Bomb socks ? ugh not another manic week end

all i can do is laugh if i don't i will soon find myself totally insanely crying my eyes out.
what will happen around here next.
lets see before i relate this one to you.
so far this winter we have had
1. the dive bombing eagle carrying a deer head that took out an electric pole and took out our elec for a while.
2. the 200 inches of snow or more that did in my patio in places as well as a ton of fences and other things in town
3. the moose that took down a helicopter in a city not to far from ours like 50 miles
4 the fire up the road that took out and apartment building
5. oh yea and the cops and beaters chase through the neighbor hood when two i cant call them ladies tried to beat another lady who ran into a bank for shelter but they just kept grabbing her trying to beat and rob her so she ran up the street cops got one guy on the ground right outside my house with rifles pointed at him. wrong person wrong person wasn't a guy that was the perp was two idiot women on some thing i bet but not men or boys

awe and now the latest one
a bomb scare
some idiot left a back pack under a 6,000 gallon drum of oil (heating fuel tank ) right outside and behind the court house here. just two blocks from me they shut the whole neighborhood down for 7 hours .
we were taking Timmy's found birthday gift to him when we went past all the cops and barricades thinking oh there getting ready for a rally outside the court house and the state legs building. no way . and then when we got to the govs mansion and more road blocks the radio was screaming the news to us and we were amazed found ourselves on a one way trip for along while because we could get out but getting home was a whole different story. our grandson mike tried desperately to get home he was pretty worried about us and was refused entry to the area. even when he said i live there. it was sorry no go they told him he could walk the long long way around and he thought no way so he stayed where he was.
what really got me was we left the dogs and one cat at home. and were not in the least prepared to evacuate for nothing. i had one sock project in my knitting bag and that was it the new 160 gig external hard disk drive i had was hooked up the PC downloading all the information i wanted off the pc to it. and wouldn't be done for a few hours. ughhhhhhhhh.
if anything had blown up for real our kids would have told us we couldn't continue to live in the down town area we would more then likely be told to move to the valley LOL
you know its times like this my knitting comes in handy keeps me sane totally. as it is i finished one sock and am working now on the very first row of its match.
i did spend the better part of today working on locating all redundant pics and taking them off the storage unit i have. so i will have more room for more pictures .
i am thinking i should come up with two sock patterns one should be called fire socks and the other one bomb socks LOL maybe wild animals of alaska dedicated to the moose and eagle LOL oh yea and i hear tell there is a wolf out the road taking small dogs like i said what next ...........
yea i am like so cross eyed from looking at pictures for days now and so being driven slowly mad from the insane life around me LOL
i will take a photo of the one lone sock later and post it tomorrow . going to my daughters here again soon for a couple of hours all this insanity may as well leave the neighborhood for a bit gesh some people sure do get bad cases of cabin fever LOL

mandy pie & sweater , plus easter ,& winters end

i think i walked into a house where everyone there was very tired out. something to do with a birthday party sleep over and staying up until 5 am. that was enough to put Timmy on the couch in sleep mode until dinner and mike on the carpet in front of the TV sleeping away too for his own excuses not to far off from the others. those of us with any energy. put eggs together for the big Easter egg hunt . but peaches had a tough one going there with all the snow still outside there was no place safe to hide anything. so the egg hunt happened in doors. Mandy pie found all the peeps LOL i had no clue what a peep was just never paid attention to them until this year when they came up on get stitchy in the form of u tube shows. so when i saw Mandy pies peeps i had fun grabbing one up and running to the kitchen and stuffing it onto a plate and into the microwave for one min which was the smallest amount of time i could get on peaches microwave. know i too know what peeps do in microwaves. LOL my son in law was standing behind me and he couldn't believe what he saw either. so i grabbed another because the kids hadn't seen yet and they squealed and laughed and couldn't believe what they saw too. and then peaches said if that blows up your going to clean it . hummmmmmm.........not a problem........... don't worry.......... it didn't ........... and that was it ... Laura got on line with her buddies and they were all over the Internet looking at the peep shows on u tube. having a blast . so the peep shows came to our town LOL maybe a few years late. but even we got in on the fun this year.

i got my stitch markers from G-Girl in the mail there just lovely totally and she sent me some other beads to use for anything i wanted along with . i still have to take pictures of it all so i can share those.

i sent out my stitch markers ( surprise not telling what else ) to her today she should get that in a week.

and i sent out my stitch markers to the other gal today too.

hubby had fun at the yarn store shopping and fun at the grocery store too, shopping we talked about this stitch marker thing he really got into it so said ok hon you can do this one once a year only because he doesnt want to be left out. he had way way to much fun LOL and i am leaving it at that i am also limited from here on out to one stitch marker exchange buddy at a time. so my next stitch marker exchange that i can get invloved in may be this coming christmas or could be next easter. we will see. and it will depend on who is throwing one around that time .

