Friday, December 31, 2010

My Thrify Dining Room table


Who needs a new Dining Room table?  Just make yours more awesome like I did.  I bought broken Mexican tiles from a place in New Mexico. I paid as much for shipping as the tiles cost but I saved something from the landfill and have a unique table.  Even if someone else uses my idea, their table could never be exactly the same as mine.  It makes me happy! :)



Monday, November 22, 2010

Green and Orange Socks





I saw these socks on Ravelry and loved them so much I knit them with the same colors.  Green and Orange are my two favorite colors (along with the rest of the 64-pack Crayon Box!!)  The sock pattern is just a basic pattern and the orange stripes are added with crochet after they are finished.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Pusteblume Socks (Dandelion Socks)

I saw a pair of these socks on Ravelry. When I contacted the knitter to find out what pattern it was, she let me know it was her own design and would love to share it, however it was only written in German and she didn't know English well enough to translate it herself.

LIGHT BULB moment

I took German in High School and although I was fluent and didn't learn any knitting terms, I know the language enough to be able to translate it using an online translator.

I rewrote the pattern in my own style as I knit them and returned it to the designer. If you want to knit them, the English version can be found here.


Thursday, October 14, 2010

Exciting News

I have been accepted into Knitpicks Independent Designer Program. The first two patterns they have chosen are Crop Circle socks and my peeps socks which have been renamed as Marshmallow Bunnies. They are ready to go up for sale. I am hoping they will be up there sometime next week and I will post here when it is official.

They are also interested in Boogie Wunderland Socks and Shamrock Shenanigan Socks. I'll be knitting them up in Knitpicks yarns and sending them in for final review as soon as I can get them knit.

Below are the pictures they took for their website and/or the catalog (if they choose to spotlight them) of the first two patterns.


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Marshmallow Peeps Socks aka Peeps Socks


I finally finished the second sock for my Peeps Sock design.  These socks are so kitschy and are my pride and joy out of all of my designs.  It makes me so happy knowing they bring a smile to anyone who sees them.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

My Bucket List - Things I want to do and places I want to go before I die

Things I want to do:
Drink Vodka in Russia
Drive on the Pacific Coast Highway in California (cliffs)
Experience Har ki Pouri in Haridwar (India)
Get an Ayurveda Massage
Go on an African Safari
Go to Carnival in Rio
Ride a Horse 
Ride a cowboy (or least take a picture with the Times Square Naked Cowboy)
Scuba Diving
Visit the Great Pyramids 
See the Hollywood Sign
Visit a Step Well (India)
Visit a Ghost Town and an old Mine in Silverton, Colorado

Places I want to go:
Alaska
Australia
Bali
Block Island
Cape Cod
Colorado
Coney Island
Fiji
Germany
Grand Canyon
Hawaii
Iceland
Italy (especially Rome and Venice)
Japan
Las Vegas
Martha's Vineyard
Montreal
Mount Rushmore and Wall Drug Store/Black Hills South Dakota
Oregon
Paris
Rio de Janiro 
San Antonio (The Alamo)
Miami
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio
San Diego
San Francisco 
Santa Monica Pier
Seattle
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Yellowstone Park /Old Faithful
The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota
Williamsburg, Virginia
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose
Zion National Park, Utah

Foods I want to try:
Breadfruit (Philippines)
Cherymoya (custard apple - South America)
Cocona (South America)
Duku (Asia)
Horned Melon
Jabuticaba (Brazil)
Jicama
Mammee Apple (Mamey Apple or Santo Domingo Apricot - South America)
Mangosteen
Platonia (Brazil)
Rambutan (Chinese sucker - Southeast Asia and Costa Rica)
Rutabaga
Safou (Africa)
Salmonberry
Sugar Apple (India)
Yucca

**************************************************

Things I Have Done :

Caribbean Cruise
Crawled under razor wire with live rounds flying a few inches above me
Driven a Humvee down a severely steep incline and through a lake
Driven my own snowmobile (I want to do this as an adult. Haven't since I was a kid)
Eat Indian Food in India
Fired an M16, M60, LAW, AT-4, Beretta, .38 revolver, Colt 45
Fishing with my Dad and Grandfather
Flown in a helicopter
Ice fishing
Ice Skating
Mud obstacle course (Rugged Maniac) 09/2012
Para-sailing
Rode a wave-runner
Rode a Camel  (India) 
Rode my bicycle from Springfield MA, to Boston
Rode my bicycle across the entire state of CT
Saw the Taj Mahal (India)
Saw the Terracotta Soldiers
Served in the Army
Skydiving
Smelting (tiny fish)
Snorkeling
Snow skiing
Thrown a live grenade
Walked on the Great Wall of China
Watched the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) dance in the nighttime sky
Water skiing
Zip Line 09/2012

