Halloween Wishes

I know my visits to the blog are few and far between,
But I'm stopping by a moment now to say "Happy Halloween"!

Hello. My name is Kathleen and I'm a Knitaholic.

I took this little quiz and found out I'm a knitholic of the worst kind. But I'm not ashamed to admit it and I choose NOT to join K.A. Nuff said. Take the quiz and see where you rank on the knitaholic scale!

Have you ever...
•decided to kick the habit only to "fall off the yarn wagon"?
•knit alone or first thing in the morning?
•gone on a knitting binge?
•had a craving for just a little yarn fix?
•been a pusher, turning others on, even minors, to this habit?
•experienced blackouts..finding yarn in your stash you swear you never bought?

Are You...
•an adult child of a knitter?
•a compulsive overknitter?
•living in denial...
•telling yourself you actually save money by knitting clothes and gifts?
•believing you can save on therapy bills by knitting?
•certain that you can quit any time you want?
•calling yourself a social or recreational knitter?
•Has your cat ever gotten "messed up" after getting into your stash again?
•Is your definition of a "needle exchange" different than that of non-knitters?
•Is too much yarn never enough for you?
If you can answer yes to...
•10 or more questions - you may be a knitaholic
•8-9 questions - you may be a compulsive overknitter
•6-7 questions - you may be a yarn junkie
•4-5 questions - you may be a chronic social knitter
•0-3 questions - you are living in denial or you're at the wrong web site!

After The Sunday Funnies....

I tried roller blading...once. I fell and broke my leg the first time out. Haven't done it since. But I guess I would strap them on again in exchange for kids getting interested in knitting or crocheting...or something creatively different to help them see there's more to life than cell phones, texting, video games and computers. Maybe next time I'll hold some yarn while blading to keep my balance. Yea. That's it. I was 'improperly' balanced when I tried it the last time.... ;o)

Time For A Pop Quiz

I found this little quiz in one of the knitting daily newsletters I get in my email. I took the quiz and found out I'm 100% WOOL...no nonsense. It was fun! Take it and see what kind of yarn you are, then pass on the quiz to someone you know! Copy and paste link into your browser.

www.quizilla.teenninck.com/quizzes/924312/what-kind-of-yarn-are-you

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll...

Happy Labor Day!

Comments and Graphics - Layouts - Photobucket

Try not to labor today. Even a cookout is laboring. Order takeout ~ and have it delivered!!!

Now You See Her, Now You Don't

So...Hello. Howahya? It's been awhile - again. I disappeared from the blogoshpere as per usual. Am wedging in a bit of screen time here to say hello and I've missed you all.

It's been one crazy, hectic summer around the old homestead here. New jobs. New home. New life. New aches and pains. No knitting. No creating of any kind for several weeks now. Not even enough time or ability to sneak a peek here and there at your lovley blogs. So I'm completely out of the loop!

The big things on the list here are the major life changes...and the being put on the injured list. Seems I've developed a whopping case of carpal tunnel in both hands and BROTHER has it been a pain! It literally came out of the blue and knocked me backwards. Looking back now I can see where I've been having some problems for several months. But I chalked it up to the usual arthritic pain and stiffness and kept about my daily business.

Now am in splints on both hands full time indefinitely. Typing, knitting, crafting of pretty much any kind, even just the usual mundane daily tasks are off the list indefinitely. I'm cheating somewhat today to sneak in a short bit of blogging and catching up on email and what not. But it ain't easy!!!...and I can see where it's going to be a long time coming getting back to normal stuff. Surgery may be on the horizon.

Anyway, lots of missing all of you. Lots of missing writing. Lots of missing pretty much everything. Am hoping am allowed sooner than later to at least be able to surf the internets and keep up with all of you of course. A few more visits to the doc's office and we'll see.

I hope you all are having a fabulous summer and are now looking forward to the fall season with your creativities. I sincerely hope to see you soon ;0)

Have a knit pickin' good summer and fall ya'll !

Granny's Back In Town

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of a few of the projects I've been busy with the last few months. Today it's all about the Granny square afghan I made for my new little niece in Texas.




This is
Miss Brittania Anne
Born June 15, 2010.

My sister sent me this picture a few days ago. It had the caption "I'm supposed to be sleepin'". She has her days and nights turned around right now and this picture was taken at two in the morning. I'm thinkin' judging by this picture, baby thinks it's pretty funny. Poor mom!



I love Granny Square afghans. I make them. I buy them at thrift shops and yard sales. I love the classic look of it. It's a very enjoyable pattern to crochet and there are so many ways it can be configured color and pattern-wise. It's my favorite thing to crochet and I chose it for the new baby. I considered other patterns...and doodled around making various blocks and strips. I settled on the granny.


I chose Bernat Sport baby yarns for this. It needed to made of something that's very washable and 'wag-able'. But it's very soft and I love the feminine color combination. It should be good to drag around for a few years.

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckety Monday

Yes, as parents and even as grandparents we have to sacrifice some things so the children can benefit. Some sacrifice more than others!

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Deceptive Practices

Looks can be deceiving sometimes. I saw this picture on the internets the other day and did a double take once I read the description. All this lovely crafting stuff is not real. It's a cake. Yes, you read it right...a cake.

If you're like me, you watch a lot of WE TV and Food Network. For a while now the more popular programming has to do with weddings (Oh David Tutera, please come design my dream wedding...mmmmmm). I love 'Amazing Wedding Cakes' on WE. 'Cake Boss' is good too. I'm always blown away by what can be done with cake, frosting and sugar. Some of the ideas the clients come up with for their cakes is mind blowing at times...whether beautifully embellished classic...or totally off the wall designs that no one would ever dream of ~ usually.