meanwhile i am still knitting on this sock here got it to the toe and realized i had gone to far so its alittle to long so frogged back a few inches to make it right. once done with this i have the other one to do.

its been a real struggle with this knitting socks with real sock yarn and someone else's pattern other then plain but hey well worth it. and of course i changed it to suit me i don't like socks that come above my ankle because they tend to fall down and bunch up so i always knit ankle length to begin with . so these while same in the exact pattern are ankle length of course.

reminds me of the time i first learned how to knit socks took me a month to figure out the pattern. that is just about how long its taken me to figure out this one LOL so it feels but its worth it. allot of it is the constant frogging. one of those ugh another mistake oh goodie rip rip rip. nothing like do overs. LOL

but i am so so close to the end of this first one. so so close.

oh yea and DA Egg didn't make it . the gal who brought in the lovely pillow at the end and was asked to put a bird in the middle won. sigh oh well. easy come easy go. i had fun that is what counts. i haven't gotten the egg back yet still have to ask when that is happening. not worried about it i will stop in and ask soon again. just not today.

this past week found us with tons of rain and warmer weather. so once we step outside the whole world seems so ugly right now. at least out neck of the woods is . i cant begin to tell you about the amount of serious clean up that i have to do out there this year. its simply awful. allot of trash blew into our yard this winter i know people don't walk around here dumping stuff i know it blows in. and the amount of dog pooh. well i know it wasn't all my dogs it sure is a ton. and i know that fence we talked about is seriously going in this coming summer to end that right now. LOL

so hubby has today off and i hope he isn't thinking of running a muck cause i want to clean that front yard up best i can. rake all that trash and ugh yuk away. so it isn't depressing to walk past the front door.

and that way i can enjoy looking at the pretty rhubarb peeking through the ground.

oh yea and we have some repair work to do on our patio some of the beams hold it up didn't make it through the heavy amount of snow fall so the patio is off limits until that is repaired.

oh well there is always the beach.

to run or not to run

omg i get up this am and am working on Mandy pies sweater got the heart done in the back the one hangs off the hood. was busy beading it and the dog next door begins to bark and bark and bark and bark and bark. and driving me nuts i was thinking of going next door and telling them to please do something but left it alone figured something isn't right. well know soon enough. sure was right. next thing i know knitting is thrown down and i am heading for my cloths grabbing as fast as i can getting dressed shoes and all as i run for the front door. not one fire truck but three go Zooming by screeching all the way. and around the corner and down the street up the hill they go. by this time i have my coat on my hat my cell phone in hand my dogs are going nuts my cat is sitting in the recliner taking note of everything looking at me with this mom what is going on look. and i step out and look up the hill and see this wall of black smoke billowing up into the sky. and think omg am i going to have to grab and run again. or what. they reported they sent some 15 units up there before they were done. i lost count was to nervious.

see just about a year back the Church across the street from me went up in flames and they had to come in and grab everyone from this area including me hubby and the dogs and get us all out.

the year before that i ran again from another fire that was down the street took out a mini mall

so i was thinking what do i grab and where the heck do i go since i was doing the alone at home thing today. and wouldn't you know i couldn't get anyone in the family on any phone they had to pick up so i could let them all know what was going on.

figured even if i had they wouldn't be able to reach me for about 30 Min's so the dogs and i would have to stuff the cat in the knitting bag and run. keep calling until we got someone to pick us up.

well we didn't have to run. thank god but i sure feel for the people that got burned out. it was an apartment building .

"Remodeling crews who happened to be working in a nearby building took their ladders to the burning apartment and helped people escape from the third floor, witnesses said"

i heard people were jumping out of windows 20 to 30 feet up so i think these remodeling crews are hero's if you ask me. my daughter sent me the photo later after she heard about the fire and called me frantically trying to see if i needed rescuing again last time she couldn't even get near the house to grab me up it was horrible.

my grandsons buddy had an apartment up there said he is ok called mike to let him know said he lost everything in that fire.

as you can see took me all of today to calm down and now that i am if i do knit its going to be very little
i can still smell the smoke in the air.
ok think knit purl knit purl hey this is better then counting sheep. knit purl knit purl :)

cracking the code and my ship came in :)

ok ok first i show off my shopping on line items and then i talk about socks and patterns
oh i tell you i was so so happy to see all this over this week end and today.

knitting on the road
a simply Divine sock book

sock it to me guide
something to stuff in my sock bag for when i am trying to make socks someone Else's size

two skeins of sock yarn # must buy two more of same though

and of course two each of size 1,2&3's circular needles in size 24 inch i think so i can knit two socks at one time of course :) i am like so so tickled pink.

