Puppy Portraits and Memory Cards

It's shaping up to be a crafty Christmas this year! I FINALLY found the calendar base I want so I can make my Dog Days calendar, and I found the cutest idea to make a gift for Leah!

Puppy portraits were yesterday, and while it didn't go as I had hoped, I think we got some nice images to view. The dogs were complete monsters even though I had walked them to burn a little energy, but I guess it was expected - too many new smells and people and cookies to even try to make them settle down. Shasta was good as soon as she realized cookies were on the line, but Gryffyn just didn't want to cooperate. I wanted a photo of the 2 of them together - and it didn't happen thanks to a jumpy Corgi - so I think this may be a case of handy dandy photoshop work to the rescue.

As for the memory cards, I can't say too much about it because I want to make them as a gift for someone. Who? Hmmmm, can't say, but I will show photos of them once the gift has been given.

The trees are naked

My trees finally dropped the last few stragglers off their branches, so I spent a good part of my morning out there raking, blowing and mowing the front lawn to get it DONE and over with for the season. The good part is no more gardening until spring, the bad part is no more gardening until spring. So sad to see it all tidied up and no blooms in site. But the good news is by the time I'm ready to start getting it all prepped for next year, Ed should be home to see all the hard work done - and possibly, if things go my way, he can be home to HELP! :)

As a reminder of what once was, here's a look at Garden 2008, circa August or so.

New hair means a new attitude

I'm officially Wopsided - part Italian with a VERY asymmetrical cut. Very cool, too. And I've got a new blond patch on my head, no longer in the same place it was this morning. Again, very cool. Michelle outdid herself once again, and while I'd like to think it was because of the beautiful Butterfly Wings shawl I made her for her birthday, I know it's more for bragging rights in the shop. I mean, really, how many other stylists there can brag about the fact that they gave a new cut, and the blond panels that are the signature trademark of the client now follow the part used to create said cut? And to top it off - and make the platinum yumminess underneath really pop - dye the balance of the hair a gorgeous shade of teak fused with onyx? I don't think there's too many of them out there.

I need to work on a Wopsided attitude. Stay tuned.

I found my beads!

After 3 stressed days of trying to find the correct beads for my Slow Bee shawl, I FINALLY found them! I had bought what I thought was the correct bead on Saturday. Silly me - I didn't OPEN the tube to check color and then when I finally did, I realized I made a horrible mistake. I have learned some stuff with this little exercise in driving all over the Miami Valley and even over to Indiana in search of seed beads.

1. When you buy 2 tubes of beads, DO NOT, under any circumstances, take one of the tubes and place it in a spot that you won't forget. Inevitably, you will forget. And then when you go to where you thought you put the extra beads and can't find them, you will panic. Learn from my mistake.

2. When the stores say on their answering machines, "If this is a bead emergency, then call XXX-XXXX" TAKE THEM UP ON IT. It will help you sleep and not panic about finding the beads in 2 days when they open up for their normal retail hours. Learn from my mistake.

3. Don't take it out on your husband when you get frustrated about the fact that you can't find your beads that you KNOW are somewhere in the house or the fact that you were too stubborn to call in for the bead emergency. This will lead to arguments about stupid stuff like who has more crap in the house and who is responsible for cleaning and dusting. Learn from my mistake.

Alrghty then, I'm off to knit. Hopefully I can finish this shawl in the next week at the most. Keep your fingers crossed!

Slow Bee I - ALMOST There!

I was so excited to hit the end of clue 10 on the Slow Bee KAL shawl - I started this baby in May and managed to keep up with the progress until clue 6. Then it all spiraled downhill. I managed to work on it here and there, but still, no end was in sight.

Until 2 days ago.

That's when I finished clue 10 and I could move on to the edging! I worked on it at the Late Night Knit and got 2 rows finished (which is amazing considering each row is 815 stitches and I was talking and chatting with the other guests). I looked at my bead stash and felt my heart sink - did I have enough? So yesterday morning I counted them out and sure enough, I didn't have close to enough.

I ran out to Kim's Creative Beads and thankfully she had more in stock. I am starting to work on the edging again, and I plan on having it done by the end of the week, pending no life crises or emergencies. I want to put on a beaded bind off, straying from the instructions, so I will need to find something soon. Stay posted on the results and keep your fingers crossed for me! Pictures to follow soon, I promise.

Wow, I'm Really Gonna Blog

Hi, Howdy, Hey There, Yo and Wassup (take your pick on the greeting, it's a personal reference; if I left your favorite off, oops my bad). I hope this will be a good place to put my random thoughts about knitting, my family and life in general.

So welcome to the jungle, party people. Let's keep it clean and age appropriate, no smoking, turn off your cell phones and be considerate to all our guests. And now for our main event!