Happy Memorial Day

Hello everyone....I hope everyone had a great and relaxing Memorial Day weekend....Thank You to all our service men and women for all that you do. I just realized that last week I called my post Maniac Monday and it was a Tuesday....I guess that is just one way to show it really was a Maniac week since I did not even know what day it was. I had a great relaxing weekend.....I went to Chalk Bluff with my boyfriend, Jaime, and his boys. I invited Paige and Antonio, but she did not want to come and she had to work. Plus, this past weekend was Antonio's Dad's birthday...so it was good that Antonio got to go to the lake with his dad. Here was my knitting view for most of the weekend:

I have been having problems with my clothes dryer lately...it was making a very loud noise (the bearings rubbing together or something like that) and then it started ruining clothes....there was a piece of felt at the back of the drum that came started hanging and then got tangled with clothes and it was pulled out (the dryer is only 6 years old), well, after the felt was gone, the clothes started to get stuck between the drum and the back wall, when you pulled your clothes out...you would have black marks all over it....then, it started to tear the clothes.  The straw broke when it tore Antonio's favorite Nijna Turtle shirt, and Paige sent me a text with this picture.

So what does a good grandma do?  She orders 2 new ninja turtles shirts....

and shops for a new dryer.  I got another one almost exactly like my own....mostly because I did not want to buy a whole new washer/dryer set (since my other house still has not sold) but I wanted the new dryer to fit on my existing pedestal, and kind of match my washer....it is not an exact match, the new one is a little lighter of a 'platinum' color, but it fits on the pedestal and looks okay (I think).

For knitting this week, I finished the gussets of both of the green socks.....not just 2 lengths of the foot in all knit, 2 toes and I should be good to go.....new tour de sock starts Sunday so I better get with it if I want these finished before the next tour!

I also finished the Hiya Hiya Shadowboxing Socks KAL...I wanted them finished before Camp Loopy and Tour De Socks too.....

So, a little more news on mine and my daughter's moving and living arrangements....the original plan was that my daughter and her best friend would live in my house (the one I just moved into) and I would eventually move in with my boyfriend, Jaime.....well, without making a really long story (and this is pretty much not knitting related, but ties to it at the end)...everyone has realized that it might be better Paige to live on her own with Antonio...so Paige found a cute 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment that she thinks she can afford....and I will live in my house alone with my 3 dogs (one of the reasons for me not to move to Jaime's).  I am actually really excited about this.....my son was worried that I would not like it and I told him "Do you know what it feels like to walk into the kitchen and if there is a dirty bowl on the counter then you put it there and only you put it there?" and he replied, "No" and I replied, "Neither do I but I am looking forward to it!"

So what does this have to do with knitting?

As Paige and I are going through the house as to what couch she can take and what we will need to buy she asked me if I would make her some place mats.  I logged her on to ravelry and she picked out these Sunday Brunch place mats.  I ordered the book and started this past weekend...I love it when Paige asks me to knit her something!

So I have one of four place mats done (that spot in middle is a lobster claw stitch marker from Vanessa at Vintage Rose)......if a finished object is a FO and a half finished object is a HO, is a quarter finished object a QUO or QO??

After posting all those pictures, I see that I am wearing my new PJ's in all the pictures but the last one....I really got these new PJ's them for my soon to be knitting retreat at my sister's lakehouse (in 2 weeks), but I ended up wearing the majority of this past weekend.....So, to all of you who think I knit so fast....I really don't....I just knit all the time (and obviously do not get out of my PJ's ever).....ha, ha!

I hope everyone has an awesome week....I will be a knitting fool every minute I can to get ready for Camp Loopy and Tour De Sock...my Tour De Sock team is Team Roasted....I am getting a new Bag Set and sock sack from Awesome Grannie with Coffee material....She put up lots of Sock Socks this past weekend and some new patterns....you should check them out...I have my eye on the sundae sock sack!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting everyone.....and GO SPURS GO!  BEAT THE THUNDER!!!

Hoppy Belated Easter!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter!  I was looking forward to doing an Easter Egg hunt with Antonio, but his dad had him this past weekend so I just got to give him his Easter basket and clean his mouth and hands of chocolate.....ha, ha!

