Knitting Needle Sizes

Did you know that a US size 1 dpn needle is just the right size to roll under the desktop scanner completely?

Did you know that a sharpened regular ole number 2 lead pencil is just too wide to fit under the aforementioned flatbed scanner to retrieve the dpn needle?

Did you know that dust bunnies can compress themselves to a very teenie tiny size to fit under undisturbed places to hibernate and will immediately upon removal BREATHE into a very large sized bit of dust upon extraction?

Well now you know. smirk

moral of the story? Do all you can to prevent "rolling" not-in-use-at-this-moment-in-time dpns so you don't have to chase them down only to discover compressed dustbunnies, unless of course you *like* to dust.

Have a grand and glorious day all. Please keep those involved in the aftermath in Katrina all through our wonderful country in your prayers. Pictures on tv are nothing compared to seeing that devastation in person. Not my things but in the communities near to me last year.

Needles up! Pockets open for donating to aid in the efforts of recovery.
denise/deBrat aka Grandma Brattie to-be (Dec '05) aka Mom of last-to-graduate high school (May '06) aka Mother-in-law to be (august '06) What a year it will be!

Panama City Beach August 2005

Where to begin with a perfectly wonderful week in Panama City Beach? I fished and CAUGHT and saw dolphins, up CLOSE! I visited the Florida State Caverns! I went to a quilt guild meeting and saw a Dear Jane program courtesy of an invite extended on Monday evening by the wife of one of my husband's business associates who also quilts. Funny how things happen. I went to a wine tasting, of wines bottled in St Petersburg just one hour from my house instead of 6 hours!

But here are just a few of the pictures for your enjoyment. It was really hard to choose which ones to post on the site as I took well over 200 pictures in just a few days.

Ed putting Sophie off the boat. She was a wee bit upset that she did not get to go on a boat ride. And went to great lengths to avoid being in the same spot as me... or the same room even!



Here is my 24" grouper! a FULL 2" bigger than keeper size requirements. Woohooo!




My keeper sized Red Snapper. This was the 2nd fish I caught that day and then the bait stealling Trigger fish moved in. Ed managed to catch a keeper Trigger fish but *I* got the great eating keeper fish of the day. He is such a great fishing host. :)



Here is a picture of Patty MacMonigal's Dear Jane quilt. Her quilt was very interesting to see because she is not using the traditional muslin background but assorted shirtings. It makes for a very lovely Dear Jane quilt.



I really fell in love with this one block in what I think is Susie Pippin's Dear Jane quilt. Don't you just love the rainbow colors in those tiny pieces? A refreshingly different look to that block.

I took many pictures during Show and Tell and Share but this is a great black and white and red quilt. The blocks were part of an exchange in the Honey Bees sub-group of the guild and I thought it was stunning! Oh and that is Patty MacMonigal holding the quilt up on the left. For those Dear Janiacs who might be reading this.

We went to Florida State Caverns on Wednesday afternoon and I took a LOT of pictures there. I was playing with the settings on the Nikon 8700 camera trying to figure it out. So I took 2 or 3 pictures of most sections of the cave choosing different "background" auto settings on the camera. This was before I started to take multiple shots so it is very yellowish on the left where it is un-naturally lighted by gasp! a light! I think this is the structure on my metal souvenir thimble I got later on in the gift shop.

This picture shows what appears to a pool of water but it is actually shiny like wet ice and hard surfaced. This is the better shot of the two I took but still not to my liking.



The picture to the far right is one of my favorites of the caverns as it shows so many different surfaces in one photo and so many depths too. It has some perfect coloring also and hopefully loaded up the proper direction.

Well now I want to take it back and say that THIS one is the best picture of the lot. Don't you think it is gorgeous?



This picture is too dark online but fine on my moniter. This is the only part of the cave you are allowed to touch. It looked like a totem pole from a distance but up close it looks almost moldy. A black mold, not a green mold. It felt wet to the touch but actually I think it was just cold? Anyway, according to the tour guide, because it has been touched the oils from our skins causes the water(?) that comes down to form the stalagtite/mites whatever the heck they are called, will no longer adhere to the structure.



