Frustration

Frustration is setting in. For several different reasons. First on the list is my Create-a-long project. After doing eleven rows containing two hundred and seventy two stitches each...I messed up. The last thing that I wanted to do at that point was to have to frog a row and put every single stitch back on. That and I'm completely sick of the pink that I got. I'll just have to suck it up and work on it because Easter is quickly approaching. After throwing it to the side in disgust, I did what I said I wasn't going to do and, I started a project with the Calmer. I'm making Lola a Cleeves from the Knity website. She's been running around wearing Charlie's Peter Pan pants on her arms trying to stay warm so I thought the Cleeves would be perfect and I was sure that I could eek one out of two balls of Calmer (in Tinkerbell too.....there's an irony in there).
The second is the playground. They tore it down more then a month ago and the new playground has been sitting out there in boxes since then. They are making very slow progress on it. They have managed to put in two new slides on the smaller playgrounds. The problem with the smaller playgrounds is that they are made from metal and in this heat that equals burns. I know because we have tried playing on the other playgrounds in the absence of the main playground. The other thing is that they are also working on the basketball court which is right next to the playground....so no one can play basketball either until they get done. Hopefully they'll have it done by June. The last playground was a huge wooden thing that was awesome. I would sit under the eaves on the park table bench and knit while they played and then I would chase them around in a mock game of tag. Then we would eat lunch outside and we'd go back to playing. I miss it. It was shaded enough that I could let them play outside for quite a long time before having to take them inside to cool off.. One good thing that I did this weekend was get my living room arranged into something that I'll think I'll keep for awhile because I really like it. Amanda came over on Saturday night while the hubby had duty and helped me do it. Through a process of...."maybe this...?" and "maybe that...?" we figured out what would work. Now I have a new couch that's not going to be in my living room because I decided on putting the old set back in. It's all good though because Amanda is going to teach me to sew and then I can make slipcovers for the seat cushions. It's comfy and kid friendly and I can't wait to get a rug in here so we can throw down some pillows for the kids to chill out on. Really important for those days that I have Amanda's kids because then there are four of them running around and you just want them to SIT. Now they will have a place to. Yeaaaaaa!!!!!

Ghosts

I never thought that you could get so sick from being in a warm climate. They say that cold doesn't bring on illness and I have to agree. I just spent a month sick from a cold and a stomach virus that seemed to not want to leave. My kids also got this charming little bug. Once it was done I thought we were safe, but no. Now Lola has a fever that started yesterday. Charlie seemed like he was getting the same a few days earlier, but I think he may have shook it off and sent it packing.
Sick days are good days to knit (especially if I'm not the one sick). The kids sit around watching videos and sleeping and I get a chance to work on projects that have to sit on the sidelines on busier days. I'm still mulling over what to do for my create-a-long. I'm still working on the ruffle which is not surprising since there are 272 sts until I get to the tenth row and start decreasing to make the ruffle. And that's just one side.....*sigh* That and I got the exact same color in Tahki that I had in my stash. The same pink that I was getting sick of looking at. I really want to get it done before Easter, but my complete lack of motivation to work on it makes me wonder if I will reach my goal.
I had to get a blood test today. Ugh! I'm a hard stick and always leave with more then one hole in my arm.....hand....wrist. I have a beautiful bruised bump on my hand that burns and hurts because they blew the vein at the last second of drawing. At least they got it.
I had a dream about flying last night. Dreams are the one reason why I can never take a sleeping pill. I tried it so I could get a good nights sleep, but it gave me a hangover and I didn't dream. I have a dream every night. Usually more then one and I can't imagine not having one, but then getting sleep is important too....I suppose. I love dreams about flying. But why are you unable to take off again after you land? It's maddening. Sometimes I have dreams that wind up happening and that's kind of weird at times. In fact the other night I was at Amanda's and we were sitting on her front porch so she could have a smoke. I suddenly realized that I had done this before....kind of like deja vu.....except I knew that I had had a dream about sitting there with her while she smoked a few months earlier. Sometimes people walk up to me in a dream and say "such and such is going to happen" and then it will.....usually the next day. Maybe I only notice it when it does happen or maybe it's a gift....I don't know. I'm skeptical when it comes to things like that. People in the neighborhood think that the houses here are haunted because it was built over a site where they dumped the bodies during World War 2. If you think about it though, every house is built over a site where someone died. There are things that happen that are kind of weird. You hear groans downstairs....hubby said it sounds like the Grudge. We usually shrug our shoulders and go back to doing what we were doing. Sometimes at night I hear something loud bang and then when I go looking to find what fell I can't find anything. I have personally witnessed the television turn off and then ten minutes later turn back on by itself. Hubby was standing there talking to me when it did. THAT did cause us to pause and wonder. I also saw something fly from the back of the top of my armoire onto the floor. But then we got a cat and I just blame it all on her now. Anything weird....things moving or noises.....Oh the cat did it. I also figure as long as we're not physically harmed or see a disembodied floating head.....then everything is alright.

