Spring Break!

It's spring break this week and I have a lot on my agenda. First off, I have to do our taxes. I always tend to procrastinate doing them because we always owe money. I also have a paid sewing job to do . I started spring break yesterday by meeting my knitting posse at Borders around 10 a.m. We stayed until noon then went to Cosi's for lunch. I kept thinking how this would be like life after retirement and how much I could easily adjust to that. After that, I went and got my eyes checked and ordered new, very funky glasses! I can't wait to get them! Today, I will get my driver's license renewed since it expires tomorrow and do some errands. DH and I may go to the Greene Turtle to watch the Caps game tonight. We went to DC Sunday for the game and to eat at Capital Q, our favorite BBQ joint. We did that for lunch before the game. I had made a loaded pizza Saturday night so we were able to have the left overs for dinner later on Sunday night. Check out this pizza before it went in the oven:

It was about 2 inches high! I do homemade, hand stretched thin crust and top it with Tomato Basil sauce, 3 or 4 cups of mozzarella, a pound of hot turkey Italian sausage, sweet red bell pepper, vidalia onion, can of sliced black olives and fresh mushrooms on one half for DH. I forgot to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven. It's very filling and we eat it for two nights.

I've started some new knitting projects. I finally started Sylvi and I'm currently working on the sleeve:


I decided that I need another project going at the same time because the sleeves and fronts of Sylvi are entirely in seed stitch which makes me want to shoot myself! I began the Musica fingerless gloves and got the first one done! I love it!





Saturday, we are going to Pittsburgh to see the kids for Easter. It saddens me that Pittsburgh makes the national news for such an awful incident this week. It also scares me that there are people who believe that the government is going to take their guns so they go and shoot policemen. That certainly doesn't help their position. Being raised in DC tends to make one a political animal and I tend to be a news junkie--I love my msnbc shows. Anyway, I saw this exchange yesterday on Hardball, and I find it quite frightening that there are so many in "middle" America that think this way.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Scary, isn't it?

Em's woke me up at 7:30 this morning to tell me it was snowing in Pittsburgh! It's also cold here so I don't think I'll be putting flowers in the beds this week!

That's it for now!

Kitty Cam: Bar finds a sunny spot to keep warm!

The week that was. . .

This has been a crazy busy couple of weeks. First I had to get stuff together for the Homespun Yarn Party. Then ended up being a fun event! Even better was the fact that it was at Savage Mill which is right down the street from my house!

Also--My Etsy Shop is up and running. Right now I have listed all my project bags. These came about because I made some for my own personal use and then started giving them as gifts. People started asking for them. I have all my projects in their own little bag. They are perfect for small projects, but I find that I can fit an entire top down sweater along with a skein of yarn in mine so they are really quite versatile. I will be adding coordinating gadget rolls which is like a mini needle roll with 3 sections to hold your stitch counter, cable needles etc. I am also working on some cable needles which can be worn as pendants. I have designed one with a kitty shape (what else!) and the tail forms the cable needle. I hope to make a few out of bronze to see how they go as it is cheaper than sterling silver. I will expand to sterling and gold fill with gemstones.

I did finish my Opulent Raglan and I absolutely love it! Here's the photos:




Here are the details:
Pattern: Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard, from Knitscene Fall 2008
Size: XS
Yarn: Bristol Yarn Gallery King George in Chocolate
Needles: KnitPicks Options Size 5 and 6, Addi Turbo, size 6
Modifications: I had to add rows due to the fact that my row gauge was way off. I also added 4 stitches to each sleeve then added two addition decreases along with additional rows on the sleeve flounce.

I'm really happy with this sweater and I'm glad that it is cold enough this week that I will be able to wear it!

Today I will swatch for Sylvi. I am making it in bright red like the model in the photo. I will add pockets to the front and instead of buttons I will make leaf shaped frog closures. The front is just plain seed stitch and I think it needs something that ties it to the design on the back.

I chilled last night in front of cable TV. DH was at an SAR function. I finally saw Sicko. All I can say is "wow!" It's criminal what happens in this country in regard to healthcare. It was quite an eye opener to see how Canada, England and France manage to provide for everyone. One statement by a French official particularly struck me. He said "People pay according to their means and receive care according to their needs." Everything is paid for with taxes and one gets health care without paying a cent. Taxes are quite high in France, but college is free, healthcare is free, daycare is free. All workers get at least 5 weeks paid vacation and are granted additional paid vacation for life events such as marriage, moving etc. Full time employment in France is 35 hours a week. They still have rich and poor people as they are not a communist country. Another statement that I found interesting was "In France the government is afraid of the people. In American, the people are afraid of the government." Apparently the people protest publicly there and the government is terrified of that so they do what they can to prevent it. No wonder they are so laid back there? What was really upsetting was to see that in some places in our country, poor people who cannot pay their hospital bills are sometimes loaded in a cab and dumped on the street near missions in the ghetto where they may get a little help. How can this be? I could go on, but I won't. If you haven't seen Sicko, then by all means do so.

