New Mitten Swap Blog is up

http://mittenswapthree.blogspot.com/

I think this might be my last one since it is such a hassle to get some people to follow through on sending packages and I get nothing in return for my efforts. That might sound selfish but the knitting swap world is brutal. In my scrapbooking days the hostess always received little thank you gifts which ALMOST made it worthwhile. LOL But not in the knitting swap world...which really kinda surprises me since knitters seem to be the nicest people on the face of the earth. Hmmmmm

So, anyway, if you want to do it one last time...go on over and join. I'm sitting this round out as a swapper so I can focus on getting everyone to do what they promised to do....grrrrr

What's better than floating in the pool with an icy beverage?

Tastefully Simple has these new Drink Buckets that you just add the alcohol to; Mango Breeze Margarita and Samba Sangria Slush.

The Mango Margarita is AWESOME! We had it on the 4th of July. Last night I tried the Sangria Slush in the Hot Tub and am about to go have a glass in the pool while i read my book.

Relaxing like this is me favorite part of summer. :)

If you haven't tried these, and you drink (of course), find a Demonstrator on the website and help her earn some money. It's a win-win situation. I happen to have a co-worker who sells it. If you live in Western MA and want her name, let me know.

Noni - Seussish Cat in the Hat Bag

This one has been snoozing for a looooooong time. I am trying very hard to keep my promise to myself that I will pick up and finish and old project each time I start a new project so that my WIP's do not continue to grow without resulting in any Finished Objects.

So, alas, I pulled this one out of the bottom of my knitting basket and worked on it until it was done. I hadn't felted in a little while so it was fun to do that again. This is so whimsical and came out just like Noni's sample. I am very pleased with it. I can't help but smile when I look at it. It's such fun! (as I have mentioned before, I live in Dr. Seuss' hometown (Springfield, MA) so I had other motivation to knit this particular pattern. I am sure it will get a lot of comments.)

Feel the Sweat. Own the Energy.

OMG I went to an Aerobics workshop today with Karla from Sudor Taino. She is a Detective with the Hartford CT police Department. She is so motivational, but a bit nuts. LOL

The workshop was three 45 min sessions. The first one was kick boxing which I have never done and had me drenched with sweat by the time I was done. WOW. What a workout! The second one was a Core Workout. Imagine doing squats etc with your pelvis tilted up. We even did squats on our toes and tons of crunches and bicycles. The third session was Dance. Tons of fun! We did some Salsa moves etc. I don't have much rhythm, but somehow with her leading us, I was able to shimmy, and shake my ass like a real pro (a white, rhythmless pro....hehe). Nevertheless, I got quite a workout, sweat about 40 pounds off (I wish) and had a ton of fun.

If you live in the Hartford area, you should look her up. She teaches at a gym in Newington, CT. I know her because my gym at work had her come in and do an hour workshop a couple of weeks ago (that was when I found out that it was possible to sweat from your eyelids....snort). I am so glad I went. It was the best $30 I have ever spent (as good as the $30 monthly fee I pay to belong to the gym at work which has helped me regain my strength and power).

If you don't work out.....now is the time. You just feel amazing. I used to hate to sweat. Now it helps me know that I have pushed all of the negative energy out and replaced it with self confidence and strength.

Today is the day I also decided to get back on the Weight Watcher's Core program too. I have been following it loosely for a few months (since "A" was diagnosed) and decided that I need to get back on track. This month is the year anniversary of the beginning of my weight loss journey. I've gained some weight back since I started at the gym and stopped being careful with my eating. I know some of it is muscle weight, but not all of it is. I still have about 30-40 pounds to get to "my goal".

I earned about 19 points working out today. LOL I'm just going to eat a bit extra at dinner. No more slipping even if I do have the points to spare.

Finally finished my Monkeys...

I cast these on MONTHS ago. I can never focus on one project so it took me forever to finish them. They sat in my knitting bag untouched for a long time after I cast on the second one. I vowed to never succumb to SSS (second sock syndrome) so I would knit on it a little bit now and then but never focused on it for a long period of time. A couple of months ago I talked about them at knitting and decided I had to do the heel and gusset. But after I did those, I put it aside again.