Knitting, knitting, knitting.....and thoughts on kids

I've been busy knitting and going to the doctor lately so I haven't posted in awhile. In the past week or so I have recieved another yarn package, this time from kyarns. I got two balls of Rowan Calmer in Tinkerbell and two skeins of KPPM, one of which I have been fashioning into a sock since yesterday. The two skeins of Koigu are different colors that I got as a sort of test to see if I like working with it and to see if I like the colors that I got. So far I can only rave that it's going to make excellent socks. I'm going to make one in each color and then I'll order the matching skeins to make matching socks. I can't wait to work with the Calmer, but for now it has to wait because I have my Create-A-Long project that I need to get a good start on before I can take on any more projects. The silk sweater is still coming along a few rows at a time and I'm hoping I can start on the sleeves soon. I have a few projects on hold until I can find my camera because I want to take some pictures of the before skeins and then have the project during construction and then later a pic of the finished project.
Besides that I've been sick and finally went to the doctor this week. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have a blood test done (blahhhh!). It was one that you have to fast for, which is never good because if they have to dig for a vein, that and the combination of low blood sugar makes me feel sick and lightheaded. I never make it out of the lab without more then one hole punched in my arm (or hand or wrist). Yesterday was no exception....one in the arm and one in the top of each hand for a grand total of three! The last sight was in the hand and it blew at the last second so I had a painful burning bump on the top of my hand for a few hours. I prefer that over having to get a finger stick or getting my blood pressure taken anyday though.
Charlie has been busy watching Christmas movies all day. I find this amusing and my family will know why. I get the Christmas bug as soon as the weather starts getting warm and I used to spend a good majority of my summer vacation watching old Christmas home videos or Christmas movies. I haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit for a few years now. I've been in warm climates during Christmas and this year was no exception. Even watching the old movies just doesn't do it for me. This year was even worse because it was such a mad scramble to get the Christmas decorations out after we moved in and then it was 86 degrees Christmas Day.......just like it's 86 degrees everyday here. Not that it matters right now because there are nine months until December, but I found it amusing that my son has taken after me in that respect.
Charlie's going to be three soon and Lola is five which means she'll start school next year. They are growing so fast! The thought occured to me last night that soon she'll be six and then seven and she'll be practically a little lady and I had that panicked feeling that I just wanted her to stay little. But you can't stop them from growing and part of the fun of being a parent is getting to watch what kind of person they become as they get older. It's still kind of sad. A lot of women here are pregnant (they are at any base you go to) and even my friend Amanda is pregnant. I'll never have another baby.....the hubby took care of that. We agreed two was enough, but every once and awhile you get that baby fever. When I think about it beyond just holding a cute sleeping baby though, I'm glad we made the decision to have only two because kids are a lot of work (and strain on your sanity).

Spiders!!!!