The work is always detailed, stressful and incredibly satisfying when it's complete.

The only thing I have a hard time with is knowing these cakes are out in the open for days at a time while being designed and decorated. Loads of fondant is rolled and handled for hours and days...with bare hands. You NEVER see the cake artists washing their hands before handling food. It makes me wonder just how sanitary it really is by the time it's finished and served to a multitude of wedding and various party guests. And...is the cake FRESH when served? After days of being handled at room temperature and being refrigerated repeatedly, it makes me wonder. It makes me somewhat squeamish thinking about it and I lose my appetite for cake. It also makes me VERY aware of what I'm doing in my own kitchen while baking or doing cooking of any kind. Erring on the side of caution isn't such a bad thing.

But I'm always impressed with the finished product on these shows. The cake artists are truly artists indeed. Bravo!

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll!

Pinky and The Brain Brain Brain Brain....

I woke up with this ditty in my head the other day. I don't know why because I haven't heard it since my youngest child was in Jr. High...and that was some years ago.

From the time she was in the third grade until she was nearly grown, her favorite cartoon on TV was 'Animaniacs'. We watched it together...a lot. My faves of all the different characters and their shorts were 'Pinky and The Brain', 'Mindy and Buttons' and 'Good Idea. Bad Idea'. Pinky and The Brain were mutated lab mice who lived together in a lab somewhere...I'm assuming here in the U.S. The Brain was always scheming dastardly ways to conquer the world. Pinky was his not so bright goofy little side kick with a british accent who said "narf!" a lot. The introduction to the cartoon was a song that if you heard it only a couple of times, stayed with you forever. It was always fun to watch.



'Good Idea. Bad Idea.' was just down right funny. Just a few seconds long, it consisted of a strange looking skull head/skeleton/stick figure of sorts doing things that were good ideas and bad ideas. The narration of each one was voiced by Tom Bodett...the infamous Alaskan DJ who found world wide fame narrating Motel 6 commercials and saying "We'll leave the light on for ya". These silly little good/bad ideas were the best. Nuff said.



Mindy and Buttons - a toddler named Mindy and her dog named Buttons. The mother of Mindy was always leaving her in the care of Buttons, usually in the backyard, to be watched over by him while mom was busy doing something else, being the speaker at meetings about better parenting or being honored as mother of the year. Ha! Needless to say, all kinds of chaos ensued involving Mindy getting into trouble of some sort...without her realizing she was in trouble...and Buttons was the one who took the brunt of physical pain and mental anguish trying to keep her out of trouble. "Silly Puppy". When Mindy's mother would speak to her on her way out, Mindy would always say "OK lady". Mom would try to get her to say 'Mom'. The effort was fruitless. When mom left the room, Mindy would say "OK lady. I Love you. Buh-bye".



My child picked up on that and to this day when we end a phone call, she says in a squeaky little Mindy voice "OK lady. I Love you. Buh-bye." She signs all her emails to me that way too. I wouldn't trade that...or the years we spent watching those silly cartoons together for anything in the world. THAT'S priceless.

Enjoy!

Have a knit pickin' good weekend ya'll...and "OK ladies. Love you. Buh-bye!"

Music To My Ears

I ran across this video on AOL the other day. This relatively unknown talent unveiled her latest album a couple of weeks ago. Since I'm a lover of all things music, I'm always interested in giving unfamiliar artists a listen.

If you can get past the goofy stuff in the very beginning that makes absolutely no sense, the song she wrote and performs is very good. She manages to make a ukelele sound more like a mandolin...which is a good thing. Her self inflicted harmonies are quite good too. There's a couple of little misses and off key notes. But over all the song is great.



Just wanted to post something a little different, off the knitted path as it were. My first love is music. I've been singing all my life. I still do. In a band and stay busy. Music of all kinds is never far away from my ears. I've worn out a couple of Ipods and before that countless CD's. And before that cassettes, and before that records. I've sung 'em all and heard 'em all. I'm singin' 'em all and more importantly, listening to 'em all. I'm always open to the new...and the old.

Music is meant to be shared. Share this with the music lover in your life.

Enjoy!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckety Monday

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Sometimes fences are needed to protect our privacy. Seemingly that becomes more and more true with every day. Everybody and everything is in your business and we scramble to find a little peace, quiet and private moments wherever we can, whenever we can.

But wouldn't it be nice if all we needed was soft, knitted fencing that cushioned both sides. No harshness from either side. The ability to fold it up and put it away for awhile and let both sides of the fence stand together on property lines of life to speak gently to preserve the right to privacy...for ourselves...and each other.

I would knit fencing until the cows came home if that's all it took to make a peaceful and private world again.

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll.

Major Announcement

Federal Government Bans Knitting in Public Buildings

WASHINGTON, DC (AP) -- Citing the rapid rise in the number of new knitters over the past 12 months, the United States Congress and Senate have both taken unprecedented measures in passing a bill banning knitting inside any public building, according to documents released Thursday.

Under the terms of the new law, knitters are required to take their knitting at least 10 yards from any public building. Although they are allowed to carry knitting inside, anybody caught engaging in the act of knitting may be subject to a $10,000 fine or 10 years imprisonment.

