Frustration

Does anyone else just have one of those days where everyone seems to make you angry, BECAUSE you obviously have no idea what they/you are talking about? I am having one of those days today. I had a conversation with my husband this morning that I can tell you we have at least once every three months, and he snapped at me this morning to ask me the same FRIGGIN question that he always asks....um it's not my fault I get to repeat myself. But ok I keep going right, meanwhile this is after I had to scrub both dog kennels as they both ate something ridiculous yesterday. One ate a sock and the other ate a toy apparently neither were going to be digested. Brilliant animals. Then at work everyone asks questions, when I give an answer they reply, with no, you don't understand, or you must be new, or I don't think you heard me. Trust me when I say that after 10 years some very small details may escape me, but for the most part I understand/heard/or know what you said, and my reply was 110% accurarate, and yes I will let you speak to someone else. Good riddance at this point. I havn't been this aggravated in ages. I do NOT want to go back to work. Don't know what to do, but I think a repeat of the movie P.S. I Love You, About Time or the Wedding Date are in my future. I need an escape and alcohol won't allow me to finish my work day or get me home, ugh. On a side note I have finished several hats, but they are going to a child adopted from the Angel Tree and the NICU for premature babies. Pictures to come later.

Sunday Evening Post

Books A Million edition...soaking up the ambiance and drinking coffee, earlier went to Fiber Guild and then to Jo-Ann's Fabrics, took my mom over because she wanted to get some new yarn. I was anxious to finish the hat I have been working on, it was supposed to be one color but the yarn ball was way too small lol....this is what I ended up with:-)

I thought I was supposed to be done with the hats for Veterans by Nov.18, but they decided to move it, so I still have 5 more to do. It will be neat, I knitted up a bunch of fabric on the knitting machine this time and am going to try to fix them up in creative ways so that each one is individual. Not sure how it will work out, but I think they may end up highly decorated.

Accomplishments and Credit

So while I am quietly posting from Starbucks and wishing that my company was better about their FMLA and family policy I am quietly calming down while nursing a Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, it is delicious and at the very least inviting. I have been so stressed at my job and my house. There are not enough hours in the day. I have too many things going on. I have dresses to sew on that I wanted to not sew on. I have been knitting like Mad and have made several hats, I have been posting pictures, but did not give credit to some of the pattern writers....so here we go. The pink hat in the bottom right corner is the Capitan hat from Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/capitan-hat. The hat in red to the left, a beret/disc, is the Diamond Cap by Classic Elite Yarns http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diamond-cap-4, the hat in the middle row on the left is the chemo cap pattern The Snow Queen from bopeepbonnets.com the one just to the right is also a variation of The Snow Queen pattern. The hat in the top middle is From Wendy Squires, pattern name La Boutique, on commun-tricot.com, a wonderfully easy yet complicated looking design, reminds me of a quilted wedding ring pattern. The pink hat top right is a variation of the pattern Chunky Dean Street Hat by Nina Machlin Dayton, I don't actually remember where I downloaded the pattern from, so Google will be your friend here, I could not remember when to twist my stitches, so just kept extending the rows every time , also it saved me on time. I need to finish 6 hats between now and Staurday. Wish me luck. As soon as I am done with these I am going to do a project on Facebook Hooks and Purls page...not sure what to do yet. I would like everyone to know I tried to hyperlink the urls and webpages but for some reason it was not accepting the html. I am sorry there are no direct links from here, please copy and past the urls into the bar at the top. Until next time, thanks for looking in on me. Chat with you later.

Furied Frenzy

Not a typo, knitting in a fury lol. I have made 5 hats in almost 2 weeks, and working on the 6th, hoping to help with the NICU hats too at work, if I have more time after I get the right count of Veterans hats. I would also like to get in some spinning soon, I would Like to be able to show something at fiber guild that I created start to finish...am going to use Rae's wool to do so I think. I was told that the hats this year should have more pink. So what do you think?

Hat Bonanza

So I am honored with making hats again for the military this year. I have many opportunities to support active military but this is one of the few that allow me to support the tired, weak or the weary. These hats will be going to the ladies in the cancer unit at the local military hospital. I think that able bodied folks should do as much as they can for others, if they can. I may post more if I am able, but for now this is the progress I have. I'm hoping to organize the next several projects so I can get into a grooooooovvvve.

