Unexpected Guests, the Plague, and Sleevitis

Last weekend my aunt and uncle stopped by while on their cross country trip. It was great to visit with them, but I think they brought the plague. Whether they carried some mutant virus from the Great Plains or I ran myself down with the holidays, road trips, and visitors, I have had the cold from hell all week.

It's been so bad that I haven't been able to lurk at my favorite blogs or even hang out on Ravelry. The plus side is I got a lot of knitting done while watching bad day-time TV. I planned to work diligently on Sassy's Cherie Amour, but I had crippling sleevitis. Instead, I knit a very simple twisted wrap with the Trendsetter Venus yarn I picked up at Hanks. I used a provisional cast on with a garter stitch seam to create seamless shoulder wrap. It shows the variations in yarns and textures beautifully! I have a bit left; I think I will do a very narrow, very long scarf.


I also cast on Mrs. Darcy, finished the back, and started the sleeves. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport and size 10 needles to match the gauge called for in the pattern. It has made a light and lacy fabric, perfect for Florida! The Lorna's Laces is soo soft. I love it!


Did you notice that I knit the back, skipped the fronts, and went straight to the sleeves? I thought that might circumvent my sleevitis. Maybe it's not sleevitis; maybe I just get bored with a project near the end and... Nope, it's sleevitis.

I have put a lot of thought into this disorder over the last week. First, I must qualify that I have freakishly long arms. According to da Vinci, a person's height is supposed to be equal to her wingspan measured fingertip to fingertip, across the shoulders. Well, I am 66 inches tall, and my wingspan is 70 inches. Four full inches difference! I should be in a side show.

So, when I knit sleeves, it takes an extra long time. However, my sleevitis cannot be simply blamed on my freakishness. Think about knitting the front of a sweater. You knit four inches, hold it up to your body, and look! you've knit from your hipbone to your belly button! Now think about knitting two sleeves. It's often the same number of stitches, so it should be just as exciting. However, you knit four inches, hold it up to your arm, and you've knit to your wrist. Hardly exciting.

I think we need support groups for sleevitis. Special stitch and bitches devoted strictly to sleeves. "Hi, my name is Eryn, and I have sleevitis. I have knit two half sleeves since our last meeting."

Even without the support group, I forced myself to knit Sassy's sleeves. They are officially done and blocking. I will be embarking on the grand adventure that is seaming as soon as all the pieces are dry.

Until then, I have much blogstalking to catch up on. First, my worst habit. I think it's obvious that my worst habit is procrastination. I will do nothing today that can be put off 'til tomorrow! The next assignment is a snap-shot of our knitting needles.

Here you see my needle drawer, including my brand new Options Harmony set (Whee!). So far I love them; they are beautiful: smooth with just enough grip that I don't lose my stitches. Maybe they can help me fight sleevitis!

Who's got the Mojo?

Today is going to make or break my holiday mojo. We start the day with the Reindeer Run, a 5K run/walk held every year in our hometown. Bubba and Bug will be running about half the run this year; I'll follow them on my jingle-bike.

Next, we rush off to Breakfast with Santa. The jolly old elf makes a special appearance every year to have pancakes with the kids and raise money for needy families. Last year Bug was in tears from the excitement; hopefully this year is not so traumatic.

So, you'd think that would be enough, no? No. We still have the library book sale and the holiday parade.... I haven't even mentioned the holiday knitting that must be finished this weekend! Sheesh.

I will definitely need my favorite invention of the twentieth century.

I was tempted to list myself as my favorite invention, but I resisted! This is the one thing that I will immediately replace should it break.

If you look at my sidebar, you will see I have finally launched my Etsy store, Turtle Cove Soaps, handmade at the House at Two Palms. Take a minute to visit the store and send me a convo to tell me what you think. I have listed the best of my goats milk and specialty soaps, and of course I'll be adding more as the pass my exacting standards. Right now, I am working hard in my secret laboratory, developing a knitter's salve. It will soon be for sale in my Etsy store and my LYS All Strung Out.

Not for Ed or the Faint of Heart

Sorry, Ed; you may not want to see this.


We've decided Bubba is part shark.

