Birthday Loot

Today was pretty special. A coworker took me to lunch at swanky Spagio. She had Pumpkin Soup and I the Seafood Bisque for starters and then we split a wood fired wheat crust spicy shrimp pizza. It was a very nice treat.

For dinner we ordered Cafe Courier Mexican food with Mark and Erica. They presented me with an eBay gift certificate which should come in very handy with my crafty purchases.

Tami and Jasmine have tapped into two of my favorite things. Knitting cables are fun and they will be even better with the new cable needles that match my favorite harmony knitting needles. What goes better with knitting but wine with friends? Why it is knitting themed wine glass charms. These are so darn cute!



Our friend Arla dropped by while we were eating dinner and left these cute kitty cat candles. Sorry I didn't get to chat Arla but dinner was sooooo good! They are way too cute to ever light and burn.

So about two weeks ago a box was delivered to me at work out of the blue. Well actually I was told it wasn't out of the blue but I didn't remember/see the note about it being on its way. I am not sure why I assumed it was from my mom based on the vendor listed on the sender label but I did and I was right. Well I am not sure but I think mom was shocked when I decided to wait until my birthday to open the box. This evening before everyone arrived for dinner I opened the box and inside I found a pumpkin cake pan. Mom said she wished I had open it before hand so that Jimmy could make me a pumpkin cake for my birthday. While the thought was amazing I am counting my blessings the Jimmy baking part didn't work out. I can't even imagine the cussing that would have been accomplished during that baking session. Besides the cake Erica and Mark brought was amazing chocolate heaven which I am so happy there is some left to eat over the weekend! The cake that keeps on giving.....


Next in the box were these cute pumpkin lanterns. I will have to dig out some tea lights to burn during our horror flick night tomorrow night.

Thank you Jimmy, Mom, Tami, Jasmine, Molly, Erica & Mark, Arla, and Sarah for making my birthday a very special one! You all rock!

Sheep Balls..... It's my birthday!

These guys knitted their hats.... This is a wonderful find on my birthday!

Steve (the guy on the left): http://famoussteveknits.blogspot.com/

Doug (the guy on the right): http://knits4bears.blogspot.com/

They modified a Tea Cozies pattern by adding legs and tails and “other” things. Here’s the link to the book in Amazon they used!

http://www.amazon.com/Cozies-Cozy-Guild-Master-Craftsman/...

Thanks PixiePurls for posting about this in the Lime & Violet Group on Ravelry. It made my day!

Poo Update

Back in April of this year we learned our Poo has a disease called Pemphigus Foliceus. For more details on this disease please see the April posting here.

Prior to this disease surfacing, Poo loved to be brushed. He would sit for an hour at a time and let us brush him. Since the skin eating disease he hates to be brushed. Well that wouldn't be a huge problem if he didn't have 3+ inch hair in some places with 2+ in others. Needless to say he had some pretty nasty mats of hair that just couldn't be worked out and he wouldn't let me cut them out either.

Today Poo went to the vet to have a lion cut shave. Most cats are not as tolerant of the clippers as dogs and require sedation to be shaved. While Poo was asleep they did his blood work to make sure the daily steroids are not causing damage to his organs as well as clipped his back nails (which he no longer lets me do either). The Vet is concerned about Poo losing 4 #'s since June when they saw him last so additional blood test were done. We will find out later in the week the results of all the blood work.




Poo is our very very special needs kitty kat. We love him to pieces.

Swelligant for Significant

Jimmy loves his new scarf. I finished it just in time for the cold spell to hit Columbus!

Pattern: Swelligant Scarf by Tish Davidson (found in Son of a Stitch n' Bitch)
Yarn: Midwest Fiber Alpaca

This pattern rocks because the cable is reversible.

No longer a Malabrigo Virgin

I have been knitting cables like crazy. Over the weekend I finished the left front of Mom's sweater. I am trying very hard to get the sweater done so Mom can open it for her birthday in November.


There were snow flakes in the air today. GROSSSSSSSSSSS! I am very glad I finished my gloves last week. They kept my hands warm on the steering wheel today.


This week marks another year older. I have come to realize life keeps getting better the older I get. So this week is a celebration of living life to the fullest.

I met up with Mollylouhoo tonight after work to knit. She presented me with a wonderful bag full of knitting goodies. Inside included my very first hank of Malabrigo EVER. I will have to pet it for a little while before I actually make anything with it. Next is agorgeous skein of Lanaloft. The colors in both of these yarns will blend nicely to make something very special for sure. I have been looking for a special knitting bag and Molly made a donation towards the cause which even included the tag of "Knitting Bag!!!

