Saturday, December 27, 2008

Happy New Year!




I am so excited. I have one Norwegian Stocking down and one to go! This is got to be the first pattern I have ever followed to a "T". I did the heel double up in black because I wear heels out fast. I must shift all my weight there or something. It looks like a difficult pattern, but don't be intimidated. The color work on the leg is just two stranded and required very little weaving of ends. I was concerned my knitting would be too tight and therefore "pucker" a little. It doesn't and this one fits nicely.
I finished my children's mittens the night before Christmas. I thought I'd show them off even though they aren't very fancy. They like them very much. Evidently they go very nice with a Batman costume.
Have a Happy New Year blessed with Peace, Love, Joy and Health!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!


I hope all of my blogging friends have a very Merry Christmas. I have knit a total of 11 mittens for my children so far. A Christmas song along these lines might go (to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas")....On the first day (okay it took more than a day...play along) of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of worsted weight socks. On the second day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of worsted weight socks. On the third day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of worsted weight socks and a pair of mittens for my second to the eldest child. On the fourth day of Christmas I knit for thee a hat for someone that only turned out to be too small. On the fifth day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of pink heart mittens for my only little girl. On the sixth day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of leg warmers and some fingerless gloves for my eldest child. On the seventh day of Christmas I knit for thee a pair of "fetching" mitts for the piano teacher. On the eighth day of Christmas I knit for thee one lone mitten for my second to the youngest child. On the ninth day of Christmas I knit for thee another pair of mittens that I don't know who to give to. On the tenth day of Christmas I knit for ME one Norweigen Stocking by Nancy Bush.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Getting Things Done






The weather is definitely cold now. I am finishing up painting our neighborhood signs. I'd like to finish them before Christmas. I have knitting projects that need to be finished before Christmas also. I actually had a few requests this year for knitted items. That must mean that they aren't tired of getting them for presents yet??? I wonder how many other knitters out there give knitted items for Christmas gifts? Wanna share?

I finally finished Honeycomb. The cabling was a bit time consuming, but I am very pleased with the fit. Maybe I'll post a picture of me wearing it later. My kids requested mittens this year so I'm working on that. My sister requested some leg warmers that I have already finished and my sister's daughter requested a slouche hat. So there is plenty to do between now and Christmas.

Cheers all you Christmas knitters...may your cup (of coffee) be full and your needles be swift!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Happy Birthday To Me!


My mother in law sent me this great sheep knitting card. On the inside it says "To Someone Of Rare Ingenuity And Resourcefulness". It cracked me up. She is also a knitter and understands.

The dog is my sister's dog. "Rufus" (after Rufus Wainwright) is staying with us for a while due to my sister's life being in transition. It has been rather cold out and the little guy had lost some of his fur. So I felt sorry for him and designed him a sweater.

The folks in Montana finally sent me a picture of the baby in her hat and booties. She's such a lovely little thing.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

New Baby In The Family



So my husband's sister in law (a good friend) just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I had been waiting on knitting needles to hear whether it was certainly a girl before I knit her something. I finished these in a couple of days. I was so excited. Saartje's booties were so much easier than I had anticipated. The little matching beret just birthed out of my brain as something that might match the cute little booties. I am waiting now for them to arrive in the Northwest and for them to send me pictures of her wearing them.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Red Argyle Mittens Free Pattern



This design started as an expirement as most of mine do. My son has already claimed them for himself. There were made in lion brand cheapy worsted weight yarn from Walmart. It is a very easy pattern.

Lion Brand worsted weight yarn (100% wool)two contrasting colors, 5 size 5 dpns, one stitch holder

knit gauge is 21 sts= 3" down, 18 sts= 3" across

cast on 42 sts in mc, divide sts on three needles, needle no 1 should have 10 sts, needle no 2 should have 22 sts, needle no 3 should have 10 sts, knit one round in mc, knit one cc purl one mc for five rows for ribbed cuff, knit two rows in mc, begin chart (i'll post later at request or you can just follow the picture)til thumb gusset (3 1/2" from beginning), put five stitches on holder (for right hand: five sts before your last three, for left hand it's the reverse (obviously) with one extra increased stitch in pattern between each stitch til you have 10 on your holder, continue in pattern til work measures 5" from beginning, knit rest of mitten in mc until work measures 6 1/2 " from beginning, begin deacreasing 1 st every other round at the end of each needle until there are 6 sts on needle 2, break off a six inch tail and pull through all remaining sts, secure on the inside by weaving the end, for thumb pick up your ten sts on the holder and cast on two extra stitches from inside of thumb, knit your thumb in mc rounds until thumb measures 3 3/4", decrease a few stitches in your last round, break off a tail and thread it through remaining sts securing on the inside of the thumb, turn inside out and weave in all the ends. (I know...not the fun part).