We have been in the throes of MSA testing last week and this week at school. Everything normal grinds to a halt. I've been helping with the testing in the 3rd grade and some of my classes were cancelled in order to do so. All non classroom teachers are pulled to help with accommodations for students who need them. I won't bore you here with my thoughts on this whole thing, but basing a school's performance level on grueling standardized tests are simply wrong. Some kids aren't able to show what they know in this particular format. It's just wrong.

Other news--Ems will be in the Roller Derby. She's psyched! She says it's like playing hockey except she can wear fishnets and make up! Here she is in her skates:

Spring arrived Friday at 7:44 a.m. according to our local meteorologist! So I will spend today putting away my snowmen and putting out bunnies, ducks and chicks! I have two weeks until spring break. We will probably visit the kids in Pittsburgh on Easter since they are working on Saturday.

That's about all for now!

Kitty Cam: Harley always finds the one little sunny spot to bask in.

six feet under - the rainbow of her reasons

Just a little diversion. I saw this episode of Six Feet Under while I was sewing last night. Claire, the artist, has just started a temp office job and she has to wear business attire which she hates--particularly the pantyhose. We all know that pantyhose are of the devil anyway. I so relate to this!

Thank you secret pal!

I got my last package from my SP13 pal and she has spoiled me rotten!

First, there's a totebag from her favorite LYS, Loopy Yarns in Chicago. Then we have a gorgeous skein of Seasilk. There's a lovely little handmade felted bag which had a tube of Chibi needles and some mini embroidery scissors in a leather case. There was an imported chocolate bar, some chocolate covered sunflower seeds and a pack of cacao nibs.

Here's a close up of the felted bag and one of the seasilk:



Thank you so much Michelle! You spoiled me rotten and I've loved all the goodies!

Why is it the comedians get it right?

As usual, it takes Jon Stewart to point out the true state of affairs!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

The Dow Knows All

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Finally!

Snow! Real snow! Typical snow average in this area is about 12 inches over the winter. So far we had gotten 2 inches. That was it! I guess Mother Nature figured that she better get on the stick before winter ended. It looks like we've gotten about 6 inches. I'm happy to report that school was cancelled today. I'm also happy that the snow held off until last night as DH and I went downtown to the Caps game at 3:00 yesterday. We typically drive into DC on the weekends, but we were afraid that they would call a snow emergency which means that you cannot park on main roads. If you are parked on one and don't move your car, you get towed and a hefty fine. We drove to Greenbelt and took the metro in. Everyone on the train had Caps jerseys on which was nice. Unfortunately the game totally blew. The Caps are #2 in the Eastern Conference and #4 in the league. They got spanked royally, losing to Florida 6 - 2. Ouch! How can an ice hockey team from the deep south do that!!!

I haven't been up to too much these days. I have been working on my two projects a lot. My Chunky Cabled Tam is going to hibernate until I figure out what to do with it. Here it is in it's current state:


I love this hat on the cover of Knit 1. Mine looks a lot bigger. It is very bulky--two strands of Manos held together on size 11 needles. The pattern called for 3 skeins of Manos and I have run out of yarn! 4 skeins will amount to one expensive hat! When I try this on, the slouchy part of the hat literally hangs down to my shoulders. I think it is just too big. I'll have to take it to my stitch 'n bitch group on Wednesday to ask for advice. I don't know whether I should get another skein and finish it, or to frog back and do one less repeat of the cable to make the top smaller. That would also keep me from having to get another skein. So I've put the tam aside to finish the Opulent Raglan. I am now on the hip increases below the waist.

I love this sweater! It fits like a charm and the yarn is like butter on the skin! It is Bristol Yarn Gallery King George which is 45% merino, 45% alpaca, 10% cashmere. My row gauge is off though. I'm getting more rows per inch. I'm a little worried that this sweater will grown in length when it is blocked. Alpaca has a tendency to do that. Merino has good memory so I'm hoing it will balance out the alpaca. At any rate, I ended up ordering two more skeins of this yarn. I am on the 5th now and only have 3 left. I can see using at least one more on the body so the 8 I bought won't be enough. I hope to get this finished by the middle of March.

I ordered the yarn for Sylvi. According to the yardage, I will need 10 skeins of the yarn I chose. I ordered 11 but Webs only had 10 so I got what they had. I'll have to make sure that my swatch is accurate. I want to do some modifications which might require more yarn. The color I got is called Valentine and they have another red, so I may get some of that and do a dye job.

Cold weather makes me pull out the crock pot. We've had some good stuff from the slow cooker in the last few weeks. Our favorite so far has been Pepperoncini Beef.

