What The Yarn Wants

 I think the yarn wants to be a cowl.  

In the meantime, I asked the yarn if at least part of it wanted to be a blanket square, and the yarn happily agreed.  I found the blanket and got it out to add a square, that's when I discovered I already had a square in progress.  

Now I know why I couldn't find my other size 3 needle when I needed it.  When I needed my needle...get it?  OK, never mind.  I can't even blame sleep deprivation this time, because I slept until nearly 6:00 AM this morning.    

Moving right along, 

I finished the square I'd already started, then knitted the new one.

By the time I was finished, I was pretty sure the yarn was telling me it wants to be a cowl, but the ball games had started.  As usual, I had one game going on the TV, and one on my laptop, so I couldn't search for a pattern.  

Speaking of football, Texas held on to win a nailbiter.  Hook 'Em.

Navy came from behind to win a nailbiter, for their first notch in the W column this season.  Beat Army.  

As of this writing, LSU is locked in a nailbiter with Auburn.  Geaux Tigers. 

All in all, it's been a good weekend for football, and will be real good if LSU figures out how to tackle Bo Nix.  Best of all, those obnoxious Alabama fans had to listen to Gary.  He he he...Now, back to knitting...

My friend Amy commented on my last blog post about wanting to start a scarf for when she needed some mindless knitting.  Naturally, I did what any red blooded knitter would do.  I dug out my mindless scarf and resumed knitting on it for a little while.  

It's real good for mindlessness.

And finally, on this date in 1835, The Battle of Gonzales was fought when the Mexican government demanded the Texians return the canon they'd given them.  The Texians refused, and in what later became known as Texas Lexington, the Texas Revolution began. 

Now, I'm down to one ball game at a time, so I'm off to search cowl patterns.  

Laters. 

Thanksgiving 2011

Beverly and James

Mike, Dennise, and Shelbi (Brittani didn't come.  She didn't want to leave her dogs.)

Cody (observing No Shave November) 

Gak! My son is too tall for me to bunny ears any more! (Hey, at least he come by it honest.)

Artex got in on the festivities, too.  

At my house, we had an early Christmas miracle: Squeaky let Jesse get on the bed with her!

Rylea stuck with napping on the love seat.

I didn't take pictures of the food.  It looks pretty much the same as it did last year, and the year before, and the year before...Although Cody wanted to have a Cajun Thanksgiving, so we did have gumbo and meat pies, in addition to the turkey, sweet potatoes, etc, etc...

I had a bit of a mishap with the pumpkin pie.  The crust stuck to the pie shield-- probably from the filling overflowing just a little bit-- and it broke when I took the shield off.

So, I thought, by golly, if I'm going to go to all the trouble to find my fancy pie plate and dig it out and wash it up, then by golly, I'm going to have a nice looking pie to put into it.

So I made another one.

It turned out much better. 

After dinner, I came home and watched the Cowboys defeat the Dolphins on a last second, come from behind field goal.  Then I watched the Longhorns defeat the Aggies on a last second, come from behind field goal. 

My old heart can't take this kind of stress any more.  I'm giving up football.

At least until tomorrow.

New Yarnz!!

Tuesday is my friend Vanessa's birthday. For several weeks now, she's been talking about wanting to go to the zoo. Well, if you've known me for any length of time, you'll know I was all over that. So today, I took her to the Memphis Zoo for her birthday.  And you know I had to stop at Hank of Yarn on the way there. 

I'd gone in to Wal-mart earlier in the week and bought a new P&S camera, but oddly enough I didn't take all that many photos. I'll post the ones I did take tomorrow. But for today, I'll treat you to these:

YARNZ!!!!

OK, well this isn't yarn. It's a wool wash.

But this is yarn!   Only it didn't come from Hank's.  It came from Knit Picks.  What we hae here is Gloss Lace in black.  Yes, I've been told I'm not right in the head.

And here we see Stroll Sport sock yarn.  Upon initial observation it seems to have a tighter twist than the old Essential, so maybe it won't fuzz as much.  I got these to makes some sleepin' socks.  My feet get so cold at night.

That is Stream Heather on the left, and Buckskin on the right.  And this is Pumpkin.

It looks brighter in this photo than in real life.  Flash effect, I suppose.  Anyway, it's an almost perfect University of Texas burnt orange. I think I'll make a hat and scarf set out of it.

And now, we finally get to the yarn I got at Hank's.  My sister in law Paula had requested a baby blue wool hat for Christmas, so I got this. 

It is Cascade 220 Superwash.

Hank is clearancing all the Plymouth Encore, and this color really jumped out at me. 

It didn't have a name, just a number.  That number is 1405. They only had one ball left, but I figure it's enough to make a couple of hats for a couple of nephews.  Or maybe a brother or two...

Speaking of hats, I bought the right size needles to transfer this hat to a circular.