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first thing i did of course when knitting on the road came in was pick out a pattern and cast on. got the cuff done and then one round and poof totally lost. until last night i couldn't crack that pattern code to save my life. finally gave up went on line to i don't remember where and one of the sites said vogue knitting book explained the tbl my mind said oh goodie i have that book. dug through my book shelf of all my knitting books and found it and hunted it down. i was getting the original tbl for the first round but the second round was just going over my head. and i was so so tired of tearing everything apart to the cuff and beginning again and again and again. but i am and always have been determined. so when i saw the explanation complete with pictures i was in heaven. just totally glad i got that code cracked. and now have about two inches of that sock knit up .
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meanwhile G-Girl my stitch swapping buddy on line and i have struck up an email conversation about socks LOL
she is testing the waters same as me but doing i think she said toe up sounds like and exercise huh well its actually a style of knitting socks if you don't know .
i had been thinking of how many ways one can actually knit socks
1. socks knit on dp's
2. knit on one circular
3. knit on two circulars
4. knit on a magic loop
5. knit on a loom
6. knit on a sock knitting machine
7. knit on a knitting machine flat
8. knit flat by hand

and then there are styles
socks knit regular style
socks knit ankle length
socks knit low low ankle length or bootie socks
socks knit for sandals
socks knit knee high
socks knit thigh high
socks knit with toes
socks knit with a re knit able bottom

and the other styles
socks knit toe up
socks knit from cuff down the traditional socks
socks knit from side to side
socks knit in awesomely wonderful patterns

awe the wonderful secret life of socks . and i bet there are more ways too just
haven't discovered them all
only ones i have done so far is ankle traditional, dp's one circular and two circular socks

ok hubby is off today so we have run around had breakfast out of course and bought this dresser with a mirror for the frontroom at a motel hotel here that is putting in all new furniture. price was right $20.00 was hoping for a little bit bigger one to go behind the small couch so my grandson could get out of my baking drawers i think laura would like that but we didnt get to the sale in time kept going past it everyday. oh well she has 36 more rooms to go through.
one can never have to many dressers LOL

Mandy Pies Sweater almost almost done and the new socks

here she is trying on the sweater to see how it fits. her mom came to borrow a movie and brought the kids plus the tiny tiny doggie so i had Mandy try the sweater on for us really fast.
the hood worked out just as we planned. and i had Mandy pie show her mom her mom said the hood looked like a grim reaper hood. and laughed. i said this is how come i don't knit for you anymore that plus she wont wear anything i do knit. says its to small or she doesn't like it or a dozen other reasons. what ever this addicted knitter isn't knitting anything for her again she laughed at me and said she didn't care. and that is another good reason she isn't getting anything out of me LOL on her :)
here is the next pair of socks yea i am bad couldn't wait for the 2 circ's to come in and i did go out to the lys and buy a pattern for socks called Classic Beginnings Socks for the Family which gave me not only a pattern in basic socks for myself but anyone else in the family if i choose to knit for them again LOL well you know what i mean.
so today i will finish Mandy's sweater tie off all loose ends so to speak, sew on the buttons and knit up the blue heart pocket and fake pockets she wants and then be done with that and move on to more socks and her hat :) oh yea her hat :) cant forget that now can I ? :)

sock bag and the new hat stand :)

OK here is my thrift store bag find cost me a whole $1.00 like i said who ever had it never used it but tell you what sure am going to use it totally :)
and i fount this thing it originally had this very tiny baseball size Styrofoam ball on top of it got it for 10 cents. brought home went to Joann's paid 2.50 for a larger good foam pressed ball and walla i know have one good hat stand :) its a dowel with glued to a small base with a large wood bead and a now it has a good sized pressed foam ball on top hats fit fine on it too.
in fact i think i will buy three more pressed foam balls here soon and make more stands for them to be able to display my hats on. :) between that and coat hanger sock forms i should be styling :)
OK got to run need to finish Mandy's sweater sometime today. and wash the wings i found angel and fairy ones there huge thought the girls could hang them on their walls as decoration since Laura loves fairies :) and Mandy loves angels :)

our family cat ( sigh what can i tell you)

