Late Christmas post

Ok, Christmas come and (long) gone and I still have not posted all the projects I made, so here you go. (Just a warning, a few of these were taken on my camera phone, so they are not the greatest.)

First off, Mamaw Rose's Clapotis shawl. She loved it and used it Christmas night after I gave it to her.

Then, my brother asked me to make him some fingerless mitts after he saw a pair that I made for myself, so here they are:

Then both of my nieces got teddy bears (and Airianna's was literally finished Christmas Eve.) This is Airianna.

And this is Kira and her mom Kristen.



Then my nephew, Hunter got a scarf.


My mom got a pair of socks:

And my Mamaw Mary also got a scarf:

I also knit about seven or eight dishcloths, but I am not posting all the pictures of they here, so if you really want to see them, check out my photostream at Flickr.com: WVrambler

Pics and Progress

Well, the Christmas knitting is almost complete and here are the pictures of the finished projects that I have.

Mamaw Rose's Clapotis (the shawl is finished, but final pic will be her wearing it):

Then there is Mamaw Mary's scarf. I found the scarf I made her a few years ago in the utility room, so I guess she has been wearing it, but she said that is itches and I can not blame her; I knit it out of Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool, before I started going to LYS and not just shopping at the chain craft store.My nephew, Hunter, is also getting a scarf. He has an olive green coat with orange detailing, so I am hoping this matches okay.

And the last for today is a pair of fingerless mitts for my older brother, Bruce. They aren't finished yet, but should be by the end of the week. I am about 5 rows from the end, and then have to knit the mate, but it only took me from Monday evening until today to do the first. I am seriously think of making a pair for Mommy and a pair for myself also.

Progress Report

Okay, the move is over, except for some stuff at Mamaw Mary's but that is stuff that I can do without for the moment. The entire weekend was dedicated to work and moving. I went to work on Sat. made a quick run form storage to the apartment. Then went home and tried to sleep for a few hours. Tried is the key word there. My neighbor has a pit bull in his yard that belongs to his daughter, and I swear, that dog never shuts up! I gave up on sleeping after about two hours and worked on some knitting instead.

Then work Sunday night and let me tell you, a twelve hour midnight shift after no sleep is no fun. I then collected my older brother Bruce and we went to meet my uncle Chris for the moving. My dad had let me borrow his truck and Chris also had a truck, so it only took us two trips. It was a bit of a hassle to move the love seat in (the hazard of living upstairs). But they got it in and now I just need to unpack. I didn't realize I owned so many books. That is what the majority of the boxes held. I will be looking into donating some of them. The Kenova Public Library would probably like some, their budget was cut this past year.

There are still boxes all over the living room, the furniture needs rearranged and my bed is currently in pieces, but I started staying there Sunday evening. I was planning on staying at Mamaw's, but Mike's dog started up again, and it was a question of going to the apartment, or killing the stupid dog! So, I packed up some clothes and crashed on the mattress on the floor. It is so much easier to go to and from work form within town instead of having to drive 45 minutes one way! Though, I managed to spook Bruce and his family, and he spooked me. They can hear when I go up the stairs and he thought I was still at work when I can in. I was in the middle of taking out my contacts when the doorbell rang, and it is loud. It is an actual bell, rung by a clapper in the hall. I almost put one of my eyes out! So, I explained to Bruce that I get off work at midnight during the week.

Also, I have finished another Christmas gift. Mamaw Mary's cable scarf is finished. I literally finished it in on of my classes. Due to the fact that I didn't have any yarn other than kitchen cotton (it is still all at Mamaw's), I hunted Ravelry for a free dishcloth pattern. I will probably give it to someone out at Heritage Farm. Pics to be posted once I take them.

Moving and Christmas Knitting

Since July of 2009, I have been living with my grandmother after moving out of an apartment in Ceredo, WV. I love my Mamaw, but frankly, we do not see eye to eye. She is an utter neat freak, while I see nothing wrong with having things on the floor if there is no other place around my to put them. This mostly includes books, various knitting projects, and occasionally dishes. She tends to freak if everything is not 'in its place'.

So, this week, I took steps to relieve both of us: I rented an apartment. I told my older brother, Bruce that I was looking for a place and he told me that the apartment above his is empty and that the landlord wanted to rent it out to me for less because I was Bruce's sister. We checked it out on Monday and I signed the lease. It is a very nice apartment, a one bedroom, and I also have the attic space for storage. I got the electric on on Tuesday and the water today. I also had to have a fridge put in, but it is now there. Also, the last tenant left a couch behind because the stairs are steep and narrow and he didn't want to deal with moving it out. Now, I just have to deal with moving my stuff in. I am trying to get my Uncle Chris to help with the furniture, so Daddy does not have to. He is 56 and moving the love-seat, and dresser (the largest stuff I own) is hard on him.

