The Long Chilly Night

I am so glad this day is over. I had the chills all night long and got very little sleep. I had terrible body aches and felt awful. I did make it through a full day of work, luckily it was very slow paced.
I called my Mom and told her that it would be best if she didn't come for the New Year's weekend. I don't want her to catch whatever pestilence that myself and The Boyfiend have. He is sick also, but it turns out to be Bronchitis and a bad headcold. Either way, I don't want to run the chance of infecting my Mom with something like this.
During the conversation with my Mom, she mentioned that she would like a scarf made, so I am busy working on finding a pattern and what yarn to use. I have been surfing into CrochetPatternCentral and KnittingPatternCentral, looking for something promising. I kind of have an idea of what I want to make. I would like something with a flared pattern on the ends, like a fishes tail. I vaguely remember seeing something a while back that may fill the bill, but I think it was a neckwarmer, not a scarf. I will have to do a little more research and see if I can remember where I saw it.

Barney's New Bed

Barney really likes his new bed. We put it in his usual spot in the front window. He had a real sheepskin pad to lay on before, which is very soft and cushy. But, it didn't block any drafts or the cold that radiates from the window. So we went on a mission to find him a bed for Christmas. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we ended up getting him two beds at a Target store. This is his winter bed, made by Woolrich. It's green corduroy and chocolate brown faux sheepskin. When he wants to look out the window, he just rotates and rests his chin on the edge of the bed. No need for sitting upright with an unsupported chin anymore!

Orange Yarn=Hat

I started working on a hat this evening. I got the yarn on clearance at JoAnn's. It is a combination of orange and blue. I am using a pattern from the Vogue on The Go! Series "Crocheted Hats". It's got bobbles and it's a short cap. I wanted something that isn't too big and has a little ventilation to it. I hope to be able to get it done by the end of the weekend. I haven't been able to get much done lately, it seems. I think it's just a matter of time management. I have to put yarn as a priority and maybe a little less T.V.

What to do with Purple Yarn

I have a some purple yarn with little thingies in it. Tags of different color, if you will. I really like it, it's soft and strange. it fills a lot of criteria for me. But, What to do? I feel it would make an excellent scarf, but i also don't wear scarves nearly as much as hats. I would kind of rather make a hat out it and get some use out of it, but I just can't find a pattern that jumps out at me. I was thinking that maybe I might lean toward something like this Panta at Craftster I really like the idea of some deep ridges to showcase this yarn.

More Yarn and Decorations

We went for a ride today. We drove down south a ways towards Milwaukee, as The Boyfiend wanted his sister to visit with his son. His sister is a school principal and really has it together, they will have a great visit for a few days. After we made the exchange, we did a little more shopping. We got a bunch of outdoor Christmas decoration at give-away prices. Then, we went to Michaels and I got a little more yarn, as it still was on sale. It was a long day, as we didn't get home until very late. We also got Barney two little dog beds. One is a winter weight, with fuzzy fabric. The other is more summery, with a floral cloth fabric. We wanted to get him one for Christmas, but we simply couldn't find a nice one around here. We ended up getting the two at Target, which we don't have around here.

Christmas Day

I guess I was a good girl this year, as I got a lot of nice presents. I got a floor lamp similar to an Ott lamp, one with a daylight bulb. I really wanted a good light source, as I found myself putting down crochet or knitting before I wanted to because my eyes were fatigued. Then again, I never really want to put it down. I also got a digital camera, which will be great for a lot of different things, not to mention helping with pictures for this blog. Something that was for me, but we all can enjoy, is the DVD of "The Fellowship of The Ring", from my favorite series of movies.
Finally, I got an MP3 player. It's kinda funny, as it is actually geared for children, from Disney. It's pink and says "Always a Princess" on it. But, the price was great for the features it has. I will be making a cozy for it soon, so it won't matter what it says on it. So overall, I had a really great Christmas, in the present department. I got The Boyfiend a DVD, some chocolates and a blender. The blender is the thing he really wanted, as he (and me too) really loves malted milkshakes.
The dinner was prepared by us at The Boyfiends parents house. It went well, with the ham turning out juicy and delicious. We had a French silk pie from Schwann's for dessert. It was over the top rich.

