Happy Thanksgiving

~*~*HAPPY THANKSGIVING ~*~*

'TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING, BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS, I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.

THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED - THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE.
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.

TOSSING AND TURNING IN ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.

SO I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR.
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.

I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TILL ALL OF A SUDDEN I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.

I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING FLOATING INTO THE SKY
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.

BUT I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES

HAPPY EATING TO ALL, PASS THE CRANBERRIES PLEASE.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP;

MAY YOUR POTATOES AND GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.

MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS, MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE -

MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF YOUR THIGHS!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (Irene @ New England Textile Association)

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I've come to the conclusion ...

that I need to find a new job. If you want to skip this part and go to the knitting feel free. I just needed to get these thought out of my head, where they've been intruding all weekend. I work as a therapist and really enjoy what I do. However, I don't like where I'm doing it. There have been many changes where I work over the last few years and not many of them are positive. Some things have happened at work this week that have made me see clearly that I have to make a change. My body has been telling me for I while(headaches, body aches,stress eating,insomnia), I just haven't been listening. I thought that because I like what I do and the people I see, that I could just ignore everything else, but I can't anymore. So, I've starting updating my resume and beginning the search for a new job. I'm being vague on some details for now...never know who reads these things. It's been a lousy weekend because I can't let it go. Hopefully I'll start feeling better about things, now that I've made the decision to leave. Thanks for listening. I'm so glad I have knitting... I don't want this post to be a total downer, so here's some knitting:
I finished the Ballband Dishcloth from Mason*Dixon Knitting . It was a fun knit and fast. The pattern was really easy to remember after a couple of repeats. It's cool how it all comes together. At first I couldn't picture how the vertical stitches were done, but it's clever and simple at the same time. Here is a close-up of the pattern and colors:
I'll be making more of these in the future! Completing this dishcloth put me contention for the grand prize of stash enhancement, courtesy of Patty our Secret Pal 9 hostess. She is keeping SP9 fun and exciting by have contests. In other knitting news, I actually have nothing to finish, this is sinful. However, I'm correcting the situation immediately by starting the Beadwork sweater by Alice Starmore. I had been putting it off to finish other projects, so Let the knitting beginning. Lest you think I'm slacking, I do have other projects in mind. They're just not on the needles!

Felting 101

I can't believe it, but I've finally finished my felted slipper socks. They came out really cute! They were huge after knitting them! The picture does not clearly show the size and the knitting well prior to felting, but here is the before picture:

I really like the color for these slippers. The yarn is Paint Box and is 100% wool. The pattern is from www.knitty.com . When it came to felting these, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Not True! My machine was not very cooperative and I forgot to put in that little bit of detergent to help with agitation. I must've worked it with the machine for almost 40 minutes and there was no felting to be seen. I got online and quickly looked up "felting". Lucky for me the first hit was a good one. The author talked about felting in the kitchen sink with step-by-step directions. Here's a progress pick:

The soapy hot water and hand agitation resulted in almost instant results. It was kind of fun playing water! I was also determined these were going to felt or else! I think for first time felting they came out really well. They are a still a little bit big, but I was afraid of over felting them. Still, I love the feel of them and they will definitely keep my feet warm this winter.

This won't be my last felting project. I have a bag to make next using Noro yarn. Both felting projects are courtesy of Kate of Secret Pal 8.

In other knitting News...



Our group's SP9 Hostess, Patty has dreamed up another contest! The prize will be yarn. You know I can't pass that up, though I'm beginning to feel like I have a stash beyond life expectancy ( and I've got a long way to go ). The contest is making a dishcloth by the stated date and posted to the blog. Winner will be chosen and yarn dispatched. I'm making the dishcloth from the Mason-Dixon book. I can't believe how easy it is!

Dishcloth in progress
I'm off to watch Bones on T.V. it's a great show. It's a crime drama laced with humor. I can relax and knit too. Who could ask for more on a weekday evening.