Knit Happens

When I am feeling particularly stressed out, I can't stitch because for me, frettin' and stitchin' do not go together like peas and carrots. Stitching does not work for me on any level when I'm worried, throw in some PMS and well I am just a mess, and then there's that whole menopause or pre-menopause thing going on, well no way the little X was going to offer me any comfort. That would be choosing a path covered in frogs, trust me on this.

But I can knit as long as it's something simple. My favorite thing to knit ever is the Mason Dixon Ball Band warsh rag. There should be five in the picture below but I had to rip one all the way back because I lost complete control of the pattern and was just knitting any way I felt like and I'm not sure what happened because I use a row counter but I have another one on the needles and will continue to work my way through my ginormous stash of kitchen cotton.

I love this pattern so much because it makes me look like a "real" knitter when I give them away or show them to nonknitting friends. But it's so very simple.

Here's a link to the pattern:

Knit a ballband dishcloth - Knitting - Crafts - Canadian Living

It's also can be found on the back of Peaches & Creme kitchen cotton label, hence the words "ball band" in the pattern title.

Knitting these makes me feel really good about knitting because they are not treasures, they are meant to be used and believe me, the first four I knit lasted me over two years. Two years, used and abused and handknit by me!

Oh and the yellow and orange warsh rag is full of mistakes but I wasn't in the mood to rip it back because it's a dishrag ya know so I left the messed up band in and moved on along. That was so cool to do that. There was a time when that messed up band in the middle of the dish cloth would have bugged me to no end but now I embrace the mistake and it helped me decide which dish rag would be the first to hit the sink. Orange and yellow dish rag you are going down! In to a sink of soapy, sudsy water that is.

Hope to get back to my A Haunting Mermaid tonight or tomorrow. I'd sure love to finish her in a timely manner and I'm planning on starting REBECCA ROBINSON and Rebecca Cullin on April 29th, my Aunt Rebecca's birthday. I've been wanting to start both of these for the last six months and my aunt's birthday seems like as good an excuse as any to just start them already. I'm going to stitch the regular cross stitch version of Rebecca Cullin. Don't think I want to deal with all those speciality stitches.

Autumn In All Her Glory

Autumn has finally arrived on the Gulf Coast. Warm days, chilly nights. Perfect time of the year. Another sign of Autumn? My first cup of Earl Grey since March. I tend to only drink hot tea when there's a chill in the air. Yep, that's an IngenuiTea tea pot(click on teaware). The only bad thing about it is that it's plastic and unfortunately there is no where on Adagio's site where they state it does not contain BPAs. I'm phasing out plastics but this is an exception. If you aren't familiar with this little teapot, do a youtube search for "ingenuitea" and watch the videos, pretty nifty little device, possible BPAs and all.

And yes, that's knitting you see, maybe I'll finish my Alien Illusion scarf this year, it's only been four years since I cast it on.

I have completed all 80 squares for the 18 yr old's afghan and am in the process of crocheting them together, it's not near as much fun as making the squares but I'm getting there.

The chick cave is coming along nicely. Rearranging the furniture changed the whole feel of the room and I really can't get over how moving some things around can make the air feel so much better. I was so excited about the change of the aura of the bedroom that I started rearranging the living room and even though there's still piles of clutter, some stuff I can't move to the bedroom until we paint, no sense moving it twice, and some stuff needs to be tossed and some stuff just needs a place. I'm working on it and actually feeling good about it.

My vacuum cleaner is gasping for air, it will suck a little but really not so much. It's a year and a half old and has sucked up about 34 dogs worth of dog hair and we can't forget the cats. There is so much hair, I don't think any vacuum could last more than a year or two around here. I'm thinking I might as well just buy the $40 vacuum if I'm going to have to toss it in a year. If this had been the Dyson Animal and it only survived a year, I'd be heartbroken. I don't think even Dyson Animal could handle the animal hair in this house. But hey, Mr. Dyson, if you'd like to send me one to test for a year or a two I'd be glad to. If your appliance can survive this house, it would be a serious testimony to the quality of your product, so I'd be glad to test one. Just sayin' or as Butters would say, "Do you know what I am saying?"

Another sign of Autumn? Pot roast in the crockpot and the first homemade loaf of bread in ages. It's been too hot to bake, so I'm excited to have homemade bread again. Little pleasures, little pleasures.

