~FO and Prom Dress~

Well there is something to be said for having the "stomach bug" and being home.... Knitting WILL take your mind off of nauseau for brief increments of time. I actually have a FO! WOOOOO HOOOOOO I had never worked with this yarn before but found it to be great to work with. This yarn also does not repeat its color patterns, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to tolerate as I am one of those anal people that really, really NEED things to match and be even etc. etc. etc. I think I can live with these, however, because I truly love the yarn. I have also discovered that I am TOTALLY INCAPABLE of following any kind of pattern - somehow I always seem to find a problem with it and change it/rework it/rewrite it.... you know "make it better" (which isn't always the case ;)) so that it seldom even resembles what I started with. I'll share what I did soon in case anyone is interested. These mitts flew off the needles and I think that they will be a great Softball Tournament knit (put away for Christmas gifts), along with the socks - 'cuz there are ALWAYS socks! :) Here is the fruit of my labor.... (click) (click) Diakieto Yarn 50% Wool, 21% Mohair, 29% Nylon 122 yards size 6 Clover DPN's Speaking of Softball.... it is beginning in earnest now. 7 teams between my 3 daughters, and they are all so excited. Lyss was so incredibly excited the other day, she was one of the two Juniors that her Varsity Teammates voted in as Captain - they have their first game today, another tomorrow and a tournament on Saturday. I was filling in my calendar the other day and realized that not only do we have "travel team" tournaments from Memorial day on, but from the 2nd weekend in July through the 3rd weekend in August we have 3 day tournaments, every weekend all over creation!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lots and Lots of Knitting time! I'm praying the gas prices calm down, but I think that is a futile prayer. Speaking of Lyss..... before this stomach "thing" hit me full force, we went dress shopping. Now keep in mind - Lyss has NOT worn a dress since her First Communion TEN YEARS AGO (and that was only because she HAD to)! She picked the 2nd dress she tried on and is thrilled to pieces with it..... Let me present to you - Lyss' Junior Prom Dress..... The dress IS black, as in the 2nd picture (the zipper is half down, I didn't notice it while I was taking the picture) and looks great on her. Now all we need to do is find shoes and accessories and she will be all set! HOORAY (I got ALL teary on the way home when it hit me that my tomboy/sportsnut actually BOUGHT and will be WEARING a GOWN! I can't believe she is all grown up - gotta stop now, or I'm gonna start blubbering all over again! I also bought a pattern a couple of weeks ago online, and received it in the mail while I was sick! I COULD NOT resist this little guy..... I will be trying to figure out what color and what kind of yarn to purchase to make him look like a chocolate lab so as to resemble my Beau! It calls for DK weight yarn - any suggestions on what would work well? I would also like to apologize if the font gets all messed up on this post as in past posts. I'm not quite sure what is up with blogger lately, but I've checked the html and it is all set, but for some reason when I post, it plays games with me. Have a great SPRING TIME day everyone!

