Ah-Well they're Movin' on In. . .

. . .to-ooo the west side (of Cleveland, that is!). . .I know, it's just not the same as the theme from the vintage TV sitcom I was thinking about all day! Whenever I see someone moving, or help someone move (like the Hubs and I did today), I think of the opening verse to the Jeffersons. The memory of our eight years in the Navy, which included living in three states and 4 homes, reminds me that there is no life event quite like moving to a new home. . .especially when you are crossing state lines, and bringing a bunch of stuff (and people. . .and perhaps pets!) with you!

Today was the day that the new Family Life Minister at our church, and his family, officially moved in to the house next door. Several of us from church were there when the yellow, Penske truck pulled up, accompanied by a mini-van, a truck and another car, and we were ready to work! Good thing, too, because we spent a good chunk of the afternoon moving things off the truck. . .

. . .and into the house. . .

. . .where Family Guy. . .
. . .and Family Gal (aka - Keeper of the Toys!) instructed everyone on the specific placement of the boxes and the furniture and the kitchen gadgets and the TOYS (they have two small children) and all the other pieces of their currently uprooted home.

It was a long, but fun, day! I hope that Family Guy and Gal have a chance to spend some time in this room tonight, before they drop into that comatose sleep they deserve after after all their hard work and coordinated efforts to bring together friends, new and old, for the transition!

I hope they sleep well tonight. With all that fresh air and activity, I know the Hubs and I will!

But first, for me at least, there will surely be some knitting! After all, I cast on for the body of my Summer's End Cardigan last night. . .and I have knit about 10 rows already! The only bad thing about this cardi is that I am knitting it in wool (Cascade 220 that I dyed myself, thankyouverymuch), and it is July. Now, I live in Ohio, so summers are not as hot or as long as in some other places. . .BUT, it's still too hot on most summer days for a wool cardigan. The flip-side is that this should be done for the fall, and the color is so cheerful, that I am eager to have it lift my spirits in the dreariest of days in autumn and winter!
Of course, I am also started on my August socks, called Wickerware! See the pretty pattern that looks like a basket? The yarn is a self-striping, patterning yarn, but the stripes are working up nicely with the texture, and I like it! Yay!, since these are probably for me! haha! Of course, I always say that, then I give socks away. . .I love to knit socks!

And finally, more of the Babies' Best Friend pattern! I have some Herschnerr's Ultra Fleece yarn in my stash, and it is working up sooooooooo sooooofffffffft! I can't wait to finish a couple of these for some baby gifts! Everyone keeps having the babies - Yay!

So, that's what my today was. Knitting, and moving, and really having a good time with friends. Oh, and corn hole with the kids. . .then ice cream! What could make this day any better?

I suppose that a contest winner would say that that could make the day better. . .BUT, the contest is open until midnight! Sooooo, there is still time to enter (all the details are at THIS BLOG POST)!!! If you have not already entered, get on it!

Oh, and Knit in Good Health!

The Color Purple

One of my favorite conversations from the 1985 movie with Whoopie Goldberg goes like this:

Shug: More than anything, God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.
Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved, like it say in the Bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance and holla, just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention. . .except walk?
[they laugh]
Shug: Oh, Miss Celie, I feels like singing!

Inspired also by the finishing of my Basic Cabled Socks, in African Violet Stroll from Knit Picks, I feels a little bit like singing too! So, welcome to my Purple-y, Purple Blog!. . .with pictures of the aforementioned socks. . .
. . .and some purple flowers. . .

. . .and a purple windsock. . .

. . .and a purple daisy. . .

. . .and a van with purple tinted windows. . .

. . .and light purple flowers with deep purple centers. . .

. . .and purple bikes. . .
. . .and new, purple growth on green trees. . .
. . .and even purple houses!
It was a very purple walk around the neighborhood yesterday, and I loved every minute of it!

I also love that I have finished and blocked my Harumi Cardigan, in Classic Elite Allegoro - yummm!!
It's ready to wear, but too hot to put it on today. . .even in cotton, with 3/4-length sleeves. . .it's supposed to hit 90 F this afternoon!
But, it turned out sooooo nice. . .I can't wait for the cooler weather tomorrow, and (hopefully) a little photo shoot with the gals from CKW on Ravelry!

Now off I go to sing a song of Purple. . .

Don't forget, the contest is open until Saturday! Aaaaand. . .

Knit in Good Health!

Merry Christmas in July!

It's Christmas in July! Complete with PRESENTS (for one lucky winner)!
Yep, I said winner! That means it's a contest, and that means join in! Here's how to play:

Leave me a Comment on this post telling me what your favorite "vintage" TV show is! (I like Little House on the Prairie, and the Donny & Marie Show, but there are no extra points for copying me!)

That's all there is to it! I am feeling a little like celebrating today because I have officially started my Christmas shopping and knitting! Woo Hoo! (Of course, I can't tell you much about the knitting besides that. . .but if you are on Ravelry, you will see projects popping up!) The lucky winner will get a surprise package from Pretty Knitty! (Please remember that this is a knitting blog, and the prize is likely to be related to knitting in some way. . .)

