My Roses and Barney

Here are some of the roses in my back yard along with Barney, my barrel cactus.  Barney has been with me since I was 18 years old.  He was a little bit of thing when I first spotted him.  I brought him home and cared for him.  Now, I have a big barrel cactus.  One year he was burned from frost so, I bring him under the porch during the winter to keep him healthy.  Barney is a bitch to repot.  It takes welding gloves to repot him and that even hurts.  He will be needing a bigger pot soon but, the thought of having to repot him...it gives me the heebie jeebies. 

The roses in the back yard include the Variegata di Bologna, the pink one at the top, my Mr. Lincoln and a red floribunda cutting that my sister gave me.  It is gorgeous.  Her parent rose, died.  This rose blooms like crazy once a year and then I get nothing else out of it.  I try to take as many pictures of it as I can when it is bloom mode. 

Lipstick Socks in Sangria!

I finally finished the lipstick socks for my SIL, Kim. I hand dyed my yarn in a sangria colored dye. 

The design is one that I found in a lace book and loved the look so much decided to try it out with socks. 

I used a size US 3 needle for this sock.  The yarn for this pair of Lipstick socks is a superwash merino nylon blend.  It works out great for socks with a lace motif since it stretches quite nicely through the yarn overs. 

The pattern as it looks blocked.  It is really nice and I love how it works out on the socks.  I have plans in the works to knit myself a pair of this sock but, it will be in bfl/nylon and it will be in pansy. 

The pattern is challenging enough to keep me on my toes but, not too hard to knit.  It is fun to see how each yarn develops while knitting this pattern. 

I haven't written it down for sharing.  I have it in my pattern work book. 

My niece, Meagan has requested that I knit her a pair of socks in turquoise yarn.  I have found just the pattern I want to put into sock form.  I have to write it down and then start the socks. 

I will be dyeing her yarn today. 

I started my charity knitting yesterday.  I started a plain old hat.  I figure if I do a couple of hats in between my sock knitting for family, then I can get it all done.  No idea how my hands will cope but, oh well...it needs to be done. 

Car Woes

I received the call this morning that my new rims are in.  Yippee!  I was so excited, my rim worries are over.  So, I called my sister up and asked her to follow me to the place so, I could drop Stewie off. 

I asked them to look at the a/c as well since I hit a bump and the a/c cuts out.  That started a whole new problem that will be finding it at the dealership.  I am also on the GM recall list.  I have a 2008 Saturn Sky Redline and I love my car.  So, when it makes it's way to the dealer, it will be having this issue resolved. 

I am waiting for them to call me so, I can go pick up Stewie and his original rims.  The beading let go on the original, came with the car when we bought it at the dealership, chrome rims.  5 years old and this issue has been going on for it seems like forever.  Little did I know at the time, this is normal for chrome rims.  Never buy chrome rims because you will be replacing the expensive ass things. 

So, I have new rims that I ordered in and they aren't chrome.  I will never go that route again. 

I am waiting for the car place to call and let me know it is time for me to pick him up. 

Meanwhile at around 6 pm, I have to be at a memorial service for one of the ladies in my DAR chapter, she lost her 7 year battle with ovarian cancer.  My sister is picking me up and we are going to attend that. 

It has been the week from hell.  I am worn out and I am dealing with my allergies which are going haywire from all of the oak pollen we are dealing with.  It sucks! 

In other news...I finished one sock for my SIL last night and it is so gorgeous!  I am going to dye myself some yarn and knit myself a pair of lipstick socks.  Now, I know why my niece wants a pair of them.  Absolutely stunning on the foot.  I can't find my plastic foot right now...no idea where I put the thing but, when I find it, I will be taking pictures of the socks.  :) 

Knitting Socks...Again.

Well, I am knitting socks for my sister in law.  She has been waiting patiently for them.  I had to let my hands heal.  I finished the crocheted blanket for my friend, she just needs to come by and pick it up. No idea when that is going to happen since we are both pretty busy right now. 

I am knitting lipstick socks for my SIL. 

I chose to dye her sock yarn deep red.  She wanted a sock that she can wear with both black and brown and I thought, hey why not a deep red to really show off the stitch.  They will look loads better when I block them but, I am moving along nicely on the foot right now. 

I am knitting this sock with my own yarn, this one is a merino/nylon blend that should hold up really well to wear and tear.  I am knitting this pattern with my addi turbo rockets, and my addi turbos.  I have one of each.  The rockets are so nice!  I have the rockets in the click set with the long barrels and I love them. 

Well worth every single penny I spent on them. 