A Day of Thanksgiving

On this day of reflection, I find my thoughts turning to my family. I am thankful to have a wonderful husband and loving children, and I am especially thankful for my step-father's family. They took me in as a shy five year old, lost and uncertain and taught me how to love matter of fact-ly and unconditionally. They gave me many holiday traditions that I am now passing on to my children. One of my favorite traditions is serving Vareniki at holiday meals.

Vareniki are Ukrainian dumplings, a food staple in many homes. They are usually stuffed with potatoes, much like perogi, but Dad's mother's were always stuffed with cheese curds and baked in cream. Her recipe, written in her careful copperplate hand, simply listed the ingredients. The details were shared with her daughters, who in turn taught me.

I have made this dish every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've shared it with friends, neighbors, and coworkers, and now I share it with you.

Christine's Vareniki
Ingredients for dough
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
water

Ingredients for stuffing
12 ounces large curd cottage cheese
1 egg

12 ounces heavy cream (unsweetened)

Press the whey (liquid) from the curds (solid) with a cheesecloth.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg to the cheese curds and mix gently. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix in water to make a smooth, elastic dough.

Roll out dough to 1/8 inch and cut into 3 inch circles. Fill the center of each circle with cheese filling, fold over and press the edges together.
Gently place the dumplings in boiling water for three to five minutes, until they float.
Using a slotted spoon, remove them from the water and layer in a large baking dish. Pour heavy cream over the dumplings and bake covered in a 350* oven for one hour.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and enjoy.
Mmmmm yummy. I'm also thankful I made enough for leftovers!

French fries do not contaminate your hot dog!*

Bleck. It was a craptastic day at work today. Thank the powers that be that it's knit night tonight! Two or three hours of nothing but knitting and kvetching! Whoo-wee do I need that.

Enough whining.... Here's some knitting:

Cherie Amour

Want to know a dirty little secret? I can count or I can knit lace. I can't do both at the same time. I have ripped the bodice lace on this three times. I'm now eight rows past the armhole division. I've decided to knit both fronts and the back at the same time (because I'm insane!). Actually, there is a method to my madness. I know that there is no way I could make all three pieces exactly the same length if I knit them separate. This sweater is for my sister Sassy, a birthday/Christmas gift. It may be done before she has her baby.

Wait... don't I have a baby cardi on the needles? Yep! And no progress. I've reached the hood and I am bored to tears. I have six inches to go and six months to finish it.

And, even though I needed to do two, I finished one hedgehog this weekend. He's brown and black and impossible to photograph without sunlight. Bubba loves him.

Last but not least, Blogstalking Week 9. (Is it really week 9? Well, Week Whatever!) The assignment is a pic of your junk drawer. I don't have a junk drawer, I have a junk room. Our master bedroom is really a mother-in-law suite, something I had never heard of until moving to Florida. Our bedroom has a teeny-tiny kitchen that doubles as my secret laboratory.


Most of the junk is stuffed in the shoe boxes. See the soap drying on the rack? Yummy Plumberry and "Forest's Edge," my blend of juniper breeze and sweet grass. It is fabulous!

*Yet another title stolen from conversations with the monsters. The Bug had a meltdown because his french fries landed on his hot dog. It's a terrible thing.

The Breakfast of Champions*

Please note that the breakfast items are on the car. I know it's horrible and the super cool Allstate guy says I'll go to hell for it, but I eat on my commute.

*I've now got "We Are The Champions" ala Chicken Little in my head. Also, did you notice the addition to my dashboard? I love my monsters.....

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Bubba turned six years old this weekend! He's grown up so fast.... We went to the Renaissance Faire, as we do every year. We were halfway through the two hour drive when I realized I forgot the camera! Crap.

This year the fire eater Johnny Phoenix used my lighter to start the show! You have to understand that the Hairy One and I have been inadvertently stalking this guy for seven years now. We saw him at our first ren-fair together, and he has been at every ren-fair since. He does a hilarious show! If you ever get a chance to see him - take it. You won't be disappointed. I was going to talk to him after the show - maybe joke a little about stalking him, but I got too shy and chickened out. There's always next year.

