The pink suit

The pink suit
Originally uploaded by kniterella

My youngest son is now a Freshman in High School. Bugg is a Senior and the opportunities for them to bond since school started have resulted in some difficulty. On the other hand, they have been getting along better in little spurts.

E A thinks Bugg's friends are pretty cool (what Freshman wouldn't relish acceptance by the Seniors?) and E A can be fun...She took him to get his very first Homecoming suit this week and this is what I saw when I walked in to pay for it.

The rationalization began:
EA: Aww, mom - come on. You've bought ALL of those dresses for her and they cost A LOT of money. I only want this ONE suit.
Me (thought bubble): He is going to get his A-- kicked if he shows up in this suit.
EA (seeing me hesitate): I will wear it, I PROMISE. I just want this one suit. Look, it has matching shoes AND a matching belt. Pink alligator - isn't it cool!
Me (thought bubble): Crap, there is really no way out of this.
Me: Do you take debit cards?

And this is what we have.

His sister and her friends took him to dinner with them and he had to agree to scram once they got to the dance.

I've got the bandages ready, just in case he gets his a-- kicked.

Bugg's Shrug

Bugg's Shrug is finally finished! The pattern is the Lacy Cable Shrug from Briar Rose Fibers. The pattern originally used Briar Rose's Earth Song, but Bugg liked the color and texture of Wistful.

We originally purchased 2 hanks at about 8 ounces each and there is about 6 ounces left. The yarn blocked wonderfully!

The matter of those 'good enough for now' buttons is resolved! Chris sent some 'these are THE button' buttons. They are a wonderful addition to my Retro Cardigan.

Ravelry!

Thrill!

Our High School football team won tonight - we trekked over a couple of towns and took in the game with some good friends : ) My Ravelry invite was in the mail and I've joined and added a couple of FO's. It is apparent that this diversion could consume vast amounts of my time.

OK, excuse the corny name, but I'll be know as jonesn4yarn....it's true!

Good news on the knitting front: I finished the never ending lacy cable shrug which has been washed and is drying. Also, the Retro Cardigan with the 'good enough for now' buttons has had a face lift. Chris found fantastic buttons and there was time this week to replace the brown leaves - yay!

Photos coming soon...I'm tired now and there is an early call for a tennis match. Happy weekend!

Nuts!

Darby and Lucy have been going bonkers lately. They rarely bark or growl and the behavior has been puzzling. Darby has been 'in waiting' these days, choosing a spot by the door instead of his nice, soft cushion.

Up until last week, we wondered what was causing the change in behavior and then I found a clue...

A little pile of nuts has suspiciously appeared just outside the step...about 4ft. away from where Darby sits waiting and 20ft away from the tree of origin.

The nuts were there for a few days before they were relocated to a spot within view from the front door

AND the 'competition' was taken out

The culprit sits and watches us, taunting all the while.








...Meanwhile...





I am taking the proverbial beating where my knitting is concerned. That Lacy Cable Shrug that Bugg wanted is taking for....ev...er! There are about 6 inches more to go before the decreases begin on the second sleeve.





The finisher in me pushes it along, however slowly progress is being accomplished. The knitter in me wants to cast-on for something new...a shawl, sweater, even socks!





Onward, I trudge!

International Scarf Exchange 5

Am I really signing up for the International Scarf Exchange 5?

ISE3 was such a wonderful experience. My scarf knitter - Kristy is a gem. Our matching was serendipitous and my scarf has gotten lots of 'air time'. ISE4 rolled around - I hemmed and hawed until finally deciding to join and by then, it was too late.

Here's to hoping for a second experience half as good as the first!

Beginning Knitters

A very good friend sent an e-mail this week with lots of news (thank you, - I enjoyed reading every detail : )

My friend's daughter, Sarah, has joined the Knitting Club at school and proudly shared her very first project to her mom (a non-knitter). The details made me smile because the memory of my first attempt at knitting is fresh in my mind.

Ok, Knitting Clubs at school? YEAH! What a cool way for teens to show their individuality and explore their creativity than by making something unique from two sticks and some string.