No Simply Live is not completed yet, but as with the crocheted afghan I'm getting there. I had hoped to have moved on to Halloween stitching at this point but maybe by Monday.

Check out Missy Ann's blog, for her 13 Days of Halloween.

Annette(Annette's Acre)is having three separate giveways, so check them out too.

Naughty Blogger

I haven't blogged a lot recently as it's come to my attention that I do in fact have a life. That was a shock to me because I'm a pretty boring, stay at home, antisocial kind of girl. To discover that my days are full(or maybe since my laptop is the only computer in the house I'm forced to fight for it when I want to use it and sometimes it's really just not worth the battle), my computer time has been limited. I have done some knitting on my Alien Illusion scarf from Stitch N Bitch. I started this scarf probably four years ago. It was whenever the first Stitch N Bitch book was released. I've restarted it many times because I would mess up and not know how to unravel stitches so I just unraveled the whole thing and start over, this happened at least four times over the years, maybe more. But I don't mind, with each unravel I become a better knitter. I now know and completely understand how important it is to know what side you are knitting on, DUH, and to make sure that you know right side from wrong side. I'm kind of slow. Below is my progress from maybe a week ago, I've started a third Alien face and am at the halfway mark on him already. Click to enlarge the picture Yesterday was my birthday. My friend Pam, gifted me with the Pistoulet coffee server. It matches my dishes and my addiction to coffee, and my love for all things that take up kitchen counter space. The top is for storing coffee, underneath there is a spot to store your coffee filters, the left side has a place for your spoon and the right side has slots for sugar packets and coffee creamer packets. To say I love it is an understatement.

To keep this in the theme of coffee, that wonderful elixir of the gods, here is my finished Coffin Buzz. The complimentary chart can be found here:

PLUM STREET SAMPLERS: A Freebie for You

Paulette, thank you for such a great design!

I will preface this by saying my photography as usual sucks but I hope you get the idea of what I did to reach the framed finish.

I stitched the design on 28ct antique white monaco which I purchased on clearance at A.C. Moore for $1. The floss is DMC 3371. Which I got for maybe 35 cents at A.C. Moore or 29 cents at JoAnn. I wanted to dye my fabric after stitching because I am not an experienced fabric dyer. I am not, disciplined and would probably ended up with antiqued hands before I finished stitching my project. So once the stitching was done I wanted a blotchy, leaky attic look to the fabric. I wanted to try something other than just coffee dyeing so I started out blotching up the fabric in places with some RIT Golden Yellow dye. I want to stress that I have no idea what the effect of RIT dye will do to fabric over the next 50 or 100 years. I don't care. I'm not a conservationist. I'm someone who can't always afford to purchase hand-dyed linen but loves the affect so I, in some cases, decide to do it myself. If I'm able to enjoy the finished project for any length of time then it's served it's purpose for me anyway, any time after that that my needlework survives and others can enjoy it well that's gravy. When the youngest son saw the fabric as it appears in the picture below he commented that it looked like the cats peed on it. Obviously my cats need more water in their diet:

The top part of the fabric is a bit darker than the bottom because it sat draped over the bowl for 20 minutes or so while the bottom bit got a dunking in the dye. I let it dry in the sun. Then it took a bath in some two day old coffee with a few tablespoons of vinegar. Does anyone remember the Wife Swap episode where the Manhatten wife went to the home of the family in Mississippi(I think) and was grossed out that the morning coffee was still sitting around in the pot that afternoon? Uh it is not unusual for coffee to sit in my pot for a day or two. Especially if I'm wanting to use it for something and keep thinking I'll get to it that afternoon. So yes, this coffee sat in my pot for two days because I hated to pour it out and also I'm trying to cut back a bit on my coffee drinking and wasn't sure if I'd make a pot the next day and no way am I going to make coffee just for the purpose of dyeing some fabric. So call me gross. I can deal.

Then I once again let it dry in the sun. After that I put on some gloves, the vinyl food service kind that you can pick up at the Dollar Tree for $1. I poured some RIT Tan dye on my finger tips and started blotching up the fabric. I wasn't thrilled with the progress so I poured some in my palm and flung it at the fabric. Flinging dye onto fabric is a very technical and precise process, NOT! When I was finished this is what I had:

I let it dry for a bit in the sun. Then decided to "set" the dye job by tossing it in my dryer with an old kitchen towel. Over all I was pretty happy with the result.