Last week I decided that I needed another completed project in my Ravelry Projects so I picked it up again and knit on it a little bit every day. Well, I finally finished them last night. They are blocking now. It'll be months before it is warm enough to wear socks again, but when that time comes, I am armed with a pair of hand knit ones!

If you look in my stash and queue at Ravelry, you notice a slight obsession with sock patterns and sock yarn.....so why on earth are these only my second pair of completed socks? LOL The first pair went to my mom, so these are my first. They should be quick to knit. I have no idea why I can't seem to focus on them.

2008 Woolgirl Sock Club 2nd installment

I got my sock club package today. It's "Frogging" themed. (Rip-it. Rip-it. Rip-it. :) Everything has to do with Tree Frogs. I'm not crazy about tree frogs but everything is so cute. The yarn colorway is not something I would have picked out for myself but I think they'll be cool knit up and you can't beat GREEN. The pattern is called Froggin' and is designed by Lisa Dykstra. The yarn is Froggin by Dashing Dachs (I got sport weight. We had the choice of fingering or sport for some packages). There was also a couple of little frogs that my kids inherited, a frog pencil that went to "A", a frog lollipop that went to "M" and some other things that are shown in bigger pictures below:

Here is a close up of the yarn. Definitely not something I would have picked up but I LOVE IT. Every one is handpainted and the colors differ. Some have more blue, more orange or more red. I can't tell yet, but mine looks to be pretty even for all colors.

Here is the cutest notebook I have ever seen. It's a key ring!

Then we have a stitch marker made out of clay. The detail is amazing and it is so tiny. Look at my thumbnail for comparison. It is from WeeOnes at http://www.weeones.etsy.com/ . I think these frogs are exclusive but they have some really cute ones. Check them out! (I've made clay stitch markers. These are incredibly small and the designer is hugely talented!)

This is a hand-crafted bamboo 1 inch square stitch gauge with Frog designs etched into it. You can find them at http://www.karatstix.etsy.com/

and finally, a calculator engraved with "Woolgirl 2008 Sock Club" to count stitches when, inevitably, you need to "frog" a project.

I'm so glad I joined this club. I will definitely join again next year!

How Massachusetts are you?

You Are 60% Massachusetts

You're likely a Massachusetts transplant. Big rotaries still scare you, and you probably live outside of 495.

I'm a transplant from CT and have been in MA since 2001. I guess some things run deep even across state lines. LOL

How "Massachusetts" are you?

These kids are NUTS

We set up the pool yesterday and filled it up. The hose is still running to finish filling it so you can imagine how cold the water is.....

My kids are CRAZY! They didn't want to wait to go in so they are in there freezing their butts off. They had to dare each other to go under. That's like an ice headache from the outside in! But, then again, it's not much different from swimming in the ocean in NH or Maine during the hottest weeks of the summer since that water is always cold (which is why I spend my time in a lounge chair on the beach knitting or reading a book)!

I'll be waiting a few weeks before I get in there. But, I can tell you, I am looking forward to floating around in there with a Margarita as soon as possible....

MA Sheep & Wool Festival

I went to the MSWF today and got lots of awesome fiber. Here's a few pics to make you drool:


Merino Silk ----------------------------------Merino Tussah

Enchanted Knoll Farm Merino---------------- Enchanted Knoll Farm Merino

Enchanted Knoll Farm Tussah Silk-----------Spunky Eclectic Superwash Merino

Foxfire Fiber & Design Merino Silk------------ Acker's Acres Bunny Blend (Angora/Merino)

Isn't it boooootiful???

We had a great day. I went up with the gals from my knitting group. (Ladies, I adore you and enjoy your company so much!) "A" went with us too. She enjoyed seeing the animals. She did a little weaving which we all thought was pretty cool and we bought some fiber for her so I can teach her how to spin. I'm glad she is showing an interest in it! :) (Happy mom).

It was much smaller than Rhinebeck and not much yarn. But, since I am all about Roving right now, I thought it was perfect. I enjoyed seeing people that I have met at Webs while spinning with my friend and also some Ravelry friends.

