Bethel's Craft Talk and Other Musings

2012 Week 3 Hodgepodge Post

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:49:00 +0000

Gratuitous Cute Baby Picture...
I think this is the 1st picture of my DD where she actually favors me. She usually favors her daddy in picutres. This was taken with her camera phone and I tinted it Sepia.

Darling Grandson with Darling Daughter

Here are the new questions that Joyce came up with this week.

1. A new Miss America was crowned on Saturday night-did you watch? If you were a contestant what would your talent be?

No, but my DD did. Miss Oklahoma was from my Alma Mater - Oklahoma State. Betty came in 2nd. It is interesting that she has such an old-fashioned name. I wonder if it's a family name? I guess you can't knit or crochet?? Probably a monologue from a play or a flute solo.

2. Do you have houseplants? Real or fake?

          Not really. I have a really black thumb. I can pick out plants and determine where they should go but I can't keep them alive. My DH does that outdoors. I used to have a philadandrium for a long time - you can't hardly kill those. When I was a teenager I had some cactus in some planters and a terrarium. Lately, I have been considering getting one of those...It's a funny story!

          I tried a new carbonated beverage that is supposed to have the opposite effect of "Red Bull". It was called "Drank". One Saturday evening, I decided to try it while reading in bed. I drank half a can which was one serving and conked out. My DS came in really late and was talking to my DH, I evidently heard them and woke up groggy and told them, "YES, I would LOVE to have a Terrarium!" lol. They both said, "What?" I was pretty fuzzy but started to explain what it was...Talk about way out of context...Guess I should leave the "Drank" alone!!

3. When you were in school did you speak up or were you more of the hide your face, avoid eye contact, and pray the teacher didn’t call on you type of student?

          I guess I spoke up. I really liked school.

4. Next Monday marks the Chinese New Year…what do you order when someone suggests Chinese food?

          I enjoy Lo Mein because I love pasta but also enjoy lettuce wraps. I think both of those are pretty Americanized. In Japan, when we went to real Chinese restaurants, my favorite think was Chicken Noodle Soup that came for the whole table, it was flavored with lemon. I have not had anything like it here in the US but it was delicious.

5. How would you define a miracle? What would it take for you to consider something a miracle?

          A miracle is something good that happens that cannot be explained by normal means but only though God's intervention. I have seen many instances of this, usually in reference to miracle healings that doctors cannot explain.

6. What’s your favorite Disney song? If you’re stuck you’ll find a list here.

          This is a tough one since I LOVE all things Disney. I think I would have to say "Bibbity Bobbity Boo". As a child we had a "45" record player and we had a few "plastic" records for it and one of them was "Bibbity Bobbity Boo".  I am sure my Mama got tired of hearing us play that! I also really like "Hakuna Matata", I love all the Happy songs!

7. I should have _____________ yesterday.

Exercised! Instead, I guess I was planning on taking over the world...

Pinky: Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?
Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!

8. My Random Thought

Bev's Sparkly Christmas Socks!

          I knit these socks for my DMIL for Christmas this year. I was pretty excited about them because they were the first in a while that I actually got to fit someone - I seemed to have hit a sock-fitting wall on the 2 or 3 pairs I worked on before these. I was super happy that I was able to make exact twins on the striping!

          I bought this year last year after Christmas so I got it on sale, it is Marathon's North Pole sock yarn in "Jack Frost" colorway. I knew my DMIL would like it as she really likes blue and it has a silver sparkle thread all the way through it. She modeled them below for me. Also, this yarn is machine-washable which is a must for most of my sock recipients. I knit these with 2 Circular needles, size 1.5. I knit them toe-up at 64 stitches (she has an average width foot) with a Fleegle heel and a 1 x 1 rib and Jeny's Surprizing Stretchy Bind-off.

          I had tried to make her some socks a long time ago but used a different bind-off and she couldn't get them off and on. I really like Jeny's method for exactly that reason. The silver thread looks cool but is a little rough on the hands while knitting. I used a lot of lotion! This was not the softest yarn, but I heard that washing them would help soften them up. After hand-washing once, and machine washing twice, these socks did get softer. I think the more they are washed and worn the softer they will feel.

2012 Week 2 Hodge Podge Post

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:56:00 +0000

First, gratuitous Baby Shot:

Nap Time with Poppy Mark

Here are the new questions that Joyce came up with this week! Play along by posting your own answers, linking up with her website, then visiting other bloggers to see how they answered.

1. Lake Superior University has once again published a list of words/phrases they think should be banished from the Queen’s English in 2012 -amazing, baby bump, shared sacrifice, occupy, blowback, man cave, the new normal, pet parent, win the future, trickeration, ginormous, and thank you in advance. Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Go here to read more about how the words are chosen.

I don't care for "the new normal", aren't we making a new one every day?? Maybe that's not such a good thing...

2. Are you easily embarrassed?

In public, yes, in private, not so much.

3. What is your go-to snack?

Sweets - cookies, cake, and pie! I am a No Calorie Left Behind type of dessert person. I cannot fathom that the chefs on Top Chef can't or don't like to make dessert! Almost everyone I know, including guys learned to make desserts before they learned to cook anything else.

4. Have you ever been to Washington D.C.? If not do you have any desire to go? What site/attraction would you most want to see in that city? If you have been, what’s your favorite site/attraction?

I have been a few times. This is a very timely question, as my neice is getting ready to go in a couple of months. I told her the tour and changing of the guards at Arlington National Cemetary is really moving. I also think that every Human Being should be required to go to the Holocaust Museum. It is vital that we realize there is true evil, how we didn't recognize it, and how to fight it. I also really enjoyed the Ford Theater when I went with my DD. It is really spooky and very historic - the museum is very well done. We also enjoyed a great display of Norman Rockwell at the Smithsonian Art Museum. The coolest part is most of these are free or very low cost things to do.

5. Sit ups-planks-lunges-squats…which do you hate the least?

Probably squats, but I am always sore the next day. I can't do sit-ups since my shoulder surgery and Planks are ridiculous - I have no core...lol.

6. What’s a small act of kindness you were shown that you’ve never forgotten?

My entire group from work came to my Daddy's funeral when he past away. The funeral was a bit of a drive from work about 45 min. but they all came - over 20. I can't tell you how much that meant to me and most of them had never met my Daddy. I was really devastated by his relatively quick death and it really made an impression on me.

I had always heard how people hate funerals and how they won't go but that day I learned an importatn life lesson. The funeral is for the grieving and by going you are helping them grieve. And that is a Very Important Thing.

7. Have you ever been a blood donor?

Yes, I am "O" Positive, the Universal Donor so I try to give.

8. My Random Thought

Lace Top Stripe Socks

I started these when I wanted just a simple no-strenuous brain activity required knitting. I really enjoy the Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn in the "Chili" colorway. It is 50% merino, 25% nylon, and 25% bamboo. It is a warm sock like I have discovered using other bamboo sock yarns but the higher nylon content makes it not too slippery or splitty and clings to the foot, etc. well.

I made these for me using the 2 Circular method with 1.5 Addi Turbos and 58 st for the foot (I have a narrow foot) and 60 for the heel and leg. I used a simple Fleegle heel (I think I have this memorized now! yeah!) and topped it with a simple 6 row lace pattern that I reversed from the Socks A La Carte book. I used Jeny's Surprising Stretchy Bind-off.

I liked this colorway better on the skein than made up but I get a lot of compliments on the colorway so maybe it's just me. Overall, a fun knit and a good fitting sock.

2012 1st Hodgepodge Post

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:24:00 +0000

It’s a new year, and what better way to begin anew than with a fresh set of Hodgepodge questions?! Thanks, Joyce, for hosting!

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2011?

