Monday, January 27, 2014

The Rest of the Story

And the question becomes, why can I not type where I want to, oh Great and Powerful Blogger?

And the answer is, "but you can, Grasshopper."

Booties to match the little hats posted earlier. These are the same yarn, but the pattern is from Morehouse Farm Merino Knits. Ribbon from JoAnn's, I think.


I've made so many pairs of these over the years that I can knit them in my sleep.
And here are a couple of gratuitous glam shots of Queen Ella.

Younger Son asked today if she is ready for a companion. No one special in mind (he volunteers for a rescue organization).

My response was that Queenella has no need for minions. She has staff. (That would be the Other Half and me.)



Some days, I think it would be nice to have a lap-sitting cat. Ella is more of a Put Your Legs On This Footstool and I Will Lean On You cat. She doesn't like to be picked up, though she will tolerate it from the Other Half.

No, I don't think this house is ready for a second cat.

Unless it's a lap-sitter. Then, we can talk.

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// posted by Ann @ 1/27/2014 04:21:00 PM 0 comments

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Two of Them


Shopping in the Baby-Stash of Mom got Younger Son nowhere on Saturday. A Coworker is about to become Father To Twin Girls (possibly already).

Quick as a wink, Mom (that would be me) cast on a pair of tiny Rib-a-Roni hats (smallest size) using Encore an a heathery pink and gray.

Both were finished during the never-ending Breaking Bad marathon (only 17 or so episodes to go) that we DVR'ed back in December and the first two episodes of Boardwalk Empire (Netflixed).

Baby hats are a quick present, and this pattern is fun. Click on the picture (right) to see the cunning decreases that maintain the ribbing.

Pattern is available (free) on Ravelry and comes in sizes from infant through large adult.

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// posted by Ann @ 1/26/2014 09:28:00 AM 0 comments

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Random Acts of Crafting

 This morning, as we do nearly every Saturday, the Other Half and I will head south to the Allentown Farmers Market where we do 90% of our grocery shopping (buying mostly just things like cat food and TP at the regular grocery store these days).

My plan is to bestow these two hats at two of the vendors we frequent. Pink is Woodland Sprite for the very pregnant young woman at our favorite butcher. Brown is for the meat cutter at the deli.



And in other Acts of Randomness, this arrived a bit ago from my friend in Canada. Seems she saw that I liked this little guy on Facebook and ordered him for me.

He's a refrigerator magnet that has many changes of clothing.

Here he is, dressed as the Other Half in leather jacket.



And here he is as the Other Half in days gone by. Peace, out. Rock on. And all that hippy dippy stuff.

Random Act of Violence?

We woke up the other day to major overnight damage to our bird feeders.

Trying to figure out what seed-eater is strong enough/heavy enough to bend the shepherd's crooks (there are two) and bend the (really, actually, virtually) squirrel-proof feeder all to hell like this.


Certainly not these gentle souls!

Did I mention that we live In Town? Yes, near wooded areas, but there is a several-block buffer between us and the woods and at least a half mile (as the crow flies) between us and the river.

I don't even want to consider the possibilities (like bears??). This is the second time in the last couple of years that our feeders have been attacked in the night.

Already replaced the crooks. Picking up a replacement feeder this morning.

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// posted by Ann @ 1/25/2014 06:24:00 AM 0 comments

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Look At Me!

Purple Warrior Princess in her Woodland Sprite hat and matching mitts. Because it's cold in the winter.

PWP is a happy baby and doesn't mind dressing up. And she's the perfect model for Mammo's hand-knits.

I understand that she has decided that "Edith" (the little doll I made along with her brothers' Minions) is quite tasty.

Yeh, wool.






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// posted by Ann @ 1/19/2014 08:15:00 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Meet Ella


Introducing the newest member of the family. Ella came to us in October and has become a permanent member of the household.

She is, as they say, a "rescue" and the jury is still out on who rescued whom.

Her very favorite thing in the whole wide world is Belly Rubs. I cannot enter my office/studio without paying the toll: a belly rub. And so far, we have not discovered what sensory overload looks like.

We all (the Other Half, Ella, and I) would like to go on record. Ella is a new cat, not a replacement for anyone who might have gone before.

Let's keep that straight, please.

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// posted by Ann @ 1/15/2014 04:29:00 PM 2 comments

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Another Week Gone By


Starting off this post with photos of two sweaters (very tiny) that were finished at the end of 2013. They are both ready to be packed up and mailed.



