I'm back ....

...and wish I could say, "better than ever", but alas...it would be a lie.

Here's the short list of what I've been up to:

My mother and father-in-law are celebrating their 93rd and 91st birthday's respectively. Gotta love it. They're slowing down a bit in all aspects, but still living independently. Independently enough to make us wish that they'd consent to bring someone in a few hours a week to help. Not happening yet. This is the cowl I made for my mother-in-law for Christmas. (Still have Blizzard yarn in my stash.) Looks pinker that it really is. It is a pattern that I bought at my LYS. It was knit in a super bulky alpaca. I made it a bit longer so she could slide it over her head if she wished, or could button it up close. The buttons go through the cable crossings.

I'm thinking of making one for me in black alpaca for running. I think it will be very convenient with the buttons.

This is the ornament I created for my sister-in-law who shoulders the primary responsibility for the parents. Every year I bead her an ornament. I try to do something very different each year, but I cheated a little this year. The ornament you see is one of my personal favorites, and I added pearls as a twist. I was especially fond of the large pearl drops you see on the bottom. For Christmas 2012, I'm going to have to start much earlier.....like now. Taking care of elderly parents, is a pretty thankless job, frankly, so we try and do nice things for her whenever we get the opportunity. That included taking dinner with us when we visited, so she didn't have to come to the house for two nights (she did anyway, and we were happy to see her, but she didn't have to worry about someone checking on meds, food, etc.)








The rest of the break we spent finishing up chores (seriously), relaxing, eating and exercising. And just to show you what an exciting couple we are, we bought THREE, no kidding, THREE irons, before we found ONE that actually worked. (My hubby is an ironer, and he's really tough on irons. Well, between him and our calcium rich water, they don't last very long.) So this time we invested a little more (Rowenta) because I was becoming so frustrated with our current iron. (I really didn't like it overall. The hand controls were poor, it switched heat settings unexpectedly because of how it was designed, ugh.) So into the trash. But the first iron we bought didn't shut off as it was supposed to. We depend on the auto shutoff feature, so I returned it, and got another. Different store, different city, and what do you know - this one shut off while one ironed. What the heck?!!!! So New Year's Eve (see, I told you we were an exciting couple), I took it back once more. As luck would have it, it was the same clerk who had taken care of me the NIGHT before. This time I also bought,  an additional (more expensive) model. Well, thank goodness third time's the charm and I got to return the more expensive iron. Now to train my husband to use spring water, instead of tap water. And what store was so patient with a seemingly crazy customer. Target. Never a problem returning to Target. (I do keep my receipts.)

And now I must ask for some advice. In a prior posting, I mentioned that I was making fuzzy feet for my husband. Well, I knocked them out pretty quick. I used Knitpicks, Wool of the Andes, and based on prior experience did not expect any felting difficulties. In fact, I was expecting it to felt like a sonofagun. Well, I would have been incorrect.

Here is a photo of the drying slippers. See anything unusual? Maybe not yet.












How about now? The black, foot portion is felted, and the yellow is completely not. And though you can not see it in the photo, the heel flap on the right one, is also not felted. This is all the same wool folks. Do not consider the white. That is a leftover, from another project and NOT Wool of the Andes. I had two choices. Try and force the yellow to felt, and then the foot would be too small, or just call it a day. Has anyone else experienced this?


I'm thinking that I'm going to stick to wools that have a touch of mohair for felting from now on. Like Lambs Pride. Any other suggestions would be most welcome. I'm putting the Fuzzy Feet in time out for now.

And don't even ask about the new coach. I don't have any idea or opinion. And I'm trying to decide if I even care.

A little of this....n'at.

We've been busy...so busy, I'm exhausted. We have spent the past three out of four weekends out of town...where I'm sure you're wondering (said in a sarcastic tone, I know it isn't important).....

Well, first I have to show you the wine we drank on vacation:


Who doesn't love a cheap wine with a llama on the label? And with a name like Funky Llama. Well.....

It is from Chili. It was all of $3.99 in a PA State Store (so you know it was cheap). We were not crazy about the shiraz, but the pinot grigio wasn't bad. And the entertainment was in the label anyway.










The rest of the time was spent at a music festival then hiking.

This is Pine Creek. It was blistering hot, but much cooler in the woods. We spent most of the time trying to photograph the raptors that were soaring over the "canyon".

Those two specks in the center of the frame are a pair of hawks who were playing.


















We saw many hawks, which I cannot identify, a turkey vulture which was a first, and what we think was a juvenile bald eagle. There are nesting eagle pairs in this area, so it is not unusual to see an eagle...for some people. For us it was another first.

