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.

Diagnosis:Single Sock Syndrome, Prognosis: Excellent!

I'm not a doctor nor have I played on T.V. So, I'm diagnosing without a license. Maybe I should make an appointment with Dr. McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy. After all, he's not a real M.D. and single sock syndrome's not a real disease. Perfect! As of the weekend, I now have handknit socks and all with mates!

lookie here, we're mates!
These socks are called "Seaweed socks" by Nancy T. McGlynn. I used knitpicks "Sock Garden". It's 100% Merino yarn in a color called Zinnia. they're really soft and comfy. I did use wooly thread to reinforce the heel, so they'll last longer. Definitely a fun knit. It's difficult to see the pattern in the picture, but its cool!

Sixth Sense Socks
The pattern for the sixth sense sock came from a member of the sixth sense knit-a-long. Members of this group get a new sock pattern every 2 months. A KAL is done for each new sock. At the end of every 2 months a new sock design is offered. There are some talented knitters and sock designers in this group. Most of the patterns are original designs offered for free. So far, I haven't met a pattern I didn't totally like ( well... Not totally disliked).The Sixth Sense sock is good example. It was a fun knit, moved quickly, and was well written. The only part of the sock that bugged me were the short row wraps! Otherwise, things went smoothly. Its made from soccotta's denim yarn. For both socks I used size 2 DPN's. I used metal for one pair and bamboo needles for the other.

This week's plan is to complete the Fuzzy Feet felted slippers. I love the yarn and the colors for fuzzy feet. These were a gift from my secret pal (#8)whose enabling me to felt everything and anything I want! (Hi Kate!).

Well, it's time to get my weekly fill of Prison Break and Heroes. I'm really hooked on Heroes!!!

Weekend in New England

This has been the first weekend in 3 weeks in which I have not been in constant pain from the grand case of tendonitis I had. I actually only thought about it a couple of times and I no longer have to think about buying stock in ibuprophen (motrin)! The muscle pain radiate from the tendon in my elbow to the muscle of my forearm down to my wrist. Then it decided to radiate around to the back of my arm up my shoulder and stopped at the scapula on the same side. An occupational therapist told me this is actual not uncommon. Gee thanks! So, you know this meant no knitting was touched. However, since the inflammation has been reduced to a minimum. I was able to knit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, now that I can get my knit on, there'll be more knitting content soon. I did have a really good weekend. It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday,tho a bit brisk! My friend Katie and I went to the Regatta to watch some of the races and see the sailboats. Here are a couple of photos.

These are the sailboats that braved the wind. I thought for sure a few of them were going to go over, but everyone of them held on. The pictures don't really do these boats justice. We missed several of the international scullers for the regatta, but the races we saw were fun. Katie used to scull and compete in college, so I had my own guide to the races and what goes on. I learned a lot.

This picture didn't come out as clearly as I wanted. The sun was so strong, I had a hard time seeing what I was taking a picture of. The sun reflected off the LCD screen on my digital camera. Katie said: "Some of my best pictures were taken when I couldn't see what I was taking." This didn't work for me (LOL).

After leaving the race, we walked around the Boston University campus, Katie's alma mater (I'm an Emerson College alumni) and stopped at Uno's Chicago Grille for wine and a quick lunch to get warmed up. Next stop? The Public gardens and Boston common via Newbury street. It was then we realized today must be parent's weekend and every college student in the area was giving their parent's a tour of the city. Man, it was crowded!!! You could hardly walk on the sidewalk, but it was actually fun and brought back a lot of good college memories! I kept an eye out for two recommended yarn shops on Newbury street, but had no success finding them! Just means a yarn crawl for another day 8-)! I did find a yarn shop close to the public gardens. It had a huge banner that said Now knitting too! It appeared to be a cross stich/needlework store. Although, it had some nice yarn, but was definitely was not knitter friendly. So, we looked briefly and left.

At the public gardens, a wedding party was having pictures taken. The bride was beautiful and probably freezing her ass off! It was late in the day and the temps had cooled quite a bit. However, she'll have great pics for life. The setting was really pretty. As we were walking to the gate exiting the public gardens, I looked across the street and saw a huge crowd...HUGE! I did not know it but we were about to join the The Great Pumpkin Festival! I couldn't believe the number of pumpkins I was seeing. There were thousands and every one of them carved!!! Turns out a Group called "Life is Good" was sponsoring this year's festival.

Just the beginning...
This group raises money for children with serious medical problems and their families to attend Camp Sunshine for some respite. There were over 4 thousand pumpkins and they were planning to carve a thousand more to make the Guinness book of world records for the most lit pumpkins in one place. All of these pumpkins were going to be lighted at nightfall. Here are more photos!

more pumpkins!
Pumpkins wound all around the Boston Commons walkways. It was a sight to see! The pumpkins were donated by various companies and carved by kids and anyone wanting to contribute. This was one of my favorites. Though all of them were good!

Cool, huh!
I was not able to stay for the lighting, but saw it later on the News. It was fantastic. I have one last picture that I took before heading home. It was such a fun and relaxing day. I love the color of the trees. Autumn is definitely my favorite season. Today, was a perfect Autumn day!

I love autumn!