Another Scarf Made

I made this scarf using Moda Dea Espree "Salt and Pepper" and Patons Brilliant "White Twinkle". I used a P hook and held together both strands for the entire project. I crocheted a chain about 5 feet long. I then single crocheted back. Then I chained 4 for the turning chain, 1 triple crochet into first stitch, chain 1, skip 1 stitch, triple into the next stitch, chain 1, skip one, all the way across. Then I single crocheted back into every stitch to give it a little stability. I ended up with the ladder effect you see. I know this is pretty simple and obvious, but I just wanted to mention that when I was done, I still had half of the Espree (eyelash) and better then half of the Brilliant (little thinner than sportweight sorta). It naturally stretched to be about 5 and 1/2 feet long and 2 and 1/4ish inches wide, when I was done. I am really happy with the look and also being able to stretch out my yarn to make two scarves. I also think as shiny as this stuff is, a little goes a long way and it looks best as a skinny scarf. It took me about two hours to do this, while watching Willy Wonka (the original one) You will notice that to the left of the scarf, there is a Barney hair. I am sure a few were crocheted in for added warmth.

Last Minute Shopping, I Hope

I really hope that this is the end of the last minute shopping. I am really tired of pounding around the malls. I did get The Boyfiend a few small presents that won't be mentioned here, as he is nosy.
Again, I didn't get anything done in the crocheting arena, but I will tomorrow night. I feel like I am going through some sort of fiber withdrawl. The rest of the weekend is going to be dedicated to crocheting and maybe a little knitting. I will be making the silver scarf tomorrow for sure and hopefully, some other skinny scarf. I tried starting it before, but didn't have much success as I couldn't decide on a pattern. I really want to stretch out that yarn, as the Patons wasn't on sale, or cheap.

Four Days of Christmas

I am so glad to be done with work today! This starts the Four Days of Christmas for me, in other words I have the next four days off! Today was a terrible day for driving. I don't think I have seen such stupidity since The Forth of July. I was just glad for it to be over and still be in one piece. From work I got a small Christmas bonus in the form of a $25 gift card for groceries. I thought was was really super nice and very appreciated. I am making candied sweet potatoes and a pineapple cheese casserole for Christmas dinner.
I started to crochet a scarf about 5 different times and I just haven't found a look that I like. I would like to do a pattern that will stretch they yarn a bit, but I don't feel like doing my typical drop stitch knitted scarves. I know there is a way to do a drop stitch crocheting and I think CrochetMe! has a pattern. I will check later. I really need to crank out about three more scarves and two hats.
The Grace Hat is really getting on my nerves, I haven't figured out a way to make the hat out of wedges. I mean I understand the idea, but I haven't sat down to figure out a stitch count or pattern so it comes out right the first time. I also am going to make The Boyfiend another hat, he picked out a ball of yarn the other day, a sort of heather grey in chunky. I just have to choose the pattern, but I think this one will end up being knit.

Grace Hat Revisited

I wish I had this project done. I showed Grace the hat and she wants something different. Part of that is my fault, I should of had her draw a sketch of where she wanted the stripes. Now, what she wants is something that looks like a beachball, that is even worse then the skunk stripe over the top of the head. But, I will persevere and get it done sometime this weekend. I really think I should of just said, "this is what you asked for, this is what you will get" because it is what she asked for. I don't mean that I wanted a sketch so I knew what she meant, I already knew what she was asking for, but so I could pin her down and say "this is what you asked for, this is your own drawing"... Oh well, better luck next time.

The Snowmen Cometh

Remember the Snowman Problem I have? Snowman Acquisition Syndrome? They just keep coming and coming...They are taking over the tree for sure and possibly our house. Big, small, it doesn't matter. They seem to find a way to our home. There is even one out in the yard now. I have a snowglobe shaped like a snowman with a snowman inside of him. How cannibalistic is that? Newsflash! Snowman eats Snowman! But there are worse things to collect then snowmen, like balls of string......

