Tangled Fingers Diary

So many things...

I have very little to talk about these days apparently. I keep meaning to come back here I just forget.
NJ had his first communion.

He was the most handsome boy there. He loved wearing that suit.
Life has been keeping me busy. Trying to keep up with the kids, the house, and put the finishing touches on the super secret project before I send it on is not leaving much time for other things. Honestly I couldn't be happier with things though. I like the course thing have taken since I picked up knitting. I used to be a hermit, only coming out to socialize with people when it was required of me. Now I attend Stitch and Bitch often and even don't mind running into people I know in the store. (yes I was that bad)

Anyway...
I am still working on T's socks. I managed to break two of the needles (!!) and so it is on hold until I can manage to pick up another set of two's. I am thinking of just getting metal ones. I prefer working with metal anyway.

I know there are other things to tell you but off the top of my head I can't think of anything.

Pictures soon!
Jumpingly,
Dee

A few FO's for you...

I am still working on Secret projects so I do not have a whole lot to report. I did manage to finish a side project however. A while back I found the etsy seller Fuzzy Mitten. I LOVE her softie patterns because well... they are cute. Really cute. So I bought a bunch of patterns off of her and then set them aside. There they sat until last weekend. The Princess saw the pattern of the lamb and proclaimed that they were soooooo cute and that she needed one. Badly. Really, who am I to say no to that so I made one for her.

Not my best work I think but I love it! And The princess adores Lamby.  That is what matters. Now I have been informed by Ms. Princess that Lamby needs clothes. So I will need to get started soon.

I got a spindle full of some merino/ tencel that I bought a while back finished.

It is so beautiful. I think that it wanted to be a lacy scarf. Just depends on how it looks when I am finished and how much yarn I have.
I also finally finished NJ's Penguin.

Again not as great as I would have liked but NJ likes it, and it was a great learning experience. Now all of the kids want an animal. I better get busy!
Animalingly,
Dee

Joining the cheering section...

Spring is finally here! I love it when spring gets here. Sping, summer and fall are great times for me. I have a ton more energy and get so much done. Things that seemed impossible during the winter are quickly taken care of during the other seasons. Case in point: The hood above my oven has been gross for so long that it was getting fuzzy (I can not believe that I just told you that) All winter I would look at it and think about cleaning it. But it just seemed like to big of a job. Last night I was making a vegetarian stew (that was VERY good) in a covered pot and I started scrubbing the hood on the side that was furthest from the food. That part came clean pretty quickly.  So after supper was cleaned up I finished cleaning the hood, which spread to de-cluttering the counter next to the stove, which spread to washing the walls behind the oven. That area looks ten times better and it wasn't that difficult. So I added it to my to do list. The plan is to wipe that whole area down every day after dinner and the deep clean every week. Which will make things look so much better.
Yes, i started a to do list for myself. I have found that if it is written down then I know what I need to do and things are less likely to fall by the wayside. I actually use Mychores to keep track of what I have to do. It is very useful! It starts out with some general chores that most people do and then you add what chores you do or delete the ones that you don't do. It also emails me a daily to-do list so that I don't forget. This is seriously what I needed. ( I also have the main page as one of my homepages. So every time I open firefox my chore list is right there in my face. And the other tab is my igoogle page so that I still have all of links that I keep there the way I like. It works better for me.)

I bought a skein of superwash merino from Merlin the cat recently ...

Sorry for the crappy photo but it is not at all sunny here. I also sold my Leclerc hand card. They were too heavy for me so I didn't enjoy using them. So I sold them and bought this...


This beauty is a Merlin Tree spindle that I bought from Spunky Eclectic. Much better pictures are on Spunky's page. Again with the no sun. It spins quite nicely and is beautiful. Apparently there are only about 30 some of these spindles made so I was glad that I was able to snag one. There will be more made they just don't have a lot of time right now. On that spindle? a batt that Miss V carded up and I bought in the destash. It is so pretty!
I also picked up Some Louet Gems fingering weight yarn from a ravelry destash. I picked this yarn because I will be making the German Stockings by Cookie A. I can't start yet as I need to finish the secret project and these...
EZ's Pi shawl out of my handspun and...

Socks made out of panda cotton for T. I will make him something that he will wear. Some day.
I have talked your ear off enough for one day. Enjoy Spring!
Springingly
Dee

Proof that we have lived in the ghetto too long...

Heard in my car on the way home...

T: Wow, that woman has a ghetto-fabulous booty!

Me: huh, she does have a ba- donk- a donk.

T: yup, there is much Junk in her trunk.

Man we have problems.

10 years...

Amazing isn't it?

Meeting in that chat room, Good ol' mIrc.

Getting married, having kids, And all the struggle that goes along with it.

Here we are 10 years later and stronger than ever, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Anniversary Hun.

I Love You!

On this and that...

Yesterday I managed to accomplish a few things. I got some of the material cut and a few blocks made on Sissies quilt. I am enjoying the process so far.

Not at all straight but I love it anyway. I also got some spinning done on Grawk. I think that I am close to finishing up the bobbin so I need to decide if I want to three ply or go ahead and fill another bobbin for a two ply job. I just can't decide. Grawk is beautiful on the bobbin but is rather boring to spin seeing as how I am spinning at night. I looks almost totally black. But then in the morning I can see all the colors that I worked with the night before. So once I am done with grawk I am moving on to some colorful spinning before digging into the Shetland that I still need to finish.
I also go the super secret project ripped and cast on again. I am pulling my hair out on this one. (That or having the kids home from school for three days straight two of those days because of extreme cold, therefore making it impossible to send them out side. Causing everyone in the house to become insanely stircrazy, but I digress)
Remember the Skein winder that I told you about? I finally got a picture of it!

