Fetching Update

I loved knitting this pattern and I almost finished them this past weekend. I RAN OUT OF YARN! It is my fault. I used #5 dps instead of the #6 specified. I couldn't find my #6 dps. I know knitting with smaller needles makes a denser knitted fabric therefore using more yarn but I thought it wouldn't be that big a difference. So, I didn't have enough yarn to knit the thumbs. My solution is to frog them both and reknit them (I will enjoy knitting them again) with my #6 knitting needles.

(I found my only set of #6 dps in the closet still in the decreases of the toe of a Christmas stocking)

Especially for Robin/Anonymous - Fetching is a free pattern through Knitty.com. Look in the Archives under the mittens and gloves section.

Fetching Cast On

I have cast on for the Fetching handwarmers this morning. My knitting girlfriend, Debbie, has been emailing me about these. She made a pair and is now making another pair. Getting started meant a trip to my LYS, Twisted Yarns , for a ball of Sublime. You have to go to your LYS and squeeze some Sublime! You won't be able to leave without at least one ball of it. Lucky for us, one ball makes Fetching.

This picture is not true to the color I am using. It is more of a gorgeous sage green. I am going to see if I can make these this weekend keeping in mind that Joe is home with me. (I tend to get sidetracked when Joe is home BUT today there are two football playoff games and tomorrow Dallas plays in a playoff game) I think I can do these in three football games or less! Knit that handwarmer!

(I am going to see if a few beads would look nice somewhere on these)

Back to Joe's Handwarmers

Happily, I can say that the Maizy Twisted Rib Sock Pattern was sent to Crystal Palace Yarns yesterday. It should be up on their blog as a free pattern soon.

I have really enjoyed knitting Joe's handwarmers and hat. It's just a basic pattern which means not really having to think about it much except to measure every now and then. And...the yarn is a pleasure to knit - American Buffalo. It has a lanolin feel to it; not too much to be icky - just soft. The picture is deceiving - as this is a BIG handwarmer. It is as one of my girlfriends noted - man-size.

So, while I was at it - I decided to knit a hat too. Hats are just so much fun to knit! It is a basic hat pattern. I measured his head; multiplied that # by my sts per in and cast on. (It was a considerable cast on # since this is sock yarn weight). This is a generous hat meaning it's not going to be real tight on the head. So, now Joe has a pair of gloves with a matching hat in case it ever turns cold enough that he will want to wear them.

Working on the Maizy Twisted Rib Sock

This is where I have spent most of my day. It's not a bad place to hang out; actually the view is nice. Gratefully, I watched a cool front blow through after lunch. The high yesterday was 79 degrees and extremely humid; completely unacceptable for January.

At the end of last Summer, while still living in Lake Charles, Susan at Crystal Palace Yarns asked me to do some sample knitting with Maizy their new yarn made from corn. After knitting with it; I designed a twisted rib sock and sent it to her. About the same time, we put our house on the market allowing 2 months for it to sell before our house in Houston would be completed. Susan emailed me saying they wanted the sock pattern especially in a larger size for men. At the same time, Dorothy, our realtor, called saying our house had sold the first week. Chaos set in as we began to pack and look for a place to live in Houston while they continued to build our house. Joe, Tugley and I stayed in an extended stay hotel for 7 weeks. We both knitted for sanity's sake. I did work the numbers out for the Maizy man's sock but then we moved into the house. Then, it was Thanksgiving and Christmas....

On top are my original notes for the ladies Maizy sock. My little journal actually got left at the hotel in a large storage cabinet for 3 weeks. (I don't even want to think back to the morning I realized I had left a large tote of yarn, needles, and personal knitting stuff at the hotel) On the left underneath, are the notes made while in the hotel working out the design in a large man's size. It's an absolute miracle after all the chaos from the move that I still had those notes AND could find them! At the right is the finished printed version for both! Hip Hip Hooray! Yee-Ha! (Texan)

Above is one of my original pictures of the Twisted Rib sock in Maizy. I really do like it. Crystal Palace still has a picture of my knitted sock here. I am going to proof the printed versions and email them out tomorrow morning. (now I am going to the kitchen for a margarita)

It's Time to Un-Deck the Halls

Sadly, it is time to put away all the Christmas decorations. I dread this every year. We stopped in at Kim's yesterday and she already had her tree down and put away. Starting is the hard part; once I get started, I tell myself just one more box.....