It IS still the "dog days" of summer, but I am feeling generous, and I want to give something away. . .the cat doesn't much care. . .sigh!
But if you are interested in winning a Pretty Knitty Surprise Prize Present, enter NOW! I will accept contest entries until NEXT SATURDAY (7/31/10), so comment now!

Knit in Good Health!

When the Deep Purple falls. . .

. . .over Sleepy, Cabled Socks. . .WAIT! That doesn't rhyme!

But Deep Purple has been on my mind as I knit up this purple Knit Picks Stroll yarn(in African Violet) to go on my feet! Literally every time I take out these socks lately, I can see (and hear) Donny and Marie in my mind's eye. . .Donny and Marie in various purple layers of chiffon. . .Donny and Marie in purple jumpsuits with purple sequins all over their shoulders and belts. . .Donny in a tuxedo with a purple tie and vest, and again with the sequins. . .Donny and Marie fashion dolls in the very outfits they wore on TV for their variety show. . .Donny with his endless supply of sparkly, purple socks. . .

Of course, my socks are not sparkly. Not at all. Not even a little bit. But sparkly yarn is sometimes itchy, so I didn't even look for sparkly yarn. . .I am sure it is out there, but I didn't even look for it. Truth be told, I wasn't even planning on making socks with this yarn. . .I was thinking about a striped baby sweater with this, a lighter purple and a sage green. Then I made up my sock kits for this year, and I thought, "Why not purple socks?!?"

Trivia alert!: "Donny was known for wearing purple socks as a teen. Though most fans believed it was because he liked the color, it was actually because his mother and sister found purple socks on sale, so they bought a whole bunch."

(Disclaimer: I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this bit of trivia. I can, however, attest to the fact that it is trivial! Here is where I found it - TV Trivia)

Soooo, here I am, about seventy-five percent finished with my second pair of purple socks this summer. . .I hope that I have enough purple in my wardrobe to support that! (I think I do. . .snicker!) Of course, the socks are wool, and I am all about the sandals this summer, so I won't be wearing them for awhile. I guess I won't worry about it just yet. . .maybe I will get me some purple yarn in the same (or similar) shade, for a fall/winter sweater! Oooooh! More yarn! Oooooh! I love yarn! Squirrel!

Since I am finally distracted from the purple socks, here's a little peek at my latest, fluffy project. The yarn is Bernat Baby Boucle, and I like it pretty well, but it's a bear to rip back, so I am trying to watch really close as I go. . .more details later!

And the latest jewelry to debut in the shop! See the sweet pink and brown beads? Because variety is the spice of life!

I'm thinking that if Americans were to start eating with this tiny 3/4-inch silverware, obesity would be less of an "epidemic!" But I'd rather have them on a row counter! What would you like to see on a row counter? Leave me a comment to let me know, and. . .

Knit in Good Health!

Get Your Motor Running. . .

It has been hot, hot, hot here lately! Summer is definitely among us! One of Pretty Knitty's favorite parts of summer is riding on the bike!
We have had a motorcycle for most of our married lives, and we are happy when we get to take it out! When the kids were small, we did not get out on the bike very often. . .it's pretty hard to stuff an 8-year-old into a saddle bag! Once they started driving, and had a car to drive, Hubby and I got more and more opportunities. He drives, and I sit on the back, and it's one of my favorite modes of transportation! Sometimes I get a great view of the world. . .like this!

. . .or sometimes like this. . .
Admittedly, most of the time, this is the view I have! lol

But you just can't beat the feeling of speed on a motorcycle. . .not crazy, reckless speed, but in a car you really don't appreciate speed. You need the wind whipping around you to really feel the speed.

For the past couple of weeks, I have had a hankering to take a picture from my perspective as the passenger of this open-air vehicle. . .but, I have always been too chicken. I have butterfingers, and if I dropped my phone at 45mph, I would cry. . .alot. Maybe it was the extra-strong coffee, or maybe it was the orange creamsicle fudge I had for breakfast this morning, or perhaps I was just feeling a little reckless. . .I am not sure of the reason. . .but apparently today was my day to bravely document this part of my life. Either way, I still have the phone (as evidenced by pictures above), and now I don't feel like I have to risk it again - that's a win-win in my book!

Photo ops for me are usually much less risky than the back of a motorcycle. Take knit-night, for example. . .there is very little danger involved in whipping out a camera and shooting your friends while they snack and knit. . .or talk and play with the baby!

And, while a few of them balk a bit, even after that first flash goes off I can still get a couple more shots before people start rolling their eyes and leaving the room. I have good knitting friends.Speaking of The Knitting, look how far I am on the Harumi!!! I think I will make the arms a bit shorter than the pattern specifies (I think the model in the pictures must be pretty tall, and I am NOT), so I am almost to the lace on the first sleeve! Then the second sleeve, and miles and miles of applied I-cord edging. . .I hope I make it. On the up side of the endless I-cord, I am now fairly confident that I DO have enough yarn - YAY!

The other sweater I am working on is the Lutzling. . .just need to weave in the ends, sew on the buttons and wait for the baby now! Oh, the waiting is the hardest part!And now, a word from the cats:

Stay outta trouble, friends! And Knit in Good Health!