Exciting! I got a new grandson and he's practically perfect in every way!

Celebratory! My DS graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's in Business Management

Travelocity! My DH and I went on our 1st cruise ever with one of his cousins and wife and had a fantastic time.

2. Do you like shrimp? What’s your favorite way to have it prepared?

     I LOVE fried shrimp but really I like shrimp nearly everyway except with fettuccini alfredo.

3. Is your house de-Christmased? If so when did you tackle that job? If not, when will the decorations come down?

     Normally, I like to get it put away by New Year's Day or the day after but we have been sick     and I will probably get it done this week.

4. Do you like to watch scary movies?

     No! In the words of a friend, I do not consider being scared out of my wits as entertainment. My DSIL used to trick me into seeing them. I do like a good suspense movie though.

5. Ice skating~sledding~skiing~snowboarding~of the four listed which wintertime activity do you most enjoy?

         I really like to Snow-blade. It's like skiing but with much shorter skis. I have only done it a few times but love the sensation of speed and wind. The last time I went over Christmas last year, I got a defective snowblade on one foot - not a good thing. Fortunately, they had some really nice looking snow rescue guys...

6. Did you have a childhood hideout? Describe it.

     I hated going outside, unless we were going swimming but my mom used to force me to go outside (she did it for my own good...). I used to make a fort in our shed or near it and pretty much cart everything from my room out there...lol.

7. What’s a place or space that motivates you?

     I really like my sewing room when I get it all organized and sometimes even organizing it is a lot of fun.

8. My Random Thought

     Today, my DH turns 50. We have a new family member who is 5.5 months. We have 2 great kids and a great SIL. We are so very lucky. Here is a pic of our new pride and joy on his 5-mo birthday. Mr. Bright Eyes.

KNOW Day Camp 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:49:00 +0000

My local chapter of Knit at Night called KNOW (Knit at Night Out West) had its first annual Day Camp about a month ago. I know, I know, but better late than never...

We held it at my house and we packed in 31 great knitters and we all created a "Funky Sock Monkey". As you know, I had made Elliott after my trip to Sock Summit last year. Below are a ton of pictures of all the fun we had - I decided I wanted to post them all so everyone could see. I also received a beautiful potted Tulip and a gift certificate to a LYS as a "thank you gift" and a festive Easter Bunny container filled with Knitting Fuel - Chocolate!

We had lunch brought in and we had great goodie bags that included the yarn for 2 opposite color sock monkeys, the pattern, candy and chocolate, samples of lotion, 2 different sizes of project bags as well as 2 custom-made scratch-off cards. The scratch off were used to give out door prizes. We had 16 door prizes. Which was totally great odds for winning! We also had monkey stitch markers but they were given out at our last KNOW meeting since they just didn't arrive in the mail in time.

I am still working on my Sock Monkey that I started - he still needs 2 arms and his ears and eyes but he is going to make one of my nephews really happy on his birthday! A totally fun day and well worth all the cleaning! lol. I hope we have started a yearly tradition...

Elliott's Christmas Adventures!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:20:00 +0000

Well, better late than never. Elliott got to do a lot of interesting things over the Christmas holidays. One weekend we drove over the Fredericksburg, TX to do a little Christmas shopping and boy is that a great place to do it. We were having that cold spell then so it was actually nippy here in Texas so we all had on jackets - except Elliott, he had fur of course... Here is Elliott and myself meeting Santa. I am not sure what Elliott told Santa he wanted, but I heard something about miniture sports car.

We got to see some fabulous lights in Johnson City, Texas (named for President Lyndon B Johnson's family) called Hill Country Christmas Lights. Elliott ooh'd and ahh'd.

In early December Elliott and I got on a plane for Calgary, AB. Now I have to say, I was really prepared. I got some Cuddl Duds (fancy long-johns for those of us who didn't know), layers of clothes, new knitted mittens, a wool baktus scarf, and a Noro hat and my coat but -22 degrees F is ri-donk-u-lous! Taking a breath while waiting for a taxi was literally painful.

The day we arrived, Edmonton, AB which is further north than Calgary set a record for the COLDEST PLACE ON THE PLANET!!! (I am sure they mean where people are silly enough to try to live). But as the saying goes - I put on my big girl pants and toughed it out. Elliott, the coward, shivered inside my Couch purse. Those Canadians are of hardy stock - here are some Carolers on a pedistrian mall. Do you notice that they have on matching crocheted hats? Love their scarves!

The good news about going to Calgary in the heart of the winter, was I got to stay at one of my favorite hotels - the Fairmont Palliser. It was built next to the Grand Central Railway station in Calgary to allow tourists to have an upscale hotel to stay at before journeying on by train to other locals in Canada. It is such a treat, an old world feel and they have their own line of teas, which I adore and it was so great to have room service in your beautiful room with tea service after donning 17 layers of clothes and giving up all pretense of feminity to brave that kind of cold and snow. Here is a picture of the Christmas tree in the beautiful lobby.
Here is Elliott trying to hide in the decorations of the stairway so he won't have to go outside again. Elliott is essentially a Southern Texas monkey and likes his sunshine and warm weather

On the knitting front, here is a picture of the Baktus scarf I knit for the trip. It is in a lovely tone-on-tone red that I could not pass up. It was on my Christmas list for 2008 and my DH bought it for me and I decided to try this lovely scarf pattern with it. It is sooo flattering and an easy-easy project. I used 2 balls Happy Feet sock yarn with size 3 needles (I think). You start at a small end of the triangle, knit until 1 ball is gone and then start the decreasing side of the triange with the 2nd ball. I did a KBF increase rather than a yarn-over since I didn't want the hole. I am definitely going to make another one of these, maybe with a bit of a lace pattern to it.

Braided Sealing Wax Mittens

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Hey! I'm a designer! Here is my first design as a knitter. I have made this a free download on Ravelry. You can also download the .pdf below.

I wanted a pair of really warm Mittens to match a bright red coat I have. I had just gone on a trip in November to Ann Arbor, MI where I bought the perfect shade of tone-on-tone Malabrigo Twist in an awesome red with orange undertones to match my coat in a colorway called Sealing Wax. So even though I live in Katy, TX, near Houston, I had a trip to Calgary, AB, Canada planned for mid-December so I needed some warm mittens. I looked and looked for just the right pattern that used worsted weight yarn and had some kind of cabling. I couldn’t find anything that was just right. So I decided to design a pair of my own called the Braided Sealing Wax Mittens.

I have very long thin fingers and always need a women’s large glove but I had several others who wear a women’s large that have thicker hands and/or fingers try the Great size on and they fit very well. Wee fits a large child or youth or small woman’s hands, Middling fits most women and a small man’s hands, Great fits a large women’s hands or a men’s Middling hand. You could probably go up a needle size for a men’s large or use one size larger needle with instructions for the next smallest size down to have a less dense mitten.

I like a nice defined cable and a densely knit mitten to be extra warm. I used a braid that is 9 stitches wide for the cabling so you don’t have to worry about mirror-imaging. Using size 4 needles and framing the braid with 3 stitches of purl on each side really makes the braid pop. I also used a twisted ribbing that is slightly reminiscent of small braids themselves.

You can get a .pdf of the pattern here: download now. Please let me know if you download the pattern and and make them up. I would love to see your own Braided Sealing Wax Mittens!

Oh Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:11:00 +0000

Is there something in the water or what? I have made soooo many baby afghans this past year. Here are few examples:

One of my DH's cousins had a grandbaby, Ameris, so I decided to do a darling afghan called Crochet Bunny Filet afghan. I used some stash yarn, Simply Soft, in a soft lavendar with a "K" hook and I reversed the Filet, so the spaces were solid and vice versa to make it more solid. Also, so that those cute little baby toes wouldn't poke through all the time...

