I am a miserable blogger

and I don't mean to be. I think about posting every day, and yet another day will pass and I don't get here unless I have a reason.

Today I have a reason. I have a cyber friend, Henya. We met years ago in a coop that I run for yarn sales. She is from Brooklyn (I love people from Brooklyn, don't you...? possibly because it's where I lived for 40 years and have a natural affinity for all things Brooklyn, but Henya has earned a place in my heart.) I digress, as usual.

The reason for this post is that Henya announced that she has posted her 100th post on her blog (which puts me to shame) in the short while that she has had it. She, most generously, posts many of her knitting patterns for free and she is quite talented.

In honor of her reaching (and passing) her 100th post, she is holding a contest on her chicken stitches blog.

If you want to see some pretty creative designs and read about her interesting life, her love of her family and just some pretty good stuff, head on over there. You won't be sorry you did.

She did it... she really did it!

She really dyed her hair purple! My cousin will have purple hair until her red roots start coming in again (that's a scary combo, no?) The things she will do to support her cause for multiple sclerosis are extraordinary. Go Robyn!!!! I'm so proud of you, honey.

Month of May Swap

About Your Yarn Passion

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? When did you first learn? I do both, but I don't really enjoy crocheting (possibly because I could only do granny squares and it got boring after a while. It's also a pain sewing all of those squares together). I really enjoy knitting and do it every day. I love the assortment of yarns available and the fabric that knitting makes. I learned when I was about five or so and did not knit for years, but I have been knitting consistently now for about the past 15 years.


2. Do you like using a particular type of needle or hook? (wood, metal, straight, circular) Is there something you've been wanting to try, or a particular size you always seem to be short on? I love the Knit Picks Harmony needles and have many of them. I'd like to try the longer options needles, but not the interchangeables. I just treated myself to several Addi Lace needles and had them shipped from Germany. They are excellent! I am always short of size 8 needles. I usually have five or six projects going at once and they usually seem to need size 8s.


3. What kind of projects do you enjoy making? Any types you just haven't ever gotten into as much as others? I love making baby clothes. They just seem to go so quickly and it's great getting that instant gratification. I find that I knit in cycles... right now I'm into making lace shawls interspersed with longies and hats.



4. What's on your needles\hook right now? What's your oldest UFO (unfinished object)? On my needles currently are a shawl for my daughter's teacher, a pair of longies, the start of a blanket and I'm about to start a sweater for my brother-in-law so I can have it in time for his birthday. My oldest unfinished object is a sweater for my daughter that I started when she was 3 and has outgrown years ago (because she's now 12). Obviously, if it ever gets finished, it will be for someone else.


5. What are your favorite types of yarns? Any you're allergic too, or just hate working with? Anything in particular you've been dying to try? My all time favorite yarn is 100 Pure Wool from Uruguay. I am not allergic to anything, but I dislike working with acrylic. I would love to try Socks That Rock. I just have not gotten around to ordering any yet.


6. What sort of colors do you love in yarns? Brights? Pastels? More muted colors? Variegated? Are there any you can't stand? I love variegated colors, jewel tones, earth tones, the brighter, the better. I'm not a fan of pastels or baby colors. I pretty much like most colors, EXCEPT bright orange or yellow. I dye a lot of my own yarns and enjoy that very much.

About coffee and chocolate...

1. Do you prefer caffeinated or not? decaf for me please... can't handle the caffeine.

2. Whole bean or ground? For what type of pot or press? I use single serve packets for my single serve coffee maker.


3. Do you enjoy going out to coffee shops like Starbucks? What are some of your favorites? I don't particularly care of Starbucks. I think their coffee is exceedingly strong or they just burn it. And let's not mention the cost factor. They are so expensive it's ridiculous. I love coffee in diners and Dunkin' Donuts.

4. What kinds of chocolate or candy do you like? Is there anything you won't eat? I love all things chocoloate, vanilla and caramel. I would never eat coconut. My favorite candy (currently, because it changes often) is Twizzlers multicolored package. Yum!

All about YOU!
1. Do you have other hobbies like spinning or scrapbooking? I did scrapbooking religiously when my daughter was born and right through her fifth birthday and then I let it go. I should pick it up again because it seems as if her life stopped when I stopped scrapbooking, hahahahaha. I like to make my own stitch markers. I dye my own yarns and then knit one-of-a-kind garments from that. I read voraciiously and absolutely love www.paperbackswap.com .