Fuzzy has been with us since our daughter brought her home years back and then moved out again with out the cat. by that time it was to late. Fuzzy had a new owner . i remember my daughter asking for her cat. and me saying not happening. she said did dad claim her i said no she asked did my brother claim her i said no. with frustration she asked did you mom? i said no. she said then how come i cant have my cat back? i said you have to ask dusty for her. she is his cat now . Dusty is our family dog. and Fuzzy was way to young by a few weeks when our daughter brought her home. so Fuzzy lived under our bed wouldn't come out. and our dog took care of her. as a result of that bond our dog ended up later on helping her raise all her kittens they came in batches of course and in the end she had 18 kittens . he was fond of them all and it wasn't unusual to see him lovingly walking around with a kitten hanging out of his mouth on his way to tuck them back into their bed. or grabbing one and keeping it out of harms way. it was a hoot to watch him as he gathered them all up at night and took them away to snuggle with them while there mom was out and about doing cat things.
anyway when we had her fixed she missed her kittens. and i would catch her once in awhile stealing someones moccasins and crying as she took it away. like a kitten. and i would have to retrieve it and make sure it got back to its owner.
well hellooooooo mommy fuzzy. i was on my way to get am coffee hubby had put his clogs on the kitchen table to dry he put some sort of tool dip on the bottoms for traction. seems to be working. BUT ONE WAS MISSING!!!!!!!! ugh fuzzy hasn't been a mom now in years. but these clogs are good and soft. i had to look all over in the dark before i found it laying at the foot of the recliner she uses to sleep in LOL
she is a hoot don't like humans loves dogs and my hubby. and is a demanding little thing. if i don't get her a treat every other day she just stands there and tells me off in cat language until i do. if i don't let her baby out of the room she gets mad. her baby by the way is a 3 year old cocker spaniel go figure. LOL who she bats around like a kitten when she gets out of hand. oh yea and she potty trained the dog too after the kids house broke her i know that for a fact cause my dog not only goes out side she gets done and had to do the cat thing dig backwards at it like her mom and bury it all LOL
i am just glad i found the other clog i could see it being dragged off to the basement and then if that happened it would have been all over for that clog i would be knitting a new one fast to save fuzzy's hind end LOL
other wise i got the socks done done done i was working on and am one inch away now from finishing Mandy pies sweater sleeves. should be done with that today and then i can embellish and wait for her to show up so i can take pictures. :) and hand it over.
cant wait to do the socks out of my expensive sock yarn. and i went on line and shopped like a crazy fool for a few days. got more sock yarn coming more needles and a book . and i think i should go back and order more sock yarn . yep i think i should.
other wise i am just knitting like mad her and enjoying every min of it . oh yea i found this rope bag at the thrift store. Tuesday. we were driving around and i saw this lady with this rope bag the kind that had pinks and yellow bands on them with leather handles. i used to have one and fondly thought i wish i had one again it would make such a wonderful sock knitting bag. and so we went to the thrift store and i dug through the bin with all the old purses in it and walla i found one just what i was looking for too a rope bag no color other then natural. with leather handles and a zipper closer. it had been stored in someones closet forever because it had serious fold lines. so i took out the old iron and steam ironed it and stuffed it right away with all my stuff that put the shape right back into it. hubby likes it too said it don't take up all the floor room in the truck LOL
i put everything in zippies before i head out anyway no matter what bag i use so hey works for me.
also found drinking glasses to cool was about out of them forgot to buy them at the store. but this worked for me a whole set for $2.00 yep works nicely for me.
when the boys were in high school the spoons would disappear. i finally broke down and bought thrift store silver ware instead of buying whole sets and being upset all the time because the sets were disappearing one spoon at a time. no one noticed or cared that nothing matched had i not found the set of drinking glasses i was ready to grab what was on the Mason jar shelf. yep had been eyeing those before i spied the glasses. i don't think the grands would have noticed LOL
ok coffee is on time to go get me a cup of.
ps the stuff hubby bought to dab on the bottom of his slippers is some sort of dip for replacing the grip on tools . seems to work smells bad when its first put on but seems to work.
i cant see the cat stealing a pair of what then were stinky clogs LOL must work for her though. funny cat :)

One down Two to go

knitting for big foot is what mike called it when i showed him the frist clog before i finished and felted both of them both hubby and mike know the magic of felting:)
this is my size 8 &1/2 foot between the clogs before i washed them down :)
and there i am again after the felting with them i had hubby try them on they fit him perfectly he cant wait to wear them . was busy trying to figure out how long it took something this thick made of all wool to dry. LOL
i had to lighten this picture up so you wouldn't have to see a big black blob but hey this is after i cut all the fuzzys off. and i tell you what they had fuzzys don't plan on using a shaver to shave anything off plan on sitting at the kitchen table a pair of scissors in hand and cutting them all off .
hubby is thinking hard now what could he find that he can coat the bottoms with to be able to wear them anywhere anytime ? i said ok i can see i will have to knit you a swatch so you can experiment on that . LOL hey today is pay day( wink) have to keep him happy so i can get more yarn LOL ok off to see the world and enjoy today hugs and love and when i can get him to pose in his clogs after there dry i will ok :)

ps nothing in a hurry about my man he wants to buy a boot dryer so they well dry faster LOl oops got to go