A Sweater Found

See? I wasn't lying when I said that I had made a sweater for Barney. This was knitted last year for him and finally recovered from the abyss today. I used the pattern My So Called Scarf as a basis for the sweater. I will take a picture of him wearing it when he is not napping. Barney naps a lot, especially when he sees me coming at him with yarn and a tape measure. It's amazing how he changes from a 7 pound chihuahua into an 200 pound magnet with a gravitational pull on the core of the earth when I want to do something with him. I need approximately three more hands and 8 more thumbs when it comes to clipping his toenails. Sometimes I opt for the "Burrito Method". This involves rolling him up inside a towel and after much struggling, pulling out one tightly retracted foot at a time for a pedicure. This method also works with The Boyfiend, who seems to have some sort of Sampson complex about getting his toenails trimmed.

SALE!

Sunday was another fun filled extravaganza of yarn-ness. The Boyfiend and I went to visit my Mom, before she left for a Christmas trip. We had a great lunch. We then let her open her gifts since she will be leaving to visit on Tuesday. Otherwise she would of spent the next day and a half glaring at her presents, wishing she had x-ray vision. She enjoyed them, a phone with an oversized caller ID and a table top Christmas village with animated ice skaters and music.
Then, I had the brilliant idea of going to Michaels, just to check out the yarn. I really just wanted to look at the yarn, possibly touch it a little. I completely forgot that there is a ton of Christmas stuff there on SALE! Well, The Boyfiend figured it out....I didn't know he could move that fast. It was like watching a bear wearing Carhartts stampeding toward the ornament aisles. He even took a cart.
Much to my surprise, they had yarn on SALE! Not ugly scratchy stuff, but luscious, soft, fuzzy, pretty stuff. With it being on SALE! that justifies everything. I don't feel it's necessary to have an actual project in mind in order to make educated purchases. It really was a great SALE!

A Hat For Grace

I finally got the hat for Grace done today. Grace is a person who rides the bus sometimes. She doesn't have a hat at all and has really admired mine. So, when she asked if I would make her a hat, it was hard to say no. I just chalk it up to charity work, as I intend to donate some hats to various organizations.
Anyhow, the hat is a bucket style hat, or kind of a floppy brimmed hat if that explains it better. I have the hat done, but still have to chain stitch a white and red stripe onto it as Grace requested. I started making the hat with the stripes as part of the pattern, but decided to add them later, so if she gets sick of the stripes and realizes that they don't match her coat , I can remove them easily.
Everyone really likes that hat of mine, today I had two different people approach me about the hat, asking if I made it and how. I think that I should make a few and try to sell them, but I don't know what to ask for them. I think the yarn would be about 5 bucks and then whatever my time is worth. I will have to sit down and make one and time how long it takes, then decide on a final price.
I was able to find some wool sweaters today at St. Vinnies, so I will be trying my hand at felting in the not-too-distant future. I really think that the bags will turn out nice and it will be fun to make them.
I would like to mention that at the writing of this, it's 7 degrees outside, with a windchill of 7 below. Brrrrr..

Shop Till You Drop

I was so happy to sleep in today! I really didn't get much done, although I read an interesting thread about felting at Craftster. Really makes me want to give it a try. The problem is getting wool yarn around here to felt with. Most yarn is a wool blend around here, which I don't believe would work. The Boyfiends mother is doing much better, she ended up having to have her gall bladder removed within a week of her hip replacement. Not anything a person wants to go through, especially near the Holidays.
I got Barney a sweater at Walmart. I know, what is a crocheter doing buying a sweater? Well, I got a lot of presents to make yet, and for 3 bucks he has a sweater for the time being. I also can't find the two sweaters I made for him last year, so this will tide him over.