I painted yarn today since I had a custom order for one of my yarns.  I took them along and went to pick up my niece, Maribeth, her teacher wanted to see my yarns.  I took a tub of them along.  She purchased some skeins and requested paper dolls.  I went ahead and painted two skeins of it today in merino/silk sock.  One skein when it dries, will go into the shop. 

I also decided to paint more yarns.  I have listed several into the shop.  ETSY seems to be really crowded these days.  I find myself drifting away from it.  No idea what I am going to do about drumming up more business.  I have thought about a website of my own but, not sure if I will get the traffic I need to support my business.  I am thinking of doing the craft fair circuit again but, not sure if my health will allow it. 

I was called the sock master yesterday and I was thinking...really, am I a sock master?  I can knit a pair without a pattern but, that is only because I have been knitting them for so long.  I have had more requests for Lipstick than anything.  Not sure if I even have it written down anywhere.  I might have to do that since it is so popular. 

I keep it in my knitting journal and I make notes about it as I knit each pair.  I am trying to figure out how many pattern repeats right now for the 8.5 women's pair I a knitting.  It was 2 repeats on the foot for the 6.5 women's pair.  So, I am calculating right now trying to figure it out.  It has enough action in it, to keep me interested. 

Another pair was requested but, in turquoise of all colors...uh, really?  You want a pair of Lipstick socks in turquoise?  My niece, Meagan requested those.  When will I find the time to do my charity knitting?  I need to start that as soon as I finish this pair of Lipstick socks.

Maybe what I really need to do is to teach these nieces how to knit and then they can knit their own socks.  I gave several of them sock looms with computer software and do you think they even tried it out?  Can you say...NO!  Oh my!  I am about to tell them to bring themselves and a pair of straight US 7's over here and their lessons in knitting will commence.  If nothing else, they will find out that I am tired, my hands are tired, and they need to learn to make their own socks.  I have plenty of yarn and they can also buy some yarn from me should they really get into knitting socks. 

I love knitting with merino wool and silk...it is so nice.  I can't stand the merino and cashmere sock yarns, biggest pain in the butt, the crap tangles like mad and it just pisses me off!  No amount of wine can help, either. I know, I tried back in the day.  Drinking days are now over with per doctor's orders, it seems that alcohol and my meds don't mix.  I got a lecture about the evils of wine and my meds.  Grrrr!  I kept trying to explain the fabulous bottle of wine in my fridge that tastes like drink mix with a kick.  It is really good stuff!  I did get the evil eye for my troubles.  Okay, I get it.  I am not a recalcitrant child, I understand that wine and meds don't mix.  I will be good.  What about tequila and sock knitting?  I don't think he would understand that one at all.  hee hee!  I love tequila.  It has made me sick on several occasions and I still come back to it.  I haven't had any in about 2 years.  I have to have the anejo if I am drinking it...not the cheap stuff.  I have been spoiled for the good stuff. 

Anyway, I am knitting this sock and hoping that I get to the end...soon.  I have my tape measure out and my plastic foot for display purposes and I am moving along on it.  Hopefully, soon I will be able to show off a finished pair of socks. 

Crochet Hell

I am in crochet hell right now and can't wait to escape.  Sadly, I have a ways to go before I can get out of this hell.  I had I promised a friend a blanket and I am working on the thing.  I am sick of it.  I want it gone.  I get this way with several projects when I have been working on them for a while. 

I have 6 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun yarn in this project with 6 more skeins to go.  It is going to be a huge blanket by the time I am finished with it.  I am using a size N hook.  It goes quickly and the yarn is a dream to work with. 

I have  list of items that have to be taken care of after the blanket is done.  I have socks to knit for my SIL, Kim.  I have one more mitten to knit for my niece, Maribeth.  I have charity items to knit for the kids who are needy.  Thankfully, I have a yarn stash to support it all. 

I also need to paint my spring line up for the shop.  I have a color that has been zipping around my brain for a couple of months and I have to paint it in several different yarns.  It is that kind of color way. 

Just trying to find the time to deal with it all, that is the problem.  I am hoping to be able to finish the blanket by the weekend so, it will be ready to be picked up.  I don't like for these things to hang around the house.  No way!  The cats tend to claim things that they shouldn't. The cats have their own blanket now since they claimed the one I was crocheting for my friend.  They completely took it over. So, I was forced to re-crochet this blanket for her. 

Will I be making more blankets for people?  No idea.  I am to the point where I am almost out of Lion Brand Homespun in my yarn stash.  I think I have enough to make one more blanket.  I will stash the yarn for someone special.  It is my go to yarn for prayer blankets.  So soft and very huggable.  I have made several prayer blankets with it. 