Love it! I am considering painting it or something I just can't decide what I want to do yet. I love it this way as well so I don't know.
On the stash enhancement front I bought one of Cookie A's patterns The German Stocking and the yarn to go with it. I have been coveting it for a very long time and finally broke down and bought it. I feel like my knitting skills are now on a level that I could do this. I just hope that I have the patience to complete both socks. I have also bought three skeins of panda cotton for a pair of socks for T in black. I am determined to knit something that he will wear. (Don't ask me why) He insists that he is allergic to wool (which makes the sweater from hell pointless *sigh*) This yarn has bamboo, cotton, and nylon in it so it is wool free. I went with black because I know that he will wear black. The socks will be k2 p2 ribbed. Simple, mindless knit which with the super secret project I really need. So if i will be making these now is the perfect time. I also bought a booklet with patterns for sewing stuffed animals from Sewing Stars. I can't wait to get this one. Apparently I am enjoying sewing more.
Well off to get the kids busy doing something before I become completely bald.
Baldingly,
Dee

Being (sorta) productive...

Remember the list from last time?

• Sissy's blanket- I have a bunch of strips cut out they need to be sewn together and then cut into smaller strips. Then I will combine them into 12 inch squares.
• The super secret project- I have the gauge swatch finished (I not only knit a gauge swatch, but I knit a big gauge swatch!!) Now that I have the Math finished I need to cast on the actual item. The problem is that I am not sure that it will work yet... maybe I will hold off until I have a chance to discuss with others...
• Mops Wimple- It is almost finished. This should be what I work on but the pull from other things is very strong.
• A pair of socks- I started beatrix (Ravelry link) recently and would like to continue working on it. But again too many other things.

Well. Right after I wrote that post I got called to take the man his lunch. So none of that was started. However! Later that day I managed to cast-on the ssp and knit two rows. (really need to work faster on that. There is a time limit with this one.) Finished Mops wimple! I will photo that one once I figure out where I put the pattern notes. Today I broke out the sewing machine and got some of the strips pieced together.

It's going to be pretty when it is finished I think.
I am sort of at a stand still with the blocks until I can locate the iron. Dear T likes to use it occasionally and then put it in random places. *sigh*
I also started spinning some beautiful Merino/Tencel (Ravelry link) roving that I have and have wanted to spin for a while. Lets just say that it is absolutely beautiful!

Not a great picture but it will give you a good idea of the shineyness and color.

Still not a great picture but trust me, that stuff is very drool-worthy.
Anyway I hear the microwave so it is time to eat!
Productivingly, (heh nothing like freaking out your spell check in one word)
Dee

A Quandry...

I have a TON of different projects that I REALLY want to work on right now. The problem is that I can not decide which one to work on. I am having such a hard time deciding that I am at a stand still. *sigh*

Here is what I am trying to decide on...

• Sissy's blanket- I have a bunch of strips cut out they need to be sewed together and then cut into smaller strips. Then I will combine them into 12 inch squares.
• The super secret project- I have the gauge swatch finished (I not only knit a gauge swatch, but I knit a big gauge swatch!!) Now that I have the Math finished I need to cast on the actual item. The problem is that I am not sure that it will work yet... maybe I will hold off until I have a chance to discuss with others...
• Mops Wimple- It is almost finished. This should be what I work on but the pull from other things is very strong.
• A pair of socks- I started beatrix (Ravelry link) recently and would like to continue working on it. But again too many other things.

I think that I just need to randomly pick something and start working on it. There will eventually be time to work on all of it.
And now so that you are not totally without a picture here is the most recent family photo.

Cute, no? (Yes it says proof. I borrowed the online image to show ya'll)
Lovingly,
Dee

Ahhh the snow...

I am rather tired of the snow. I miss the days that I could walk to the kids school and pick them up rather than driving a few blocks because it is 10 below.
I finished T's hat. (That he never wears)

The back to show just how bad I am at making hats. I will never understand why I always mess up with hats. Socks I can make, sweaters, mitts, shawls! But hats? Not without a billion mistakes and a poorly decreased top. (bad pics courtesy of the cruddy weather)

Front of the hat with a milk mustache to complete the look. I still haven't taken the time to take a photo of the skein winder that my dad made yet. That isn't to say that I haven't used it, I just keep forgetting to photo it. oops.

I am almost finished with Mop's Wimple Although you won't be able to see it for a while. Why? It's a secret. There is also a super secret project on the needles that i am very excited about. I can't wait to show all of it off.

Well I just got a call to come in and sub!!! So sign language interpreting for money tomorrow. :)

Wish me luck

Signingly,

Dee

well...

So I got a pretty great christmas present from my dad. I asked him for a skein winder that he built himself. I will be darned if I didn't get it! I will show you a pic when I remember to take one. Its big made from Maple using the instructions here. It is a bit rough but I love it!

Using my new skein winder I finally took the time to wind the cone yarn I have into a hank and wash it.

All washed and much better looking and soft! Get that oil stuff off of it makes a huge difference

I am working on the wimple for the MIL, and a hat for T. He has given me permission to set aside the sweater of Doom for a while so that I can make his poor bald head a hat. Again more pics soon. It is looking good however. I am using the Mission Falls that I bought a while back to make mittens (turns out I didn't buy enough yarn for mittens so it has just been sitting there waiting for a different project to come along) thankfully T likes the colors and is happy with the look of the hat so far.

I picked up some lovely Malabrigo in sunset recently and am now turning it into a wimple for Mop. I didn't like any of the wimple patterns that were on the web so I improvised. It's looking good so far!

Anywho I got stuff to do before I pick up the little'uns from school.
I leave you with a picture that Sis and I drew together...

Drawingly, Dee