Felt Like Knitting

WIP Wednesday

A lot of people signed up for the Ravelympics this summer, but I resisted.  I decided not to add extra pressure to my life right now, but I did actually want to play along.  So I'm lurking.  The event I chose was WIP Wrestling.  I am very happy to report that I have been making progress!

Finished:  Clapotis, Bubble Bag

I'm excited to have these two projects done!  (The bag just needs to dry and be trimmed.  I'm not sure I can line this one very easily.)  I would have rather felted it more to remove more stitch definition, but I don't want it to get smaller.  The bag is for a friend and she picked out the pattern and colors.  I'll change the way I use color if I knit this again (use more colors, use more colors in the narrow bands to make then narrower, etc.).  My friend saw it unfelted last night and liked it.  Hopefully she'll like it felted, too.

Frogged:  Monkey socks, my hat

I liked the yarn, the pattern, and the combination of the two for the Monkey socks.  But I finally decided it wasn't worth it to keep going if my daughter struggled to get them on her feet.  So I frogged the Monkeys and started another pattern.  It was a toe up pattern and was going great until I realized that the sock would be too wide.  So this yarn (my daughter chose it) is going back in the bin until I learn more about knitting socks.  I'm going to knit a pair or two for me so I can learn more about construction and technique.  Then I'll tackle my daughter's long, narrow/pointy-healed feet.

The hat was for the pattern I'm writing.  It was obvious there wouldn't be enough yarn to finish the hat, so it's gone now.  I'll try again with different yarn.

Still left:  Surplice Lace Top, Ariann, cabled charity hat

I'm finishing up a cabled hat for charity right now then I'll only have two WIPs left!  Can you believe it?!  But, I need to decide whether to keep knitting the top and sweater or not.  I'm doubting that I'd wear the top.  There are holes around the waist and that's an area I like to keep hidden.  And since the lace is right there, it makes that area look larger.  Again, not what I like to do.  But I'm reluctant to frog it.  The sad thing about these two projects is that they were both KALs with Katie.  She finished hers, but I haven't finish mine.  :(

How are your projects coming along?  What are you looking forward to knitting this fall?

The top 10 reasons I love my dog

I have to admit that there were a few rough days when we first got Trump.  I still miss Phoebe terribly, but now I can't imagine life without our new pug.  Here are the top 10 reasons I've fallen in love.

10.  It's fun to watch Trump eat.  Okay, what pug doesn't like to eat?  But Trump has his own unique way of chowing down.  He HAS to eat on his bed.  If I put his bowl on the floor, he carries food over to his bed and eats it.  So now his bowl goes right on his bed.  (We think he does this because his rescue mom fed him in his crate while he recuperated from his leg surgeries.) 

9.  But he doesn't eat human food.  Phoebe was all over us whenever we had food.  You couldn't walk into the kitchen without a pug escort.  And it was hard to eat dinner with the little beggar down below.  But Trump probably never tried human food while in rescue and we're going to keep it that way.

8.  He's quiet.  In my experience, pugs can bark incessantly.  Trump is a quiet pug.  In fact, I've only heard him bark three times.  When he does bark, it's very soft and muted.  For now...

7.  Trump is a quick learner.  In the beginning, I thought he'd never adjust but I just needed to be patient.  In the two months that we've had him, he's learned to potty outside, walk on a leash, make friends with people, accept S & E, etc.  It's amazing how far he's come in such a short time.

6.  As Trump has adjusted, he's become playful.  Boy, can that dog run!  He loves to run circles around the coffee table, run up and down the hallway, toss his toys around.  (Unfortunately, he feels the need to void immediately after doing this, but we won't talk much about that.)  When I rub his tummy, he flips to his back to play.  And he likes to grab my yarn, but I'm not sure that's a good thing.  :)

5.  He's a kisser!  When we first got Trump, he couldn't stop licking me.  While I do love dog affection, I'm not much for lick-to-lip contact.  But it makes me feel good that he likes to show he cares.

4.  Trump follows me around.  Okay, sometimes this does get annoying.  But how sweet is it that he wants to be with me?

3.  I can hold him like a baby.  Trump is the cuddliest dog I've ever seen.  If I'm holding him, he goes limp and it's hard to get him to stand up.  At first, I thought something was wrong with him.  But now I think he just trusts me and feels very secure.  And who wants to give up a comfy spot?  I'd go limp, too!

2.  He is one brave boy.  For a little boy who's been through a lot in his short life, he's a real trouper.  I really admire that.

1.  Trump loves me.  How could I not love this sweet little guy who loves me so much?

                                    

 

Feeling connected

                                     

                                                      Friday's flower:  marigold

Thanks for all of your input on Facebook.  I signed up first, looked around, then let my daughter sign up, too.  Everything's set to private, I'm one of her friends so I can see what's going on, and several of my friends are on her list, too.  So far, so good.

I'm really having a lot of fun with it.  Which is a problem.  The first night, I was up playing Scramble until 1:40 AM.  Now I can't stop playing Text Twirl.  And I don't have time to read blogs or be on Ravelry.  I may need an intervention.

The most fun part so far, though, as been Flair.  Pieces of Flair is an application you can use in Facebook.  It looks like a bulletin board with souvenir buttons all over it.  You can send/receive Flair to/from other friends on Facebook.  One thing was lacking, though.  There was no "Knitblogger" Flair, so I made one. 

                                                             

(Okay, so I Googled to see if most people consider knitblogger to be one word or two.  Both are used, but I went with one word.)

And I'm feeling pretty connected.  I have email...a blog...a Flickr account...a Ravelry account...and now a Facebook account.  My friends list includes pals from high school, knitblogging friends, "real life" friends, my daughter's friends...  So I may be considered old now that I'm in my mid-40s, but I'm trying not to lose touch.  KWIM?

Random wrap-up

It's the end of the week and I have some odds and ends to share with you.

Tomatoes:  While my squash plants have been sad this year, my tomatoes are doing well.  I've had just enough to eat some every day and sometimes share with friends.  I'm growing Sweet 100, Cherokee Purple, Better Boy, and Roma tomatoes.  Today I'm going to make sun-dried tomatoes from my Romas.

                                  

Bread:  Last night I made Basil Tomato Parmesan bread.  This morning I used it for my tomato sandwich (my summer breakfast!).  The recipe is from my bread machine cookbook, but it's very similar to this recipe.  S and E don't like tomatoes, so I put the chopped sun-dried tomatoes in at the beginning.  This made the bread bright orange.  Not pretty enough for a picture, but it was delicious in my sandwich!

Clapotis:  Work continues on my Clapotis.  I remember adding more repeats, but I don't know how many.  Guess I'll have to read the pattern thoroughly to figure out what to do next.  I am still loving the fabric this yarn is making.

                                  

Money:  Probably everyone is trying to save money these days since prices are so high.  Yesterday we decided we'd try to go one week trying to spend the least amount we could.  So how did was the first day?  Awful!  Here's what we spent money on:  the mortgage, lunch out with S, gas (It was "cheap" at $3.83 a gallon, but it still took $51.45 to fill up the car.), socks and a book bag for school for E, a prescription, and a few groceries.  So much for the experiment!  But today's another day.  One positive thing was buying milk and bananas at Aldi.  The milk was $2.99 - cheaper than at my regular grocery store.

Friend:  The best news yet for this week is that I've started walking with a neighborhood friend.  When J asked if I'd like to walk, it was just what I needed to get me out there.  It has felt great to get out to exercise and I've really enjoyed our conversations.  And...SHE KNITS!  :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!