Snowbound

Work was not pretty today. Not only did I get a minimal amount of crocheting done, I had to make four trips to a town known as Perkins. The first trip was at 7am down two ruts in six inches of snow. A wasted trip, as the people I was meant to pick up weren't dug out enough to get the bus in their drives. The second trip was much better, the temps were on the rise and everything was melting. The third trip was getting a little on the boring side, except for the challenges presented by all the slop spraying up onto the windshield. The forth trip, well, I was just happy to not have to go to Perkins again. I would like to mention that it is 21 miles one way to Perkins.
Well, enough about that. Other then the fact that I didn't end up in a ditch today, there really wasn't much excitement. I did go to the Optometrist for an exam and my eyes are very healthy with little change.

The Blizzard of Duhs

The winter blizzard held off until I was almost done with work. But it didn't stop people from driving like idiots. I think most people have a tendency to stare at the hood of their vehicle, maybe a foot or two beyond if they are really on the ball. The rest of them drive around with a cartoon balloon over their heads with a DUH? In it.
About 5pm, it started to snow with hostile intent. Now, it's downright nasty out there. I have doubts whether there will be school or not tomorrow. It was cancelled today because of black ice. What is black ice? You ask. Well allow me to educate you. Black Ice means there is a very thin veneer of ice over the road surface. You can see the blacktop through the ice, thus it is very hard to tell it is there until you are sliding on it. It often doesn't glare when light hits it the way regular ice does. Your stopping distance can be three times more then with other snowy driving conditions.
So, no crocheting for me today. Not that the roads affected me, just that less people wanted to drive themselves and were calling for rides.
The Boyfiend made it back in town just in the nick of time. He arrived around 2pm, when it was only windy, not snowy. I am very happy he is home for a day or two.

O the weather outside is frightful

THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
AS A STORM SYSTEM MOVES TOWARD WISCONSIN FROM THE PLAINS...SNOW WILL DEVELOP AGAIN BY LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL LINGER THROUGH THURSDAY WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF MORE THAN 8 INCHES.
Yup, that pretty much sums things up for me. I have to work tomorrow afternoon. I wish it was a morning shift, but alas, it ain't so. I also have to work Thursday morning, I wouldn't want to miss a minute of horrendous winter driving.
Well, I started a kitty hat today, in crochet. It is that new Walmart brand yarn, No Boundaries, kind of a brown nubby texture to it.
I really like it and I think it will look fantastic when I am done. I wish I could be a little more freeform with my creations. I am pretty much just following various standard, normal patterns, nothing too wild or crazy, yet. But i got ideas, oh yes sir I do...I know that most of the people on the bus look forward to what kind of hat I am going to wear. for a lot of them, the bus ride is the high point of their day for socializing and visiting. If I can give them something to smile about, it's better then giving them a reason to frown.

Snowmen Abound

Well, today was almost a non-day. It was a boring day, pretty much. I did start on a hat for a person that rides on the bus. She doesn't even have a hat, so I am making her one. She wants it in red, white and blue, the colors of the flag. She has a purple coat. Need I say more? So, I am making the hat, it's going to be blue, and I am chain stitching red and white stripes on the surface. That way, when she is sick of the stripes, I can pull them off for her. Hopefully, she gets sick of the stripes. One can only hope. The Boyfiend had to go off to work today. He will be back within a day or so. He is going to try and change his schedule and stay in the area, rather then going so far out.
We went shopping for ornaments again. I got some more snowmen and other various Christmassy stuff, like Santa and angels. I also got a cute, plush snowman. It called out to me, I couldn't help myself. I have some sort of Snowman Acquisition Syndrome. SAS?

Some Great S.E.X. and a Pickle on the Side

Today we went to Shopko to get a birthday card. I sneaked over to JoAnn's to check out the yarn bins. That was a great idea if I ever had one! They had the clearance yarn marked down another 50%!! So it was really wonderful
S(tash) E(nhancement) X(-pedition)
The Boyfiend found that the Christmas ornaments were on sale, so he was happy. I found something I've wanted for a while, which was a pickle ornament. It's supposed to be lucky to have one hanging on your tree.

