A Tale of Two Knittys

NEW BLOG

2006-12-12T17:08:00.000-06:00

OK so I decided to just start over.......hopefully I can get this thing going and keep it going....LOL

You can now find me here: One Skein At A Time.

Hope to see you there!

I loved this and must share! The Last Knit!

2006-12-06T22:20:00.000-06:00

Sit back and enjoy this one!

A quick word.....

2006-12-04T22:20:00.000-06:00

I am having massive brain issues and trying desperatly how to figure out the code I need to work this dang thing.... my links are not working right! So until I have an AHA moment or I get some help we may be having technical difficulties.....LOL

WIPS

2006-11-30T21:22:00.000-06:00

OK, so I have felt a bit ADD lately as I have all these projects on needles and I can't tell you how many times I have started and ripped out not liking how it was knitting up...Here are a few that have been lucky enough to stay ON the needles.

Irish Hiking Scarf for Dad....don't know why it's coming out Royal when it's actually a heather navy. Its Plymouth 555 I believe as the dog must have run off with the paper that came on the skein. I bought it originally to do a hat and thought no biggie I will just grab another....yeah apparantly it's not so easy to find!??? I think I may have found a skein on ebay and anxiously awaiting it's arrival to see if it will work....otherwise I will be starting over with a brown/black Plymouth.....

I think this is a really cute scarf I am knitting for a friend out of Nature Wool Chunky and some fun stuff....the fun stuff is knitted with a cream colored cheapy wool yarn. It's a 3/2 Rib pattern and pulled in more than I knew it would but though narrow I think it's cute. Since this pic I have done another section of fun stuff....3 stripes a narrow with a wide on either side....the rest will be the Nature Wool until its' time to duplicate on the other side.

I also have a dark grey scarf in the works for either my grandfather or DH....it's a box stitch edge and then a stockinette body....I will take a picture sometime of it...:)

Mike has requested another pair of socks....he loves his first pair and I wish I had reinforced the heel.

I would love to make my grandmother a kicky little fun fur scarf.....

OH and I AM going to knit my sons preschool teachers some cute washcloths out of cotton chenille for Christmas presents....just waiting for that same ebay order!

This yarn was so yummy it inspired me to get back to the blog!

2006-11-30T20:53:00.000-06:00

So the family made the trek back to "My Old Kentucky Home" for Turkey day.....well not really my old home as my parents moved to Florence and I am from Lexington but it was close enough. After doing my homework I found a store only about 20 minutes from her. Knit On! is a cute little store.

While browsing the many many MANY yarns they had (in search of a simple Plymouth that was not to be found) and educating my mom in all the good stuff, I ran across these yarns!

I have heard such great things about the Manos del Uruguay (The top 2 skeins) and when I saw it I had to have it....of course since mom was with me I decided I would make her a scarf for Christmas and let her pic the colorway she liked the best. She said she wanted the One Row Scarf by The Yarn Harlot
or this Aran Eyelet Scarf I found. You know which one will be easier but with that lucious yarn I want to do it proper justice!

Then I spotted the bottom 2 skeins and it's from Wool In The Woods...Sophie colorway Lottery. It's 50% Llama and 50% wool and it feels sooooo wonderful I didn't mind paying the $16.00 a skein. THIS WILL BE for me....seems like I knit so much to gift which is great but then I have nothing to show off!

I have to say that the Yahoo reviews I read about this little store weren't all that great....but I was in real need to go to a LYS and ignored them.....the shop was sweet and when talking to the owner later found out its.......HAUNTED! She says every so often skeins of yarn will just fly across the room! I found this very intriguing but she said its really more annoying....they then blamed the ball winder popping off to "HER"....LOL Overall I have to say that this store has more yarn than you can imagine and that alone is all I need. :)

So if I can ever decide which pattern to use for my mom I will start hers and during Christmas break when all presents have to be done....I will snuggle up to start my scarf....My S0 Called Scarf. If anyone has another scarf pattern that thinks it will do better justice to my yummy stuff, please pass it on to me! :)

Where has the summer gone!

2006-08-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

Mary Beth: So it seems I have been MIA big time this summer going going going with the kids and all! I have alot to catch you up on! First off, we (the family...WHOLE family... 4 generations) spent our 25th family vacation in North Carolina for a week. It was the best vacation I can say I have ever had in the 25 years. Almost everyone was there....missing only my brother and his family. Here are my two favorite pics....

This past month I had a backyard cookout for my moms group, Mommy Connection and had 70 people in my backyard....Not being one who is called "an entertainer" it was quite the undertaking for me. Granted I didn't have to do much in the way of cooking as it was potluck but I had to clean my arse off! Here is a great(RECENT) pic of me and Heath.....I am in the green... :)

Now, I got a wild hair and decided to re-decorate my kitchen because IMO, it looked really ickky...Here are the Before and Afters...I did this in a weekend pretty much all by myself....I couldn't believe how it changed the whole look of the room!

BEFORE

AFTER

I started a new Message Board on the new YUKU boards...called.....
Confessions of a Knitter! Try to check it out sometime!

