YPF-Another Friends Edition

Lookey what I got here!!

A Shannon Original! She went on a recent tote, and project & etc. bag making spree and I was a lucky giftee! Hee..I love it when others sew for me :)


That wasn't all...look what was inside!


2 Skeins of Happy Feet in RED! Sportweight even!


My feet will certainly be Happy when I knit these! Thanks again! :)

Lucky Tweedy 7

Gosh after almost 5 months! Methinks a few other projects pushed this one to the back of the line. It wasn't fair, it was calling my name.....finish me....finish me. So, I'm on the knit a WIP, can start another WIP...wait a minute..that may be a bad idea...


Lucky Tweedy 7 by Weezalana
Paton's Classic Merino Wool Tweeds-Tweed Noir or Black Tweed
US 7 Knitpicks options; same size in Clover short bamboo dpn needles
Less than 1/2 a skein.
Mods: I didn't want the ribbing to fold over, looks like yuk on me. But I did want more of a wider ribbing section than the pattern, so, voila knit 14 rows and its fine.

I love this pattern! So easy to follow! I love cables anyways and the decreases in the crown section totally rock!

Doesn't she have gorgeous eyes! Today, there were green, sometimes they are hazel. She's a great hat model!

It does seem a bit pointy at the end, but I'll probably block it next fall before I wear it. Now to finish the other Tweedy partner that goes with it

Hanging and Pecking

Well, I would have used another word, but thought better of it...giggle!

My son helped me get my kitchen a bit more organized. Finally time to hang the kitchen stuff I got from Ikea. My kitchen has stainless steel and black-smoke and cast iron accessories. The walls I dry brushed years ago in a gray color.


So here you can see, I need another one! I don't have a lot of counter space, so getting this stuff hung up is key. Good thing hubby will be going to DC a lot over the summer :) umm...honey, can you stop by....yeah, gonna have to do a lot of whining as I can't see him going in there alone LOL!


Both the above rack and this knife rack are part of the Kroken series. Definately will get more.

A cute set of measuring spoons. L-R, Scrumptious, Delicious, Savory, Tasty, and yes they have the amounts on them :)
Last but not least, my new wine rack. I will be getting at least 2 more to go above/below this one. Also a trip to the wine store is needed :) Here you see my cooking wine...not great to drink, but to cook with, awesome!

Oh, and the pecking...check out this guy!

I went outside and heard his extra loud pecking...grabbed camera and hubby his new binoculars. It's a Pileated Woodpecker. One more hung out with him and a bluebird tried to be friends, but old Woody wasn't buying. Heard some screeching then.

Knitting was done! Should have an FO for you tomorrow. Also a bit of a
destash too.

YPF-Another Friends Edition

Happy Friday!

This weeks YPF is a gift from Kelly-Green Rogue

Gorgeous, squishy, squooshy Frog Tree Alpaca Chunky and some cute sheepy wine charms!

Ahhhh this will be nice around my neck this fall! Thank you again and again.


I may even knit a scarf from side to side with this one...funny how a yarn may make you knit a way you don't care to knit just to have something knit with it...ahhhh alpaca!

Now did that make sense??

Wednesday WIP's

With all this free knitting time...I need to focus LOL! It's hard as I want to finish some longstanding WIP's, plus start something new...so I make a deal with myself, finish something, start something.

This would be the start something...

Everlasting Bagstopper. Need about 1/2 inch or less and the base is done.

Serious progress on these!

Hoping to finish this sock today!

Lookey what's outta hibernation!!

Ribby Shell, just mindless stockinette with a little bit of ribbing on both sides, about 9"or so to go before the neckline.

Oh...and another reward for finishing something...see finish one, start one, finish two...swatch another. I got only 1/2 stitch over on stitch gauge and 4 rows bigger in row gauge, (which most of the time I am??) but I'm not going down a needle size to make up for it. I'm gonna go for it! This yarn is sooo soft and fun to knit with. It's Araucania Pomaire and the softness and drape of this is lovely! However...I'm making myself finish another WIP before I cast on...hmmmm the deals I gotta make ;)

Time to knit....and some news

I should have a ton more done you know...I've never had this much time to knit. But, one does get a bit sleepy from certain teeny pills, and since one has like way too many things OTNeedles, it feels like one isn't getting much done. But it is!

Proof here below!!!

Yet another Meathead hat!

Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky I got in a swap, US 15 needles and it's for 300 Hats as it's wayyy too warm for Hats for Alex. Hehe..I didn't mind this gold color either as I knew it wasn't for me! :)
But as you can see....I had to try it on!

Heh...I love this hat! Pointy, pointy, pointy, pointy! And no, I've not had any pain meds this morning...yet that is ;)


I was searching high and low for my US 7 tips. Well I found them stuck in this project.

Been there for months...so what does a knitter do...she finishes it!!

Now I can bring back a few clothing WIP's and start another cause..................

Good news: not spread to lymph nodes--no chemo! :)

Bad news: they need more breast tissue to declare the margins "clear" so they have to go back in.

