Look what I'm making

It's a lace stole and it's part of a mystery knit along. I signed up after hearing about it over at Becky's.

I'm not usually one to join knit alongs (I tried and failed at an Elizabeth Zimmermann one) but I couldn't resist this one. I've never knit a stole before. I've made lacy things, like baby sweaters and such, so I am not finding this too difficult. I like to try new things, at least in knitting, so it seemed like a natural thing to do. There are over 6500 people currently signed up to do this mystery stole knit along. It's been interesting to see every one's different interpretations and to hear the guesses on the theme. But alas, it is a mystery so we won't know for sure until the last clue.

This is a closer look. I like how it's coming out. I am using a fingering weight yarn as opposed to lace weight. I like a denser fabric, this one will be warm that's for sure!

I pinned it out onto a piece of cardboard, the only thing I have handy. And I used my sewing pins, which seemed to work well.

100 Things About Me; Part 3

1. I love Pepsi....regular, not diet


2. I drink coffee (light-ish with sugar....unless it's iced coffee, then I take it light-ish with Equal)


3. My sister Melissa and my friend Heather N. make the best coffee. They both take it the same way as I do.


4. I clip coupons and USE them.


5. I save at least 25% each time I enter a grocery store and sometimes as much as 75-80%!


6. My friend Louise is my "coupon buddy" and has, over the last 3 years, helped me take my couponing to a whole new level. Often sharing and trading coupons as well as turning me onto deals I might have missed. She is the true COUPON QUEEN and a dear friend.


7. I love to read.


8. I read 2 newspapers each weekday (The Patriot Ledger and the Boston Herald), 2 newspapers on Saturday (PL and BH) and 3 on Sundays (PL, BH and the Boston Globe). And surprisingly, not all the "news" in each of these papers is the same.


9. I get the Herald free and the Sunday Globe free (my husband's office buys the Herald and he brings it home for me and my son sells the Globe and he gives me his extra).


10. I sometimes find it hard to think of interesting things about me. That's why it has taken me this long to complete the list and why I need to drone on and on about my newspapers and coupons.


11. I love a good lipstick and am on a quest to find an under eye concealer that looks natural. I'd wear make-up more often if I didn't look so "done up".


12. I have O- blood (meaning I am RH factor negative). While my blood type isn't the most common, it is used in hospitals the most for emergencies and surgeries. All blood types can receive O- blood, it is universal. But, I can only receive my own type.....any other type could kill me.


13. I donate blood often. And, when a family member needs surgery, and there isn't enough time for them to store 3 pints of blood, I go in and give a pint of mine (keepin' it in the family).


14. My father had O- blood. Out of his 5 children my sister Melissa and I are the only one's who got it.


15. I'm not afraid of needles, doctor's or hospitals. I am considered to be an excellent patient (so I have been told).


16. I love Neil Diamond (I must have told you).


17. I went to one of his concerts, 2 weeks after 9/11. It was amazing when he sang "America" and they unfurled the American flag. I cried....because I am a sap and I am patriotic. God Bless America.


18. I love concerts. I have been to many. Most of them are too embarrassing to mention. But imagine some of the metal bands from the 80's and chances are I went to one or more of their concerts.


19. I wanted to start these 2 subsequent lists at the next number (part 2 would have started at #26 and part 3 would have started at #51) but for the life of me I can't get blogger to do it.


20. I am assuming the zero people reading this are intelligent enough to catch my drift.


21. I have another blog over on blog-city that I am phasing out. Eventually I will be sending the 5 people who read my blog over there to this blog over here.


22. I am in the process of moving. It sucks.


23. I've lived in this apartment for 12 years.....I don't want to leave but our family got too big.


24. I love the New England Patriots.


25. I am making a prediction, the Pats and the Sox are going to go all the way this year.

Ok, installment 3 complete, stay tuned for the final installment (I'll need to think long and hard for that one).

100 Things about me; Part 2

1. I don't tan. I burn, blister and peel.
2. I always, always, use sun screen.
3. I love elephants.
4. I'm not a pet person (nor is my husband).
5. I have ugly toes. Really, UGLY toes.
6. I have been told, by more than 2 (ten) people that I have the ugliest big toe they have ever seen.
7. I don't wear sandals very often.
8. I got married, had my wedding reception and honeymoon all in the same town in which we live.
9. I've lived in this town since 1982, when I was in 7th grade.
10. I had my wedding reception at the same place my high school senior banquet was held.
11. I also used the same caterer.
12. That Son's of Italy hall is now a Walgreen's
13. I loved being pregnant and giving birth. (that's probably why I have 4 children)
14. I don't care for pizza, potatoes, or apple pie.
15. I also don't like bread.
16. I am proof that following a low carb diet isn't always the way to diet (I naturally don't eat many carbs and I am "fluffy").
17. I was the exact same age (to the DAY) when my first son was born that my mother was the day I was born (exactly.the.same.age.)
18. I love asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower.
19. I haven't rode a bike in 26 years.
20. I hate the winter.
21. I have never been skiing and have no intentions of ever going.
22. I could live with never seeing snow again, or having the temperature drop below 50 degrees (f).
23. I shouldn't live in New England, it gets cold and snowy here often.
24. I love Neil Diamond (have I ever mentioned that?)
25. I like reading other people's "100 things about me" lists.