Here's the recipe:

1 - boneless chuck roast (mine was 3.5 lbs.)
2 - 14 oz.cans low sodium beef broth
1 - 16 oz, jar pepperoncini
3 or 4 peeled garlic cloves

Make some cuts into the surface of the roast. Slice the garlic cloves and put the slices into the cuts in the beef. Place the beef in the crock pot and pour in the broth and the pepperoncini with the juice. Cook 6 - 8 hours on low. After cooking, pull out the beef and shred with 2 forks. I also pulled out the pepperoncini and removed the stems. Return the pepperoncini and beef to the crock. Serve on crusty rolls. Top with Provolone cheese and put under the broiler for a couple of minutes.

Here is the finished sandwich, served with Provolone and broiled on a Chiabatta roll with some spicy Chipotle mustard!

Good stuff!

Samantha has found her old toys! There is this particular toy that she loves and I can't find them any more. I've bought her a bunch of them over the years and they eventually get destroyed. We found 2 of them in the house. She is like a kid with a security blanket with these things.


She carries it around the house. I'll hear her meowing repeatedly and there she will be with the toy in her mouth. The other day, I noticed this:

Her toy was on the piano stool! Of course the next morning I saw this:

She basks in the sun every morning on the piano stool so I guess she needed her toy to keep her company!

I will leave you with photos of the snow, taken from inside the house!




Kitty Cam: Greg is a little more greedy with his toys. He collects a number of them and puts them in his favorite box.

Bad Blogger!

Oops! I did it again! I went on a 2+ week hiatus! This was purely unintentional. There were two factors. First, I've been in a winter funk. Why? Because we really haven't had a "real" winter. It's been bone-chilling cold, but there's been no snow other than the two days of wintery mix we had which caused schools to be closed 2 days due to ice. The mercury has gone up then down then up then down. It's been insane. It needs to pick a place and stay there for a while! The second reason I haven't blogged is that I've just been busy with school, DAR, knitting group etc. etc. So let me catch you up on what's been going on.

I don't remember if I mentioned this. Bird came home for the Inauguration--not for the Inauguration itself, but to get a beer. Not just any beer, mind you, but a special limited edition beer. This beer was a special brew that was only getting tapped on inauguration day in NY, Philly and DC. Here's a photo of the keg handle.

The beer is called Obamagang. The keg handle is highly collectible and the bar was guarding it carefully! Bird went to Frisco to enjoy his brew while watching the swearing in.

I finally finished my Silken Scabbard. Here are some photos:



I love the way the braided cables morph into the horseshoe cables:

This sweater is incredibly soft on the skin. Here are the details:
Pattern: Silken Scabbard by Stitch Diva Studios
Yarn: Malabrigo Silken Merino in Topaz, 50% silk, 50% merino--6 skeins
Needles: Addi turbo size 4 and 5

I learned two new techniques with this sweater: The tubular bind off and how to correct a cable boo boo. I discovered that i had crossed one of my cables the wrong way on the sleeve 8 rows after the mistake. I did not want to frog back 8 rows so I just dropped the 6 stitches involved down to the row where they cross, corrected the twist and the picked them back up to the row I was on. It took a while, but I'm glad I did it. I tend not to frog things. I find it just too painful!

This sweater took way longer than it should have. It hibernated for short periods. I want to do another for the SKC knit along. We are making wearables with cables. I have two things on the needles for this. First, I have started the Opulent Raglan:

Mine is in a darker brown yarn called King George by Bristol Yarn Gallery. Boy is this yarn soft! It is a worsted weight blend of 45% baby alpaca, 45% merino wool, 10% cashmere. It feels like a cloud! I think this sweater will be a fairly quick knit if I work on it some every day. I'm hoping it will fit okay. My stitch gauge is right on but my row gauge is off. I always have that problem!

The second item I have started is the Chunky Cabled Tam:

This tam is made out of 2 strands of Manos. I got the same yarn but in a light orange. It is a flattering color and I think it will look good with my winter jackets.

The other project I have underway is a sewing one. I am setting up at the Homespun Yarn Party with my friend Sheila from Wullenstudio. Sheila dyes gorgeous sock yarns. I am selling project bags, mini rolls --little rolls that hold cable needles, stitch counters etc.--and needle rolls for double pointed needles. Most of my designs have cat prints. Here's a photo of some of the project bags which I am using:

The mini rolls fit into the pocket. I can actually cram a sweater in progress in one of these bags but they are really perfect for smaller projects. I will be making a bunch and I have gotten a lot of kitty prints plus a few others.

I decorated the house for my DAR luncheon on Saturday. I always have flowers in the house, but I was delighted that Trader Joes had bouquets of 2 dozen roses on sale. I managed to use one bouquet in the powder room:

On the mantel:

And on the dining room table:


It's the end of high school hockey season, so I am busy with playoffs and all star games. At least I can bring my knitting to the rink!

I leave you with the Kitty Cam:
The two big lugs, Mike on the love seat and Greg on the floor, love to bask in the sun.