O Christmas Tree...

Work went alright today, I didn't have any problems, although another bus had some engine problems. That was quickly dealt with by our efficient boss. It started to snow at the very end of the run, which was no surprise.
I didn't get to work on the weirdo bobble scarf today, but may end up doing a little bit yet tonight. I did start to make a kitty hat from yarn that was purchased at Walmart, but don't have enough to make it with just that yarn. I may end up ripping it out and doing it over stranding another kind of yarn with it. I really don't want to spend that kind of money on just one hat. I know, sounds cheap of me, but I really need to stretch out my yarn supply as far as I can. I got a lot of ugly cheap stuff, but not much of the good stuff. I do have a small stash of nice novelty yarn and that really is my favorite stuff to work with. I just don't go crazy over real wool yarn, I like the acrylic best. I never said I was a connoisseur...
On the Christmas tree deal, we started to decorate it tonight. We had lights on it for a few days and are putting a couple ornaments on here and there. I am not really in the mood yet, I guess it really isn't my favorite holiday.

Weirdo scarf from Craftster

I have been working on the weirdo scarf from craftster a little each day. I started it a few days ago, you know, when I couldn't post anything...Well, anyhow, it's coming along nicely and I had several ladies on the bus oohhhed and aaahhhed over it. I did give true credit, that it is off of the Internet and not my idea. They thought it would be cute when done. So, the bobble weirdo scarf is getting a lot of miles riding around with me. 114 miles today to be exact.
It's still cold, but not so bad that you think your teeth will shatter if you dare to smile while outside.

The move is on...

Well, anythings gotta be better then what I got! My other blog server is up down up down, you get the idea...
So, being the kind of person that likes to post everyday, that got tired. It seems like I read a lot of blogs here and don't remember blogger falling on its face too often. I suppose someone will correct me on that one, but for now, this is better.
So, this post will appear in early December. I am moving over all of my postings since I began this blog in November so I will have a complete blog since inception.

A Balmy 3

It’s a balmy 3 degrees outside, with a windchill of 10 below. Today during the day, it really didn’t get much warmer. I am going to have to dress extra warm tomorrow at work, as the bus I will be using runs a little on the cold side. The Boyfiends mother had a hip replacement today and it went well. I worked in the afternoon while he held vigil at the hospital. Later, when the dust settled, we made an apple pie to go with supper tonight and it turned out good.
I almost got the Boyfiends cap done, I got about a quarter left to go. This evening I wanted to work on the floppy hat to match my work sweatshirt, but instead I finished detangling my stash. When I was done detangling, I ended up with a bunch of little scraps. I tied them together and then added other lengths of yarn to make a big mixed yarnball for the scarf.

Tangles and gingerbread

We had a roast tonight. It was alright, but I thought it could of cooked a little bit longer. For dessert, I whipped up a cake mix of gingerbread, with Cool Whip topping. It was pretty durn good for a mix. Maybe it just made for good eats since it was something that I had been craving for a while.

On the yarn front, I started working on a hat, similar to the floppy style hat I made before. This one goes with my work sweatshirt, so I decided it takes priority for a while. I also worked on detangling a wad of yarn that I have been ignoring for a long time. I thought that I would tie the short pieces together and start making a yarnball to use for the scarf from craftster. I am really obsessed with making that scarf, I love the poofballs that it is made out of. I also would like to make a pom-pom ball scarf too. Just something that I would wear once in a while for fun.

Lazy Weekend

I want to remind everyone of a post from a while back. It involves the fact that some people deserve a Lump of Coal in their sock.
I can’t stand it any longer, I am going to make this scarf. I am going to keep it for myself too. HA, so there! I am also going to make this scarf as a gift. I am going to go around the edges with an eyelash yarn, but the body of it will be as the above pattern.
I really slept today. I was so over tired I barely felt alive during the week. I got up and Barney slept for another hour and a half! I went and checked on him because I was getting worried. He was fine, just tired too