Then my DH has a business friend who had their first child. They had a little boy and since the dad is a Baylor graduate, my DH wanted me to make something in Baylor colors. So I found this pattern called All Season Baby Throw. It goes super fast. I made it with I Love This Yarn, mainly because that is the washable WW yarn that you can get in the widest range of colors and with trying to match Baylor's colors that came in handy.

That pattern went so fast, that when my Mama asked me to make an afghan for a Church friend's new Grandson, I dug out some more stash yarn, Simply Soft and made this one up in some happy boy colors. She asked for this one with a really short deadline, so I told her she didn't get to pick the pattern, lol.
She really likes the Lyn's Round Ripple pattern and usually wants me to make that one.

But the real reason I make all of these is below. Look at these cuties with their custom hand-made afghans (and a matching sweater)...

Where's Elliott??

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Hi! My name is Elliott and I thought you would like a little background about me. I was born in Portland, OR at Sock Summit. I was lovingly knitted by my adopted Mama, Bethel, out of Blue Moon Socks that Rock Heavyweight (DK) yarn from this pattern using a size 5 circular needle. I was born blind, like most puppies and kittens, and didn't open my eyes until I got to my new home, in Katy, TX.

I have already had some great adventures. Here I am at the Famous Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater, OK before the big game between Oklahoma State and Georgia. I ate a ton of Cheese Fries there and lost my voice rooting on the Cowboys to a 24 - 10 victory. Go Pokes!

Then a few weeks later, I got to travel to sunny L.A. Here I am with a co-worker of my Mama, Dr. Tom Woods, who let us in to the President's Club at LAX for some relaxing snacks and adult beverages before our loooong flight back to Houston, TX.

Thanks Tom!

Shalom Samuel!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:28:00 +0000

I had a great opportunity last week to widen my cultural horizons as well as celebrate a very special time with a co-worker of my DH. I attended a bris for Samuel who was exactly 8 days old (which is completely the right age for a bris). DH was unfortunately unable to go due to work but since I had already planned to go and wanted to see the baby and give our gifts, I decided to go anyway. I am so glad I did.

Samuel's grandparents are originally from South Africa and were so welcoming as hosts in their home. The rabbi explained the significance of all the rituals and prayers which was so great for me and a few of the others who are not Jewish. As a Christian (of the Southern Baptist persuasion), I was very familiar with the Old Testament laws but had never attended any Jewish ceremonies before.

Samuel was a complete doll and unlike his mama, he slept through the entire process. I met his lovely aunts and other family and friends. I do have to report that Samuel's daddy is a baby hog! He and his Mama are very lucky to have such a good Daddy.

I can say without a doubt that the Jewish families and the Southern Baptists have a lot in common when it comes to the amount of food they put out for a gathering. Yum!

I made Samuel a Round Ripple afghan in some fun boy colors using Caron Simply Soft. I also included a really cute Froggie soap and a little white washcloth made from CottonTots that has 2 little baby feet on it. You can just see the toes in the picture below.

I recently made another Round Ripple afghan in white and pastel pink for a co-worker of my Mama's who is doing her nursery in Paris colors, white, pale pink, and black. How cute would that be. Mama just WOULD NOT let me put a small black border on this afghan but I DID try! I used the I LOVE THIS YARN from Hobby Lobby but I have to say I think I still prefer the Caron Simply Soft. Although, the I LOVE THIS YARN comes in a lot more colors.

Big Fish Stories and Other Yarn Tales...

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:33:00 +0000

I found this awesome pattern for a silly FISH HAT through www.Ravelry.com and knew I had to make it. Now, I realize I might be a bit shall we say "mature" for a hat of this type unless I was going snow skiing in the near future, which I'm not, so that made for some difficulties...who would get the hat...I knew I was definitely making it, but needed a good recipient.

My nephew, Mini-Max came to mind. He is the right age, about 3rd grade with a whimsical sense of humor who would appreciate the "ONE who DIDN'T get AWAY"! I think, my freshman niece may be wearing it as often as my nephew, such is it's appeal. I made it up in Caron Simply Soft in a nice manly navy with an olive green for fishy-ness. Totally the funniest fun hat I have seen in a long time. Here is a just woke up Mini-Max (his grandpa is the big Max)modeling his new "Catch".

I also had a friend who had a little girl after 2 boys so I decided she needed some serious GIRL-power Gifts. Here is Lyn's Round Ripple afghan in a cool brite pink and orange with white.

I also found a cool pattern for a little sweater, called the Hexagon Baby Jacket. I made all these with Caron Simply Soft so they can be washed and dryed - important for new babies. The jacket is very clever and super fast. It is basically 2 Hexagon granny-squares sewn together, but don't get excited, that's the only sewing required and then crochet on the trim. It is a bit of a take on Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) that is so popular in the knitting world. The pattern shows a cute little guy in the jacket in what I think is Green Bay Packer colors so this can be a very masculine jacket as well. It says about 3 - 6mo. but I made it to pattern and I think it is running a bit big but I haven't tried it on the baby yet. You could use dk or sport yarn and a smaller hook to size it down or a bigger hook or more rounds on the hexagons to make a bigger jacket. I love the orange flower buttons that tie into the afghan. It's the little details that make a project!

In the festive mode, I also came across a cute pattern for St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Candy Dish hats. Since I have a "bit" of Irish heritage and I just get sucked in by these quickie cutie projects I decided to make a few. You are supposed to fill them with chocolate coins but I was in a rush and couldn't find any so I filled them with plastic gold coins I found at Michael's instead. I made the 1st one like the pattern with DC (double crochets) but since I wasn't going to starch them, I decided to do the others substituting 2 rows of SC (single crochets) for each row of DC. I think they are a bit sturdier. I experimented with the amigurami method of not joining the rounds but wasn't as happy with the color changes as when I joined the rows with a slip-stitch. I used Simply Soft for the black and Plymouth Encore for the green that was in my stash. It's not that easy to find Kelly green yarn unless you have a DS who loves the Celtic Soccer team! lol

The Big Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:59:00 +0000

It's not often you get to take a trip to New Orleans and stay in the French Quarter, eat some great Cajun food, and have some family time too in the month of December, but I got to do just that. DH and DD joined me on the second day of the USAEE (USA Energy Economists) Conference (yes, I AM just that geeky).

We went to a fabulous restaurant on Bourbon Street called the Red Fish Grill. Here is the yummy wedge salad with pecans and blue cheese - almost too pretty to eat.
I followed that up with shrimp creole.
My dinner mates, DD and DH ordered a pecan-crusted fish (it seems they take that crusting seriously in the French Quarter!)
If you know me, you know I am all about the dessert. It seems a lot of restauants in New Orleans have what is called a fixed menu of several courses and ours had 3 courses and the last course was bread pudding. I am not a huge fan of bread pudding but the waitress said we could upgrade to a chocolate bread pudding that was really good. I'm always game for chocolate so I ordered that. Here it is.
It was simply de-vine!! I could not quit making those yum noises all the way through the dessert and the vanilla bean ice creme made it even more heavenly. I have to stop talking about it now, I am making myself hungry!

We got to shop and tour the French Quarter several evenings and on Saturday as well. The architecture was beautiful and here is a beautiful garden in the area as well.

We even enjoyed some musicians jamming on Bourbon Street. It was un-seasonably cold but maybe that kept the crowds away. Some of the bars, etc. looked fun and we posed in front of some of the funny signs.
Cheyenne said with the clubs, music, cigars, and other "sins" that New Orleans was like a grown man's Disneyland...lol

Of course there were some pretty racy clubs and posters too but overall it was pretty tame probably because of the cold, but there are always a few perverts looking to give away some beads...

