OMG(oodness), has it really been 6+ months?

Sure has, damn I'm a lazy SOB.

Lets see: knitting: A cardigan for me, which was kinda my own design, well I took the lace part from the tank I made last year, and knitted it up sort of like a cardigan pattern I got from Lion Brand's website. A knit/sewn combo dress for Bella, a scarf for me and another on the needles. My first pair of socks (another on the needles), a sweater for Gavin (needs to be sewn up), about 50% of a sweater for Bella - both Christmas presents. Re knitted my knitting bag, the acrylic I first made it out of didn't hold up. Got to make: hat for DH, baby sweater for co-worker who's preggers, another set of baby uggs for another coworker who practically begged, scarf for my train mate (another asked for project, how can I turn someone down who asks me to knit?)

Sewing: Made DH a bath robe, out of valour(sp?). Man that stuff is hard to work with. Thank you Lord, that I have a serger. Made it WAAAAYYY too big, but he's a trooper and is living with it. Made some table toppers and runners, some craft panel vests (which I'm not that crazy about now that they're done, but they look good on the hanger). Made a calendar quilt I'm rather proud of, and a baby quilt - but both need the binding finished up. Made a table runner for a co-worker who just bought a house. She's enamoured with the Amish, and I immediately thought of her for the pattern "Almost Amish".

I either have a fiber addiction or a shopping addiction, cause I have entirely too much fabric and yarn. And yes, I keep buying more. I see something that's so neat/cute/adorable and MUST BUY THE YARN NOW, cause you know, they'll discontinue it before I get to knitting it. I recently bought a used Ultimate Sweater Machine from a Raveler, hopefully it'll help with the stockinette projects.

I spent the last two weekends cataloging all the damn fabric I bought - cheap, but still - for when I lose the weight and need a whole new wardrobe, donchaknow. Yeah, don't hold your breath. But my living/dining room almost look like living and dining rooms again, you can see the furniture at least, and we can vacuum it again.

Got me one of dem dere Kindles this summer. Way too easy to buy books now, but also way too easy to read 'em. I've been, the last couple years or so, reading multiple books at a time, one by the TV, one at the kitchen table, one on the train... This makes it so simple to switcharoo. It keeps track of where you're at too, no more lost little pieces of paper (even though I own like a dozen bookmarks). I've read about 40 books since I bought the Kindle, some of them freebies and cheapies (yeah, I still read Harlequin types, so sue me). A co-worker loaned me Twilight last week. Brace yourselves, I wasn't crazy about it. I know, I'm a traiter to my gender or something, but just didn't get what all the hoopla was about. Read it in about 3 hours too, geez the typeset was at 5th grade level or something.

Oh, and the family did get together, albiet a week or two later (long story).

... paved with good intentions

keep meaning to post, but never actually do. If H-E-double toothpicks should freeze over this weekend, it isn't because the Cubs won the World Series (seriously, that's a strong possibility). But due to my father, brother and I being in the same room for the first time since 1978. Like most families we had some disfunctional times, drifted apart, rarely spoke, then little by little we joined up again. I don't think my father and I have the typical father-daughter relationship, but it's good. Trouble free anyway. He and my stepmom are coming up for a long weekend visit, and we're all meeting at our Michigan place on Saturday. Cool 'n groovy.

Knitting: did lots with very little to show for it. Made another checkerboard baby blanket . Made a baby hat and baby socks (my first, and not nearly as scary as I thought). Never finished the niece's (3) cardigans, or the nephew's pullover. Got selfish knitting for everybody else so now have 2 sweaters on the needles for me, and another planned. Seriously in the MYTICKIML (more yarn than I can knit in my lifetime) category, but there's so many cool things to knit! Just ordered some sinfully expensive (but on sale - clearance, only one color left) cashmere. Cashmere! Enough for a sweater! As I write this I'm eyeing a stole on sundayknits.com -- reminds me of the mexican stripes shawls.

Working on which is an embroidered cardigan. I'm using Elann Bamboo fusion which is super splitty but super soft and drapey. Bought enough of the embroidery colors to make a striped tank to go underneath the cardigan.

