The Blue Knitters are going to the Olympics!

So at Sit n Knit tonight, one of my fellow blueknitters announced that Team BlueKnitters was taking part in Yarnharlot's Knitting Olympics. FABULOUS, thought I (I was going to join in anyways! tee hee!).

So, Get ready for Team Blue Knitters!

There are a total of 8 of us and we are all doing a slipped stitch stole/poncho with Blue Heron Beaded Rayon. Yummy! I will add photos of those who cross the finish line at the end. (See, this is just that much MORE pressure for me to actually accomplish this!)

Go BlueKnitters!

On a side note, for any Ally McBeal fans out there, I apologize for dashing your fond memories of this song but can you believe this?
Now, although the music is not completely intolerable, what in the WORLD was he thinking with that video????? OMG!!!

2000 socks??????

So, I was surfing along and was at Nyxxie's place when I read her mention of the 2000 sock knitalong that Rose by Any is putting on. So I guess, the idea is to see how many socks knitters can complete in one year and hopefully get up to 2000. PeShaw! We can do that. I'm in on this one, how about you????? (see the link on my sidebar)

I applied to go on "The Amazing Race"

I am SOOOOOOO excited. I have been talking about applying since I first saw the repeats of season 1 and for one reason or the other hadn't been able to. Well, I went with my office mate to an open casting call in Cleveland today and I have now officially applied. YEAH!!!! I am so PSYCHED! It was very cool. We filled out our applications, took the requisite photos and then we went today. We had to stand in the cold drizzle for just under 2 hours and then got to wait in line inside of the House of Blues. We were contestants #90 and then had to wait another hour and a half before we got to go on stage and be videotaped. 2 mins to sell ourselves to the producers. YIKES! And guess what I wore???????? My Sexy Knitters Club Baby Doll T-shirt! Yep, that's what I wore. I wanted to show off my quirkiness and be different so I decided to wear that shirt. Kinda cool, don't ya think????? Anywho, we got a good bit of applause and we certainly were just as good as most and better than a few other teams with their on stage presence (some people were really boring and then others were just 'not quite there'). So, everyone keep their fingers crossed. Maybe late summer - early fall I'll be on TV, carrying my knitting with me traveling around the world! Funny, most teams try to rest on those 8 hour train rides, but me, I'll be a knittin' fool!

I was at sit 'n knit last night talking about this and everyone was really excited for me. I said that with my luck, we will have a task where we go to Japan with all those alleys of hand-dyed silk yarn and have to deliver a barrel full of lovely yarn and then NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP ANY OF IT! Can you imagine??? I think that would be harder than bungee jumping!

Can you tell that I am just a LITTLE excited about this?????

Secret pal 7 questionnaire

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I must admit that I am mostly a yarn snob. I think that quality work (and time) deserves quality materials. With that said, I do own and use some Lion Brand but no Red Heart. Lion Brand seems to be pretty good quality. I do not like the feel of Red Heart products. Does that make me awful?????

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I haven’t done crochet since I was a child. I have acquired a small drop spindle and some roving and I am trying NOT to ruin the poor roving. . . .

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a circular wine box that holds my longer straight needles, I have a few needlerolls, a wall sconce like metal holder for my shorter straight needles and I usually keep my circs in their plastic baggies in my knitting bag.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Almost 3 years now but I dove in head first, have not looked back and have not put the needles down yet! I would say that I am an intermidate leaning to advanced (just slightly - tee hee)

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I do indeed and here's where you can find it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=cs_top_nav_wl/102-4162982-9683324


6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) “Clean” smells. Sage/Citrus, Grass, Meadows, etc. . . . and sometimes “spicy” scents. . . . sandlewood, etc. . .. I do not like flowery scents very well.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite Candy? Bring on the Dark Chocolate and raspberries, baby! (either alone or in combo – yummy!) Dark chocolate kisses, dark chocolate godiva bars with raspberry, Godiva truffle (dark chocolate key lime - yum) Do you see a trend here?

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? - I do cross-stitch on linen, pulled-thread and hardanger needlework.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Swing dance music, big band dance tunes, alternative rock (evanescence, etc. . .), crooners (Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, the rat pack), pop, mainstream country (Shania, Garth, Faith, etc. . .). I also listen to a lot of new age/relaxation/nature sounds/meditative type music. VERY eclectic taste in music. I listen to CD’s and MP3s all the time and NOW I have an iPod so iTunes is my newest craze!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Growing up it was PINK! Now I enjoy the pinks, lavendars, soft greens and RED! Familywise, I would say either jewel tones or muted earth tones. (Olives + purples, Tans + Reds) etc. . .. .

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Married (16 years in August), 1 son (9 years old) and a 2 1/2 year old Pomeranian.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yep! I wear them all!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I love to make self-striping socks but they do take me awhile. I love merino wool and other “soft” yarns. Love to make quickies with the newer yarns (ladders, ribbons, eyelash, fur, etc. . .) but I like to work with wool also (especially all those beautiful colorways like “manos del uruguay” overdyes). Karabella Aurora 8 is a great example.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Itchy wool. “Harder” fibers – I like my yarn to flow and have drape, even when I am going to felt I use the “softer” wools. I also really do not like the feel of acrylic yarns.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? SOCKs, collecting patterns, knitting with beads and knitting purses (felted and not felted)!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Anything that will make the recipient happy! OK, OK, socks and purses again!

