Monday, February 18, 2008

Before the accident

Before my finger-slicing I was on a roll. I was getting so much done I was amazed. Knitting projects were flying off my needles like magic. Pattern by Blue Sky Alpacas, "Cropped Cardigan" Yarn by Rowan, "Cotton Rope"

Top down, no seaming, cast-on to binding-off the sleeves...4 days. Perfect little cardigan for throwing on over a summer dress. That is, if summer ever gets here.

Bubba Lou had a V-Day party at school. I can't do the store-bought card thing, so we made them. Thank you Martha Stewart February edition. We did embellish, though. Everything is better with a little glitter, don't cha think?Fortune Cookie Valentines

Now, Martha shows Hershey Kisses inside these babies, but I don't know how she does it. I put the "fortune" inside and had to bend the wire in half really hard to get the cookie to stay closed. I wonder if she used a heavy-duty florist wire and just didn't say anything to make the rest of us feel inadequate. Well, not me...I had glitter. Everywhere. I'm still sweeping it up. I was using a cookie sheet as a "drip pan" ans Bubba decided to blow the glitter. Yeah, I'm really that stupid sometimes. A 3 year-old and loose glitter, my own fault. But they really are so pretty.

I also finished (with help from Mummie) the Jo Sharp Keyhole Vest. No pictures yet. Sorry. It's really pretty, too. My Mummie picked up the stitches around the arms and neck for me. She loves to do it, and I HATE to do it, so there you go.

Please keep your fingers crossed (and everything else) that I heal quickly, 'cause I'm already dying of boredom and un-finished objects (UFO's). Especially since I can't sew, either. Woe is me.

One last pic. Bubba in her igloo that she and Daddy built.

OOuuuuccchhhhh.

Damn this hurts. Olfa rotary cutting blades are the best. If you ever need to do home surgery, get one. Mine took the tip of my left pointer finger off quite well last night. Yep, explitives hurtled out of my mouth at the speed of light. Upside? No blood on my fabric. Downside? I can't knit until it's healed.

What on this white planet am I going to do with myself?

Oh, did I mention it's raining, sleet and freezing rain today? Ugh. Bubba lou is bouncing off the walls.

Time to go subdue the natives.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Busy As A Bee

For starters, I found a job. I'm now working in the offices of Borlind of Germany, a high-end, natural skin care line from...you guessed it, Germany. The best part is that they gave me the schedule I want so Bubba is now in daycare only 3 days a week. Very nice product, very nice people. They're sending me to Anaheim in March to help out with Expo West, a HUGE natural foods/products show. Should be a lot of fun, a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I've only ever worked a show from the buyer's side of the table.

I've been busy on the knitting front. Everyone I know is having babies! A friend of mine just had her second daughter (her first is one of Natalie's first friends, they're a week apart.) I knit her up the little kimono from "One Skein". And two of the girls I work with now are due any day, so I knit up hats for their impending little ones. Also out of "One Skein". I just love that book, especially when I need a special gift that won't cost me an arm and a leg and knits up in a weekend (or an evening.)

One of the ladies I work with is having a girl, the other is having a boy. Hence the Valentine's color scheme...I just couldn't do blue in February!

I also visted my local yarn store...they sent out a "Superbowl Weekend Sale" email. 40% off ALL LOBSTER POT YARNS!! INCLUDING CASHMERE! For those of you who don't knit, or buy yarn, Lobster Pot is a small, small company in Cape Cod that produces beautiful yarns that are hand-dyed in actual lobster pots. The colors have wonderful New England names like "boiled lobster," "drawn butter," "hydrangea," "cape cod sky." I could go on and on. Anyway, I hit the store at 10 sharp and snagged all the boiled lobster and salt rose cashmere I could afford. Two skeins of each! And one each for Mummie, as well as some seagrass. This yarn is soooo soft, I keep rubbing it on my cheeks. I think the pink is going to become a hat, the red? Any suggestions?

I've also been baking. BubbaLou likes to help. Lick the bowl, that is. Chocolate chip cookies.

Speaking of cookies, one last goodie before I go. Sy got this enormous vase for me just before the holidays. It stands about 2 feet tall and about a foot or 14 inches across. I'd been looking for one that wasn't $250, and my bargain hunter found me one. Too late to fill it with pumpkins, I chose to use all my cookie cutters instead. I collect them, but only the all metal ones. I've got snowflakes, martini glasses, flamingos, camels, almost every animal imaginable, a high-heel shoe, a hand, as well as the classics...heart, bell, tree, snowman, star..anything goes, I love them all. These are one of my favorite things in the "whole wide world," as BubbaLou puts it. They are ultimately destined for a special wall in my kitchen, but until then I just love them in the jar on my table.

If we ever get the walls painted, you'll get to see them in all their glory. I'm actually framing them all , like a giant picture. Who says cookies aren't art? And yes, I do use them. Frequently. Bubba Lou thinks its great fun when I have to dump out the entire vase to get one on the bottom!