According to recent studies, the mere sight of a knitter actively knitting increases a person's odds of becoming a knitter by 200 percent. The dangers of second-hand knitting have long been a concern for Federal worker Irene Schlamp, who is happy to see the bill pass. "It's been a big problem in my department, where people often take four, five, or even six knitting breaks a day. Those of us who want to do our work can't because we're so distracted by the clacking of those damned needles."

But not everybody is happy about the news. "This is so unfair!" says Betty Schnoodle, a worker at a U.S. Postal Service processing plant in Louisiana. "Why should we be forced to huddle outside in the cold when we want to take a knitting break? We're not hurting anybody."

Human rights group AmKnitty International has already filed a suit claiming the new law is unconstitutional and violates the civil rights of knitters everywhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, OK, OK....so it's not exactly major news, or even factual for that matter. But it's 'slightly' possible knitters are discriminated against: Maybe in a bar~not the best place in the world to knit. Or maybe the 'Man Cave' where the wife/girlfriend isn't even allowed to enter in the first place...but why not; he invades your space every chance he gets with "Hey babe! Bring me a beer!" when you're right in the middle of counting stitches at a critical part of your knitting. You throw your hands up, say "yes dear", mumble something snotty under your breath and imagine him being impaled with knitting needles...through the lips! Well, not really - the impaled part. But it's fun to think about it!

So the next time I decide to knit in public, I'll post a sign on my forehead that says "Down with knit discrimination" and then watch the strange looks and the dumb questions fly! A girl's gotta have fun sometimes!

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll!

P.S. My baby...the youngest of six is 23 today. Where does the time go? Happy Birthday Alexandra!!!!

After The Sunday Funnies....

(click on picture to enlarge)

I just thought this was cute.

I watched the whole HBO series 'John Adams' Saturday night...all seven parts. I couldn't stop watching. It was fabulous. The fact that I love history doesn't hurt either. I recorded it to DVR so I can watch it again at some point...which I will. It would be a great learning tool for kids in school just starting to learn about American History and the Revolutionary War.

If only our Founding Fathers could have seen what their work was going to lead to 234 years later. I think maybe they would have worked longer on the Declaration of Independence to try to avert so much of what we deal with today as a result of our National Government. There's a lot of good in our country, but it seems like the bad is starting to out weigh it.

But I am proud to be a citizen of this country and will do what it takes to protect our freedoms. My youngest son has rejoined the Marines and will be doing that very thing...again. Thank you Scott. Thank you God.

God Bless America.

Sparklers, Hot Dogs and Thou...

It's hard to believe it's Independence Day already. It only seems like yesterday I was sitting here wishing you all a Happy 4th a year ago. Time flies when you're busy.

I hope all of you here in the U.S. have a happy and safe Independence Day. For those of you over seas readers: have a wonderful weekend. Come here one day and enjoy all that goes along with our Independence Day traditions and celebrations. It's the best!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckety Monday

(Click on picture to enlarge)

One hundred percent true. About ninety percent of the time, I don't know what I'm knitting until it's finished. It's only on a few occasions throughout the year that I set out to knit something in particular...with a pattern in hand and a purpose for the completed project. I think I've already met my 'occasional' particulars for the year with the baby stuff I've knitted.

Most of the time I just want to feel the needles in my hands clacking away playing with some sort of yummy yarn just to be doing it. Knitting is an addictive behavior. I cave in quite frequently to the urge. Better than food, tobacco, and alcohol I'm thinking. Knitting and frogging. Knitting and frogging. Knitting and frogging for heck of it.

It's very satifying.

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll !

After The Sunday Funnies...

(Click on Picture To Enlarge)

This past week was 'Knit In Public Week'. I was a participant. But I'm ALWAYS a participant. My knitting goes with me wherever I go and I don't hesitate to whip it out in front of everyone if I have time to kill.

In my daily travels out and about in the usual places, I did see a few people doing the knitting in public thing: at work, the mall, doc's offices, Dunkin Donuts, sitting in the drive thru at McDonalds (yes, McDonalds is true) and even the airport. I guess the memo got out! If there were Sonic Drive In's around here, I probably would have seen it there too. When I was living down south, going to Sonic to get my daily diet coke and knitting while sitting there in the car was the norm for me. No place is off limits when it comes to me and my knitting. And strangely enough I don't get odd looks and stupid questions from people about what or why I'm knitting in public.

It's so nice to see at least SOME people doing something in public besides yakking away on their phones, texting a mile a minute and not involving themselves in what's really important in life: KNITTING!

I say every week should be knit in public week!

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll.

After The Sunday Funnies

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

A day late here. But working on catching up.

Have a knit pickin' good day y'all!

Disappearing Act

Howdy ya'll! Yes, I dropped off the planet as far as blogging is concerned. Not by choice mind you, but forced into hiding after my computer took a nose dive never to recover again. Poor old thing. Had to shoot to put it out of it's misery. :0(

By choice I did take my time to figure out what I wanted next when it came to shopping for another one. I spent a lot of time searching...and researching. Finally - three days ago I made a decision. So yesterday I brought the new baby home...and I'm sooooooooo in love!!!!

Being old and nearly blind, I chose one with a VERY large screen and fabulous high resolution. We're a perfect match. But it's very light and easy for me to tote around when I need to do some 'pooter' totin'. (My sister calls a computer 'the pooter'. It stuck. Whatever...)

So now I'm in a situation where I can do the blogger thing again...thank God! And the cherry on top of this deal is I was also able to upgrade my camera! WOOOOOOO-HOOOOOO!!!!! Now when I wanna post pictures, they'll actually be visible and not all grainy and dark and stuff. Imagine that! Who da thunk it????!!!!!

