How many times . . .

can you get the flu/cold/sinus infection/CRAP in one month????? I swear I think I have missed more days than I've worked this month! It's reeeeeally annoying. I was off last Friday, sick all day. Tried to go into work Sat. lasted about 2 hours before I said NOMAS!!! Called in Sun, and went to the ER. I'm now on a STRONGER antibiotic and a prescription strength decongestant. I stayed home Mon, and went back Tues. God that was a long day! I didn't think I'd make it. But fortunately the next two I had scheduled off anyway so I got another two days to try and recoop.

So what have I been doing with my time off??? Well you know me, I'm always into something. A friend of mine is a local HP and she is putting on a open Beltaine. It's been a while since I've been in Circle with other people and I'm really looking forward to the fellowship. BUT, I was also informed that it would be an all day event with open mic, open dance area, AND space for people to setup booths and sell their wares!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so stoked!!!!!! Soooo, I've been beading and felting and thrift-shopping for wool sweaters to felt more. The only problem I can forsee at this point is narrowing down all these ideas bouncing in my head so that I can produce the right amount of different items without having this messy hodgepodge. Dear bf has been very supportive and took me shopping yesterday. He hasn't even said anything about the additional craft mess that's taken over around here. lol

I still haven't been able to get my pics uploaded, but I promise, promise, promise I will soon.

Just Shot Me Now

I'm finally "over" whatever that bug was that had me in it's deathly grip, and now I'm working my butt off trying to get caught up at work. UGH! It never really pays to take sick days or vacation. You always end up having more to do after you get back.

I'm still looking through patterns for a sweater for the BF. So far, nothing I've found that I like the looks of is sized for someone of his . . . stature. I have been getting some WONDERFUL advice from a lovely lady on one of my knitting groups. Tina, I thank you! She's been very encouraging and offering wonderful advice and suggestions for things that hadn't even crossed my mind. Looks like I may be going with a cabled vest instead of an all-out sweater at this point. This way I can use the yummy yarn I found on the cheap, AND get a feel for how to fit something to his torso.

In my searching online for a sweater I found this nice pattern:
http://www.cu-needleworks.com/Patterns/Sweaters/Mr_biggie_mohair_sweater/mr_biggie_XL.pdf

After emailing the man that created it, I've discovered he may be writing more for the "big guys" soon so I'll have to keep checking.

And as we all know with the 'net, once you start searching for something, you inevitably find other things you didn't know where there. Case in point: http://www.theanticraft.com/index.htm
I LOVE THIS SITE!!! Yes, I may be pushing 40, HARD, but I still love to rock it! This site has great stuff to create. Not just knitting or sewing, but good recipes too. And the attitude . . . love it!

Speaking of rocking it, I also stumbled across a yarn company that I hadn't seen before. Blue Moon Fiber Arts http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/index.php They have some seriously rockin' yarns. All based on black! How's that for all us heavy metal rocker chicks?!? Gorgous colorways, that unfortunately don't show their true beauty on the site. In one of my online groups, we're doing a mystery KAL, and one of the girls chose a yarn from Blue Moon. Her pic shows the depth of color. OMG! I'm in lust!

Well I need to get my happy butt in the shower if I'm going to make it to work on time. I'll try and get more posted later about the KAL for anyone that's interested. TTFN

Exactly how sick IS that dog???

Why do people always say "I'm sick as a dog"? How sick is the dog? Do dog's get more sick than humans? Regardless of how sick Fido is, I think I might have him beat. I've been running a temperature for 2 days now. Last night I thought I would drown the sweat was rolling off of me so badly. Stupid me tried to go to work today. I made it 5 hours. Which considering I felt like I was living inside a marshmallow, is something I guess. They weren't too happy with me when I said I needed to go home, but at that point I was doing no one any good, and probably infecting everyone I worked with. Everyone else had either already had this or was getting over it, so I thought I might skate by for a change. No such luck.

Anyway, I obviously didn't get Mom's suit done in time for her birthday party, so I clipped a swatch off a scrap, and safety pinned it to the pattern envelope so she could see what it she was getting. In hindsight, this is probably a much wiser way to go, than to finish it and then it not fit right. Atleast this way I can have her try it one before I finish off the seams and hem. I did find two other pieces of suiting that I really like for her. One is a brown, almost corduroy. I know that sounds really funky, but its not. Corduroy is the only thing I can equate it to that a non-sew-er would relate to. It has micro-fine ribbing, a little stretch, and a little nap to it. The other piece is a tencal type fabric with a good amount of stretch to it in a dark teal. I'll try and get some pics posted soon.

On the knitting front, I found the yarn I want to make my S.O. 's sweater in. He likes blue, and I fell into a great deal at Michael's. I found this lovely dark blue Bernat Berella "4" for $1.00/skein! How lucky is that? The only problem I can forsee is he is a BIG man, and I want to do a cable sweater for him. I think yardage may present a problem, so I'm pouring through all the sweater patterns I can find to get the right one that uses the right amount of yarn. He wears a 3X Tall, so this is quite a challenge, especially in my drug induced state.

I found loads of other goodies this weekend, which I will post pics of soon. TTFN, I'm off to take more drugs and look at pattern's until I'm cross-eyed.

The Madness Continues

Ok, so I got Mom's suit cut out. Now keep in mind I've been sewing for . . . . let's just say MANY years. I also was an assistant manager for a fabric store for almost 5 years. One would think I would either a) have everything I need notions-wise on hand already, or b) have enough sense to pick up said notions while I was at the store. Yes, intrepid readers, you can now safely assume I'm missing something. Thread? Check. Seam binding? Check. Zipper? Check. Buttons? Check, check, check (I couldn't decide). So what could she possibly have forgotten? Ohhhhh nothing major, JUST THE FREAKIN' INTERFACING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so I think I MAY have some scrap pieces from another project stuffed somewhere in the madness known as The Room, so I'm off to dig. Nothing like a major archeological expedition when I should be sewing my little fingers off! I'll post pics of the progress as soon as possible.

How do I get myself in these predicaments???

Ok, so Mom's birthday was yesterday. I am planning on having lunch with her and Dad on Sunday to celebrate. So why do I always get these "great" ideas at the last minute and drive myself insane trying to accomplish them. Last Christmas it was a sweater, this year a shawl, both hand-knitted, and neither one completed on time. Atleast the shawl was finished except for weaving in the ends and blocking. The sweater was missing a sleeve, not assembled or blocked. So, what am I planning for her birthday? A suit. Yes, that's right, a suit. Well I have the pieces pinned onto the fabric. That's a start right? lol Guess I should probably go cut it out, but I'm dreading that because my cutting table is at the other house, so I'm going to be either in the floor with the cats, or bending over the dining room table. Neither of which sounds appealing to me right now. I'll post pictures as soon as I can get somewhere with it.

Wow! I'm blogging! I've thought about creating a blog so that I can have a history of my knitting and such, but have never gone through with it. Well here it is. I hope I can keep up and share my projects for posterity.