If you look closely you can see the tail of a cave salamander taking off much too fast for me to catch you in the picture fully. According to our guide, we might see bats, salamanders, snakes and frogs. We saw two bats fly across the pathway/room and two bats stuck on the wall (see next picture for one of them) one very long salamander (must have been at least 12") and gratefully NO snakes. now the frog might have been cute to see. The salamander was very long as very thin and black, in addition to being fast!One of the bats on the wall. It is only about 1 1/2" big and sort of pale-ish white not black like we tend to think of bats as being.This is a picture of the hole Neal thought I should stick my hand into! No way. Besides being chicken, we were told to not touch anything and to me that meant sticking my hand in menacing looking holes too! No need to "make" the snake suddenly appear, eh?The gorgeous view as we exited the caverns. Unfortunately it was way too full of mosquitos to stick around and do either of the two hiking paths so we made a quick run for the gift shop and then off to get in the van. There is a swimming hole/beach we drove up to see in the woods too.And some people were in the water too. to the left of this area is a big sign warning of alligators and a sort of net under the bridge before the swimming area. It was not fenced around the lawn looking grass but who reading this believes that alligators are not smart enough to get out of the water to the left of the netting and walk around on the lawn and get back into the water on the "swimming" side of the netting? oh well, I took the picture from the van window so I'll never have to deal with whether alligators can read which side of the sign/netting they are suppose to be on.
Wednesday night after the trip to the caverns we ate at Pineapple Willy's on the beach and got the best table in the house. Or rather outside or inside the house. Our sunset view looking west.



Same view different camera setting. Closer to the true colors of the sunset but I like what the other setting did by darkening it up.




The southward view looking straight out and the next picture is the southward view looking down!








And the view as we walked on the beach to the east of where we ate dinner. All in all a lovely day, a great vacation!

July 30th

Got to meet up with Derek and Jen in Tampa before they went on a one week cruise with like 50 people they knew! wow! Had a great time and found out that Derek was going to propose to Jen on the trip. wooohoo! what great news that was. I'm so happy to say that she said yes and the date is set for next year hopefully August 12th but that is dependent on location availability.


Here is a picture of the happy couple. One of the last pictures of "the appendage" as her dad calls him and the "girlfriend" before they changed their nicknames to "FIANCEE'"
And I know your eyes are closed in this one Jen but I have to include it because of the loving look that Derek is giving you in this picture. Or should it be more of a "possesive" look? Either way I like the look.

Love and hugs for you both and welcome to the family. Raising a glass and toasting your engagement,
mom

Mystery Solved!

So much happening these past couple of weeks. I finished my knit exchange bag and mailed it off on Sunday/Monday August 14th/15th and so here are the pictures of the finished bag.

PATTERN: The Sheep Tote/Fiber Trends/Bev Galeskas
YARN: Inspired by Noro Kureyon 149/A (but too expensive to use)
Cascade 220 (9458, 8013, 8012, 4002, 8400)
Held with one strand of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes throughout
Hemp Cord and Wool of the Andes I-Cord for the strap NOT felted

I used nearly all of 4 skeins of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. A 5th skein was purchased and waiting in the wings and highly recommended you do the same.

NEEDLES: Size 13 29" circular

I would have much prefered to have used a belt around the bag for decoration and then attached straps for carrying but the belt I had was too small and I did not pre-plan the "holes" correctly for that and I prefer NOT to cut the felted bag to add the strap holes to it.

Anyway, it is large enough to carry a 17" needle rollup and the Denise's needles case and some yarn and pattern information. The swatch was used inside to provide a water bottle holder but I did not attach it high enough up to be functional in that manner. sigh

But it is done and I was an interesting knitting experience. The bag went to David Bates as part of the knitexchange bag exchange.

Now I am off for the next project(S).

~Test knitting a sock pattern for Bev Warner

~Designing a lacey beaded scarf for DJKnitters at yahoo groups as a part of a contest I started there

~Continuing on the poncho for Ashley From Viva Poncho at www.knitpicks.com the Greta Poncho in knitpicks yarn Summer Sky Andean Treasure

~So much more but these are at the top of the list right now and will have to do

Have a grand and glorious day of knitting and thanks for reading
Keep your needles sharpened and loaded with yarn!
denise/deBrat

This and That

Ooooh I have the best SP5 in the whole world! she sent me the most beautiful glass windchimes. And there was a very elegant alpaca flower pin kit to make. A box full of labels to use on things. And a skein of Hand Dyed Prism by Colinette yarn in Blue parrot!

NOw to ponder what to make with the Blue Parrot yarn, where to hang the windchimes and cast on for the flower pin kit. I'm also going to check and see if I can print on the label sheets using my computer. Then I could make some great labels that are very personalized for my correspondence.

