Rip it, rip it good!

Okay, so I frogged some of Giselle. It was terrifying! I ran a lifeline which helped, but it was crooked so I ended up pulling it out. This yarn is so nice, the stitches stayed right in place so I was able to pick them right up.



It is a little loose after binding off but I can pull that in when I add the crochet trim. My gauge was definitely off. I thought the yarn had stretched, but if it did, it was minimal and I was just off with the gauge.



I like it much better at the new length. This is the length shown in the pattern.

Of course Greg helped me with the process!



I'm glad I decided to do that, though I hated seeing all that work disappear!

Bushism of the day:
"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure." —George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, May 3, 2003

Kitty Cam: Greg has evil in his eyes!

Self Portrait Challenge: Politics Week 2

Here today, gone tomorrow!



I got paid last week. Then the oil bill came. We've been hearing about rising oil prices and the reasons behind them. It hits particularly hard with heating oil which is more costly than gasoline. But then, I got the electric bill. The largest electric supplier in my state had a 72% rate increase. I was stunned last month when it kicked in. My normal winter electricity costs me between $120 and $180 a month. Now it is over $300! How does this relate to politics? Our last governor appointed a public services commission which sided with the electric company and allowed this huge rate increase. This is the main reason our governor was voted out after one term. I'm simply amazed at the corporate greed! Some executives at Baltimore Gas and Electric are getting fat while some elderly person on social security has to choose between food and heat. It is simply unconscionable! I feel like I basically kiss my hard earned money goodbye.

And watch it float away!


What will I do? I will put on a heavy sweater and turn down the thermostat once again!

For more photos about politics, visit the Self Portrait Challenge.

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down!

Who remembers that song by the Carpenters? Well it's a rainy day. It started raining yesterday. That cold penetrating kind of rain which we actually need to bring the water table up so we can avoid a drought this year. Unfortunately, I had outside bus duty at dismissal yesterday and I was cold to the bone after that! I stayed at work a little late then went directly home where I put on my slippers and fixed a latte. That felt good!

I'm trying to finish up some knitting projects before my hand surgery. I've decided that I need to frog about 3 or 4 inches off of Giselle so it will fit like that pattern photo. That's at least a week's worth of knitting, so I'm really bummed because I wanted to finish another sweater before my hand surgery. Giselle did fit. Then I blocked it and it grew. I also ran out of yarn before finishing the second flounce and I ordered another skein. Now, I'm wondering if I couldn't just use the yarn I frog from the body to complete the flounce. That would save me about $40. The problem is that it has already been blocked and stretched and I fear it would mess up the flounce which hasn't been blocked and stretched. I will save it. I'm sure I could use it to make something like this:

I'll have enough from the new skein left to make a nice cowl or hat, so I guess that is what I will do.

Here are the photos of Giselle so far:



It is just way too long. The end should crisscross above the waist and not meet in the back. I had to pull it up over the boobs just to make it shorter.
Here is the pattern photo:


Frogging will make mine fit like that. As much as it pains me to rip out 2 weeks of work, it would pain me more to spend over $100 bucks on a sweater that I don't wear. I will wear it if it fits correctly because I love the style and the yarn, which is mostly silk, feels glorious on the skin.

Here is the first sleeve flounce:

The shaping is done with short rows. I used to hate short rows because I had trouble knitting in the wraps. That is until I saw this video and this video. Cat Bordhi is a genius!

I bought a couple of new books:

Knitting New Gloves has some really interesting designs. I love knitting gloves for some reasons. They are portable for one. You can tuck the project right in your purse--unlike a sweater. I have never had a desire to knit socks though. Why spend the time on something that will be hidden inside a pair of boots? That's when I wear socks so I'm not wasting the time. The book on yarn is a resource. It reminds me of Claire Schaeffer' s Fabric Sewing Guide. This book is a "must have" if you sew. It goes through fabric structure and fiber content and tells what needles, seams, linings, techniques--the list goes on--to use. I refer to it whenever I start a new sewing project. The Book of Yarn is the equivalent resource for knitting. Also--I found a new source for cheap books! Overstock.com was even cheaper than Amazon. The shipping was only $2.50 and it was here in 2 days! What's not to love about that!

