To be honest, I mostly blog at work.  There I said it.  I take a little mental break and I blog.  It’s what I do.  But lately, work has been so crazy busy (and I swear, my manager better hurry up and hire someone cause the straw and the camel’s back?  yeah it’s fixing to happen, like fuh real), I haven’t had time to come on here and update you on anything.

I finished a baby sweater.

This is for my cousin Cece’s baby, who we are affectionately calling Pegleg.  Why?  We like pirates, okay?

I was going to have other pictures for you of my other projects.  For example – my Norwegian Rose socks – which are kickin’.   But I got nothing for you but the one lonely project picture up above.

In other news, Sharkey got fixed and had to wear this around his neck for the past week:

After the surgery, I made the mistake of allowing him to go up and down the stairs.  Don’t do that if you have a large dog because they will bust a blood vessel which will cause a hematoma which in turn, will make his privates look as if they have not been altered at all.  We’ve had a week of pain killers, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs.  But he’s all better now.  His weight is also between 110-115.  NO ONE WARNED ME OF THAT WHEN I GOT HIM.  I saw his parents – they didn’t look monsterous like he does.  And don’t get me started about getting him in the bug.  (Mental note:  Must contact dealership this weekend about trade-in).

What else…

Oh… my son, dearest little Turtle, started fifth grade yesterday.  Also – his face is breaking out… and he has BO… and he’s just turning into a gross pubescent boy.  Ugh… I’m-not-ready-for-this.  I overheard his friend and him talking about GIRLS the other day too.  And one was mentioned as being “out of their league.”  Stop Stop Stop…  Where is the pause button on this thing.

And with the onset of puberty, will come the drama… and the heartbreak… and you know what?  I’m not going to lie to Turtle like my mother did to me as I sat at our kitchen table at 11 years of age. “Middle school is fun!”  No it’s not.

Instead, I’ll go get a warm wash cloth, put it on his pimply forehead, and hold his hand until he makes it to college.  I’ll tell him that all of this doesn’t matter, I’ll tell him that it will get better and he will not believe me, because duh… I’m just his mother.  What do I know.

But I do know.. and you guys do too.  You were an adolescent at one time too.

So some of my knitting and cooking time might be taken up with reading “how to deal with your growing boy” type of books.

If you have any recommendations, feel free to shoot them to me.

She found some doozies.

But first the fest.  Friday night was on the lawn of Executive Strike and Spare.  A huge stage was set up with a movie screen.  Bands played until about 10 pm and then the movie started.

It was so much fun to sit with about 200 Lebowski fans and quote the movie line by line.

Saturday night was the big party at the bowling alley.  Here are just a few of the shots:

Now for the actual weirdo attractions that we saw in and around Louisville.

The world’s largest coffee pot.

The world’s largest vampire bat.

A houseful of junk.

The world’s largest beer bottle.

And just to mix it up a little…

Midget mountain – A christian campground for little people (which seriously creeped me and Kelley out).

You can see more pictures on my flickr page.  Kelley and I may be hitting the road again some time in September to see Pavement in NYC.  Still working the details out on that one though.

Some fireworks from that night.  Sure it’s against the law out here in Cville… but who can resist the lure of handling objects that could blow your arm off.

Dylan with one of those little popper things.

The boys in the pool.  It was so hot that day.

I am going to try to photo some WIPs to keep me motivated to keep moving on them.  Next Tuesday I start my baby sweater class at Hank’s so I’ll have four projects on the needles.

I’m off today to see Despicable Me with Turner, Kobe, Laura and Leslie (the Knit Girllls).  Have a good Saturday!

I haven’t uploaded the photos from the fourth yet and not quite finished with painting the kitchen/den.  But I will get to it I promise.

In the mean time I do have some pictures of some finished objects:

These are socks that I recently finished for a friend.  I used Wendy Johnson’s Butterfly Sock pattern.  Wasn’t too wild about the yarn, but they turned out okay.

These socks kicked though!  I used Cookie A‘s Wanida pattern and the yarn is Tosh Sock by Madeleinetosh, colorway Wood Violet.