17. What are you knitting right now? Uuuh, socks?! I am also working on a glace neck scarf (STILL working on that), a Zara Sweater from the Rowan Biggie Wool book and a beaded scarf.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Those are the best kind of course!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? CIRCULAR ADDIs are my FAV!

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? If they aren't addis then I like wooden.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I own them both.

22. How did you learn to knit? Semi-self taught with a little help (about ½ hour from a friend) then I took an intermediate class (increases/decreases) and then I took a sock class – all within 2 months of each other!~

23. How old is your oldest UFO? 8 - 10 months

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Disney’s Thumper! I love and use to collect bunnies (stuffed bunnies that is) and I love puppies and I am a cartoon junky (right now my favs are Avatar, KND and The Fairly odd Parents).

25. What is your favorite holiday? I love to give things for Xmas but I also like Mother’s Day, Easter and Mardi Gras.

26. Is there anything that you collect? You mean besides yarn, right? I love precious moments figurines and nursing memorobilia (old nursing stamps, pictures, equipment, etc.) I like coke and coke products (I have the best 1952 add of a nurse holding a coke – YEAH). I also enjoy any knid of unique or different needlework accessories. I am a cardiac nurse and I love to collect anything with hearts or shaped like hearts. Ooh, I also collect sayings. . . . .inspirational little words or just great quotes of all times or silly sayings to make you laugh!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? – sigh, I only get Interweave Knits by interweave press.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? “Confessions of a knitting heretic!” “Knitting on the edge”. Or anything on my amazon wish list.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I want to learn to lace knit and to spin.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Oh yeah! I wear a size 8 women's shoe.

31. When is your birthday (mm/dd) December 26th! ( I just turned 40!!!!!)

New blogs and a GORGEOUS patterns to boot!

So, I was over at Ms. Harlot's and I read about this new blog see eunny knit. Very entertaining! Yeah for you and WELCOME to the knitting blog world! I will definitely be back to read up some more.

Best thing about her blog? Besides the witty reparte, there is this amazing free pattern for a GORGEOUS lace stole. Ok, so I know that LAST summer was the "summer of lace", why is it that I always get on the bandwagon WAAAYYY after everyone else? I MUST KNIT THIS ONE!!! (Oops, the list is just getting longer and longer for 2006).

Then, while I was at work (yes I was being a bad girl, very bad girl, naughty bad girl. Saucy even. Yes a bad, naughty, saucy girl - Grey's again. Oops! that is my fave episode though) I came across this little beauty of a pattern.

God I LOVE finding cool new patterns and blogs, don't you?

What an awesomely cool idea. . . .

Y'know how you always are thinking "how can I spread my love of knitting around?" (well at least I'M always thinking that). And then, personally, I've always enjoyed a really GOOD piece of graffiti that looked like it took some time, effort and artistry. Well, what do you get when you mix the two thoughts? What you get is Knitta. These two Houston based ladies are out to cover the world with their brand of graffiti, namely a variety of knitted items such as tree, lamppost or car-antenna cozies as well as knitted door handle cozies, etc. etc.

Isn't that an AWESOME idea? I first heard of these two ladies (AKrylik and PolyCotN - hahaha) via the Cast-on podcast. Then I found this article online and then from there went to their website. I truly LOVE this whole idea and am in awe of the two of them. Spreading their love of knitting around their city, providing a smile or a laugh and yet doing so in a completely nonpermanent, nonharmful, nonoffensive way. You ladies ROCK!

Oh, Oh, I've started on the quizzes again. . . . .

What is your sexual appeal?
brought to you by Quizilla

How Cool is THIS????

Ok, so now that I have totally gotten up to date with the techno world thanks to my DH who graced me with a iPod for my birthday (YEAH!) I can't stop myself. I have been very busy downloading music like MAD! So, when I was over visiting Alison I was reading about her excitement at getting her iPod and all the cool Podcasts that she is listening too. Well, I am now a subscriber to Cast on, KnitCast, Knitting Newscast and finally Secret Knitting. Of course, I haven't caught up with listening to all of these but I am doing my best to get caught up with them. I am not sure which one is my fave yet but it certainly is cool to catch up on what everyone has been talking about. My iPod make turning 40 not quite so dreary, y'know? I feel hip, cool, phat, like the bomb or whatever the newest "it" term may be (I am not quite up on my teenage venacular). I love, love, love, love, love my iPod. Thanks so much honey! You are the best!

Well, while listening to Cast on, I was sent to and found this random stripe generator. What's cool is that you pick the colors that you want, how wide you want the various stripes to be and then it will randomly generate a striping pattern. Don't like the pattern, refresh the page and you get a new pattern. How absolutely COOL is that?????? I must now go through my stash for solid colors and generate some striping patterns. Tee hee!!!!! So, let me know what you all think and what you are going to use the patterning for, ok?

Oh, and BTW, I think this shrug is really, really cool!

It's my birthday!!!!!

Your Birthdate: December 26

You lucked out with the skills to succeed in almost any arena. Put you in almost any business or classroom, and you'll rise to the top. You're driven and intense, but you also know when to kick back and cooperate. Your ability to adapt to almost any situation is part of what's going to make you a success. Your strength: Your attention to detail Your weakness: You can be a little too proud of your successes Your power color: Turquoise Your power symbol: Arrow pointing up Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Merry CHRISTmas to all!

Here is my little family (albeit in 2 separate pix but we are all here!)