We also had beignets (a yummy French pastry like a donut but way way better) and chicory coffee (ok, DD had the coffee, I had milk and DH had a Sprite) and the powdered sugar with the beignets was so thick, DD had to make herself a sugar mustache!

We also got the opportunity to take a tour on Saturday to see the Lower 9th ward and some other neighborhoods that were really hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Living in the Houston area, we are very familiar with a lot of the evacuees from New Orleans and all along the gulf coast. Some of the homes are being rebuilt with help from charitable organizations sponsored by Brad Pitt. We were really hopeful that we might see him on the tour since we were visiting some of his projects (especially DD, I have to admit I used that as incentive to get her to come to New Orleans) but no such luck.

We toured a model home that is in a neighborhood that is trying to build back "green". It was really cool and we actually got some good ideas for future building projects of our own (such as collecting rain water to use for flushing toilets). Here is DD and DH in the really airy and nice bedroom.

As former renters and later landlords of affordable housing in Oklahoma and Missouri, we were appauled by two things. One, how expensive the new "green" homes were in these areas - not what we would call affordable and also by the fact that so few homes were rebuilt. It appears that there are several governing agencies and they all want to "preserve" the historical neighborhood and its shotgun houses. So that make it very expensive to repair such heavily damaged houses and impossible to just tear the worst ones down and rebuild a basic affordable home in its place. Some organizations are buying properties from those who do not want to come back, getting lots of donations to restore or rebuild and then selling them at a profit. What a racket... As usual, the little guy gets the short end of the deal.

Well, on to some FIBER content. Here are a couple of dishrags that I made. The pattern is called Chinese Waves and I used a self-striping cotton that together makes a really thick dishcloth. A fun pattern and easy to do.

The third project is a Starburst hot-pad that is three-dimentional. I liked how this project looked in the pattern and I liked how it looked when I got done but I am not super pleased with my color choices and how they looked together. I made it to match some dishclothes I had made for my MIL but the variegated yarn has such a small amount of yellow it doesn't blend as well as I had hoped. She really liked it though, now I just need to convince her to actually use it and not just hang it up for "pretty"!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:24:00 +0000

Well, we finally did it! We bought SEASON TICKETS to all the OSU Football Home Games on the Club Level. Let me tell you, once you watch the game up there you will never want to go back to a regular seat!

My DD, Cheyenne, and I were the lucky winners of the Bedlam Beg-a-thon...the OU vs OSU game tickets are hot commodities and she and I got to go and we had a blast! My DS, Asa, rode over from Tulsa with us on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we checked out the local Buffalo Wild Wings and browsed at some GREAT shoe stores in Stillwater before walking over to the game from the house Asa is living in this semester. Poor Asa had to sit in the Student section, but they have a great time over there cheering on the team. BOY, was it cold.
Here is another fan who just couldn't resist getting in the picture with my DD!

Now, usually, I park myself on a barstool along the windows in the club level and have a great in-door view of the whole playing field. But this time, it was Bedlam for heaven's sake, so we were obligated to sit in our actual seats outside. I didn't really plan for that but I wore a couple of shirts, a fleece jacket and borrowed a knitted hat I had made for DS a couple of years ago out of NORO Kabuto which is a cool super bulky weight yarn with wool, silk, cashmere, and alpaca (yum) in a nice manly 2 by 2 rib pattern.
Here is a picture of us and you can see DD has her hoodie on against the weather as well.

It was really windy but we yelled and yelled. Especially when the OSU defense was on the field. It was a fabulous game and we just gave OU hell (I meant heck, Mama...). I was also wearing a pair of socks that I made from hand-dyed bamboo from Mama Llama and my toes stayed toasty warm the whole time!
I had no idea bamboo would be that warm (Just an fyi to other football fans). We did have an acrylic afghan in OSU colors that was a gift to us but shortly after half-time DD said she had frozen enough and so we went indoor to watch the rest of the game. I'm sure the "poor chickens" wished they could have done the same, it really got cold after the sun was fully down.

Unfortunately, we played really great until the last 7 minutes or so and OU ended up winning the game. However, the score 61-41 doesn't really reflect how close most of the game was. Our quarterback made a couple of interceptions that ended up being costly. Come on Cowboy Offensive line - protect that guy! Zac Robinson is too cute to let get hurt!

The up-side is that OU gets to play for the south for the Big 12 championship so at least another Oklahoma team is representin'. My DSIL is a big OU fan and so I try to keep that in mind, even though I bleed orange. Common guesses are that we will go to the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl in San Diego. What a great location and a great town to visit. Unfortunately, we have decided that it would just be so expensive to fly there, plus hotel, etc right at Christmas. So I am secretly wishing we go to the Alamo Bowl. We could drive there and I have a good friend who lives there that would let us crash at her house. But the best Bowl for OSU would definitely be the Holiday Bowl, so I guess I hope we get that one. We will probably try and have a Bowl Party or go to one in Katy somewhere. There are lots of Cowboy fans in Texas! Check out this cool website...Go Pokes!

Cold Feet, Warm Heart...

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:07:00 +0000

I have been knitting up a lot of socks this year for myself, as well as for gifts. The latest pair, Eclipse Socks were requested by my DD, Cheyenne. She is OBSESSED with the Stephanie Meyer books in the Twilight series. These 4 books are about star-crossed lovers, one of which just happens to be a vampire. Normally, I have absolutely no interest in vampires, I found Anne Rice to be just too blood-thirsy. But, I loved these books, after Cheyenne started reading them, I devoured all four books (excuse the pun). So when I found a sock pattern that had the cover of one of the books, I knew she would love it. She asked me to make her a pair in time for the 1st book's movie premier. Twilight is premiering this Friday, Nov. 21st and I just FedEx'd her the socks this morning. That should get me some good Mama points.
I ordered KnitPicks Essentials superwash wool and really liked working with it. I learned several new techniques with these socks, I did a twisted rib at the top which I love the look of and will definitely use in the future. I also did an afterthought heel. This was a major nerve-wracking experience. The first one I did in the LA airport and an elderly Vietnamese woman even went and bought me a bottle of water after she observed me concentrating so hard on this! lol I did much better on the second one, especially when I used my Ott lamp and a magnafier. That black yarn and tiny stitches are heck on those of us with reading glasses! I also learned how to do Intarsia in the Round! The pattern called for duplicate stitch on only one sock after the sock was finished but I was afraid it would be hard to see (see above blindness note! lol). I made the legs of the socks longer than the pattern, so I had to repeat part of the ribbon pattern. I also made them a bit slimmer as DD has a fairly narrow foot. The heel and toe in the pattern go down to 16 stitches, but I modified it to 24 on the toe and next time I think I would do 24 on the heel as well. I think they turned out awesome and very trendy looking as well. I hope she WOWs everyone at the theater.

I wanted to also show a pair of cute self-striping socks that I made this summer as a Christmas gift. I knit them toe-up on 2 circulars and ribbed all of the leg with a 3 to 1 ribbing. I tried a different increase at the toes that was supposed to make a rounder toe but I don't really like it that well so I probably won't use that again. This is a super-wash wool from Skacel but it is tons scratchier than the above KnitPicks or lots of other ones. I love the pattern but I plan to wash them at least one more time before I give them as a gift so try and soften them some more. I also seem to have a rather tight bind-off on these so I may re-do that before they go to their new home.

The third pair of socks are a pair of Cascade Fixation Ankle Socks from the stretchy cotton-blend fixation yarn. I actually knit both socks from a single 100 yard ball of that yarn and I wear a 8.5 to a 9 size shoe! I literally had about 2 feet of yarn left. I love the color but wish they were a bit less pointy. I used a size 3 circular needle and didn't really have any tension problems working with this yarn.