That was the THIS part and now for the THAT

The one skein wonder shrug patttern is something I ahve been admiring and lusting for for quite some time. Today I succumbed and ordered it from Glampyre http://glampyreknits.tripod.com/glampyrephotos/id97.html and guess what? It is a .pdf download file so there was INSTANT gratification involved too! AND the needles it calls for were empty and I just happened to have a skein or two of yarn that might make the shrug for me as it is a 6oz skein and not a 4oz one I figure I'm safe from the 1 and HALF skein wonders I have heard of happening happening to me.

well dinner is ready and the movie is over (Home Alone 4 which I did not think was possible to be worse than the Home Alone 3 but it was.... sigh none of them are as good as the original!)

knitting love and hugs
needles clacking!
denise/deBrat

Pictures galore!!!

So today I will post a whole slew of pictures for your enjoyment. Or rather mine as I appear to be the only one who reads this blog. LOL

so let me see if I can figure out how to put a picture into the CENTER of a post using blogger and not using Hello. Not bloodly likely but I'll give it that old college try.

well shoot I just found a button for inserting an image. well do I feel dumb.

So now I guess i'll go ahead and try posting that picture now. If I postpone it a bit though I will be pospoining my feeling of frustration when it does not work.

Here is a pic of my mom in the vintage capelet http://www.spunmag.com/article/050410vintagecapelet

hmmm it did not end up at the end of the link but at the top of the page. wonder if i can get it to insert in the right spot this time? Isn't this fun? yea, right.

Oh My! When I used the insert image button it went on the left at the beginning. Then I tried again and it went in FRONT of the original picture (mom full in the shot) and centered. then I chose the magical edit html button. Then being the brilliant copy and cut and paste person I am I did just that! THEN oh my THEN I clicked on compose again and lo and behold i can type right next to my mom's picture. Wowzers! And it has only taken me a gadzillion bunch of days and 68 posts to figure that out.


Well let me get even more daring and try to post a picture of a close up of the bintage capelet. By the way, I loved knitting it so much that I bought 2 more skeins of the olive green to make one for me and 4 skeins of the white in the Berroco Softtwist. discontinued I do believe.
Close up time.

Teehee oh that worked too. More Cut and paste going on there. Now I need to remember what other pictures I was going to post today. Oh yea, I have pictures of the capelet blocking, and on the chair and with the lifelines showing. Can you tell I was really in love with this capelet? I could knit a dozen of them! Maybe I'll watch for a sale on the disco'd Berroco SoftTwist and do just that. But in the meantime, I have more pictures for you...... don't I?

hmmm ahve tried twice and don't see anymore pictures being added. so back to the publish and write again and then play with the posting times to get them in the right order. sigh that is what i get for getting over confident at finding and pushing the "insert image" button.

Those pesky missing pictures

Those pesky missing pictures.... hopefully here they are... pushing insert image button. hey! WHERE did the image button go? Oh wait there it is. gosh it moved to the other side of the screen. what goes on here? do I really want to know? I think not. I'll just go with the moving button flow and insert those images now.

Lace Lessons Learned

oh no, the three L's!

So today I have managed to

block the vintage capelet (lovely enough to warrant a phone call to mom to make a lunch date for tomorrow teehee)

finish and felt the knit exchange bag... fuzzy and will need a razoring job but ooooh so nice and perfect for the recipient!

currently blocking the giftie for my sp5

So the Lessons Learned about LACE?

You will always forget at least one end to work in prior to blocking

The foam board (silver sided insulation foam) you have available to use for blocking will never be big enough (even though the vintage capelet had gobs of extra room on it!) for a very small lacey over the shoulders and for just a bit more coverage when wearing something strapless thingie.

Do not raise the blocking board above shoulder height when moving from the living room to the outdoors unless you want the ceiling fan to beat pieces of it off!

You never have enough pins!

1 1/2 hours putting the pins in for blocking of a full sized shawl posted by someone else now sounds "GOOD"!

The camera will not cooperate when you want a before and after shot of blocking (yesterday's post and lifelines)

Watch the skies for rain clouds when blocking an item outside in Florida in the afternoon! (just a precaution as it is sure looking like rain!)

Increasing every row on both ends of the aforementioned small cover up thingie is too much increasing! Note to self: Self, next time increase every other row! or just at the end of rows which will make it every other row. But NOT at both the beginning and ending of each row.... tooo much.

Patterns are not always right. :(

Do NOT lay down your current lace project to do other deadline specific items and expect to be able to figure out just what the heck you were doing! (I even had a check off sheet and a life line and still no clue what the heck I'm doing sigh... it is the mysterystolealong one too) Now that these three things: vintage capelet for mom, lacey small cover up thingie for sp5, and felted project bag for the knit exchange are done I jsut could NOT figure it out.

