TGI-friggin-F!

Oh I am so happy its finally Friday! Its been a stressful week of sorts ... work hell crapola stress coupled with lack of sleep makes for nearly no knitting... and one grumpy knitter!

I won't complain too much about the lack of sleep because that was due in part to the loveable Bella, whom I started calling Isabella (short term foster Simon's human sister/our good friends' beautiful 15 1/2 month old daughter). If people actually heard me, I'm sure I would've gotten some is she freaking insane??? looks with my "who's a Bella... is-a-bella..." doggy talk, but alas, I thought it was cute & clever. You see, Miss Bella-bell (my other nickname for the cutie pie) had 2 modes -- GO, GO, GO, GO or CRASH. There's really not much in between with this active pup (after all, she is a pup and a terrier!). It was like having a baby in the house who didn't sleep thru the night... she would decide to wake up each night sometime between the god-awful hours of 2:00 - 3:00 am and decide it was time to pounce and play. Even Zeus would huff at her as if to say "hey little lady, its time to s-l-e-e-p!" Again - not complaining too much because she was an absolute joy and love bug. Was... translating to the great news that Bella went to her forever home last night with Nicole & Ryan in Manchester (they're about 15 minutes away)! We were sad to see her go so soon (I'm not sure which is worse - the ones here for 3 weeks before they go or the ones who stay just a short week... we get attached and love them all), but I am happy to report that she went to a perfect home... they are both young & active and like to jog & hike (oh how I remember those days ... about 10 years ago!) which will be great for Bella!

When we arrived to drop her off, they had already prepared a little basket of toys for her - including a hot pink Bobo just like Lola's (only smaller)! There was also a little rawhide bone in there, which Bella promptly found - and claimed - and after a couple minutes of exploring, she plopped down in the living room and began chewing... and chewing... and ignoring the rest of the world... I went to say goodbye and she could've cared less (how rude!)... I don't even think she realized we left. And I was worried about her going to a home that didn't have any other doggies to play and wrestle with... (although Nicole promised she'd bring her to the doggy park)! Should I pout or just be happy she seemed so content in her new home??!!

So back to that lack of knitting this week... I really don't have anything to show. I worked on my tank some more at Joanne's on Wednesday night, but not enough progress worthy of a photo. Speaking of Joanne, check out the A Knitter's Garden listing in the brand new Knitters' (and other) Travel Guide 2007-2008! She has copies of this fantastic resource book at her shop for sale - only $12! I snagged my copy Wednesday night and am impressed - its much larger than I had expected and now I won't be wasting so much time googling yarn shops when I go on vacation.

As part of the Dog Days of Summer Dishcloth Swap, we've been asked to post our favorite handknit item. Mine is not something that I have made, but rather something that I received as a gift last Christmas from Dad & Mom-Sue (Matt's dad & stepmom). Sue made me this absolutely stunning sweater, using Classic Elite Premiere, which means its not only visually beautiful, its amazingly soft and snuggly too!

I wore it when I met Kate Jacobs and she loved it too!

We were also asked to post something that we've seen on a fellow DDSD swap participant's blog that we would like to make. This was fun because it got me scrolling thru some strangers blogs and I came across - woo hoo! - yet another Doggy Mom Knitter's blog, Basset Knitter (omg, how cute is Elsie??!!)! And I'd love to make this cat bed. Yes people, I did just say CAT bed! I can knit for friends' cats too, right?? It looks so soft and squishy ... and definitely looks like a fun knit too... who can't resist a cat bowl? And oh to use up that fun fur that is stuffed somewhere under a bed or maybe inside one of my dogs' beds....

Anyone planning to go see The Harlot at Border's on August 2nd? I missed her last appearance at Webs because we were in Charlotte, but I did catch her there in 2006 and can't wait to see her again. I sent in my registration and am working out the carpool details with Joanne. Sounds like it'll be a fun night, even if it does mean rushing from work to get there... Stephanie is well worth the rush!

Not to bring the mood down, but unless you live under a rock I'm sure you've been hearing about the sad-excuse-for-a-human-being, Michael Vick and his horrendous dogfighting in the news lately. Please take a moment to visit the Humane Society of the US site and tell the NFL to act on this!!!!

Stash Enhancement at TKGA Show!

Yes folks, I did end up spending more than I had planned on at the TKGA Knit & Crochet Show on Saturday, but still had huge restraint! I could have done sooooooooo much more damage... ooh, SO much more! There was a stunning jacket kit that I absolutely adored, but alas the $200 price tag wasn't in my budget. Nor was the $62 skein of some unusual fiber (it wasn't yak but it was something in that unusual category). So I tried to not set my credit card ablaze be good and only purchase things that were out of the ordinary and not something I could readily pick up at my LYS. Here's what I came home with...