The good news is that it made for some great knitting time!  Last week, I ordered some yarn from a friend.  I think you have heard me talk about Stacie from MustStash podcast and she owns MustStashSop.  She has some Perfect Sock yarn (and I do mean it is perfect) in a colorway called Anna & Elsa from the new Disney movie called "Frozen".  Well, Celeste is obsessed with this movie and loves all the songs and everything.  So I got some of this yarn and I wanted to make Celeste and her mother a matching pair of socks.

This yarn is my new favorite sock yarn....it is so scrumptious to knit with...I love it!  I ordered the yarn on Tuesday and had it Wednesday (Thank you Stacie!!!!).  I cast on that night and I finished the first sock on Saturday evening.  I was even knitting on them during bike night....Jaime spoils me and lets me take my knitting and a chair to events like this......I was going to do them two at a time, but I could not bear to break this perfect yarn....So I started the second one in pretty much the same spot of the yarn!.  And Stacie put in a snowflake stitch marker with a lobster claw that is too cute.  I put the first sock on a size small sock blocker so you can see it stretched out...but it is just a kids's size sock with an almost 3" leg.  I really think Celeste will love these.  I hope to finish the second sock this week.

I also finished my Hiya Hiya Diamondoid socks....in the Mochren (orange) colorway in wollmeise twin sock yarn.  I love them.

I plugged away a little on the Silver Fern Scarf for the first leg of the Miss Babs Knitting tour....I only have 24 more repeats and I will be done.....which is a good thing because I need it done before the end of April......the new craziness in my life is another shawl.....yup, you heard me right.  Darlene was on facebook one night and found this pattern and tagged me and then a few others commented to make it an official KAL for our SNB group so who am I to say no?  So I said Yes!  The pattern is called Spire and it is by Leila Raabbe.  I am using a skein of Wollmeise lace in the Confident Colorway....Darlene and I started during lunch today.  It is a bit fidly to start.  Mine is not even the size of a quarter yet.  You have to do a circular cast on and then you start off with only 8 stitches...but I am determined to get this baby going!

I know it sounds like I always blame these bright ideas on Darlene.  While this shawl was her fault, sometimes it is me and she goes along willingly....this time, not only did she go along willingly....she made us each special project bags to put this project in.....and, she is offering up a set of these project bags to one lucky winner of the KAL.  The bags are soooooooo cute and have matching zipper pulls!  There was one lady that really wanted to make the Leaves of Grass Shawl instead so we made the KAL to include pretty much any pattern from the Brooklyn Tweed LOFT Collection.....so if any of you out there want to win these two cute bags or just want to be crazy like me and start another shawl.....please feel free to join us!!!!  You can always make a hat or gloves, but try to challenge yourself and make something from the collection that is challenging for you!

These Bags by AwesomeGrannie are the best ever....and remember, there should be an announcement about Darlene, aka AwesomeGrannie, really soon!

Oh....and I have a stash enhancement......I heard about a lady name Cate that teaches Tibetan woman in China's Qinghai Province how to hand spin in China.  She has lots of hand spun yarn at reasonable prices.  I ended up getting some Helix, and while this is a mill spun, the dying is just beautiful.  The color is called Autumnal and it is no secret that it is the color of yarn that was calling my name....perfect pops of burnt orange all around.  The shop is called Infinite Twist....it is interesting to read about and see the pictures of the women spinning the yarn.....

Oh, and the last yarn related item of the week....do you remember going to the library and having to go to the catalog to find the book you wanted and where it was located?  And they had all those cards in those drawers......well, if anyone knows where all the libraries disposed of those card cabinets or a carpenter that can make me one....here is the best use ever for them.....I wish I had one!

I also have to brag just a bit.....remember I told you Paige was going to Barber College?  Well, she graduated back in February....but she was just recently able to take her practical exam (the March class was full) and she passed.....she has applied for her license (they really just want you to send them money) and she should have her license this week......I am soooooo proud of her.  I took her out to eat at her favorite restaurant last Tuesday.....She posted her test and a shout out to me on her Instagram.....I love this girl so much!!!!

Well, I think that is pretty much all I have for this week......I leave you with Aunty Acid......

Happy Happy Happy Knitting everyone.......