Lizards will wonder what you are doing on THEIR hammock sunning spot

Dogs will be uninterested

and lastly......
lace is addicting and now I want to cast on for another shrug or capelet

Just a knitting lesson in general. If you finish three projects in less than a 24 hour period you will find you have nothing "easy" to work on when you sit in the chiropractor's office.

well off to shoo the lizards off the hammock and let the dog chase the lizards around the palm trees!

pics to follow after the lacey small cover up thingie is done!
denise/deBRAT
aka grandma brattie-to-be

Funny thing happend while gazing at the job classifieds....

I just have to share.... I sent off my resume' to a company I'd adore to work for on Saturday. On Sunday I made mention to my husband while he was reading the paper the name of the company so he would not think it was a "sales" call and hang up on them! horrors!! So helpful man that he is, he hands me this teen tiny piece of the newspaper for me to apply for a marketing director job. "oh honey, I love the marketing department but I'm not qualified for marketing DIRECTOR" he then reads it to me and yes I'd be qualified. Oh, I forgot to mention the opening is at some resort in my area.

so I put this tiny bit of paper off to the side to get lost and later looked for.

dh on the other hand, manages to go on line and check out the site for the resort.

"oh dear? did you go to that C...... resort's website?"

"No dear, why?"

"well, it is a nudist resort"

LOL!!!

Two thoughts come to mind on this.

The first was it is my experience that those that are willing to bare all are generally not worth seeing in their nothing-ness.

Secondly, on an up note, it would sure help on the new wardrobe I would suddenly need if the marketing director also went in the buff, eh?

Oh well, obviously no pictures on this one. Thank goodness. But I thought of a good link that even my very G rated personality can handle. Let me find the link. I promise you it will not embarass you.

http://www.sofoto.com/

hope you enjoyed the story and wish me well as I look for a full-time or a second part-time job. I have a child going off to college don't you know?

knit something fun today. and possibly later I'll have a knitting related post. But this one just HAD to make the memories part of blogging, don't you think?

Oh and if this one does not get any comments I'll just KNOW noone reads my blog.... sigh... are you out there?

denise

Vintage Capelet progress

So today, at 4 pm I finished the Vintage Capelet for my mom! I went to take a picture of it with all the lifelines in it and the battery is "exhausted". That is what the camera screen says. I can't find the spare battery. I can locate both chargers but not the second battery. This is NOT a good thing. I need the battery. In the meantime, as I really want a pic with the lifelines IN it I will pick up the knitexchange bag for David. I was really close to finished on it last weekend when I got this sudden urge to make my mom this capelet for her b'day on Tuesday.

http://www.spunmag.com/article/050410vintagecapelet

I did do the buttonhole option for jsut in case but I really think she should wear it with any one of the many brooches she owns.

Well off to see just where I was on the bag for the exchange..... on a pocket I do believe.

enjoy the rest of your weekend,
denise/deBRAT

Shall we play a game?

And just what COULD this be? Shall we play a guessing game? Not sure enough people read my blog to play a game yet but just in case here it is! Be the first to guess what this actually is and I'll send you a little "treat". Hope this works. I don't know how to answer to people who post to my blog yet so guess I need to figure a way for you to reach me.... hmmmm how about at debrat at tampabay dot rr dot com surely I can't end up with worse emails then I already get without posting my email anywhere, eh? So have a grand and glorious day all I will be! denise/deBRAT aka grandma brattie-to-be

I made 28 stitch markers at Wannabead http://www.mokaglass.com/Location.htm
They look much cooler in person. there is a close up pic below that might show them off better. They are for special extra "thanks for participating" prizes for the lace scarf contest that just ended over on traditionalknitting on yahoo groups. What absolutely gorgeous entries there were.

How is it that I can use the word gorgeous over and over in writing about knitting and not feel too much guilt about overuse of a word in a "paper"? While my writing may not reflect it now, I'm soooo out of practice, I wrote very well back in my high school years. When I was very young, less than six, our neighbor at the time told me I have a very vivid imagination. And I still do!

I really must clean my writing "act" up once more and write more. At one point I wrote quite a bit of poetry. Sure wish I could find that stuff, but I believe it was tossed out in a fit of cleaning one garage-is-too-full day.

So I must do more on the project mentioned in the "contest" as it has a deadline. ooooOOhh was that a hint?

brat!

hugs y'all
denise

A close Up of the 4 different stitch markers I made.

They are done!!