Watch this!

So, Saturday's post was all about technology (new phone/computer) vs. nature (yummy blackberries, ripe and sweet, right off the bush!). It seems that I had successfully abandoned discussions of technology for a few days, but now I am right back to it. Because today, I remember that my watch, my $10 watch from Wally-World that I bought several years ago, is no longer with us. . . She was a pretty watch, a good watch, and she kept good time, all the time, right up until last week, when she just up and died, with nearly no warning. This made Pretty Knitty sad. Pretty Knitty likes to wear a watch. . .I mean, I know that there's a clock on my phone, and on my computer, and on the car radio, and on the tv, and on the wall in every room of my home, and on the walls of many of the places I go. . .so much technology, and so many clock-opportunities. . .still, I really missed my watch. So I bought another one. I should have checked, before I left the store, to be sure that it was running. It wasn't. And this morning, I took that watch back to Wally-World for a refund, and I did not buy another one. I wasn't going to buy anything. I was still sad.

Why I then ventured into the store, I don't remember, but I thought to my Pretty Knitty self, "Self. . .we have gone into the store without buying things before, and I am sure that we can do it again. Just watch me!" Long story short = fail! So here is what I bought:

2 14oz. cones of Peaches & Cream cotton yarn (on sale for $5 each!!!), and some Bernat Baby Boucle for all the baby knitting I anticipate for my future. . .time marches on, and people sure do keep having babies! lol

Speaking of babies, I have found a new, knitted baby toy pattern, and I have already made two! It's called Baby's Best Friend, and I did make some mods to the pattern (knit blanket portion corner to corner on one, and changed the ears to be more bear shaped on the other), but overall, I love it! They are quick to make, machine washable and soft (in acrylics and blends), and totally portable for mother and baby! Win, win, win! Oh, and totally cute!

So, the moral to the story is, I suppose, that I can no longer go into a store and leave said store without making a purchase. Oh, well! At least I got yarn, and we all know that I can always use more yarn! Right?!? As a matter of fact, do you remember what I am currently knitting with some cotton/linen yarn?

That's right! It's a Harumi Cardigan for me! I keep thinking that it will be finished in time that I can start wearing it this summer, but I have no evidence that would back up that assumption, so we'll see. . .but, I am on the lace portion, and it is turning out beautiful! (Says the knitter who, just last night, realized that she had totally messed up two of the lace sections 2 rows back. But, trooper that she is, she did not rip back. . .nooooo! Since the first lace section and the two arm sections were correct, she surely would NOT rip back the whole two rows! So, she knit through the lace, and the arm stitches, then tinked back two rows and re-knit/re-knit/knit 3 rows. . .12-stitches-at-a-time. . .then knit the other arm, and repeated the tink/re-knit process for remaining lace section. . .2 hours later, Pretty Knitty has completed 1 row, and she goes to bed. . .again, what a trooper!)

Wow! Just writing about that last row made me tired all over again! So, I am gonna call this blog post done, and get on to the rest of my Pretty Knitty day. Just watch me!

Knit in Good Health!

Android vs. Blackberry

But first, knitting content! After all, this is a knitting blog!

More babies on the way, everywhere I look! This sweater is neither masculine nor feminine, and I have picked a rich color, called Hollyberry, in Knit Picks' Swish DK. The Lutzling pattern says it uses less than 100g for the smallest size (which I am knitting), and I have 100g of the yarn (2 balls), but I am not convinced. . .I ordered more of the yarn this afternoon. . .just in case! In any case, though, I love how it's coming along!
And now, for the great debate. It has nothing to do with basketball, and everything to do with technology. You see, my cell phone contract is up in October of this year, and while I am planning to stay with my current provider, I will be eligible for an upgrade to a new phone. Army Boy and Wifey Poo just got Droids, which I tried not to drool on (too much) while they were home for their recent visit. . .it's a hard phone not to drool over.

But I can't help but wonder if it's really worth it to pay a monthly fee to the cell-phone company for a smart-phone when I could just get a little net-book computer. . .one-time fee, Wi-Fi service everywhere I look, it seems. I guess I still have 3 months to ponder the issue. . .but I am so totally unsure of what I really want. . .sigh!

But, I could not spend the last couple days of my vacation stressing, so Sweetie and I took a walk in the park this evening. We saw flowers that bud and bloom upside down. . .
. . .and white, sunburst flowers that smelled sooooo sweet, reminding me of wild honeysuckle. . .they were growing on a tree, super-fragrant. . .
. . .attracting honey bees and butterflies! Soooo pretty!
On the other side of the park was this vibrant moth! Color was everywhere, but I think my favorite color for this walk was black. . .
. . .as in ripe, juicy blackberries on the bush!
He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not. . .

He went into the blackberry bushes, with all the bees and brambles, and brought berries to Pretty! He definitely loves me!!!!!

Thank you, Sweetie!

So, for today, the berries win! The ripe, juicy, sweet Blackberry wins, and I will worry about technology tomorrow. After all, my belly is full o'berries, and there's a bunch o'yarn waiting for me at home!

Knit in Good Health!