Still no camera, but if I did have it I would take a picture of this HUGE spider that is hanging out on the building at the gate of where I live. I came home from taking hubby to work the other morning and s I drove up to the gate I saw something brown and about the size of my hand sitting in the top corner. The gate guard kept eyeballing it looking extremely wary. When I stopped my car so he could check my ID, I saw what it was. It was a HUGE, FREAKIN' SPIDER!!!!!!!!! It had a body about the size of two gummy bears smushed butt to butt and it had long spindly legs. It looked CREEPY!!!! I asked the guard," What the heck is that thing?" and he said "I don't know, but I'm keeping an eye on it." I would too. I quickly put my window up in case the thing decided to jump ( because I really don't think I would want to live if something like that EVER jumped on me). It reminded me of that face hugger in Alien. Bluuuuahhhh! It was still there today hanging on the light. I think it's here to stay. I found it on the internet at www.whatsthisbug/spider6.html
It's the fourth picture down. That's exactly the same size and everything. Apparantly they eat cockroaches. I can't stop shuddering when I think about it. The thought of one of those things crawling across my floor just.......bluuuuahhhhhh! Hubby said if he was standing gate duty he would have killed it already. I wouldn't even mess with it. What if you missed? If it even came at me I would be scarred for life. For the rest of my life you could call me "Twitchy". And if it actually made contact with any part of my body I think I would have to kill myself. There would be no getting over that. The reat of my life would be spent reliving that moment and being thoroughly creeped out. I didn't know there were bugs that big!!!! Ahhhhhhhh! It was HUGE!!!! Did I mention it was HUGE and CREEPY???!!!!! Okay I'm going to stop so I can try to go to bed. My whole body is twitching in freaked outedness! Bluuuuuahhhhhhhh!
By the way anyone reading my blog can feel free to leave comments. Please. Check out that website and look at that spider and try not to shudder. I dare you!!!!

Small Socks.....take 2

Okay, I still haven't fixed the smaller sock that I made for Charlie....and I haven't started on the second sock for Charlie, but guess what? While I was cleaning and emptying more boxes downstairs I found a sock...that I don't remember knitting, but obviously I did because it's the companion to Lola's sock that I thought I hadn't knitted a companion to. At first I thought it was the original, but then I saw that it was clean. after staring at it in wonder for about ten minutes I went in search of the original and found that this was indeed the sock partner. During my ten minutes of duh I remembered knitting it and now I can't say that I've never knitted a pair of socks.....because I have.....even when I thought I hadn't.
I was lucky and got my shipment of Tahki and Kidsilk for the createalong. After fiddling with the Kidsilk I had only one word for it, and it was a long word......ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH! Does the madness never end?! I did finally get the hang of it once I got it started, but still. Such....tiny.....string.......blag! I realized that I coudn't make up my mind on how to use it on the dress so I would just omit it for now. An idea may come to me later, but I have a feeling it's going to require smaller needles that I will have to purchase. Size 4's seem to work good, but I think 3's would be even better and I would prefer circulars instead of the long straight needles that I have in those sizes (Mom, I think my 3 circulars are with you).
Either way, I'm hoping to have the dress done in time for Easter. It's pink (so very pink *shudders*) so I think it will make a good Easter dress although I think the hubby has designs to buy her one anyways. He can buy Charlie something......or maybe I'll make him a kickin' new vest to wear over his white, shortsleeved, button down shirt.

