Looming Looney

Fall TV

2008-10-19T06:51:00.006-04:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel as if i have just awaken from a daze. I am a big CSI fan. I love them all: CSI Las Vegas, CSI New York, and CSI Miami. With the new fall season of TV watching amongst us, I must say I am very, very pissed 0ff with the folk over there on the CSI Las Vegas set. Why oh why would they kill off Warrick Brown! I mean come on look at this face

This is not the face that only a mother can love, we all love this face. He is truly one handsome piece of flesh. The hair, that body, and those dreamy eyes.

Even though he was shot down in the season 8 finale, I just knew the TV Gods would wave their magic wands and everything would be OK. But that was not the case. To add salt to the wound, did y'all see the way they killed him off the show! I mean come one, he was gunned down while sitting in his car, bullet shots to the upper body, one through the neck. I would expect this from The Sopranos, but not CSI.

There must have been some serious issues between Gary Gourdan (the guy who plays Warrick) and the producers. Now wouldn't it have made since for him to be, lets say, severely injured or in a comma with months of recuperating? At least we would get to see him every week and root for him while he heals. But nooooo they just gunned him down like a dirty dog in a dark alley way. Did i mention that I was pissed off!

This will defiantly take some getting over. I think I need to cry some more. Whimper, Whimper, sigh

Oh and did you hear that Grissom, the head CSI, is leaving the show too. What the hell is going on over there.

OK I think I need to go before my keyboard short circuits from all the tears and I get electrocuted.

Check out this Ode to Warrick Brown

SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT!

2008-10-04T09:24:00.002-04:00

For all my loom loving friends out there, check out the newest loom from DA Looms.

I have got to get this one. I have several looms from DA. They are handmade to order by the one and only Sam Phelps. Sam is the loving husband of Isela Phelps, mother, master loomer, needle knitter, and author of an impressive lot of loom knitting books and patterns. I have got to get me one of this babies. And what's even better then buying one? Winning one in a contest Isela is holding. Hop on over to her site leave her a comment and tell her you saw it here! You may be the lucky winner of this wonderful new loom.

WHAT TYPE OF PIRATE ARE YOU?

2008-09-20T08:51:00.005-04:00

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Bonney

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

It's a Jungle Out There!

2008-09-06T19:52:00.005-04:00

Due to higher gas prices, and higher food prices, and higher utility prices and higher .... well you get the picture, we didn't go away for a family vacation this year. Instead we decided like so many others to stay close to home. I read on someones blogs a year ago about this safari park and thought it would be an exciting place to visit. Here are some great pictures of our adventure. For $3 you can buy a bucket of feed and feed the animals as you drive through the park. There were lots of animals to see and feed but here are a few of the ones I was able to snap pictures of before my camera batteries died.

I was selective about which animals I would feed, and this sucker was hugh (just look at those humps) so i was not trying to give up the feed for fear he'd eat my hand off. But he was determined and stood in front of the van and would not let us by until we rolled down the window and put the bucket out for him.

Look at me and my chicken self scared the zebra would eat me.

Not quite sure what this thing is!

This little moosey was sniffing my window looking for the feed bucket.

How cute!

But not when they came at you in heards!!

There were camels, bison, lamas, bull elk, ostrich,and even pot belly pigs!

Look at brave-man-o-mine.

He didn't stop at the chance to feed the animals.

Beautiful Zebra's

He looks a little scrabby doesn't he?

Camel family

Just waiting in line to be feed....

He reminds me of an old man.

And finally by babies, standing outside the gift shop.

2007-09-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

Today I am going to the hospital to have knee surgery. Every since December 2006 I have been living with off and on with knee pain. After taking several types of pain meds, knee exercises, and hot/cold packs, and finally 2 doses of cortisone shots to the knee (OUCH!!!!) I have been told I need to have surgery to relieve the pain and symptoms. I am so scared!

Other than having impacted wisdom teeth removed a couple of years back I have never had surgery before. Hopefully there won't be too much pain afterwards. It seems I have a torn medial meniscus. It sounds kinda cool because most people who have this type of problem it is almost always associated with some type of sports injury. Now anyone who knows me knows that "sports" is not a word commonly used in my vocabulary unless it involves me sitting as a spectator. It will be in and out surgery and should take very long to perform. The worst part of this whole things is that, as with most surgeries, I was told not to eat anything after mid-night last night. I have to be at the hospital at NOON today for check in and the surgery is not scheduled until TWO. That means no breakfast, and no lunch. I am not even supposed to drink water, eat ice chips, chew gum or mints. NOTHING!!!!!! Is this torture to the highest degree or what?

Oh well I've procrastinated long enough. I now must go strip off all my nail polish, remove all my jewelry (as I've been ordered to do) and fix the kids breakfast (did i mention the torture) before dropping them off to my Moms. They are enjoying it, since we are uncertain of how long I will be at the hospital they can't go to school because we take them and pick them up. The last thing I need is to have the school board and the country on my ass for child abandonment. So we feel it best for all parties involved (particularly me) to give them a day off from school.