Places I Have Been:
Anniston, AL
Atlanta Braves Stadium
Atlanta, GA (1992-1995)
Atlantic City
Bar Harbor, ME
Basketball Hall of Fame
Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai China (April 2011)
Bermuda (Nov 2014)
Cancun Mexico (July 2001)
Chattanooga, TN
Chicago (July 2010)
Dallas, Texas
Disney World
Fenway Park
Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada
IKEA (finally!)
India (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaiselmer, Pushkar) (Nov 2012)
London and Newcastle Upon Tyne, England (@2000)
Mt Katahdin (northern end of Appalachian Trail)
Mystic Seaport
New Orleans
Newport Mansions, RI
Niagara Falls (both sides) (Canada as a child and US 7/2010)
NYC 
Savannah, GA
Scotland (@2000)
Stone Mountain, GA
Washington D.C 

Foods I have eaten:
Asian pear (label also called it a Korean Pear) - (this was very good. Crisp and VERY juicy)
Blood orange (another nice citrus fruit)
Cactus pear (eh....it was ok, watery and bland)
Caviar
Dates
Escargot
Figs
Fried kool-aid
Fried pickles
Fried seaweed
Kulfi (Saffron and Pistachio Indian Ice Cream made with milk)
Kumquats (yummmmm)
Lime Pickles (India)
Lychee
Mango
Mango Pickles (India)
Papaya (bland - not a favorite)
Persimmon (pretty good)
Pitaya (Dragon Fruit)
Pomegranate
Real Chinese food
Rhubarb
Smelts
Sushi
Ugli fruit (nice citrus fruit)

I'll update this often. Please feel free to comment or give your suggestions. If you decide to do this, please link back to me and let me know!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Friends for a reason, friends for a season or friend for life?

An online friend just made me think of this poem so I thought I would share it. If I have ever called you friend, or still do, thank you for what you have given me along the way.

(dedicated to FOUR OF THE BEST FRIENDS I have ever had; Tammy and Mary Alice, because you are crazy enough to drive to Chicago with me with no plan in mind, just because I want to and Jenn and Lexi because you love me, despite my faults!!!!)


People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown


So, there, Jenn you BIG BABY! snort

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Summer Cardigan


When i saw this in a Bergère de France ad in a knitting magazine, I HAD to knit it. It was hard to get the pattern and the yarn as well as very expensive. But I LOVE it.  It's so whimsical and anything that is orange is ok with me!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Beaded Curtains


I finished another design, motivated by the "Socks Revived Design Contest" on Ravelry. I'm calling it Beaded Curtains because it reminds me of the Beaded Curtains that were all the rage back in the 70's.

The yarn used is Wollmeise in colorways Sabrina and Wasabi. This was the first time I have knit with my Wollmeise and I love it! Great base!!

I'd love to receive some feedback.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Twinkle, Twinkle Socks





This pattern was a pain in the butt to knit and they sat unfinished for quite awhile. I love the finished product though.  The name of the color is "Elvis has left the building". LOL

Friday, January 29, 2010

Just finished another sock design

Here is a sneak peek of my new sock pattern. As soon as I can snap pictures for it, I'll be putting it up for sale. what do you think?

Monday, January 11, 2010

Amazing what you can do when you have a lot of time on your hands...


I cast on for this Cardigan on January 2nd and finished knitting it last night. I finished seaming it up this morning and now just have to block it. Now I plan to go and finish up some unfinished projects. My life right now; knitting, bad daytime television and facebook. Ugh! I can't wait to feel better and get back to my life.

Monday, January 04, 2010

Estuary Socks

Here is another design of mine. I've named them Estuary Socks because they have rocky cliffs on one side and wavy plains on the other with waves of water go through the middle out to the sea. (poetic right? LOL)

If you like the pattern, you can find a link to purchase it at the top right hand corner of the page.


Sunday, January 03, 2010

Long time no post!

Wow! I just realized how long it has been since I have posted on my blog. I'll just blame it on Facebook. It is a huge time suck!!

I am off my feet again for a little while with a lot of spare time, so I thought I would take a few minutes to update anyone who might still be following me.

I've been sick off and on over the past year and had no idea why. I just seemed to feel bad after eating quite often and missed quite a few days from work over the year because of it. I always felt like my food was stuck and was not digesting and couldn't pin point it to any one type of food. I didn't feel nauseated or anything but would make myself sick to get the food out since it seemed like it wasn't go to go the other way any time fast. (blech - sorry!). Well, these episodes started too include pain that would last for hours. I had a bad one about 3 weeks ago but the pain went away and I was able to fall asleep finally, so I still didn't tell my Doctor about it. The "episodes" were always spread pretty far apart so when I got another one a week later compiled with the fact that the pain was more intense and had lasted for over 7 hours, I called my Doc at midnight to ask her advice. I got in touch with her associate who told me to get the ER because it sounded like my gall bladder and she was concerned that it might burst. WHO KNEW!!