the rambling mind of an additced knitter LOL

well i know i have hung out with my knitting pals on line for awhile now there rubbing off on me LOL
i used to go into the local yarn store and just look check out prices color and labels and not touch much. now i am like a kid when i go in i am mushing squeezing handling you name it going from one bin to the other just to see what is what . yarn stores are no longer a place with a huge price tag as before when i would go in and if i bought i bought enough at one time to make a sweater. and that was rarer. nope now i love going in and buying one skein if not two at a time.
where before if i couldn't afford more then two i would walk out. not anymore i skein or two goes along way.
another old myth mom passed on that you all broke was don't buy more then you can use. because it could go bad. meaning as in moths. and stuff like that.
enter the zippie and my stash is growing in leaps and bounds. i am learning yarn kept well is like a good bottle of wine. if well kept its awesome. i do have a few skeins left over from the years i made some good hats. that i kept in and old zipper bag that a bed sheet came in. in fact i used some of it on hubby's hat this winter.
anyway all that aside.
i went shopping on line omg was it ever awesome no one looking over my shoulder saying hummm or look at that price or do you need that really. or can we go now among alot of other things i hear when i go out shopping sometimes though not from my hubby who i think is as addicted to my knitting as i am. i have yet to see him walk in the door holding abag of yarn instead of flowers though but i bet that will happen sometime you never know.
i took the plunge and bought two skeins of SOCKOTTA YARN in some really lovely colors and two circs size #1's as recommended by a fellow sock knitter at http://socknitters.com which i joined about a week or so back. also have a copy of knitting on the road coming from amazon love shopping there. if i had gotten it here the price would have been outrageous. give you an example i have this audio book i just got for around $20. i went to the book store here to price it about fainted they wanted $50. for the same thing. books go for a bit more then the cover price here not by much but shopping at amazon even with the shipping i saved $6.00 on the book. and maybe more had i bought it here.
anyway, hubby bought some patons black yarn at Joann's awhile back and i bought the book on knitting felted clogs a couple of days ago here kept forgetting to every time i would go to the local yarn store. finally did she is so good at knowing her customers. all i did was hold up the huge unfelted version of the clog she had on display and she knew and got me the pattern right off.
about Da Egg. for days and weeks because of the snow i didn't get out to the lys. but when i walked in to find out what sock yarn was like and i bought the clog pattern. i was greeted by Da Egg well if i took a step into the store i would have passed it . there it sat on a shelf eye level as you walked in. seems its the only official entry to date at all. there is one more but its not official yet. its this very beautiful tiny tiny pillow in yellow and reds this one lady made. she was told to go home and knit a birdy to put in the middle and then it will be officially entered. the cut off date is April 1st. somehow i think her and i will be the only ones .
ok i got both hubby's clogs about done. haven't touched the socks yet and knit a few rows on Mandy's sleeves. just a few more inches to go on her sweater. and then bind off. she comes to visit this coming week end and i want to make sure i have this done so i can take pictures.
once i finish the sleeves it shouldn't take long to do the rest. i cant wait .
oh yea hanging out with all you fellow knitters has broke another habit in me too. sticking to one thing at a time. LOL now i find i have more then one thing going at one time. one to keep at home and knit most of the time that is a sweater. there ok to take when they are a certain size but then they get to the stage of being alittle much and i leave them home now. and grab a pair of socks instead. or a hat or clogs now LOL always helps to have options huh.
but the way things are going now by weeks end i should have all three done.
i love the magic of felting cant wait to see the after of hubby's clogs LOL

Mandy Pies sweater sleeves

ya i like this knitting both sleeves at the same time on two circulars really works nicely for me. i am 1/2 way to the bottom then knit the cuffs and on to embellishments. nothing going on here. did alittle on line shopping since getting out isnt going to happen none to soon. sure enjoyed shopping i got a copy of knitting on the road from amazon tell you what learning how to shop for books through them is awesome saved about 6 bucks doing it that way instead of trying to find one through our local book store heck being alaska it would have been well over the book price. i went to the local book store here and checked out prices for audio books ouch. one book i had been looking at was going there for 50 bucks on line gosh under 30 at least. may find it cheeper never know :)

ok time to have breakfast and running really late on that and then back to the sleeves :)

Snow Snow and more Snow and Mandy Pie's Sweater

Hubby in front of our daughters house as we drop off our grandsons pants he left at our house. he is trying to show you how high the snow is. that is her front yard buried in snow .
this is our truck parked in her drive way next to the mountain of snow in her front yard
this is her neighbors mail box . there was a whole street of them like this and worse . we also went out to shop for dinner one more time and my brother in law informed me last time he was over that my key board was just not working anymore time for a new one. hey any excuse to get out of the house and go anywhere these days. so we bought a new key board and installed that.
Mandy Pies sweater with the hood finished. now its onto the sleeves . and then embellishing :) more pockets and a some knit hearts. hummmmm i got to learn how to knit those seems simple enough but i still have to figure it out. so far all attempts on my part have gone bust . another brick wall for me soooo more sock knitting LOL
The blue buttons i found for Mandy Pies sweater .