Finally another type of foot covering, a delicate pair of Crocheted Mary Janes for a newborn. I like to do some quick projects in the middle of a pair of socks or a more challenging project so one night I whipped these up. I think I may put them up for a future grandbaby as I don't think I can bear to part with them. Aren't they adorable?? I made these with some aqua blue sport yarn that my Mama got at an estate sale. Unfortunately, I think this yarn had been rolling around in a box of razor blades. Every 2 to 4 feet, there was a cut in the yarn. ARGhhhh! After I finished these booties, I tossed the rest of that skein and another one just like it in the trash! It goes against my frugal grain to throw away yarn, but that was ridiculous!

Well, more later, I have to get some work done...

Eire! My Eire!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:40:00 +0000

Well, I've finally slowed down enough to go through some pictures and start blogging about the trip to Ireland that my Mama and I went on at the beginning of June. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it only rained on us like two times and that's the only got out our umbrellss! (This weird weather phenonomon seemed to be courtesy of my occasional "Bethel Triangle" that causes weird unexplained happenings when I'm around. I went to Canada immediately after Ireland and they had be deluged with bad weather before I came and it was 75 and beautiful while I was there and then I went to Southern California and it had been 107 all the week before I got there and it was a beautiful 75 the whole week I was there! Sadly, these powers do not seem as powerful in the Houston area where we have been "glowing" with mid-90 humid temps)

Our flight(s) over (yep, 2 for me, 3 for Mama) were great. Except the part where I could have been upgraded from Houston to Newark, but being the "great" daughter that I am, I politely declined. Seems like it would be really selfish to go and leave Mama behind in coach... Also, we left at 9:45 pm on Saturday night and planned to sleep as much as possible on the flight because we had things planned for the next day, but the blinking flight attendants had other ideas! They kept flipping on and off the lights thru-out the 8ish hour flight and offering food, drinks, etc every little whip-stitch. Honestly, if this had been daytime, I would have been impressed with the service but as it was, I am wondering if they were just sadistic by nature or had made a bet with someone!

I thouoght I would focus on the beginning of our trip for this post. We ate at Pappadeaux in the Houston airport and if you have ever been to Houston, you have probably eaten there, if you haven't, be sure and go there when you come. I had fried crawfish and Mama had fried shrimp (big surprise) and it was delish! In Newark, we ate at a cute little 50's theme diner, however, we ordered shakes and they were really impressive looking and yummy. Here's Mama with her strawberry one.

After we arrived in Dublin, we took a shuttle bus to the hotel where we were staying that night. Unfortunately, they did not have our rooms ready. We were prepared for this, since it usually happens since flights to Europe get in in the morning and check-out times are usually noon and they have to clean the rooms. I needed a Diet Coke in a BIG way. It would just have been better for everyone!

The hotel was very modern and had a large open lounge area for us to wait in. We decided to order tea (also known as substitute caffeine for me) and it was cool that the tour had arranged for tea for us for free! Too Cool. Although, that might have been a protective measure for the front desk personnel when people found out their rooms weren't ready... Here is a pic of that welcome brew, I had Earl Grey and Mama had some kind of Mint.

We got our room literally 15 minutes before we were to go on our tour of Dublin and raced upstairs with our bags and put them in the room, washed up and raced back down.

I have a really funny story about that hotel room later that night, we finished dinner and were waiting for a check, so Mama went upstairs to take a bath before I came up so I could take a shower. The room had a card reader inside the room that said it was for the lights. So she swiped the card and the lights came on and she took her stuff in the bathroom...and the lights went off. So she swiped her card again and went into the bathroom and started to undresss...and the lights went off. Soooo, she swiped her card several different ways and the lights would come on for a minute or so and then go off. It's a testament to how tired we were that she just kept at it a while, finally, admitting defeat, she opened the drapes, closed the shears and left the bathroom door open a little and took a bath in...twilight! Might have been a bit more fun with candles and some wine, but there you go.

So being the smarty pants that I am, I think she is just doing it wrong. Mama just lays on the bed and laughs at me swiping the card every way known to man. Finally, I call down to the front desk and they inform me that we need to LEAVE the card in the reader as long as we want lights! Oh! That makes some sense. Evidently in Europe this is somewhat common and is considered "green" cause it makes sure the lights are off when no one's in the room. Nobody told the Okies...

Another funny thing that happened at this hotel was I wanted to get a Diet Coke to take up to my room after dinner. So I went to the front desk and asked if they had Cokes machines in the hotel.

She looked horrified and said NO.

So I asked if the only place to get one was the lounge or room service.

She said YES OF COURSE.

So I said, well, I travel a lot and they usually have Coke machines and ice machines somewhere in the hotel.

She said WELL, THIS IS A FOUR-STAR HOTEL!!

So I said well even most 4-star hotels have mini-bars or fridges in the rooms for a Diet Coke.

Then, she says OH, WELL, WE HAVE MINI_BARS IN THE ROOMS.

Sooooo,when I asked if the lounge and room service were the ONLY place to get one, I GUESS it didn't occur to her THEN that there were mini-bars in the room. But then, I should have remembered THIS WAS A FOUR-STAR HOTEL! Just so's you know...

Animal Planet

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:53:00 +0000

First, I wanted to include a few pictures of my DH Mark and our black Lab Hank playing at the beach in Galveston. If you tell someone here in Houston that you went to the ocean over the weekend, they just give you a strange look and ask, "What ocean??".

But for land-locked Okies, Galveston IS the ocean and without a doubt, April and May are PERFECT for going to the beach for a day. The water is the clearest and bluest of the year and the humidity is low as well. We loaded up and I spent the afternoon parked in an OSU Cowboys lawnchair, knitting away on a really cute sock (see last post of turquoise stripe sock), sipping ice cold Diet Pepsi and enjoyed the view and the sound of the waves. Some "neighbors" next to us even found a perfect sand dollar. Now, that's a day at the beach. As you can tell from these pictures, it was pretty windy and Irish girl that I am - I even got a bit sun-burned!

Speaking of Irish, my Mama and I are headed for 10 days in Ireland on the 31st of May. Less than a month away! I have my eye on some beautiful Belleek pottery china and maybe an Aran Island sweater??

I recently got bit by the amigurumi bug and saw this darling Marine Turtle in the Knit.1 magazine. I don't always buy this magazine, but they usually include at least 1 crocheted item and this time there are 4 seriously cute crocheted amigurumi animals in it. I love turtles, especially after going to Hawaii where they have lots of turtle motif stuff there and I loved the turtle "Crush" in the Finding Nemo movie. So I decided to name this one "Crush" too. I used Caron Simply Soft and completed this guy in less than 2 days. I love him, don't know what I am going to do with him, but nevertheless he was a blast to make. Plus not 1 mistake in the pattern!

The next animal in this animal planet post is "Peggy Francis". I made an unofficial resolution to make to charity items this year, so this is my first finished charity item. She is a knitted bear for the "Peggy's Bear" project that is sponsored by my LYS. These bears are gifted to Alsheimer's patients who find them comforting. I named mine "Peggy" after the project name who is one of the store owner's grandmother and "Francis" after my maternal grandmother who was very talented at needlework. I am also including a picture of Peggy Francis with her new bear friends at LYS Yarntopia. Peggy Francis is made with Plymouth Encore Worsted that was in my stash.

What EXACTLY happens at a Knitting Retreat??