My cousin that married in October is pregnant with her first child and I’m knitting away on a sweater for the baby.  Having a baby to knit for is so exciting for me.  Celia having a baby is also exciting because she is practically my little sister.  I am going to be in the delivery room with her and will go to birthing classes with her too.  (Although trust me, I don’t think I need classes.  I remember the birthing process in great detail).  Still it will be good to coach her and be there as soon as the little butterbean pops out.  I hope to finish this sweater, a blanket, booties, a hat, and another sweater (pattern determined by what sex the baby will be) before the baby is born.  Due date… wait for it… is February 11.  That’s right… one day before my birthday.  An awesome aquarian baby.

In other news, I’ve had to do a couple of whirlwind trips to Atlanta and when I say whirlwind, I mean leaving from the Memphis airport in the morning and flying back to Memphis that night.  Those one day turnarounds are very tiring.

Next weekend, I am going to Lebowski Fest with my good friend Kel.  We’ve talked about going for years, but now, we’ve made our reservations and have bought our tickets.  I’m sure I’ll have plenty of pictures to share from that.  Can’t wait for the bowling party on Saturday night.

The weekend after that, we’re in Chicago to visit my chi-town friends and catch a cubs game.  My brother and his girlfriend are also coming along.  My goal is to do some crazy shoe shopping while I’m there.  (And also go to Hot Doug’s).

We also have another trip planned for Boston some time in August but I have to firm up with Bea on a good time.  Can’t wait to see her again and play with the bullies.

That’s it.  For any stalkers out there, know that my house is protected by a 110 lb labrador that will shed and slobber all over you if you try to break in.  Also – I have a couple of awesome pet sitters that camp out at my house (and drink my beer) while I’m away.

Fresh milk!

Last year over Memorial Day, we were in Chicago and I got to meet up with my friend Em who reintroduced me to fresh milk.  Since then, I’ve been on a hunt in this area to find some.  So good… a cup is like drinking dessert and in the morning, there’s cream at the top that I use in my coffee.  Seriously – come to the farmer’s market and visit these guys.  PS – they also have sweet butter… and fresh eggs…

It’s blueberry season!  Normally Turtle and I head down to Nesbit to pick some but haven’t had the chance – plus have I mentioned the heat??  It’s hot down here.  I also picked up a cobbler mix and plan to make this for father’s day tomorrow.

And how about some peach ice cream to go with the blueberry cobbler?  Sounds win/win to me.

Also on the menu tomorrow is fresh goat cheese, basil,  squash and zucchini pizza with home made dough.   One of our favorite summer time dinners at Chez Cat – and aside from the dough, relatively easy to make.

Tomorrow is father’s day and aside from cooking the above mentioned, we are going to be by the pool.

I have been doing knitting, but it’s been for gifts so I can’t post them just yet, but will soon.

He did a pretty good job for a ten year old, mais oui?

Also – it’s the end of the year at my job, so to say that I’m wicked busy is an understatement.  Nevertheless, I did get some knitting done.

My Vesper socks are finished.

Actually they aren’t mine… they are for my mother – a very late Mother’s day present.

I’m also working on a pair of Spring Winds.  I have one done:

Erm… ignore the messy coffee table and the dog toys in the background.

The pattern is by Laura Linneman and the fabulous yarn is by Sarah at Perfect Day.  I’m really liking the pattern and the yarn, but I will save my review until the project is complete (hopefully this weekend!).

Other than that, I’m looking forward to the Memorial Day weekend.  Saturday, I’m having 4 cubic yards of mulch delivered to my doorstep and it’s going to be nothing but me, dirt, and flowers.  I’d been holding off doing the beds for one reason or another – it was either too cold, too hot, or it had rained.  So I’m sure I’ll have pictures for you.

My hydrangeas have some lovely blooms and my clemantis has really come into it’s own this year (after FOUR FREAKING YEARS OF BABYING IT).  I’ll take some snapshots of that as well and post them up.

The only other thing I had to talk about was something that I saw yesterday.  Seems that Melissa Etheridge has decided to split with her wife of seven years Tammy.  Tammy has taken to her blog to refute some claims made by Etheridge in a recent interview on television.

