Tag: Iknead

Knitting

A Confession, Just Grand

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HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU?

A certain family member requested some type of scarf (she’s not picky) to go with a new red winter coat.  My cerebral cogs started meshing and here’s what they came up with.

Mochi Plus

80% Merino/20% Nylon

Cherries Jubilee

To make a long story short, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this yarn and am having separation anxiety over the thought of using it for a Christmas gift.  I want to clutch it to my breast and croon, “don’t worry, you’re staying with me.”  Is this weird?

Truly, though, the red in this yarn is the wrong red to go with the coat.  The coat is a blue undertones red and while this yarn does have red, it’s red with orange undertones.  Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  Off to my LYS sometime today to find a more appropriate bluey red for the gift.  I think this is called a “rationalization”.

THE GRANDS

Mr. Iknead and I had the ultimate grandbaby experience over the weekend.  Bigdaddy had a wedding to officiate up in Branson, Missouri and took Bigmommy along.  Mr. Iknead and I had the Papoose and Sprout solo from Friday morning until late Sunday afternoon.  What a treat!

A good time had by all!

Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.  Lewis Carroll

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Knitting

Phestival Phun, Phorget The Photos, If I Were a Knitpicks Cable

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WHAT I DID AND WHAT I DIDN’T DO

Remember all the photos I promised of the Fiber Festival?  Didn’t.Take.One.  As a matter of fact, my camera didn’t even make it to the festival.  That’s right, after being obsessive about making sure I had the camera, it never even made it to the festivities.  I remembered it about the time we pulled into the parking lot.  I suppose I could have pressed Mr. Iknead into going back and getting it, but the festival and the camera were about 20 miles apart and I just didn’t have the heart to ask him to go back and get on that cold and rainy morning.  But……..

MY PHESTIVAL TAKE AWAY

Prepare to be awed:

This, my friends, is a bag of beautiful baby alpaca.  It feels like buttah.

It’s from Whirlwind Ranch in Lebanon, Missouri and cries out to be fondled.

Here we have “Raspberry Ice”, domestic wool top from

Diamond B Sheep Farm of Greenwood Arkansas

More from the Diamond B – 100% merino, just waiting to become someone’s favorite socks.

More Diamond B merino, which hasn’t decided yet what it should be, given the amazing possibilities.

A wool, Angelina, silk noil and faux cashmere batt from you know where.

Can you see the little sparklies?  I learned that those are called Angelina.

A wool, Tussah silk and bamboo batt, from my favorite Arkansas sheep farm.

All this fiber and I stayed within my budget (give or take about five bucks).  This should keep Violet and me spinning for a while!

IF I WERE A KNITPICKS INTERCHANGEABLE CABLE

Where would I be?  All I know is that all my lovely interchangeable cables are missing and I’ve pretty much exhausted all possible hiding places.  I’ve looked in every bag, basket and drawer in the knitting room, I’ve called my housekeeper, I’ve called Bigmommy and even enlisted St. Anthony.  No cables.  They may have been abducted by aliens, since I’ve ruled out someone breaking into my house, sneaking into the knitting room and taking off with a ziplock bag of cables.  Sigh.  They’re sure to turn up now, since I ordered a new set last night.  Sigh.

 Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.  James Baldwin

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Knitting

Vacay and Kindersongs

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A LITTLE BUMMED

Today is our last pottery class for this semester, ;(, but I’ve already signed up for the next one.  I’m going to learn the wheel next and am excited to learn something new.  I think we raku again today.  The firebug in me is always excited to raku!

KINDERSONG

The Kindersong concert was totally AWESOME!  Silly songs, silly hats, silly dancing – I loved it!  Oh yeah, the grands loved it too.  The papoose danced the whole time.  I’ve already decided to keep an eye out so we can go again.  Mr. Iknead took lots of pictures, but since the papoose and babydiva were in constant motion, most of them are just blurs.  Oh, well, better pics next time.

LONG AWAITED, MUCH ANTICIPATED

Are you ready??  Cause here are a few of our vacay pics:

  The Sprout and the Papoose

 Babydiva

  All of us!

