Merry Christmas to All

And to all a good night. If only I wasn't spending my night at work. Oh, well. at least I get good holiday pay. I was able to spend a little time at my grandmother's house and see some of my family. I gave gifts to the ones that were there, and here are the pics:

My knitted gifts were a big hit. I gave several to various members of my family. It took me forever to decide which dishcloth went to whom, but that is also sorted.

The first item I knitted for Christmas was a scarf for my cousin, Kara. She asked for one in WVU colors after she saw the scarf I made for Mamaw Mary last year. I think she was a little surprised I remembered.

The dishcloths were a big hit with my grandmother and aunts. My mamaw has trouble with ladybugs invading her house every winter, so I gave her the ladybug dishcloth as a joke. She thought it was a pineapple until I told her what it was! And my aunts, Jackie and Sandi liked the crocheted dishcloths.

I do have a bit of a problem. Ever since I started Jon's scarf, I wondered if I would have enough yarn. And the answer is: no! I only need about 10 more inches, so I am going to add 5 inches to each end, so it doesn't look like I ran out.

So, that is what I will be doing most of the night. Tomorrow will be visiting both my family and Jon's all day, then back to work at 8:00 pm. So, a 12 hour shift on no sleep. If my post tomorrow is coherent, you can color me stunned (and comatose). So stay safe and Merry Christmas.

More Finished Christmas Gifts

I was looking at the blog and realized that I am a bit behind in posting pics of my finished knitted Christmas gifts. Also I plan to make a list on here and actually keep track of what I have both made and bought. So here goes:

1. Mommy-two dishcloths: Frog and Hummingbirds; two pairs of jeans=done
2. Daddy- two pairs of jeans=done
3. Bruce (DB)-shirt=done
4. Kristen (SIL)-one knitted dishcloth, one crocheted dishcloth=done
5. Kira (DN)-teddy bear=done
6. Hunter (DN)-game=needs wrapped
7. Mamaw Mary-Ladybug dishcloth=done
8. Charlene (DA)-scarf=done
9. Kara-scarf=done
10. Mamaw and Papaw Rose-Solid Bee Skep dishcloth and chipped in on gift certificate to Golden Corral=done
11. Jon (DBF)-scarf=60%; shirts-need to buy
12. Jen (D nephew's mom)-need to buy shirt
13. Kim (Jon's mom)-Lighthouse dishcloth; lighthouse calender

So that is my list. And here are the missing pictures of some of this stuff:

This is the Hummingbird and Vine dishcloth for my mom.

And this is the Frog dishcloth, also for my mom.

The Bee Skep (who named this thing) is for my Mamaw Rose.

This last one is Jon's scarf. I just need about 25 more inches and it should be done.

Christmas Troubles and Towns

Last Sunday I was informed by my mom that the plant where my dad has worked for the last 18-20 years has been shut down. Apparently, the company, American National Rubber, filed bankruptcy and was bought out by another company. This company then proceeded to place ads in the paper to hire new employees before informing the former employees that they were fired.

Now, the old company was unionized and my dad had been the local union president for about 5 years now. Since the new company waited until foreclosure of ANR, they don't have to recognize the union and since my dad was president, there is almost no chance that he, or any other member of the union’s executive board will be rehired.

They could not have picked a worse time. In addition to the usually bills, they will have to deal with the Christmas spending on a reduced budget. My dad draws unemployment but it is not as much as he was getting. Plus, with the economy troubles, it will be very hard for him to find another job.

So I might be moving back home to help with utilities and other bills. I spoke to my landlord and he said that this being unforeseen circumstances, granted he could re-rent the apt, he didn't mind.

On a better note, every Christmas my mom puts up a large Christmas town set. She has been building on to it for about 10 years and has grown out of three former locations in the house. It started on the mantel, moved to the sideboard in the dining room, then to the dining room table.

It not only outgrew the table, it also got in the way. Three hundred sixty three days of the year, that table serves as my parent’s desk. It is only used on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It now lives from about mid-November to January on an 8x4 piece of plywood in the living room. My family uses the den for all activities, so it is not in the way there. When I was taking the pictures my dad told me that if she used all the houses, building and accents she had, it would cover a board twice as big. She must have 50 houses and well over 100 accent pieces.

So here it is: That's my dad, turning on the town set's lights.

This one is my favorite. This one nicely shows off the detail of the set.

Sorry this one is so blurry.

From Me to You

Or possibly from me to myself. Sometimes I wonder why I am writing this blog. I don't think it is very interesting, and the only people who read it are members of my local guild and SnB. I was trying to figure it out today, when I realized. I have kept a journal most of my life, but I could never make it worth reading, even to myself. Until 2001.

Several things happened that year. September 11th is the most obvious, but for me it was only one of a series. A little under two months after 9/11 my grandfather died of the cancer he had been fighting for almost a year. When I was called out of school, I knew it had to be him. He died at midnight that night. I am getting choked up just remembering that awful day of tension and dread.

That was also the beginning of my senior year of high school. Everyone always said they would love to relive their high school years. Personally, with very few exceptions, I hated high school. I was never the same as the others and they let me know that. I did not listen to the same music, wear the same cloths, did not wear makeup at all. I always had a book in my hand, which could be anything from Harry Potter to Stephen King, to Les Miserable. Until my senior year I was always an outcast. That year I actually made a few friends. One of them would, six years later, become my beloved Jon.

That year I started a new journal, and it was interesting. From my feeling of fear and dread after 9/11 to my grief at my papaw's passing. I could not believe he was actually gone until I wrote it down. I then preceded to fall apart on my dad's shoulder.