The finale at the ren-faire every year is the royal joust to the death. Every year the bad guy cheats and kills the good knight (sorry for ruining it for you!). Every year, my sweet monsters have to check to make sure he's not really dead..... "I know this is really pretend, but I just want to make sure he's okay."

Speaking of the monsters, how about Halloween costumes? Bug is the knight, Bubba is the skeleton monster. I've been thinking of ways to knit "armor" for the boys. I'm thinking a shiny silver/gray yarn, DK or worsted weight, knitted in garter stitch on size 13 needles..... Maybe for next year!

Here's an awkward segue into crazy projects: my first two hedgies are done! They are desperately cute, if I do say so myself. Hermione, the pink one, will go on display at All Strung Out. Hedgie is destined to become Bug's best friend. I have three more to make: Bubba's in brown and black, Sassy's in purple and burgundy, and Yaya's in green and orange. Here's the details:

Hermione Hedgehog
Pattern: Fiber Trends Hedgehogs
Yarn: Approximately 165 yards Dark Horse Yarns Rhapsody 100% Merino color # 71; 100 yards each Dark Horse Yarns Metal Wink, yellow and pink. I skipped the darker color for the paws.
Needles: US 10 1/2 (6.5 mm) for the body and US 11 (8 mm) for the back. After the first hedgehog, I also used US 8 to pick up the stitches for the back, then knitted those onto the 11's.

Notes: These knit up super fast! It's instant gratification. A few observations, though: I found it so much easier to pick up the stitches for the back with smaller needles; when I did that, I didn't end up with holes I had to sew up later. The back is done is a series of short rows - great practice for me! I would strongly recommend that you do not put the hedgehog down in the middle of the series. You will become completely lost! (Or is that just me?)

All in all I love these guys. They are sooo cute!!

Finally, I am very behind on Blogstalking. Last week's assignment was the oldest picture of yourself you have. I wasn't sure what I'd find for this. About four years ago we had a house fire and lost almost everything. We were able to save some pictures, but they were all damaged. I haven't had the heart to go through them in any detail until now.... Forgive the crappy quality of the picture of a picture. My scanner at work died, and I can't get my photo editing program to work here at the house.

That little black dot is my head! The gorgeous woman reading is my mom. I love the fact that she is intently reading while nursing; I did the same thing with my monsters.

I'm Back!

So last Wednesday our modem craps out. We get on the phone with Tech Support and they are adamant that it is not the modem.... I changed out the NIC card (yay me!) replaced the cords - nothing. Back on the phone with Tech Support and they still say it must be something with the computer. I check the settings, the firewalls, the filter - the stupid thing should be working!

Finally they send a guy. He says, "I don't know" (after replacing 99% of the hardware). They send another guy. After three hours, it's fixed, but he doesn't know what caused the problem or how he fixed it. I love computers! And I love Tech Support!

So, mad catch up! First, a Day in the Life at the House at Two Palms:


That sums it up. The only consistent thing day to day is my coffee.

Next, some Works in Progress. These are actually a week late.

I've been working on a baby cardi for my little sister's peanut. I've decided that I need to knit more baby clothes. Talk about instant gratification!

I am so excited to finally be an aunt. Sassy is due in May, and that baby will have the most hand-knit items of any child in our family! This sweater only has three inches on the sleeves and finishing left. It's kind of an "Oh Duh" thing, but I've been knitting both sleeves at the same time.

I've also joined the Hedgehog craze. These guys knit up so fast that it's easy to see why so many people are making them. At the time of the picture, we were trying to decide between the orange and the teal funfur. The orange made him look like a team mascot, so I went with the teal.

I took him to knit night last week, and the fabulous Gigi was so taken with him, that she asked me to make one for the store. She gave me some wool that they are thinking of carrying; I get to be the first to test it! It is absolutely fabulous, smooshy marino wool. I'll get pics and details up soon.

Hedgie and Hermione are done and awaiting felting. I will be making at least three more, so you will soon be sick and tired of hedgehogs!

In other news, I finished the Pretty in Pink tank. Pics and pattern notes soon; I'm still waiting to get both sunshine and a photographer at the same time. I had to frog the Shapely Tank: I was knitting it in a cotton blend that did not take well to the pattern. I've got a light wool blend to try, and I'm adjusting the pattern to knit in the round.