I bring this up, because it’s just something that I am grappling with with this blog.  How much is too much?  I don’t blog too much personal information anymore.  I don’t change my facebook relationship status anymore.  I think twice before posting photos to flickr that aren’t tagged as private.  I am keenly aware of the stats for this blog.

Because of this, I’ve struggled with my written voice… once very brash and in your face.  I’m a little more gunshy now… timid almost.  My knitting is one thing, but to give the internet an insight into my personal relationships is something totally else.

And it never bothered me before, but I’ve reconsidered – because once it’s out there, it’s out there.  And you can’t take it back.  I’ve embarrassed myself more than a few times with my crazy tales.  I go back months later to read the posts over and literally wince.

So, I have regrets about how much I’ve shared… mainly because, in my mind, it vests the audience in your life… and then when your life takes a tumble, everyone comes along for the ride.

I could have a change of heart, but living out my personal pain and trauma on a blog is not something I want to share anymore.  And though I feel that my quality of writing has suffered due to this, it’s a decision that I feel is necessary to make.

I do feel badly for Tammy though…

Sorry about that.

It’s been a rough week – plus I always feel like I need to have pictures for you guys, and I didn’t have any until just right now.

Last Sunday, was pretty lazy.  We were all trying to recoup from Saturday’s tornados (the sirens went off at least 7x) and I didn’t feel like going out.  Enter Paula Deen.

I know… I’m over her and her pound o’butter recipes too… but when you have a family like mine that thinks good seafood is Red Lobster, then Paula Deen certainly has her place.

I had most everything in my pantry to make her baked spaghetti recipe so I recruited Turtle and into the kitchen we went.

My food pictures are never that good, so I wonder if I’m doing the recipe any justice by even posting it up here…

ANYWAY – it was good and it was fast and while Turtle picked around the tomatoes, the dish didn’t seem to last long in my fridge.

I do have one finished project to show you.

Diagonal Lace Socks

I finished these socks right before Spring Fling – they are Wendy’s diagonal lace socks made from Sanguine Gryphon’s skinny bugga base yarn.

This post will have to be short, as I’ve been coughing my head off and am WAY behind in my mother’s day gifting.  I will finish though with the fourth question from Knitting Crochet Blog week (yes I know i’m behind)

Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day? maybe you’re a crocheter who’d also like to knit? Maybe you’d like to learn to knit continental, knit backwards, try cables or attempt stranded colourwork.

I’d really like to knit backwards.  There was a class at Fling offered, but I opted to take two others instead.  Additionally, I’d really like to attempt a sweater and will probably cast on for that some time after Turtle gets out of school.  I have the pattern and yarn all picked out.

Happy Mother’s Day weekend1

I promised you a picture of my loot from The Loopy Ewe.  Here you go:

Are you blown away by the color?  There are times when I just go into my yarn room and sit with all the skeins.  Beautiful.

Today’s Knitting and Crochet blog week question is:

Write about a knitter whose work (whether because of project choice, photography, styling, scale of projects, stash, etc) you enjoy. If they have an enjoyable blog, you might find it a good opportunity to send a smile their way.

Wow… this one is tough.  There are so many knitters I admire… Lala and Leslie can really whip out the projects quickly and it’s always gorgeous work.  Obviously, Wendy has got to be on the list – I’ve knitted two of her shawls now and can’t get enough of them.  Cookie A has some pretty intricate sock work that I really want to tackle.  There’a also a lady that came to the spring fling, Marianne – who… OMG… knitted a pair of fair isle socks in a day.  That were pretty fantastic.

Supposed to rain all weekend, so I want to get out of the house before the storms hit… Turtle is a little under the weather, so maybe some Mexican food will help.

Have a great weekend!

So I thought I would answer the second question from Knitting and Crochet Blog week… The question is:

Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to. Whether it happens to be because the skills needed are ones which you have not yet acquired, or just because it seems like a huge undertaking of time and dedication, most people feel they still have something to aspire to in their craft. If you don’t feel like you have any left of the mountain of learning yet to climb, say so!