I also have to clean house.  It is an ongoing issue.  I have to clean off several tables that have just collected junk.  I also need to move my yarn bins out of the upstairs hallway and into the office.  Now to tell my back that we have to do these things.  Killer.  I am still dealing with it hurting. I did a good job of it this time around. 

Hairy Larry and his Pee Pee Making Machine

This morning at around 2 am my oldest dog, whom I nicknamed Hairy Larry, was coughing and so, I knew that yes, I was bad and should have given him is Benadryl before bed.  I forgot.  So, I was woken up to him hacking.  I had to go downstairs to get his meds.  No one sleeps when he hacks and coughs and gags...poor old doggie. So, I went downstairs to get his cheese and meds.  I had to let him  out of his kennel so, he could go get his water.  He drinks like a camel and loads himself up with the pee pee juice. 
 
I was in the middle of a totally bizarre dream when I hear him whining and crying...remember the pee pee juice from 2 am, it had managed to make it's way through his body and had hit is bladder by the time I was in the midst of my dream.  I popped up out of bed, opened his kennel, opened the other two kennels for the other two doggies and ran down the stairs, or pretty much limped down the stairs...bad back.  Trying to work out my kinks and move as fast as I could for a person in my condition.  I get the back door open and out he goes.

I gave him his morning dose of his meds...it makes his life easier until he goes back to the vet to figure out what is going on with him.  We have been through antibiotics with him, thinking it may have been something bacterial.  Nope, that didn't work, I think he has a serious allergy to cedar because when it has been high around here, his coughing with the meds has been worse.  I know how he feels. 

I am starting to think he is asthmatic in his old age.  He is 13 years old.  His heart is strong but, he has skin allergies, and we have him on a special dog food that has no grains.  He can't even get near rice, he tries to tear his skin off, he itches so badly. 

My vet has let me know that since he has gotten older, he is more susceptible to having severe allergies.  It is all part of having a geriatric dog.  I have two geriatric doggies.  They are the best and both of them were shelter rescues.  They make the best dogs in the whole wide world.  They are very sweet and protective.  The third dog is a pure bred Pembroke Welsh Corgi.  He is a brat!  We should have named him, Mr. Happy since he is the happiest dog I have ever seen.  He constantly smiles.  Would I get another one?  Yes, I would.  He is the runt of his litter and there is no way that he will ever be under 30 pounds. 

Finished Socks! Yippee!

I finally have something to write about, I finished another pair of socks.  Yay!  This pair is the Melinda sock and I have another pair to knit for my SIL, Kim.  I even had to dye the yarn for her socks and I have been waiting for the yarn to dry. 

Am I sitting around doing nothing?  No way!  Since I knit every single day, I have a project that I am working on.  Maribeth, my niece needs a new pair of mittens, she lost one of hers and since she is now 10, time flies...she needs a bigger pair.  She informed me that she loves gold with purple, now.  Okay, that solved that problem.  I am knitting her a pair of gold with purple Selbu style mittens. It was requested by my sister.  I had picked out a gorgeous lace mitten pattern to use and since the request was made, they will be made for someone else. 

Bear with my pictures of the finished socks, no idea what my camera was doing since the hubby has borrowed it several times to take pictures of his pens.  He is turning pens on his lathe and does a beautiful job. 
  Go check out his shop on ETSY.

So, as I am waiting for sock yarn to dry, I am working on knitting the Selbu style mittens for my niece.  I decided to go ahead and make them bigger so, she can use them longer.  I am making a women's medium for her.  They fit my hand tight so, I am hoping her little hand will have room to grow in them.  When she grows out of this pair or wears them out then hopefully, by then, her mom can learn to knit in the round.  Hint, hint, hint! 
  I will be knitting Lipstick socks when I finish the mittens and those will be on their way to my SIL.  She offered to pay for the socks, nope, not going to charge her for them.  Anyone else, yes, but they do so much for us that we can go ahead and forget payment. 
  What are my plans after my current projects are done?  I have charity knitting to work on. Hats, scarves and mittens for the kids.
  Gary and I are doing a craft fair in April and he is selling his pens, I am selling my jewelry.  Yep, finally decided to go ahead and try and sell my necklaces, bracelets and anklets.  The yarn is staying home. 
  I have yarn to paint as soon as I can get back on my feet, I threw my back out yesterday and walking is a challenge today.  I am hoping tomorrow will be better since I need to clean my home up.