Also working on "Frida's Sunshine". Using TLC Cotton plus and knitting in size medium. Having the hardest time with the 12 row zigzag pattern, keep finding mistakes 2 or 3 rows back. Knitted the same darn rows 5 times already.

Work's been crazy busy lately. We changed to a new quote system in my department, between that and the layoffs (less workers, but not less work) I've been hopping.

Happy Valentine's Day

Enjoying a 4-day weekend, I took yesterday off. The plan was mammogram at 9am, then clean the house. In actuality - mammogram at 9:10 (forgot the script, had to go back home to get it), back home for a few minutes, then a run to Wal*Mart and Costco. Then I made the mistake of checking e-mail at work. Ended up getting nothing done housecleaning wise. New plan, get up this morning and clean.

In actuality DH needed help with re-grouting the shower. He's been painstakingly (next time, not that there ever will be a next time, we'll tear out and re-do, trust me it's easier) removing the grout we screwed up when we redid the shower 10 years ago. Re-grouting was too big a job for him alone, but a pain to do together in such a small area. We ain't exactly toothpicks, you know! Started at 10 and barely made it to Mass at 4. Bonus - ordering out pizza!

Getting there with Emily's CHRISTMAS gift cardigan. Going to be an Easter cardigan now, which kinda fits, it's pastel colors. Found a cute cotton print on eBay to make a skirt to go with it.

Baby Uggs

I'm just finishing the second set of Baby Uggs - they're so cute! Anyway, on the second set instead of knitting stockinette and seaming the bottom and back, after the toe section is knitted I decided to knit the ankle section on DPNs in the round. Only my second time knitting with DPNs but since I want to knit socks, I needed the practice. Went pretty well. Used the KnitPicks 6" size 3, separated the 35 stitches between 3 needles. Did something today that I hope everyone has done at least once on DPNs; when I went to take the empty needle and start the next section, I grabbed the wrong needle and pulled it out of all the stitches. PANIC! but it was ok, I did drop one stitch, but picked it up again pretty easily. That's one part of my knitting that is improving - recognizing when I screw up and being able to fix it without starting over!

great day

this was one of those "I'm so happy I married this man" days. We decided to drive up to michigan to make sure the cottage was ok. OK, he had to make sure - he's weird like that - and I went along for the ride. Knitted almost the entire car ride up and back, finished one baby ugg, and halfway through the other. Anyways, it was just a cool day. We got along all day, laughed a lot, ate dinner out on the way home (Texas Roadhouse, I had the pulled pork dinner with their absolutely wonderful mashed potatoes. I'd go there for the mashed potatoes and dinner rolls alone.) We walked across the ice, snow on the lake was mostly 2-4", it's about a 4 block walk to the island. Drifts on the island were pretty big, over my knees in places. You get pretty darn tired walking in drifts over your knees pretty darn quick! This was one of those keeper days, wish they were all like this. Baby Uggs picture is the first set that I already gifted to one mom-to-be, working on the second for obviously the second mom-to-be.

Ya gotta get one of these!

Today DH drove me out to Bolingbrook to Bass Pro Shops. Ho boy, ain't that a big place. It's like a small town. I don't fish, hunt, or camp and only boat under extreme circumstances (nobody else around to drive). I can fish or camp but choose not to. So why would I ask DH to chauffeur me to a fish, camp, boat, hunt store? For this:

It's a worm binder - made to hold plastic and even live fishing bait and lures. Read somewhere that it makes a great knitting needle organizer. Know what? It totally does. Totally ROCKS. Worth every penny. I bought the double, it's two sided. Multiple clear plastic zippered pockets and 10 Ziploc like pockets in each zippered compartment.

I used the label maker to make labels for the Ziploc-y bags(ex: 5mm sz 8) and put the labels on the inside of them. I knew that label maker would come in handy for more than labeling Video/Audio cables!