I've been reviewing some new spring pattern books and stumbled on some designs to put in my queue:

From Debbie Bliss Coastlines:



From Debbie Bliss Prima Collection:


From Classic Elite Make it Modern:


Also that cute little scarf pictured above is from this book. In fact there is nothing I wouldn't make in this book. All the projects use Cotton Bamboo or Soft Linen.

Another new pattern that is coming out:


This is designed by Wendy Bernard who also designed Sahara. I will be hitting up MD Sheep and Wool for the Tilli Tomas yarn for that one! She discounts substantially at the festival.

Lastly, I found this new pattern:

Yup! It's crochet! I typically don't love crochet. I can't do it mindlessly like knitting. But I will be a one armed bandit and I can do it pretty much with one hand, so I may undertake this project when I am home from school after my hand surgery. My other project will be that of putting a ton of stuff on Ebay. That's how I pay for my New England trip every summer. Sell stuff on Ebay then use my PayPal card to pay for the hotel. Gotta love it!

Other news: I came home from work on Tuesday and saw this in our yard:

Our new shed! It's huge. Once we get electricity in there we can rent it out for parties!

I think that's the end of this one! Later!

Bushism of the day:
"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order — order out of chaos. But we will." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

Kitty Cam: Sammy knows how to spend a rainy day!

Self Portrait Challenge: Politics Week 1

All we are saying . . .



. . .is give peace a chance.

My brother sent me this gold peace symbol when he was stationed in Turkey in 1969. He was a 19 year old soldier and I was in high school. I feared for his life back then--afraid he would end up in Viet Nam. Fortunately, he didn't. This little pendant has spent years in hibernation. It seems fitting to wear it now. There are so many parallels. As they say--history repeats itself. Aren't we supposed to learn from our mistakes? Why is it some of us, particularly those in power, never do?



Hopefully the next election will truly bring change--change that will bring our troops home.

For more Self Portrait Challenge photos about politics, go here!

Please welcome my guest!

Today I welcome a special guest! Donna Druchunas is here to talk about her new book "Kitty Knits." One look at the title and you know that this would appeal to me!


Welcome Donna!

Hi Vicki, thanks for inviting me to visit your blog as part of my
Kitty Knits blog tour! I'm familiar with Crazy Cat Ladies, because my
sister is one. She has ten cats. That's the limit under the law where
she lives, or I'm sure she'd have more. She regularly catches strays
and has them fixed, and tries to find them new homes, too. Kitty
Knits is dedicated to "my sister June and her feline friends, Oliver,
Bob, George, Peter, Chloe, Samantha, Stewart, Greg, Bonnie, and
Clyde." I only have 2 cats, but will soon have 4 when my mother and
her two furry friends move in with us this spring.

I'm impressed with the variety of designs in the book. Where did
you get your inspiration?

I just make things up. I hope that doesn't sound flippant, but it's
really the truth. Not everything is totally from scratch out of my
head, though, because I can't draw and some of the designs required
the touch of someone who could. For the more pictorial designs,
Susan McBride sent me little sketches
that I then converted into charts using the free KnitPro software
from mircoRevolt. Here are the sketches that Susan made that became the Needle Felted Carpetbag and
the Appliqué Felted Pillow. The cat on the carpet bag is one of Susan's cats chasing a butterfly.



Which of the knit items for kitties are your cats' favorite?

My cats love anything they can lay on, so they are partial to the
baby blanket and the afghan. I like both of those, too, because
they're easy to knit, with fairly simple textured patterning in a
solid color, and the kitty accents added with embroidery. I love
embroidery, but I don't do much of it any more so this was a fun way
to work it into a knitting project, and to add color to these
projects without doing intarsia.

Which project in the book was YOUR favorite?

A few people have asked me this question already, and I've answered
it in different ways. Because of your emphasis on YOUR, I'll tell you
about the project that I'd most want to make for myself. That's the
ballet cardigan. I don't have any sweater in this style, and I've
wanted to make one for a long time. Although I'm not lanky or thin, I
have an hourglass figure and my waist is a good feature to show off,
so I think a sweater like this would be very flattering on me.
Because of the book's schedule, the yarn I originally chose being out
of stock, and because my first test knitter had other obligations
that came up so she couldn't make the sweater, I ended up having this
made in the smallest size. It would fit a teenager (or the skinny
model on the book's cover), but it certainly wouldn't fit me! Someday
I'd like to make this for myself.