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:33:00 +0000

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Well if the 1st Annual Knitting Retreat to Rockport, TX by a group from my LYS Yarntopia is any indication - alot of knitting, eating of seafood, and a lot of laughing. A group of us ate the 1st night at the Boiling Pot restaurant. Yum! Here we are in our bibs! Watch out for the rice and beans, they were MEGA-HOT! The next night we had a couple of adult beverages and decided to "GLAM" for the camera.

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I worked on a pair of socks from the fall's sock club made with hand-dyed bamboo yarn from Mama Llama. The good news is I had a ton of fun, the bad news is I had to frog about 4 inches because of 3, not 1 not 2, but 3 mistakes. Guess knitting and an adult beverage don't work for me! I'm such a cheap date!
The pattern is from Fiber Trends called Peak Experience: Angel's Rest. This yarn is so pretty on the stockinette foot that I almost wish I had just made a plain sock with it. The pattern was fairly easy except the darn thing was designed with a yarn-over at the end of each needle. What a pain! The leg part is pretty tight to get over my heel so next time I might want to use the larger size of the pattern for the top and then reduce the stockinette size on the foot since that stitch count fit my somewhat narrow foot fine. I wear an 8.5 - 9 in women's shoes and used 2 circulars size 1.

I also took a really fun sock class from Patti at Yarntopia. It was Toe-up Short-Row Heel with Yarnovers on Magic Loop. This is my 1st pair that is Toe-up. I had done short-row heels before but with the wrap method. It was great fun, Patti is a fun and funny teacher. I have the first sock complete.
It is with one of last year's summer colors from On-Line which is cotton, wool, and nylon. I think they will just get softer with every wash. I think these are going to become a gift. I used 56 stitches for the foot and increased to 60 for the leg because of my experience with the previous socks above. I used 2 circulars size 1.

A lot has happened since my last post. I had shoulder surgery. Turns out the shoulder problems I have been having for the last 8 to 10 months were actually 2 problems. I had a "frozen shoulder" and I also have 2 deteriorating disks in my neck (from a wreak years ago where a drunk driver hit my girlfriend and myself) that was pinching nerves and causing my left arm and hand to go numb. Not fun! I thought I might have torn my rotator cuff but fortunately not. However, it was painful enough as it was. The surgery wasn't bad though. They did MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) so while I was out they wrench my shoulder and arm around until the adhesive capsules inside the joint break loose and pop and make noises. I told him if they tried to do that while I was awake, I would definitely makes some noises! They also gave me a dose of cortisone deep into the joint while I was still asleep. I got back 90% mobility. It sucks to get old (er)!

My DD Cheyenne is graduating with an Associate's Degree in Business in a few weeks from Rogers State University. We are so proud of her. She has been going to school, working, and got married almost 2 years ago as well. My DS Asa is doing great, he is finishing his freshman year at OSU in Stillwater and is pledging to the FIJI fraternity. He has been doing a lot of community service and other projects with them so that keeps him out of trouble. Cheyenne is transferring to OSU-Tulsa in the fall. I am so thrilled that both of them will graduate from my alma mater. Too Cool!

I mentioned in my last post that I was having a contest for the anniversary of my blog. Since I only had 2 "yarnies" who didn't disqualify themselves, I decided to have 2 winners. Below are the 2 prize packages that go to lucky winners, Carolyn and MsBlondieKnits.

Two Year Blog-Anniversary Contest!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:06:00 +0000

It was two years ago yesterday that I started this blog. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago - time really flies when you're having fun! In honor of the occasion, I am hosting a CONTEST. For the next month through March 25th, anyone who posts a comment on my blog will receive a GREAT SURPRISE PACKAGE!! Here are a few hints...a yummy assortment of yarns along with accessories and other goodies. I promise it will be totally fun. The winner will be drawn randomly by DH. If you comment on more than 1 post you will get an additional entry but only 1 entry will be counted per each of my posts. Hopefully, that will incentivise me to post a lot in the next month. ;o)

Good Luck!

I wanted to post about an Easy-Peasy baby sweater that I made for my DD's new neice. I have been told that Joselynn (the baby) LOVES pink so I just had to make her a Hot Pink cardigan for Christmas. I used a pattern that I picked up in Boulder, CO at the Spindles, Shuttles, & Skeins store by a local designer. It is called EASY Cardigan for BABY #1 by Roxana Designs. I wasn't able to find the pattern available online but I am sure it is available through the store. I made it up in one of my favorite yarns, Cottontots which they also used in the store sample. I love the cute little cuffed sleeves. I changed it slightly by turning back the top edges at the neck and adding some decorative buttons. The bottom half is stockinette and top half is in garter so that keeps it from being too boring. I had made this once before in a varigated yarn as a baby shower gift for one of my mama's co-workers and it was darling in a varigated colorway. As you can see from the pictures of Joselynn, just the sheer adorableness of baby items (not to mention the baby herself) is its own reward for knitting or crocheting them up!

The SS&S store in Boulder was a fun store to visit last February. I think they had every knitting book I had ever heard of (and probably crochet as well). They had a large selection of koigu and sock yarn and a super selection of baby and children's yarn in all fibers and colorways. There was a heavy emphasis on wools and hats (go figure in a college town with skiing nearby!).

We Interupt this Blog for the Following Politcal Announcement...

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Don't panic, I am not going to talk about the candidates or campaign for any of the Presidental hopefuls. What I am going to do is get on my soapbox. We live in Texas and I had wanted to registar to vote in the primaries, especially since pre-Super Tuesday it looked like a wide-open race. While ordinarily this is a fairly straght-forward process, let me tell you what happens when you venture into what I like to call the "Bethel-Triangle"...

First off, I had put this off until the last minute because I still have my Oklahoma drivers license...I know, I know. But I have several GOOD reasons why I still have an Oklahoma license even though we have been in Texas for a while. Like, I just got my Oklahoma license right before we moved and dagnabbit, that would just be a waste of money to throw it away and get a new Texas one.

Also, I have this disturbing fear that (a) I might have to take a drivers test to get a Texas license (you know, the DRIVING kind, not the written). I have been told that's not true, but why take the chance, I say. or (b) If I move back to Oklahoma, I might have to take a drivers test to get another OKLAHOMA license (you know, the DRIVING kind, not the written). I think you see the pattern here. Let's just say, I had a bad experience (ok, ok) 2 bad experiences when I took the Driving test at 16 and would strenously prefer that I not put myself through that again.

Soooo, back to the registering. I looked it up online and of course Ft. Bend county was practically the only county in Texas where you can't get the form off the internet. However, the web said the library keeps forms available. So I make a trip to the Library and guess what...They just gave out the last form and its too late in the day (on the last day) to drive to the county seat. Great! So after picking out a few books (who can resist) I overhear that there may be some forms upstairs. Cool! I know the Knitting Books are upstairs too! So I go up and find a crochet book to take home AND score 2 forms for DH and myself.

Well, I fill out these beauties, photocopy a utility bill with our Texas address and notice that it asks for a Texas driver's license number. Drat! However, it says you can use the last 4 digits of your SSN. But then I notice that there is also a box that says if you don't have a Texas Driver's license OR a SSN, just check here and enclose a copy of a photo id (anything works) and send it in.

So, in essense, you can registar to vote without a driver's license or a SSN. Now I thought you HAD to have a SSN to ... let's say work, file your taxes, even your kids have to have one now by their 1st birthday!

Basically, you can be completely undocumented and registar to vote. Is it just me or is this a sneaky way to let illegal aliens vote??

But it gets worse for my "trying to be a voting citizen" - I fill it out, put in my Oklahoma Driver's license number and a copy of my license with a very, very scary picture of me and slap that baby in the mail by 5 pm to beat the deadline for the primary.