Below you can see it framed. I found the frame at the Store Who Shall Not Be Named for $5.

Here's a detail of the frame:

Yes, I mounted it on sticky board, yes I used RIT Dye, No I did not follow any kind of conservationist tips for preserving needlework for future generations. I did this because it was fun, because when it comes right down to it I am a ghetto cross stitcher. I still use the evil aida at times and don't mind it one little bit.

As needleworkers we all try to use the best quality supplies we can but also as cross stitchers it's so easy to get stuck in the idea that we have to use this linen or that thread and we don't venture outside our comfort zones. Sometimes I wonder if this is why cross stitchers get absolutely no respect in the crafting world except from other cross stitchers. Knitters, crocheters, quilters, they all use patterns just like we do, but for some reason our little Xs don't seem to get the respect that a knit and a purl stitch have acquired and that breaks my heart.

The needlework that is created from the little X is profound and we cross stitchers need show the world that we rock the needle as well as any other crafters that take their needle of choice in hand. We are their equal. Let's step up, put the funk in those Piecemaker 26 needles and show the crafty world what we are made of!

October Update

In September I finished Plum Street Sampler's Coffin Buzz freebie and I'll take a picture when I find my camera. I also still have to dye my fabric. I stitched it on 28 ct antique white monaco with DMC 3371 with the intention of dyeing it when the stitching was completed. Backwards I know, but I like playing around with the fabric after the stitching.

I also finished the second alien face on my Alien Illusion scarf from Stitch n Bitch. Only four more faces to go.

I really don't know what my October stitching plan is. Lots of things are calling out to me and the way things are going in the world, hunkering down with some crafty goodness is the best way to shut out all the negativity.

Pictures to come as soon as I find my camera. If you don't want to read the political rant, skip to the bottom and read the question at the end of the post.

Political Update:

The Senate, in their infinite wisdom(insert sarcarstic tone here)passed the bail-out, oh excuse me, the "rescue" bill last night. Oh did anyone notice that they added $150 billion of crap to this bill to encourage Senators to vote for this bill? I would try to read through the bill and give you all a heads up but while the House bill was 110 pages, the Senate version is something like 400 pages. Talk about a "crap sandwich". They don't even know that this bill will work. They won't listen to economists, they are following the advice of a treasury secretary who wants absolute power, a president who won't be in power in four months, and to quote Lou Dobbs, "What are they? A bunch of drunks?" in reference to the Senators who voted in this joke of a bill.

One bit of sweetner added to this bill is that insurance companies must cover mental illness like any other illness. I realize this is important but what the H-E-double hockey sticks with lipstick does this have to do with the current economic crisis? Before all is said and done we all are probably going to appreciate that extra coverage, where is my prozac?

*OK I should have waited to catch the early morning news, here are some things added to this bill and I hope I have these correct:

Tax breaks for people who make kids wooden arrows, hmmm, very important to our economy doncha think--this must have been an absolute necessity.

Tax breaks for the makers of rum in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Let's hope prices go down because before this is all over we'll need a few gallons to ease the pain.

Tax breaks for wool research. The spousal unit pointed out that's one that maybe I could get behind. Ok maybe I won't complain too loudly. This could be important for everyone's fiber future.

and one for the NASCAR vote:

Tax breaks for auto racing tracks or something like that.

Ok what does any of this have to do with what Warren Buffet refers to as an economic Pearl Harbor? Why in the world can't the collapse of our world as we know it be enough for these sell their souls to the highest bidder politicians?

Energy tax breaks are included which like the mental health issue is very important but not for this bill. This is an emergency bill, a bill to help ease a country wide financial crisis. Let's get real, keep it within the confines of the crisis at hand and really truly be bipartisan and make a decision for love of country not who donates the most money to your compaign.

If these people in power want to know why people are angry, why they are against this bill, they need only to read through the 400 pages of this bunch of bull and see why we have no faith, not one ounce of trust in the powers that be. Oh please I understand you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, that's how things are done to the tune of $850 billion dollars. But hey they'll just borrow it from China and it's all good. I mean we're just talking about Monopoly money aren't we, it's not like it's real money. I mean the American taxpayer is bottomless well of money.