Oh yippeee skippee the pair of birthin' socks is done AND the matching baby booties too! I purchased this yarn last Saturday, Cast on on Sunday, Made the silly mistakes you will see in the pictures below and then on Wednesday morning cast on for the final time for the adult socks. I am modeling them in the picture but they are a bit too long for me. They are very very comfy! Momma and baby should feel good in them. And now the part we all wait for!!!! the pictures!

This is a bunch of cast ons in progress as I worked through the size needles and gauge and number of stitches and yarn combo. the yarn is NOT orange. for some reason the flash was giving me a red creepiness to it. grrr expensive camera and it takes a college course to get it right sometimes!

Top: The first ones cast on using the print off from sock wizard from the LYS. VERY confusing to me and in the size 6 needles which met gauge (at this point I had cast on 3 swatches for gauge) they were too tiny for a mouse! Certainly they were not going to fit the momma to be who's foot is larger than mine

Bottom left: 41 sts cast on with Fizz yarn carried with the Kordall Fancy on size 8 needles. HUGE .... STOP..... REJECT

Bottom Right: size 7 needles 41 sts no open fold over cuff still not what i wanted but getting closer.

FINAL specs
Yarn Kordall Fancy by Laines du Nord in color 1212
needles: size 7 dpns
37 sts
6 rows = 1 "
4.5 sts = 1"
closed cuff

socks are a total combination of the sock wizard pattern printed off for me at the LYS, Fiber Trends house socks pattern by Evelyn A. Clark, and good ole fashion knitting make-it-work-edness! hope you enjoy the pics. I ahve to say this yarn knit up so quickly that I did not mind all the cast ons to get what I wanted. That included 3 cast ons for gauge three additional cast ons for sts count and yarn combination before the 7th cast on resulted in a finished sock! Each sock was knit up through the body of the ankle and some through the heel flap before they were rejected.

Enjoy the pictures! Off to teach quilting class today. Turning 20.

This is a picture of the version with the FIZZ worked along with the Kordall Fancy in the fold over cuff. Someone at knitting group had an apt description for it... looks like you haev not shaved your legs! ugh! glad I did not go with the funky version originally planned for.

In this picture I'm just goofing around. Without the heel shaping yet. The heel flap is under my hand and I'm really considering making these for my hands to drive with in winter! The yarn knits up so fast!

On my feet! Hard to get a in-use picture these days the quilting studio is sooo messy. maybe tomorrow needs to be clean up day, a-gain. but aren't they soooo cute and comfy looking? And trust me they ARE comfy! I plan to make some for myself! Now that I have all the cast on numbers right teehee

To my viewer they look more mauvey then the peachy tones they truly are. But here are both socks all done! The mommy socks have a semi right and left toe shaping to them. Can't wait to hear from the intendee if it really worked for her feet. they are too long on mine. Good thing too because I might have had to go buy her some pampers or something instead of giving them up!

Close up of the tiny bootie in my hand. This yarn has been on my hands/wrists alot in this process, hasn't it?

just the booties snuggling close to their mommy socks :)

And here are the adoreable baby socks exerting their independence already and posing all alone! The yarn again, Laines Du Nord Kordall Fancy 1212 885 color/lot

How to say this.....

How should I say this? Recently I purchased some Cascade Fixation yarn. I spent quite a bit of knitting time on a Cabled Tube top (pattern by Cascade for Fixation yarn). I just thought you should know, the pattern is not properly written and the yarn did NOT bounce back after being put on. Obviously I cannot send my SP5 the absolutely gorgeous with tons of cables tube top to wear of this as it may be an embarrassment to her in public, IF she even made it out of the house.

So buyer beware of Cascade Fixation Cabled Tube Top pattern and Cascade Fixation yarn.

Yes, I did contact my LYS and no offering was forthcoming to replace the yarn or pattern. I wrote to Cascade and they have not had the courtesy to even acknowledge my complaint.

So now I am feverishly knitting a different giftie for my SP5 and looking at the other project I had cast on for myself and not wanting to put anymore time into that one to have it respond in the same manner as the gift one did--not bouncing back that is.

So now off you go to have a wonderful day. Mine has to go up from here... I've just had a root canal done and that was not fun. Now for a nap so the pain killers can kick in.

knitting forth more cautiously,
denise/debrat aka grandma brattie-to-be She's PINK!

Color of the Day

Today's color of the day is..... PINK! now blue but PINK!!! Phil and Ashley will have a PINK baby come December 2nd-ish..... Now to find someone to teach me smocking. And to choose a Christening shawl that can become a wedding day shawl if wanted later in life.... I just got the book Folk Shawls so perhaps that Russian Christening one that is in there. I really need to look at the charts first though as I am a beginning knitter and have only done one small lace project so far. Want to make sure that I will love the pattern and keep at it! I do love that Seaside Shawl one though. And Ashley is a Florida gal so it would be appropriate to her "heritage" ohhhh the choices the choices...