Mandy Pies Sweater and the Socks

awe its a good feeling to finally get past the brick wall and head to the top just about there. a few inches more and i can bind it off and head for the sleeves
and the socks just keep going.
my brother in law showed up yesterday too and installed my old hard drive to the pc as a slave drive which is now 120 gigs strong . oh goodie more room for allot of pictures :)
and then nothing went right. must be cabin fever. took hubby out to dinner . got frozen veggies and half cooked meat. plus when we sat down. there were no kids anywhere in site. by the time we got started i swear every parent with kids under two showed up and all the kids decided to cry and carry on at the same time. hummmmmmm thought i had just left my great grandson kai man at home doing the same thing. for some reason my broken brain thought going out for dinner would get me a break from it all. scratch that bubble . its just a different location and more kids . sighhhhhhhhhhh.
hubby was not a happy camper he was a grump. so i said ok lets leave. take doggie bags. go walk the mall. he looked at me with one of those oh my god she is going to ask for the moon. we went looking for buttons at Joann's found these beautiful blue heart buttons for the sweater. oh yea and another crying child . turned out to be my great niece with her grandma looking for patterns. LOL by now i am thinking the wee people are protesting the tons of snow and no trips to the parks . ok ok i understand now being cooped up with a bunch of nutty grown ups has its draw backs.
Snow has major draw backs if what i am hearing in the grape vine is true.
seems last week when we were being told snow removal money was gone spent done with and snow removal was going to be scarce. our local fire department responding to an accident along with an ambulance. ran into something like 6 or 7 parked cars and caused quite the accident on its own. as a result all our roads here streets you name it are all bare of snow now . not one ounce is to be had. but the sides of the streets and roads look like something out of the exodus. as if moses himself came here and parted the snow for all to drive through. yea forget the pedestrian. they don't need anywhere to walk at all. LOL so in allot of places the pedestrian is walking down the middle of the road.
only in Alaska huh?
meanwhile i continue to knit .

leap frog ? Naw just frogging is all LOL

i was so tired yesterday. i should have known better but i am an addicted knitter what can i say.
Right now no pictures but i am working on the hood of the sweater.several ways to do that the one i am doing requires increases. my broken brain decided to try something new that didn't work. of course before i caught it i had just about hit the top. just a few more rows and i would have been there. ughhhhhhh i stop sit back take a look pleased with myself and then i see it. a mistake right where i decided to switch and try something different. FROG FROG FROG. back i go. and instead of tinking i frog knit back up to where i was happy now step back take a look .......... naw off one stitch all the way up ..... sigh and FROG. what can i say...... knit back up and take a peek now you would think i got it by that time no wayyyyyyyyy Frog again. tuck into bag which is a 2 gallon zippie and grab sock needles and cast on socks figure if i change horses in the middle of this stream maybe i will stop running into the same brick wall LOL .
oh yea , i was supposed to get out of the house today. yea go someplace any place with yarn for a bit. guess what not happening hubby got a call to go to some classes so he will not be available at all for the next three days. oh well such is life hummmm maybe a shopping trip on line would do the trick yea that might work it never hurts to look. right?
meanwhile the snow in our front yard is past the 5 to 6 ft window sill. and growing. no end in sight for this record snow fall. no word yet on if the cook with the missing car actually found it or not.
hey i am doing fine got the socks all the way past the cuffs on the way to the ankles and ready to drag around in yet another 2 gallon zippie . works for me. maybe tonight i will return to the sweater. maybe wait until tomorrow. we will see. neither of us is going anywhere sweater or me so heck it can rest for a bit while i knit up some socks :)

Mandy's sweater and where did grandpa pat go?

here i am finally ready to bind off the sweater. of course because its knit from the neck down that includes both front and back at the same time for anyone that doesn't know what that means.
Awe :) and now the fun begins. because here i use my creative imagination. here i add on a very large pocket in the front that looks just like a sweat shirt pocket. Pattern for the pocket? I don't have one. never have. and i didn't have a pattern told me how to get from the neck down and connect both parts at the under arm either with a button flap on both upper parts. just drew out the idea on a piece of paper and figured it out from there. of course i looked at other pictures of sweaters to get the idea and of course the family requested sweaters done like sweat shirts you know grams the kind with the hood and the pocket in front? nothing like a challenge to get your knitting juices going :) i hunted through all the books and pattens i have here and came up with nothing went on line and came away with a few children's patterns but nothing for any adults or teens nothing i could use for anyone that came along. zip zero. i for sure wasn't going to knit a pocket and sew it on at all. none of the ideas or patterns i found gave me what i was actually looking for . this idea i have works on any size. so in the end of it all i had no choice but to work it all out on paper again and figure out how it was done.
soooo bottom photo i am now knitting back up to the top :) yep knit down and then knit up. working on the huge pocket its all knit into the sweater nothing sew on yet. i so don't like seams if i can avoid them at all costs.

my digital camera is deciding to work ok again. and with a good photo shop program i can come pretty close to the true colors

where did grandpa pat go? he is on the Navy Mom pages. Love him dearly but i need my room to be able to throw my knitting hands around and get down to the purls of things :)
ps.. hubby just got a call from work one of the cooks isnt going to be on time. he had to hire a metal detector to be able to locate his car. seems its in his drive way some place. but there not sure exactly where. he went on a month long vacation and came back to this LOL oh oh nothing like burried in snow :)