I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed and very Merry CHRISTmas!

Look out, I'm on a ROLL. . . . . . . !!!!!!!

So, I guess there is an upside to feeling crappy, all the extra knitting time! So, not only did I complete the teacher gifts (which were all a hit according to DS) but behold what else I have finished up! This lovely little purse was a quickie project and I absolutely LOVE it! Thanks so much to spytastic for the great pattern. Here are my specs:









I followed her pattern as written using 1 skein of cream Lion Brand Woolease Thick and Quick. However, when I got to the last row I had plenty of yarn and a very shallow purse. I kept repeating the pattern until I had what I thought was just enough yarn to bind off and attach the purse handles. I probably could have gone one repeat more with the yarn that I eventually had left over but I am very pleased with the result as is. I have the CUTEST fabric for the lining but am waiting for mom to come to visit so she can sew that up for me. I don't do well with sewing machines (never have for some reason). 5 hours total knitting time, TOPS!

Onto our next show and tell:












These are my, I am embarrassed to say Socktoberfest socks. Well, I guess better late than never right? These will be gifted to a dear friend for Xmas! Woo hoo! I am LIKING all this finishing up of projects! (Leaves my conscience clear for new projects getting started) - tee hee! These were made up with Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the Denim colorway. Magic looped and done! Check!

But WAIT, there's more:
This was an extremely fast knit and very FUN to wear. Thanks Amy for the inspiration and allowing me to be your scarf twinsie! Tee hee! (Good use of the camera to hide my horridly ill-looking face). This one was made from 2 hanks of Joann's Sensation Brand "Ripple" on size 15US needles. Cast on 5 stitches and just knit BABY! Only problem was that I kept getting my needle tip caught in the hole of the 'loops' so I had to watch out for that but other than that, easie peasie and quick. I wore it today and got lots of comments/compliments. Most endearing were the 9-10 y.o. girls at before school care this am ("ooh, I REALLY like that scarf! That is sooo Cool!"). Aah, I still haven't become 'uncool'.

Ok, so that is it for tonight from my little corner of the sick ward. Gotta go see if I can muster up the desire to work on Zara. She is being sorely ignored!

5 handknit teacher gifts? CHECK!

Yep! I finished the 4 teacher scarves and 1 teacher hat. Woo hoo! Check them all out in all of their finished glory!! (I'm so relieved!)

So, let's talk about each, shall we? The scarf at the far left is made from Boa in the mint-yellow colorway. Pretty basic but DS loved the yarn so, who am I to argue? Next to it you see a pretty Eros scarf. The colorway was so cool on that one. Turqouise (sp?) to lime, to blue, to purple and back again. Very fun knit. Next we have my FAVE by far. It's a little neck warmer (sans brooch which I must acquire) and the yarn was sooooo cool. It is Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes. It was a JOY to work with and check out the color variation:



















Isn't that a great colorway???? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it~




Then on the far right is a scarf made from Shakespeare. It's the pattern that comes on the tag from the ball of yarn. It's a quick and easy lacy knit. Here's my attempt at showing you the knit detail. Took just one ball of the yarn and was very, very quick to knit. I liked knitting with it quite a bit.





Last but not least, at the top you see a simple 2k, 2p ribbed "skullcap" type hat for my son's male math teacher. Noro Kureyon. Need I say anything else???

Well, I am very pleased with myself as I have all the teacher gifts done TWO (count them 2) days before they are to be given. I'm doing good on the knitting deadlines. Woo Hoo!

How did I get to be so lucky????

OK, so I know that everybody thinks that THEIR SP is the best but I have truly been so blessed with my SP6 pal. That is a picture of the last surprise I got from her. Can you believe it? Among it all is lots and lots of yummy chocolate candies (assorted types), some yummy cocoa mixes and peppermint chocolates, a mary englebreit sewing kit (too cute), a pattern for felted roses, a pamper me set from Kiehl's (excellent stuff), some mini emery boards, a little plastic trinket box, a rubber stamp of a medical bag with a red cross on it and a red marker for the stamp. What a HAUL! However, by far the best and most touching part of the whole shibang was the stitch marker you see in the picture below. You see, Stacy Klaus my FAB SP, knows that my favorite shape ever are hearts and she made me a marker with a heart shaped texas flag charm (that's where she's from). How AWESOME was that???? She wrote the most touching card as well as you can see. This expression of caring was so touching to me. I don't know how to thank her enough. Stacy, you are a wonderfully caring and giving person. I was blessed to have you cross my path and I am glad that we can keep in 'cyber' touch with each other. Thanks ever so much!

Updates, knitting, etc., etc., etc.,

So, I really have been knitting. I just frankly have been too lazy to take any pictures of anything. So, let's see. I have finished 2 and 1/2 teacher scarves ( I need to do a total of 4), I have finished up a pair of long standing WIP socks (YEAH) that I will be gifting for x-mas.

I finished up a small cabled knit purse from this pattern (thanks so much Spytastic). I am currently sewing the handles on. I used Wool-ease big and easy in cream. 1 skein was all it took. I did however make the bag deeper by making my rectangle longer than the pattern calls for. It was too tiny the way the pattern calls for so I just kept going until I was almost out of yarn. I saved enough yarn to sew the bag onto the handles and I will have a bit to spare. Now I need to figure out how to make and attach the fabric lining (I knit, crochet, x-stitch, embroider, do hardanger and pulled thread work but I do NOT sew, sigh!). My mom is coming to visit on 12/22. I'll probably just have her do it (tee hee!).