So, Fred brought me to the ER and they ushered me right in. They did an EKG because I guess sometimes heart attacks mask themselves as abdominal pain in women (another who knew!), they drew blood for tests and they did an ultrasound on my gall bladder. In the ultrasound they found tons of gall stones which I guess most people have without being bothered and my blood work came back showing that my gall bladder was inflamed and infected, so they admitted me.

After about 36 hours of IV antibiotics they sent me home with prescriptions for 2 antibiotics and a low fat diet and told me that we would schedule surgery to take it out in about 4-6 weeks. When I got home we had a nice low fat dinner and I went to bed. The next morning, Christmas Eve, I felt nauseated and had the dry heaves all day. At 3pm we called the surgeon's office to ask them if it was a normal side effect of one of the meds they gave me since the pain had started again, they said to get back to the ER.

At the ER, they did the exact same things they did on Monday; the blood work, the EKG and the ultrasound and once again they admitted me. I was set up on a "nothing by mouth diet". Merry Christmas to me!

Fred was torn. It was Christmas Eve. Our plans for the evening were out of the question but the kids were still home alone. He didn't want to leave me alone on Christmas Eve but we also didn't want the kids to be alone. So, I sent him home with instructions to get the three presents in my bedroom for them marked Christmas Eve and have them open them before they go to bed like they do every year. Despite not having me there, I wanted things to be semi-normal for them and it's tradition that they get Christmas pajamas to wear to bed so that they will look cute in the Christmas morning pictures. I also asked him to bring them in to see me in the morning and to bring a couple presents for each of us and our Christmas stockings, which he had to stuff for me this year.

On Christmas morning they came into my hospital room still dressed in their Christmas pajamas. They told me that when they opened them the night before, they all cried because I still followed tradition even though i couldn't be there. They wanted to make sure I got to see them in their gift. Opening gifts there surely wasn't the same as it would have been at home in front of our Christmas tree with our traditional family Christmas music playing in the background, but we were together and that was what mattered most.

After they left the surgeon came in and said that he had a feeling one of the stones passed and got stuck so they had to do an endoscopy on me. My roommate assured me that she had quite a lot of those and that I would be heavily sedated and remember nothing of it. The rest of that day they continued me on the antibiotics and "nothing by mouth.

The next day they did the endoscopy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite the way my roommate described it. It's cruel and unusual punishment! LOL I was awake and remember every minute of it. But, on the bright side, they did find and remove a stone and a fragment of another, and also cut through the muscle at the end of the bile duct so that if any more stones passed they wouldn't get stuck.

The rest of Saturday and all day Sunday, I was allowed a clear liquid diet and continued to watch the Law & Order Special Victims marathon they had running on one of the 6 TV stations the hospital had. Then after midnight, I was back to the "nothing by mouth" diet in anticipation of my surgery. They had given me the choice to try to go home and schedule it for later to let the rest of the inflammation go down to make the risk lower for complications, but I didn't want to chance having another stone getting stuck or having any more episodes of intense pain. So, when asked, I opted to go ahead with the surgery on Monday.

I am not a needle person, and I am a hard stick with hard to find, tiny, veins. While I was in there during both admittances, I had my IV moved three times, and had blood work every single mother loving morning. My hands got beat up the most since it's easier for them to find veins. While in surgery, they attempted to move my IV a 4th time so that it was bigger for the anesthesia. When I woke up I saw three holes on my inner wrist! My IV was still in the same place it had been, so I don't know what they ended up doing.

I woke up thinking, "Yes, it's finally out and I can start to heal". Morphine wasn't helping the pain so they had me on something 100 times stronger than morphine. I was comfortable and able to rest, and more importantly, after one clear liquid meal, I got to eat solid food for the first time in nearly a week. It was a low fat diet, but at least it was solid and could be chewed!

I was still in a lot of pain on Tuesday, so I continued to rest on the higher dose of pain meds, and waited until Wednesday to go home. Ever since then, I have been here on the couch. I've started knitting a new Cardigan with a really awesome deep red chunky yarn. It has acrylic in it, but it's still soft and nice to knit with so, I don't care! I'm hoping it will be done before I have to go back to work. The pain is manageable as long as I stay on the couch and remember to take my pain meds every 4 hours. The kids and Fred have been awesome. They continue to check on me to see if I need anything, and they help me up to bed at night with all of my pillows.

They are all back to school tomorrow and I will be on my own. Hopefully I will feel OK getting up and down off of the couch more often. Cross your fingers!

So what is everyone else up to?