Also, it gives me more time for knitting. I am now living within walking distance of Marshall University, and on 25 minutes away from work, as opposed to 45 minutes away. So, it will save me a lot in gas.

And speaking of knitting, I am currently in the middle of knitting Christmas gifts. I have finished one, have two on the needles and am planning several more, although most of them are small enough to finish in a day (I hope). Here is the breakdown for my Christmas knitting:

Mamaw Mary: Twisted Cable Scarf-50%
Mamaw Rose: Clapotis-finished
Bruce (brother): fingerless mitts-planned with yarn in stash
Hunter: scarf-planned with yarn in stash
nieces : Ruby Bear-one 75%, other one planned
everyone else: soap socks-planned

Full Circle

Big post due to recent craziness, starting just before Christmas. That weekend, I checked into a hotel because it was snowing like crazy and I was afraid that I would not be able to get to work. I ended up in the hotel from Saturday morning to Monday morning. And on Saturday morning, while still at work, I got a call from my mom that my grandmother had fallen down the stairs. Mamaw Mary was in a wreck in the early 90s and has a lot of problems with her right leg. So, I was plenty worried that she was badly hurt. Luckily, she was only bruised and banged up. She didn't actually fall down the stairs so much as she slide down them on her rear end.

As it turned out, the reason she was upstairs to begin with was because she had been woken up by the smoke alarm in my bedroom going off and the room was full of smoke. She called my brother to come out and call the fire deportment. They ended up tearing a great big hole in the ceiling to find the hot spot and put it out.

The power was already out on the road due to the snowstorm, and Mamaw got an electrician to come out. It turned out that her breaker box and the cord leading into the house were messed up and needed replaced. I know Mamaw is terrified that the house would catch fire again. She had my mom unplug everything electric upstairs.

While all this was going on, I was at work. I got a phone call on Monday morning at 9:30 from my area supervisor, Dave. They wanted me to watch an AEP site in Huntington to prevent angry customers from following the trucks onto the lot. I was to work this site for a week from 10:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night. I would, once again be working on Christmas. If nothing else, it gave me plenty of time to finish my Christmas knitting. I finished Mommy's socks and Mamaw's mitts and cast on for a sweater.

I ended up missing the yearly Christmas Eve party at Mamaw's, but my parents, brother and sister-in-law and my nephew got up early on Christmas morning so I could open presents with them.

Things mostly went back to normal after that, except that Mamaw did not want me sleeping upstairs, so I have spent the last few weeks sleeping in her bed while she sleeps with my aunt Charlene. That was the status quo until yesterday, when it began to snow again. It is not a big snowstorm like before, it has just snowed pretty much steadily since yesterday morning and is supposed to continue until this weekend. So, I am back in a hotel until Thursday morning. Here's hoping nothing else happens while I am gone.

Troubles

I tried on my mom's socks and they did not fit. Her feet are about the same size as mine, so I can check, and I could not get them on. So, I went up a needle and a half, to a size US2.5 (I have no idea what the mm is) and now they should be fine. I just need to get them done by Christmas or she may be getting them on the needles. I have also purchased the pants for my dad.

I may have also started my sister-in-law knitting. I gave her a DVD, yarn and needles and invited her to SnB next week. So, she will also be getting a knitting kit for Christmas.

Christmas

is just around the corner and I need to get cracking on buying gifts. So, here is my planned list so far:

Mommy: Pretty Petals Socks and shirts
Daddy: pants
Bruce: pants
Kristen: shirts
Hunter: Thomas and puzzle-done
Kira: quilt (in progress)
Arianna: shirt and stuffed animal
Mama Mary: fingerless mitts
Char: ?
Uncle Jim: pajama bottoms
Mama and Papa Rose: gift certificate

So, here goes!

Malabrigo and Moths

Just lovely. I get a good pattern from a friend (available online for free) that I think will make my mom a very nice Christmas present. She is the only member of my family I bother to knit for because she is the only one who appreciates and actually uses the stuff. So, I dig through the stash, find my Malabrigo yarn, purchased at the Kanawha City Yarn Company about a year ago and prepared to start winding it. Bear in mind I own neither a ball winder or a swift, so I have to wind by hand.