See all the unusual fibers there? HA HA - just kidding. That was the goody bag from Coats & Clark that the first 500 pre-registered attendees received. Its not bad and does include a nice skein of Moda Dea washable wool in what I think is a new shade! Now for the real stash...

I purchased 3 kits... one to make super soft (and from what I'm told, amazingly warm) silk mittens, one for a drawstring bag (knitted with beads - also from AffectionKnit but I couldn't find it on their site to link) and finally, an elegant scarf (also with beads). I tried to show you the gorgeous hand dyed yarns that came with these kits in this pic, but it does not do them justice. Also pictured are some Norwegian pewter buttons, a set of size 7 Fiddlesticks (oh my gosh - these needles are amazing... rosewood with coconut at the top and mother of pearl finish on the ends ... not only do they look great, they are fabulous to knit with as I cast on a dishcloth last night just to test them out!), some absolutely amazing (yet extremely affordable!) yarns from Habu and 2 books - One Skein Wonders and The Secret Language of Knitters. Yes, I do already own the One Skein book - and some of you may even know that it is one of my favorite books - but the editor, Judith Durant happened to be at one of the booths signing her book and well... well, if your are one of the people I get to spoil in my current swaps, you just might be getting my previous copy! HA HA. And guess what? In chatting with the lovely Judith, we found out that the second installment, 101 Designer One Skein Wonders is coming out this fall (and I've already pre-ordered my copy thru Amazon)!!! WOO HOO! Use the stash!!! Here are some more photos from the show...

Close up of the goods.... The gorgeous hand dyed from the AffectionKnit kits on the left, the buttons, needles & scarf kit on the right.



 Signed books for the collection...


Mary Beth Temple ... we just sort of happened upon her signing her just-released book and what a hoot she is! If she happens to be near you signing, go check her out (and remind her she shouldn't sit in coffee when wearing a white skirt...)! She blogs too! I started reading the first few pages of the book and so far, 4 paws 2 thumbs up! Think of Mary along the lines of a Yarn Harlot type of comedy... knitting comedy if you will. I can't wait to read on in the book ... and and get this, she's a dog Mommy too!!! :-) I can't believe the number of fellow knitting (and crocheting) dog Mommies I'm meeting thru blogging lately - its amazing (and I'm not referring to "dog owners" - but true dog MOMS - and those of us who are know there is a big difference)!


Here I am with the lovely Judith (thankfully I found this nifty healing brush tool in Photoshop today that helped to remove some of the awful, awful bags under my eyes... boy were these pictures a horrible wake up call today... anyone got some good beauty cream tips/advice??)...

It was a wonderful day spent with friends and family! Sue came up from CT to go to the show with me (while Matt and his Dad worked on the dog's fence... woo hoo! They got a really great start on it too!)... again, loving that healing brush tool!

Sue is really into beautiful lace shawls and boy were there lots of gorgeous ones to drool over!

We bumped in to lots of other friends throughout the day, including Heather who was my enabler at the Habu booth. I really wasn't thinking of buying anything there until she came by and started raving about it... then I had to have a closer look and ended up with this...

The photo of the booth really doesn't do those amazing garmets justice, but hopefully it gives you an idea. The yarns... yummy, yummy yarns... I got 1 tiny (no joke its about the size of maybe half of the palm of my hand) skein of 100% cashmere (the green) and 2 skeins of the silk/mohair blend. These will mostly likely be for feather and fan scarves. The burgundy color cones to the left at 100% merino wool which will probably turn in to some lace shawl or wrap ... and the lilac color is the silk and stainless steel blend (also destined for a lacey shawl of sorts)! Yes folks, silk and stainless steel - how very cool and unique? Matt was even impressed!


We met this lovely sea lady while walking around...

 

Yes, a felted mermaid that is life size - very cool! Joanne said she was at The Knit-In at Loon Mountain, but I have to admit... I missed her there!

These were some of the garmets on display near the entrance...

 

It was an absolutely wonderful day (even if I did have some sore feet aftewards)... and I got to come home to a half-finished fence for the doggies. WOO HOO! I can't wait until its finally finished and ready for use, but we're much closer now. Matt's Dad even offered to come back up after their vacation next month to help some more (thank you Dad & Sue!!!). Maybe that means Sue and I will have to do a little yarn crawl that day... hee hee.