I have put my poor beaded shawl off in lieu of Xmas knitting. RATS! I really wanted it done for xmas eve. Oh well, that is just how it goes, right? (I guess I shouldn't complain since I knit myself a purse but, that doesn't really count because it was chunky wool on big needles and just took me 2 1/2 short evenings to knit - I can justify ANYTHING :-P ).

I started a beautiful knit 2 purl 2 chenille scarf. I am using (I think) Great Adirondanks chenille ( I can't remember what chenille it is that I am using). Anyway, it's GORGEOUS! I'm about 1/3 third done with that one.

I'm sure there is more that I've been up to, I just can't think of it off the top of my head. I will have to go home and look stuff over, take pictures and write up a REAL post. But, since I am at working and being bad ("there were these 3 naughty nurses, they were naughty, saucy even, naughty nurses, and they were in the shower. . . ." - Oops flight of ideas to Grey's Anatomy. Let me get back to what I was saying), when I get home I will let you know what I've really been up to, Ok?

Oh, and BTW, did anyone else think that $29 was OUTRAGEOUS for this??? I got one (sans knitting motifs and needle inventory) at my local Michael's for between $2 and $3. Why don't I ever come up with these marketing ideas, huh?

Tuesdays are my Sit 'n Knit nights

I love Tuesdays. It's when I get together with "my girls" for sit 'n knit. We all converge on Birds en masse and deal with everything in our lives from the past week. Happy, sad, silly, serious, WHATEVER!

I've said it before but I felt the need to say it again, I love "my girls". I don't know what I would do without Tuesday nights and "the blue knitters".

Thanks girls! I love ya all!

Birthday Party SUCCESS!

Yep, today was DS b-day party. A Lazer X-treme b-day party. It ROCKED! What else would a bunch of 8-10 year old boys rather do on a cold, snowy Cleveland morning? Here are some highlight pix to share:



I had never played laser tag before. What a HOOT! DH and I are in the pictures above and the rest are just a few of the kids. Funny, we rented the place out for an hour of game time and an hour of party time (cake & ice cream, presents, etc.). The gaming area holds up to 20 players at a time (I found out that between all the levels - 2 of them - there is 10,000 square feet of gaming area - WOW) SO I told DS that we could invite up to 16 kids. He invited 16. I expected there to be at least 1/3 turn downs. I got 1! Oh well, no difference in the cost and they all had a blast. DS was VERY VERY happy.

It was a good day! ;->

Happy Birthay BB!

Yep my FABULOUS little man turned 9 today. I love you so much my BB and all your goofiness, loving, caring, specialness of YOU! God blessed me so much by allowing me the privilige of being your mom. I don't know how I could ever go on living without having you in my life. I thank God for you every day. I hope you had a FABULOUS day.

Which Harry Potter character are you?

Tee hee! You guys all know how much I LOVE a 'good' quiz. Here's a new one I found. Go to this site and take the quiz. These were my results:

You scored 34, on a scale of 0 to 100. Here's how to interpret your score:

25 - 42 You're dreamy and absent-minded, though you often show startling intelligence. Sometimes you're Luna Lovegood, Harry's spacy acquaintance; at your best, you're Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, far more serious-minded than your behavior might imply.

I don't know about the Dumbledore thing, but Luna? Yep! I can see the resemblance.

Enjoy!

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas.

So, here in the States, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We certainly have had lots of family, lots of friends and lots of food to be thankful for. My little threesome of a family celebrated at my DH's stepsister's. We usually head off to the in-laws by she hosted this year instead. My MIL enjoyed the holiday immensely this year as she was outright forbidden in the kitchen. SSIL and I finished up the few last minute things. I even made my FIL happy by carving the turkey and allowing him to remain seated watching football and drinking beer. Ah, it's the simple pleasures in life that are truly blissful, aren't they? Tee hee.

On the knitting front, I have gotten myself into full gear. I've finished 1 of 4 teacher scarves, 1 of 3 (or 4) pairs of socks, 0 of 3 hats (I had only 2 on the list until Thanksgiving when SBIL decided he'd like a skull cap as well) and I have 2 other family scarves to make also (an additional one added for the SBIL to go with his add-on skull cap). YIKES! So much to do in such little time. Well, the teacher scarves are a MUST as well as 1 of the hats (for a male teacher). All others are advised that they are "in the queue". All's fair in christmas knitting, that's my motto. Which brings me to my next knitting quandry. . . read on:

Christmas tree 1 of 2 was up and decorated on Friday. That would be the artificial tree that I put up in the living room. As DS refers to it "the fancy tree". You all know the one, the one with all the coordinating ornaments to match the decor (or somewhat match)of the room. Not a single hand-made, family heirloom, "cutesy" ornament in site. Elegant and picturesque. Planned look from the very inception right down to the last ornament. Beautiful but just for show.

Christmas tree 2 of 2 has been bought, put up, watered and is "falling" as we speak. This would be the natural tree that will hold all the handmade, sentimental, heirloom, etc. ornaments. I put this one up in the family room (as DS refers to it "the family tree"). We went Douglas fir this year. Wanted Blue Spruce but they were either too scrawny or WAY too tall. So, douglas fir it is. We will light and decorate that one tomorrow after we see where all the branches land (i.e. where all the huge, gaping holes are) and we settle on it's location (i.e. turn the holes to the wall away from sight). Oops, flight of ideas. Let's get back on track. . .