Enjoy! Let me know if there are any boo boos. I'll try to help.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

His and Hers


What is cooler weather without Guiness??? It is like a meal in an of itself. It is the "stew" in a world of "soup" beers. My husband and I are so much alike that we both love Guiness. Of course there are always your little differences like...she likes Guiness Extra Stout, and he likes Guiness draught. We love our chuthers. What can I say?

Did anyone catch the debate the other night? I must say...I was quite unimpressed with Obama. I admit he was good about sticking to the topic for the most part. He was just not all that these liberals seem to be raving about. I really couldn't see the charm. Could anyone tell me please what you see in this guy...I mean without quoting me his very short resume? I really would like to know.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Fall is Welcome!

I actually finished this "Oregon Vest" last year. The weather is almost cool enough to wear it in the evenings and early morning.



Fall tends to drive me to bake. I am also dieting. While trying to avoid crusts and too much pastry I baked these apples with just a little cinnamon, brown sugar, a tad of butter and topped it off with some blueberries and Kashi Crunch cereal. Yum!

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My son said it wouldn't be right to not post the main course which was dill pork chops and scalloped new potatoes. My guys love their meat dishes.





Anyway, all this to help welcome Fall.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Making Progress with Honeycomb








I have finally finished the back and have cast on for the front of Honeycomb. I fumbled my way through the back twisted rib using my bamboo circulars. I wanted to fling it out the window. The points were not sharp enough to do the twisted purled stitches without great effort. Then (big duh) I remembered that I had metal circulars in this size. What a relief! Now I'm flying through that twisted rib with ease.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Mushrooms

I came back from my second day training for running and found these lovely little things growing in my yard. Aren't they cute?











Monday, September 8, 2008

Babies Like Yarn Too!

Yes, he's crawling, he's cruising and he's getting into everything including the yarn stash. I couldn't help but laugh yesterday when this little dude was sword fighting his soon to be four year old brother with a straw. Hilarious. Still, it can be quite frustrating trying to keep things tidy when you have a busy baby around.








Regardless of any frustration I love him and savor every moment. I just have to say...isn't he cute in his new socks knitted especially for him by mommy? He has so rarely worn anything on his feet so far that he really seemed engrossed in his new socks. Oh how nice to be so easily entertained.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Polka Dots


What to do with left over polka dot material? Hmmm. Make matching dresses, a top and a skirt for four sisters. These are all my designs. Most of them seemed to fit okay even though I didn't have measurements for them. I wondered about the polka dots. I didn't want them to feel like they looked like clowns. They turned out well indeed. I was pleased in the end.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Endpaper Mitts




This is about all I have accomplished so far on my Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang. I am really excited about the colors. I love the way they are turning out. I had to put them down for a bit though. My 7month old is quite the busy bee.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Adventures in Rosemaling



I enjoy refinishing furniture as much as any other craft I am acquainted with. I finally got around to refinishing my daughter's bed. It was my bed when I was a child. It used to be a canopy bed. It was very plain. The posters were warped from time, and the color was too drab for her room. I decided to compliment our Norweigan heritage by trying my hand at Norweigan Rosemaling. I had to used colors that complimented her personality and the other items in her room. I forgot to take a before picture of the bed, but here is a picture of the matching dresser before I refinish it. They orginally matched. You can get an idea of how boring the bed was before it's transformation. I replaced the old posts with a ball top that I found at Home Depot. I had to used some wood filler to fill in the gaps. I used a flat latex off white for the base coat. I then did the rosemaling using an old family antique tine for a guide and some craft acrylic paints. I washed the entire headboard and footboards with an acrylic mixture of mostly brown/red hues that were very watered down to provide an antique effect. To finish I sanded down corners and strategic areas to make it look old and worn. It was such a fun project that now I am venturing to do the dresser to match.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Are You Being Poisoned?