Mandy Pies Sweater progress

believe me this is a purple sweater...... i just keep wishing for a good digital is about it . but anyway to get where she wants me to go i have to begin with a plain knit sweater and of course i like the knit from the neck down so the first photo is of the first few days.
the one below is just as i was taking it from being a cardigan to a pull over with a button down the front top area.

once i get to the bottom and do the ribbing then its time to go back and put in the first huge pocket . and move on to other items such as sleeves and more knit in pockets. and of course i had to go get more yarn to make sure i didn't run out.

i am thinking though today i do need to dig out another knitting needle to help me do the sleeves when i get to that point or go buy one .

other wise as you can see by the amount of snow we have here there is just no way i am going anywhere even out for a walk. no place to walk anyway unless i want to walk down the middle of the street !!!!!!!!! not even going to try that one . sooooooooo knit knit knit hey better this allot of other things right. well house work too. you all have a good day catch you again soon .

Buried in snow

taken of my tiny yard in front of my house. the window is some 5 to 6 ft off the ground
this is my patio my window is about 4 ft off the patio which is 4 ft at one end and 3 closest to you. the huge pile of snow on the right hand side is all snow on the sidewalk that now can not be used due to the amount of snow so one has to walk in the street. ughhhhhh
this a shot taken between our house and the neighbors house and that is our grandson mikes truck buried in the snow its not a tiny truck either its one of those gas hogs took this yesterday before we went to eat and shop at the lys
this is the parking lot at the restaurant where hubby works that pile of snow is some three cars stacked on top of each other high. and usually when there is no snow what is actually there is a guard rail only 2 feet high. and you can see the traffic on the road coming and going and the stop lights
someone said were just a few inches from breaking our snow fall record. of 190 some inches per year. ughhhhhhhhhhhh Melt already and turn to spring.
oh well when all else fails knit :)

Both Tiny shops are open now

long time ago sounds like a story huh? :) anyway yep long time ago i began a site on line called Stitches And Stuff where my family and i could sell anything we make . After alot of work its finally open and ready to go. anything i am still working on can be set back so no one has to wonder through that area. which i think is cool. meanwhile i began and Etsy shop. where i could test drive my items i make, create, knit or sew on my own. when i did sign up i couldnt get something on the sign up sheet right. oh yea i was missing a letter in my email LOL when i caught the mistake the site was already made but i couldnt get my activation going because the email wasnt getting to me. nothing i could do about it so i had to begin again thus the KnitMeWarmAK
boy do i have a ton of earrings the grands made i have to go back through because they sold alot last summer so there are peices missing. and i found somemore baskets my daughter made. i just wish i had a really good digital camera hummmm my daughter has one maybe i will be able to get her to take pictures. we shall see. meanwhile i have to make due with the cell phone photos and alot of time that dont even come close to what i have done. ugh i hate bad pictures. oh well patients and time and maybe soon i can buy a new one. that works right ! :)

Mandy Pies Sweater idea and the socks

after alot of questions about style ,color, type of sleeve and what to put where ,the rough draft came out as above. before knitting this i may very well work on it alot more . but the basics are down on paper .
Mandy Pie and Grandmas yarn stash
here she is picking out her yarn or something close so i get a good idea of what to buy tomorrow :)

Laura promised she would let me take a picture for all to see of the first pair of socks i did on two circular needles . so here she is . and there they are :)
and here they go

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ok other then that i did the best i could to work on a button you all can grab if you like its on the side says knitmewarm with my egg as the background. about all i could do was copy the picture i liked to adobe and put words on it where i wanted . heck if i know how to make a link out of it. but its there for anyone to grab if they want and if you know how to make a real button out of those good luck i am totally stumped haven't a clue. now take me to any place else on line and put me in front of a screen and i can link up about anything to any picture or graph but in blog spot grrrrrrrrrr ughhhhhhhhhh i haven't a clue. boo hoo

ok time for coffee been up all night haven't a clue how come just couldn't sleep but its time to get up now so its major coffee time

socks frogs and mandy pie of course :)

first pair of socks done ... Laura promised if she could have them she would let me take a picture of them on her feet....
second try on needles frogged..... all due to trying a different look with stitches . I should know better always work on plain at first when learning anew thing.

ugh try again.. this time pick different color yarn. figured out that if i put the work down i have no choice when i pick it up but to begin with the yarn end that will let me knit. so no longer worried about setting the work down. still poke it into the yarn ball anyway good habit . i am listening to the Alexander link doing fine knitting along on this pair when i discover i turned one heel and didn't turn the other . frog back both so there the same. and keep on knitting.
i think a person learns a ton when having to frog allot. or tear it back. in doing so i learned i can put everything back on the two needles using my dp's and with effort have it on the way it should go and then continue knitting and come out ok.
so the fear of knitting on two needles is fading fast . and the total fascination of it all is strong and just taking hold fast. maybe soon i can do this and be confident enough to take on a totally different stitch when knitting socks.

