfs and I will be able to pickup more of one to make a sweater or shawl. Not sure which yet but the most I spent for one skein on clearance was $1.78 and the least was $.47 ~ Red Heart, TLC, Caron and Lion Brand. Now tell me, would you have passed up this deal?! It was fun and my dh tried to help me out. He offered to purchase 2 skeins of the LB Wool Ease so that I wouldn't get a strike but I wanted all 7 skein. Oh well, he tried but I said "it was just to good of a deal to pass up." I wrote more here. I will be starting a new SAL goal soon, once I decide which option to do next.

The past week has been very busy around my house. My dd's have been teaching the neighborhood children how to knit and I think have started a little knitting group of their own. I went to my fav LYS and the owner showed me how to use a swift and winder ~ totally cool. I was thinking about getting one but I think it would be more fun to visit w/her and use hers. ;D I ordered my subscription to Interweave Knits and joined several kals too, including one for IK. I've fallen in love w/Debbie Bliss' work and hope to acquire a couple of her books. I picked up over 30 books from the library but am lovin' learning the patterns in DB's books. I've confirmed that I love making baby things more than anything. I may occasionally branch out to other things ~ especially my dishclothes but baby things call my heart and they are quick too.

Well, I'll leave you with some thoughts I found in the Mason-Dixon Knitting book, p17. I am enjoying reading this one too. I'll type up a list of the books I have reviewed later in the week. Have an awesome day!

~ Great things you will do ~

knit far into the night

wake up and start knitting before you've had any coffee

buy more yarn before you have finished your first project

buy a pattern book

Google "yarn"

finish something and feel like you've reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

~ I agree with each and every one of them because I've done it. ;D

Knitting 101

I don't think knitting and I are cut out for each other. I say this because I have not been successful in knitting that ball of red and silver yarn. It has been the bane of my existence for the past week and half. I tried to use larger needles so that I can knit it up quickly but it didn't work. I was using #13 then I changed to 11s but that didn't work either. The project appeared stretched and I didn't like it at all.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting 2 LYS. It was a lot of fun to look at the yarn, discover new patterns and visit a new place of enjoyment. One of the stores owner was the young lady who had taught a knitting class for a staff development I attended. It was nice to see her again and to let her know that I was finally going to do something with my knitting. She had very lovely yarn and my girls picked out some very soft multi color suitable for babies. We will return on my free day to purchase some but my oldest dd did buy a set of dpn in bamboo that she loves. She said they are smooth and make using the sugar n cream much easier. She too has had trouble knitting her socks but I believe is coming along now w/the new needles.

I also went to Hobby Lobby and was able to purchase a new book and some needles. I bought 2 sets of 5s and a set of 6 dpn in alum ~ I personally like these. I am using the 5s with the red/silver yarn and it looks much nicer but the pattern I was venturing to use isn't working out so I have removed those stitches and will continue to simply knit the yarn into a child's scarf ~ a basic garter pattern seems to work better for it. I am hopeful that it will be suitable but doubtful that I'll be able to take a picture since even in natural lighting it doesn't photograph well at all. I am planning to finish up listening to Emma and working on this scarf tonight. I hope to have time to look through my new book and work on my Seaman scarf but for now I want to finish with the red/silver yarn because it has annoyed me so. ;D

Hope everyone else is having a better knitting time than I have had. Have a wonderful evening.

My new book:
Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting by Montse Stanley (Paperback - Sep 6, 1999)

Knitting 101

The women in my sock class were an interesting mix. I love the way knitting brings people together. As diverse as these women seemed to be, in personality, in background and in age, they were beginning to enjoy each other's company. ~ Lydia

The above quote comes from Debbie Macomber's book "A Good Yarn." It is a wonderful book which started my desire to knit again, but that was a year ago. ;D I have read both of her books and would love to read any more she chooses to write for this series but for now I will settle for something better. She has created knitting books based on the series ~ "Knit along with Debbie Macomber." I checked out the one for "A Good Yarn" and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to knit something from the pages. I have chosen the lovely maverick laprobe and my oldest dd suggested that we knit it together. Hmm, a group project and I can get rid of my stash faster too. I'll have to give this some thought.