While I was without 'real' computer access (I did use my phone a lot during this time to kinda stay in touch with the nets), I did stay very busy in the creativity department. It's been great. My sister is now a week overdue having her baby and my focus has been getting some things made for her and new baby...a girl. Oh what fun it's been doing the girlie stuff! I have lots of pics of all those things I made. I will post those soon. I've done some other things too, not baby related. But the caveat here has been that I broke my left wrist a couple of months ago and it's been a bear trying to get knitting and crocheting done. But where there's a will, there's a way...and by gosh I worked at making a way!!!!! So I got a few things made and very satisfied with what I turned out.

So, with all the upgrades, improvements and whatever in the high tech department, I should be good to go for awhile. It's good to be back and hope I get to stick around indefinitely. Looking forward to catching up with all your blogs and what you've been up to the past couple of months. Will get back to posting the regular features...and hopefully improve on those and add some new stuff too.

It's good to be back. Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll!

After The Sunday Funnies

So here I am late with the Monday Funny...again. I've been busy. Working. Working. And more working. Right now I have more work than I know what to do with. But I'm not complaining mind you. I'm extremely grateful to have so much, especially in our down trodden economy these days. Work is good. Yes it is.


(Click on picture to enlarge)

Knitting is a disease. Once it's in your blood, there's no cure. It goes with you wherever you go. It doesn't matter where you are; it's gonna rear it's head and make it's presence known.

So what if people stop and stare. Give 'em and wink and a smile. It's surely contagious. This is the kind of disease you WANT to spread to the world.

Let there be a knitting pandemic!

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll :o)

Patriots' Day

Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans' Day are four distinctly American tributes to liberties, freedom and democracy, commemorated by a holiday in the United States.

Then there is Patriots' Day. For New Englanders, Patriots' Day remains the quintessential observance: the anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War with skirmishes between British troops and the Minute Men of Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, and preceded by Paul Revere's famous Midnight Ride. For runners, Patriots' Day has become synonymous with the Boston Marathon or, as locals often refer to the day, Marathon Monday.

The events of more than two centuries ago in April 1775, now commemorated as the Patriots' Day holiday in Massachusetts and Maine, marked a turning point in the long struggle between England and her American colonies. In a march of protest and petition, which turned into revolution and independence, the fighting on April 19, 1775 foreshadowed the rebellious action of the American colonies in ultimately creating a new nation, the United States of America. Originally celebrated on April 19, Patriots' Day was moved to the third Monday of April in 1969.

(Patriots Grave, Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Massachusetts)

While "the shot heard 'round the world" continues to reverberate in re-enactments of the historic events, the sound of gunfire also will ring clearly in Hopkinton this Patriots' Day to signal the start of the 114th Boston Marathon and to recall the ideals of the American Revolution.

Patriot[s'] Day is not to be confused with Patrio[t] Day; Patriot Day is observed on September 11th.

Patriot Day was signed into law on December 18, 2001 as a day to remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on our country.

On Patriot Day, Americans should fly their flags at half-staff and observe a moment of silence to honor those individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks.

On September 11, 2001, two hijacked civilian aircraft crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third hijacked aircraft crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. And a forth hijacked aircraft crashed in southwestern Pennsylvania after passengers tried to take control of the aircraft in order to prevent the hijackers from crashing the aircraft into an important symbol of democracy and freedom. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives in this tragedy.

The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation calling on:

1. State and local governments and the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate programs and activities;

2. All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States and interested organizations and individuals to display the flag of the United States at half-staff on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001;

3. The people of the United States to observe a moment of silence on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001.

The President and First Lady ask Americans to volunteer in their communities as a way of honoring the heroes of September 11 and those who continue to serve in uniform.

I came to New England a year and a half ago. I am still learning about all the things that make this region of the U.S. special and unique. Patriots' Day is one of the more interesting and touching traditions. It's beautiful to see the dispalys of heartfelt patriotism where I live. All U.S. citizens should be so thankful and observant every day of the year.

Happy Patriots' Day to one and all...no matter where you live.

After The Sunday Funnies

Ok...so it's not Monday. I'm runnin' behind. Way behind...in pretty much everything this past week. It's just been plain busy and I ain't had time to sit here to do the blog thing. But it doesn't mean there hasn't been truck loads of stuff to blog about, because there certainly has. So today I squeeze in the Monday funny which happens to be a day late, i.e. sans the Muckity Monday in the post title.


This is how I spend some of my time knitting. There just seems to be no other place that's more comfortable and serene as my bed. I turn out some pretty good projects here - kntting-wise that is......

Happy day after Monday ya'll!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckity Monday

Today's funny pretty much speaks for itself. It can't get any more Monday than this!

Click on picture for better view.

Happy Monday ya'll :0)

Easter Greetings

I hope you all have a blessed and happy Easter. I'm waitin for the Easter candy!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckity Monday

Easter is only a few days away. So I thought I'd post this little cartoon. It just screams Monday. I kinda like the Easter egg shell paint job he's doing here. I might would want it in my music studio. After a few glasses of some really good wine, singing in a room with the 'psychedelic' walls could be quite the far-out experience!

I think I would pass on yelling at my Mr. Peter Cotton Tail and just accept that Monday and all it's screwed up glory is OK once in awhile.

Happy Monday ya'll.

Ain't Got No Mo Rocca

The Ravelry community chose to beat up on Mo Rocca because of an arbitrary comment he made about hand knit sweaters: "Home made sweaters are always itchy". Uh oh. It's time to duck and cover. In coming!!! Mo had better cover his itchy ass! And beat up on him the knitting community did - in the form of harsh comments on Ravelry...which made their way to Mo's eyes. Rebuttal was in order. The result was this story on CBS Sunday Morning.