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Mandy pie sweater. today she promised we will work on that. so far i know its going to have a heart some where but that is about it that and color.i told her fine but today when you wake up we work . design talk about your sweater until were done so i can begin knitting it ok . she smiled her sweet ok grams what ever smile and said yes of course and went back to her toons.
i did get the chance to fix her ivory necklace she got for Christmas. its a very tiny ivory flower with a gold nugget in the center. the chain broke. talk about a major pain trying to find a tiny enough o ring to replace the one that was missing. i finally found an earring find that i could shape into an o and cut that would actually fit . no guarantees it will hold for ever but its a working piece again . Mandy of course was tickled pink . I fell asleep last night to a sci fi movie and as she tucked into bed she said " grams if you fall asleep can i change the channel ?" i said "sure jut put the sleep timmer on ok. " woke up to total darkness and now i wait. still with a ton of questions. and alot of blank paper and colored pencils if needed .

??? and answers

my mind is just going wild with ideas on Mandy Pies sweater for the get stitchy chick knit along.
questions
1. color? purple
2. kind of yarn ? yet unknown
3. style of sweater? cardigan, pull over, yet unknown
4. long ?short ?
5.sleeves , long short or none? yet unknown
6. collar ? to be or not to be v neck turtle neck cowl neck sailor what????
still unknown or should i knit a cap onto that collor LOL who knows i dont :)
7. pockets ? how many and where ? knit in sew on? shape size ?
still unknown ??? what you going to put in those there things anyway so i know how sturdy to make them
8. hood or no hood? still unknown
9. buttons or zipper ? frankly i don't like zippers so we will go with buttons if she wants a cardigan type
10. stitch patterns what type how many and where?
12. cables inertia? lace what what what? edging or not ??? please tell me tell me tell me !!!!

oh yea and then there is shape of sleeves and shape of front and back and sides of sweater. as in bottom area points or is round or bell sleeves
the list can go on and on.
frankly i cant wait to get my hands on Mandy and just ask her. as we draw and plot and plan.
how in the world did i ever get into this area of knitting?
well being in Alaska has its draw backs. in the time i have lived here i have seen two other yarn stores come and go . wool was for years a majorly tough item to come by unless you were able to travel out of state and pick up some or have a person you knew out of state that could or would send you some . patterns were even tougher to come by. last time i bought a pattern before i began knitting again some 2 years back. again. was hummmmmm my now 28 year old son was 12 maybe if that. herrschners was just to tough to send away for anything for me too back then. Why? because there were times when this great United states postal service couldn't make up its mind if we were over seas foreign mail or not !!! which pushed the price of sending away for anything out of my price range as well as allot of others !!
knitters magazines to me after awhile if you have bought enough you have about seen it all. and allot of the styles were just way over the edge or to out of my beginners area for me anyway . still are. so i buy magazines maybe when i begin again after a long time of not knitting just to get a feel for what is new out there in knitting land such as needles or bags or tools of other kinds. hey this time i discovered bamboo:) now that was a well worth waiting to see item. i love bamboo.
not so sure about bags though i have several still waiting for someone to come out with the ultimate bag for knitters. have to close like crazy and not open at a blink of an eye. have no dividers but tons of pockets both inside and out. and be big with a large shoulder strap that wont dig into ones neck. yet have handles that would double for a shoulder strap. have a designated book or pattern area . and a private my area for wallet cell phone and the works. personal stuff.
and have a large area for the knitting items i use and the project itself which could for all anyone knows be a large sweater.
still haven't run into my dream bag. LOL
so you learned fast back then to make do. grab plain patterns up and then in between yarn stores opening and closing learn to do your own thing. using the basic pattern as the stage or foundation of your work.
i didn't knit as much for along time on a regular basis but i did knit. off and on . a sweater when it was needed a hat here and there. socks like crazy. even a dress or two for the girls. i even knit the boys black snow pants once when they were small .
the last known yarn store before this one opened was yikes in the same spot just about and about geshhhhh 8 years ago? i could be wrong i have see some embroidery stores come in and close about as fast as they got here though LOL
i remember getting into socks and thinking oh cool i should do these in wool now that i know how . and going to the yarn store and buying some fisherman's wool back then came in hanks, who had a yarn swift i had to depend on a kid to hold still or the back of a chair LOL anyway i got enough of the stuff and next thing i knew the store went out of business. for ever there was no more wool yarn to be had. had no choice but to use acrylic red heart yarn for everrrrrr.
i am so so glad the internet came along . boy it makes getting those items i can't buy here alot easier. i love intenet shopping.
even at that with the ease of internet shopping and going on lne and finding patterns gallor for free . i still love to be creative and do my own thing.
oh yea and while i am blogging today i found out it is Friday so my wait to question Many Pie is just hours away. hot seat time for Mandy !!!