Up Late

That's not a surprise since I'm usually up late. I'm trying sleep deprevation as a way to get my sleep back on track. I spent most of the night downloading songs and working on the silk sweater. Yes, the silk sweater is back in play. Hopefully by the time I find my camera!!!!!!!....I'll have a good bit done so that you can see the lace work better and see how it compares to the picture from the magazine.
It's Monday here and I'm hoping for a yarn delivery later this morning. I hope, I hope, I hope. Now I just have to find a fabric store. If not on island then somewhere that won't charge my first born for shipping. Some places charge $10, then some other places (as I have recently found out after I checked out) charge $24. Guam uses the USPS so it shouldn't cost so much. Some places charge for import and customs.....others don't. I haven't found out where the difference lies unless it's just with the company wanting to make more money.
Found some great songs on ITunes. Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks.......you have to love honesty and fighting spirit; I Am Not My Hair by India.Arie with Akon...... it makes me want to shave my head just to rally against society...almost; One by U2 with Mary J. Blige......a great classic song with a wonderful new take on the vocals with Mary's powerful voice; Pink Moon by Nick Drake.....an old favorite that I was delighted to find; When In Rome by Nickel Creek......a perfect commentary on the way people are apathetic and conformist; Breathe (2AM) by Anna Nalick.....a song I sing in my head whenever I'm having a "moment"; and Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls.....the words speak to my soul.
I also spent a few hour trying to find people that I used to know on MySpace. I don't have a MySpace account, but my friend Amanda does and I watch her clicking away on it sometimes. Usually when I'm up late I get to thinking about old friends and wonder what they're doing with their lives. MySpace seemed like a good search engine although I was mostly unsuccessful due to some sort of error that kept occurring. I did happen upon a blog by young woman with breast cancer. It was sad reading what she's going through. A year ago she marked her calendar that this was the day she would start trying for a baby with her hubby and now she's just trying to live and hoping the chemo doesn't kill all her chances of one day having children whether it kills her or her reproductive system. I've watched many people in my family and my hubby's slowly lose their lives to an illness. A few of them have survived this far....actually one out of seven. For a few it was cancer, one it was emphysema and for my mom it's crohn's. My mom is thankfully still alive, but I've seen and experienced what it does to people and it has a tendency to be cruel and all the wishful thinking in the world doesn't change the course that it takes. I told her to fight until she couldn't fight anymore. I didn't try to tell her everything would be okay and that she would survive. Breast cancer at her age is bad news and very aggressive. I learned that expecting the worst made anything better a blessing and felt better then constant disappointment caused by wishful thinking. Is that sad? Or real? I don't know. Maybe both. I also found that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger even if you want to die in the process. So fight.....continue to fight and keep moving if you can't change what is.

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

We can add another knitter to our ranks. I have brought Amanda over to the knit side. So far she's working on her garter stitch and I gave her a technique book so that she can start on her purl stitch if she wants to. From past experience I think it'll be easier for her to get the rhythm of knitting first. I knew she was hooked when on her fifth row of struggling she actually looked up and said "This is fun.... and relaxing." When she picked up her kids from my house yesterday I asked if she had knitted anymore she said that she had but had to frog a few rows after finding a mistake. She had set it down after that to let it "rest" before tackling it again. I think every knitter does that. Once you get the stitches back onto the needle, your frustration has grown that you just want to set it aside for awhile.
We had an earthquake this morning. It was a big deal because I've been the only one to feel the earthquakes that we've had since we've been here. They seem to occur early in the morning and my hubby sleeps like a rock. I think he thought I was being paranoid until the day of the Super Bowl the neighbors were able to verify that there had indeed been an earthquake at 4 in the morning. I have a tendency to know it's going to happen a second before it does and it wakes me. I don't know why, maybe there's a subtle shift or groan or something that can tip off some. I was still sleeping this morning at 8 when I woke suddenly feeling "funny". I quickly knew why, about a second before the shaking started and I jumped up to look for the kids. Turns out only Charlie was up and he was downstairs with hubby. It was the strongest earthquake I've felt since we've been here and lasted about 3-4 seconds....which is a good bit of time for an earthquake. The kids have never been awake for an earthquake either so I had jumped out of bed to be there in case it scared them. Lola was still in bed, but Charlie was up and he seemed to think the cat had something to do with all the shaking. I went back to bed. On days when the hubby is home...that's my day off. Lately it's only been one day out of the week so I take advantage of it as much as possible. Usually we all go out together so I don't really ever get the day off......no mother ever does, but it does afford me the chance to sleep in and not have to cook or clean for the day. The hubby makes the meals (he likes to cook), but doesn't really clean so tomorrow I'll hve twice as many dishes to do, but I'll enjoy my "time off" today and maybe go off on my own later and see a movie or grab a latte and a book.