I went from this: Knit Picks interchangeable needle set, Knit Picks DPNs and a couple circulars, a few Addi Turbos, all the needles I inherited from my MIL - DPNs and circulars (thanks Mom), a Boye interchangeable set, stitch holders, stitch markers, point protectors, bobbins, a measuring tape,: two needle gauges, and tapestry needles. That purple and white monstrosity on the top right was my attempt at creating (copying) the "Circular Solution" where there's a strip of fabric that hangs from a clothes hanger, with labeled pockets that you slip the circulars through. The actual one is made from cotton duck, I used plain ole quilting cotton -- without interfacing or batting -- cause I'm stupid. It ended up as you see, a mass of wires and needles that managed to tangle, even with their respective rather droopy pockets.

To this and it ALL FIT:

I even got my 17, 19 and 35 sized circulars in there! I have no idea how I ended up with so many row counters. Didn't even know I had that many until I emptied out all my various knitting paraphernalia.

Still haven't finished the nieces and nephew x-mas sweaters, guess they're going to be Easter sweaters! Right now finishing up a pair of baby uggs for a shower at work Thursday. The yarn, Berroco Suede really feels and looks like suede, and with the Berroco Plush mimicking sheep fleece, well they're just the cutest things, really look like Uggs.

DH's hours got cut to 32 (4 days a week). We're happy he still has a job. Course this is after I went on a major yarn buying spree. Gotta stay out of the online yarn shops when I'm in a funk. Out of the funk, but now I have to pay for it all (and sneak it in to the house). Good thing DH doesn't read the blog. Don't tell him, ok? Marital discourse would surely transpire.

He'd currently removing the grout from our shower. We retiled it around 10 years ago, but did a lousy job on the grout, removing too much in the sponging off stage, to where the terra cotta sides of the tiles showed in places. And the caulking wasn't very even, ended up with pockets where moisture got in, and mildew started. So today we also went to Home Depot and bought a Dremel tool and grout removing bits. Even with the Dremel it's slow going, we're going to be using the guest bath for awhile! (Counting blessings, thank you Lord, that we even have a guest bath).

I'm thankful to have a job - most of the time.

Be careful what you wish for -- my company laid off around 10% (just shy) a week and a half ago. Wait, I think I wrote about that already. Anyway, somehow I'm supposed to roll out 40 computers between now and Christmas. Let's review shall we; tomorrow the opthomologist, so I'll only have the morning. Thursday planned (like for 2 or 3 weeks now) lunch with 'the girls' from my department (IT, so not a lot of girls!) Friday the department party - in house lunch - supposed to be an hour but we'll see how that goes. Next Tuesday is the department I support's holiday lunch, and next Wednesday is half day. So I'm figuring that gives me about 44 hours. Guess I can do it if I ignore everything else. Yeah, good luck with that. I could blow off the three lunches (but I don't wanna!). So guess I'm working late between now and Christmas. Happy bleeping Holidays.

On a positive note, it'll be bleeping done, and not hanging over my head any more. Wait, maybe their rushing me so they can lay me off in the next round. Oh, screw it, I'm not gonna think about it anymore. I do wish management would roll out a couple of these, just to see what we go through. I've had folks want me to move the icons on their desktops because they "think it used to be over there" (we copy their old desktops, so they're probably wrong. Although I do clean up old-no-longer-of-use icons, so gotta give them the benefit of the doubt). Something is always missing, a printer, a shortcut, they don't know their password(s) to this website service or that. They hate the new monitors, or they love the new monitors, but can I make everything fit it better? Please recreate my quote screen so that it's purple instead of blue. Alot of "hey, as long as you're here, been meanng to ask you...." Why is my e-mail so slow. Why do I have to get rid of the e-mails with jokes or the pics of the grandkids, can't you just increase my server space? I bet I get 50% you-got-to-be-kidding-me questions and requests. Oh well, pays the mortgage, right?

DH wants me to apply at the nearby hosiptal, there's always sick people right? I'm worried that I won't be able to get a M-F only job at a hospital. Guess it won't kill me to send 'em a resume. Didn't I say something yesterday about getting out of this funk? Not doing so well so far...