SO, I pulled out all our homey type ornaments. This is an annual ritual for me. When DH and I were first married, we bought plenty of plain multicolored glass ornaments for our tree. Each year we bought (and still buy) a dated ornament to add to the collection. When DS was born, we started buying a dated ornament for him as well as for ourselves. Sometimes we buy a single ornament for us and a single ornament for him. Sometimes we buy multiple ornaments because they represent something special in our lives at the time or a special memory (new baby, new house, etc.). Each year I carefully divide out the ornaments. Ours, DS's and the "filler" ornaments (the plain multi-colored glass ones). Then I organize the dated ornaments by year (to account for them all). As I do this I reflect on what was happening in our lives at the time/year of each purchase. Where there lots of ups or some downs that influenced the ornament choice? What were we doing at the time? Where were we geographically? Where did we spend those holidays? Etc., etc.... All the dated ornaments are hung first and then filler ornaments as needed - last year we didn't use a single filler, HA! ;-P

Again, let's get back on track. Each year, I enjoy and look forward to this little ritual. It allows me to look back on my life and reflect on all that has come to pass, for better or for worse. I look at the ornaments and remember the hope of each Christmas season and the dreams that I had at the time of each holiday passing.

SO, what does all this have to do with knitting you might ask? Well, when I was totally obsessed with cross-stitch I made several ornaments and I even bought some cross-stitch themed ornaments. I would now like to make some knitted ornaments and/or purchase some knitting themed ornaments. So, what do all of you, my dear friends, suggest for this undertaking? Do you know of any knitted ornament patterns? I've seen some felted ball patterns but I didn't know if there was anything else that you all might come up with or ideas that you've all done that you can share. Anyone know of any commercially made knitting themed ornaments? Let me know what you all got. Thanks!

Second time in as many months. . . .

I'm in the paper again. They don't show them online, but they ran a picture of the patient wearing her hat and a picture of me at Birds knitting on a cap. Funny, I've never been in the paper my whole life and this makes it twice now. I was glad for the story as I hope to be able to gain more volunteers for the patients, more donations of yarn and more business for the shop. I love that shop. Gotta help them out whenever I can, y'know?

On the knitting front, I finished another baby cap. I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to the mom so I will just describe. This one was another blue and white one for the newest baby in my unit's family. I used cotton ease and lion brand suede. Nice combo actually. Very soft lines with the suede in it. This hat was especially dear because the baby was a bit premature, had to stay in the hospital longer than mom and then returned to the hospital less than 12 hours after being discharged. He was VERY sick with a blood infection and had to be life-flighted to our local children's hospital. He was a tough little booger though and is now home and raising all sorts of heck. You GO Sam!!

I have now set a precedent. Every nurse on my units knows that I will knit them a unique baby cap when a baby is born (child or grandchild). It's kinda cool actually because they 'get' how I let the cap tell me what it wants to look like. Problem is that a couple of the moms now want hats to match their babies. YIKES! That may be a bit much. We'll see.

I got the yarn for my Charlotte's Web. If any of you remember, I had bought 5 skeins of Koigu PPPM way back when while on vacation in Toronto. I had decided then to do it all in one colorway. It's in my stash. I've been thinking about it. I want to do the 5 different colors. So, off I went and ordered more KPPPM online. Tee hee! I am such a yarn ho! Really, it's bad. Aweful actually. I could open up my on mini shop and be in business for a few months before I had to get more inventory. Really. No, REALLY! I would be embarassed to even begin to shoot pix of the stash. Besides, DH would die if I pulled it all out at one time.

Last but not least, I received the second set of my stitch markers from the Switch Marker Swap. Here they are:

Aren't those so cool???? I love the way the wire is wrapped around the bottom beads. Very Very cool. Thanks Mandy. I just love them!

Aren't these CUTE?!?!?!?!?

My dear and lovely friend Stacy has sent me these AWESOME stitch markers as part of the Switch Marker Swap. Aren't they EVER so cute???? (I really need a camera with a better zoom - it's so hard to get close ups with this one. - Any suggestions?) Anyhow, the top row are a christmas theme not b/c christmas is around the corner (36 days left - but who's counting, right?) but b/c her full name is Stacy Klaus. Isn't that cute? I got a present directly from and handmade by Mrs. Klaus. Tee hee! DS thinks that is SOOOO COOL! The remaining 3 heart themed ones were little 'extras' (lagniappe for anyone from N. Orleans) because she knows how I adore hearts. Wasn't that extra sweet of her?

A finished object!!

Flap top mittens made from Elsebeth Lavold angora (burgundy) and Weaver's wool from mountain colors (pine needle colorway).

These are my FIRST MITTENS!! I like the mittens but, the angora is a bit bulky on the flap opening. I also do not like the tip. The original tip was too squared off and this tip is too pointy. I am going to frog the tip and do a sock toe end to see if that has a better shape to it.

Not too bad though, don't ya think?

OK, now I am MAD!