Missing Home

I didn't knit today. I don't think I even thought about knitting today. I spent the whole day cleaning and searching my house for my camera. I still haven't found it. Maybe it fell into the Marianas Trench. I'm sure I'll find it soon.....perhaps...maybe...I hope.
Searching on ITunes also brought a great surprise. My hubby and I always enjoyed listening to NPR while we were living in the South. There was a guy who always told stories of his hometown and it always reminds me of my Grandpa and summers at my grandparents house. They now have APM: Prairie Home Companion...the stories that I loved so much. Like British comedies, Guam is also lacking NPR. Just little things that remind you of home. Sometimes it's really hard to be so far away from everyone that you grew up with and love. I think sometimes that Guam would be great if all my family were here and then there would be nothing to miss. Not true. I then think about the places that I grew up in, traveled to and enjoyed so much that I want my kids to visit those places and find the same warm childhood that I did in them. Ya'll know what I'm talking about. Everyone has those places. Nostaligia is a wonderful thing.

Small Socks

Still no camera. It has been sucked off the face of the earth I think. No one seems to know what has happened to it. The hubby said he remembers seeing it "tucked" somewhere. Great. As soon as I find it there will be pictures. Amanda kindly offered the use of her camera to help me in my time of need. I'm kind of hoping that I don't find it because I've been meaning to upgrade and this would give me an excuse to do it sooner then later (everyone back home needs pictures, honey, so can I have lots of money to buy a new one?).
Speaking of Amanda, I think our search for the perfect caramel macchiatto has come to an end.....sort of. Our local bookstore has provided us with a wonderful young lady...an angel...who can procure a fabulous macchiatto and after only one visit remembers that Amanda likes hers with caramel drizzled on top and I don't. She only works two days though....sometimes three, and we're never guaranteed that we'll get "latte breaks" on the days that she works. Sigh! The search continues for someone else who can make a good one on the days when our angel isn't working. I also finally broke someone down. Amanda has agreed to learn how to knit. She in turn is going to teach me how to hotwire my sewing machine (the affectionate name I gave to threading the thread through the various threading devices) and teach me the basics of sewing. I see a beautiful quilt in my future.
The sweater is still currently on hold. It's a semi boring pattern with all the ribbing that seems to take forever to eek out one inch on so I have gone onto other projects that I can start and finish within a few days. I'm still working the Lumpy into a throw and have almost used up the first skein. It's standard stockinette, but I slip the first stitch of each row to try to prevent rolling. The handspun wool goes from thick to thin so as it has progressed I'm finding it gives a nice wazy border all around. I work a few rows everyday, but the last few days I have been busy poking a hole in my index finger......I mean knitting a sock. I started hoping to knit the second sock for Lola so that she would finally have a pair. I still had the yarn from the first sock, but couldn't find my size 2 needles. A problem.....or not. I decided to knit Charlie a pair using the size 1s that I have so it turned out to be an even smaller sock. It fits him. I'm happy to say I kitchenered the toe this morning.......the wrong way. My brain misread "wrong sides together" and I thought I had to turn it inside out. Oh well. I'll fix it tomorrow and begin work on the second sock. Hopefully I can find my size 2s although I think they are still in the states at my mom's house awaiting their shipment to Guam. sigh and double sigh. All hope is not lost though. I did order Koigu for Charlie and Lola and I can knit them both a pair using the 1s as soon as it arrives. Lola will have a pair of socks made by my hand before ....the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I have to give my index finger time to heal. I have learned that you have to ease into knitting with tiny needles and allow a callus to develop. Otherwise all your knitting becomes painful.

