Remodel Begins

We are off on the journey of adding on a new bedroom to our old house. We went to a contractor for this one as it is a big job to get it framed out. Our contractor is Heartland Home Improvement and their customer service is spectacular! They were one of a fraction of companies that were willing to work on the cut and fit of an old house.

Here is the "before" of the single story that was added on in the 1950's.


As of tonight, they have the old roof off and the new floor on - it was A LOT of piece work.


I'm so excited for the extra space!!

Celtic Braid Sock

IMG_2692
Originally uploaded by WATERCenter

I mistakenly knit the Cobblestone Pullover sweater for my hubby last holiday. Duh. He only wears t-shirts and is always hot. Sweet man though - he refuses to let me pass it on to anyone else because it is "special."

So, in an effort to force more hand-knits on the man, I am making him socks. One down, one to go. This is the "Celtic Braid Socks" pattern designed by Lynda Gemmell. I am knitting it in Sisu superwash merino yarn in a dark olive color. Both the pattern and the yarn were purchased at Twist.

He better wear 'em!

A Beautiful Quilt

After the NAI conference last fall, I pledged to make my grad school friend, Liz, a pair of socks. She, in turn, said she would send something made by hand back to me.

OMG.

Let me just start by saying that to me knitting is fairly simple and although a pair of socks may have between 21,000 and 25,000 stitches in them, I really don't think about that. I actually had to stop and break out a calculator to estimate that stitch number for this blog entry. Other types of hand made items - especially those connected to sewing - boggle my mind.

I can sew, however I do it as fast as possible and get away from the sewing machine as quick as I can. Weird, huh?

So when I got home last night there was a package from NY from Ms. Liz. I really have no words. This quilt was done by hand...by hand....pieced, everything. My hubby and I kept turning it over and over looking at the patterning in the stitches - the quilting was sewn in the shapes of snails, ladybugs, dragonflies, caterpillars, etc.

We posed the little bubbi on the quilt for the blog pic but I'm afraid he doesn't get to use it until he gets over his barfing stage and can use a blanket in bed. Sorry little guy. I just refuse to toss this in the wash. (you can see the cute little flannel quilt that Jess and the god-kids made underneath - that one is "wash n' go" blankie right now)

After I put the baby to bed, I laid the quilt over the banister upstairs. I just sat there and stared at it. All the blocks of material, all the stitching, the colors. I am so in awe of what people can create.

The socks go global

IMG_2602
Originally uploaded by WATERCenter

Holy cats. I never would have guessed that my humble pair of garter-rib socks would go global. Sweet sweet Liz - a classmate of mine - has given the socks their own blog. I cannot tell you how freakin' cool that is.

http://sockandsock.blogspot.com

Homework Avoidance Tactics

I have not improved as a student - at least not in my behavior. I still look for other things to do besides doing my homework. Anything. Stuff I wouldn't do otherwise. Here are some examples of what I have done over the last few weeks before buckling down to do my readings for class: switching out which plates are displayed on the hutch (granted, the ones that were up were Christmas plates, but still), removing the cat hair from all the couches using lots of tape rolls, and this week, reorganizing my yarn stash.


























It had to be done.




















The acrylics were with the sock yarn. Mohair was mingling with cashmere. Who knows what might have resulted! The hubby was pretty disgusted with the size of my stash but anymore he knows better know than to comment - it doesn't help anything. The baby hung out in his johnny-jump-up and was okay with the process until I took away the storage bag he was chewing on. He was pretty pissed after that (see picture).

BFF's

We have been trying to get the two little bubbas together each week - they are such a hoot when they are playing - I swear they learn stuff from each other. Just two weeks apart, we have decided that these two should be "BFF's" - nothing like an arranged friendship.

A sock adventure

I knit a pair of very simple garter-rib socks out of Magic Stripes yarn for a dear classmate - Liz Thompson. Liz lives in NY, and even though we are in class only on-line, we have connected. It was a blast to meet her last fall during the NAI conference. It was there I decided that she needed a pair of socks. I do not give socks lightly - I have only given away three pairs now - one to my Grammie, one to my mother-in-law, and now a pair to Liz. Socks are getting easier to knit though so my generosity will expand, I'm sure.