Ranting post, Ranting post. Don't say you weren't warned. Continue at your own risk:

So, as you all know from the name of this blog and prior postings, I am a registered nurse. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. A 4 year degree. At a University. Nursing is a profession. I see it that way, I've always seen it that way. Yes, traditionally, nursing has been a female profession. Unfortunately, that is a negative stereotype that we as a profession have been trying to overcome for as long as there have been nurses. We are not handmaids, we are not inferior to physicians. We have our own specialties and insights that few, if any physicians, will ever be able to grasp. When I entered the collegiate world, I was originally a pre-med student. In the middle of my Fall semester, sophomore year, my Dad had a heart attack. A big heart attack. He was hospitalized at the university affiliated teaching hospital. I took the rapid transit from the university station and got off at the hospital's station with all the medical students and my fellow nursing students to visit him whenever I could. Before class, during breaks, for lunch, after classes. What I saw while I visited was that I did not really want to be a doctor, I wanted to be a nurse. I was able to directly see the differences between the medical profession and the nursing profession. I chose nursing. I loved nursing then and I love it now.

So, what's the problem you might ask? Well, for the whole 17 years of my nursing career I have had a battle with many convincing them that nursing was indeed a profession. A free standing profession. Nurses can (and DO) make decisions and take actions that literally save lives every day. I have had to make physicians, families, PATIENTS understand the importance and value of nursing as a profession over and over again. I knew all of this going in. I accepted that challenge form the beginning and continue to fight it daily.

Again, so what's the problem Jannett? Well, here's the problem. I was recently told of a website for an organization (no need to name as that's not really the problem here) that has issues with ER and other medical shows for their poor representation of nurses. "GREAT!", I said in my ignorance of what I would find there. I went to the site. I read the information on the site and went as far as joining their campaign against ER by mailing out the form letter they have available on said site.

I then was intrigued and went further into the site to join their organization. I began to look over the different pages on joining, gaining 'points' and the merchandise available for purchase. I then FROZE and was appalled. They were offering a male nurse action figure to promote the nursing profession. In doing so they staed that they were trying to validate nursing as a profession because even men are entering into it ("you can buy them as birthday gifts to promote men in nursing and nursing overall" - can you believe that one?). Was there a corresponding female action figure you might wonder? Heck no! As if the mere entry of a penis into our ranks would then validate the hundreds of years of rich nursing history in which there were no men amongst us. AUUGH!

Don't get me wrong. I sincerely understand the plight of male nurses and how difficult a stereotype it is for them to enter our profession. However, I am concerned about the message being sent to females about action figures and themselves as nurses. Why can't a FEMALE be an action figure? Why is it that nurses were never seen or portrayed as figures of action until men began to enter the profession? Why should men be spotlighted now because they finally are entering into one of the most rewarding and amazing profession in the healthcare industry? Where were all the spotlights before???

As a nurse, I agree with and join in on advocating the nursing profession and am vocal about the misrepresentation of nurses in media, TV and movies. I have lived with 17 years of fighting this battle. Even while I attended university for my BSN, I was angered with the show 'Nightingales' in which all the nurses seemed to be airheaded, sex-starved women who wore short skirts and heels at work. I am very feminine and love being pretty and dressing up but I take offense to that portrayal of the nursing profession. My DH will attest to the fact that I am truly a girly girl. That's not the issue here.

Now, 17 years later, I see more and more males entering our profession. BRAVO! I applaud them for finally valuing the profession of nursing and going beyond the stereotype of nursing as a 'woman's' job. However, I am equally (if not more so) appalled that now that men have started to become nurses, the emphasis has been placed on how strong MALE nurses are and how thankful we should be that men are becoming nurses. As if they were coming to the rescue of the nursing profession. That's a load of crap.

I feel that a new stereotype is beginning to unfold: male nurses are superior to female nurses. It seems as though everywhere I turn, male nurses are being commended above female nurses, nurse action figures are males but nurse Barbie dolls are females. MALE nurses are being portrayed as the dominant superior form of the nurse in ads, on TV and in movies. Doctors that I work with are much more likely to heed a male nurse's opinion over a female nurse's opinion regardless of experience or knowledge base. Male nurses on TV and in movies are the ones that 'save the day' while the female nurses mostly pine away after the doctors. We are allowing a whole new prejudice and patronizing atmosphere for the traditional female nurse to emerge by continuing to bow down to men entering nursing.

I WILL NOT join the site's group. Not when they are promoting a new injustice that has begun for all female nurses on a daily basis. We now are not only seen as inferior to physicians, but to our male counterparts as well. Bring on the FEMALE nurse action figure ALONG WITH the male nurse action figure. As a group we need to promote the WHOLE of nursing. We don't need to add another avenue of discrimination within our very ranks and further tear apart our profession along gender lines.

AUUGH, I could just spit nails right now.

Woo Hoo. I'm a SEXY knitter!

Come on over and join us. You knooow you want too! (wink)(wink)

Here I am in cartoon form!

Or at least what I envision myself as! My DS and DH say it is a pretty good likeness of me. Thanks Amy for the link to this site. It was pretty fun!


Updated 11/12/05 - It's fall, I had to change my clothes so here I am ready for the crisp fall air!

Yeah for me!

With only 9 days to go. . . . . . .


be sorted @ nimbo.net

I got RAOK'd!!!

Well, I got home from work today. Today was horrid. It's the
anniversary of my Dad's passing away 8 years ago. Seems like
yesterday. So, today was hectic and hard. Well, I got home and
BAM! I got ROAK'd! SOMEBODY anonymously sent me 3 skeins of
araucani nature wool chunky in the 'berry' colorway. Go to FuzzyMabel
it's color #116. Isn't it beautiful??????

