Absolutely Amazing

Beautiful work

And, yes, I am capable of knitting like this. Sadly, there are no patterns like this in the US. They are all in GERMANY!

Go figure.

Oh Beautiful...

DK Hat

This is a wonderful pattern, and I can't wait to buy it. Maybe after Christmas???

Oh, and I found a round pillow form at JoAnn's. Not in with the pillows, mind you, but in the upholstery fabric aisle!

And here is my Piggie Pillow Progress, pictured on the pillow. Is this turning out PERFECT or what? I think I am very happy with the way it's turning out, even if I did have to edit the pattern a bit.

:)

It Couldn't Have Worked Out Better!

Have you ever determined that you were going to accomplish certain things only to find out after the plan that things weren't going to go according to Hoyle?

**special note: phrase "According to Hoyle" is a reference to Hoyle's Book of Rules for Card Games...therefore "according to Hoyle means that things just aren't playing the game by the rules...you get the picture....right?

Anyway, today, I have a plan.
I have no idea if the plan will work, but I'm going to attempt it anyway.
I am going to tackle the basement.
I am working up the ambition.
I have cleaned my kitchen, checked the bathroom and cleaned what needed to be-done.
I stared laundry.

All these things on my to do list.

Next, at noon, I leave to get groceries. Now groceries for our house is no "run to the store and buy" sort of endeavor. It's a "make a list, check it twice, then go to 3-5 stores to get everything" sort of endeavor.

Hmm...I still have to get to that basement.

And somewhere in there is an update to my blog (this one). And I'm perfectly okay with pre-empting groceries and basement for blogging. Of course, then later on, I have my Knitting 101 class, and somewhere in there, I have to shower and things like that--check my pocketbook and buy yarn (since I'll be in the store anyway--not that I need yarn, mind you, but just the fact that it seems to call to me from the shelf--"buy me! Buy Me! BUY ME!" And if I don't listen to that initial call, the sound just sort of burns in my brain and causes all sorts of trouble later on down the road, with impulse purchases...if I just buy one skein of SOMETHING to snuggle and feel, I can usually get away with returning it to the shelf and then RUN NOT WALK out of the store just as fast as I can without going through withdrawal.

And let me tell you. Withdrawal is a painful process. Any true knitter will tell you. The ones who deny it are, well...in denial or lying to you. Better check the freezer.

Why?

Because that is one of the places a yarnaholic will hide their newest purchases--oh, and watch for additions to your wine collection. Knitters are very often seen with wine--for those times when a project doesn't come together as it should--or for that first steek. Yes, I am aware.

And so, off to unload laundry and get back to the basement.

Wait..wait..hubby is out of bed and dressed, but is he prepared for the amount of work I plan to do in the next hour or so?

Um...Hubby?

Finally, the Weekend

No one knows better than I do, how much I look forward to weekends. It's my favorite time of the week. No deadlines. No pressure. I can knit all weekend--if I don't care about clean clothes, I can be good to go. I don't usually sleep in like most people do, but the mornings, I can whip into a whirlwind and get a bazillion things done. Then knit in the later part of the day, and hubby says:

"So what are you going to do today?"

And I say:

"Nothing"

And to myself I say:

"Else."

Of course he thinks that I've been knitting all morning, and thinks I'm being lazy--yet, he's the one who usually sleeps in until 2pm--accomplishes zip and then doesn't want to do anything else for the rest of the day because he's so "tired".

I should get up in the morning and work on the bedrooms downstairs, but the beginning is such a mule-job. It would go much faster if the hubby would help. He might. I'm not about to count him out yet.

I have quite a bit done on the piggie pillow top--picture in the morning when I can get some good lighting. I have to lay it out on the table to settle it in properly, because it tends to pucker a bit--but for the most part, it's laying down well.

After that, I have a scarf to knit, and I might just take that (or more socks) along with me to the hospital when I take my mother in. She's having outpatient surgery on Monday. I'm not concerned. I expect she'll be just fine.

And to top it all off, I got a nice email from my ex-husband, who still thinks of me during the holidays, and kindly sends me good wishes from his end of the world...the trouble is he's still on THIS world. He can get off anytime.

You may understand the last paragraph as partly tongue-in-cheek, partly fantasy and wishful thinking.

You decide!

In the meanwhile, I have a Knitting 101 class to teach at the local JoAnn's Fabrics at the Frandor Mall--teaching cast on, knit, purl and bind off techniques. Just enough to get somebody interested in going a little farther--I have two students this time, maybe more, and I'm looking forward to it.

Piggie Pillow Begun Anew...

I have re-started the piggie pillow. Is it just me or am I a sucker for punishment? I'm already having difficulty getting this thing to lie down and behave, and I knit to gauge (or darn close to it) without knitting a swatch most times, so this gives me pause to simply shake my head.

I have already had to decrease an extra row, and still have to decrease.

So it's taking some time, laying flat and stretching it as I go. Perhaps I'll have to switch to a pink wool--

Where in the world am I going to find a pink wool?

---

I got a good night's sleep last night, and feeling all perky and such. I can't wait to get to the office and get today over with--tonight is Silver Bells in the City, a festive evening with songs sung around the newly lit Governor's Holiday Tree (ahem! It's a Christmas Tree--don't start with me! I just woke up and I'm grumpy!), a parade/light show and fireworks (for Christmas?) over the Lugnut's Oldsmobile Ball Park.

It's a scene from Horton Hears a Who! And all the little Whoville Who's are singing around their Christmas tree and it makes the grinch's heart grow.

Oh, who am I kidding?

Anyway, it's a festive time of season, and heralds in the holidays (like we needed notification of some sort to remember) with a veritable BANG. Frankly, this year, I could skip the holiday part--not because I'm a grinch or something like that, but because I simply would prefer to stay home and have people come VISIT ME instead of me running about like a headless chicken on my vacation, trying to get everyone in--in equal parts so no one feels left out--and let's face it..gas don't grow on trees anymore.

And with the Saudi King having to pay for that $200 million dollar Air Bus that he wrecked into the retaining wall--well, let's just say that the retaining wall works...gas is expected to go up more this coming week so that he can pay for his staff that made the Wacko's in the News on our local radio station!

Sheesh.

I've no idea why my typing/writing has such an attitude this morning. Maybe I need a few more hours of sleep? It's hard to tell. I just know that I'm champing at the bit, mostly because tomorrow is Saturday, and the plan is to GET SOMETHING ACCOMPLISHED. And by that I mean, cleaning out my sewing/craft room, even though I now know that hubby's son isn't moving in until January. The coldest darn month of the year, and we're going to have a door open. Can't believe it. Again with the attitude...huh.

Maybe just a couple more minutes..

Exhausted AGAIN?

Well, I suppose my fault for not taking Lunesta last night, but how in the world am I supposed to know if I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night and not get back to sleep.

I've been awake since about 1 am. I can't sleep. Husband is snoring. LOUDLY. It's nearly time for me to get up, and only now do I feel like going back to bed, closing my eyes and getting some real SHUT EYE.

So I wrote my boss. I told him that I wouldn't be in today, but I will likely go in later, after I've had the chance to sleep. For now, however, I have to wait fro the alarm, which will go off in a few moments, and then I will put the dog out and feed her. Then I will retire again.

I hate these wakeful nights.

AND THE FINISHED PRODUCT!

FOX FACES!