2. Do you collect anything? Books. I buy them as my authors write and then I throw them on my "to be read" shelf in my living room. That shelf is 18' long and now is lined double deep with books waiting to be read.


3. What sort of scents do you enjoy? Any difference in what you like for your house versus what you like for your body? I love the smell of vanilla for both my house and my body. I also love citrus smells for both. My favorite perfume scent is Elizabeth Arden's Red Door.

4. Are you allergic to anything? Nope

5. Are you on Ravelry? What's your ID? Yes, it should be dontquityourdyejob but it ran out of space, so it's dontquityourdyej.

100 Things About Me

I've seen this list on several blogs and never thought I'd do it myself because I'm just not that interesting and didn't think I'd have many items on the list to bold, but here goes...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band, well an orchestra anyway
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo i karaoke counts
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (nah, I'd scare too many people, hahahahaha)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I'm assuming Cos Cob counts)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied for a brief, shining moment
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (too many times)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (with dolphins)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (ah, those were the days!)
55. Been in a movie (how about was on TV six times?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (3 of them)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (though I never was a girl scout)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (and Newsweek Magazine)
85. Read the entire Bible (assigned reading in college)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (see >paperbackswap link above!)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else’s blog to your own (only this one)

My cousin Robyn

A wonderful thing happened to me when I was five years old, and I didn't even know it. "What was that wonderful thing?" you may ask. That was when my cousin Robyn was born.

Now many of you know that I just turned 55, so why am I waking up now and talking about this? Because sometimes, in those quiet moments when I'm not really busy with anything, or hounding Zoe about something she should (or shouldn't) be doing, I just sit and think about the things that I'm grateful for, and Robyn is at the top of my list.

We have had our moments throughout our lives where we've been extremely close and then other times where we have been out of touch for a while, but that has never diminished our feelings for each other. We've gone through a tremendous amount together.

Anyway, my cousin is a sweet, funny, caring person who is coming into her own and finding herself and I think it is a miraculous journey. Part of that is her discovery of her desire to contribute to the world. She has found her niche. She rides her bike to raise funds for multiple sclerosis

Now why am I giving you this information? Because my cousin has promised to dye her hair purple (permanent dye) if she reaches her fund raising goal of $250. Her goal is a rather modest one and I'd really like to see her with purple hair, so follow my lead and go contribute to her page. I promise to post a picture here with Robyn and her purple hair so you can see what I'm talking about.

Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Well, I've been thinking for weeks about writing something here and I've had a million reasons not to. First I let my picture trail account go, so I know I've got to coordinate all the missing pictures on my blog and I just haven't felt like doing that. Then, with my health issues (for those of you that don't know, I need a kidney) and I've been slightly overwhelmed going for the seemingly endless medical tests necessary to see if I even qualify for the transplant (I do. Except for my needing a kidney, apparently I am exceedingly healthy). Then I opened a new flcker account to house my photos, but my wonderful kidlet went and "accidentally" broke BOTH of my digital cameras.

Being the type of mom I am, I took all the monetary gifts that she got over the holidays, added a few more bucks of my own, and bought myself a new Olympus that seems very easy to use, but now my Sandisk cards from the old cameras do NOT fit in the new one. Damn, damn, double damn. I have to see if I can upload the photos from the old disks and then I'll be offering the two or three disks I have to the wonderful photographers in my family. For the time being, my blog shall be photoless in the upcoming posts.

So, what have I been doing (other than running back and forth to doctors and dialysis)? C'mon, you have to know... it's my middle name now... yup, yup, knitting up a storm. I've even decided to try my hand at designing arm warmers. I can't wait to get pictures to show you. I love them. Why arm warmers, you may ask...? Well, in New Jersey, we've had, so far, a very cold winter. And since my anemia will not let up, I'm always cold, dreadfully cold, particularly my arms and hands. Arm warmers are important to my mental well being.

Interestingly enough (for those of you that know me, this is a laugh alert), I've even gotten back to cooking. Where we used to eat out four or five nights a week, we have taken to staying home and (shock of shocks) I cook. Now, we're not talking gourmet meals here, but I'm definitely doing foods that my sweet girl loves (think macaroni and cheese, lasagna, baked ziti, tuna & macaroni, steak and potatoes, etc.) I was even considering turkey with fixings after speaking to my sister about her to-die-for specialty, but I beat that idea back into submission... I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.