OK, I'm leaving now. OH Yeah I finally bought a new lap top... more details on that later. See Ya later! i hope

Sad and Pathetic

2007-08-27T08:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, those 2 words describe me perfectly. Can you believe that August 14 marked the 1 year anniversary of my blog and I failed to blog about it? I am truly Sad and Pathetic to no end. Well to my credit there were some extenuating circumstances that lead me to this state. First being my baby sister was to wed her sweet heart on Saturday, August 18 and me being the Maid of Honor had to be there with her for last minute details and moral support, not to mention my hubby and both kids were in the wedding as well. I had to make sure they were taken care of and properly outfitted for such an occasion.

Secondly, my kids were getting ready to start back to school on Mon. 20th and I had to make sure..... OK, OK! I can't continue this lie anymore. Yes my sister did get married but she had everything done a week before the wedding and I do mean EVERYTHING!!! As far as getting the kids ready for back to school.... please I did there supply shopping back in July when Staples had those wonderful 1 cent sales and the shopping for clothes the day before school started so there was really no other excuse except the obvious one. I AM JUST PLAIN LAZY!!! This has been a long and tiring summer and I'm tired! OK there I said it I just want to sit back and do nothing. It's been too hot to (dare I say it) knit. I hope these are not grounds for having my knitting card revoked? boo hoo hoo, sniffle sniffle : -(

I have been enjoying playing around in ravelry though. I found some really cute things I might try my hand at making. That's about it for now. I promise I will get some knit related pics to post soon so I can redeem myself.

Chao

I'm back....

2007-08-04T22:17:00.000-04:00

OK it's been a little while since I've post (big lie! it's been MONTHS). I can't say that I've had any great excuses for not posting just shear lack of time. It seems I had lost my creativity, my knitting mojo had vanished. But low and behold, I think it's slowly coming back to me. I' ve got a few projects I'm interested in whipping up.

I am coming up on my 1 year blog anniversary and thought it only fair that I start posting again. Now I won't promise anything splendid or of interest but hey I'll try. I am also trying (yet again) to learn to knit with needles.

Oh yeah! After months of waiting I finally received my Ravelry invite. So if you're one of the lucky ones who has made it through the waiting list, drop in and check me out. I'm still getting things set up so don't expect anything fancy just yet. If you haven't signed up to join go ahead. It's great. I'm listed as Tonya5015.

I'VE BEEN A BAD BAD BLOGGER

2007-04-18T19:58:00.000-04:00

As you may remember from several post back, several months ago, I said I would post more frequently. Well I LIED!. That's right. I said it. I lied to my public. I have been busy with life and not much knitting was done. Let's see, first of all both the Princess and Peanut celebrated birthdays. The Princess lost her first baby tooth, and Peanut lost 5 baby teeth. One of which had to be pulled by the dentist because it would not fall out on it's own. This sucker was lose for months but was hanging on for dear life, even though the adult teeth had already started to come in. A whooping $107 bucks for a procedure that took all of about 10 minutes and that was including him explaining in detail to Peanut what he was going to do. The worst part is I spent about $200 buck last year to have a silver cap put on that tooth. The dentist ask if i wanted to keep the teeth and my thoughts were HELL YEAH! I paid for that silver! Do you know how much yarn I could have brought with that money? whimper, whimper, sigh, sigh

I did manage to get a little knitting done. I almost finish a blanket for my baby girl to snuggle with while watching TV.

I haven't decided if I want to make another panel and join the two together. I still have more yarn left over. I used Lion Brand Jiffy, Quick & Easy Mohair look yarn. One skein each of white, yellow and peacock (teal). This project was the first one I've made using my 28 inch knitting board that I bought from Knittingboard.com

I also made this bag out of ribbon yarn. This was my first time using ribbon yarn and I am not a fan. I do like the black and gray color though.
I also have some new toys. I got this beauty off of e-bay I will put all my little notions and things in here.

I purchased another new loom from decor ac ce nts. I swear this will be my last one. It was made by the husband of a great looming wizard Isela. I also have a couple of new books. Loom Crafts with Knifty Knitter and another Loom knitting Primer. I call this one my loom knitting bible, also authored by the great Isela. Well, I think that's about it. See although I haven't been blogging or knitting much. I have been keeping busy.

Oh yeah, we have 2 new additions to our family. I'll fill you in on the details later.

Busy Little Bee

2007-02-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

I have really gotten back into the swing of things. I have finished another knitted item.

Can you guess what it is? Anyone,anyone. Thats right, it my lovely Eye glass case. Another loom knitting class project. This is one of the beginner project but I thought it was cute and decided to make one.

And then the mail came. Look what the mailman had for me.

Check this out......... This is just a small sample the box was packed full.

A friend from one of my yahoo groups had this box packed full of yummy fiber and offered it to me.

Now I need to buy a spindle so I can master the art of spinning.

Newborn Baby Bonnet w/ Pom PomTassels

2007-02-20T00:34:00.000-05:00

I belong to several yahoo loom knitting groups and one is a looming class. Every couple of weeks one of the great loom knitters create a pattern and teach a class over the computer. The great thing about this group is that you can participate in the class the interest you and skip the ones that don't. If life gets in the way you can go back after the class is complete and work on the projects at your own pace. If you have questions you just e-mail the group and everyone is always more than willing to help.

I have been lurking in the background and just reading the messages for the past couple of months but today I decided to take actions. I participated in a class and completed my first project.