~Ranting and Ravings of a Tightly Wound Woman~

Beware..... rant ahead..... Am I the only person who has noticed that there is a SERIOUS lack of manners in our world today? I was raised to say please/thank you/you're welcome - these are small words, but they carry a HUGE amount of weight with me ~ more so than I even realized until recently. I work in a Catholic Elementary School and I am appalled at the lack of manners the majority of the children have, not to mention the lack of respect they show toward their "elders", let alone their peers. The fact that an adult has to REMIND children of ANY school age, that when an adult is talking it is rude for them to be talking at the same time, blows my mind! I have also been noticing that this afliction has permeated my own age group. My daughters and I stopped in at Walmart today to pick up a few things and in the course of about 15 minutes, two of my daughters had been bumped by carriages, I stood in an aisle for two or three minutes waiting for the woman who was looking at mascara to realize someone was standing there and maybe move her carriage out of the way, she didn't, I politely said excuse me and was met with a filthy look a huge disgusted sigh and finally the carriage was moved ~ my thank you was met with a second filthy/disgusted look. I noticed that my DAUGHTERS were saying excuse me to the people that hit THEM with the carriages, not the other way around! UNBELIEVABLE! I won't even go into the driving aspect of this epidemic, THAT alone would take up an entire page - it's beyond words. It has even edged into my little blog world, where I have ignored it and tried not to let it bother me because for the most part my blog "friends" are wonderful people. I am the type of person that will go out of my way to help someone with "how to" questions, where to find patterns/recipes/supplies, etc. etc. I have noticed lately that quite a few of these requests are worded in a way that insinuates that my help in any of these areas is expected ~ no please, no thank you, no tiny bit of appreciation. Don't take me wrong, I don't expect to be fawned over for helping someone, but a please or thank you would be nice, considering that my time is just as precious as everyone else's. I am truly disgusted and saddened by this, but I have regretfully decided that my email address will be taken off my blog if it continues. Am I alone in this? WHAT is happening to our society? Ok, getting off my soap box now. There HAS been knitting happening, not a lot, but some and I am so so happy about that. I started another pair of fingerless mitts, this time in Diakeito, which is a fantastic Japanese yarn, 50% Wool, 21% Mohair and 29% Nylon - so incredibly soft and easy to work with. These are moving along quickly and are a great project to carry along. I do believe that socks and mitts will be THE knitting for the Spring/Summer softball craziness that is My Life! (click) We've had another crazy busy week at the Tightly Wound circus.... ~ work, softball, bridal shower, softball, meetings, softball .... you get the picture! lol Today, we will miss softball to go Prom Dress shopping as it is the only way we will be able to do it. Lyss and the High School Varsity Team have their first game this Thursday and we have a tournament for Nic this coming weekend, along with the Father/Daughter dance, Spaghetti suppers and such. I'm trying to catch up on laundry today and maybe go to the grocery store so we can eat this week. I'm going to have to break out the crockpot and leave it out or we will never have a decent meal again ;)! Have a fantastic Sunday!

~Spring has Sprung?~

HAPPY SPRING! I, once again, haven't been here much, but it has been quite the week. DH had his wisdom teeth pulled on Tuesday, and was home for the rest of the week. Needless to say, I didn't get much done on my Wednesday at home - I'm not sure why that happens, even though he isn't in my way, I don't manage to get going on anything. We also have been taking care of this guy... my BIL's Golden Retriever. He is 14 years old, as you can probably tell by his white face. I can picture my 17 year old at the age of 3 and 4 "walking" this guy around when he was just a puppy. He doesn't walk well, but doesn't seem to be in any pain, and he is just a love! Beau has been spending some time with him and they get along well. Time sure does fly on by. I don't have much knitting news here (AGAIN!), but we did have an enjoyable week with the "boy", home from college! Here he is with the sister that is most like him, personality wise. They are silly/fun/obnoxious when they are together - I love it! He took his sisters on a bowling "date" and out and about a few times while he was home! Here we have "the boy" and his dog! Shortly after these pictures were taken, the dog got out of control and licked his entire head-it was hysterically funny! The week went by so quickly and it was once again time to send him back to school :( Friends, who also have a son at the same college, were to drive them back on Sunday, but the poor woman arrived here so sick, husband at home with the stomach "bug", and I just couldn't let her drive for 7 hours in her condition. So off I went to Vermont and back! lol It was a nice ride and gave me some extra time to visit :). This week, I will be taking Lyss to pick out her dress for the Jr. Prom - this is a HUGE event here in our family as she has worn a dress/skirt exactly 2 times since she was 7 years old! We have a wedding shower to attend and I have tons of work to do for the Softball League and Work. Spring is a crazy busy time, but I am truly looking forward to some warmer weather and FLOWERS! We will continue to ignore the fact that it is a whopping 20 degrees here and has been snow flurrying! ugh! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy Knitting, Happy Spring!