We took Alexis home yesterday doing one of those "round trips" in a day . It's 7.5 hrs of non-stop driving; but we always stop at least once, sometimes twice. Those are getting to be exhausting; hopefully we won't be doing another one for a while. I did knit on Joe's Handwarmers on the return trip. The second one is almost completed. The thumb on the first handwarmer is a little long. I will have to undo it and make it a bit shorter. The American Buffalo yarn has been so enjoyable to knit with. I think I will knit him a matching hat while I am at it. I love to knit hats! He will have a set in case he ever needs it. South Texas does have some cold days every once in a while.


This is Tugley looking dashing in his Old Navy shirt! He's wandering through the house looking for Alexis. He has just about "outgrown" the hoodie I knit for him a couple of years ago. He did wear it at Thanksgiving even though it was a little snug.

Tugley and Alexis playing.

HI Alexis!

Happy New Year to Everyone

I wish everyone a most happy and prosperous New Year!

Joe's Handwarmers

I am still knitting handwarmers... I felt bad that Joe didn't have a pair of his own! So, with some fabulous buffalo yarn (from my stash) in a weight comparable to sock yarn, I cast on 72 sts and started to knit. I am winging it , of course, making it up as I go (and writing it down); as I am not going to find a pattern that will fit his hand. I had uploaded this ONE picture last night before the "other" computer started misbehaving. (Joe is copying pictures to disk before we take it to the Geek Squad - I don't want to think about that) I took this picture of his handwarmer with a handwarmer I knit a couple of years ago that fits me. Knitting him handwarmers is comparable to knitting him socks; it goes on and on and on.... Knitting while he watches all those #&%$*&# College Bowl games, I have the second one 2/3 completed. It's a good thing as we are going to have a couple of days with nights down in the upper 20"s! That is cold for Texas this time of year! I thought I had at least until mid-January!

Alexis is staying with us this week; she is taking a vacation from all her brothers! I am proud to say she is quite the knitter for a 12 yr old. She brought a sock in progress, but hasn't worked on it. Arriving with a cold/sinus thing; she hasn't felt like knitting. Joe and I have enjoyed having her here. We have stayed pretty quiet so she could recuperate, but today we went shopping! We spent most of the day at the mall. Too bad Twisted Yarns, our LYS, is closed until after New Year's Day. She was thinking about some lime green Online sock yarn and I was thinking of Noro sock yarn. We did go see The Water Horse. It is a wonderful movie!

Christmas Knitting

I absolutely love this time of year! It's the Season that I love most. First and foremost, it's Christ's birthday. I love my children and grandchildren's excitement, Christmas trees, Christmas music, the mall at Christmas, the food, baking, parties, wraping presents, giving gifts; but I absolutely LOVE Christmas lights; I want to light EVERYTHING! I wear contacts so at night, especially, there's a little "starburst" effect around all lights. It makes Christmas lights look spectacular! After my divorce, I lived in an apartment (upstairs) for awhile. My bedroom had a large, double window at the foot of my bed that looked out the patio into the parking lot. I strung the large, old fashioned lights around that window. So every night, Tugley and I drifted off to sleep looking at those lights through half-closed eyes. It created such a colorful warm glow, a really magical feeling! (I didn't take them down until mid-January)

On to Knitting -

My current knitting project is - as I think about it, that's about all I can say as it may show up somewhere else at a later date. Up close, (not a sock) sock yarn, cables and beads......