Todays class was for a baby bonnet. The bonnet was really easy and quick to work up. I have some more practice to do on the pom poms, but overall I think it's great. There was also a class for a baby sweater. I think I'll make one to match my bonnet. Check it out.

Thanks to the Princess for the use of her dolly to model my bonnet.

What Do You Do

2007-02-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

when it's cold, snowing, and sleeting out? Knit of course. That's exactly what I did on Tuesday, 14th. Valentines Day. I spent the entire day in the house and most of it was spent knitting. Looky what I've done.

First there were mittens

Here is my honey bunch modeling my lovey mittens.
Look how wonderful he is The thumbs are a little funky and not quite even

And then came a hat.

Hat is being modeled by Miss Stymie

Out of all the hats I've ever made, this is my favorite one.

Here I am modeling my hat.

I have some extra yarn so a matching scarf might be in order.

Fingerless Glove

2007-02-11T21:08:00.000-05:00

I have been inspired to knit again. After months of not touching yarn, I have picked up my loom and gotten back into the swing of things. Here is my first attempt at the fingerless glove. My hands get so cold at work that I can barely type. So to keep from getting frost bite I made this. (pardon the flannel PJ sleeve. It was early Saturday morning when my will to knit kicked in)

The pattern is from Provocraft. Because I didn't have the exact type of yarns needed I had to improvise just a bit. There are some things I will change in the pattern to fit my hands a little better. But overall not bad for the first try. I only made one glove. I will make the mate and then make a second pair in a prettier, livelier color yarn.

It's really hard to get a good picture because of the ash gray yarn. The fingerless glove is knitted in a flat panel using the basic e-wrap stitch for several rows, and contains a few rows of decreases for the thumb piece. It was really easy. I must say that if you decide to use the Provocraft pattern be warned that the instructions for making the second glove are missing some steps. You have to refer to the 1st set of instructions so you don't have to do any frogging.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2007-02-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's not exactly a new year any more. BUT it is the first time you've heard that being said by me. So it still applies. (there's always a way around a technicality)

I didn't do any knitting over the holidays. just not enough time with all the running around like a mad women, so there is nothing major to report on the knitting front. To save face, I won't post any of the many, many Christmas pics of the family.

I did get out and have a little fun though. The Monster Truck Jam came to town a few weeks ago and of course we had to go. I hadn't been since Peanut was about 2 or 3 years old and he's almost 11 now. The Princess had a ball. It was her first time seeing the trucks up close. She'd only watched them on TV with her Dad.

Here are some pics of us and the cool
trucks that performed, take a look:

This was my favorite. I just loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle truck.

They even had four wheeler and dirt bike races. There was team DC and team Philly. And you know I was rooting for the home team (DC).

This Chick was great!! She lead team DC to the winners circle for one of the four wheeler race. Girls totally rule. The Princess really enjoyed herself.

This is where we sat. No we weren't in the nosebleed section. We were in the OXYGEN
section. We were in the very top row.

This is a pic of the pit party before the show. Everyone who donated some cangoods got to get an upclose and personal look at the trucks, meet the drivers and get autographs. The line were so long we just got pics of the trucks. It was a packed house.

Here we are after the event. Aren't we cuuutteeee. The Princess was so tired.

What kind of needle am I?

2006-11-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You love the craft and beauty of traditional things, and you value the comfort and experience of knitting as much as the results. But while you are reveling in your warm cozies, don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is the whole wide world!
Take this quiz!

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I'm Still Here!

2006-11-07T23:42:00.000-05:00

OK, OK! I know it's been a while since my last post but just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been knitting.

See I made some hats. The purple one was the first one I made and it came out really nice. It is Red Heart worsted weight, double strands, e-wraps and purls. This was supposed to be for the Princess to go with her new purple coat but it's too small. I used the red loom. She doesn't have a big head she has lots of hair. I should have used the green loom instead.

So to redeem myself I made the purple and white hat. It only took me a couple of hours to make tonight but the Princess was fast asleep when I finished it so she hasn't seen it yet. I hope she likes it. It's also done with Red Heart, double strands for thickness, using stockinette and purl stitches.

I made a third hat for Hubby but because it is all black I couldn't get a good picture. I'll try tomorrow and post a picture.

I also made two scarves. The first one is my fun scarf. It is a narrow width scarf, made with alternating 12 rows of stockinette stitches then 12 rows of purl. Or at least that what it started out to be. I did it while watching TV and helping Peanut with his homework so the exact number of rows in each group may be off a bit. But I still like it. Such a pretty color. I plan to wear it with a felted hat I bought a year or so ago and have never worn.
This scarf was made for my baby sister. It is done in all purl stitches. I still need to block it to rid it of the curls. It's not as long as I would have like but I ran out of yarn. Maybe I'll add some fringes in matching colors since it is a variegated yarn.

I also made this wrist warmer for my Mom. She has to wear a brace on her hand and her arms stay cold all the time. It's really big on me but fits over her brace perfectly. Notice the same color as the sister scarf above? I made the wrist warmer first and when my sister saw it she wanted her scarf in the same yarn.