Good news: at the time of above re-surgery, will have catheter placed for 1 week of radiation therapy. 1 week is so much better than over 6 or more weeks. But I'm sure it'll be pretty intense.

Bad news: will most likely start on my birthday, and I'll be pretty tired, but hoping it doesn't interfere with my trip to Maine to drop of son for college.

Good news: It could be so much worse and for that I am thankful.


I'll close on a view of my fabulous plant from my co-workers! Off to rest and knit!

Waving Hello!!

Well Happy WWKIP Day! I may go knit on the porch, that'll be as far as I get! :)

I'm doing pretty good, not too much pain and orders to rest! hehe..um..er..which is hard for me, but I'll be taking full advantage of it. I have a laundry basket full of wip's and about to be wip's all ready, so hoping they'll be lots of FO pic's this week. I hope to find the results this week and then we can plan for the next step. Hoping yesterday was my last surgery. The first one in a long time I didn't wake up nauseated. The anesthesiologists listened to me well :)

Of course though, there always has to be a monkey wrench. Um.. like 80 hrs of dvr'd/tivo'd shows, including the season finale's of a few shows (CSI...sniff) are gone. I was looking forward to catching up on a lot of shows! Our DVR receiver is shot. It turns on and works when it wants too...my shows...are...all...gone. We contacted our provider and they are sending a new one via UPS...which means it won't go out until Monday....good thing I have a few netflix dvd's and blockbuster is close by...

Maybe it's time to catch up on some podcasts...either way, there will be knitting...

Oh...and I'm collecting Noro Kureyon for a Lizard Ridge afghan...my first afghan. So if you have any odd skeins lying around you want to destash or swap, LMK . These are the current colors I have: 194, 180, 183, 188, 172, 196, 95, 51, 150, 154, 164, 184 I need like 10-12 more. I'm making it random, but do not wish for any of the creamy, lighter colors (if that makes sense).

Thank you all for your wonderful vibes, hugs, prayers, thoughts, etc. They truly help!

YPF-RED is my favorite color

Yeah..it really is...however a close 2nd is blue, green, pink, brown, black.......

Anyways...Here you go! Glad we had a nice day to photo as you all know how red loves to have it's picture taken!

Loopy's Red Socks
sKNITches Syncopation
100% Superwash merino
Approx. 420yds/4oz.



I had one of these in my cart a while ago, and it was snatched.

Not this time...I happened to be online when it appeared! :) Um..I'm having a craving for self-striping lately...good thing I've got a stash of it :)

What's up Wednesday!

Ok..thunder and lightening and about a speck of rain are over....

Oh no....what's this..R U at the right blog??

Have you ever seen straight needles on this blog???? giggle.... Yeah it's a dishcloth, I do knit them from time to time... Have no clue what it is supposed to be...it's a mystery..

Oh, and have you heard of the eleventy-billion stitches Cristi picked up for her gusset on her fabulous Cedar Creeks...

I R crazy!!!! I swear I have eleventy-trillion!! I make myself do a set of 4 rows (pattern repeat) every nite (oops not tonite though) but at this rate, not sure I'll want to start sock 2 anytime soon. Sometimes size 1's stink...really bad...

R U OK??

Haha..yeah, I'm a bit slap happy right now...K3, P2 plain ole' socks...dunno what heel, dunno what foot, dunno what toe.....Seriously?


Look at what's home from the spa!! With a brand new "metal" bobbin case thingy that hopefully will tolerate my extreme sewing..getting some use tonite...then will rest til I can sew again..

Which I hope is soon as that was one steep bill....

Happy Tuesday!

The happy Graduate and his pesky sister

Hydrangea growing like crazy!

Plants that haven't been murdered yet!


Sigh...so how was your Tuesday :)

Comfort Food

This weekend has been a blur of shopping, cleaning/organizing a few things, laundry, sewing (hey my old machine is doing pretty good, phew as I need to finish a few custom orders), and not enough knitting.

We all have our favorite ones huh! My main one is potatoes...any form...must be the Mainer in me! Mashed potatoes was probably my first baby food! Still is my #1 hangover cure too!

I'm not the worlds best fryer..heck can barely fry chicken, but fish, especially flounder is getting mucho easier on me (well it does help that the iron skillet is on med/high not high anymore). Ask my kids how long the house used to smell of fried food. (heh..who am I kidding, it was usually burnt!) That's why I hardly ever fried. That and it's not really good for hubby either.

So I present my fried flounder, which I prepare like this...salt and pepper fish, dredge in cornmeal, put in heated oil, fry til golden...voila! Flounder is so thin and quick to fry that I feel it's good for you...yeah don't tell me any different! :) My picky eater daughter loves this flounder better than storebought..heh! The green beans..not fresh..sigh frozen organic....but still good.

The German potato salad was taught to me by my MIL...mind you I've been married to her son almost 23 yrs...and it's not until like the last year, I've finally made some halfway decent (well I won't lie to you, she usually always made it, but hardly does anymore so..I'm trying) and edible.
My son isn't home right now, but he'll tell me if the potatoes are too thick, too much vinegar, or ?? This time, a bit too much vinegar, but I love vinegar! It is missing a tiny bit of oil, but I needed it all to fry the fish...I could have added some fishy oil...but yuk...