Maybe now, I'll make more progress on it.  See, no matter how much I adjusted the stitches, the SSK always seemed to land right between two DPNs.  I'd have to slip the first one from one needle, and the second one from another needle.  That was such a pain in the patootey. 

I got home in time to watch the last three quarters of the Texas UCLA game.  The McCoy-Shipley magic has returned to the Longhorns!  Only this time, it isn't Colt and Jordan. It's Case and Jaxon. 

Somehow, it only seems fitting that I should post

A Gratuitous Case McCoy photo.

But First

a bit of catching up...I woke up Thursday and the alarm hadn't gone off.  Well, it went off, but the radio station was off the air, so it didn't make any noise.  I woke up late.  It was only a few minutes, but it was enough to throw my entire day off kilter.  Thus, I didn't post what I'd intended to post Thursday.  And here it is:

another fun fur charity scarf completed, and another fun fur charity scarf cast on:

Rylea decided to try on her Halloween costume.

Friday was a plant shutdown day, so I didn't have to go to work. I tried to sleep in, but the alarm dog wouldn't allow it. Yes, Rylea, I'm talking about you! Well, when I went to do my grocery shopping, I saw this:

I usually walk right past these things without giving them a second glance, because we all know my reputation with plants. Sigh...I love them, but can't seem to keep them alive. On impulse, I bought this one.   Wanna take bets on how quickly I can kill it? 

This morning I woke up way too early, after I'd stayed up way too late last night. I got so excited about the Rangers going to the World Series, that even after I went to bed, I couldn't get to sleep. I wish cats understood such things.

She's a persistent little bugger, she is. Especially when breakfast is involved.

No matter. The sky was absolutely gorgeous

and Rangers are still going to the World Series!

I spent today dog sitting the neighbor's dog.  They called me yesterday and asked me to keep an eye on him.  He'd gotten hit by a car yesterday, and they had to go out of town today.  They didn't want to leave him alone all day.   Shortly after they left, I went over and got him and just brought him to my house.

Poor sweet baby!  You can see how his back leg is all swollen up.  He had some open wounds, too, so I put some of the leftover medicine I had from when Rylea got hit on them.  I sent the rest back home with him.  The neighbor asked me what I thought about his leg, and I said I thought it might be broken.  If he were mine, I'd have taken him to the vet.  Hopefully, they will go on and take him.  They also brought me a new t-shirt.

And look! The letters are sewn on!

I didn't have an LSU t-shirt.

Speaking of, the unbeaten LSU Tigers faced off against the unbeaten Auburn Tigers.  I don't wanna talk about it.

The struggling Texas Longhorns faced off against the Iowa State Cyclones.  I really don't wanna talk about it.

Sigh, I'm going to bed

to dream of happier days...

Just What You've Been Waiting For

I know you've all been waiting with baited breath, and here it is. I cast on the first of the Dardo yarn this morning.

Sharp eyed readers with good memories might recognize this pattern. Yep, it's the ubiquitous One Row Scarf.  I know the pattern doesn't show up that well in that photo, so you'll just have to trust me.  That's what it is.  I've knit several of these before, but it's such a good yet simple pattern that I keep coming back to it.

And since these take just a bit more time, I also cast on another Fun Fur scarf.

And I watched football.  Lots of football.  OK, only three games, but that counts as a lot, doesn't it?  It was the weekend of the upset, I tell you.  Unranked Texas handed #5 Nebraska their first loss of the season.  Unranked Mississippi State handed #22 Florida their third loss in a row.  And here's the shocker, #18 Wisconsin knocked #1 Ohio State out of that #1 spot 31-18. Both LSU and Auburn remain unbeaten, setting up a good match for next week when they face each other.

In between all this knitting and football watching, I finally got my fall decorations out and put them up. 

I hit a bit of an impasse when I got here.

The junk and I stared at each other for a good long while, but in the end, I persevered. Now this cabinet looks lovely and fall-y...ish. Whatever.

I took some Benadryl, hoping it would help me sleep a little better tonight.  I can't remember the last time I slept the night through.  Seems I wake up every hour or two.  If that doesn't work, I may have to resort to The Green Elixer of Death.  Otherwise known as Nyquil. 

Squeaky says, "I notice you still aren't knitting anything for me."

Score!

Today was the day.   I was going to head out on the great superwash wool hunt. I had a little trouble getting going this morning. My usual inertia had set in. I just didn't want to leave the house. But I thought about those sailors, leaving home and their families for months at a time. So I pried my fat butt out of my recliner and headed up to Southaven.

First stop was Jo-Ann's.  Well, OK, the FIRST first stop was Wal-mart.  The one here has stopped carrying the leave in treatment I use in my hair, so every time I head up North, I stop and get two or three bottles.  While there, I picked up a new kitchen set.  I've been needing some new towels, and thought this was the cutest set, and only $5.00.  It has 4 towels, a dish cloth and two pot holders.