I've always been amazed at the differences in cat personalities.
They are all such individuals and form different types of
relationships with each other. Tell me about your kitties and how
they get along. Do they have any particular quirks?

My cats get along great. I got Uno when he was 4 months old, and
Deedee was a little over a year. She thought he was her baby, so she
kind of raised him. At that time, I still had Sparkles who was about
14 and had cancer. He was pretty crabby and would hiss at the little
cats a lot. His companion, Tipper, had died of cancer about a year
before that. Sometimes Sparkles would try to lick Deedee and Uno, but
because he was a lot bigger than them -- they each weighed about 6
pounds at the time and he weighed 20 pounds -- and because he hissed
at them so much, they were afraid to let him come near them. The two
of them are great friends, now. Sadly, they do not miss Sparkles at all.


Donna and Dee Dee

Do your kitties get into your yarn and/or knitting projects?

Not really. They used to when they were younger, but now they are
pretty well behaved. I don't take any risks though, and I keep my
projects where they can't get into them, especially if I'm knitting
lace or using exotic fibers that might attract their attention. They
can't seem to resist angora, for example! And they don't just want to
roll in it. They want to chew on it.


Donna and Uno

Thank you, Donna, for stopping by!

Thanks again for letting me stop by as part of my tour.

I finished the kitty toys that were in the book: Two felt mice, a felt tube and a fringy felt ball. See my last post for the kitties' review!

The kitties are coming!

Tomorrow is the day we have a special guest here at Crazy's! Donna Druchunas is stopping by to talk about her new book. I thought I would present a few of the projects to a tough group of critics. Here are the completed projects:

All of them are spiked with premium organic catnip! Yes, even kitties like to party!

First we have the initial inspection:


Then, needless to say, Samantha chooses the pretty pink one:


Then Harley chased her away:


Greg went right for the mice!


Then Mike tried out the mice and settled on the blue one. In my last post you can see Mikey picking out the blue yarn!



The kitties give Donna's book a glowing review!

Other stuff: The daffodils have been replaced with tulips--and today really felt like spring!

Forty tulips! Next to daffodils, tulips are the second friendliest flower!

Nothing much else to talk about. I went to yoga this evening, so I'm feeling pretty chill!

Here's something that is totally NOT chill:
Bushism of the day:
"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 8, 2003

Kitty Cam: This whole post is a kitty cam!

Spring is on the way . . .

I've declared winter to be officially over. Why? Because I bought daffodils. I love daffodils! I always think of the movie "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan tells Tom Hank, "I think daisies are the friendliest flower." Only for me, the friendliest flowers are daffodils. To me, daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are only for spring and summer! I put them all over the house . . .

In the family room:


In the living room:


In the powder room:


Hyacinths in the dining room:


Knitting projects the last few days have mainly been kitty toys! I am having a guest here at the blog on Wednesday March 5. Donna Druchunas, author of a new knitting book called "Kitty Knits" will be dropping in for a visit. I thought I'd make a few things from the book:

I actually finished the pink tube on the needles and a ball with fringe. I now have to felt them, stuff them and spike them with catnip. Mikey chose the color for his:

So Mikey will get the blue mouse!

Other news: My niece turned me on to this blog. It's called Stuff White People Like and it is absolutely hysterical. I've spent the last 4 days reading the entire thing from the beginning. WoW! I never realized just how white I was! In fact if you ranked my family in order of whiteness, me and Ems would definitely tie for first place. At first I thought she would be number 1 since she's a vegetarian and she shops at Whole Foods. But then I realized that I tie her with my Arts degree and the fact that I'm shopping for a hybrid car. Of course, I have to deduct a point for said car not being a Prius, but I think hybrid cars in general qualify for whiteness points. Next comes Bird. He is working on an arts degree, likes indie music, is into microbrews and brews his own beer. Last is DH. In fact, by all accounts, DH isn't white at all! Who knew!

I have to finish Giselle this week and get started on another sweater. I don't know how much knitting I will be able to do after my hand surgery. I'll be able to sew as long as I cut out the stuff in advance. I need to get crackin' as I got this in a fortune cookie today:

Hopefully something will come of that!

Bushism of the day:
"Oftentimes, we live in a processed world — you know, people focus on the process and not results." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003

Kitty Cam: Once again, Greg gets away from it all under the bedspread.