I wish to post a disclaimer here: Mo says at one point during the story that a person should not "drink and knit". Drinking and knitting CAN and DO go together. Just ask Crazy Aunt Purl http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/ . I did a lot of drinking and knitting while going through my last divorce. It's not to say that the next day you won't discover grave mistakes in your knitting and subsequently have to frog the project because you have NO recollection of knitting any stitches at all the night/day before! But yes, they can co-exist.



So, I like Mo. I even liked him when he was doing the crazy comments on 'This is The 80's' etc...on VH1 years back, stupid as a lot of those comments were. But he was kinda cute in a raggedy old teddy bear that needs a little repair kinda way- even with the little hint of lisp he has; and I hate listening to people with a lisp. But that's another post for another time. I'm proud of him for "movin' on up" to CBS news. Can we look forward to Mo taking Katie's place on the CBS Evening News? Probably not. But one can dream......

Warm Me Softly

I found this video on You Tube and thought it was just the coolest thing. It's an ad for Natural Gas. But it's concept is sheer genius. Watch for yourself and feel the warmth!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckity Monday

This would be me if there were such a thing as 'The All Knitting Channel'. Aaahhh Monday....

I love spring. I'm so happy it's here....finally. I'm a spring baby. I was born on the first full day of spring, so tomorrow is my birthday. Yay spring! Yay birthday! Yay new beginnings. Yay new hope!

Hope springs eternal...thank God :0)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Here's to the "wearin' o the green", "may the luck o the Irish be with ye", "findin' yer pot o gold at the end o the rainbow", "carry ye four leaf clover fer luck", and "carryin' the spirit o the Irish with ye all the rest o ye days".


A hearty toast to St. Patty's Day!

After The Sunday Funnies...Muckity Monday

For most of us, Monday is a dreaded day. I don't know who made up the rule that Mondays are foul. I think we should hunt this person down and make him/her experience every 'Monday thing' there is. Then maybe Mondays would be given a slightly better reputation as ' just another day' so as to avoid all the yucky 'Monday-ness' we so whole heartedly swallow each and every week.

In any case seeing as how this is not likely to happen, I will do my tiny little part to make Mondays seem more tolerable. So here on my little blog, Mondays are here after known as "After The Sunday Funnies...Muckity Monday". Why did I name it this you ask? Mainly just because. I could leave it at 'after the sunday funnies' or 'muckity monday'. Or 'funny muckities' or 'sunday mondays'. Or 'sunny funday' or 'funny mucks'. Or 'f****ity muckities'....well, you get the picture. Mondays are usually all discombobulated and messed up like that. So it seems fitting that the post title on this day should be too. I mean, I can't totally clean up Mondays and not leave something in it messed up. So the post title it is!

I will insert some little one liner funny...usually pertaining to knitting...in an effort to lift the spirits of those readers who are mired in Monday hell, i.e. - me. But I'm not ruling out taking jabs at other Monday things too. Knitting is on the menu for today. Ziggy. Just can't go wrong with Ziggy.

Have a " sunny muckity funny Monday" ya'll!

Just Over The Horizon

Spring is almost here. Got a big taste of it the last couple of days. It's been gorgeous here in SE Mass for two days - sunny and 62 degrees. HooooooooooWeeeeeeee has it given me a baaaaaad case of spring fever!

This has been the longest, coldest, snowiest, dreariest winter...and we're all sick of it. The Robins are making their presence known. The Chipmunks are coming out of hiding. Crocuses are trying to make a showing despite the snow and ice. Little tufts of green grass are popping up here and there; all signs of change and new beginnings.

Thank God!!!!!

Froggy Went A Courtin'

I said something in my most recent post about frogging some knitting I've been doing. 'Frogging' in knitting terms refers to the unraveling...or as I more aptly refer to it as "ripping the damn thing back to the beginning"...of a current OTN project when a mistake(s) in the knitting has been discovered somewhere along the way. Usually the only way to correct it is to unravel it to the point of the mistake and redo it. The term frogging came to be because when unraveling knitting, it makes a 'ribbit ribbit' sound. Sort of.

Anyway.

I do on occasion rip back something I'm knitting. Believe it or not, it typically doesn't frustrate me when I have to do this. I just kinda take it with a grain of salt, do what I gotta do and move on. I LOVE to knit and would rather be doing that than most any other thing I can think of, except maybe sing and get lost in my music - it's a very close race there. Most knitters find frogging a rather offensive action to take, especially if one has invested countless hours and miles of yarn in current said project. But this doesn't mean that I NEVER get flustered about having to frog something. I've had my moments. A few of my frogged projects have found their way to being balls of crinkled yarn filled with catnip for the cat. He gets the better end of the deal in this thing.

OK. So after rambling on about frogging here, I'm getting to the real point of this post: When I find the need to frog some knitting I have in hand, my brain ALWAYS finds it's way to a Tom and Jerry cartoon from my childhood. Don't ask me why this happens. It's just the way my brain seems to work.

The cartoon is called "Pecos Pest". Jerry's Uncle Pecos comes from Texas to visit his nephew and is preparing to be on a TV show. Uncle Pecos carries around his guitar and sings pretty much all the time. He also breaks guitar strings like they grow on trees...or in this case, on Tom's face. [Insert a fearless Uncle Pecos and the plucking of long whiskers here].