So that is why I am writing, to see my own fears, doubts and joys laid out before me.

And one of those doubts is why I am writing today. I am sometimes afraid of my own personality. I don't mean I think I am a serial killer or something, but I do have a very obsessive personality. My last boyfriend thought I was a bit of a prude because I never drank much alcohol (which is on of the reason he is now my EX-boyfriend). I never told him it was because I had seen the affects of drinking in my family. My mom's brother lives next door to up, and he is an alcoholic and he is not the only one in my family. And I know I have the possibility in my makeup to become one as well, because I become obsessed with things very easily.

I usually manage to keep it somewhat under control, but my range of interests can change in the blink of an eye. Last week, it was the Harry Potter books and fan fiction. Now it has become the Beatles and their music. My interests pogos around like a yo-yo.

The Beatles are actually the worst one. I have always enjoyed their music, so much so that my parents bought me a compilation tape of their songs from 1962-1966. I played it so much it finally literally fell apart. Then, when I was in middle school, the Beatles Anthology can out and I when from a fan to a true Beatlemaniac. However, at the time, my income was limited to what I could talk my parents out of. So I made do with the Anthology on VHS, that old cassette tape, and three CDs. At that time CDs were still about $20.00. I had 'Please Please Me' and the soundtracks to 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Help'. After a lucky break, I then had the movies themselves when my dad recorded them from TV. Eventually, my interest when to other thing and the movies and CDs gathered dust.

Then, when I was just starting college, I decided to make a cross-stitch baby blanket for a expected nephew. I didn't realize how big it was when I first bought it. While working on that blanket, I often watched TV. Then I can across the old Beatles Anthology VHS. I decided to watch it while cross-stitching and my second Beatles obsession was born. With one slight different this time: I had a job. It was fast-food and very unglamorous, but it supplied me with something lacking before, the money to buy items as I saw fit. I was living with my parents and the only bill I had was my car insurance.

I think that is what kick-started the whole thing off. Before, I had been satisfied with the little I had because I had no choice but to be, but now I could get what I wanted when I wanted. Within a month I had almost every Beatles CD except 'Magic Mystery Tour' and 'Abbey Road'. I had books, DVDs (including an expanded version of the Anthology), and even T-shirts and posters.

Still, my extreme interest in the Beatles waned, and my eye passed to other things. But now it is back. I was fooling around on YouTube and came across the old Beatles cartoon show, made back in the late '60s and it has started a new Beatles obsession. Yesterday, I burned all my Beatles CDs onto my computer, and today, synced them onto my MP3 player.

Still, the Beatles are better than alcohol; the CDs last longer and don't leave you hung over. I could be obsessed with worse things. Plus, I am somewhat happered by the fact that once again I have no money, this time because it is all going to bills. Ah, the joys of living on your own! With Christmas and my birthday coming up soon, I just might finish my collection.

Is anybody there?

I was starting to wonder if anyone was reading this, since there have been no comments left. Now I know at least Nadine has been, since she told me on Thursday. She told me I needed to update more, so here you go!

I am still working on the dishcloths. I recently finished one intended for my boyfriends mother. She loves lighthouses, so I searched Ravelry for a lighthouse dishcloth pattern, and lo and behold, I found one. God, I love Ravelry! The pattern was designed by Rhonda White. It and tons of other free dishcloth patterns can be found at Knitting Knonsense.

It was a bit tricky, because it uses yarn overs to make the holes for the beams, then you immediately k2tog to keep the stitch count the same. On the other side, you psso then yo. It made for a few headaches, especially when I made the mistake of trying to knit it at the Stitch and Bitch. After frogging twice, I finally decided home would be a better place to work on it and got another project.

That other project is a scarf for my boyfriend, Jon. I was talking about his mom's dishcloth and he said he would like a scarf. I had some yarn I got from a fellow member of the River Cities Fiber Guild in blue/purple variegated. It is plain garter stitch, because after that 2x2 rib scarf for Char, I think anymore ribbing would drive me a bit nuts (more than I already am that is).

I know it is wool and I know it is worsted weight and I am knitting it in US 10 needles. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. And, while I am on the subject of scarves and because I haven't posted pic of them yet, here is Char's scarf:

It is the 2x2 rib, knit out of Red Heart Super Saver on US 13 needles.

Also, here is Kara's scarf:

Kara's was knit from Cascade 220. I would tell you the color names, but to be honest, I don't know what they are! I could never find them on the ball band. It was knit on US 10 needles. The pattern is a cool on called 'Wavy Rib'. It was good for the color changes, because it repeats every 24 rows. So, when the repeat came, I changed colors, easy as pie.

Ooh, I just remembered. The local Lions Club is holding a Arts and Crafts fair this weekend at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. I went at about 10:00 this morning. I didn't have long to look, because, I had to be at work at 12:00. While wandering around I encountered one of the members of the fiber guild selling yarn and roving. Her name is Cindy Bolt, and she dyes the most gorgeous yarns. I have been coveting a cotton/rayon mix for a tank-top for months. It is called 'Grass and Violets.

And today when I told Cindy this, she said she could put it on layaway. So, four payments in four months and I will get my yarn just in time to make a summer tank-top. If not for the fact I was in public, I would have been doing the happy knitter dance ;-).

Well, that is a good long post, so as a parting gift, I will post one more picture. It was a happy accident from fiddling with my digital camera.

Not bad, huh? I was fooling with the various setting. There are options for background and nighttime pictures. I took three, but they were all blurry or to dark. I set my camera on top of my truck, which is a light blue in color and got the reflection as pure coincidence. Looks like water, doesn't it? I now have this as the background on my computer.