~Title?~

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY to all of my Irish Friends! I got this MEME at Deb's place - consider yourself tagged if you wish :) I'll be back soon with, hopefully, something interesting to post :) A-Age: 45 (GOOD LORD!) B-Bed size: Queen C-Chore you hate: Dusting D-Dessert you love: only one? E-Essential start your day item: Coffee F-Favorite actor(s): Sean Connery, Keanu Reeves, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, John Cusak, Jim Cavaziel G-Gold or Silver: gold H-Height: 5'3 I-Instruments you play: none J-Job title: Administrative Assistant/Asst. Computer Teacher K-Keeping track of your day: Outlook L-Living arrangements: Husband, 4 kids, 1 dog, 1 cat, 3 fish M-Mom's name: Gladys (really) N-Not liking right now: March! O-Overnight hospital stay other than birth: tonsillectomy P-Place you were born: Meridan, CT Q-Quote you like: "Life's journey is not to arrive at our grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting..."Holy sh__ what a ride" R-Right or left handed: right S-Siblings: none T-Time you woke up today: 5:30 a.m. U-Unique habit: I do the exact same thing every morning and bedtime - routine never changes V-Vegetable you hate: Brussel Sprouts W-Worst habit: I quit my worst habit 10 years ago (smoking) X-X-rays you've had: Lungs, hand, foot, many ultrasounds Y-Yummy food you can make: Anything Italian Z-Zodiac sign: Libra

"I Hate March ~ not too particularly thrilled with myself either"

Absentee blogger here. I'm in some kind of a black hole that I can't seem to work my way out of. Not necessarily in a bad mood, not good either - more of an ambivalent feeling toward everything in life right at the moment. Wondering if I really have anything to contribute to the blog world or if I should just hang it up ~ I've knit and ripped out, repeatedly - I've been going through the motions, working, cooking, cleaning - and yet I have what feels like a gaping empty hole right through me. Maybe, this is all just my "I hate March" phase. Shutting up now. There is a bright spot in all of this ~ I picked Matt up from college Friday! We had a great ride home and I, as well as dh and the girls, are thrilled to have him home! I have no knitting to show, as I have ripped everything I've started out - I think maybe it's time for a pair of socks (i.e., a nice, soothing, calming knit). I will leave you with a few pictures of college taken before all the snow fell:) My two favorite guys :) Thanks for "listening" - Happy knitting and have a good night.

~March Madness~

What a nice day it was here in New England! It was only about 38 degrees, but the sun was shining and it wasn't windy - it was GORGEOUS - a little hint of things to come! Possibly a March "tease"! Spring maybe?! I can't wait. The balmy weather and the sunshine along with the kick-off of Project Spectrum had me taking stock of my many crafting endeavors. I have, along the way, dabbled in sewing, (making clothes, repairing clothes, making bags, pillows, etc.), embroidery, needlepoint, latch-hooking, beading - all kinds, ceramics, macrame, cross stitching, crocheting, knitting and anything else that caught my fancy! lol So in taking stock, and getting into the Project Spectrum mood, I decided to load some of my crafting pictures into a flickr badge (over in the left side bar), I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures, I will need to retake a few with my newer camera at some point, and I have a lot more to load -- all in good time! all in good time ;) Another reason to thank Lolly - I most likely would not have put any of my "other" craft pictures up here on my "knitting" blog, but I am who I am - and I am all of it! :) Thanks Lolly! I thought I'd share a couple that have the pink/red theme, and that also reminded me of Spring :) (the pictures are all clickable thumbnails) This was a "family bouquet" from a few years ago that I made and put into one of my favorite summer mugs! The kids LOVED it. Just a little reminder for myself :) and a little gift to myself - a maroon "go-knit" pouch - just perfect for carrying a sock project around in (or something else if you aren't into socks ;)) Now, on to something that the few people that come and visit this crazy knitting mom will understand....... I FINALLY have a vehicle! Yes I do! It has been a loooooong time, but it was well worth the wait. I feel as though this was meant to be mine.... it is a mid-sized SUV, it has a third row seat, it is dark blue with tan interior (my favorites- and the same colors as my poor departed mini-van), it is 4 wheel drive (good for trips up to Vermont to get my son), it's a 2004 and has less than 15,000 miles on it and the price was fantastic! I am SO HAPPY! I will be heading up to Vermont to pick up my son at the end of the week - the poor kid thinks I'm still driving his car back and forth to work which would leave him without a vehicle while home on break, he will be shocked to see this (I'm surprising him... shhhhhhhhhhh ;)) The old mini-van is being donated to the American Cancer Society - Cars for a Cure. Please keep them in mind if you or any of your friends and family are in need of disposing of a vehicle. The only requirement they have is that the vehicle have 4 inflated tires. 75 percent of whatever they get from the car goes directly to the Cancer Society and I believe there is a deduction that can be taken on your taxes. These are a couple of pals that keep me company in the new vehicle .... The panda that sits on the dash (looks kind of Project Spectrum-ish - don't you think?) was given to me by Patti and along with the heart-shaped paws and nose - his front paw says I Love You. The little guy on the console reminds me of my Beau! Did any of you see the new knitting show on "O"? I posted about it and then wasn't around to watch and forgot to tape it? How was it? I hope you all had a nice weekend! Happy Crafting :)