I also had a sock but I frogged it( twice) and didn't take a picture of it first. It was a knee length sock for Mom. I was working on the short row heel and really screwed it up. Damn short rows! I am still sick about it. I hate frogging things. As kharma would have it my friend Ava had a mishap with a sock she was making and I got a really big kick out of it. Boy I tell you kharma can be a serious pain in the ass.

Well that's all for now. It is now 45 minutes pass midnight, the house is quiet and I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night or should I say good morning.

KNITTERS TEA SWAP 2 PACKAGE RECEIVED ALL THE WAY FROM CANADA!!

2006-10-22T11:35:00.000-04:00

I received my KTS2 package from my pal Ruby a week or so ago but because I've been having trouble with my computer I wasn't able to announce it. Well I'm up and running again!!! Check out the haul I got from my pal. Sorry the pics are kinda dark.

I got some wonderful teas (much of it is already gone), some great sock yarn (really hard to see in the pic) and pattern, some very tasty cookies (which are just great with the tea)

A special edition Canadian Breast Cancer bookmark, a can of tea leaves and tea blossom bulb (in the box).

Yummy chocolates (which I hid in the fridge, way in the back)

And a really cut card. Look at the little knitted sweater on the front. The needles are tooth picks. I though this was tooo cute!!!

Thanks Ruby I Love it All!!!!

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY

2006-10-13T07:23:00.000-04:00

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13

Your Birthdate: October 13

You're dominant and powerful. You always need to be in charge.
While others respect your competence, you can be a bit of a dictator.
Hard working and serious, you never let yourself down.
You are exact and accurate - and you expect others to be the same way.

Your strength: You always get the job done

Your weakness: You're a perfectionist to a fault

Your power color: Gray

Your power symbol: Checkmark

Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Mailman Beware!

2006-10-10T22:55:00.000-04:00

I am expecting lots of goodies in the mail during the next few days. Totally desperate I did the unthinkable. I saw the mailman sitting outside and I cornered him in the truck. But it worked, he had two packages for me, and no one had to get hurt. Yippee! One package was some yarn I purchase from DeStash - Cash For Your Stash! , 4 skeins of cascade fixation. The other package was my October Birthday Swap goodies box from my swap pal, Susan. Hi Susan. My box included some wonderful items. Take a look.......

I got two hanks of yarn in a fabulous color. What will I make? hummmm. Some tea - My stash is getting low. I have dranked a cup everyday for the last week, 2 wonderful smelling candles, a really cute tape mesaure - which I need because my daughter and son keep stealing my other one, a pair of circular knitting needles - I have been really wanting a pair of these, a huge chocolate & almound candy bar - anyone who knows me knows I'm a choc-a-holic, and a lovely knitting themed birthday card. I totally love everything my pal choose for me. THANKS SUSAN.

Swap Pal Times 2

2006-10-08T08:22:00.000-04:00

I am participating in my first ever swaps. "Knitters Tea Swap 2" and "October Birthday Swap". Yep, the first go round I am have two. I've been thinking long and hard about my swap pals, their likes and dislikes and their future knitting aspiration and have done some serious shopping and have finally packed my boxes!!!!

Here's the package going to my tea swap 2 pal. This baby is going International.

Here's the package going to my birthday swap pal

To keep the suspense going I'm not giving hints about what's in the boxes (just in case my pals are checking my blog) and I didn't want to show the label side of the boxes.

Because I missed the post office on Saturday and Monday is a holiday, the packages will be sent off Tuesday morning. I can't wait until they get them and hope they like the goodies I picked out.

I was contacted by my tea swap 2 pal yesterday and my package is also on the way. I can't wait to see what's in it.

My Official B-Day Count Down Clock: 5 days to my BIRTHDAY!!!

Day Trip to Pennsylvania

2006-10-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

Saturday, Sept. 30th we took a trip to Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

We went to the Carlisle Fair Grounds for the car show and swap meet.

Hubby thought he could find some parts for the 78 Chevy Camero he just brought and is attempting to restore.

This place is HUGE. Check out the ariel view of the fairgrounds.

And a lot of the space was nothing but up hill, BOTH WAYS, well not really but it sure felt like it to the legs. We walked every inch that had a vender, or car on it. Some spots twice!

I was hoping to get some pics of the restored antique and tricked out cars but the batteries in the camera died before I could get them. By the time I found a vender selling batteries I was too tired to trek back up and down the hills to take the pics. And besides it rained the majority of the time we were there.

See the Princess posing by the Halloween figures, modeling her lovely rain poncho. She is such a camera hog.

Here she is again standing next to the Happy Store sign, though not looking so happy.

Finally a dry moment. The Princess and the Peanut taking a moment to sit and chat. Actually they fought the entire time and I just got finish threatening them, so most likely they were plotting against me. The ungrateful little things......

Hubby and the Peanut resting after the rain filled hikes.

One of the many, many vendors.

Talk about being tired. After about 5 hours at the fairgrounds, the Princess was so tired that as soon as we got her in the car and made it five minutes down the road, this is what happened.She slept the entire way back to Maryland, even during the 2 stops we made. What a day.

Just some mountains and sky pics.

Who says you can't have your yarn and eat cake too?