Stay tuned for Part 3!

100 Things about me; Part 1

1. I knit.
2. My favorite color is orange.
3. I was married on my husband's 25th birthday (he never forgets our anniversary!)
4. I have 3 sons and 1 daughter. They are 15, 12, 9 and 3 years old (my daughter is the youngest).
5. I've had the same job for 18 years, and I love it!
6. My best friend lives in Arizona, I miss her terribly.
7. I despise peas.....really, really, really.
8. I haven't had a bowl of cereal in over 25 years.
9. I prefer to drive a pick-up truck (at the moment though, I don't own a vehicle).
10. I didn't vote for George W. Bush (or his father).
11. I wouldn't consider myself to be a political person.
12. But I do vote, ALWAYS.
13. I am not affiliated with any particular political party.
14. Cancer has devastated my family, more than once.
15. I donate money to the American Cancer Society (even though it's a small amount, I believe every little bit counts).
16. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother
17. Between the 5 of us we have 18 children.
18. 8 boys and 10 girls. The oldest is 22 and the youngest is 13 months.
19. I like hospital food.
20. I have been hospitalized 5 times (4 children and 1 surgery).
21. The emergency surgery took place in New Mexico while I was traveling (the hospital was so small that the kitchen "cooked to order"......I had the BEST food there!).
22. I'm still working on trying to solve the Rubik's Cube (I'll get it eventually!).
23. I couldn't live without spell check. It's not because I am an inadequate speller it's because I am a terrible typist (2 finger poky poky......but I am fast).
24. I love baseball.
25. The Boston Red Sox are my home team.

Well, that's installment #1. Check back again soon for the next one.

Tomorrow, knitting pictures so stay tuned.

Wacky Wednesday

I was watching the local news this evening. The weatherman reported that it was 97 degrees (f) today! Yikes. That's hot. Boston actually broke weather records today. Right now it's about 85 degrees (f) and it's 8:45 PM. Damn it's hot. I've had the AC on since yesterday morning and have no intentions of turning it off until this heat breaks. Friday will be cooler, the weekend will be even cooler and the 4th is supposed to be a glorious day.



Anyway, knitting is my thing. I knit, a lot. And I like to read. I read knit blogs, often (who the heck am I kidding, I read knit blogs everyday, sometimes more than once in a day!). I like to read books too, mysteries especially.



I've been knitting for quite a long time, sporadically. I learned when I was 8 years old. When the whole Cabbage Patch Doll craze hit I knit like a fiend. I was a little too old for the dolls (well, I had one, because you know, everyone did. I didn't really play with her though, she sat on my bed and looked pretty...I may have been 12 or 13.) but my sister wasn't. I knit her dolls some of the best outfits ever! I never used a pattern (didn't need to really, the dolls, if you remember, were quite boxy) I basically knit rectangles and squares, to the measurements of the dolls and then sewed the pieces together to form clothing. My mother saved one of the outfits I knit. It is a special yellow and green ensemble knit with none other than Red Heart!



I didn't knit through junior high or high school. It wasn't cool I guess and I was too busy depleting (or helping to) the ozone layer with hairspray ( 80's BIG hair, oh no!!). I did learn to sew though. At the junior high I went to we were required to take sewing, cooking, wood shop and drafting. Along with all the other fun stuff (math, english, history, science etc.). We were lucky, these days, schools (especially junior high schools) around here don't offer those programs. I loved sewing (didn't care too much about the other classes). I took sewing in high school, for all 4 years. I am an avid seamstress (quilter, fabric-aholic). I can make clothes, yay!



I picked up knitting again 15 years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest child. I knit him sweaters, blankets etc. Unfortunately I was uninformed and used mostly acrylic yarn (an aside, I work for a painting contractor and one of the main ingredients in house paint is acrylic......yik!).



I also hand embroider, crochet (a little), do counted cross stitch, quilt and of course sew and knit.



I knit socks (among other things). I have a pair of basic socks on the needles (2 circular Addi turbos, size US1) at all times. My favorite sock yarn is Cherry Tree Hill but I've been known to use Koigu, Lorna's Laces, Trekking and others that escape me at the moment. I like the portability of sock knitting. I save the big stuff for knitting at home, in front of the tube or while listening to a podcast on the MP3 player (or my music).

So, that's a little bit about me. What do you like? Do you knit? Do you like to sew or read. Leave me a comment!

Me

What is a Snickerdoodle? I have no idea, but it was available (sort of) and it has a nice ring to it.