In doggy news, we picked up our newest houseguest, Bella, on Friday evening. What an absolute love bug and energetic pup! If you know dogs, you know that terriers are known for their energy... multiply that by oh, about 100 and you get Miss Bella! Yes folks, she's either in GO-GO-GO mode or she's crashed out completely... there's no in between with this little cutie pie. She immediately fit herself right in to our pack as soon as she came in and has been romping and wrestling with the big dogs non-stop. When she's not wrestling, she's chomping on a bone or playing with a squeaky or some other toy. She loves the marrow bones we have around, as well as the Orbee toys ... and the squeakies and the balls and the Bobos and the ropes... see a trend here? Yes, this lovebug just loves anything and everything ... and shows you nothing but love and affection in return! It looks like she already has an adopter ... and get this... its yet another Nicole who only lives about 10-15 minutes away! I'm going to be stopping by Nicole & Ryan's place tomorrow to do a home visit and then we'll proceed from there if they are interested in adopting. (I swear there is something ironic about me adopting out to fellow Nicole's - Dustee's mom is also a Nicole and only lives about 10 minutes way too!). So here's my dose of cuteness for you from the first few days of Bella in our lives...

She's always smiling...
 

Two peas in a pod... or Daddy's lap anyway!

 

She loved Bobo so much she chewed his ear right off ... oops!
 

Hanging with her foster brothers & sister...

 

Of course I have plenty more pics, but I'll save some for later... plus this post is getting kind of long... are ya still with me? Huh people??? Still out there???

Friday Night Knitting Club .... on Saturday???

The lovely Kate Jacobs brought her Friday Night Knitting Club book tour to Manchester last Saturday night for a little talking and signing. Kate read a bit from the book, told us a little about her background and answered questions before sitting down to sign books.

During the Q&A, Kate's next novel came up and it was suggested that she call it the Wednesday Night Knitting Club given that most of those present (including Ericka, Chris, Gina, Jackie, Heather, Gigi, Lora and a couple newbies who I snagged from work) were from the Wednesday night ManchVegas and A Knitter's Garden groups... Of course, she said her next novel may not be about knitting clubs at all... darn it!

I think Ericka was first in line to get her book signed (after of course snagging a front row seat for the talk)...

Speaking of the multi talented Ericka, I finally snagged a few of her Down to Hearth handmade soaps, including the most delicious smelling Brownie Battter - can you say YUM-O??!! You'll find them soon at that link on the Sereknity website and if you're local, you can find them at The Yarn & Fiber Company in Windham.

Here's Jackie reviewing the mug shot of she & Kate together, with several Manch Vegans standing in line...

I got my mug shot with Kate too!

And she signed my book "Happy Knitting" ... you have to love it when an author writes Happy Knitting and not Happy Reading after just hearing a lady in the audience tell her how difficult it was to decide whether to spend her time knitting or reading the book and that the reading was progressing quite slowly because knitting usually wins!

It was a lot of fun to hear Kate speak and to meet her. She is really excited about the possibility of Julia Roberts turning her very first novel in to a movie ... who wouldn't be, right?!?!

So as you might guess, most of us were knitting during Kate's talk and I took it upon myself to start up a mindless project so I could knit and listen with ease. Here's my little bit of progress on the Misti Chunky Ribs & Ruffles Scarf. I'm using rose/grey moulinette colorway.

In other WIP news, I'm up to the foot on my first Cabled Footsie ...

The pattern is from Interweave's One Skein book and so far is a pretty quick and easy knit, however I did realize I missed a stinking frigging cable repeat for 12 darn rows! a bit of the cable on the far left and had to take those 4 stitches out 12 rows back and rework them. It was a pain in the arse gave me some good practice at fixin' my knittin'.... and I absolutely love this Tuscany colorway from Lorna's Laces, so I'm happy to say I can move on now that I've fixed my stupid, stupid, stupid mistake.

I finally brought Simon's little camo sweater and "Chick Magnet" shirt over to him. We got the t-shirt on him, but he was a little cranky so we didn't mess with the sweater. I'm hopeful it fits, but haven't heard from his Mommy yet...

Chick Magnet Indeed....

Pooped out from entertaining all the chicks....

As I'm playing blog catch-up, I'll leave you today with Zeus' 6th Birthday photos...

My gentle giant (notice the very dainty lick, as he's probably saying to himself "Enough with the darn pictures already... can I tear in to this thing yet?!?!?!)...

And finally, my handsome 6 year old, posing nicely while Mommy makes him do embarrassing silly things with his new birthday toy...

That's it... back to dealing with the turn-your-head-and-it'll-change New England weather! It was 72 degrees yesterday and now we're expecting a snow storm tomorrow to dump 6" or more of snow (some say up to 6", some say 6 - 13" ... in other words, they don't know!).... oh the joys! I'm also thinking about some wonderful goodies that I can start spoiling my Secret Pal with!!!