Then, I went to Jo-Ann's.  I didn't really think they would have any 100% superwash wool, and I was right.  They had wool, but not superwash.  They had washable wool blends, but not 100% wool.  The stop was not a total bust, though.  I picked up this skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease, color #180 Forest Green Heather.

 

I know, there is a shadow, but I'm not taking another photo, so you'll just have to live with it.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, yet.  I was thinking a scarf to match the hat I made for my cousin last year, but then, he doesn't really wear scarves.  So, that idea is a no-go.  I don't know.  I'll think of something.

I also picked up some more sock yarns for the blankies.

It's about to get cold enough that having a blankie in my lap will be a good thing.

I stopped at Petco, but didn't buy anything.  I also stopped a couple of places to look for some new work shoes.  I really need to wear high top shoes or boots at work, because I've developed the habit of standing on the sides of my feet.  It's causing problems all the way up to my hips.  I don't do that when I'm wearing boots.  I didn't find anything.  Well, I did, but I didn't want to pay $80 for boots that are just going to get ruined at work.

Finally, I went on to Hank of Yarn, and scored big time.   First up, Cascade 220 Superwash.  These are colors 1912  (the browinsh one), #809 (red), and 814 (blue). 

I've already cast on the blue:

This is the Hurricane Hat, and is working up really quickly.  It calls for size 7 needles, and I was sure I'd had some.  Apparently, I don't.  I'm working it on size 8, and it looks small.  I'd hate to see it on size 7.

I also picked up these two.  The top one is Scarlet Fleece Painted Merino.  The colorway is Favorite Jeans.  This one might just have to stay with me. 

The bottom one is Cascade 220 Superwash Paints, color 9871.  It doesn't really look like the color in the photo and looks even less like the color on their site.  It's still pretty.  I though it would make a fun hat for a sailor to wear.  There are women on that ship, and this looks like a girly color. 

The Fun Fur scarves got set aside since the hats have a time constraint on them.  However, just to show you that they aren't forgotten, I cast this one on last night.

I got home in time to watch LSU vs Tennessee, and Texas vs. Oklahoma.  Texas lost, as I sort of expected them to.  They are where Oklahoma was this time last year.  They are still trying to find themselves after having lost so many key players.

LSU thought they'd lost, too.  That game started out with a bang, Jordan Jefferson scoring on an 83 yard touchdown run on their very first play.  They got really sloppy after that.  They were trailing 10-14, and on the last play of the game, there was some confusion, followed by a bad snap that flew right past Jordan Jefferson.  Time had run out, and Tennessee thought they'd won, but there was a flag.  Tennessee had had 13 men on the field, so LSU got one untimed down.  Stevan Ridley powered his way into the end zone and LSU won.  It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen!

Don't believe me?  See for yourself:

A Sad Saturday

Texas got absolutely trounced by UCLA.  Final score was 34-12.  It wasn't pretty.

We knew Texas wouldn't be the same team as last year.  They'd lost so many of their weapons.  Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Earl Thomas.  They'd really struggled this year, but had caught some lucky breaks.  Well, this time it caught up with them.  Too many turnovers, too many mistakes.  Oh, they'll get it together, but probably not this season.

LSU, on the other hand, has struggled for the last three years...ever since Matt Flynn, Jacob Hester, and Early Doucet graduated.  Even as I type, they are leading West Virginia, but have really seemed disconnected on offense.  They just aren't moving the ball.  The crowd is booing Jordan Jefferson more and more, but Les Miles won't bench him.  I can tell it's going to be a frustrating season for LSU fans. The one bright spot in this game has been Patrick Peterson's 62 yard  punt return for a touchdown.

I spent most of the day working on my newest charity scarf.  Simple garter stitch, I really needed something mindless.

One of my friends has offered to send me some extra yarn that she has, which I gladly accepted.  I haven't really been making these scarves much lately, though I used to have one going all the time.  I've missed it.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who still posts Saturday Sky photos.  The web ring seems to have died.  Even I don't do it every week any more.  Anyway, today's Saturday Sky was partly to mostly cloudy all day, but we didn't get any of the promised rain that we so desperately need.

I've watched football all my life, and I think I have a pretty good understanding of the game, but still, when I saw this book, I knew I had to have it.

Judging by the reviews on Amazon.com, it's not a beginner's introduction to the game. That's good for me. I don't really need a beginner's introduction. But sometimes, there are things I'd like to know--like the difference between a screen and a bubble screen, or what makes a skinny post route a skinny post route-- and there's no one around to ask.  Maybe this book will provide some answers.  I'll do a full review after I've read it.

And since I was ordering from Amazon.com, I went ahead and picked up this musical. 

I've been wanting it for a long time, and I finally got it.

Well, the LSU game is over now.  They hung on to win it 20-14, thanks in large part to their defense.  Now, if only they could find an offense.  And since the dog doesn't believe in sleeping in, I'd better head to bed.

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