These are the ornaments from Vogue Holiday Issue. I HAD to change them up a teeeensy tiny bit. I like to use a #1 needle with sock yarn so THEN I had to change the CO #...but I LOVE the way they look. The three that are alike are knit from an Online sock yarn from about 3 yrs ago. I wish I had some more of it! I do have a pair of socks knit from it though. The other ornament is an Online sock yarn this year! (see previous picture) I am seriously thinking about knitting Christmas Stockings from this yarn over the coming Summer.

I want to do the small tree in the kitchen area with these next year. Joe said I better get busy.


This is a spectacular amaryllis. I have taken tons of pics of it but the color won't get just right. It's more of a deep garnet red. The center flower is just beginning to open. It's one of the new bulbs for this year. I got it at Smith and Hawken; one of my favorite stores. I can get lost for a couple hours there. This flower is huge (the bulb was huge). There is another flower stalk coming up on the other side.

I am wishing for cooler weather. Jeez, it's December and nearly 80 in Houston. It looks like it could be cold outside, gray and dreary, but it's not! Joe and I went Christmas shopping and walked around Market Street. I had on sandals. Cold weather is on my Christmas wish list... along with a few other things!

Getting Back to Normal and Knitting Handwarmers

I think we are finally settled in well enough to have normal days and nights again. Unpacking now consists of getting one box a day from the garage and sorting it out between putting away and throwing away. Joe still has a hard time finding what I have put away. I am sure that will go on for awhile as I decide some things need to be put somewhere else….. Hopefully, we will be able to park at least our car in the garage soon.

We had a great Thanksgiving on Saturday with the kids and grandkids. Joe’s turkey was absolutely GREAT! He bakes a turkey from scratch – he injects seasonings, stuffs it with apples and oranges and bakes it! I am still so impressed every year! It was a cold, rainy day but the SILs kept a fire going; so we stayed cozy. SIL, Q's, wine helped us stay warm too! Kayla and Sophie, first and second graders, added a bit of excitement when they called 911 on Heather’s cell. Kayla told them “there’s a fire in Hawaii”. 911 called back immediately to confirm that we did/did not have a fire along with a stern lecture. Calling 911 is not a laughing matter, but it is entertaining to watch your children be parents as you remember all the stuff they did. I stayed so busy that I forgot to take even one picture.

I knit 3 pairs of handwarmers (before Thanksgiving) to go with birthday presents for Joe’s daughters, Lee, Lynn and Heather. After trying a couple of patterns, I created my own pattern for basic handwarmers in sock yarn using needle size #1 US. Eventually there will be a link here for the pattern, but for now email me thru comments and I will send it to you. Be sure and leave your email address!

Ribbed Handwarmers

Now, I am knitting my own pair of handwarmers. They are going to have a fat little cable down the top of the hand with a scattering of beads. I LOVE this yarn; specifically the colors and the way it stripes. It is ONline Supersocke 100 Holiday Color. The colors that define my "Christmas" are different from these. I think Fiesta! best describes these happy colors, but they do well for Christmas at my house. I am seriously thinking about knitting Christmas stockings for the mantle with this yarn. You can see the beginning of the cable between the two purple markers. I am using a small jingle bell for a BOR marker.

Close up of cable



Today, I baked a chocolate cream pie for DH Joe. I had to take a picture of the meringue. I have never been able to make a good meringue. This one came out damn near perfect! I am so surprised and excited; I took a picture AND wrote down the recipe. I think I made a happy husband too.

This is a sitting area off the kitchen, complete with Pug, where we sit every morning. Joe reads the paper and I knit. We don't have curtains yet; just blinds. That's the small tree with non-breakable ornaments for the grandkids. Jayden was here (and everywhere) in his walker.

One last photo of my handwarmer.

Knitting on the 12" Addi Turbo

This is my handwarmer/gauntlet in progress on a 12" Addi Turbo. The yarn is Trekking XXL #108 sock weight yarn (because knitting minds want to know).

A different angle - showing one needle extended from the knitting - the knitting really moves quickly along the needles. You will have to help the sts along for about the first inch after that they are fine.

This is a Crystal Palace #1 bamboo 6" double point with a #0 Addi Turbo 12" next to it so you can see the needle length. The Addi does have a curve in it.