  Sprout

  Mr. Iknead, the grands and me, in our dreams.

  Mr. Iknead, the grands and me – real life

  Corny?  Absolutely!  Probably my favorite of all!

Kindness in words creates confidence.  Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love.  Lao Tzu

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Knitting

What I Do Have

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DON’T HAVE

 

A FO for today. DO HAVE Beach toes!  That’s right friends – Mr. Iknead and I are on vacation and are kicking back in a hotel (a Holiday Inn if you’re interested) in Hattiesburg M-eye-ess-ess-eye-ess-ess-eye-pee-pee-eye on our way to Grayton Beach, FL.  Beach toes that I can’t show you because Flickr isn’t co-operating.

Maybe later.

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.  Ralph Emerson

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 7/17/13, Doing the Herb

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ON THE NEEDLES

Mr. Iknead’s socks continue to grow.  The first of the pair is finished, and the second maybe 2/3 finished.  My goal is to have them done in time for FO Friday.  I’ve said that before and been defeated, but hope springs eternal and all that.

Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed Socks for Mr. Iknead

THE HERB

I noticed yesterday that my basil was beginning to flower and that means it needed to be harvested quickly if I’m to have more basil this summer.  I was going to dry it, but learned that because basil has a high water content, it does better when frozen than when dried.  Learn something new every day, I do.

That’s plain basil on the left, lime basil on the right

My kitchen smells HEAVENLY!

BY THE BOOK

I’m nearly through with Joyland and have enjoyed it immensely, wishing sometimes that there were just a couple more hours in the day, like 26 or 27 instead of just 24, just so I could squeeze in a little more of my favorite pastimes.  (I think I just heard a few moms of toddlers groan.)  I also checked out a couple of library books on spinning and knitting; the pictures are lovely, I may never get to the text!

I’m linking up today with Tami, Ginny’s Yarn Along and Frontier Dreams KCCO.  Don’t forget to visit these awesome blogs!

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.  John Lennon

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Knitting

Getting the Band Back Together

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TOGETHERNESS

About 24 hours from now, the official Coleman Family Reunion 2013 will commence.  We have a lot to catch up on – in the past three years, we’ve grown by six, our grands and the St. Louis branch grands – all girls, age three and under.  I’m looking forward to lots of girly giggling and princess playing, as that’s the Papoose’s favorite thing and she’s a tad on the bossy side at times.  Festivities start with a cookout at Babydiva’s house tomorrow evening and will wind up Sunday, when the St. Louis branch heads home and the Little Rock branch heads for the couch and a nap.  Party on!

WHEN YOU COME TO A FORK

in the road, take a picture.  Seriously.  I was walking on Monday, there was this fork, just laying in the middle of the sidewalk.  I walked about four more steps, decided I didn’t really care that the people driving by probably thought I was nuts, backtracked and took a picture.  I mean, really, how often does one really, really come upon a fork in the road.  Anyone besides me and Mr. Iknead remember the old Johnny Carson/Teri Garr skit, the one with a map and at some point Johnny would point to a map and say, “when you come to a fork in the road”?  Hilarious.  Or maybe you just had to be there.

This is the actual fork in the road.

I’m always seeing bizarre things on my walks, I’ve started carrying my phone for picture proof that yes, I really did see it.  On a walk last summer, a black chicken ran across the road in front of me.  Swear.  I think Mr. Iknead had seen it before and had actually gotten a picture.  If he did, I’ll post it.

There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.  Alexander Woollcott

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 2/27/13 and the Setting in of Antsiness

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WHAT’S UP

Me, that’s what.  Today’s the first day I’ve really felt nearly back to normal, at least as close to normal as possible being only a week out from major (from what I’ve been told) abdominal surgery.  Yeah, every once in a while, mostly when Josie needs to be more comfortable, my belly reminds me that it’s been much put upon in the past week or so and that perhaps I need to give up being the official recliner/throne/bed of the Empress, at least for an hour or so.  All things considered, I do think I’m doing well, but I’m getting restless, not really bored, but I want to do a bunch of things Mr. Iknead has made me promise not to do for a while and, well, I try to keep my promises so today I had to be satisfied with piddling around in the kitchen but not baking and making a grocery list, but not shopping.   I’m sort of embarrassed to complain about things like that, just being retired and learning to be a SAHW, but I love taking care of my home, my husband and my family.  There.  I said it and I’m glad I did.  I’m a closet housewife and proud of it!