Crazy Waves

It's been rainy for the past few days and we've been stuck inside. It's even....should I dare say it......cold. Most people, okay probably everyone will scoff at this comment since it's the first week of March and it's in the lower 80's to upper 70's here, but when you're used to upper 80's and a very close, hot sun then it can feel downright chilly when it's overcast and 10 degrees cooler then normal. The ocean has been fabulously rough and my friend, Amanda, and I stopped after our weekly latte and watched the waves crashing in. We stopped at Asan Beach and watched as these huge waves with beautiful aqua colored pipes rolled and then crashed into one of the many rock formations, tiny islands, that sit right off the coast. The foam would splash about 100 feet into the air, no lie. We were also in the back part of the parking lot which they had cornered off with tiny cones because it was obvious the water had come up that far at one point. I'll have to get pictures as soon as I can find my camera, which hopefully will be in the next few days before the rough surf disappears. It is a marvelously scary sight to behold. We ventured into the marked off area for a few minutes, but quickly retreated as even bigger waves came in causing waves in the normally waveless cove. LARGE WAVES in the normally waveless cove. The water came up over the beach and towards us. It didn't quite reach but we knew enough to get the heck out of there.
My silk/cotton sweater has been put on hold momentarily as I have been knitting with the colorful Lumpy for the past few days. I've been fashioning it into a throw. I know this will take more then the two skeins that I presently have, but I have to do this a little at time. The Lumpy is more expensive then I would normally pay per skein, but the colors were so fabulous that I couldn't resist. I have been toying with the idea of buying some Koigu to make some socks (especialy with the cooler weather) which costs the same per skein as the Lumpy Bumpy, but you get a pair of socks with two skeins and that's all you need. Whereas with the Lumpy it's going to take several more to get a good sized throw and I'm not even going to try to caluculate how much it will cost me in the end. This is probably some sort of knitting sacrelige, but I have yet to knit a pair of socks. Most knitter's I know of usually have a pair working on some dpn's at all times. I have trouble working with dpn's and prefer the magic loop, but I had to learn how to use it in a sock pattern first so my intro into socks were delayed. I have knit a sock with dpn's (that's how I know I have a problem with dpn's....it's like wrestling with a porcupine!), but it was a small sock. It wasn't supposed to be, but somehow it became small. Instead of fitting me it fit Lola, who was three at the time. She loves that sock and has on more then one occassion been seen walking around with one barefoot and the other foot sporting the lone sock. It's about time I knit her a pair and Koigu has so many colors that it would be a shame not to. I'm usually a neutral kind of girl, but have been experiencing an explosion in interest for intense hand dyed colors. They are so pretty.

Lumpy, Bumpy, and so Yummy

I got my package from PurlSoho today. It was like it was my birthday. It was wrapped up all nice and pretty and the yarn that I got is just as yummy as it looked online. I can't wait to get started on the project I have for it. I want to make a floor pillow cover or blankie for the kids. I had thought of doing a rug but it is merino and wouldn't take kindly to too many washings. It is rather on the expensive side as well and I don't know if I can afford a rug.....or blankie, although a floor pillow will probably eat through skeins as well. Farmhouse Yarns Lumpy Bumpy in Confetti. It has just become my favorite new yarn. I also got a circular pair of US 9 Addi's. Always exciting.
I haven't been posting recently because I can't find my camera. I like to augment my blogs with pictures and it has gone MIA. That's life with kids. Last time it went missing I found it a month later with 50 extra pictures with everything from a ceiling fan to an extreme closeup of Charlie's left nostril. I kept some of them. Quite amusing and a great thing to show to them later in life.