Unpacking Yarn Room Today

This is going to be my yarn room. Looks pretty sad right now. It has great windows with morning light! By this evening, I am hoping for a cozy retreat.

Below are the boxes, in the dining room, with everything that will go in the yarn room. When the yarn room is unpacked; the dining room will be minus the boxes. That will be a very good thing.

Yesterday was an adventure for us. When you don't live in the city limits; you have to go to the county seat in your county for vehicle registrations and such. (there is one 6 miles from us but it's not in our county) We did drivers license yesterday. That was a 70 mile round trip for us twice! Joe didn't have his SS card and I had to have my birth certificate. We got back home about 5:30pm. Joe got a bit frustrated; so I had to remind him WHO wanted to live in the country.....

This is the sight in front of our house that greeted the garbage truck when they turned the corner. I am certain THEY will be glad when we are unpacked. Otherwise, it was a beautiful, cool, foggy morning.

For my friends in Lake Charles, a new photo of Jayden; our newest/youngest grandchild. You may remember his pre-birth pictures I posted. Kim and Pam, with Alexis, Kayla and Jayden came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. Blogger wasn't uploading photos then. She had him sitting on my coffee table in his Bumbo watching cartoons with Alexis and Kayla. I knitted Jayden several pairs of socks which he promptly outgrew! He looks a bit like all of us - Pam, Kim and I; but most definitely his Dad. He is particularly fond of his Poppy Joe.

Here We Are..

Finally, Blogger is uploading photos again!

Here is the house. As you can see, Joe has a lot of yard work to do! He has been cutting and splitting some trees for firewood. He has almost 2 cords of wood already!

I am spray painting bamboo patio furniture on the driveway this morning making an end table and a sofa very colorful. Mexican Cantina is the theme complete with the usual Christmas lights you see in some restaurants.

More pictures will be coming now that Blogger is hopefully back to normal.

Back to Posting -

We have been working the last three weeks trying to get settled in enough to resume our lives! (I have tried several times today to post a picture of our house but Blogger isn't cooperating for me or anyone else it seems) I have taken lots of pictures over the last two and a half months! Last Friday evening Kim and Pam with the kids (Alexis, Kayla and Jayden) came for the weekend. Saturday mid-morning I began to look for a striped bib I had knit for Jayden. As I searched through the house for the very large red plaid plastic bag of knitting stuff (lots of needles, favorite yarns, books, patterns not to mention my knitting journal with original patterns) I had taken with me to the hotel to keep me sane. I realized, most surely, I had left it at the hotel two weeks ago! How could that possibly have happened? I freaked out while I tried to find the business card for the hotel. We didn't have a land line yet as we live in a new subdivision out in the country; not in a city or town. BellSouth and Embarq are trying to decide who is going to provide service (that's another story). I am outside calling the hotel on my cell with very spotty service (again, we live out in the country) The lady at the front desk calmly says she can't hear me and asks me to call on another phone and promptly hangs up! Finally, by facing a certain direction, I get better reception and call again. YES, they had my bag and I could pick it up anytime. She asks incredulously what do you do with all that stuff in the bag? I knit I said. "Would you knit a baby blanket for me" she asks..... Melt down. Yesterday, I typed in my address as I registered with an online yarn source thinking I might order some sock yarn; it promptly told me that I had entered an invalid address! They say it takes a year for a new address in a new subdivision out in the country to get into the system. I surely hope UPS can find me!

Home at Last

It's 9PM We are back after dinner and a run thru the local grocery store. After a long day it's blackberry merlot from a red Dixie cup. My PJs are calling me.

We're Moved In

It's 6:45PM The movers have gone and the little painter is just now leaving. Joe and I are exhausted, hungry and happy. We are going to dinner and make a stop to get a couple of towels so we can take baths and some breakfast stuff. We are looking forward to coming back and relaxing. A day or so of rest then back to LC to get all our household stuff. Probably take 2 trips.

