'Tis time!

Aren't we all supposed to be buying local this year? What is it that they keep saying, $64 of goods from USA saves a bunch of jobs? I'm trying!

Since I'm not near mine, this just 'popped' up on Amazon at a ridiculous price. Bring on the cookies! Thank you Santa!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhh.....SNAP!

Don't you hate when that happens?

 I am not impressed with the 'featherlight' type of Lantern Moon double points. I adore the ebony and the rosewood kinds, and I've used them a whole lot without a single one of them breaking. I've only had the featherlight ones for about 2 weeks. I'm not amused. I'm going back to the ebony and the rosewoods. Those I 'heart' as much as my addis.


So, until next time! May your needles stay sharp and not snap!

How I spent my Saturday

Ok, so this is first up on today's show and tell...for over a year now, my Auntie has been trying to bring me to a LYS in her neck of the woods that she thought I would like. Yep. Sure 'nuff!  No only did they have another great selection of my new found fav Shepherd's Wool, but check out the glass that came home with me! Knit 1, Sip 1. Rumor has it that they now have some Rip 1, Sip 1 in stock, too. But they came after we visited last week. Cute, no?

 Oh, the store is called Ewe to You Yarns down in Grand Blanc, MI. Stop by. When I was there it was like a meeting of the Cathys. Mom loved the pattern books with lots of babies and my uncle was asking if I was buying enough to open my own store. (Nope, I didn't tell him what I have back in California. hehe ). I tell you, they know a lot of great places to find fun stuff around this state!

 It's that time of year again. Hat knitting in a quick bit of time kinda season. Here's another Stockinette Watch Cap from my fav book, Hat's on! This time, I stripped the cuff.

 Top view of the hat.

When I got finished with the stripping, I turned the hat and made the cuff inside out, so that after it's turned up, you don't see the inside. Hope it wears well. That yarn is soooooooooo soft!

 Don't you love how right on the label, it's says proudly, 'Made in Michigan'? Love buying something locally, and to have it such a great quality, even better. You should call around to your LYS and see if they can carry it. It's sooooooooooooo very soft! It's a joy to have in your hands.

 The skeins are 4oz, not just 100 g, but 113 g and after making this hat, here's what I had left over. Plenty to use for another hat.

Of course, this one is made with their new 'Michigan Blue' color! Yep, GO BLUE! And incase you haven't heard....they're heading for the Sugar Bowl! It's about time! 

So, until next time, Happy Knitting!

Happy 84th!

Happy 84th Birthday Mom! 

 I think we partied her out all week....

 Pre-birthday Celebration #1 at her sister's house with cupcakes that had lemon slices on top.

 yes, I have much talent at blinking at the wrong time...

 Carmel Cake, birthday celebration #2, her actual birthday...

 Her new watch cap, Plymouth encore, 100 sts cast on, Hat's On! book.

3rd party at her Day care center, brownies she made, with chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream.

Her reaction? "This was a wonderful Birthday week!"

And it was. Just the way we wanted it to be.

Starting to play 'catch up'

I think it was back in March, good grief, it's been so freaking long I can't remember, but I had the chance to go to Boston to see my son and made a quick trip into Windor-Button. If you live there, GO! I love that shop. Since the LYS in Harvard Square is now closed, it's my go-to. So many things all packed into the store. So many stores to pick from! But this one has Happy Feet DK yarn that I just LOVE! And make sure to stop by Finagle a Bagel. Fun shop with great bagel sandwich when you're out and about walking around.

Then I surprised my daughter while she was boarding a plane in Detroit. I had arranged a flight home to California to be on the same flight she was going to be on for her birthday trip home! Imagine changing planes, thinking you weren't going to make your connection, running, running, running, only to get to the gate to hear, 'Oh you're the daughter!'....and then walk onto the plane and seeing your mother sitting next to your seat. SURPRISE! It was fun! Nerve wracking as her first flight was delayed, but we didn't stop talking the whole flight. Sorry to the passengers sitting next to us on the DTW-LAX flight. Hope you enjoyed our conversation! 