I will add this week's wip's, catch up on Blogstalking, and post pics of the monsters in their Halloween finery soon.

An Interesting Statue

I live in the land of mouse ears and space shuttles, so my choice of statuary is a little limited.... For this week's Blogstalker assignment I chose my favorite little knick knack paddy wack.

Do I disturb you?

I found this Nike of Samothrace at one of those discount retail stores. I said, "Huh, isn't that neat," and walked away. But, like some Giger-esque bad dream, she called me back and I bought her the next day. She lost one wing in a terrible marauding kitty accident, and has scared the crap out of the Hairy One ever since.

She is rather disturbing. She appeals to that leather and lace, liquid latex part of me that the monsters have (mostly) suppressed.

Three Things I Love and Three Things I Hate

This week's blogstalking assignment is to list three things I love and three things I hate. Since I'm a pretty loving person (I have said "I love you" to strangers and meant it!) it's hard to narrow down to three. Here are the ones I thought of first.....

I Love Purple Flowers

These are all flowers from my gardens; there are two passion flowers, two butterfly bushes, and two unknowns.

I Love My Furbabies


Clockwise from top left: Black Tom, Jasper, Murder Girl, Nutmeg, and Peek-a-boo

I Love My Monsters

Bubba and the Bug, getting away with murder since 2003.

And now Three Things I Hate













I really hate them!

Spiders!

I hate them so much that I couldn't even take my own picture or put three separate pictures in the blog. I hate them so much that just having this picture is creeping me out.

And since I'm such a rebel, here's one more thing I love:

How you get from here to there

This week's assignment on Blogstalker is "How do you get from here to there." I have to add a disclaimer again: Do not try this at home!

Since we live on an island, the answer is by bridge.


And the beast that gets us where we need to go?

Blogstalking: "The Contents of My Purse"

Here is my purse!

This is what my purse looks like on any given day. I have not been able to admit that I am not a small purse person, so everything is balanced precariously. My current project and my book are always on top.

Once you move the book and the knitting, you see the ever-so-organized jumble of old receipts, keys, my wallet, candy, and all the other odds and ends. If you look closely, you will see a grocery list from last month.



Here's a close up of the mess that is my purse. It's all the "emergency" stuff I never actually need. Mints for dragon breath, emergency chocolate, a necklace for when I need sparkly, and of course four lipsticks that I never remember to put on.....

Blogstalking: "Who Are You?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know this is last week's question. I am always late; I'll probably be late for my own funeral!

So, who is this girl? And why is she so unusual? That is such a hard question.... I'll start with the statistics:

I'm a wife; I've been married to the Hairy One for six years. We met when we were both in the Army and it was that stupid-grin, weak-kneed love at first sight. He spoils me outrageously and in return, I let him go fishing whenever he wants.

I'm a mom; we have two beautiful little monsters, Bubba and the Bug. Bubba's five (almost six) and in kindergarten, and the Bug just turned four and is next door in Pre-K (that poor school). I'm trying to raise them to be independent, tenacious, and responsible for their own actions. I think it's working, but military school is always an option.

I'm an "Executive Assistant;" oh pu-lease, that's just a fancy term for a glorified secretary. I am also the primary bread-winner for our family. The Hairy One is going to school full-time to be a rocket scientist; we had to make some sacrifices, but it's worth it.

I'm in my early thirties, but I keep forgetting; I have purple hair and work in a conservative office. I love platform shoes and goth-girl outfits (but the little goth-kids always make me giggle). I am easily bored so I have eighty hobbies. I read voraciously: often a book every other day.

I am fiscally conservative but socially liberal. I believe the government should stay out of almost everything: marriage, the human body, the Middle East, my pocketbook. I believe in stronger criminal penalties, especially for violent or sexual crimes and meth manufacturing.

[pants] Whoo! I swear I didn't see that soap-box. Wow.

Mostly I'm just me. I read, I knit, I sew. I make soap. I jump in rain puddles with the boys. I like frogs and I am afraid of spiders. I am Eryn, hear me roar!