Please people, get angry, not that phone calls and emails work, these people believe they know more than we do, that we, the rank and file citizen can't wrap our brains around the importance of the free flow of cash to businesses, YES WE DO. We support that, we don't support is a bunch a nonsense that should be saved for other legislation. Once again, nothing is about the crisis at hand, it's all about taking a crisis and twisting it to someone else's wants.

I can only hope the Congress is so PO'd that the Senate went on and voted that they will vote down this new version of the bill and spend time rewriting it, focus on the real issues of this economic crisis. Why can't they see that this is something that takes some time, that deserves some serious comtemplation? Oh wait, I'm sorry they all want to get home and campaign. Because we all know that campaigning is the most important thing, let's forget all about our day jobs and just rush through some substandard legislation that absolutely no one wants, (and aren't our Senators and Congressmen supposed to be our voice in Washington), sorry--legislation no one wants but a lame duck president and a treasury secretary that wants nothing less than absolute power. Oh yeah, I'm comforted.

BTW, if the government were to give you the money instead of Wall Street or the banks that are foreclosing on all these homes and threatening to cut off people's credit lines, what would you do with it? We'll go with the $90,000 figure that has been tossed around as a number that this bail-out will cost each American or I've also read that it will eventually cost each American household $450,000 so where would you start? What would you buy to stimulate the economy? Post your list in comments or better yet your blog, let us know in comments and let's have some fun.

**and for a little Armageddon fun, if the world as you know it would end tomorrow what five luxury items would you stock pile? Yes I know it's not really funny, probably too close to true, but I'm interested to see what things people find important in their lives that if it wasn't readily available, would bring a little joy in dark times. I'm not talking necessities, we can all agree that food is important, we're talking luxury items, like in my house coffee would be a luxury item because I'm the only one that drinks it. You know those things you just whip out the credit card to purchase or of course the super secret stash cash, without thinking twice about it. So think about what you would miss if you didn't have that credit card handy or couldn't just run out to the store to pick up _________________.

How long could you survive on your stash without purchasing anything new? I could stitch forever because I have some kitted up Teresa Wentzlers and Heaven and Earth Designs. The TWs alone would keep me busy for a few years

I'll post both my lists tomorrow. Oh I can do me some stimulating......and some stockpiling.

Right Now

I am dreaming of starting this: Jane Atkinson



I'm wanting to finish 13th Colony Bay. Really. Really. Seriously. I want to finish this.



I want to work on Sonne Spotte--it's SO beautiful.



I have to finish 6 or 7 ornaments for a swap I'm in. I know what I want to stitch, but I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit at the moment.



I want to get over myself and sew the lining in the fat bottom bags. I hate it when I procrastinate.



I am so ashamed that I watched two straight days of America's Next Top Model on MTV this weekend. I absolutely positively did not want to leave the house at all, for anything. Ok, I didn't want to leave the couch for any reason, not just the house. It's such a great show. I am waiting patiently, sorta, for the new season of Project Runway to start. Come on Nov. 14th!



I want to start my Dresden Plate quilt, knit or crochet a few scarves, finish those fatbottom bags, make some Granny squares, and cross stitch all these amazing projects. There is not enough time in the day. I have overwhelmed myself with projects so instead I do nothing but watch two straight days of America's Next Top Model.

I did work a little bit on Samsarah's Always Be a Wildflower. Considering how much TV I watched you would think I would have that sucker finished but no, I only played at stitching. Made progress but not a lot.

Is it crazy that I'm not really a knitter but I'm wanting, seriously, if I don't get the whole interchangeable set of these I'll just die. I'm not a knitter, I only play at it right now, but these
needles are just beautiful! I think I could become a real knitter with these. Just gorgeous. I've been dreaming about them ever since I got the new Knit Picks catalog in the mail.

Anna-I made those Rachael Ray's Devilish Chili Dogs Recipe Recipezaar today for lunch.
YUM-O! Very good. Thanks for the link.

Tonight's dinner, chicken and noodles. I'm thinking I might make some Moosewood Lentil Soup from the original Moosewood cookbook one day this week. It's still ridiculously hot down here but I'm craving the comfort foods these days and few things are as comforting as that Lentil Soup.

And it's really hard to quilt when the dog ate the plug off the iron. Ironing is kind of important to quilting and if you decide oh well I just embroider some tea towels using one of Aunt Martha's Iron on transfers instead....DOH! The key word would be "Iron" on or maybe the key phrase is "the dog ate the plug off the iron"...hmmmm.....When does America's Next Top Model come on again.....at least that doesn't require ironing.