The other news is, it is NOT twins. gasp that was worrisome but would have been a wonderful double blessing :)

well off to see what I can make for a baby quilt. I had a "picture" in my mind for a BLUE quilt but a PINK quilt will require some studious discovery of patterns.

hugs all
denise aka grandma brattie-to-be she's PINK!

Later on more July 8th musings

So I have picked up one of those "gifties" for someone I am making and it dawns on me that I can "air" my feelings regarding this project online here! After all it is MY blog, eh?

I am making the Opera Scarf http://www.blueskyalpacas.com/freepatterns/operascarf.html

I happen to be making it out of Lion Brand's Homespun in sort of a mix of Oatmeal colors as it was clearanced and fit my mood recently. First I made this friend a new purse from it and some Moda Dea. Lovely. I'll post some pictures of it flat later on. Now I am making her a stole to wear when she travels next wednesday to Finland. I figure a Florida gal might need a stole on her shoulders to ward off the weather in Finland which is a wee bit more north than us on the hot weather/globe thingie.

well I cast on 31 stitches. I remember this because I cast on the same number as her age. Got to use every trick you can when knitting with changes so you can recall correctly. Well I started with 31 stitches and nearly 4 feet later I still have 31 stitches. but somewhere along the line I wound up with two of the "gathering areas" not really cables joining and becoming just one gathering area. perhaps in later pics this will make more sense. So how does one start with and still have the same number of pics but wind up with one less gathering area? Now that is a topic of serious contemplation for so late on a Friday night. Good thing I have all weekend to puzzle on it in my mind. Alas, I have only all weekend to get the other 2 feet or so knit on this thing.

How is it that when we have a project on the needles in our hands with a deadline all we can think of is the new projects i want to cast on for? I can't wait to cast on for my knit exchange Bag ( I got a guy!) later on this weekend. But first I need to finish this stole.
work a swatch from the sugar n cream and test kool aid dye it.
work on my secret pal 5 giftie for july so it can mail sometime in this month.

Around that I should be working on my eldest son's b'day quilt. But it has been a work in progress for several years now. I am onto the applique part and I just don't love applique at all.

well i have traveled to quilting so it must be time to get off of here.

now to go and post some pics!

more hugs all
denise

A close up of all the cabling. I guess that is why it took so long. It took less time to straight knit 3 rows than to do one row of cables. lovely to look at delightful to hold but it won't hold up so to the ripping back pile it goes!

Here it is being worked up in the neon green cascade fixation yarn. Guess what? it does NOT hold its form and it stretched all out after I knit it! 10 days of knitting on it and it cannot be worn. more sighing....

the pattern i'm making as a gift which did NOT work out. sigh....

The purse for JoAnna all knitted and waiting to be kitchenered to itself! then I lined it too. It looks really hip? Is it okay for a late 40's to use that word? Anyway I really like it. It will look cool with the stole if I can just get it done in time for her trip.

in its fake done looking mode. flap folded over.

Confused musings...

Today I made a trip to the LYS. I had a lovely time fondling yarns, some multiple times and finally a few decided to come home with me. It dawns on me that I can't post here what I bought as I purchased for:

~my secret pal 5 (my first time in the group and loving it!)

~something to make for someone in my knitting group and she reads this occasionally i think

~something to make for my sister-in-law because it was such a huge splurge it HAS to be a gift for her LOL

~some more little things for my secret pal 5

~one thing for me that is the same as for my sp5 so I can't say I finally even found one of these

~something for my middle son's gf, Ashley and she just might read this. I know the eldest son's gf, Jen reads this.

So what to write about?

The pending hurricane dennis? It will miss us here in the tampa bay area but we will get wet for a few days starting today. I don't think so it is depressing to think of all the stress I was under last year during Hurricane Season. Like it is a fruit and you can pick it teehee

Should I write about the number things I have OTN? well most are gifties.

How about I tell you about our Tuesday knitting group? We meet at a library that is brand new and we just made a donation to the library and our name, Blooming Knitters 2005 will be on the gorgeous heart that will hang in the lobby. I'll try to remember to bring my camera and take a picture of the wall and later of "our" heart hanging there.

This group is also working on a baby afghan to be donated. we will be using sugar n cream yarn and making 9" blocks. If we each make 3 of them we will have enough for a blanket about 40" x 60".