Then I get a letter saying I am denied and can't vote in the primaries but can re-registar and vote 30 days later if I put in my last 4 digits of my SSN and/or check the box that says I don't have either a Texas Driver's License OR a SSN. GOSH! So, that's what I get for not going to the DMV. GRRRRR.

But on to crafty matters, I had unofficially resolved to make 12 dishcloths this year - averaging 1 a month. I have already made 5 so I have a big jump on that pledge. These include a blue and yellow Darrell Waltrip cloth (he's a Nascar driver) and a round petal discloth that I mailed to my Aunt Bethel (yes, I was named after her..), a washcloth with the Marines symbol for a former neighbor of ours who is stationed in Japan, and a coffee cup patterned cloth. All great "short-attention-span" projects!

Kemah and the "See" Food Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:07:00 +0000

My DD Cheyenne came to visit this weekend as a belated birthday trip. We had a great time. We shopped, went to the movies, and most important - tanked her up on seafood. The weather in Oklahoma has been really cold and dreary and while Houston didn't quite live up to it's reputation of warm, mild weather it was a welcome change for her. She is a full-time student and works about 30 hours a week as a teller so we tried to give her lots of R&R. Here she is in her new trendy scarf at Capt'n Tom's Boat getting.....MORE seafood!!!

On Sunday we went out to the Kemah Boardwalk which is on the east ocean-side of Houston. We ate at the Aquarium and just kicked back.

We also visited the Sting-ray exhibit and it was pretty cool (but scary!).

I found this hilarious sign about the seagulls being on a strict diet!

My dad used to say he was on the "see" food diet, he could eat anything he saw... I think I have been taking that one too much to heart lately.

Here is a picture of DH and DD on the Boardwalk with the bay in the background.

Cheyenne grudgingly modeled my latest FO. It is a Clapotis from www.Knitty.com which is a combination of a scarf and a shawl. I was starting it one day at my LYS Yarntopia and someone didn't understand my French pronouciation of Clapotis (Clap ah tee), no big surprise, my French is pitiful... and thought I said Cup O' Tea. I like that pronouciation much better so that is what mine is called!
I worked with a great Fleece Artist yarn called Silken which "surprise" is 100% silk. It is super smooth and has a great shine and will also be warm for my trip to IRELAND!!!!! My Mama and I are headed to the Motherland at the end of May for a 10-day tour. Since it only gets to the mid-60's there, I thought this would be a great scarf/shawl/hat-substitute. I only had 2 skeins in my stash that added up to 540 yards. It is a light DK weight so I sized down to size 6 needles. I left out 1 increase, but added 1 more repeat of the middle section, and left out 1 decrease. I possibly might have been able to get one more repeat of the middle section but better safe than sorry. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors. Perfect for any Irish girl!

Also here is a picture of the sweetest Valentine's Day gift from my DH. I told him not to get me anything but a card but look what was on desk in my home office when I got home from a consulting job! A Perfectly unique tropical plant that won't die in a week like cut flowers do AND a box of chocolates! It is a Bromeliad for those of you with a green thumb. We are going to have to research if we can plant it in one of our outdoor beds or just enjoy it in the pot during the winter and take it outdoors in the summer.

Sweater Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:43:00 +0000

As promised, here is a post about the sweaters I made as Christmas gifts this year. I did forget to include 2 other handmade Christmas gift I gave this year:

9. Knitted baby sweater in hot pink for DD's new niece, Joselyn.

10. Crocheted Chicken Potholder for DMIL. I finished it in the car on the way to Missouri for Christmas. We named her Henrietta!

But now on with the sweaters. I made my Mama a crocheted Short N Sweet Bolero from the Happy Hooker book in Berroco Touche which is mostly cotton in white. I added an extra repeat to the sleeves to make them just a bit longer so she can wear a regular t-shirt under it if she wants. I made this previously for myself in Classic Elite Premiere and I think I like working with the Premiere a bit better. It is softer and has a little more sheen.

The second sweater was also crocheted and was for my DMIL. It is called Spiderweb Cardigan from Interweave Crochet in the Spring 2007 issue. I selected a dusty rose and the color is lovely. This Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere splits ALOT but it might be better when knitting rather than crochet. Here are a couple of pictures of a friend of mine, Ann, who was gracious enought to model it for me.

My friend Gail is in the background of one of the pictures. I increased the sleeve opening to 3 repeats (36 stitches) on front and back and made the front opening in the center and added 2 rows of dc to each side seam area to make it a bit more roomy. I could have definitely added another repeat to lenghten the jacket. I shortened the sleeve to a long 3/4.

The third sweater was just not done by Christmas, it was for my DSIL. This is the Minimalist Cardigan from Interweave Knits.
I reversed the pattern stitch and made the body in stockinette and the shawl collar in seed stitch. This reduced the total amount of yarn used in case you ever need to judge yardage of stockinette vs. seed stitch. I used a lovely dutch blue yarn called Classic Elite Four Seasons which is 75% cotton and 25% wool. It gave super stitch definition for the seed stitch. I think this yarn will just get softer with each wash. I was really proud - I attempted a 3-needle bind-off for the collar in seed stitch and it turned out great. And that was after blocking it. Ta Da! I learned an important trick, don't end a skein on the collar side of the fronts, it's a pain to weave in the ends and hide them. Here is Jill modeling the sweater for me while shopping at Yarntopia. Thanks Jill!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:01:00 +0000

Harry Potter - The Obsession...

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:04:00 +0000

I know the Harry Potter books can be controversial. I am in serious denial of the annoucement that Dumbledore is gay. But this series of books have given me some wonderful fictional entertainment and are probably the single reason my DS is a reader today.

We went on a driving vacation just about the time my DS was the same age as Harry Potter in the 1st book. I read a couple of chapters out loud to the kids, DH, and my mama. Not a lot of interest. I had heard a lot about the book and thought my DS might like it. I loved it and finished it on the trip. My DS got bored one day on the trip and asked where the book was and THAT was all it took! He has read all the books several times (like 20 or 30!!!) and we have been at the local wally-world at midnight just so he could get the next book immediately. He then does nothing but read and eat a little until he finishes it, usually by the next afternoon.

Soooo, it follows that I would express some facination of JK Rowlings world in my craft endeavors as well. Here are the Dobby Socks I made from the book, Charmed Knits.
They are Harry's socks that Harry gave 1 of to Dobby in one of the books. I am sure DS could tell you which book!
I have only made 1 pair of WW socks and 1 Magic Loop Sock (solo) so this is my first pair of “real” socks in sock-weight yarn and Magic Loop and Short Row heels and toe. I used Fleece Artist sock yarn in the "Yarntopia" colors. I love how they look like a box of cherry chocolates with a blue ribbon (or is that just my sweet tooth talking...).
The are pretty slouchy so I may felt them a little. They are shorter than a normal trouser sock on an adult. I am ok with that but others might want to lengthen the ankle part.

I have worn them already a lot. I love to make something and then actually wear it and love it. I tried out the 2 circular method with the second sock and LOVE IT. I will never use just plain magic loop unless I have to. It was soooo much faster and not as much "SOCK WRESTLING" as I like to call it. I also wanted to mention that the 2nd circulars that I used were the new Addi Turbo Lace, can't say enough nice things about these. Not as slick and they have gold points - perfect for 2 circular knitting, one side in regular Addis that are silver and one side in Lace Addis that are gold. PERFECT!

I also made a quick washcloth/dishcloth in yellow Peaches and Cream cotton of the Golden Snitch. Too fun. The Golden Snitch is chased in the game of Quidditch in the Harry Potter books. Harry plays a Seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team and his job is to catch the Golden Snitch to win the game.