Lastly, but by certainly not least, we said good-bye to our dear Rocky who came into this world on Valentines Day 1999. Rocky was the best dog I ever had...wonderful with the kids and loved unconditionally. When we arrived home from vacation, we learned he had an awful, agressive bone tumor and we had to let him go play at the Rainbow Bridge. We know that someday we will play again.

Mary Beth's Lil Scoop O' Rocky Road "Rocky"
2/14/1999 - 6/27/2006

Schools OUT for SUMMER!

2006-05-24T15:04:00.000-05:00

Mary Beth here: I know alot of parents dread school being out for summer but I am so ready. I am ready to not have to rush out the door to take them to school, ready for the kids to inform me 1000 times a day what my responsibilities are for the next day, ready to stop being Headroom Mom for not one but BOTH girls....OY! I was up until late last night finishing the toy favor for the 2nd grade class...while done at the last minute I thought they turned out too cute!

It's bubbles btw, if you can't tell from the pic and the little cards say things like :Good Luck in 3rd grade, Have a great Summer, etc...along with a cute foil smiley face sticker

So it's now off to day camps, vacations, the pool, and friends houses...Ahhhh summer...Alice Cooper worded it perfectly!

The Socks are FINISHED!

2006-05-24T14:49:00.000-05:00

They are so cute! I love them...although I must have been too relaxed when I knit the second one because while nearly identical in coloration, the second one I knit is looser...I must not have knit tight enough. But they are cute and I will wear them.

They were knitted on size 2.5 needles with Fortissima Colori Disco. This is the only link I could find but I could never find a "Disco" link....which is probably where the glittery strand comes in.

Picked up more sock yarn today from the trusty LYS for three more pairs....One for each of the girls and one for Mike.

I need to find a sock pattern where the top has a scalloped edge for the girls so I am off to hunt it down! If you know where I can find that for free let me know. :) Thanks for following my First Sock Saga.

Oh I forgot to mention that about halfway through the leg of my second sock I actually ventured out and KIP! At Applebees while waiting for some friends....I got some very curious inquiries from a young heavily pierced teenager who thought it was pretty neat...I was feeling all cool and great...then when I was sat I was knitting along and some ladies come walking down the aisle on their way out and just looked at me as if I dare to knit...they were about 75. I don't know if "younger people" aren't allowed to learn the sacred art of knitting but that is how I felt having them look at me like that. I won't say here what I really wanted to say to those old bitties! {wink}

Heather's Sock!

2006-05-17T19:22:00.000-05:00

Here is my good friend Heather here with her adorable son, Luke who is Jack's runnin' buddy.

We embarked on this sock adventure together being led by the lovely Ann...

I said I would post her sock for her! I think it turned out just gorgie! I forgot to ask her if she has started the second one yet.....hmmm...

Anywho....here is her beauty of a first sock! Congrats Heather!

My Home Away From Home - By Request

2006-05-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

By request of Ann........My story and my mommy board! ;)

While trying to conceive my last child, my son, I began searching on the internet for tips on getting pregnant and breastfeeding. Getting PG with my first 2 was no problemo and #3 was proving to be more challenging. Along the way I found a message board of trying to conceivers and thought hmmm....message board....Eventually I did in fact get the wonderful + and was due in October 2002. While on a board for us Due in Oct 2002 mommies I met some awesome women. Some new to mommyhood, some quite veteran at the whole dealio. Long story short, I "met" a gal who lived in my area on the board named Rachael....sometime after we had our babies we were looking for a similar board of LOCAL moms for playdates support etc. We didn't found one we liked so we started our own!

Never in a million years would we have envisioned that our baby Mommy Connection
would have become the popular success that it has. Launched in January 2002, we quickly went from a board serving St Louis Moms to Moms literally all over the world. We have about 200 members at any given time with about 100 active members.

We are a very diverse board....very young moms, mature moms, single moms, SAHM's and WOHM's. From the very religous to the very non-religious. Amazingly it works. There is not a lot of judgement but there is a TON of support. Most of all my close friends, friends who I know I could turn to in a time of need, I have met on my board. It's an amazing place.

We are a membership board. Meaning you can't just click the link, you must make an account and apply. The only requirement is that you be a mom raising your children...and you must be a pretty honest person looking for other great moms to gain support and friendship from.

Technology can be a great thing. In this case it has really changed my life! -

One Down, One to Go!

2006-05-15T17:00:00.000-05:00

So I have finished my first SOCK! Duh duh duh....Ann you should be really proud of me! I went to Wal-Mart at 11:30 pm Saturday night just to get new yarn needles to finish off the last 8 stitches. It was like trying to finish a good book...you just can't go to bed until it's done.

So....HERE it is! The colors are so pretty with a hint of glitter! Pictures just really don't do it justice really.

I have already cast on and knit 3 rows for the second sock....giving it no time to get forgotton...I really enjoyed knitting these and have already thought of socks I can knit for the rest of the family....

I must give Ann some serious props for helping me RIP OUT 3 1/2 inches of the foot....I about winced watching her do it....I'll have ya know I made it all back up within the night. :) I hope I don't have to have her do that again though....LOL

Sock Mania!