No Particular Order

Thanks to great service from Compaq, my laptop was back home in record time. Seriously, they received it on a Wednesday, repaired it and shipped it back out to me on Thursday. I had it back Friday morning. Never saw that coming. I fully expected it to be gone the full ten days they told me it would take and then some. So what does a chick do with no unlimited computer access? Why she knits Ballband Warsh Rags. Oh yeah, here's your art shot!




Here are the Ballbands from another angle:


I'm sending these to my mom because I'm truly the worst daughter in the world. She really doesn't like anything except One Life to Live, General Hospital, All My Children and cleaning. I thought these would fit in with the cleaning hobby. The orange is probably a little wacky for her but it sure made me happy while I was knitting it.

The above picture is proof that the middle DS and youngest DS actually interact on occaision. Who knew?

Smiles all around. They might even "gasp" like each other every once in a while.

The rose bush this bloom is from has survived two hurricanes and my slacker gardening skills. Every year it comes back more beautiful than the year before. It thrives in the face of adversity. That would be me and a second straight year of drought.

I tried to get the dew to show up but it was foggy and my flash kept going off. I tried every setting and still the flash did it's own thing.

In the section titled, "I can't believe she said that!" I have to share what was heard at a county meeting for a neighbor to get his requested variances approved, they weren't approved. He had already cleared a 1/4 acre of protected wetlands without permission and wants to put in a boat/rv storage facility, that would be a fenced in parking lot, needed down here because the HOAs believe it to be tacky if you park your boat or RV in the driveway. Anyway, his wife stood up when the neighborhood representatives were there saying it was going to be ugly and bring down property values, and these words came out of her mouth, I'm completely and totally serious here:

"I am a hairdresser. I make people beautiful everyday of my life. We would never have anything ugly on the highway. We've already made it nicer than it was. We cleared the land and killed the snakes and turtles and bugs. It is so much better now!"

A member of the board of adjusters(BOA) asked her, "Do you mean to say you killed wildlife in the process of clearing your land, protected wetlands?" She responded, "Yes we did." From what I heard she sat down very proud of herself.

My friend who attended the meeting said when they got in their van to head home, her son who is, I believe 9, asked her, "Mom? Did she say they killed the turtles?" When she responded in the affirmative, the poor kid started sobbing.

I'm upset about the wetlands. Broke my heart. The property owner did have to pay $30,000 in Department of Enviromental Protection fines and plant 10 Sweet Magnolia trees. Ten trees to make up for the hundreds he mowed down. Amazing. He was pretty impressed with himself when he told the BOA that he actually planted 14 Sweet Magnolias when he only had to plant ten. Talk about going above and beyond.

Monkey Sampler update tomorrow. I have been working on it a bit here and there inbetween warshrags.

Tonight's dinner? Ree's Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich. I've been craving one of these since the last time I made them a few weeks ago. Hard to believe that I've been pondering going the vegetarian route isn't it? Many years ago, 15 to be exact, I was pretty hardcore, the oldest son's first hotdog was a tofu dog. I gave up because the craving for bacon was just too much to deal with. I had to have it! I do remember feeling a lot better back in those days, but I was also younger, thinner, and had read Diet for a New America by John Robbins and Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe. I thought I could make a difference in the world by choosing a vegetarian diet. Of the three kids the oldest DS to this day makes better food choices. He always chooses fruit over candy or junk food, prefers wheat bread to white, doesn't mind vegetables. The middle son is getting better, he'll eat just about anything now and is always willing to give something new a try, the youngest DS, if it's not pizza or chicken nugget or spaghetti made with Ragu Chunky Italian Garden Combination(it's how I get him to eat vegetables-sneaky, no?) he won't eat it. But for now, I'm sticking to my carnivore ways.

I'm trying to wean myself off caffiene and yes I'm as miserable to be around as you would expect. Of course yesterday morning I tried to ease my caffiene headache with a BK Mocha Joe from Burger King, it was so good I had to have another one yesterday afternoon. No caffiene headache last night! I was in a pretty good mood let me tell ya! It was a really sorry sight, I was digging around in my purse for enough change for the $2.20 for the second Mocha Joe, but I had to have it. I would have died if I hadn't got my hands on one. That is the price we pay for addiction. Good thing I'm only a caffiene addict!