When I got to work this morning, this little story was in my in my email in-box:

Thanks for sending us to New York - Liz is lots of fun. Today we got to go out of the house for the first time! Liz took us to the movies to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We saw a movie called 27 Dresses. Actually, we only heard it - but it sounded really good! We got a chance to look around (see picture) but then we went back into the shoes. We were glad though, because that theater was really cold! Liz said that James Marsden was "dreamy" and worth going to the picture for that reason alone.

Before we went to the movies Liz's mother inspected us and seemed very impressed. After the movie we went back to her house and got to come back out of the shoes. Liz's Mom kept admiring us from where she sat and occasionally asked Liz questions about how you made us - it seems Liz is a quilter, not a knitter, so she could only answer based on what the knitters at work said about us when we first arrived.

That's all for now. We'll write again after Liz takes us on our next adventure!

Socks for Veronik Pattern

sock 003
Originally uploaded by WATERCenter

This beautiful sock pattern came out of the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts issue. The yarn I'm using is the J. Knits Superwash Me sock yarn that I purchased at my LYS Twist.

One sock down, one to go.

I never have too much trouble with the "second sock syndrome" - I'm always too excited to wear the pair of socks - which is hard to do if you only have one done. I know, I know, I could do "two at once," but I end up getting to tangled up with the two balls of yarn. I'll just keep plugging alone, one at a time.

Wheels make the wool go 'round

So my friend Jessica and I took a spinning class last fall. Not one of those exercise-y spinning classes (have you seen me lately?), but a yarn spinning class. Can I say it was just wonderful?! Anyway, this led Jess and I on a quest for wheels of our own. We have two things happening now.

First, I bought a pattern on a "no lathe Saxony style wheel" and gave it to a woodworking friend with the promise of a knitterly payback.

Second, I called my dad in New Zealand (land of wool and wheels) and got him looking on TradeMe for used Ashford wheels.

Success!

Both avenues are paying off. It looks like Jess and I will have custom crafted wheels from our friend as well as a traditional wheel from NZ.

This multiple wheel situation (which is f'ing awesome) has led my hubby to ask...."How many wheels do you NEED.?" Good question. I say many. I mean, how many video game consoles does HE need? Anyway, I have already mentally rearranged my dining room to accommodate the wheels. Expect to hear more on the wheels as the year goes on.

Off to a good start

So far I think 2008 looks promising. Why? I have dropped very few stitches in my knitting. Okay, that's really not the only reason why, but it does add to the cumulative good-feeling effect.

School starts up again on the 14th and this semester I'm taking Interpretive Research and Evaluation. Eeek! I have never been very good at pacing myself through research but if I'm going to get through a thesis, I better learn. This is the only class I'm taking though this semester so my plan is not to get overwhelmed - we'll see how that works out.

NAI, the National Association of Interpretation, recommended the MSRI program as a good fit for my grad school experience - I'm "settled" and can't go back to traditional, on-campus college life. The program is based in TX, was designed originally for National Park Service folks, and is offered on-line. I was very wary of an on-line program but this one is legit. It is also kickin' my butt! And lastly, as it is out of TX, it means out-of-state tuition. Sigh.

Last December, I applied for NAI Region 6's 2008 Freeman Tilden Scholarship. As Region 6 is made up of KS, MO, AR, OK, TX, and LA, and there was only one graduate scholarship being awarded, I was not optimistic. Two nights ago though, I got the call! Yee-haw! Its not huge $$$ but it will get half of my semester. Plus I get to go to the Regional Conference in Tulsa!!!

Anywho, that and some other things that I'm working on lead me to think it might be a pretty good year. We'll see how it plays out.

On a knitting note, I am tackling the "Sock for Veronik" with the sweet-as yarn that I got with my Twistmas discount...see previous post. I'm sticking in the picture from the Interweave Knits pattern as well as my little beginnings.

Another year gone

It doesn't seem possible that another year has gone by. When did time suddenly speed up? I could get all introspective about time, endings, beginnings, etc., but those ideas are too cliche on New Year's Eve. Instead, I wish family and friends the best for 2008. May you all never drop a stitch in the sweater of life! He, he, he....couldn't resist.