When I was just a small child I received my first silver filling. Nah...I don't necessarily remember it. My mother was in dentistry. I probably went to see the dentist she was working with at the time. Over the course of my life so far I have acquired two more. They're little specks of silver/gray looking metal no more than an eighth of an inch big. I try to look at this as an accomplishment considering that I hardly remember brushing regularly at all as a child and since most the people I know have far more fillings than I do. I do however remember being in the fifth grade when some kids down the street were playing with some shiney liquid metal in a dish. I thought it was so cool I rushed home to tell my mom about it. I was shocked and a little scared when she nervously asked if I had touched it. I replied that I hadn't and she seemed to relax a little. Years later I realized this same stuff that she was so vehemently against me touching was the same stuff that was in my mouth.
So I am no chemistry major. I hold no degrees in the sciences of any kind. I do however love to do research. I wasn't really until years later when I married my husband that the subject came up again with any potency. My husband used to be a connisseur of tic tacs. When I met him he already had one root canal, several fillings and a few gold crowns. He had several teeth pulled as he was informed he had many "extra" teeth. When I met him six years ago he also had one deformed fingernail and few small patches of red scaley skin due to an autoimmune disease known as psoriasis. This disease seems to run in the family. I
I remembered some things from studying bits and pieces about heavy metals and tried to discourage my husband from further recommendations by his dentist to have more amalgam fillings. Incidently, silver amalgam fillings consist among other metals of 50% mercury. My husband's dentist insisted that he get the silver fillings due to the fact that they were cheaper than other materials. My husband conceded. His teeth now consist of about 40% silver amalgam.
Over the following few days my husband experienced great jaw discomfort, swollen jaw, sinus trouble and some serious night grinding of the teeth. He would sweat most profuse in his sleep. Many times I rolled over to put my arm around him and found him soaking wet. These first symptoms seemed to disappear over the course of a couple months. The following few years were another story. The lone psoriasis fingernail had now spread to all fingernails and toenails. He developed large patches of scaley red skin on his scalp, ears, hands and various other places I won't mention. It became painful for him to wear certain shoes and there was always the scare of bumping one of his swollen, 1/4" thick fingernails or toenails. It also became a source of personal emotional discomfort as many people seemed to accuse him of having some sort of fungus. He promptly went to another dermatologist who confirmed the psoriasis. If you know anything about psoriasis you'll know that there really isn't anything you can do for it. You can try to "manage" it...but it is genetic and incurable. What do most people do when they've been told their disease is incurable? I think most would say they just try to get by by managing the symptoms.
My husband's step mother was recently diagnosed with mercury poisoning. Sure, she ate alot of salmon, but the chief concern in the mind of her health professional was her silver amalgam fillings. Shortly after having them removed by a professional experienced and specifically trained biological dentist she claims that she feels soooo much better. So I started to look into it. I started researching other's claims to healthier lives after having their fillings removed. Well, they are out there. There are many of them. Here are a few... http://www.toothandbodyconnection.com/success-stories , http://www.vaccinetruth.org/posion_in_your_mouth.htm , http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/,http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/bedford_bulletin/news05.htm These are only a few people who have experienced relief after having their fillings removed.
I don't think there are many people who truly like to admit that they are wrong. Medical science seems even more reluctant due to the fact that you might possibly be able to sue them for any negligence. There is a reason they have to carry such heavy duty malpractice insurance. Despite the fact that there are many references out there detailing the dangers of mercury exposure dentist still use this toxic heavy metal in their fillings. Here are just a few references about toxicity. http://www.mercola.com/article/mercury/no_mercury.htm , http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2001/may2001_report_mercury_1.html , http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~epados/mercbuild/src/poison.htm , http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26953--,00.html . The ADA American Dental Association seems to say that mercury becomes stable when combined with the other metals. Please see this and this. (for the second one scroll down to 60 minutes episode).
I made an appointment with a biological dentist to have my fillings removed. I only have a few small ones. My husband has many and it will be very costly to have his removed. He paid a bundle to have that poison put in his mouth, and now we have to pay a bundle to have it removed. Regardless of whether or not the mercury exacerbated his psoriasis (as this is yet to be seen) the research on the effects of mercury poisoning show that there is a great price to pay with your health whether the effects are now or later. I posted this information because I believe that dentists should not only have consent from us to use such materials on us...but INFORMED consent. I write this to encourage anyone to take resposibility for your own health. I write to validate others in their search for truths. Don't let anyone tell you something is "safe" without doing the research! Once you've done the research I feel certain you'll come to the same conclusion.

*If you do decide to have your silver amalgam fillings removed make SURE it is done by a biological dentist trained in the safety of their removal.

Here are some... http://mercuryfreedentists.com

Blessings and Good Health!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Second Half of Resume




A Partial Resume






Warning...there are many photos in this post. My son took them and by no means is a professional photographer so excuse the blurry ones. Anyone is of course free to look and read. I posted this mostly for Debbie's friend seeking someone to exhibit her alpaca yarn in handknits. This is a partial resume/portfolio of just a portion of my knitting over the years. I have been knitting now for 11 years. I can crochet a chain and that is the extent of my crocheting abilities. I knit left handed which doesn't seem to be a problem with patterns. I haven't had to reverse anything yet. I very often design my own patterns or alter a pattern to fit more to my liking or taste. Most of the pictures you will see here are my own designs. I know this doens't seem like alot. You can click back to older posts to see many other projects. Keep in mind that most of my knitting is given away as gifts. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment if you so desire. Also, you can ask Debbie for my number.