Hmmm Presents

Ok, I have been having a blast with the Nifty Knitter and some beads that I found at Tuesday Morning store. I have to say that it was tuff trying to figure out the tension, which is none by the way, (you are welcome) lol. I chewed up a lot of fancy yarn that way, and almost always it was right when I thought, oh this is going to be pretty, and then got a giant knotted tangle in it. But without too much discussion, check out hat I have been working on...

The necklace has a magnetic clasp and it is a novelty yarn, I sewed golden pearls into after it was knitted into icord. I went to Fiber Guild yesterday, I missed the previous meeting because we went to my high school reunion in Kentucky, which really was fun. I am going to have to make it a point to do it again, and go more often. At guild we did not have a program this time but we did separate the "Winter Warmies", and we dispersed to a bunch of schools, and when everyone that had claimed schools were done, we took the remaining coats and overalls and couple baby blankets and a layette set to Souls Harobor, they are a homeless shelter for whole families. They were very appreciative. In other news I was able to finish my sisters sweater and give it to her a few days ago, she says she loves it, and even her fiancé says she loves it. It is from the book Metropolitan Knits, the Washington Square Cardigan. It was made out of Patons Classic Wool, in chunky weight in a Royal Purple shade; check it out...

If I could make any suggestions about the pattern it would be about the sleeves, they were a bit longer than anticipated, and wider even. I think they were 3 inches too long and at least 2 inches too wide at the cuff. But the rest fit really nice. The other thing that could be easier is the pattern for the left and right fronts, please read carefully, and if you have an option do the second one first, it's a little easier, and no button holes to keep track of. Well it was good to catch up, I should be posting again soon, I have lots of other knitting going on too. Until next time, have a good knit!

Life

Life got y'all down? It does me. It is nearing the end of the summer and it is my favorite season of the year. How much summer stuff did I get to do? Not much, swimming twice and camping once. I am still not enjoying work that much. I am sitting next to three people who know most of what they should know, but complain a lot! Some I get it, but sometimes it's too much. And quite frankly one of them is enough to handle and the last two weeks all three of them have been at work. I think it is the most two of them have worked in a LONG time. I am ready for a different job, I got wrote up the other day because they denied FMLA for my daughter and it had previously been approved. I have been there for 10 years and I have never had an attendance issue, till now. So, I registered this morning for fingerprinting and background check with the State Patrol to be recertified for Teachers Certification. I need to get the ball rolling to have something to fall back on. I cannot be without health insurance for my daughter. Her dad would never voluntarily carry insurance on the kids. And while on the topic of Ex's my husbands ex created a whole bunch of lies about my daughter. It makes me angry that she is such an awful person. It's hurtful, and she tries to pull other people over to her side by manipulation. She is good at it. And to top it off my in laws told my son their personal opinions about his dad and that he should not have to go there, so used that as a defense as to why he did not go last weekend, which could get ME in to trouble...and the dogs are sick...dropped my breakfast this morning...what a day, Life.

Working

So I have been working like a mad woman, I have been frustrated over my prior situation with school and proccupying myself. We went on vacation to West Virginia and visited the coal mines and a couple state parks, Camp creek and Pipestem, and it was wonderful. I have made thins that I have not made before and some things that I have. I made some hats for the winter warmies and for a the fiber challenge I made a shawl for myself which I have never done. I am currently working on the pink scarf and I am also working on a wrap for a dear friend that lost her husband, a sort of instant hug. I hope she likes it. I will post pictures of it later once completed. I hope to have it finished later today or tomorrow.