NEARLY OFF THE NEEDLES

The Rio Wrap is nearly finished.  It’s been measured and remeasured, examined and reexamined and finally, bound off.  The joining together will be done tomorrow (I hate the mattress stitch), blocking will begin and I hope by Friday will be finished and ready for show and tell.  Here’s how it looks unfinished but off the needles.  Boring, I know.

Today, A Pile of Stockinette

Tomorrow, Hopefully an Etched Rio Wrap!

THE GRANDS

Not as much contact with the babies as I’d like, with us all passing around a nasty upper respiratory thing and the hospital, but here’s a recent favorite –

Isn’t he handsome and isn’t she gorgeous??

Don’t forget to check out Tami Amis for more WIPW 2/27/13.

By believing passionately in something that does not yet exist, we create it.  Nikos Kazantzakis 

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Knitting

Under the Weather, I Need an Umbrella and a Thing of Beauty

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WHAT’S UP

The sniffles that appeared a week ago today continue.  I started running a fever yesterday afternoon so I started hitting the vitamin C and forcing fluids, I feel better today.  I had my final visit today with the surgeon before surgery this coming Tuesday and just to be safe, he started me on a short term antibiotic.  No way am I going to postpone this, no way!  I start the prep Monday afternoon which is never, ever fun, but Mr. Iknead is a fabulous cheerleader and I expect to get through it with no problem.

SHOW AND TELL

Remember my prize from deepbluerenegade?  A $10.00 gift card to Mr. Yarn?  Well, here’s what it went toward –

Starry sock weight with sparkle from Dream

98% superwash merino wool and 2% Lurex fiber

Amethyst Ink

I’m ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille!

If this yarn doesn’t make your heart go pitty-pat, you need CPR!  I’ve kept this yarn close to me for the past few days, just so I could fondle and admire it.  It’s off the chart beautiful and makes me almost forget about my stuffy nose!

Imagination rules the world.  Napoleon Bonaparte

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Knitting

WIPW 2/13/13, Whew, Slight Case of Nerves

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BYE-BYE

I think I mentioned last week that we finally made the decision and had our landline removed.  Mr. Iknead and I finally had enough of those super annoying robocalls, telemarketers, wrong numbers (a misprint on some kind of card gave the whole world our phone number, area code and all)  instead of the correct number for Holy Redeemer Credit Union in Costa Rica.  I swear, I’m not making this up.  People would call our number (the misprint) over and over, getting angrier and angrier when they were informed that “No, this wasn’t Holy Redeemer Credit Union” and “No, I don’t know the correct number for Holy Redeemer Credit Union” and eventually, “Don’t call this number again, I will have you reported to the police and charge you with telephone harassment”.  Been cussed out in Spanish more times than I can remember.  So, as of Monday evening, we no longer have a landline phone and are basking in the peace and quiet of home.  Still, when Mr. Iknead called to set up whatever had to be set up to remove it, the guy told him that we’d had the number since 1977, 36 YEARS!  You can understand why I have a little nostalgia mixed with my relief, can’t you?  I get emotionally invested, what can I say?

ON THE NEEDLES

Etched Rio Wrap

Fifteen of the required 28 repeats of the pattern are finished, over half the way through, the end is barely in sight and I’m still loving this.  I’m happy to say that there have been no yarn barf crises since Sunday and I’m watching the yarn like a hawk, knowing now that it likes to misbehave.  If you missed the pics of its previous misbehavior, take a look at last Friday’s blog entry, titled  %#$%^&*(, for the full effect.