2006-10-01T23:20:00.000-04:00

Today me and the Princess took a trip to In Stitches Needlework a LYS, to buy gifts for two special people for two swaps I'm participating in. My first swaps, might I add. The yarn store had a special event yesterday to celebrate it's birthday and still had some great buys today. I got some Bebbie Bliss for 50% off and some Noro Kureyon for 33% off. They also had cake, yes, chocolate cake. The best of both worlds. Only an insane person wouldn't want to eat chocolate cake and shop for yarn!!!! I hope my swap pals will be very pleased with their goodie packages. I also picked up some things for me. My stash was getting just a little bit low. wink wink

After that we headed to A.C. Moore where I got some more great stuff, mainly jewelry making materials and some yarn of course. I must admit I went a little overboard. But hey, what the heck! I've been a good girl.

I received my 4 balls of Cascade Fixation in the mail the other day, and I have a few skeins on the way from Elann I can't wait. I'm dying to make a pair of comfy sock. Speaking of socks, I also have a new sock loom coming in from Decor Accents, Inc . Did I say I went a little overboard?

Dear hubby just bought a 1978 Chevy Camero that he will be restoring, which will cost some money considering all he wants to do to it. So that being said all yarn restiction (all of which are self imposed) have been lifted. I can yarn shop and knit until my fingers turn blue and fall off. Don't ya just love life.

And on the knitting front, very little. Only a few more rows added to the Mommy Poncho. After finishing two poncho's a week ago I'm bored with the idea of making another one.

B-DAY COUNT DOWN: 12 Days to Go

Horses, Birthday, Anniversaries, OH MY

2006-09-28T09:47:00.000-04:00

This has been a very tiresome week. Believe or not most nights I have been too tired to knit. Can that be possible? I've only manage to get 5 rows done on the poncho for Mom. She saw mine and want one of her own. Here is the run down on my life these past few days.

Saturday, Sept. 23 we attended the Bill Picket Rodeo and it was so good (see previous post).

Sunday, Sept. 24 was my Mommy's birthday; and also Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary. Her wish was to go to Charles Town Races and Slots and I felt obligated to accommodate her. After all, you only have one birthday a year right? So off we go, me and mom, to West Virginia. The scenery was absolutely magnificent. The picturesque mountains off in the background were great. I only wish I had my camera with me, DARN. We played some slots, had a nice lunch and then betted on the ponies. It was so much fun, standing on the side lines cheering your horse on to the finish line. And yes we were big winners! We won a total of about $7. Hey we don't know anything about betting on horse so we only bet the min. of $2 to show (your horse must come in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) and we won 2 out of 3 bets. NOT BAD!

Monday, Sept. 25 was my Daddy's birthday. My Daddy passed away in April of this year and it's been really hard on my Mom. This was the first of many birthdays and anniversary's that she'd be without him. With all these joyful occasions rolled up together I was determined to do what ever I could to keep her from being lonely and sad. After I got home from work I picked her up and we head to the cemetery to spend time with Dad. We brought him some really nice roses (red & white) and sang happy B-day to him. I told him about our adventure the day before. I'm sure he got a kick out of the thought of us acting like we knew what we were doing betting on the horses. He always said we (Mom and I) were like two peas in a pod. And he was right, she's my best friend.

Wednesday, Sept. 27 marked my 11 year anniversary. WOW! I can't believe I have been married that long. I'm just a baby :-) We didn't do anything special. With two small kids, homework, and all the other nightly routines it's hard to get out in the middle of the week. Oh Well, here's to another 11 plus years.

P.S. My birthday is coming up in 2 weeks. On Sunday, Oct. 1st I will start the official B-Day count down to Oct. 13 (yeah, I know my b-day is going to be "Friday the 13th" this year).

More on the knitting front in my next post. Maybe!

Trip to the Black Rodeo

2006-09-23T23:35:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we went to the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (the black rodeo). http://www.billpickettrodeo.com/web/pages/main.htm

This is the second year I've been and it is better than the last time. I took a couple of pictures, but not sure how they will turn out being so high in the bleachers. I purposely planned that because the Princess seems to have a bladder the size of a pea. Between the hours of 7:30pm to 10:45pm she had to go to bathroom more than 3 times (and only had one drink). I really liked the fact that there were a lot of African American Women participating in the rodeo and some little kids too. The youngest one who competed was a little girl, only 8 years old, and she rode that horse like her life depended on it. YOU GO GIRL! I think she took home a winners belt buckle for the barrel race. I guess the horses can move faster with such little weight. It was totally awesome. We even got great cowboy hats. Now I need to get some matching boots to go along with it.

Pics of cows checking out the crowd (hehe) before show started

Pic of the American flag beging presented before the singing of the National Anthem

Pic of the Afro-American flag beging presented before the singing of the Black Anthem (Lift Every Voice). Both anthems were sang by a new up & coming Afro-American country singer, Miko Marks, and she was great.

Pics of all the horse and riders that participated in the rodeo. They all entered the arena at the beginning of the show. This was only a portion of them. After I snaped the pic more filled the areana. This was great, and they were all Afro-American.

Pic of Peanut, Me, and the Princess
wearing out loving cowboy hats

Just in Time for Fall

2006-09-23T01:38:00.000-04:00

This week was a rough one for me. I spent last weekend in the ER being treating for an awful stomach thing. After hours of MAJOR pain and mulitple doses of several different medications I was finally released.