My new project is coming along very well and I am really enjoying reading about knitting. I have also come across a book titled "Scarves and Shawls for Yarn Lovers" that has helpful tips for knitting. I jotted down the following in my new craft project notebook:

1. have a notebook for keeping track of project progress and need supplies
2. knitting reference book
3. supplies ~ don't need to be expensive, just yarn, needles, a yarn needle and scissors
4. yarn label reading will help me with future patterns

More later. Have a good night.

~ New Pursuits ~

I think its time to transition to using this blog regularly. I am very happy with using Blogger, especially the simplicity of having my multiple blogs at one location. It keeps things simple, convenient and efficient. Unforunately, over at my other blog, I am not able to run my feed yet. I may have to change the layout of the blog which I would rather not do. If it doesn't work, I may have to transfer everything and say goodbye. I don't really have the time or patience to post at both places anymore. For a season, I'll linked to this site like I do for my homeschool blog. One day I'll get around to transferring my older posts but for now ~ without further ado, I want to talk about my new pursuits.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am no longer working outside the home. Yeah! I am now schooling my dc full-time and have started a home business. I will be working on projects at home, spending time w/my online support groups and I just joined a couple of new endeavors. One of them is called Knit the Classics. Oh, this looks like great fun though I will be learning as I go since I learned to knit years ago and haven't done anything with it since nor created more than a potholder. This group reads a book and then creates a project in relation to the story. I am so excited because I've never done anything like this and if knitting doesn't work, I can crochet. Yippee! I am also considering joining a group called Stashalong ~ I am not sure if I can handle this one though it would help me curb my spending habit on crafts. We'll see, but stop by and visit, you'll like it I'm sure.

So off to place my hold for the March book and finish off my preemie hat I started yesterday. It is so adorable, I found it on Lion brand's website. I'll load a pic when its done, but here is the pic of the completed hat I mentioned earlier:

Secret Pal 10 Questionaire

My answers are here.

Thank you ;D

~ Simplifying My Life ~

Being rich is having money;
being wealthy is having time.
~ Margaret Bonnano

It is time to actually implement the steps necessary to simplify my life. I want more for my life in the New Year and I must start somewhere, right?! I was not sure what I was going to do to change my current lifestyle. I thought quitting my job would be it, but I see that is just one thing I could do to improve my life. There is more to it than this and I will have to start with the assessment of my time.

I am reading “simplify your time” by Marcia Ramsland, its a Woman of Faith book. I stumbled on it last week at the library. I thought it was part of the Simple Living series like the A Simple Christmas, but its not. I was drawn by the title and the color of the book. ;D I’ve read so many books on organization and such, that I am not sure I want to read this one until after I read the introduction and the note from the author. I am planning to drop most of my reading lists and begin working through this book. It is divided into 4 weeks, with 30 days worth of chapters to work on managing my time. I am beginning to see how getting my time management under control could help to simplify my life. Not necessarily on a professional level, but on a personal level to allow me to be more, doing less. You know I love the saying “less is more” and I’m beginning to see that I must do something about my hectic lifestyle in order to truly have this concept everyday of the year. The random thing is for the birds.

So, simplified living, here I come. I want to live a full life without stress, giving freely of myself and enjoying the simple pleasures the Lord brings my way. Here I go ~ my decision statement that I share here so that I can be accountable to my blogging buddies ;D :

I want to make my life better - and I believe the place to start is learning how to spend my time more effectively. I’m willing to go on a “diamond hunt” to find the solution to my time challenges for thirty days.

I want to simplify my life by simplifying my time, and I’m determined to make the necessary changes by taking this four week 30-day journey. After all, this is the time of my life!

*I will be journaling weekly about my progress instead of daily. I will be using my new habit of journaling in my personal book and sharing in summary form.

The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it,
but what they become by it.
~ John Ruskin