The song Uncle Pecos is constantly gracing us with is "Froggy Went A Courtin' Crambone". His version of it is WAY better than the version I learned in first grade. Especially with the stuttering and the substitution of other words because the stutter prevents him from singing the correct words here and there.

The very talented Shug Fisher (aka Shorty Kellum in The Beverly Hillbillies) voices Uncle Pecos in an otherwise wordless feature. It's mind boggling how well he voices this part. Throughout the years of their existense and popularity Tom and Jerry were never given speaking roles except in very early shorts where out of the blue Tom or Jerry may say one word...but very rarely. The animated shorts relied entirely on sight gags and silent voice slapstick, a method that worked very well for Hanna-Barbera.

It's a a full six and a half minutes of hilarity. I'm sure I've seen this cartoon short a thousand times in my life time and it NEVER fails to make me guffaw like the very first time I saw it. It's a kind of humor I grew up with and relate to. Again, don't ask me why. It just is. The creators of Tom and Jerry, Hanna-Barbera, were sheer genius in their day.



Last night I was knitting along and even without having to frog what I'm working on, Uncle Pecos and his Froggy Went A Courtin' came to mind. I've been humming it ever since. I woke up this morning with the tune in my head, complete with all the cartoonish sound effects that make it so great.

I've included the animated short here for your enjoyment. I hope the next time you must resort to frogging some knitting, Uncle Pecos and his little ditty will pop into your head. It really does keep the production of cat toys to a minimum.

Dig them c-c-c-c-c-c-c-razy boots man!

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll.......Ohhhhhhhh doodle bop nop bop Crambone!

A Purl Of Wisdom: Swatch What You Say

I should know better than to open my big bazoo about certain things I think or feel. I'm a believer in "watch what you say or it might come back to bite you in the butt". Such is true in the world of knitting...at least it is for me.

I've been known to spout off on more than an occasion or two about how much I dislike knitting gauge swatches. I think it just wastes valuable fun time knitting the actual project at hand. But I will knit a swatch if somewhere in my head there's doubt. I didn't have doubt this time.

Anyway.

This past week I started knitting stuff for a small layette for my sister's baby. She's due in June. I figure this will give me enough time to knit up some cute little things and get them sent off to her in Texas. (I have to keep reminding myself that where she lives is a sauna in sweltering heat come bout April...and I'm sitting here in Massachusetts up to my neck in snow and sub freezing temperatures...so she really has no need for to head to toe merino wool).

Again - anyway.

I'm ticking right along on a little sweater and some knitted Mary Jane's for her to be able to use come the fall. The projects are simple in the knitting and fun to do. About half way through the sweater I decided to measure and see where it sits gauge-wise. Big. Way, WAY BIG. And of course I didn't knit a swatch prior to starting the sweater. So "a frogging I will go". Dang it all.

Me and my big mouth.

Have a knit pickin' good day ya'll.

A Valentine Wish For You

~Happy Valentines Day~

In The Blink Of An Eye...And We Ask God 'Why?'

This past week has been an intense one. It's been a roller coaster of activity and emotion. It's been a week of immense sadness and heart break. It's been a week filled with trying to come to terms with tragic loss. It's been a week of utter shock and disbelief. It's been a week of trying to reach out to help in any way possible and then not being able to reach far enough. It's been a week of asking why and not getting any answers.

On February 4, 2010 my youngest daughter in Tennessee and her husband lost his brother in a tragic car accident. It was sudden. It was unexpected. It was utterly devastating.

As I spoke with my daughter on the phone in the days that followed, all I could feel was helplessness, frustration and my heart completely breaking for their heart break, sadness and devastation. It just absolutely kills me when my kids are hurting. It's a hurt like no other and it completely consumes me. It sends me straight into the arms of Jesus begging him to please take away their pain and suffering. It reduces me to a pile of rubble at the foot of The Cross asking why them.

My son in law was intensely close with his brother. My daughter was intensely close with her brother in law and his wife. They are next door neighbors. They are the partners they worked closely with in their Duct Tape business. They are the very best of friends. My son in law's family has been part of our family since he and my daughter were in Junior High school in Tennessee. They have been together for what seems like a life time.

We take our lives for granted. We take the most important people in our lives for granted. We take the time we have here on earth for granted. We take love for granted. We fail to see how fragile and fleeting life really is and when it's suddenly gone from us, it leaves us scratching our heads in befuddlement. We feel betrayed. We feel mortally wounded in our souls. It ALWAYS leaves us asking God "why?"

It leaves us with no clear answers for the rest of our days. It leaves us with using our coping mechanisms to get by in the days that follow. It leaves us with never truly accepting that death is a part of life but each and every one of us WILL experience it in one way or another at some point(s) in our lives. It leaves us contemplating our own mortality and ultimately knowing that we will expire ourselves some day. It leaves us trying to picture what the transition from life to death will be like. It leaves us hoping that there really is a God and a Heaven and the after life is the home where we really belong. It leaves some of us hoping that there is no after life and we simply go to sleep for eternity. It leaves some of us wondering what we will be in our next life here on earth. It leaves us with immense questions and pain and confusion and anger...and worst of all, regret. It leaves us in shambles and wondering how we will ever be able to put the pieces back together again and resume life as usual.

As my kids work on accepting what has happened and getting on with life, I think of the young wife left behind and very grateful her injuries were not life threatening. I think of her contemplating what her next steps in this life will be. I think of her dealing with her grief and loneliness and feeling betrayed. I pray that God will keep her close in the next few months and comfort her in her deepest, darkest hours.