I spent most of Monday and Tuesday in bed and needless to say not much knitting took place. As the week progressed so did the knitting.

I did manage to finished the poncho for the Princess on Tuesday night. It is made with Lion Brand Jiffy, Quick & Easy Mohair Look Yarn, color #330 Salem. It took 2 skeins, but since it is a little big in the neck area 1 & 1/2 skeins would have probably worked.

a poncho for the Princess

I also finally finished my poncho Friday night. I used Lion Brand,Wool-Ease, Thick & Quick yarn, color #135 Spice. It took 4 skeins to make. I got the free pattern from ProvoCraft website. I slightly altered my version by not having the rolled collar and by flipping it inside out using the purl stitch side as the outside.

a poncho for mom

I have knocked a lot of the list of WIP but not to worry I have a few more ideas to add. Happy Fall!

2006-09-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

*TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey*
Name:	tonya
Birthday:	oct. 13
Birthplace:	washington,dc
Current Location:	oxon hill md
Eye Color:	brown
Hair Color:	black (or at least it use to be)
Height:	short
Right Handed or Left Handed:	right
Your Heritage:	black
The Shoes You Wore Today:	flip flops
Your Weakness:	chocolate
Your Fears:	snakes
Your Perfect Pizza:	cheese, sauage, pepporoni


Thoughts First Waking Up:	do i have to go to work today
Your Best Physical Feature:	my hands
Your Bedtime:	between 9 and 11 pm
Your Most Missed Memory:	my daddy (DOD 4/30/06)
Pepsi or Coke:	pepsi
MacDonalds or Burger King:	mickey d's
Single or Group Dates:	group dates
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:	lipton
Chocolate or Vanilla:	choclate

Do you Smoke:	no
Do you Swear:	yes

Have you Been in Love:	yes
Do you want to go to College:	i've been,need to go back and finish
Do you want to get Married:	already am
Do you belive in yourself:	sometimes
Do you get Motion Sickness:	no
Do you think you are Attractive:	yes
Are you a Health Freak:	no
Do you get along with your Parents:	yes
Do you like Thunderstorms:	no
Do you play an Instrument:	no - played the flute in elementary school if called that actually playing
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:	no
In the past month have you Smoked:	no
In the past month have you been on Drugs:	no
In the past month have you gone on a Date:	nope. i'm married remember
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:	yes
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:	no
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:	no
In the past month have you been on Stage:	no
In the past month have you been Dumped:	no
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping:	are you kidding me
In the past month have you Stolen Anything:	yes, kisses from my husband
Ever been Drunk:	no
Ever been called a Tease:	no
Ever been Beaten up:	no
Ever Shoplifted:	no
How do you want to Die:	peacefully
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:	Happy
What country would you most like to Visit:	paris
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Pic from last weekends adventures at the fair

2006-09-16T10:55:00.000-04:00

There were lots of great exhibits at the fair last weekend. It seems I've paid more attention to them since I became one of the crafters. There were some huge fruits and veggies entered and some nice knitted and crochted items, and some yummie looking baked goods and so much more. Take a look.....

This is a lovely 3 piece crochted hat, scarf, and mitten set.

Nice little knitted baby sweater

Yummie looking homemade cakes cookies and breads. The Princess tried to grab it and eat it. I had to hold onto her hands to keep her off.

Super huge squash and watermelons

Mommy what is that thing. That's what The Princess kept asking me. She's never seen them that big before.

I even met a lady who wquestion whethas spinning some yarn. I Stopped and asked her about her wheel. My hubby asked me if I was interested in buying one and I cheerfully responded "YES" until he ask the nice lady about the price and she said hers cost about $400. Ouch! To step for my pockets. Maybe I'll add that to my list of things to aspire to.

After we left the fair we headed down to the fishing pond near the county court house to take an evening stroll and spotted these big beautiful white geese. Sorry about blurry pic, camera was on the wrong setting.

I also manage to get these wonderful pics of the sun starting to set over the pond. It was a pretty scence. Before we were married and had kids Hubby and I would go down to this pound and walk hand in hand on the woodend dock. How romantic.

Here are some pics of the family on our evening stroll.

Pic of Hubby, The Princess, and Peanut

Pic of the Princess modeling my shades, watching the pigs and duck races

Pic of Mom and Peanut watching the pig and duck races.

Pic of me, The Princess and Peanut.

Do we really have senior moments at young ages?