Joe's on the Way

It's 2:45PM Made friends with the painter doing touchup work. He is Hispanic and had brought a jam box but turned it off when we came in. I asked him to turn it back on! It's Hispanic music -very happy and enjoyable! Music helps me pass the time too. He does't speak English but he's smiling and very nice! Joe called and furniture should be here any minute now. All the Hispanic music makes reminds me It IS Friday. Margaritas!

Waiting on furniture

We got the keys! Joe left to go meet the movers. Tug and I are sitting on the dining room floor eating vanilla wafers. There wasn't very many. I gave most of them to him as he was too nervous to eat his breakfast this morning. The painter is here doing some last minute touchup painting. It's nice and cool; would be quiet if Tugley wasn't panting nervously. I did bring some knitting to pass the time until Joe arrives with the movers. I have a plain sock on a 12" circ in Jitterbug. I love the colors. The movers just called wanting to know if the other 2 guys were there yet. I gave them Joe' cell #.They are early - that is good! I am going to walk Tug and get my knit.

Moving Day!

Today is moving day! Come Hell or Hurricane... It is 9:35AM - we have the Highlander loaded with almost everything from our motel room. Tugley is in the front floorboard at my feet and most excited.as he loves to ride in the car. (His Little Chubbiness is determined to sit on my feet) I stuck my Mother's Day orchid in a little cubby hole in the back floorboard. It is blooming for the second time. It is important to have something blooming at home. It has 2 pretty flowers. Having made a Starbucks stop, we are now on our way to the house. It takes about an hour to get there from here. Joe has gotten to be quite the city driver! Jeff from Design Tech is meeting us at 11AM. We are to do another walk thru and get the keys. Joe is meeting AAA Movers at Uncle Bob's Storage and they are moving the furniture this afternoon. I hope to sleep in my bed tonight! I plan to continue to post thru the day today - for friends at home. I have been taking lots of pictures. We bought a tech gizmo thing from Sprint for Internet Service (to try) as our only svc now is Bellsouth. Stay tuned -

Walk Thru in the Morning 9AM

I feel like we are living the movie Groundhog Day! We are gonna make 7 wks in this hotel on Friday. Thankfully, there will be a walk thru in the morning with closing scheduled for Friday. We should begin moving in Saturday - Friday afternoon if possible. Wanting crawfish, we went to dinner last evening at Pappadeaux's on 1960. After eating way too much, we decided to order dessert to go. I wanted cheesecake and Joe wanted banana pudding. No problem with the cheesecake but they were all out of banana pudding. Out of banana pudding on Sunday? The waitress said yes, George Foreman's family had been in and they ate it all! They served them 20+ banana puddings. We just missed seeing all the "Georges". (He named all his kids George, in case you don't know).Joe brought home sweet potato pecan pie. Joe is knitting/designing the cutest hat with cables. I finished upsizing the sock pattern for CPY. I need my computer to finish it now. Jeez! Have I mentioned that this hotel doesn't carry the Astro's games on their TV line up?

10 More Days!

Hopefully. We should do a walk through Monday and sign on the dotted line on Friday. Yippee! I finally figured out how to do mobile blogging. For some reason my posts wouldn't publish - today it did. I can't post pics so we'll catch up on those later. It's a good thing I brought substantial stash. It has been a looong time in a hotel room! You definitely find out if you really like your spouse. I am ready to give Tugley to the first band of gypsies that pass by. He is taking advantage of the walking the dog thing... We have been knitting - sent Jayden 14 bibs. Joe knitted 8 and he was most creative! I knitted 6 and pretty much worked to perfect a pattern I created.Joe is now knitting hats for the grandsons. He hates the Denice needles I brought, so he wants to go to Twisted Yarns tomorrow to get bamboo needles and dps - he is becoming such a knitting Diva! (Joe says he's not a Diva; he's a Deebeaux). His knitting has improved considerably and so has his dialogue. I am working to upsize a lady's sock pattern for Crystal Palace. It is an original design.Glad I have something to work on. Susan from CPY kindly offered to send anything we need. The very FIRST thing I want is my computer plugged in to a live satellite plug...