WHAT’S COMING UP

I’ve really not blogged about it too much, other than just a mention now and then, but I’ve had ischemic colitis for years and coped with it pretty well.  Now, though, the attacks are becoming more and more frequent and more and more severe, putting me in the hospital twice for a week each time, in the past nine months.  My GI doctor defines it as “pretty much a heart attack” in the colon, with damage and scarring, which sets me up even more for another bout and on and on.  After much, much thought and just as much research (doncha just love Wikipedia?), I’m scheduled to have my colon removed this coming Tuesday, February 19.  My surgeon has promised that I’ll have enough colon left to hook everything back up, but if I have to have an ostomy, I’ll just count that as part of the cost of no more midnight ambulance rides, all night visits to the ER and hospital admissions.  I’m a little nervous, after it’s done, there’s no going back, but now the pros outweigh the cons and I’m ready to get it over with.  I told Mr. Iknead that he’d have to step into my blogging shoes for a couple of days (he thought I was kidding) but hope to be feeling well enough to take over again before too long.

BY THE BOOK

I finished the The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yesterday and it was wonderful.  I couldn’t listen fast enough, it was an audiobook and I kept up the pretense of “As soon as this chapter closes, I’m going to get up and do XYZ,” knowing full well that I had no intention of doing that and just kept listening.  Loved this book!  I don’t have any definite idea of what next to read.  Any ideas?

Don’t forget to check out Tami Ami’s and Ginny’s Yarn Along blog.

Creativity comes from trust.  Trust your instincts and never hope more than you work.  Rita Mae Brown

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Knitting

WIP Wednesday 12/05/12

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ON THE NEEDLES

Mr. Iknead’s first sock continues to grow and it’s close enough to being finished that I need to have him try it on just to make sure it fits perfectly.  Since this is the first time he’s requested any kind of knitting, I want it to fit perfectly and be all he wanted in a sock and then some.  To me, knitting+socks=warmth+love with a little practicality thrown in.  Here’s where I am on the first one –

WIP – Simple Skype Socks for Mr. Iknead, modeled by yours truly  and

a close up of the stitch pattern

WOOHOO!

Yesterday, I blogged about breathlessly waiting for my new Kitchenaid mixer’s arrival; believe it or not, I hit the publish button, my doorbell rang and there stood my UPS guy with an armful of gifts I’d ordered for the fam on line and then he said, “I have a mixer in the truck, I wanted to make sure you were home before I carried it to the door.”  I couldn’t hold my happy dance in check and by the time I’d wound down, I had my new KA.  Here she is in all her glory –

I christened her this afternoon with a recipe from Pinterest, Meili’s Cinnamon Cream Cheese Streusal Coffee Cake.  I think we’re made to be together!   Sugared Pecans are on the schedule for tomorrow, a Christmas tradition in our house.

Check out Tami Ami’s blog for more WIP Wednesday love.

Clear your mind of can’t.  Solon

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Knitting

July 5

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ON THE NEEDLES

I’m happy to report that Wingspan is finished and I can stop feeling guilty about the Nine to Five socks that have been on the “as soon as I finish ________” list and they’re now first in line.

Here’s Wingspan

And to prove that yes, it does take just one skein, here’s what is left after binding off

This quite possibly could be the only green grass in Little Rock.  It’s been something like 22 days since we’ve had any measurable precipitation, according to Barry Brandt, weatherman whiz and if lawns don’t get watered every day, they get brown and crunchy.  As far as I can tell, we have no real chance 0f rain until Saturday or Sunday, if then.  But I digress…

I think I’ll block it tomorrow since Mr. Iknead and I are making a trip to see the Papoose (and her mom and dad, of course). 

A quick look at the Nine to Fives –

HAPPYS

Coffee with fancy creamer, Josie the Pug, books and babies.

BY THE BOOK

I’m nearly finished with Inconceivable, an excellent, excellent book, and have Tom Franklin’s Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter waiting to be started.  Looks like a really great read and I’m excited to get into it.

I have the simplest tastes.  I am always satisfied with the best.  Oscar Wilde

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