We had a weekend off, then went to visit my mother for a surprise 80th birthday party. She had spent about 6 weeks trying to convince us that she was "too old" and "too decrepit" for a party, so don't bother. We didn't bother to tell her and she had a great time. Does this lady look too old and decrepit to anyone?

I think not! Notice the snazzy purse. Hardly that of a little old lady. Sheesh

We had the party at the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs. My sister was having second thoughts during the prior week of inviting elderly people to a casino (for brunch), but trust me...as soon as it was polite, the elderly guests were heading to the slots. So a good time was had by all whether it was for food, drink or to feed the one-armed bandits.....

This was my first trip to the "local casino" and I learned a lot. Like why casinos are a cash cow for the states and local towns. And the number of jobs it creates! And that there is too much noise and too many blinking lights for me. It was a stunning day outside, and we had folks following us to our car to get our parking space so they could go inside in the loud, flashing dark to gamble. No recession here.....

This past weekend was spent outlet shopping. All I can say is that if there is a recession...I didn't see it here either. Our hotel was a madhouse on Sunday morning of families going to Hershey Park (supposedly the "sweetest place on earth".... but more like, "where you can have a nervous breakdown and no one will notice"....but that doesn't look good in advertising... not catchy enough.) And when did it become deriguer for parents to ignore their offspring, or send them to get their own breakfast in a crowd of people in a public place? These are little people, and this is not your kitchen!! Sheesh....parenting people, parenting!!

Anyone remember the Kauni/cardigan (Rav link) craze of 2007? As is the case with so many "knitting fads", it was kicked off by the Yarn Harlot. Folks were purchasing Kauni from Denmark and translating the pattern...etc. For some reason I loved that sweater with the white hot passion that only a knitter can understand, but I thought it was too much of a PIA (and too expensive) to order the yarn from Denmark. I'm also not really a lemming (French Press Slippers aside). Well, last month my LYS got Kauni, and reignited my romance with the cardigan...but now, thanks to Ravelry I have become acquainted with the damask pattern. So I couldn't resist:




I will be making the damask patterned sweater. I will also be joining a sweater knitting group for the steeking and patterning support. As Cynthia from the LYS says..."there's a lot going on in this sweater. "

I may be crazy.

A Hit and Run...

We made it through the holidays with a minimum of bumps (there are always a few), but here we are.

We celebrated my dear MIL's 90th birthday on Saturday (pictures to follow). Now one might think that we celebrated in an assisted living center or a little dreary home with lace coverings, but nope. We celebrated at a local watering hole, with the birthday girl sipping a glass of wine. When you see the photos you'll be amazed. I'm always astonished by her. If I'm this good by the time I'm 70 (presuming I make it), I'll count my blessings.

We're leaving for home today after an errand or two and stopping at Dellalo's Italian Food Store on Route 30 in Janette, PA. Best....everything...nearly, on the planet. When I travel on business I try and route myself past Dellalo's. It's worth a trip just to sniff the heady air.

Now home, to reclaim the landfill that is our house, and kick back for New Year's. Thank heaven.

One note: After a high in the teens on 12/22, it was 68(!) on Saturday. I got to wash the car even!

Hope you all had (have) wonderful holidays, and see ya on the flip side.

Still waiting.....

... for those pieces to knit themselves, but in the meantime here's what I've been doing.


This is a peyote stitch bracelet trimmed with freshwater pearls. (See the "bead" in the blog name means something really!) The backstory is that for the past oh, ten years or so I've made some jewelry for my sister-in-law for her Fourth of July birthday. She goes "above and beyond" to take care of my DH's parents and does a lot of the organizing for family picnics etc. Though my in-laws are pretty easy-going, ya'll know what it's like to interact this way with your own mothers. Frustration is a word you'd know well. Anyway, last year I sent her a unique piece that I didn't make because I ran out of time and ideas. This year I had to get back on the horse. When a pattern for this crossed my desk, I thought wow - perfect. And it is not that complicated to boot. All I needed was time. That's the hardest, most precious commodity.

Wanna see it up close. You can see the Swarovski crystals peeking out in this one.



Her birthday is usually deadly hot around these parts, so even though I toyed with the idea of a moebius, with beads natch, and even ordered the Apple Laine to make it, I couldn't imagine giving her a wool/silk scarf in 90 degree weather.

This bracelet has a slide clasp, my absolutely favorite kind of clasp for cuff style bracelets. Makes the bracelet really easy to wear. I'm going to make one for myself, with a few changes. Right now I'm waiting for some "button" style freshwater pearls to make an appearance.

Good thing she doesn't read this blog.

Next up, my scarf should finally be finishing itself.