Forgiveness

Recently, I have been taking a class that is needed to reactivate my teachers certification, and guess what? I was doing great. Until I screwed it up. ADHD is not all it's cracked up to be. I did not have anyone to show me or to explain to me how Blackboard works other than my long time best friend Nicole who took another job right after I started again at the University. She showed me how to get to the discussion board from my iPad. I have failed to go the extra mile folks. I should have done more to figure out WHY I could not do or check certain things in Blackboard. I emailed my instructor, and never received a response, I wrote her on the Blackboard and never received a response, some of my posts in the discussions apparently never carried through. I lost points here and there for things. I should have been more adamant. I could not even upload a word document, after the first one, no matter how it was saved, had to transition everything to Power Point. Why? I don't know, I never got an answer from ANYONE. The Blackboard folks did not help when I tried to contact them. I feel so lost. As I said I was doing good, or so I thought until I missed a notification that was not there the first time I logged in this week. Why? I don't know, I do know that my computer was having trouble, kept saying it was going to update, (yet again). Windows 10 and Edge/Explorer and Blackboard I am afraid may not be compatible. I was trying to use it instead of my iPad, because I thought I was helping myself. I was wrong. So, because I missed the notification I did not know that I had half the time to turn in the assignment, the FINAL assignment. file:///C:/Users/Family/OneDrive/Unit%208%20Lesson%20Plan%207.28.17.pdf Here it is, please feel free to use in the classroom and modify as needed. The lesson plan is the first half, where it starts getting to Units you may not need for the classroom, however there are some pretty good links. No knitting posts right now, sorry folks. Too much stuff going on. If anyone has any advice for a boy with a stealing problem, and a step mom that apparently encourages him,(she actually said it was very smart) on how to 1. not hurt anyone, and two make sure that he understands that he should QUIT and stop listening to her. 2. I need advice about the oldest's therapist, I feel like she is too unconventional, and she has sidetracked what is supposed to be accomplished by helping someone who is clinically depressed, and yet also autistic, which in my fear gives her more determination. 3. give me patience to go tag another vehicle, it is almost the last day of the month and I took the day off, and am still about to have a nervous breakdown. 4. pray that I accept how foolish I have been. I hope the link works, the computer wasn't saving any files this morning. Not sure if it worked.

Baby Blanket in the Making

I have been working on a baby blanket while at work, and I have recently cleaned out a lot of my extra desk stuff, as I am not sure how much longer I will be with AT&T. I have been there for almost 10 years, and would ordinarily be proud of that, but recently I am not doing customer service for business accounts, but sales. I am so bad at it. I do not have the gall/gumption/cahones, to pressure people into getting extra phone lines, buying extra equipment or adding extra features that they did not request, but to proactively ask them are you in need of any extra lines, new tablets, phones, etc. I feel a lot of the time that because they usually call me over billing that they are not looking to add to the bill, but SAVE. And the guilt, let me tell you, if I were to over price a mom and pop small business out of their cellphone bill because I told them that they needed something that they most likely don't, as they have gotten along just fine without it so far, I would not forgive myself. A LOT of our customers can't read their own bill, let alone understand what some of the things we offer do, or would do for them, or ways to be inventive with said products. Not because they are incapable, but because they are limited by experience. When I took my job 10 years ago I was promised that there would be no sales. And yet, here we are, and I abhor my job. I would never just quit a job, I have too many responsibilities. So, back to the knitting. Pink, girly and no destination. It's really soft, the Pom Poms are built into the yarn, and I am working on size 7 needles. It's close to a dk weight yarn, but just big enough to work in this blanket.

I have to admit that taking my daughter to the therapist gives me an opportunity to relax as well. Since I am not allowed in the room:-/

Better/More Pictures Please

Ok, so I have really gotten bad about not taking photos of things before giving them away and now I find myself with out a lot to post much of the time. I can however show you a pic of a hat that I knitted while on honeymoon, I created the spirals by slipping the 10th stitch every time, in a 10 pattern plus 1 row. And row after row the extra stitch will shift and you will be left with this lovely spiral pattern. The hat was donated to the winter warmies 2016. I also made a sweater for a little girl at church, they had talked about here being in the hospital all of the time and how she was always colder everyday than the other babies, so I made her a cardigan. I used a pattern on Ravelry called Cascade, by Petite Purls. I did change the button band a bit by adding another leaf to the bottom so it lined up a little more. I have yet to see her wear it, not sure if they liked it, or if it fitted. I always worry about those things, and I am sure I am just wasting my time. I always wonder why I made something for people, especially if they don't seem to care. Although everyone says people would LOVE to have my knitting, a lot of people don't seem happy about it. I just wanted to make something pretty.

Falsies

So the other day I was at Fiber Guild and I mentioned Knitted Knockers, the local cancer center could use them at Freeman Hospital. I was given the contact information for a lady. I will be willing to run any of them that you would like to knit up to the hospital, as long as I can get them locally. Knittedknockersusa.org has several patterns, has information on donating monetarily, and will take knitted knockers and distribute them as well. There are also several patterns on Ravelry.com for knockers knitted flat on two needles, knockers knitted on dpn's, and knockers for crocheters. If you have the time and availability to help, please do. Until my next post, I bid you adieu.