~The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow....~

Hi everyone! I can't believe how many interesting things are happening in "knitland" now - must be the anticipation of Spring?! Jay is having a great "Celebration Challenge" to celebrate his "bloggiversity" - great prizes - great fun - he is one talented guy (knitting, quilting, sewing etc, etc, etc,) - check out his site and all of his fantastic creations! Lolly, of course, has Project Spectrum going on through August. A no stress, no specific craft celebration of color and creativity! I can only imagine the WONDERFUL creations we are going to see from this! Kimberly has been making these awesome stitch markers and opened her own little shop! And knitalongs, LOTS and LOTS of knitalongs.... such as this and this and then there is this and this and this and who can live without the many, many sock knitalongs ?! Basically more good stuff than I can list here - have a look see :) Then I just read over here, that on Sunday at 3pm EST, on the Oxygen Network, a new show called Stitchcraft! will be on, hosted by Lily Chin and featuring knit.1 editor-in-chief, Adina Klein ~~~~ AND will include a behind the scenes storyline about this guy's photoshoot..... I think I can spare a "little bit of time" ;) how 'bout you? ;) I have pulled out some baby bootie patterns and maybe a baby blanket pattern or two (or three or four) because my dear friend Jen and her soon to be hubby have asked me to be the Godmother to the baby they are expecting in July! I am so touched that they have asked me that I can't even put my feelings into words. One glitch in all of this happiness is that she lives on the other side of the country and I absolutely HATE PLANES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate them to the very DEPTHS of my being - oh and did I tell you that I'm terrified of heights? Ok so there you are - I would rather give birth to 4 kids (c-sections too) than get on a plane! oiy vey - I NEED to somehow work this out in my head - or find a seriously STRONG tranquilizer! Ok, sing along with me now................ The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrowwwwwwwwwww, there'll be sun! I'm hoping this is my tomorrow..... for those of you that remember this ~~~~~ my dh came home with THIS for me to test drive to see what I thought! I almost PASSED OUT! I so didn't want another mini-van, I've been driving one for 16 years - at the very least - and I'm not too much of a car person - my dream vehicle was always (well since I got "older", we won't go into the dreams of the younger me ;)) a Suburban, so I think that this test drive vehicle (Explorer with third row seat) was a good size/gas consumption compromise - don't you? AND IT IS MY COLOR :) A 2004, sickeningly low mileage and a very, very low price to boot! The only drawback to the vehicle is that it has a faint odor of smoke (as in cigarette smoke- dh and I were both smokers but quit about 12 years ago) he will check into having the interior cleaned again - I doubt that that will be enough to sink the deal. I checked the history on it on Carfax.com and it is clean as a whistle. I'm starting to think that my patience with this situation may have worked out for the best. We shall see tomorrow - just thinkin' abouuuuuut tomorrow clears away the cobwebs, and the sorrooooooooow 'til there's none! - look everyone, I've turned into a bad musical impressionist! - please keep your fingers crossed for me if you are so inclined. I am off to bed, to dream of having a vehicle (that doesn't belong to teenagers and their gym bags, snack leftovers, and basically things that I can't or don't want to attempt to identify!) of my own again! wooooooooo hooooooooo! Sweet dreams and happy knitting/crafting/singing ;)