I also took my "2-at-a-time socks" books and had it signed by Melissa Morgan-Oakes. We all sat and knit for a bit too.

Thanks to Lexie, Jenn and Mary Alice for a great Saturday!

Meet my friend Sven....

This is my new little friend. He's an Alan Dart Gnome, and my first AD knit toy. Looking at him makes me smile. :)

I perfected mattress stitch on this little guy. Lots of seaming. But it was a quick knit and will definitely knit some more to keep him company.

Love notes...

I came home from work on 4/22/08 and found this in my driveway...

This stuff reminds me why I wanted kids so badly. :) This was a message from my daughter "A" out of appreciation for all of the time and attention I have devoted to her, especially since her diagnosis.

Sock Club stuff

I forgot to post this.....

I got the Loopy Ewe Don't Be Blue Kit since I didn't get into their Sock Club. The kit was cool. Blue isn't my color but the theme was cool and it's Dream in Color yarn so you can't miss. There was also a Chocolate Kiss for the shower which is really cool. It came from a shop on etsy named GudonyaToo. They sell all kinds of cool vegan "Bath" products. I just put in an order for some stuff and can't wait to get it. The kit also included a Terry Ross sock pattern, a blue Loopy Ewe keyring and a small project bag which is currently holding a sock in progress.

So, I'm not as Blue about not getting into the club as I first was because this prompted me to go hunting for another club and I found the Woolgirl Sock Club which I love. Here is my first kit from that club:

It included a Mama Llama exclusive colorway inspired by Georgia O'Keefe's paintings, a really cool sock pattern, a medium sized project bag (which is holding my first sweater project) and a pen, stitch marker and notecards picturing more purple yarn.

So, there you have it. My first sock club kits. Not too shabby.

New Stuff in my Etsy Shop

I've been busy today. I put some new stuff in my etsy shop. I made some cool things to help you keep your place in your knitting patterns (like the Pattern Tamers). I call them Knitting Buddies and sell the individually, but have three sizes (6", 9" and 13") so a knitter can buy a whole set. I thought it would be a good idea to sell the individually because I know not everyone has a need for all different sizes, and this way someone can mix and match what they like. I hope they do well. I also have stitch markers for sale.

Here is a picture of them....neat, huh?

Some results from my spinning adventure...

Here is my first handspun. It's Mama Llama C*eye*ber Fiber Merino Roving. The colorway is called "It's a Mystery". You can see where the thick and thin is plied and the plying isn't the greatest. But, it's my first handspun and will become a lovely scarf.



Here is my second handspun. It was dyed by a dyer I found on etsy. The shop is CopperPot Woolies and is also Merino. I have 3 more of her colorways waiting to be spun up. I'm a big fan of her stuff. It's beautififul!

You can see that it has less thick and thin areas and the plying is much better. I did one bobbin with a stripe pattern and the second bobbin, I combined the colors into one big mix. I love the way it turned out. I'm not sure what I can make out of it because I only ended up with 116 yards, but I'll find something, I am sure.



I am working on my third now. I am getting a really consistent thickness and the singles are thin enough that I think I'll be able to get fingering weight out of it once it is plied. The roving I am using this time is Corriedale, which has a longer staple length and is much easier to spin (in my opinion). I chose to leave that one natural and am going to try dying it myself once it is spun up.

Fun!

Med Mod

We had to modify A's meds today. Stating last night sh was complaining that it was hard to breathe. She was taking a double dose in the mornings and evenings, so beginning tonight we are going to cut it in half. I lucked into the 50mg dose on clearance at Walgreen's, so I bought the last 4 bottles. Hopefully, she will be ok with the new dose and we can continue it, but if not, I only lost $20. It's worth the gamble because I got them for a third of their original price.

I also picked her up some Sugar Free Reese's cups, SF Andes Candies and SF York Peppermint Patties. She's been craving candy since we cut out the sugar, so hopefully these will help. I have already warned her not to eat more than 1 piece a day since SF candies can have a laxative effect. That's all this poor kid needs!