I can tell you I had a chiropractic adjustment today and one of my muscles is protesting big times. So I am in a lot of pain. hoping to be able to sleep tonight and let the muscle get some "down" time.

I found an odd looking spider on my car cover the other day. It's head looks like it is of silver foil, or more like the tin man's head in Wizard of Oz. its body portion is black and silver striped which go "off" of its head not around its body. hmmmm making sense? i could not find it anywhere on line and I am only reminded of it when I look down at the keyboard because it is in a plastic ziplock baggie sitting on the keyboard! I do NOT like spiders and this one was gratefully already dead when I found it on the car cover. I would have smooshed it too hard to be recognizable if it had not been already deceased!


gosh this is so boring without pictures! okay I'm off to watch Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind while i attempt to download a BUNCH of pics from the camera.

thanks for putting up with my drivel. leave a comment and let me know you read this junk? I'm going to come up with some kind of contest but need to come up with the particulars first.

'til later
knit on!
hugs
denise/deBrat

July 3rd ... musing again

Hey all

Today is Sunday, July 3rd. I managed to have a productive and yet relaxing day today. I caught up on some of my email digests this morning. Then I went to my gf's to use her Stretch sewing machine on a Grace table to quilt a quilt for a quilt student turned friend. all went surprisingly well for the first quilt on the machine and I'm maybe going to fall in love with this thing afterall.

Today is the 2nd anniversary of her father's death and they will remember him tonight by dining on lobster. Poppy LOVED lobster so I told her "nice touch" and then proceded to make sure she had some of that bubbly grape stuff from Sam's Club he liked too. Non-alcoholic. I toasted him with his family on the last b'day he celebrated in December of 2002.

I came home soooo hungry. I had only had 3 peanut butter cookies (store bought of course) this morning and so we had a nice chicken dinner dh had cooked. That is why it was nice, because I did not cook it. I'm a terrible cook. I have burned water! And that is the least harmful and smelling thing I've managed to ruin.

After dinner I went outside to make a cell phone call hoping to chat with my sister in upstate NY but alas they were not home yet. So I went floating in the pool. Well the float is busted so I hugged the pillow insert from the float and sort of ran around the perimeter of the pool chasing whatever bugs managed to kamakazie (sp?) in to making them go into the skimmer. We have an above ground 24 foot across pool. It has served us well.

The neighbor is putting up a screen room on his back cement patio. Perhaps he finds he needs a screen room to PROTECT his patio from my dh and ds as they spent about 1/2 an hour standing there last week when they got caught in the pouring down rain while replacing the fencing between our two yards. Now there is only a small section that has not been replaced yet. Just in time for the Hurricane season to come and try to ripped it all down again.

And now I am sitting here watching some dumb movie requiring no thought processes and updating my blog and knitting on a test bag for the August laptop bag pattern at bag_a_holics@yahoogroups.com this will be really really cute. It is for Jen, my eldest ds's gf. Her b'day is August 1st and I hope to finish it early enough to mail it to her. She loves pink and orange so it is just that LOTS of pink with orange accents.

well again i have no pictures so this is going to bore you to death. I have a LOT of pictures in the digital but that will take me a long long time to download and rename and file appropriately. Maybe tomorrow. we don't leave for the BBQ at Gary's until 3:30pm Sounds like a plan.

Have a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July!
denise/debrat aka grandma brattie-to-be who found out on Thursday there is a possiblity of twins!

Blog frustrations....

So here I sit surfing the list of blog sites of the secret pal 5 participants and occassionally I come across a blog I'd like to visit again. But alas, I do not know how to put a link on the side bar of my blog like I see at other blogs. See then this old brain would only have to remember how to get to my own blog and could click on the link.

You may laugh but ummmm it is true. Sometimes in order to view my blog I have to go to my email signature block and click on the link there! Sad sad sad.

I highly doubt anyone actually reads this thing but if you do and you know how to add my blog links I want to keep to the side bar please feel free to speak up. Remember to use not-too-brilliant-at-blogging and been-a-long-time-since-I-wrote-any-coding language, okay?

Well back to the laptop bag testing for Chappy who will be posting her free bag pattern at bag_a_holic@yahoogroups.com in the month of August. So far I have 6 1/2 rows done. Got a lot of knitting to do yet if it will fit the standard laptop after felting.

It would help if I did not get sidetracked by signing up for a knittting exchange bag at knitexchange@yahoogroups.com and work on my first ever lace project at the mysterystolealong@yahoogroups.com and try to finish the winter white stole for my eldest son's gf for their caribbean cruise end of July and have to ready several class samples for the quilt shop where I work two days a week and teach as often as possible...... you get the idea.