I think I have enough to make either a lucy bag or my buttonhole
bag. I will have to figure that out tomorrow.

I would LOVE TO THANK the kind soul who brought this bit of sunshine
to me on such an otherwise dreary day. I only have a return street
address and zip code (not even the city and state!).

WHOEVER you are, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Amazing the timing of these things, isn't it?????

11 days and counting. . . .

Yeah, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 11 days. ELEVEN DAYS!!!! That's less than 2 weeks! Yipppppppeeeeeeeeee! The blue knitters are all going to the movie together. Yee haw! I am still working on HiP and here's the picture to prove it: Only question is; am I going to be able to finish it in time???? I have to make some MAJOR progress as it is getting cold here and I will need a lot more length to be able to wear it properly. You might have noticed that I altered the striping pattern. I wanted a little bit of difference there. I am going to go back to the double striping and then back to the single and then the double once again. That should be about the right length. We'll just have to see.

On the warm hands KAL front, I started my first mitten ever. I did all of this in one day so I am pretty excited about finishing these up quickly. Here's what I have so far: (see picture)

I am using Elsebeth Lavold Angora in Burgundy for the cuffs and the flap opening. The mitten itself is from Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool in the Pine Needle colorway. Isn't it cool? I still have to kitchener the top, add the thumb and add the burgundy openings stitches (so there isn't a gaping hole) for the fingers flap.

Here's another shot of it (backside of the hand) with the finger flap up. I really like the idea of the flap so that I can use my fingers if I choose. The angora ribbed beautifully, is snug but soft at the wrist and keeps things warm and dry. I can't WAIT to get these done!
I can't choose what to knit on every night. I want to knit on them all!!

Happy Halloween!

Tee hee, thanks Kathy for the GREAT photo

Hey, can I CASH in?????? ;->

Look, I went UP in value!!!!!!!

My blog is worth $5,645.40.
How much is your blog worth?

Thanks Esther for that link. Kinda funny actually. I have NO idea how it all works, but I think it's worth a chuckle.

A nurse you say? REALLLY. . . . .

Your Aura is Blue Your Personality: Your natural warmth and intuition nurtures those around you. You are accepting and always follow your heart. You in Love: Relationships are your top priority, and this includes love. You are most happy when you are serious with someone. Your Career: You need to help others in your job to feel satistifed. You would be a great nurse, psychologist, or counselor. What Color Is Your Aura? Take This Quiz :-)

The "Knitty Gritty" does it again. . . . .

Last month, Annie, came up with an excellent discussion question regarding why we all blog. She's at it again. Here's this month's question:

I feel very Carriesque at this moment in time.

**Do you believe that friendships formed via the internet are as strong as
those formed by meeting friends face-to-face? Why or why not? **

So once again, I present you with my answer as posted on her blog. Please feel free to disregard as you so choose:

I have to hand it to you, you always find a way to make sure that you get us all thinking. As always (my disclaimer) the following are MY opinions and my opinions only. I respect everyone elses view on things. I am just about to ramble my own thoughts on the question at hand. OK, now that the legalities are out of the way. . . . . .

Online friendships vs. face-face????

I think that a friendship is a friendship. The manner in which the friendship is started is of little significance. What IS of significance is how the friendship affects those involved. The level of the commitment, intimacy between the 2 parties and the care between the 2 is the ruler by which a friendship should be evaluated. How a friendship is constructed or maintained is not or should not be a factor in the measurement on said friendship. How a person responds to someone else's needs and how the two interact is what establishes the 'importance' or 'meaning' of the relationship. Being in physical proximity to eachother is of little consequence if people aren't supportive of eachother. Listening to each other, supporting each other, boosting each other, laughing with, crying with, respecting each other for who you each are, reaching out to each other and helping each other; these are the measures of a true friendship. I have made online friends that are more supportive of me and who I am and what I need than the acquantances I see on a daily basis. A true friend takes you for who you truly are and loves you for that. No questions asked, unconditionally and as you are. That is how a friendship should be measured and I think that all that can certainly be fulfilled no matter whether you have 'met' the person or not.

Posted by: knittingnurse at October 28, 2005 05:36 PM

Hopping Halloween Batman!

Ok so that was a lousy attempt at resurrecting an old show but, WOW did I get a great halloween surprise today. My F.A.B. secret pal sent me this! Can you believe all the goodies? I have a ball of Australian Merino in a yummy pumpkin variegated colorway, a package of peace of mind chewing gum (Lord knows I NEED that), her first 2 stitch markers ever (a funky spiky black and white ball and a spider one), a badge/ID holder with a heart (my all time favorite shape in the world), a pack of candy corn, a travel pack of candy corn facial tissues, and the best of all, a Red Cross commemorative knit kit for socks. I have been eyeing that for awhile (I am into all that kinda stuff) and she read that I love to knit socks and am volunteering for the red cross SOOOO, I got the kit from her. Isn't that just SOOOO COOL??! I can't wait to get my hands on that yarn. I have to line it up behind Xmas stuff, but STILL. Even if I don't get to it for awhile, I have it. Thanks Stacy!!!!!

Tee hee!

You are Slinky Heels! You're an uptown, well put together woman. But you're not too uptight to enjoy a hot club. You're always the best dressed chick in the room and you'll only settle for the best in men What Shoe Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Happy blogversary to me!