 Baby sister picked us up from the airport and before she returned to California, we figured it was only proper to take her to the beach. Can you see here there? ya, so doggoned foggy you couldn't see the water standing on the pier! But...she was there. 

 I went back to Michigan for Easter Sunday

 

Back to California in time for a 'little' bridal shower. My middle daughter, the Cinderella lover that she is, received a 'shoe' cake from her baby sister. How do you like that slipper? I made it out of white chocolate! Isn't it cute?

 And then I gained a Son-In-Law!

In June and July, I went back to Mom and Dad's for the 4th and Dad's 83rd birthday. When was the last time you found a neighborhood kool-aid stand? We had a blast. I found a recipe for Dad's birthday to finally make his 'bakery style' frosting that he so greatly loved. It's been a long standing family joke about how Dad loved his little cake with the frosting. Corner piece please, and a few frosting flowers if you so please?

At the end of August, I was flying into Michigan to stay with Mom and Dad for 4 days before driving my daughter back to Michigan. Dad was concerned that she wasn't going to be able to find a job that would support her Master's Degree in this area. He wanted her to use her talents for what she  had been trained for. As much as he loved having her with them, he was wanting her to use her degree. He had talked to me in July about getting her to go home. Well, funny how things turn out. Do you want to hear God laugh? Tell him you have plans. While enroute to Michigan, Dad fell out of bed. At midnight eastern time I was on the phone with the paramedics giving them Dad's medical information. Turns out his hip was fine, but he'd had a heart attack. A few days later, packed in the car, Mom and I followed the ambulance as Dad was transported down to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where they worked on him to the tune of 30 doctors. Yep, 30. So many complications, and body parts just completely wearing out. Baby daughter came to visit for a week. Honestly, I thought he was going to pull through. It wasn't until they told me at noon on September 24th that they were buying him time for oldest daughter to get back to Detroit, and while family were trying to locate my brother in town to get down to be with Dad, did it dawn on me we were going to loose him. I just figured everything was just one more thing, or hurdle for him to get through. The doctors kept telling me they could fix each next thing he came up against. It's really rough to hear your Dad tell the doctors, "I'm ready to go. And I want to go now." But...those were his wishes. And there was no way I was going to let him transition into Eternal life without us there. Mom, Melissa and I were with him as he passed.

Now, I'm here in Michigan. I'm not leaving. I can't fathom Mom being put into a nursing home. She wants to stay in her home and there is no reason she can't. While Dad was in Detroit, my daughter got a phone call from one of the hospitals there with a part time job using her degree! Dad was thrilled to hear not only did she get the job, but being part time it meant that she would be able to stay in the house with them to continue being a huge help. He was looking forward at the time to 'keeping her around'. Neither one of us has plans to leave Mom. We couldn't think of it being any other way.

Besides, Mom likes it when I knit her hats, and she's now hooked on Sbux chia tea with pumpkin spice. Thanks to the granddaughter! So, until next time! Happy knitting!

 

Bring on the baking, feasting, and eating season!

 Just yesterday morning it dawned on my that Thanksgiving was only a couple of days away. That meant that the oven mitts and trivets (we call them hot pads around here...) from the "Felted Knits" book, needed to jump into the washing machine for a little hot tub action...

And just like that...thanks to adding in a pair of Dad's old tennis shoes....we have a set of felted oven mitts that need to finish drying so I can use them for the turkey tomorrow!

Sadly....they were needed after Mom's original set 'walked out the back door some time this past year. Isn't it sad that people who are hired to help take care of your parents choose to help themselves to things that weren't made for them? Thing is, since they're not allowed to accept gifts, I would have gladly taught them to knit their own. Now? They're no longer coming to this house. Fools.

Anyway...Happy Thanksgiving! Don't forget to give your kitchen a little knitterly love between now and Christmas!I'm off to the kitchen,  I have an apple pie to bake followed by pumpkin!

Somewhat back

I now have a working computer once again. However, after flying into MBS to spend 4 days with my parents to then move my daughter back to California in hopes of her finding a degree supporting job, plans changed. A lot. 