Warm Feet for a Cold Snap

Ok, so I mentioned that I was working on a pair of socks for the hubs, and I have to admit the lighting in the Kia dealership while I get my car locks fixed is amazing, just look at the color in the photo. I started these socks thinking that they would be just as quick as the socks from the Home Knits book. They are not. These socks come from the book Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein. I really like the concept and the design of the book, it truly allows you to use almost any yarn that you have laying around, and make something out of it. I am using a worsted weight yarn and size 7 needles and using the size 10 pattern I believe, because my hubs has fairly wide feet. This pattern is taking a lot longer to do than the aforementioned comparison socks, but they are really turning out great. Anyhow without further ado, here is my progress.

Just as a side note, the work that went into this book is surely beyond comprehension unless you are familiar with pattern writing. Good job to the folks and test knitters involved, I have but one suggestion. You should remind people to photocopy the pattern they are going to use and then write the size they want at the top of the page along with the details of the yarn and needles and the gauge. Then they should go through and underline or circle and or highlight the dimensions that they are creating to. This will help save time, I did not do that, this is the first item I am making from the book, and thought I would work directly from it. I have LOTS of sticky notes my friends. I have sticky notes that I have to move to keep knitting throughout the pattern, please learn from my mistakes. LOL.

Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting...right?

So I finished up a scarf and now I am sure that it needs a hat to match lol. Not sure what I was thinking. I have started a pair of socks for the husband, he does not know and I am sure that he does not read my blog. But he is supportive believe it or not. The scarf is very soft, made of a wool/mohair blend and I used a ply of synthetic art yarn in the mix as well. I have been working on another baby blanket, this project was passed on to me by a friendly crocheter. I decided that I would try my hand at completion. Getting close, pics to come I am sure.

I am keen to find some more time for knitting but for now I have to go, I have to go by the grocery store to get materials to make a lasagna, son's request. Makes me happy that they enjoy the food I make. ok, chat more later. Oh P.S. I saw the second installation of Fifty Shades of Grey, (Fifty Shades Darker), and they took so much liberty with the scenes and the lines that I had no idea what was going on. But in the book Elena seemed nicer. Kim Basinger's hair was a bit bigger than expected as well, lol. All in all I am not sure how anyone could be that comfortable doing the things they do on camera. Shocking.

New Book, New Distraction

So I clearly think that my greatest talent is being distracted, and finding new ways to not accomplish important things, sometimes. I found a new book and I have to say that my mind is racing, I am no where near my yarn stash at the moment. I picked up this beauty for $4 at Tuesdya Morning store this afternoon.

I have thoughts of hair accessories, and the ends of scarves, and zipper pulls, and even Christmas ornaments. What a way to use up all of that extra leftover scrap yarn from FO's? I have looked through it and I do believe some of the projects listed will be a challenge, I think it will be fun. Ok So I think I should mention some of the items listed in the book, of course they are all made of Pom Poms, but they are so darned cute, flowery ones, and animal shaped ones, and there are there three on the back of the book shaped like an apple, an apple with a couple bets out and a cored apple. There are tutorials on properly joining them to make longer Pom Poms, and creating other things like a cover for a hair barrette. Really the possibilities are almost endless and as always we are only limited by our imagination after this lovely introduction. Thanks for reading, have a great afternoon!

Aptly Named

So, I have been trying to finish up some projects and to add a few more to the winter Warmies project, so I checked out this pattern from Valley Yarns called #580 Last Minute Hat, and I have to tell you it is strangely satisfying. I normally don't like simple, or easy, but I guess because the two yarns add a visual texture, I truly love it. I have made a couple in the last week and a half while working on other projects. It was for a good cause and gratifying; win/win. These were after finishing the third and last sport scarf project for a coworker. (She got two of them). The first of which I made two years ago for a kid on the Angel tree that my team adopted for Christmas. I have no pattern for the scarf and the football hat is my design as well. It's more like a feeling, just do it lol. Hopefully no Pinerest like fail photos will be posted later, but I would love to see if anyone would like to make one of their own please feel free. Change it even, I like diversity:-)