I immediately discovered the problem when I was left holding two frayed ends. I hoped it was an isolated problem and continued on. After the same thing happened three more times, I decided I needed to wait until the next day and go to the store.

At KCYC, after telling Sarah, the owner, about the problem, she set it up on her ball winder and swift and commenced winding. We then discovered that the
d#$% moths had done considerable damage. I lost probably about 3-5 yards from pieces too small to bother knotting and will have to splice about 8-10 times while working on these socks. My only consolation at this point is that it can't get much worse (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!!).

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.

Another one done

Why the heck didn't I think about knitting dishcloths for Christmas presents before. I mean, usually I am running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get everything in time. Now, I have finished three presents in about 5 days. I just bound off the Ladybug dishcloth and here it is:

After I finished the Michigan Cherries dishcloth, I realized I still had a ton of yarn left on the ball, so I cast on the Ladybug dishcloth from the same ball. I just figured if it was enough, all well and good and if not, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Well, it did work and I still have a few yards left. See:

I put my tape measure beside it for perspective. I was going to cast on the next dishcloth, but decided to work in my aunt's scarf instead. It is a 2x2 rib in Red Heart Super Saver. It feels a bit weird because I was knitting the dishcloths on US 8s and am knitting the scarf on US 13s, so its odd jumping to the much larger needle size. The scarf looks good. It is about half done and I figure to get more done at school next week. Thank God it is almost time for finals!

I already finished one scarf for my cousin, Kara. Last year, I made my grandmother a 3x3 rib scarf in Lion's Brand Fisherman's Wool. When Kara saw it, she asked for a scarf, only in WVU colors, because she was an undergrad there. So, I knitted it , finished last month, and just need to take a picture of it.

Changing thing around, things to be thankful for.

I decided I didn't care for my old blog provider and changed to this one. If anyone cares to check out the old blog, the address is http://jenram.blog.com/. I will have to load my projects and my boyfriend's artwork onto this blog, but I am currently at work, so I will do that later.

I had planned to write this for a few days, but held off because it never comes out on the screen like it is in my head. So, here goes.

I am thankful for my boyfriend, Jon. He is just right for me, because as I am addicted to knitting, he is addicted to artwork. He draws what is known as Furry art. It is very unusual. I have been going through some financial troubles lately, and he has helped all he can, despite not being much better off than I am. I know I can be myself with Jon. He is unpretentious and very accepting of people. We have some different tastes, especially in music, but I know that no matter what I do, he will be there.

I am thankful for a family I can turn to when needed. My dad's parents paid 2,000 dollars out of pocket for my tuition last year. I am also having trouble keeping my apt. due to a lose of hours at work, and both my parents and my maternal grandmother have said I am welcome to come back home for as long as I need to. They are also good for a laugh. Early this afternoon, Jon and I went to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. Jon fit right in with my very odd, crazy family.

It was interesting. My mom overcooked the turkey in the roaster oven. It was the first time she used it, and she thought the turkey was not brown enough. When my dad finally convinced her it was fine, the turkey literally fell apart when they lifted it out. It was the first time I ever ate a drumstick without the bone; it came out when I picked it up.

I am thankful that my 99 year old great-grandmother, Mamaw Crow, was able to come home. She fell and broke her hip about a month ago. It was surgically repaired and she was in a nursing home for therapy until last night. She is nearly blind, almost stone deaf, and ever since she fell, her mental state has deteriorated. Therefore, I was very thankful when I went up to her and she recognized me. Two of her primary care givers, my grandmother and great aunt were surprised. Mamaw Rose told me that at times, she didn't even recognize them.

I am thankful I finally figured out what for get the majority of my family for Christmas. I am a knitter and was trying to come with a way to give presents out of the stash when a much better idea was presented to me. I am a member of the River Cities Fiber Guild, and we had our monthly meeting this past Monday. While there, I got into a discussion about knitting gifts. One of the other guild members mentioned dishcloths.

Eureka! I already had a book of dishcloth patterns and a cone of Peaches and Creme variegated cotton yarn. I cast on and finished the dishcloth the next day. The only problem was the variegated yarn does not show the pattern well. So, I went and bought some 122yd balls at Walmart. They are only $1.50 apiece, so I bought4 balls: 2 light blue, one ecru and one red. I started on the first one on 11/25/08 and should have it finished tonight. Also my cousin Kara is getting a scarf, my great-aunt Char is also, and my neice, Kira is getting a crib quilt if I ever finish it.

So, that went better than I thought it would. Oh, just a side note, I am a member of Ravelry and my member name is WVrambler.