Lot's of Thoughts

I have a cone of a linen/cotton blend sport weight ribbon and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it. I have started knitting a shawl with it....several times, then frogged it each time. Now I still just have a cone of yarn and no clue what to do with it. I did have an idea today of making a raglan, lacy sweater for the beach. The neckline would fall off the shoulders, like a Bridget Bardot kind of sweater. I thought it would be fabulous, but I wonder how far I will get before changing my mind and wind up frogging it again.
Always, I always, always, always am thinking about a better way of rearranging my furniture and I'm never happy with the way my house is decorated. I feel once it is done I will know it and wll be able to sit in a room without thinking about what else I could do with it. My mind has been racing since we moved here. It began racing even more once we got rid of our old furniture and bought a new sofa. I'm a cozy kind of person. I like rolled arms, cozy fabrics, textures and muted colors. Because I have kids I also like the worn look on wood furniture and love dark woods. We got rid of a HUGE white cotton sofa and chair in favor for a square armed leather manhattan style sofa. Very modern. I like modern, but it does have a cold feeling. You can like a style, but be unable to live in it. At first I though that was going to be the case with this sofa, but I have found that I can mix styles to cozy it up AND the sofa redeemed itself by being a comfotable place for a nap. It also can be cleaned with a wet sponge AND all the pillows and cushions are sewn together and down so nothing can fall inbetween the cushions and my kids can never take the cushions off (unless they rip my couch). Anyone with kids will tell you that this is the perfect couch. I am happier now after living with it for awhile and just have to find a way to warm everything up so that I can love the space and not just the sofa. What kind of chair do you pair with this? I don't want another leather piece and I don't want things to look too matchy matchy. Makes me wish that my mom was here because she always could be counted on to hit the thrift stores and I knew she would look for the same kinds of things that I wanted. I need a coffee table and a rug. I have tile floor and really want a soft rug that is easy to clean. Something that I could throw into the wash would be great and I have seriously thought about knitting something. It would take a lot of time and a lot of money. What to use though? I need a fiber that will last and something that can be thrown into the washing machine about once every two weeks. Anyone have any ideas let me know. I can always stick a rug pad underneath and..... woohoo!.....instant rug!
Being creative I've also been wanting to whip out my sewing machine. It's really old and I got it when my mom bought a new one because she couldn't get it to work. After reading up on machines I think she may have just had the tension wrong, but then I can't remember what it was doing wrong. If I can get it to work I would love to learn how to quilt. I think that and knitting are the best two crafts because you are making things that your family can wear and use and can pass down for generations (and sell for thousands after finding out it's worth on Antiques Roadshow).
I HATE PEACH! Sorry I had to say that just because I saw someone making pillows in a peach fabric on HGTV. Peach reminds me of the eightiesand i have yet to see anyones house in a decorating magazine in 80's retro. Maybe as a before picture, but definitely not as an after. My bathrooms are tiled in peach and it seriously ticks me off. I can't do anything about it because it's the tile! ARGHHHHHHHH! I just don't like peach :-P
Still clicking away on the sweater for myself. This is the original in the magazine: Vogue Spring/Summer 2006 (don't have the picture right now due to missing camera, but hope it is soon on the way). Of course the model looks fabulous in it. I have modified it a bit. I have decided to add increases. The original just decreases so that the bust is smaller then the bottom . That may be okay for some but my hip and bust measurements are the same so I'm decreasing for the waist and then increasing for my boobs........because I have them. I think most patterns are made with model proportions in mind and they have little boobs. That's great.....sometimes I wish I had little boobs........jogging would be more comfortable, they wouldn't get in my way when I reach for things, spills and drops wouldn't hit my "shelf" while eating, and gravity wouldn't seem like such a cruel law.......but most times I wish designers would include big boobies. That's the great thing about knitting though....you can modify to fit and it's not that difficult. That's not something that I can say about clothes that I buy in the store. I always have to have the waist taken in and finding button up shirts is a nightmare!!! Bathing suits....even worse!!! Thank you knitting! I can make it the way I want it and it will look fabulous on me and not just a model. Sweet!!