I tried not to allow happen to my knitting what happened with my quilting.... I refer to how it took over the house! But alas, after only knitting since November/Dec of 2004 I have already amassed quite the stash of yarns. And HOW is it that each time I think of something new to make late at night, I do not have the proper yarn? Must work on the stash.

I do have some lovely yarns in my stash already but really and truly they are meant for specific projects and all I have is some leftovers in the felting type yarn department that count as stash. And I have a couple of skeins of Magic Stripes yarn that I bought before I discovered Opal yarn for socks! www.ptyarns.com
go there and take a gander at yarns that will make you drool! at the home page you can click on the preview button and see the collection coming out this Fall..... dah rule dah rule in my best daffy duck voice.

Well there are no pictures for loading today so I best get outta here before I bore you to sleep!

have a knitty day and lacking that have a good non-knitty day

denise/debrat aka grandma brattie-to-be

Key West Vacation 2005

We went to Key West again this year on vacation. As Caelum, will be a senior in High School next year we let him pick, either Key West again or Panama City Beach again. Sorry Ed, he chose Key West.

So on vacation, it rained! and rained and rained some more.. Captain Ron of Captain Ron's Island Tours. Well I can't find his website right now. His tours go out of Stock Island and we had the best time! he even picked us up at our hotel and we ended our long tour/snorkeling trip around Key West with a complimentary Margarita! For those concerned, and a coke for my son. Captain Ron says they lose an average of 100 days a year to weather. I think they were getting them all in a row while we were there and the week coming up looked worse!

Each of us gets to "pick" something to do while we are there. Neal (husband) chose jet ski tour. Denise got to do the finding of the best deal in the coupon book. As you can see in the paragraph above the Margarita and pickup and return were a big deal to me. If it is free it is for me! Oh and by the way, I actually chose what turned out to be the cheapest tour too! Complete with personal service as we were the only ones there. How cool was that? Very, let me tell you.

This was the first time I had been on one of the jet ski tours (Neal and Caelum had done similar tours in Panama City Beach(2003) and Islamorado (2004) and after the initial 15 minutes of death gripping around dh's waist (which is too large to hug so I had to find a "purchase" on his life vest) I started to nearly enjoy the tour. Then we stopped. oh stopped is a good thing. The best picture taken of me in Key West is on the jet ski at rest. I'm smiling because we are not moving.... fast!

so anyway, we stopped at an abandoned submarine base in one of the parking spots for a submarine and it was spooky looking right next to the shore. all the mangroves had taken over and you cannot remove mangroves in Florida (at least that is what I remember) and growing all over the mangrove roots was some slimy, billowing in the slight waves scarey looking stuff that I did NOT want to touch me. So I decide I will not be a chicken and I get in the water.

For those of you unfamiliar with me and past snorkeling attempts I .... well I... panic. I start to hyperventilate and get ahold of the nearest human being and put the death hand clench on their arm! Caelum was however really kind and considerate and helped me into the water and tried to tell me it was not so bad.

So I decide I'll look away from the edge of this thing and eeeek! the other way is pitch dark! It is, according to Captain Ron, 19 feet deep there in the parking slot (not his term, but mine) and you can't see a damn thing! So to the back of me is the slimy, wavy, billowy scarey stuff hanging off the mangroves and to the front of me is the dark SPOOKY looking deep DEEP water!

"I have to get OUT. I want OUT. I watched too much scarey sci-fi channel movies this weekend I want OUT!" So Neal (dh) gets on the seadoo we were on together, and I might add in such a confoluted way that even Captain Ron said he never saw anyone get back on it quite that way before. LOL Then Neal (son N Caelum) tries to help me from the backside. I have a lot of backside to push against teehee. I mange to very graciously get back on that thing. I'm motivated don't you know? I have the spooky dark behind me where any minute something LARGE is bound to come up out of it. Can you say pending heart attack? And of course, if I move about too much I'll end up on the side of the wall pinned between the seadoo and the slimy, wavy, billowy, nasty, scarey stuff!. up I went! ah dry seadoo again. could have kissed it if the vest would have let me fold over to reach any portion of it besides with my behind.

Well I'll take a break here so You can get some pictures to view for a bit. Afterall, we know it is all about the picture part of the book, right?

more soon,
denise

The seadoo's we will be traveling on.

The magic tour bus that transported us to and from the Hilton. Captain Ron's is on Stock Island.

Checking out the fish that are swimming around the dock. Nice small, tiny, okay-I'll-go-in-the-water sized fish.