Not much else going on. I skipped my weigh in tonight. I have knitting tomorrow and don't want to be out two nights in a row, so soon after everything. I'm still being good. My aerobics class today was awesome. We did upper body strength training. I'm toning up nicely. I saw the perfect shirt at Hot Topic this weekend. It said, "Call the vet, these puppies are sick" and it had a picture of a guy flexing his muscles. If it was a woman I would have bought it LOL.

I bought a couple of really cool glasses this weekend at Lens Crafters (and some prescription sunglasses). I'll try to take a picture soon so you can see my new hair color and each set of glasses. One pair is brown plastic, the other are clear (yes completely see through) and the sun glasses remind me of a 60's Hollywood actress.

Update on A

The meds she was on were not doing a darn thing to help her and the side affects were terrible. I did some research on other treatment options so that we could try something new and found that there are some vitamins and other supplements that have helped people with Tourette's. Two specifically are 5HTP and DHEA. I have read that DHEA is a hormone so my doctor is looking into whether it would be safe for "A" since she has not gone through puberty fully. In the meantime we started her on a multi-vitamin and the 5HTP. She began taking it Thursday night.

We also cut sugar and caffeine out of her diet. We scoured the grocery aisles for replacements for the high sugar cereal she is used to eating and for healthy snacks. We found some organic cereals to try. One is a Wheat Puffs cereal put out by our grocery store, Big Y, which tastes like Sugar Smacks but is sweetened by organic wheat syrup. The other one is a "Cheerios" type cereal put out by Kashi. She likes both of them so it won't be too much of a hardship on her (this kid loves sugar!!). We also bought some snack crackers and fruit for snacks. My lucky husband gets all of the left over Easter candy. LOL

So yesterday was her first full day off of sugar and caffeine and on the 5HTP and multi-vitamin. I am happy to say that her tics seemed to be decreased last night, even after holding them in all day at school and she fell asleep after about 4 minutes in bed. EUREKA! I think we're on to something!

I am so glad that this seems to be working. The side affects from the first medication she was placed on made her really weak and tired and didn't seem to help her tics even a little bit. I am going to continue my research and see if I can find anything else to help, but we seem to be on the right track.

On another subject, i have an eye doctor appt today at Lenscrafters. I lost my vision insurance when my company was acquired by another one this past summer. I found that Lenscrafters accepts my new (really really bad) medical insurance so that will save me $70 on the exam and i found a 50% off coupon for the lens portion of my new glasses. I am excited to get my new glasses. Do they still tout that you can have your glasses in about an hour or is that somewhere else? LOL I don't want to wait for them! (I think I am actually going to buy two new pairs because they have some really cool frames there)

I got my Seatbelt Bag!

This is a picture of my Harveys Seat Belt Bag. It came in the mail today. One of my knitting friends, Jenna, has one and I have been coveting it since I first saw her with it at Rhinebeck last year. Hers is red and I was convinced that I wanted a red one, also, but when I saw this new color, Mojito which is new this Spring, I knew I had to have it instead. (the picture does not do the color any justice. It is gorgeous IRL)

The bags are very sturdy, and yes they are constructed from seat belts. Even the handles are made from seat belts folded in half lengthwise. Inside, there is a cell phone pocket, another pretty big open pocket and also a zipped pocket. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes (including laptop bags) and also a variety of cool colors and prints. I have a feeling I will own quite a few more of these in the near future!! Visit them at http://www.seatbeltbag.com

Today was also "Dyeing Easter Eggs" Day in our house. I let the girls do them all by themselves with just a little bit of help with the measuring. We have a tradition in our house to make a "poopy" egg, which is an egg that has been dipped in every single color resulting in a brownish-green color. It started years ago when my oldest daughter "E" did an experiment to see what would happen if she put an egg in all of the colors, and it's stuck. This year we made two so both girls could do one. LOL This is "A" on the left and "M" on the right. The "inventor" of the poopy egg is "E" and she lives in FL now with her Dad. (nice hair, right? LOL)

HBO program I blogged about yesterday...

I don't think enough people know what Tourette's is and how it affects people who suffer from it. I mentioned that I had recorded the program and made copies for my mom and daughter. It is coming back on 3/25. If you'd like to watch it, mak sure you tune in. Or, if you don't have HBO, I'd be glad to send you a copy.