I pray for the parents and the other siblings dealing with such immense loss. All I can feel for them is that no parent should ever have to bury a child. I pray that God holds them closer than ever. I pray that their faith is not shaken and they will cling to Jesus and The Cross.

Life doesn't seem very fair sometimes. We try hard to make sense of all that takes place in our every day lives. But we're always left asking questions about why life is the way it is and never really getting clear answers. My experiences have left me taking one step at a time, one day at a time. I quit asking so many questions long ago. All it did was leave me confused and frustrated. Life is too short to spend it in a muddle.

To my dear children, I pray intensely every day for the healing of your hearts and the void you feel right now lessening as each day passes. To dear sweet Danielle, I pray for the healing of your body, mind, heart and spririt. Just know that God is never far from you. Please know that James is not gone from you. He simply has gone home to Jesus, and Jesus is keeping you wrapped in his arms.


Rest In Peace James Fitzgerald Walworth. 1982 - 2010

Duct Work

Today’s post is not about what I’m up to at the moment. I’m not gonna drone on about the numerous crafty type projects I have under way or rattle on about recipes or opinions I may have about the world at hand. I’m not going to give you an ear full of my daily activities or what the household critters are up to or anything like that. I’m not going to talk about me – lets’ just put it that way. Today I’m here to talk about this far out, fun and fabulous new thing I discovered not so long ago.

I discovered this new thing on Etsy, quite on purpose of course because it happens to be my youngest daughter and her husbands business called ‘Ductile Designs’. They make all kinds of stuff from duct tape and sell it. It all sounds quite crazy I know but it really is a cool and very real business. And the items they make and sell are fabulous.



They started out making billfolds, wallets and neck ties. They’ve since expanded to making purses, book bags, head bands, and roses. Apparently there’s a slew of different colored duct tapes available and they cooked up all these cool things to make from it all.

They’ve been doing this for about a year now. Persistence and perseverance is starting to pay off for them. They do pretty good business and have even been able to employ extra help. They are doing their part to stimulate the economy!



They sent me some of these items for Christmas and I was blown away by what they can do with duct tape. The roses are my favorite. But I love the ties and wallets too. I’m secretly hoping for a knitting bag at some point ~ small hint ;0) I’m using the wallet they made me and I love it. It’s very practical. Very durable. And VERY pretty. The ties are very wearable. Even when my son in law was still waiting tables in the early months of their new business, his boss was so impressed with the ties, he ordered enough for the whole wait staff to wear during working hours. It was a hit with the staff and the restraunt customers.



Their latest creation is a baseball cap. I haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it's fabulous. They do custom work. They will make pretty much anything you want in the way of color and design. They're very good at doing your fave sport logo. Whatever you want, they try their best to meet your needs. Just ask and they will work with you.

These photos are just a small example of what they make and sell. To check out more go to www.myspace.com/DuctileDesigns or Etsy/DuctileDesigns. It’s all just ducky!

I couldn't resist the doing the shameless plug here. I'm pretty proud of my kids :0)

Have a knit pickin’ good day y’all!

Hello Again

Hi there people! It's been a long time. The time for me to post is LOOOOOOOOOONG overdue. So I'm here today ready to jump in with both feet and get this blog train rolling again!

The last time I posted was Thanksgiving. Even that was short and sweet. The holiday season was busy on this end and it left little time for blogging and certain other things of that nature. But the holidays were good here and it's nice that things have finally slowed down to the point that I can actually think about other things besides the daily grind.


I stayed busy with crafting. The week before Thanksgiving I started making Christmas Tree decorations for our tree as we had to start from scratch in the Christmas decoration department. That was great fun. It has long been a tradition in my family to make tree decor and that's something I've carried on with proudly through the years. It mainly has to do with LOTS of poster board, glitter and glue - and lots of patience. I managed to get a tree full of stuff made and then some: the 'then some' was extra stuff I made to send to my daughters in Tennessee and Florida. I'm still working on glitter creations as I've vowed never again to wait until Christmas time to start playing in the glitter. It will forever (or for as long as I'm able) be an ongoing process year round. It was just too much fun to box up and put away for another year.

I have several glitter things in the works to ship off to family in Texas and Arizona. These things will probably be a 'Christmas in July' completion and the recipients hopefully will be happy to have a little taste of the Christmas spirit in the middle of the summer heat. I was very pleased with what I completed and everyone else seemed to be also.


I also made Raggedy Ann's and Andy's out the wazzoo! I love making the Raggedies. Have been doing it for going on 30 years now. It never gets old or wears itself out. I love the timelessness of the classic Raggedy Dolls. The patterns for them have changed some through the years. But no matter the changes, I keep the clothes and faces as close to the original as possible. The only pattern company that produces the Raggedy pattern now is Simplicity. And I ran the gamut of pattern companies searching in the fabric stores and online. I had to purchase a new one and was somewhat disappointed with what I found. I used to use a McCalls pattern that I loved and bought repeatedly through the years as I would wear them out. But McCalls doesn't make it any longer.

What I found in the new pattern was the lack of iron on transfers for the embroidery of the facial features and the little heart on the chest. McCalls always included yellow iron on transfers for the embroidery. I used tracing paper under a self modified facial pattern instead. Also, the eyes have changed for fabric painting purposes. It also came with instructions to make a 'wig' to be sewn on for the hair instead of the classic sewing in of the yarn along predetermined lines marked throughout the scalp directly on the doll head. The pinafore has changed from a classic sash being sewn across the width creating the ties in the back to elastic being run through a casing. I tried these new pattern changes with the first doll I made and didn't like most of the results. So I revised the pattern enough to reflect the classic elements: an embroidered face instead of painted: the classic zigzag under-eyelash instead of the star burst type eyelashes surrounding the eyes. I did keep the elastic in the pinafore as this is a time saving effort and I do like the look of it. I also drew the lines on the scalp to sew in the hair. I made a wig with the first one and DID NOT like the look...and what a pain to make!