Thank you very much Molly!

Here comes the bride!

So our friend Erica's brother was married over the weekend. I am pretty sure there aren't to many wedding albums, if any, with a picture like this....

Erica is on the right.

A Muir is Born and Poo's Milk Ring

It is starting to get cold.... After a big snow storm earlier this year I started some gloves. Before I could finish the first glove Spring Sprung and the gloves moved to the bottom of the knitting bag. Yesterday morning we woke to thirty degree temps so during football yesterday I dug to the bottom of the knitting bag and pulled out the half knitted gloves. Over the last twenty-four hours I finished the first glove and knit to the fingers on the second glove.



This is the almost finished left side of Mom's cable sweater. My goal was to finish it yesterday so I could get working on the right side but that didn't happen. Hopefully this week!


Jimmy's scarf is about 80% finished and I am trying to finish up the second ball of yarn. He says he wants it 9 feet long. YOWZA

I finished the first repeat of the lace pattern on the Muir. So very beautiful......


Poo loves milk but we recently found out that he also loves milk rings. I think he loves milk rings more than he loves catnip!

Muir for Marriage

I don't know about you but for me when I think of a couple embarking down the path of marriage I get all warm and fuzzy inside. I remember my own wedding and how Jimmy and I began our life together. :-)

Our friend's Sarah and Jim are to wed next June. I offered to knit a shawl/stole for Sarah to wear on her wedding day. It was funny because the very first pattern I showed her, as an example and starting point, she fell for. I am still amazed she didn't want to look any further. What pattern captured her you say?

It is the Muir by Rosemary Hill and was featured in the Fall 2007 Knitty. Here it is pictured below:


Tuesday evening Sarah and I went to a LYS and where she picked out a beautiful hank of Claudia Hand Painted Silk yarn in a very very soft gray. This yarn is amazingly soft and the shine! Very yummy! Yesterday I cast on the 125 stitches and have knit about 10 rows. Below are a couple photos from day one!




I really need to remember to ask Santa for a better camera for Christmas. My camera doesn't capture the beauty of these stitches.

Interweave Knits Holiday 2008

Tami surprised me with a copy of the 2008 Interweave Knits Holiday issue yesterday. I actually thought I would get a copy with my paid subscriptions but have learned that isn't true. So thank you very much Tami for the lovely gift.


Inside I found the pattern that I have been waiting for to knit my kitchen curtains. For some reason I haven't felt right about the other patterns I thought might work. When I saw the Sheer Bathroom Set flipping through the pages I had the feeling of AHHHHHH and thought " there it is". So after Mom's Sweater, MS4 and the Muir knitting finish I will be casting on for the kitchen curtains. :-)

So much knitting and so little time to knit.....

Anne Hanson - Knitspot

I am so excited I am nearly bursting out of my skin. Last week I signed up for.... Take a breath Cath..... not one but two workshops to be given at a local yarn shop by none other than Anne Hanson of Knitspot . GASP! The first workshop of the day is on advance lace knitting and the second is how Anne designs her lace.

Anne's lace patterns are amazing. I recently knit her Elm Row and I can't wait to knit it again for myself. Check out her shop here.

Imperfect me....

You know what? Like my knitting I am imperfect. It is so refreshing to realize I don't have to be perfect or fit any mold of what I should be. The only person I have to be is the one my HP intended.

As I was finishing clue two on MS4 I realized I had been knitting one edge wrong for the entire section of repeat. GRR I tossed the entire project in a bag fully intending to put it into serious time out. Thankfully a friend had the focus and brain power to correct my error and now I am a few rows from finishing clue three.

The last three weeks have been seriously intense at work. I can't remember anything this intense in the 18+ years I have been in the mortgage business. Even having survived 4 banking mergers. By 4 PM every day my brain is complete mush. This week promises to be better or so I am trying to stay positive. I am so grateful I have my HP, Jimmy, family and friends to help me through this stressful time and accept me for my imperfectness. Besides nobody is perfect unless they are dead!

OK enough serious stuff.... Here are some knitting pics:

This is the finished Balloon Felted Purse for Erica's 30th birthday. Welcome to the good side of life Erica! :-)

I just love knitting these little flower washcloths. They are so fun! Thanks again for turning me on the the Weekend Knitting book Mollylouhoo!


If there wasn't catnip in that red towel Jasmine would have been all over the washcloth but it still made a great photo op for her.

Stay tuned.... I have lots more knitting to share this week. I am about three weeks behind on life but it is time to get caught up.