It was gone in about 5 minutes..well maybe 7 ;) I went to get another 1/2 piece and save the rest for my son...um..a certain large, furry beast had a smile on her lips! The cat didn't even get a piece! Wonder what story I can tell my son on why he's not got any to snack on.. oops!

German Potato Salad ala MIL
Red potatoes-I used about 12 sm/med size ones...this is all gestimate...use more potatoes, use more of the below ingredients.
Salata German seasoned vinegar dressing (I know my local German Rest. uses Heinz Cider vinegar--heck use what you want!)
Onion-I used vidalia tonite, but use what you want to..or not..yikes I couldn't imagine, but I know there are some that don't like or can't eat them.
Cucumber-sliced very thin..I use my mandolin.
Salt and pepper.

Ok first you boil potatoes in their jackets(skins) until tender. Hey, I learned a new trick! I let them set for a bit (maybe 10 mins while I went to the store) then dumped out the hot water and replaced with cold. Those skins peeled off very easy! Kinda like when I did that to tomatoes. Ok, then slice very thin as you can and pop into a bowl. Set aside

While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the onion and cucumber (slice both thinly) and add whatever amount of salt and pepper you like..or not ;) put in a bowl and cover the bowl with the vinegar. This makes a brine for them to soak in. I usually let it stew for at least an hour or so.

To combine for the salad, add about 1 tbl. (or less) of oil to the potatoes (helps them not to stick...I usually use regular vegtable oil, but will try it next time with olive oil.) then drain almost all of the vinegar out of the onion, cucumber bath (set aside in case you want to add more of it to the salad) and add to the potatoes. Taste, and add more vinegar if you need too. Enjoy!

I really love mac-n-cheese and I suspect before the week is out, I'll be making some homemade easy peasy mac-n-cheese....

So tell me...what's your favorite(s) comfort foods....

Gosh...wonder if it is too late for some GPS right now....prolly not... ;)

YPF-The B and B Version

Nope, not talking about a bed and breakfast hehe...


Three Irish Girls - Donegan Colorway
**their description: Adorn Sock, soft washable wool blended with a touch of nylon for durability. Fingering weight, 3.5 oz, 430 yards, needle size 0-3. Accepts dye easily and vibrantly** Um..can you say YES!


I love this color combo.....always have...and always been searching for the perfect combo of it.

methinks I found it!

Wonder what it'll look knit up. Even thinking a scarf...yikes! Although...I'm really craving a Root Beer or Blue Raspberry Slushie or popsicle right now!

Hey..an FO

Well, actually 2! My favorite Meathead hats!



Weezalana kindly donated the yarn on the left (whatever it is, it's sooo soft!) and you can see I used it on the right as well. Added to a blindly fushia/pink colorway! I still have a tiny bit left. Thinking of making a wee tassel for the hat on the left! Yeah, still gotta embellish the pink ones and send them all off to Hats for Alex!


Aww Mom, why do I have to try this on!! Calvin will think I'm weird!!

PS: Thank you all for your thoughts, encouragement, etc! It went very well telling the kids. They are awesome! Let me tell you, they got it really early!! What I have to go through next is just to ensure it's all gone!

No Jury Duty for me...

Nope, I'm getting out of it. Says my Doctor very emphatically.

But not the way I wanted to. I'm going to be otherwise occupied in an OR Suite, maybe I'll have a cute anesthesiologist! :) I need to have another biopsy done as I have DCIS. They now need to also check my lymph nodes and decide on the right treatment for me. Either way it's a tough decision on what to do. I mean, yeah I was planning on a tummy tuck and reduction one day, but not like this...

But then not everything goes to plan. The best thing is this is totally curable. I'll know more after my appointment on Monday. I'm really doing ok, for right now....

But how...how do you tell your son the day after his graduation, that you are having surgery. The time of his life when he should be enjoying his and his friends graduations, his mom is sick. I don't want him to remember this time like that. I am more scared to tell the kids then I am to have any surgery. My daughter is going to be a wreck. Yes, folks I am telling you before them. I know I have great, tough kids, but it's just hard.

They were so great when we told them about hubby. So that's mainly why I'm waiting until after the appointment so I can give them more facts and information as I have a few questions too. I feel bad for Hubby, as he's out of town for a few weeks and is very frustrated he can't be here. But he'll be here for the "big" surgery and I do have my in-laws here and they'll help me out a lot. I'm usually the one helping them so it is weird in that aspect. Yes, I am no good in asking for help. Kinda stubborn that way, and so much like my mother.

My mother, sadly didn't know all the things I know....she didn't get the chance to find it early, but I did. My mom's brother's wife just had a mastectomy last week, and I'm really close with them....but I just can't bring myself to telling them yet.

Well, my friends, sorry to start your week on a bummer note. But thank you so much for letting me share. The best thing you can do for me is just be here for me. I promise not to turn this into a cancer blog, there will be much knitting (sadly not tops or sweaters for a while yet) and pr0n! Now off to knit a bit before bed. :)