The ~best~ change to the new pattern was Andy's hat. The old pattern had me setting a top into the brim and the new pattern has me adding the brim to the top. Doesn't sound like much as I'm explaining it here but it is quite the difference when working with the pattern. Also the new hat is a little taller so it can actually be seen when looking at a front view of the doll. The old hat was rather short and couldn't really be seen from the front because of all the fluffy hair. You had to turn the doll to the backside to see it.

I completed several dolls the way I wanted them and they were a big hit for little ones at Christmas and recent birthdays. The Raggedies will be another year round project. I have lots of family with lots of little ones...and the birth of more in the summer. So the Raggedies will be a staple of this old gals perpetual repertoire.

I haven't done any knitting since the first part of October. I had some health issues to deal with and it kind of threw a wrench in the works where the knitting was concerned. For a while I was too sick to mess with it. By the time I felt well enough to do it again, I lost interest and haven't picked it up since. I picked up the sewing and the quilting again instead.

I have lots of knitting UFO's and am getting the itch to pick up the needles again. I need to finish all the stuff I've started before I take on new projects. But spring yarn catalogs are arriving and it makes me nuts wanting to dabble in new(er) knitted projects. I swear knitting is a disease. It's a lot like Alcoholism: It's easy to say I can put it down any time I want, but the need to do new and exciting things almost always takes over and I'm addicted again. Is there a twelve step program out there for knit-a-holics? Or quilt-a-holics for that matter? Or glitter ornament-a-holics? Or crochet-a-holics? Or Raggedy-a-holics? And numerous other craft-a-holic type stuff? Cuz if there is, I need a sponsor(s)!!!!!

On to other things~ A couple of weeks ago we made a whirl wind trip to the heart of the Pocono's in PA to visit my daughter and her family from Florida. Her husband had a job interview there and we jumped at the chance to make the six hour drive to see them. I saw my grand babies. It was soooooooo great. They're growing so fast and am keeping my fingers crossed (and everything else I can cross) that the son-in-law gets an offer and they move closer. Tampa Florida is a twenty two hour ride and something I can't do. So having them so much closer would be fabulous.

My Grandson Ayden, My Daughter Anna, and My Grandaughter Chloe Amidst Chloe Birthday mess!

In other news, my sister in Texas found out a few weeks ago that she's expecting again. Normally this would have been kind of run of the mill news in our family as the vast majority of the family females are Fertile Myrtles and seem to pop out babies like Pez dispensers. But my sisters' case is a little different.

First of all, this was completely unexpected and totally took her and her hubby by surprise. She thought she was DONE eight years ago. Secondly, she turned 45 this past December. She thinks she's too old for such a thing again...and her doc told her point blank that her eggs are old and that makes her high risk (doctors really have a way of making you feel good about yourself, don't they?). And thirdly, for her, getting pregnant was always a huge effort and never came easily. She has a daughter who's 22 and another who just turned 8. The 14 year gap between the first two was a big deal back then. The 8 year gap between the second two isn't as big, but big enough to keep my sister raising kids until well into her 60's. So by the time it's all said and done she will have spent 40+ years raising kids. Not that that's a bad thing mind you, but she was kinda looking forward to getting the eight year old raised and off on her own so that dear Sis could spend her golden years in some peace and quiet!

The best news is that Sis is healthy and the baby is too. Last week she had another intensive Ultra Sound and an amnio to look for Downs Syndrome and a couple of other things. All her tests came back with good results. She's now comfortable with and accepting of the idea and is looking forward to it. She's not so frightened any longer. She also found out it's another girl. She's thrilled. She loves the girlie stuff. Me too. Gets my brain to churning bout quilts and stuff! But I'm partial to little boys too...as I have three of each. She's due in June...just when the Texas heat has pretty much set in. But Central Texas heat starts to rear it's ugly head in March. Add storm season to that March through June and it makes for a rockin' good time y'all! :\ It can make for a pretty miserable pregnancy. Sitting under the the A.C. is bout all anyone in that condition can do.

But we're all happy everyone is OK and are looking forward to the new addition late spring.

In my absence from Blogger in the form of an author, I did keep up with what everybody else in blogland has been up to these last couple of months. It was so much fun to see your creations and families and fun. There were even a few sad moments out there. But I did read you all every time you posted and have been kept apprised of whats going on outside my four walls. It's always inspiring to me to see what you do in your daily lives on the home front and the creative front. Blogger is such a great thing.

In the near future, I will be setting up an Etsy shop as I have lots of things I want to put out there. My daughter and her husband in Tennessee use Etsy for their duct tape creations (Ductile Designs) and have great success with it. It has inspired me to expand my own creative efforts and show the world what I have going on. I will post here at some point the date of the opening of my Etsy. I'm so excited!

It's soooooooo good to be back here and have the creative juices flowing again, both figuratively and for real. I feel human again.

Valentines Day is sneaking up on us fast...and Easter is too. And then Summer. Oh where do I find eight arms and hands and 47 hours in a day to get it all done? I can hardly wait to figure it all out!

Have a knit pickin' good day y'all!