2006-09-13T08:39:00.000-04:00

This first couple of days this week I spent most of my evening time getting through home work with Peanut. Everyday when he gets home from school I ask him if he has home work and every day he says yes and we immediately get to work (and I do mean everyday --even on Fridays). The home work has mainly been on the topic of the book by Lewis Carroll, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Basically his teacher gives them a question and they have to read the corresponding chapter and write a paragraph(at least 5 sentences) with an outline and blah blah blah..... Well one day Monday Sept. 11, I get a call at work from the school and my mind assumes the worst, either the Princess or Peanut have been injured. But oh no, it was a call from Peanut informing me that he forgot to do his home work on Friday night. Wait a minute, instant mind replay, we spent a better half of an hour Friday night reading "Alice" and preparing the outline and writing the paragraph. I was then snapped by to reality when the little voice said I had math home work and I forgot. OK, he's a good kid and we all forget things. So being the wonderful, understanding person that I am I said, OK just bring the book home and we'll do it tonight. The big whammy---- his teacher got on the phone and said that he has forgotten his math home work 3 NIGHTS IN A ROW!!! Yes, the previous Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights he's had math homework. I was not happy with that news. She was nice enough to let him bring it home and finish all 3 nights worth and bring back on Wednesday (On Tuesday schools in my county were closed for elections). Math home work for a fourth grader consisted of one chapter that with approx. 21 questions; another chapter with 13 and the final chapter with 25. All of which had to be completed in two nights. Sounds like a lot of time right? Well it's not when you factor in the fight with rush hour traffic during the drive home from work time, pick the kids up, fix dinner, and bath time. For a job of this magnitude I had to call in for back up. The big Hubby came in and prepared dinner and entertained The Princess while Peanut and I got cracking on homework. He did do the chapter with 13 problems at Grannies house so I just had to check over it. We finished the final chapter and was able to get everything turned in on time. So my question goes out to all of you....Do we really have senior moments at young ages, or do we simply NOT WANT TO REMEBER certain things?

On a good note, I did manage to get some knitting in. I created this wonderfully cute purse for The Princess. Now I'm off to find the perfect bottom to keep it closed.

The fair is here! The fair is here!

2006-09-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

Thursday marked the start of the Prince George's County Fair. I've gone to the fair every year for as long as I can remember. I always enjoy going into the equestrian center to visit the vender stands and see the great exhibits, as well as the rides, games, food and entertainment. This year I decided to enter a project into the fair. Since I procrastinated over the idea for so long I didn't have time to start and complete a new project so I looked over my finished creations to see which one rank tops about the rest. The lucky entrance.... the hat I made a few weeks ago for the Princess.

The deadline for all entries was Tuesday, Sept. 5. After work I took my hat, all neatly placed in a zip lock freezer bag for protection, down to officially enter it. I was amazed at how many people were standing around putting the final touches on their entries, adding that last dab of glue to the woodworking pieces, making sure the homemade baked goodies were plated just right for judging. Gosh, I love the behind the scene's stuff! Finally it was my turn. With completed entry form in hand, I reluctantly turned my precious hat over to the nice lady and off I went.

Today the Princess, Peanut (whom you've never had the pleasure of meeting yet-- pics below) and I loaded into the van and headed down to the county fair. Dear sweet hubby was home busy make repairs to my car but was with us in spirite. I was eager to get to the pavilion to see if I had won a ribbon, received a honorable mentions, or something. But oh no, no no no the Princess and Peanut wouldn't put me out of my misery. They made me suffer for 2 whole hours before we headed inside to check out the entries. Thank goodness the Princess has a blatter the size of a pea and in all her royal-ness was feeling to high and mighty to use the outdoors port-a-potty. Finally inside we went to use the restroom and once I was inside there was NO turning me back. I head straight for the needle work section. Searching table after table looking for my precious hat. Oh why thus thou fair officials teaseth me so. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted her. There she was all nestled among the others. Low and behold there it was, YES, YES...... the mother of all ribbons.

THE BLUE RIBBON!!!!!!! My Princess hat had won 1st place.

Here is my baby boy.

Meet Peanut! He is 10 years old and loves to aggravate the Princess. Just look at that devilish grin. One day she will banish him to the forest to live with the wolves.

The Princess riding the bumble bee at the county fair.

Then taking a ride on her Harley. You can't see it in the pics but she's gotten herself a tattoo. The Princess has a bit of a wild side. hehehe . I can't pick up my entry until Sunday night when it closes so I'll post more pics of other wonderful projects later. I'm so proud of me!

It's All in the Bag

2006-09-05T12:23:00.000-04:00

Tried my hand a making a flat bottom bag. I recall finding a pattern for working the flat bottom but it got lost in the mounds of junk that is covering what once was my desk. Having said that I had to wing it. This is how my bag turned out. Since I am feeling all brave and creative I am going to try felting the bag. I am still searching for the perfect strap.

WIPs on the looms......

The poncho: I just started the 2nd panel of my poncho so I have many many more rows to go before I can start putting It together.

I also have another hat. I had to buy the Princess a new winter coat so that called for a new hat. Can you guess what color the coat is?
I am just glad she didn't pick another pink coat.

There is also the shawl/poncho for the Princess. Unsure of what is will be exactly. I guess it all depends on whether or not I can stand the yarn and look of it long enough to make it into a complete poncho. Right now I think its really pretty but that could grow old real fast. You can't tell it from the picture but this is a multi colored mohair yarn, color#330 Salem, made by Lion Brand. It is not a tight knit as it looks here. Just used a crappy camera and have a house full of bad lighting.

Meet the Princess

2006-08-30T19:21:00.000-04:00

I finally got pics of my darling little hat to load! It took me less than a day to create this wonderful little hat for my baby girl. Oh excuse me, let me formally introduce you.... In all of her fabulousness, 3 1/2 inches (i'm guessing) of cuteness, an icon of high fashion, I give you ....... drum roll ...... PRINCESS! (and the crowd cheers).

