And it's THERE!

Best I could do for a pic. Little stiff, but it'll do.

Almost there (GV)

I slipped this over my head, checked fit, and it actually looks like it was made for me! Do you like my label? I give thanks to someone on KH for that tutorial.

Lilacs are my most favorite flower. They remind me of my great grandma, who when I was small I thought lived on a great estate. Upon returning to Michigan as an adult, I realized that it was just a rather small two-story house on a slightly deep lot. Oh, how your perspective changes... Anyway, I don't need my name on my label. Lilacs just gives me a special feeling that Jouf's could never do.

Here's a pic of Matt & Maggie. Can you just see her with a bouquet of lilacs? I think of her as my personal angel. Those eyes make me think she was a bit of a happy spitfire!

Understanding your pattern

I had this posted earlier when I was still infatuated, intrigued, feeling so smart/frugal, and thought I could turn a bunny into a lamb. When I DID finally understand the dang pattern and all and realized I COULD NOT do it because of the way it was knit, I lost total interest, got disgusted, and deleted the post. All this effort to save $10 in buying Fiber Trends' Felted Sheep pattern ($5 for pattern and $5 for shipping). Unless I want my lamb crouching down for a snooze, it ain't gonna work. I thought I could just readjust the W&T's and then go straight down for straight legs. Well, Ms. Smarty Pants guessed wrong and wasted several hours she could have been finishing VG.

Now, I could continue and finish the bunny. But it's like a cat person knitting a dog or a dog person knitting a cat. I'm a lambie person and don't wanna knit no stinking bunny. I wanted a lamb to replace my thumb-sucking baby girl's lambie residue. But here it is looking like a chicken strung up at a Chinese market. It's going in the UFO basket until I get remotivated.

Vintage Buttons for a Vintage Sweater

Last night I went through all my buttons looking for something that would work. But my stash of buttons is nothing like My Favorite Neighbor's. So at the walking hour I went to fetch her with GV in tow and casually mentioned that I bet I could find some buttons for this in her stash. She brought out the little guns, a dinky little cup of buttons. I said NO! You have a great big tin FULL of buttons. She went out to the garage and brought in Millie's tin of buttons and there, right on top, were these. So whether I cajoled them out of her, stole them, surprised her into it or whatever, these buttons are courtesy of Linda Lou Knits, another Clark Court knittery. And here's hoping that Millie's up There happy that I saved her tin from Goodwill!

And see that dang cute little thing next to the buttons? (Please double click for a more fabulous view) That's my label. Cute, n'est-ce pas? And yes, I made them. Almost makes me want to put it on the OUTSIDE!

Update to the Update

Front, back down. Two sleeves, collar to go. Placket was a no-brainer. Will I wear this?? Jury's out.

Green Vintage Update

Front short rows are done!! Woohoo. Looks good so far. I'd photo it except this yarn really looks icky until it's washed. All the stockinette is pretty boring, but I'm down to the fun stuff - short rows for the first time in a sweater. Next will be the placket and then finally the collar. I'd like to do the sleeves at the same time so I don't suffer slow second sleeve sydrome. I want this thing done. I've got two more sweaters in the works - why oh why did I do that? It drives me nuts. I'm really a one-at-a-time gal.

It looks innocent enough

It's not. I call my df (dear friend) this afternoon. He asks if I got a voice message from him earlier today. I say no. He says, I called and left a message; two minutes later my phone rings and I can hear you and Bob talking. He recites the conversation.

I say, Impossible!! My phone was in its LEATHER CASE in my PURSE on the BACK SEAT and I DID NOT call you. Then I call Verizon. They tell me, IMPOSSIBLE. I hang up. They think I'm nuts. I tell DF the conversation and he thinks they're nuts. I put my phone in its leather case, drop it on my desk, take it out, and guess what? It's calling DF.

So the moral of the story? Don't say things you don't want others to know!!! (Or pick your speed dials very carefully)

1/2 Day Vacation

We have the week off together and this is our first outing, Temecula, Wilson Creek Winery. They have beautiful grounds.

Lunch was outside under umbrellas near some grapevines at Baily's Winery. http://www.bailywinery.com/carols-restaurant.htm

On the way there we stopped at Pechanga Casino to see what it was all about. And I tell you it's all about giving them money, fast. It's deceiving because all the "Vegas" style machines are right when you walk in and they're all $1 machines. I'm excited. I go looking for the $.25 machines that look like those. Well, they don't have but ten or so (very few anyway) and they're all taken. Mind you, besides the two of us and those ten, the place was almost empty. What does that tell you? We don't like those Indian machines that take up to 165 coins at a time. They even had a $100 machine, but you could only play two coins at a time. I said forget that too (haha). I guess that's just not our thing.

Back to knitting.

Coffee, Latte, Espresso, Caramel Mocha

You see this red espresso machine? I really want it. (I mean it's not like I'm gonna get it or anything. It's outrageously expensive. But if I won the lottery....)

The last two nights I've had to have a Seattle Coffee caramel mocha (nonfat, though, mind you). It's good. It's very, very good. It led me to looking for recipes, and I've not found it yet, but I did find some fabulous coffee recipes!

Try some!

I didn't find the exact recipe I wanted, but this will be my first try:

Creme Caramel Latte

Ingredients:3/4 oz. French Vanilla Syrup 1/4 oz. Caramel Syrup 1-2 shots Espresso 8 oz. steamed milk

Directions: Combine ingredients in a 12 ounce cup. Mix well.

Green Vintage Knits Sweater

Back done of the Vintage Green! And I might this was my first attempt at Combination style knitting. Went fairly well. Also first attempt at shaping the sides. This is not the best yarn, the softest yarn, but it doesn't feel like cardboard anymore after washing it. I will be able to wear this next to skin. The front will be my first attempt at a placket. The sleeve cuffs just seem huge to me from the pattern - casting on about half the stitches of the bottom of this sweater. It's just too big. I will definitely change that. They don't look flopping in the picture. Can't figure that out. The bottom of this sweater is 105 stitches. For the sleeve bottom it says cast on 59 - more than half. That's almost 12 inches around. The cuff for the sleeve is 65 stitches and then overlap three stitches. Too big??? Or do I want it that loose for some reason? My wrists are big, just over 6 inches.

Cocooning in Cucamonga

Wikipedia says: "Cocooning is the name given to trend that sees individuals socializing less and retreating into their home more. The term was coined in the 1990s by Faith Popcorn a trend forecaster and marketing consultant. Popcorn identified cocooning as a commercially significant trend that would lead to, among other things, stay-at-home electronic shopping.
Since Popcorn coined the term, the trend has continued. The creation of the World Wide Web (WWW), home entertainment technology, advances in communication technology (cellphones, PDAs, and Blackberries) which allow 'work-at-home' options, and demographic changes have made cocooning an increasingly attractive option."

I say cocooning is retreating into your own space, avoiding others.

My favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice. And a quote by Lizzie sums up my feelings today: "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it."

Perhaps it's good that I cocoon today. It's good for knitting anyway.

Current WIPs

Here are my current works in progress. I ripped the denim cables back to make this Paton's Street Smart pattern, and I'm going to put a zipper up the middle. The green is like knitting with straw. I just don't want to go to all the trouble of making hanks and washing and rolling into balls like I did the brown tweed. On both of these I'm trying out the combination knitting style. Can't really say whether I like it or not yet. I think it'll take a bit of practice to make it as smooth as my "German" style knitting.