Minions! Those cute little guys from theDespicable Me movies, translated into yarn. And Edith (ditto). They are about 6" tall and just perfect for carrying in a pocket for those times when you need something, you know, despicable, done.


And lastly, a Woodland Sprite hat and mitts. The mitts were made by starting with one repeat of the hat pattern, throwing in an eyelet round, and finishing with a basic thumbless mitten.They are for the Purple Warrior Princess.

It has been the week from hell, between work, the weather,  and the dentist, but it's over and the new week promises to be a little calmer. I am hoping for that.

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// posted by Ann @ 1/12/2014 06:49:00 AM 1 comments

Sunday, January 05, 2014

A blast from the past




Does anyone remember when Wendy Johnson declared that 2007 would be a Knit From Your Stash? The original rules (abbreviated) were:

 1) The challenge (knit only from stash) was to run for 9 months, January 1 until Stitches East when we would restock (laughing, laughing)

2) Exceptions to the "buy nothing" rule included sock yarn (Wendy's special baby), yarn for gifts, yarn to finish a project started from stash

3) Spinning fiber didn't count

4) Yarn received as gifts and traded yarn did not count

5) There was one "get out of jail free" card


I remember that! I participated in the KFYS original. My stash decreased by a mere 20% or so (from 521 to 444 balls--see sidebar on the right). Since then, it’s continued to expand, and though I no longer track it on the sidebar of this blog (stopped that nonsense in 2008), I continue to track via my spread sheet inventory (I use this to locate yarn that is in my stash when I have a project in mind, color, weight, amount, all in one place with the location to find it right there, too).

I am embarrassed by the wealth of my stash. At the end of 2013, I show twice as many balls of yarn (1039) as I did at the start of 2007. That doesn’t include weaving yarn on cones. I am not bragging. This is a shameful admission. The ball count has expanded (doubled) but the yardage has not (or at least not to the same level) probably because I have bought more balls, but smaller ones. Or thicker ones. Or something.

When I check my shopping history on the various on-line vendors I frequent, I find that some of this stuff has languished for years. Perhaps I should add a "date acquired" to my spread sheets and attempt to practice FIFO (first in; first out) .

Or maybe I should just keep plugging away with what I have, buying what I like when I want and help the economy along any way I can.





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// posted by Ann @ 1/05/2014 08:14:00 AM 0 comments

Friday, January 03, 2014

Cold Turkey

No, not talking about leftovers.

Two days ago, I decided that Farmville was sucking way too much of my time.

So I quit.

I am not even twitching.


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// posted by Ann @ 1/03/2014 04:43:00 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Good grief!

Wow! Has it actually been nearly a year since I posted last?

So much for being more regular!

It's a new year and new resolutions to Be a Better Poster may or may not come to pass. In the meantime, I will post my list of 2013 FOs just to keep me honest.


adult sweater 1
afghan squares 1


bibs 8
booties 24
bowl to felt 1
cat toys 6
child sweater 10
christmas stocking 2
coasters 1
cowl 2
dishcloth/facecloth 4
dishtowel 8
hat 16
laprobe/baby blanket 6
mittens 2
napkin
pillow 1
place mats
potholder 1
preemie/baby caps 7
purse 1
runner 1
scarf 8
shawl 2

soap sack 2
socks 1
tea toter 1
teddy sweaters 1
toys/ornament 6
wristers






total 124 


Not so shabby until I consider previous years. I have been tracking since 2002. This is the 10th best year (of 12). I will take into account that there are two "go to" afghans on the needles. One grows as I gain more odd balls of wool. Likely, it will never really be finished unless I declare it so. The other is a sock yarn mitered square-ghan that grows ever so slowly when I don't have anything else on the needles.

The year in reflection was a mixed one. We added the Purple Warrior Princess (Fiona Grace) to the tribe in May. Tiny Prince Original (Rowan) started school. Tiny Prince Two/Too (Conor) remains a joy to all who know him.

Retirement is looking very good and getting closer, as health issues (for the Other Half) reared their collective heads in December.At work, we are looking to make a major geographic move which I would like to see through to completion, but if it drags on. . .

Promising to be more regular on the posting! (Yes, I know I said that last year.)

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// posted by Ann @ 1/01/2014 07:39:00 AM 0 comments

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