NO, that's not her given name but as of a year ago she has taken on her new self-proclaimed royalness. It was at that point she refused to answer to any other name except Princess. Go figure. But hey that's quite alright with me because that makes me the QUEEN! I always knew I was but now it's official, LOL.

I really Love this hat. It's my favor by far. The colors are great and worked up really nice. Using Caron Simply Soft Yarn on the red KK loom I did the stockinette stitch throughout.
For the brim I used a single strand but it was kind of thin so I swtiched to double strands for the rest of the hat and it worked perfectly.

All in a days work

2006-08-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

Friday marked the end of the 1st week of school. Yes, I made it. The 1st week of school and my 4th grader had home work every night, even Friday, can you believe it. The home work topic was "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Honestly I don't think I have ever read the story in it's entirety and it's been years since I've seen the Disney movie. So it was off to the library to see what we could find. What we found were book as thick as college text books. So I decided to go with the one that only had 207 pages. Because of nightly homework I haven't been able to get as much done in the knitting department as I would like but I did get a few more stitches done on my poncho project. I hope to have pics up in the next couple of days.

To clear my head I started a new hat for my daughter and was able to finish in all in one day, pompom ball and all. I must have had the look of death on my face because no one bothered me the entire time.

I have a new 3/8 inch single sided rake that I'm anxious to break and some extra yarn so I will attempt to make a matching scarf. Or mittens since I also have the new mitten loom. Maybe I'll go all out and make it 3 piece set, who knows.

Back to the grind & Goodies in the mail

2006-08-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

Today marks for 1st day of school for my kids. I didn't get much knitting done yesterday with all the last minute shopping for school supplies & clothes. Yes, I am the original procrastinator. I have a strange need to run from store to store covering all four corners of the globe in order to find that must have composition book. WHAT WAS I THINKING, waiting until the last minute. I guess I thought the longer I put off the shopping the more time the school Gods would give me, NOT. Late in the wee hours of the night with the kids all tucked into bed, I did manage to finish the other sock for hubby. Now he can wear them proudly.

I also managed to make my 1st baby wash cloth, using Sugar N' Cream yarn in the colors of "Grape" (dark purple) and "Hot Purple" (light purple or lavender). The pattern called for a simple e-wrap stitch. I'm happy with the first attempt but must perfect my method of finishing the edges. Overall it came out pretty well, don't ya think? My daughter already claimed it for her doll. Since I have so much yarn left I will make another attempt at the wash cloth.

On a positive note....
I received some goodies
in the mail these past couple of days. Saturday I received my Bernat Knifty Knitter Loom Series pattern book.

Today I received my 1/3 Gauge Rake Loom Kit that I order off of ebay from fellow KK loomer "DuxallInarow". I can't wait to get started using both items.

SOCK it to me baby

2006-08-20T09:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I took on the art of sock making. I decided to make me and mom a pair of cozy socks to trapes around the house in when the weather gets cold. A few stitches into it I realize that the yarn was not quite as thick as I'd like it to be (we have very cold feet). So in my determination to finish a sock NOW, I forged on and used that one as a test case to see if I could grasp the whole heel thing (which is the most difficult part of the pattern). I must say it came out great!

And hubby has a brand new, home made, hand made, chock full of love, SOCK.

I know, I know, I've already started the second one and will have it finished soon. See.....
I used Lion Brand,Wool-Ease,Worsted Weight, in Wood (232) color. After seeing the finished product the color works best for a man. It reminds me of the colors men wear when they hunt (browns and army green) YUCK!!!! Don't think I could have made it through the winter with hunters feet. No matter how cold the toes got, LOL ! The one problem -- after sock was done and hubby tried it on the cuff stretched, now it's a little lose on the ankle. But thanks to the wonderful members of the Knifty Knitter Looms group I have a solution to that when I start the other socks. THANKS GUYS

A Scarf is Born

2006-08-16T20:53:00.000-04:00

Today turned out to be a good day after all. I was late leaving the house this morning, late dropping the kids off, and of course late getting to work. On the upside, I was able to finish my Flexible Scarf. yeah, yeah, yippee.

I used the KK yellow round loom, and 3 skeins of fun fur fashion yarn, in an golden brown color. It turned out really well. This project makes up for the hat. I can't wait until the weather is a little cooler so I can show it off. Now I'll focus on the socks for mom and the dish clothes. What a great end to a day that started off on the wrong foot.

2006-08-14T11:28:00.000-04:00

Introducing the looming looney! I have been loom knitting for a week and a half now. And have managed to finish two projects and start a 3rd. Can't you see I'm a semi-pro :-0. During that time I also got serious about leaning to knit using needles, but that my dear will take a long, long, long time to master. Casting on can be a bitch. I decided to documents my ups and what I'm sure will be many downs as I go through the learning and creating process. I hope you enjoy.

My first project was a basic hat for my daughters doll baby. It came out pretty good for the first presentable project. I used Peaches & Cream, 4 ply worsted weight, Fiesta Ombra color (175). What do you think?

My 10 year old son wanted to make one too and I must say I am almost embarrased to say that his turned out much better than my hat.

I like my colors better though. Any way, for my nest project I am making a cute little scarf with fun fur.