Well, it's my blogversary. Yeah! 1 year and I am still here. Unfortunately, no one took up my offer for the contest. Bummer. Oh well, I still want to celebrate so let's say that anyone who writes to me will be entered into a random drawing for the prize previously discussed, ok? Good. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog.

So although you may not know it from reading, I HAVE been up to quite a bit of knitting. I have been very proactive with my Carpal tunnel though. I am wearing my braces (I have one for both wrists now) whenever I am not knitting of asleep. Take THAT you lousy nerve endings! It's actually been helping. So here comes the knitting.

Ok, so for Lolly's Socktoberfest I am finishing up the second sock on my pair of socks. Yeah!
Tee hee, as I previewed this post I noticed that not only am I obsessive about matching up the striping as much as possible but that I laid the socks out so that the striping matched. Yikes! I am vowing at this very moment that my next pair of striped socks will not be identical. PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION. (well, they ARE going to be for my DS and not me, but that's besides the point, right?) Hoo boy, I need to be less of a perfectionist with my knitting. DH finds it hard to believe since I am NOT that way around the house. Really. I'd show you pictures but then I would have to kill you.


So, from socktoberfest heaven, we turn out attention to ZARA. This is really turning out to be a quick and fun knit. I altered the pattern so that I did the body up to the neckline in the round. I didn't want any seams on this one. I have the body (up to the neckline and 1 1/2 sleeves done). Love the Reynolds Blizzard also. Very nice knitting.
Here we have the sleeves. Not too far to go now before I can seam and attach them to the body then do the neckline. When I originally saw this done, it was made in chocolate brown with black eyelash accent in the neckline. I wanted the pink but can't decide. Eyelash or no? Black, brown, pink or iridescent? What do you all think?


Now, we also have the newest WIP. Just started it on Tuesday at sit 'n knit. It's a beaded scarf from Lily Chin's Book Knit and Crochet with Beads. Great book by the way. Anywhooo, here is what I have so far:



And here is a close up of it. I just love the edge on this. The beads just "float" on the edge. Very Very Very cool! I know that's a louse picture of the edge but trust me, it's very cool. I am using Blue Heron rayon metallic and some very awesome coppery metallic beads. I can't wait to finish this one up either.

So, last but definitely NOT least, I went out tonight for a field trip sit 'n knit to Starbucks with my knitting pals. It was the first time we have met outside of the shop for our regular sit 'n knit. Here we are:Right to left is Caroline, Cheri (my sensei), Lauren, Tammy, Amy and then little ole' me! We had a GREAT night and it was a fabulous way to end the celebration of my blogversary. Thanks girls. I love you all!

When in Rome. . . . . .

You Belong in Rome You're a big city girl with a small town heart which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand and gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better? What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Aah, now if I could move my life there I would be all set. I don't even think that my Hubbie would mind it at all (well, except for the gorgeous italian men part). Any suggestions on how to move your entire LIFE???? tee hee

It's been almost a YEAR!

Well, my blogversary is just around the corner. October 29th will mark 1 year of the blog. Seems to have gone by way faster than I expected it too. Huh, well, in honor of this date, I am having a contest! What I would like is for all you WAY MORE TALENTED people out there to come up with a button for my site (sad 1 year and no cutesy button for moi!). Winner will be drawn randomly from all entries and I will ask for your permission to blazonly plaster your button all over!!! tee hee (really, if I had any clue on how to do that I would but, I am so NOT computer design saavy at all!).

Winner will have some yarn and goodies sent for their efforts and good wishes. Gotta go look and see what goodies I have. hummmmmmm,

On the knitting front, I have the body of Kara and 1 & 1/2 sleeves done! I need to pull out the camera and show the progress. Maybe tonight while DS is at PSR. I am also now working on a HiP scarf which I am PRAYING will be ready for the premiere of GOF! UGH! I wanted to do a sweater but these past few months have been CRAZY!!! Again, I will try to post pix.

I also need to post pix of my socks for Lolly's Socktoberfest. I REALLY need to get that camera out!

Lastly, on the Red Cross volunteering front, I have had 4 of the 5 recommended/required vaccinations and I getting the last one today. I also am completing the last session of training on Wednesday, October 19th. All my papers will be complete and handed in at that session and then. . . . . . . . I wait. Our hospital is sponsoring 40 employees to go with full salary and benefits paid by the hospital but there can only be 4 of us gone at a time. Well, there are 4 down there already and I don't know where I will end up on the waiting list. I'll keep everyone posted. In the meantime, I have to go and get my 'stuff' (sleeping bag, bug spray, antibacterial hand gel, etc., etc.). I have to figure out what knitting to take with me as well. My husband thought I was NUTS when I said that but I am actually even thinking of taking some extra needles, yarn and basic knitting instructions. If I am in a shelter and I can give someone in need the gift of knitting, hey, I am all OVER it! I am thinking that my best bet (for myself) is going to be socks, portable and take up very little room (I have to carry my gear y'know). I'll have to see what socks to take with.

"see" ya all later!

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Hahahahahaha - another one!

You Are A: Puppy!

Beloved by all, puppies are energetic, playful, and loving. Your playful and outgoing nature is part of what makes you a puppy. Known for their loyalty, puppies make great pets for young and old alike. And an innocent puppy face can melt anyone's heart!

You were almost a: Lamb or a Parakeet
You are least like a: Chipmunk or a FrogWhat Cute Animal Are You?

I believe that DS may be clipping. Oops!