2006-05-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

So last Tuesday my friend Heather and I went to a sock class with the great teacher, Ann to learn to knit socks! She is really a great teacher and so funny! I wish I had taken pics though! I had my camera with me and everything. We are going back on Friday so I will take a pic then!

Here is my Sock progress as of Wednesday:
Not bad eh? Once I got those stitches cast on and figured out how to hold them and all that, it got pretty easy...

I had a bit of a stall as we had family in town and I was crazy busy with my daughters 1st communion but here is my progress as of Sunday
getting ready to start the heel (Yikers!):

So now I am through the heel and starting the foot part....I am really excited that I have gotten this far on my own...with a few desperate e-mails to Ann of course. ;)

I know when I am knitting these at this point I am just holding my breath! LOL

Here is a pic of my family with my sweet daughter Katie on the way to her 1st Holy Communion:

Thanks for lookin'!

Where to hide the stash???

2006-05-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

The yarn stash that is......It's growing seems like daily because I keep finding fun stuff that I can use for making stuff for the kids and blankets and stuff like that. At first I used a simple tote bag.....ha ha ha yes that was in the early weeks....then it seemed I had TWO totes plus the bag I carried my current project. Then I UPgraded to two rubbermaid tubs. I had them underneath the end table right by "my chair". (Mike lost the chair the minute I started knitting because it had the best light and fit my ass the best....LOL)

THEN of course I found a sale this weekend. Nice cotton skeins for $1 and glitter ones for $3. Now WHO could pass that up right? Soooo....19 skeins later I was thinking .....this is not going to fit anywhere in the house. So now I needed a new container. One that could be displayed somewhere in the house but not be obtrusive. Right. So. I stumbled upon a great little 3 drawer wicker job that goes in a corner. It is almost big enough to hold ALL of my stash. If I don't include the blanket yarn for the current and next blanket and the first stuff I bought that is cheap and I hate. Maybe I will give that to my girls to learn on {wink wink}

I think I really MUST stop because I have no more room. I feel like a druggie looking where to keep his dope stash so the cops (husband) doesn't find it! Behind the toilet obviously won't work, and I can't flush it all in an emergency. I can see me standing on a corner "Pssst...hey girlie....wanna buy some glitter yarn? Real cheap....you won't be sorry. The first skein is my treat!"

Of course.....I could ALWAYS go buy another corner unit to match the one I just got.....yeah that's what I can do.....hmm....

The Shop on Blossom Street

2006-04-30T22:13:00.000-05:00

A dear friend lent me this book to read and what an enjoyable one it was! A story of 4 women so very different who meet taking a beginning knitting class and become friends. I can't wait to read the next in the series: A Good Yarn. I feel that while I never had the pain of infertility I identified most with Carol. Her online support group that she turns to and shares her journey with. It mirrors my own support system that began nearly 5 years ago when I was trying to conceive my youngest child, Jack.

If you love to knit, and you must if you are reading this, you should read it. A very easy read....no heavy thinking involved here....a good break between other more "deep" reads. It has inspired me even more to explore more challenging projects.

I am scheduled to attend my first SOCK class on Tuesday and I am so excited! My family is looking at me like I have gone insane to get excited over socks of all things but when I saw how cute they were I just had to give it a go. At $18 for a skein of sock yarn these better be darned cute socks! LOL They may never see the inside of shoes!

Peace and Happy Knitting!

So maybe I am a so called "sheep"....

2006-04-27T22:52:00.000-05:00

Good thing I like to knit! So I am not really "blog savvy" so you will have to bear with me here. It seems it really is pretty easy and so many people are "doing it". Yes if they jumped off a bridge I would probably join them. I mean it's obvious it must be pretty fun if "they" are doing it.

No seriously I am not that much of a follower....no really..I'm not...oh who are we KIDDING? My friends start knitting, I start knitting. My friends make a MySpace page, so of course I make a page too. No one told me that no one over the age of 25 really does this. So naturally when I went to look for old friends I was the only loser looking....LOL. Seems like the only people over the age of 30 who are on there are people looking to "hook up". It's amazing how far the pick up lines have come really. "Hey babe....your background looks really cool....maybe we should get together and compare our Top8" That's actually a tame one.

So after all my following...imagine my husbands response when I came home and told him I was going to learn to knit. Because I told him it's supposed to be relaxing ....kind of like Zen...help me get into a good frame of mind and all that. Then I spend the next 2 nights sitting in my recliner calling my needles every name but Addi! He thought wow if this is her relaxed....

Actually I picked it up pretty quickly and was able to gift several things come Christmas and even make my first purse....the famed "Booga Bag". He thought it was pretty neat...the whole felting process and wanted to watch. That was a bit odd I have to say. I mean we have shared alot in the last 14 years ....but to FELT in front of someone? I dunno it was kind of odd.

Hopefully soon I can learn more about this whole blogging phenomenon and post actual pics of my things and hopefully share some tales of my friends and I here. That's how I came up with the name of this blog. Although there ARE more than two of us....it had a good ring to it....why is that? :)

Wish me luck because I am soon embarking on SOCKS. Wearable items scare the bejeezus out of me but I will give it a go. I will update you soon on the sock saga.

Peace and happy knitting!