I think I mentioned that I just got back from Spring Fling and spent a lot of time admiring shawls… specifically the large circular shawls.  Leslie has a lovely Shipwreck shawl that she let me wear for the group photo Saturday night and Cathy has a GORGEOUS girasole that I coveted.  So that’s my latest knitting project to aspire to… just need to get a few items off the needles before I tackle!

Speaking of finished objects…

I know that I promised you pictures of my loot from The Loopy Ewe yesterday, but I didn’t get around to that yesterday (sick kiddo).  I will share the shawl that I finished right before fling.

I belong to Tempted ‘s yarn club and our first shipment was a super smooshy skein of her new line Lil Luxe Grrl.  I decided to use this yarn for Wendy’s Miss Woodhouse shawlette.  Here are a few pictures of it blocking:

And here I am wearing it!

In case you can’t tell – I’m a huge groupie for Stacy and Tempted… I just love her base an colorways.

That’s it for today – I’ll try to take pictures of the sock club party tonight!

This past weekend, 130 crazy knit-tahs descended on St Louis for the annual Spring Fling at The Loopy Ewe. It was a bit overwhelming at first – you walk into this large conference room and see everyone sitting around tables and knitting up a storm. Unfortunately, I took no group shots for you. In fact, I’m ashamed I didn’t take many pictures at all, but I was so busy admiring others socks or shawls or the yarn that they had purchased from TLE.

ANYWAY -

I took two classes – one from Wendy Johnson and one from Jared Flood that were both informative. Wendy’s class was about what to do with left over sock yarn and I started a mitered square blanket (and of course have not taken pictures). Jared’s class was all about sweater knitting and was absolutely fabulous.

The trip to the actual Ewe was pretty fantastic as well… Check out these photos:

Seriously… for a fiber junkie like me, it was sensation overload. I got to feel and look at a lot of yarn that I’ve always been curious about and have just not bought – like Sweet Georgia and Enchanted Knoll. I still need to take pictures of the new additions to my stash – so be watching for that.

I got to meet and hang out with Stacy of Tempted Yarns and Sarah of Perfect Day Yarns – both of whom are two of my new favoritest people. Also hung out with another Sarah and Jessica AND Lala and Leslie (of KnitGirllls fame).

The Fling was large… like I mentioned 130 people… and it was hard (at least for me) to try to talk to some of the people that I had met on Ravelry. I ended up gravitating towards my little group every day and sticking there, but that’s more a testament towards my shying away from large groups of people than anything else. Everyone was nice and helpful – and the area we were in was really convenient – you didn’t need a car at all.

Anyway – that was that… I’m sure I’ll remember more stuff to talk about later in the week.

To end though I need to tackle the first question (again, I’m behind) for Knit & Crochet Week.

The question is:

How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting? was it a skill passed down through generations of your family, or something you learned from Knitting For Dummies? What or who made you pick up the needles/hook for the first time? Was it the celebrity knitting ‘trend’ or your great aunt Hilda?

I began knitting about four years ago. I was dating a guy that lived in another city and I needed to do something with all the time I was spending at the airport. Burned out from reading so many books, I started looking up local yarn shops in M-town that gave beginning knitting courses, signed up for a class, and lo and behold knit up a hat in about two weeks.

I wanted to learn more though after knitting a couple more hats, some scarves and felting a purse. So this past year I took a top down sock class. I loved the way sock yarns looked hanging up in the store – all those gorgeous colorways! After knitting a couple of socks using that method, I learned about Wendy’s toe up method and wanted to try that out. I found Laura (Lala) at Hank of Yarn and she oh so patiently taught me how to knit my first toe up socks.

Since then, I’ve knitted several shawls and several more pair of lacy (FANCY!) socks. I love the “creation” part of knitting… taking a skein of yarn and turning it into something special for someone. My family really loves the socks that I’ve knitted for them, but I’m going to be selfish over the next few months and knit only for me.

That’s it… I will ask that you guys be patient with me as I’m still moving in around here and rearranging and changing things… I’m also trying to find my “voice” again. I haven’t blogged regularly in so long and just need to get back into the routine of it.

Tomorrow I’ll have pictures of my new yarn and maybe a few pics of some WIPs.