Twistmas choice

And the winner was.....J.Knits Superwash Me Sock Yarn in the Wheeling colorway. Ahhh...I love sock yarn.

Merry Twistmas

Oh my gosh! Shelly with Twist Yarn Shop sent out a 20% off coupon. Do you realize that this has totally blown my day. I am impossibly distracted from all things work-related now. What would I buy? Yarn? Needles? A book? How can I choose? If I don't go in strong-willed, I'll be distracted by all things woolly. Nothing but leaving work and driving to the shop will fix this. Hmmmm. Due to having a baby at home, it has been a long time since I been to Twist. What if they have new stuff to tempt me. Oh dear.

Back to the Blog

I submitted my last assignment for the semester just minutes ago. Yahoo! Time for the blog for a few weeks.

We still have the baby and he is growing up fast. he is over six months old already!

I am still knitting up a storm...cranking out a lot of sock and have started on my first pair of entrelac socks. I don't think I'll make them as tall as eunny jang did in this picture:

Anywho, just wanted to let ya'll know I'm still out here.

Two weeks of catch up

Life is busy...very busy. I realize that it is okay to let one's hobbies suffer when there is a baby crying. My knitting is painfully slow and my grad school efforts are NOT honor's material. I have eight weeks of weeds in my garden. I won't even go into the pile projects at work . BUT...it is all worth it. I really barely notice.

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks. Its unreal how fast the little guy is growing up.

The first is of bubby with his BFF Finn.
Second was taken at the Hamilton's last weekend.
Third is at a wedding a couple of days ago.

Bubba at Work

It is Saturday morning and Bubba and I are at the WATER Center. There is an eagle scout here working on his project - he is identifying the trees in Herman Hill Park so that we can create a guide book for visitors to use. He recruited about 15 folks to come in and help him this morning with the park-wide identification. There may be some "truth checking" that I need to do, but his teams are doing a great job.

Pat is out at Brian's bachelor party for the weekend so the little Bub and I are working together this morning. I am so thankful that my eagle scout brought his little sisters - they are awesome babysitters. I also like to get the baby used to being held by others. We want to keep him as socialized as possible.

Here is a pic of the girls taking him out to feed the ducks.

Ravelry!!!

Yahoo! I'm finally "invited" to the beta version of Ravelry!

B.O.W

This past weekend was the Becoming and Outdoors Woman program. We had a great turnout! There were close to 120 ladies and most of them were first-timers.

This was my tenth year to teach the backpacking and orienteering classes for the event. I just can't get over how happy everyone seemed over the weekend. Maybe it was the weather. The only rough part of the weekend was that I am still down in the back. Hiking across the prairie and rolling under barb-wire fences has not helped either. Hopefully I'll be able to stand up straight soon - I have a prescheduled backpacking trip on the 13th!!

Generations

We are still enjoying our foster-son and can't believe it will be four weeks on Friday that he has been at our house. We have seen some many changes and developments. He finally seems to be adjusting to our schedules.

Last week I finally got over to see my Grammie -here is pic of the occasion:

Jockey Person to Person Party

To all who take the time to read my blog - THANKS!!!!! I want to invite all of you to a home-party this Sunday, September 23rd at 3 PM at my place. A close friend is starting off with a new business and I want to support her efforts. I have purchased some of her Jockey Person to Person products earlier this summer and am VERY impressed with the quality and the creative way that the clothing makes me feel skinnier....seriously. The knitted tops are crazy-soft and don't get me started on the underwear!!!

Here are some things that I have purchased in the past (which ya'll have probably seem me wearing waaaay to often). I will not put picks of the underwear up....that's just wierd. If you want to check out the entire new catalog, go to www.jockeypersontoperson.com There are products for workouts, office, casual, and for sleep. There some totally cute yoga pants that keep tempting me. And how freakin' cute are the slippers....ugh...I love shopping.

Am I being to pushy??? Here is another reason to come bum around at my place on Sunday afternoon - you can love on the little baby! I'll also have some yummy snacks and some adult beverage options.

Interested? Shoot me a quick email to libbyalbers@cox.net before Saturday night and I'll send you directions.