Happy Halloween!!!

 Trick or Treat!

Have a spooky night, everyone!!! Enjoy all the tricks and treats that come your way.


Tonight we'll be having birthday dinner. Because not only is today Halloween, but it's Ludi's birthday! wheeeeeee!!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!

Actually...this is how it really sounds.

Habby Burdday to you!
Habby Burdday to you!
Habby BURDday dear Ludi...

HABBY BURDday to you!!!!!

(I have a cold. bleh)



xxx

Puffy

TGIF, huh?

Ludi started a new (earlier) schedule at work this week, and we're feeling the effects. I like to get up with him so I don't waste half a day sleeping late (and then have trouble falling to sleep that night), but getting up at 6am is pushing it. It's still dark! Bah. We'll get used to it, but this week has been tough. Very glad that it's Friday and it's the weekend! With his new earlier shift, he also now has Saturday and Sunday off instead of Sunday and Monday. Yay! I think I'll like that part.

I've been working on more puffs. Gosh, I just love these. I can't get enough of them. I wish I could go and buy a whole bunch of new yarn just for these. LOOOOVing them.

Here are the two that weren't in the other photo, that I said I would show you, once the sun came out and I could take a decent photo. It's sunny today, so here you are!

too close?

It's hard to see, isn't it? It's a snowflake. I shouldn't have been right on top if it with my camera, I guess. That and this close up really shows how terrible my duplicate stitching skills are. whoa. Just squint at it.

Better?

Ursa Minor

This one's a little better, easier to see. A very clever person made up some constellation patterns for us to put on our squishy lovey little puffs. Here's the Ravelry link if you'd like it. I just love that too. It reminds me of Cherry Springs, stargazing with friends.

I heart stargazing.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! It's supposed to be nice and sunny here, so we will be enjoying it.


xxx

It's Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day all!

How's everyone doing? Getting ready for Halloween? Got those pumpkins carved? Perhaps it's a little early for that. They'd rot by Halloween, wouldn't they. Unless that was the look you were going for. For instance, if you carved an old lady face on your pumpkin. The sagging and wrinkling would be totally appropriate!

Have all the leaves changed where you are? We have seen some here, but it's not at it's peak yet. Probably another week or two? Unless it rains and storms the entire time, and then the peak will be all over the ground. tee hee!

I've been trying to keep myself busy. Making dvds of the home movies from our trip to Germany last April. Yep, I'm just getting to it now. I'm totally lazy. And I've stepped up my search for a job. I had an appointment last week with the social services people here who help with people who've been unemployed for so long that they need help re-integrating into working society. Maybe they'll be that extra push that I need to get me networking and find something. Because FUNemployment blows.

Though I wouldn't mind waiting until after Christmas to find something. Shame on me, huh? Waiting even longer to find a job. But...but...it's Christmas. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 'Tis the Season to be Jolly. I can't be jolly if I'm stressin' over work, now can I?

Well, alright, I'll keep looking for work. But if it doesn't happen, I'll try not to be all depressed about it. ;)

I've also been knitting, as I'm SURE you guessed. I have done some more hexipuffs. I am so addicted.

squeeeeee!!! squishy and lovely puffs!

I had 26 made when I took this picture a few days ago. Now I have at least two more. I am really loving the duplicate stitching ones. (The ones with the pictures on them.) They're so much fun! And add just a little something special. I love that you can personalize it, making whatever your mind can imagine on the puffs. My favorite puff is not pictured in this pile, because I made it after I took this photo. I'll be sure to show you, though, when the sun comes back out and I can get a decent picture.

I finished something else a week or so ago too. A scarf/shawl.

close up

 full view

It is a little smaller than I intended. But perhaps that's good, because then it won't be too heavy (and too warm). I'm sorry to say I don't have any measurements on this for you. The original pattern called for a lighter weight yarn, and called for it to be longer, but I was afraid I would run out of yarn, so I made it shorter. It still fits, so that's good! I just love the shape too, the crescent. I think I'm going to find more patterns in this shape to make. They're lovely! Maybe I'll try something lacy too. I will have to practice on that though. So far I haven't liked what I've tried. Maybe I just need to keep slogging through it, and when it's done and blocked, then I'll be more satisfied with the looks of it.

ooh, maybe that means I'll have to buy more yarn.


Oh darn.


tee hee!!!!



xxx

Ta-Dah Tuesday

Today the heat wave that we've been having here finally ended. It's cloudy, and much cooler. Much more seasonal. It was nice to have a few warm days, but... yeah, let's get on with autumn! Hopefully I'll get to buy some pumpkins and gourds again this year, and do some decorating. No one here carves jack-o-lanterns, but I have seen plenty of people decorating with mums and pumpkins. Perhaps it's just all the other Americans who live in the area?

I have another ta-da to show off today. Yay!!! I love having finished projects! So here we are.

new socks!

They're my Burning Stripes socks. (Pattern available here on Ravelry.) Yay! I'm so glad I finally finished them. And I love this pattern. I love the striping detail. So neat and genius, because it helps "carry" the contrast color through the next stripe. Awesome, no?

Since this is my first pair of finished socks, they are not without errors. For one thing, they're a little too big. I'd read about "negative ease" and all (making the clothing item smaller in measurement than actually needed, so that the garment stretches to fit). I thought I was doing it alright, but overall, they're too big. And since I didn't do them two-at-a-time, the second sock is even bigger. My tension loosened up a lot, some how. Second mistake there. (Next time I'll do them both at the same time!). Third thing is that I never tried the second one on. Not until I was doing the cuff (almost finished). If I had KNOWN that my tension was so loose on the second one, I could have easily adjusted or just stopped and started over. But that heel is such a pain to do, and the second sock was so close to being done, I didn't have the heart to unravel it all and start over. So I'll live with my mistakes, and learn from them for the next pair.

I also didn't do a very good job with the heel on the second sock.

my holey heel

I'm not sure what happened. I tried picking up extra stitches to close up the holes, but I guess I didn't pick up enough or did it wrong. Oh well. The holes aren't THAT big. I can live with it.

Now that the socks are done, I've moved on to other projects. I'll be showing you more puffs and a scarf in the near future (and probably much more!).  Hopefully you like them all!


xxx