We all know how addictive knitting can become - some of us even become obsessed (my hand is up!). I applaud the teens who are beginning these clubs and gathering the courage to go check them out to see what this knitting thing is all about. I also wish we lived closer because there is fun to be had in helping a new knitter and offering helpful hints that we've painfully learned along the way.

Sarah, check your mailbox next week because your first box of fibery goodness is on it's way.

Flowers for my Mother-In-Law

The kids are back in school and Hubs is at work. The opportunity to go on a long walk alone presented itself this morning and I grabbed it. It's no secret that some of my best ideas and solutions pop into my head during the morning hours. As I walk, problems work themselves out and joys are reminisced.

It has been a little sad around our household lately. There is a sense of moodiness, uncertainties, loss. I feel it, Hubs feels it, tears spring into my eyes as I write about it now. I miss my Mother-In-Law and my husband misses his mom.

Maxine passed away quite suddenly on August 30, 2002. We wonder where the 5 years has gone - has it really been 5 years? She had just celebrated her 68th birthday and her 40th Anniversary. All of her children and grandchildren (except one) were there for the party and a week later she was gone.

Our sadness is not easily shared with the rest of the family due to distance and other factors. We share our mutual sadness together, my husband and I. We will be traveling to put flowers on her grave later this month and as I walked this morning, thoughts of what was so special about her flooded my mind:

1. Her 'cackle' of a laugh: I rarely hear a laugh like hers, but it always makes me smile when I do

2. Acceptance of 'my' kids: She immediately accepted them as her own and always treated/loved them the same

3. She was a little girl at heart

4. She laughed at jokes even when she didn't 'get' them

5. The way she would disappear at night and return minutes later with a treat-for me-just because

6. How she gave every other sister-in-law a job after dinner, but told me to sit and talk with her over coffee

7. How much we had in common and how little everyone else recognized it

8. Her appreciation of me taking care of her son and making him happy

9. How much we just enjoyed and appreciated the time spent together

10. Her ability to grow things - anything

11. The way she loved her whole family

12. Her calling and asking to talk to me instead of my husband

13. The way she would gently take the 2lb box of Godiva's I got her every Christmas and put them away 'for later'

Placing the flowers is strictly symbolic, we both know she isn't really there. Yet, we feel her all around us all of the time...oh, how I miss her- sigh!

Socks, anyone?

Another finished pair of socks? You bet! Surprise is knocking me back and forth with this pair. The yarn is Knit Pick's Memories which (I believe) is being discontinued? The colorway is Smores and I was a bit disappointed when the hanks arrived, a little less when wound into cakes, but still skeptical. Once the colors began to show themselves, it was all love.



At this rate, I will have enough hand knit socks to wear everyday this winter...if I do laundry twice a week. Ha Ha, I need a Briar Rose Fiber fix and need to finish off Bugg's Lacy Cable Shrug before breaking out new yarn and needles.



PLUS, Hubs wanted to get a shot of these socks with me jumping in the air...(chuckle, chuckle) I agreed to support myself on the cabinets in the kitchen and even that didn't get me far off the ground. Definite support of the fact that a few pounds have graced my buttocks during the glorious summer months. I believe some strict eating habits and additional exercise are in my near future!

Finished Retro Cardigan and Good Enough For Now Buttons

Chris' Retro Cardigan is a sweet little knit (my son says the new 'sweet' is 'sick', but I cannot bring myself to use that word to represent anything in knitting).

Buttons for this baby were/are a challenge. You know how you get something in your head - the perfect thing to finish off a project and then it doesn't seem to exist? The buttons are that something with this sweater. The hunt for the perfect buttons (all 10 of them) will continue thus these are the Good Enough for now Buttons.

Yarn: Briar Rose Tuscany, 4 hanks - I had 5 hanks just in case

Needles: 10 and 10 1/2 circulars

Gauge: 3 sts/inch

It was a little difficult to get good pictures of this yarn. There were shots of it while blocking and the colors were too mottled. The close-up of the buttons is closest to the true color.

Thanks to my Hubs who went on the Great Button Hunt with me and was patient enough to come back for more and take the pictures.