I have, since the beginning of the year, finished Karen's Central Park Hoodie, knit several hats, am almost finished with my designing of the arm warmers, have finished three pair of longies that carried over from last year, and am going to start a scarf next. I haven't knit a scarf in about 20 years. I want to make myself a hooded scarf so that the back of my neck, where the air gets into the neck of my coat, is protected. Not bad on the number of completed projects already, huh?

Anyway, I thought of making a resolution to write more frequently on the blog, but I did that last year and we all see how well that went, so this year my resolution is no more resolutions.

Hope to catch you again soon.

D.A.N.G.E.R. -- Will Robinson... Heavy picture post ahead

Okay, I finally got to upload off my camera. Don't ask why, I've been doing this for years now, but it always gives me fits, so when I get around to it, I'm usually uploading 200+ pictures at a time and it takes forever.

Thanks to my brother Marc, his deck, his fence, his beautiful yard and a gorgeous day, I think the pictures are "post worthy."

Anyway, here's the pictures of the purses that Gypsy knit from my stash. I'm posting them here and then I'll establish the etsy store so I have somewhere to get them out to the public.

Let me know what you think of them. All comments are most welcome and, please, if you don't like them for some reason, please, please feel free to say so. We're all about honest opinions here.

Thanks in advance!

Music... it's all about the music...

I just spent several hours looking on youtube to find videos of my songs that I adore (at the moment). I've been spending a lot of time in Mamma Mia land and loving every minute of most of the songs, so I decided to put them on the blog.

It's been quite some time since I've written. Two months to be exact. Man, how fast the summer has gone, no? I've been knitting non-stop and my dyeing of my yarns has suffered because of it, but I just got some canning jars to experiment with dip dyeing and I plan to start on that very soon.

I dyed a very long skein (the width of my living room) last week and I was going to post it to show you, but I couldn't resist the call to start knitting with it, so it's already on my needles. I'm making a pair of baby longies (don't know why they're called that, since they are really just a pair of small pants, but okay, I go with the flow.) I'm going to call them my punkin patch pants because the colors scream out fall and pumpkins. They are yellow, a light orangey squash color and a deeper pumpkin color. They were supposed to be reds and pinks with a dash of bright yellow, but sometimes there's no accounting for how things will look when they get rinsed after they dyepot. I love the way the colors came out, though, and am very happy with the way they are working up. I'll get a picture of them up once I'm through knitting them.

On the other side of the knitting front, I'm thinking of opening an Etsy store. My sister has been shopping in my stash for a while and went home with some pretty fabulous yarns. After about six weeks, she returned them to me in the form of nine assorted sized/shaped handbags, and even a bag perfect for a sports bottle. I'm going to make a store to sell her creations. It amazes me constantly what someone can do without patterns, just from having an idea in their head. My sister is one creative chickadee.

As we spent this past weekend at my brother's house (my most adorable twin, that is), I took all of the bags out onto his back deck (that he built himself) and humg them from his wall, using the wall and his rear garden as my backdrop. I'm very pleased with the pictures and will post them shortly (just have to get them off my disk and I have to recharge my camera in order to do that.)

It is always so great spending time with my brother and my family. I come from some great stock and love the way we interact together. My daughter had a great time seeing her older cousins and hanging out with the guys. We love being upstate. It's just so relaxing and the best part is always being with family. I want my daughter to understand and know the importance of how much family means. I'm happy to say she's really getting it.

We love taking road trips too. From the minute we get in the car until we get where we're going, we're singing and talking the whole way. As she's getting older, she's expressing herself so much better and in the most interesting ways. She can certainly be a challenge, but she is rather interesting and funny too. She's great to hang around with. And the bonus is, I get to hear her sing. All the time. In the car, in the house, in the shower, out the window... it doesn't matter. If the tune is in her head, it's out her mouth. There's nothing better than that.

So here I sit, listening to "Slipping Through My Fingers" with tears running down my face and knowing that in a few years from now, as she passes into adulthood and goes out into the world, I will have all of these wonderful memories of this time we have right now. It's all good.