Just in case this hasn't been enough Harry Potter for you...I am including a link to a quiz where you can see which Harry Potter character you are. Harry Potter Character Quiz

PS - I am Herminione of course....LOL

Here's to 2008!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:54:00 +0000

Well, I have been fiendishly busy trying to get all my crafts finished for Christmas as well as work, so my blogging suffered. I gave a lot of hand-made items for Christmas this year:

1. One Skein Scarf for my cousin Sherry - funny story, I rolled it up in lace and put a candle on top to make it look like a cupcake...and that's what she thought she got, a weird yarn cupcake...guess I need to put a description of my feeble creative efforts for presentation!

2. Crocheted Short N Sweet Bolero in white for my mom.

3. Crocheted Spiderweb Cardigan in dusty rose for my DMIL.

4. Knitted Minimalist Cardigan in cornflower/dutch blue for my DSIL (alas, this one is still being seamed, just couldn't get it all done by Christmas - see below for excuses...)

5. Knitted Ribbed Wrist Warmers in Cocoa brown for my DD.

6. Crocheted Glove/Wrist Warmers in Red/Berry Malabrigo for my Niece #2.

7. Custom knitted socks in "former" school colors for my Niece #1.

8. Knitted BeSpoke Pillow for DS in his favorite Celtic Soccer team colors for his dorm room to match his afghan.

Asa's pillow was knitted in Plymouth Encore Worsted from the Interweave Knits Holiday Issue and I changed the middle initial to lower case as that is how he signs his first name. I think he really liked it and didn't think it was too geeky (since almost all crafts to my kids are geeky!)

I will post on some of these in more depth later.

As for my Christmas, it was really great, with the exception listed below. I got a ton of things I really wanted and evidently I was a VERY GOOD GIRL! I registared a Wish List at my LYS Yarntopia and my DH, are you ready??, got me everything on it!!! I was so thrilled. Wow! I got:

1. 3 skeins of spring green Baby Grand Alpaca, which I plan to make a Persephone Purse from Karen's Pattern

2. 2 skeins of Panda Silk sock yarn from which I hope to make YarnHarlot's Earl Grey socks

3. 2 skeins of red variegated Plymouth Happy Feet sock yarn that I haven't picked a pattern for yet.

4. 2 Addi Turbo circulars - I am currently learning how to do Magic Loop with 2 Circulars - more on that in a later post.

5. Bully Woolies Hat Kit so I can learn intarsia and dream of future grandbabies.

6. Louisa Harding's Venezia book where I hope to make LUNA soon.

7. Southern Goose's silk and window project bag in burgandy (not pictured) that I already have a sock project in.

Did he do good or what??!!?? When I showed my DD what I got she said "Oh MY Gosh, It's a NERD SURVIVAL KIT!!" Here is my little smart mouth with my DS and DSIL.

Another reason that my DSIL's sweater is not quite finished is my DH's Dad had to have a double amputation. He previously had heart surgery in May and had a pacemaker put in but complications from Diabetes had him in constant pain and fragile health. The surgeons tried every method to avoid the surgery but a week before Christmas decided to go ahead. We made a quick drive (lol - about 10 hours) with DS (here in Houston to spend a week with us on his college break), our black lab, and a zillion presents. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with everything stuffed in our car, including 3 laptops for work and school. The real blessing of the season is that my DFIL is doing fabulous and is so happy not to be in pain the loss of his feet and lower legs don't seem to be a big factor.
See him here with all the grandkids, my DSIL and my DMIL. He was supposed to be in the ReHab hospital for 4 weeks but is getting out this Thursday another blessing from all the prayers said for him.

Here's to a calmer and more healthy New Year!

PS - DH and I are ridiculously ill with some kind of virus. The doctor says it's "unreasonable" for me to expect to be well before 7 to 14 days or even consider going to work! I have been sick for 5 days and DH 6. I wonder what planet she is from and if I can vacation there???

Which Came 1st? The Chicken or the Egg??

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:14:00 +0000

Well in this case it was the CHICKEN! Here it is, something totally for me. Something some of my knitting friends would stick their noses up in the air about, but dagnabbit it's cute and it's a chicken! It's from the Ultimate Book of Potholders and I crocheted it in Peaches N Creme self-striping cotton. It is really cute in person and I have already put it to use on cookies and garlic bread. It kind of goes against the grain to buy a whole book, not to mention the ULTIMATE book to get just 1 or 2 patterns but sometimes it's necessary...like when it's chickens...

I even admit I once decorated my entire kitchen in chickens, but I'm over that now, well sorta...

And now for the EGG, my DS Asa got into the College Newspaper! Per DS:

i thought i would let you know we competed in the red bull gravity challenge today, its where you take and egg put it in a cool looking device you made and drop it fifty feet. The thing is for it to land on target not break the egg and look good doing it. Well my team thought we were going to do poorly because we didnt start till 11 last night. But actually everyone at red bull, and the newspaper said ours was the best, and would win. we even tested it out last night. our design was a central ball of styrofoam with a hole cut in the middle. in the hole was a cup with a stick on it going out the bottom of the ball, then there were 3 cylinder legs going out at an angle like a tripod. we covered them half way down with duck tape, like inbetween each one so they were all connected. Then we had three wings attached to it, in between each leg. but high on the ball. the stick attached to the cup was a bit longer than the legs so when it hit the ground the cup would spring up. we spray painted the ball black and everything else red. then we attached red bull cans on all the legs. like a cover. then put red bull panels on the wings. it was awesome looking. Kind of like a russian space orb.

the guys on our team wore mustaches, and sunglasses. When i dropped it, it sailed smoothly down then a gust of wind sent it in the direction of the crane. it hit the crane and tumpled over. break the egg. but we still were the only team to get all the creativity points.

Here is a link to the paper and story. The article is at the top of page 3 and the big picture is of DS from the back. I have tried (and I mean REALLY tried) to get just the photo but evidently I am just not enough of a nerd to be able to do it. I know, I know, many of you thought I was, but I now have proof that I'm not. So there!

O'Colly article

As for my DD Cheyenne, she and my DSIL acually got tickets for one of the NINE concerts in Kansas City with Garth Brooks! I am SO jealous. She said it was the best concert ever! She even called me so I could hear when he came on stage, although again, technology wasn't quite up to that task either, but it was the thought that counts!

Garth went to OSU and lives in Claremore, OK where we lived until 2 years ago. My family has seen him around town and in Tulsa several times. Can't wait until he starts recording again.

It's Sock -Tober - Fest!

noreply@blogger.com (Bethel) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:08:00 +0000

Yes, I have defeated the 2nd Sock Syndrome! Here are my completed pair of socks from the 1st month of Yarntopia's Sock Club. They are in a Hill Country Yarn called Blueberry Wine. These are my 1st completed pair in a sock weight yarn. I picked this color because it had Red and Blue (& Santa said that was important).
They are a Christmas gift....shhhh.....don't tell. My DH is modeling them (just so you know those are not MY hairy legs, although some days...never mind!). They are a Fiber Trends pattern called Railroad Rib. I started the 2nd one on Saturday and finished on Tuesday. Not bad. I made these top-down in Magic-Loop on Addi size 2 since I needed to make a larger size. This pattern is very stretchy and many of the others I saw finished (that were not ankle socks like mine) were slouchy socks, so this would be a good pattern for those who have big calves (you know who you are...).

I wanted to include some new travel photos as well. These are from Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Since I am basically a Land-lubber, this was an awesome place to visit. I went there last winter so it was cold when I took these photos and there were STILL people willing to go out rowing! Don't they realize that is the perfect time to stay indoors and knit or crochet???
I had a wonderful Crabcake dinner with a friend of my husband and mine from high school, Alan and his wife Carrie. So a shout out to them!

This last picture is of our future yacht (or so I informed my DH)! I wish!