If you'd like one, please email me with your contact info at mittenexchange at gmail dot com . I'd be glad to send you a copy.

I think it's important that other children learn about this to make it easier for other children they come in contact with who may be have it. Kids only tend to be mean when they don't understand why someone is different than they are.

I am considering asking our school to play it for the students who surround "A" on a daily basis so she can be more accepted and not have to feel so self conscious.

Update on "A"

I know I haven't mentioned exactly what is going on with "A" yet, so here goes.....

She got along ok today. She is starting to have muscle aches in her stomach area from the movements involved in screaming out repeatedly, and her medicine makes her extremely weak. This coupled with the fact that it doesn’t seem to be doing a damn thing to help stop or slow her tics, leaves me wondering what the hell the point is for the meds. We’ll definitely be discussing other meds at her Dr. appt on Monday night.

Tonight she told me that she is afraid that she will be running out of her classroom too much, when she goes back to school on Monday because the tics come so frequently. It will get in the way of her education if she does that. But, imagine being an 11 yr old girl having to scream “love you” over and over at the top of your lungs while all of your peers are trying to learn. Sometimes it comes out so loud and abbreviated that it does just sound like a bark or something. She just moans after them sometimes because they knock the wind out of her. If that doesn't do her in, she'll surely die of embarrassment (ask any 11 yr old girl).

Today we went to the mall to buy Easter outfits for both girls. They got adorable sundresses at Pac Sun. "A" is comfortable enough to let the tics come out while in public but we both agree that it is because the people around her are strangers and she doesn’t give a damn what strangers think. I told her that if anyone stared at her to calmly say “It’s called Tourettes, go home and do some research”. Short and sweet, not rude, but to the point. She liked that and gave me a giggle.

Tonight we discussed how much better it is to shout Love ya than to say obscene words. She said “yeah, beep beep beep beep beeeep” We both laughed a lot at that. I’m glad that humor is still alive in this home. It helps A LOT!

Tomorrow we'll spend the day coloring Easter eggs, and Sunday we are going to Brunch with the whole fam damn-ily. It'll be a quiet, subdued day, so I am not sure how "A" will feel. We've decided to take 2 cars so she and I can leave if she wants to. Our strategy is to take frequent walks outside if she needs to let the tics out. It physically hurts her to keep them in, so I am a little nervous to let her try for too long.

Coincidentally, there was a great program on HBO last night called "I have Tourettes, but it doesn't have me". All 4 of us watched it as a family this morning and I burned copies on DVD to send to my older daughter and their father down in FL and to my Mom up in ME. It helped me to see other kids suffering from this disorder, yet succeeding at so many things. "A" said that it didn't help her much, but I think it did because tonight at bedtime she was talking to me about one of the boys who also had a vocal tic to deal with. I think it was good for her to identify with someone else and not feel so isolated. One of her biggest complaints this week was how lonely she felt even though she was never alone.

On a lighter subject, my big moment of the day today, was buttoning and zipping a wicked cute pair of shorts from the Juniors department. I’ve taken a nose dive on the WW front this week. We’ve eaten Chinese, Friendly’s Ice Cream sundaes, Dairy Queen, Nachos and Cheese, etc. And GUESS WHAT? I’ve lost freaking 4 pounds!! I think I needed to jump start my metabolism again. I am hoping it stays there so I can weigh in at that weight. That would mean that I finally made it down to the 50 pound mark.

Please continue to think good thoughts for us and pray for us if that is your thing....

My No-More-Humdrum-Mittens Round 2 Mittens are complete

So, these are them. :) It's just a basic mitten pattern.....before the embroidery was on them, my pals at my Stitch and Bitch Group affectionately called them "Poopie Mittens" LOL Well guess what? They must have made GREAT fertilizer because there are some GAWGEOUS flowers sprouting up on them! hehehe

Personally, I love the color combo but i am worried that my partner won't. I think they look kinda retro.

I've never really done any embroidery before. The Orange flower and the blue and white flower are crocheted circles that are attached with lazy daisies. The blue and orange flower is just free form lazy daisies and the leaves are free form.....I guess you call it satin stitch, and then there are some tiny flowers made out of french knots.