First of all, I have spent a lot of time here at my parent's house over the past year. Feels like I've slept here more often than I have at my own house. While I was in transit to Michigan I got a phone call the night of August 25th very late that Dad had fallen out of bed and thought he'd broken his hip. I arrived hours later to hear that his hip was fine, but he'd had a heart attack. Three days later Mom and I were packed and following the ambulance down to Detroit so we could stay near Dad while he was in Henry Ford Hospital. One complication after the other, one body part wearing out after the other,  family coming in and out of the hospital to stay with us to be with Dad...until he passed away on September 24, 2011. His funeral was on September 30, 2011. For now, I'm here with Mom in Michigan. My daughter in the meantime won't be going back to California, either, for now. While Dad was at HFH, she interviewed and was hired down in Detroit at another big hospital for a job that will use her degree! So she's commuting back and forth to help take care of Grandma again. Neither one of us want her to be alone, without family. We wouldn't have it any other way.

So, for now, the new computer is finally up and running...rarely with a direct internet connection here, and it's taken me until now to be able to write about this. Please understand if I'm kinda, sorta, a little bit back, but not all the way. It's been a long year thus far. In fact there was a lot to celebrate, more on that later, but this family has had better days. Just hours after my Dad's funeral, my cousin's three day old baby passed away, too. So many tears and hugs. I'll be around. I have been able to see many comments over the year via my smart phone, I just couldn't post from it. Yea for a new computer. I've missed so many things. But for now....I'll just say, until next time. K?

Knitting 2012 Calendar

My apologies for the very poor pictures, but since my computer is still broken, this is the best I can do for now. The good news  is that my niece's 'Can you knit me something for my purple and black bedroom' afghan not only made the calendar, but it made the inside title page as well! They have labeled it, 'Quick Feather and Fan Afghan'. You can find it on March 5th and 6th.   So, grab your calendar, pull out your chunky needles and worsted yarn and make something that's going to be really warm come those colder months down the road! I'll be back when this computer situation gets solved. *sigh*....

Totaly heartbroken at the news...

I am completely heart broken to have read this article ! This country has lost so many jobs, and this is another 81 that will be gone. 81 families, 81 tax payers, 81 members of a working 'family'. How thrilled have I been over the years to knit with their yarns, knowing that they have a plethora of colors to have chosen when I order, and to know it has been a fabulous product still made here within our own country's boundaries! Not outsourced, not imported, but made here in this country.  When companies are sold to another company, changes are made, that's the nature of the beast. What's to come of being able to pick from their wonderful array of colors, and order them on the cones. Walmart doesn't sell the colors I love to knit. I don't know of any brick and mortar store that does. I love using their cones for my kitchen sets, for the placemats, the matching towels, dishcloths, and sack socks. It saddens me greatly to think I may never see these wonderful products available again.  For me, personally, I wonder how many more kitchen sets I'll be able to produce, if their products aren't available for other knitters to purchase to knit up my patterns. Heartbroken, just totally heartbroken.

Please, bring the jobs back home! Bring them home.

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year! I'm about to take in my computer to the Geek Squad, since I now have to hold the monitor to get it to show me what it is that I'm typing on the screen. ulg, Don't you just hate that? There's a lot I can do with my new cell phone, but I've tried posting from it, and I haven't quite figured that part out, yet. 

I've also been in Michigan for a week giving my daughter some time off for good behavior, but the day I flew in, I started with one of my famous once a year colds. To the point of needing to call my doc back in CA to order some some really good meds. Not the way I wanted to feel near my parents. In fact, to show you how sick I have been, I have 3 coupons for a yarn store here in town for free yarn, and haven't been able to go near the store!!!  AND my youngest daughter gave me a gift certificate to a shop back home, and I haven't been able to spend that, either! Can you imagine??????? It's like being a kid on Christmas morning where you opened all your really cool gifts, and then your parents yanked you straight out the door to go visit older relatives that don't have kids/toys and you weren't allowed to bring anything with you for the trip. Sucks rocks, I tell ya! 

Anyway, I leave you with a pair of mittens that I have a picture of that I made for my oldest daughter for Christmas. Hopefully, this computer thing won't be long lived and I can show off the rest of the Christmas knitting soon. Miss you all, and hearing from you. Hope your celebrations were great and I'll be back soon!