Monday, October 31, 2016

Daily Seasonal

*Are you planning to have a Halloween Candy today?
No, because I don't have any Halloween candy around!

*Would you knit an accessory for your pumpkin.  No judgement I promise!
No.

 Did you carve a pumpkin?
No.

 How many hats to you have to wear this winter? 
Hmmm. . .  At least 6 or 8. 

*Did you knit during the World Series game last night?
I knit during "The Walking Dead," which ran at the same time.  Does that count?

*Do you have a knit plan for the week?
My knit plan is always to knit what's most fun, week in and week out.
 
*Just for Halloween.....Have you ever made that bundt cake with leftover Milky Way bars?
I'd never even heard of it!

*Did you ever have to admit to eating something unhealthy to a doctor or nurse?
I don't think so.  Is that odd?

*What frightens you more ? Dropped stitches or yarn chicken?
It's more aggravation than fright, but, definitely, dropped stitches.



Saturday, October 29, 2016

This is Just Weird

Out yesterday to run a few errands, I picked up a late drive-thru fast food lunch for myself.  Within 10 minutes of getting home and eating it, I was S.I.C.K.  Once everything started, I mustered enough energy to get into the kitchen for an ice pack, which meant all that was left to do was crawl between my bed and my bathroom.  For hours.


Then, last night, two of the cats were throwing up and, um, being too slow to the litter box.

Then, you guessed it,
Rupert.

We're a mess.  In every way.  And the two unaffected cats have no interest in caring for those of us who are out and down.  In fact, they flaunt their good health by chasing each other around and around the house, as if to mock. 

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Pick Your Poison

Blankapalooza Square Prompt Time!

Knit a square
THE COLOR OF YOUR FAVORITE HALLOWEEN CANDY.
(Possibilities below.)









Personally, I will not be choosing this palette:



In my day, these were the equivalent of apples or pencils or tiny boxes of raisins.  Such a disappointment to find when you dumped your candy out at home.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Backtracking

Before answering Kathy's Monday Questions (which I failed to get back to yesterday), let me answer some that have been posed to me a lot in the last couple of days:
Yes, I do watch "The Walking Dead."
Yes, I do know what happened Sunday night.
No, I did not see it.
No, I do not think I will ever watch that episode.

NOW. . .

1.
What is your favorite fabric to wear?
Sweatshirt fleece.


2.
Who woke you up this morning?
Lily.  It's always Lily.


3.
Last time you had to turn off the announcers and turn on the radio for a sports event?
I don't remember, honestly!  Probably a Vandy football game, but I can't say for sure.


4.
Last fast food item you ate?
Zaxby's chicken fingers.
 

5
Last item you had knit regrets about?
The only things that comes to mind are a sweater I made for my father, and a vest I made for my husband, just after I started knitting.  Neither of them ever got put together.


6
Last time  a family member said to you?
"Love you."


7
Are you still working on a New years Resolution?
No;  I don't make them.


8
Last great amatuer photo you saw?
This one!



9
Do you feed the birds?
Sadly, no.


10
Do you know someone who is an organ donor recipient or donor?
Lots of donors, no recipients.




Monday, October 24, 2016

The Good Kind of Crying

Remember that wedding I mentioned a few days ago?  Briton posted this picture on Facebook with the caption, "When you don't know most of the people at the wedding, but you know the bride, and she's your oldest friend, and it's worth it."

Yeah, I got teary.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Wrapping Things Up

Today, three knitting catalogs came in the mail.  In all of them, there was at least one thing that I thought would be an excellent holiday gift for someone;  isn't that always the way?  Despite that, though, this year will be handmade-present-free.  There are gifts about, though.  Thursday is Briton's birthday, and we have a wedding to go to on Saturday.


Saturday, October 15, 2016

A Seasonal Thing

As Fall tiptoes in, some of our warm weather activities are slowing giving way to extra quilts on the bed, turning the heat on to knock off the morning chill, maybe even wearing sweaters.

There are some people who eat ice cream only in Summer.  My head understands this, while my stomach just doesn't get it.  Before Chocolate Chip Mint gets crossed off your shopping list, you are invited to knit a Blankapalooza square

THE COLOR OF YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM.


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Did You Say. . .

. . .Mark Harmon?

Three of you did!  And, as silly as it seems, I put "1," "2," and "3" into a random number generator, and was given "3" as the answer.  So, Vicki will be receiving the pouch and mini-skeins.

There are actually several men who've been KH nominees since the beginning:
Alexander Skarsgard
Jeremy Irons
Mike Rowe
Viggo Mortensen.
Ewan McGregor, Jon Stewart, and Matthew McConaughey have been in for a good number of years, but none of them go back to the very beginning.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Tin, Aluminum, or Diamond

Those are the choices one has when planning for a tenth wedding anniversary.  Which of those, or what else, will work for the tenth anniversary of a blog contest?

Next August, the Tenth Knitters' Hunk jamboree will get underway.  Between now and then, there will be small prizes, treasure hunts, polls, and guessing games here to get us all ready.  There will be no rhyme or reason to the timing of these events --- they'll simply appear as I think of them.

Last night, I thought of one.

Leave your answer to this question in the "Comments" section.  If more than one of you answers correctly, I will use a random number generator to select the winner.  

Which man has been part of the Knitters' Hunk field every single year?
A.  Sam Elliott
B.  Idris Elba
C.  Mark Harmon
D.  Jon Hamm

The winner will receive a vinyl Knitcrate notions pouch (in navy), with mini yarn skeins inside.  You have until tomorrow at 3 PM (ET) to submit your answer.  One guess per person, please.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Good Questions from Kathy (As Usual)

 * Name a book or movie that your mom Loved:
My mother adored books, but I can't recall her ever saying she had a favorite.  I do know that she loved the movie version of "Gone With The Wind."

*Who was the last nice stranger you met?
The cashier at Fresh Market.  I was in the store about 10 minutes after it opened, so there were no other customers in line, and we had a nice back and forth. 

*How many inches did you knit up this weekend?
A lot!  Sleeping and knitting are all I can do right now, so significant progress was made with both.

*What shape are your knit/crochet hands, in ?
Good.  

*I'm knitting with a pair of plastic size 10 needles. 
Does that make you cringe?
Not at all, as I am about to cast some new project stitches onto plastic 15s!

*Miss Pie has figured a way to squeeze through the gates to get upstairs by us.  Her sight is poor.  Her will is strong.
Will she or wont she end up in our bed this week?
Oh, absolutely!  She's probably already up there!  All Dean cats are bed sleepers.  Exhibit A, my daughter's Klunk:



Thursday, October 6, 2016

Snobbery Does Pay (and Cost)

During my teaching years, I had a number of deaf students, and, therefore, a number of ASL interpreters, in my classes.  One interpreter, at Alabama, was rather chronically late to class, so she taught me a few rudimentary signs to help the student keep up until she got in.

One quarter at Athens Tech, I had two deaf students, each with her own interpreter.  It turned out that both the interpreters were knitters.  One morning, I was wearing a hooded sweater I had made, and rather than the usual "Good Morning" when they came in, one of them said,  "That's Noro, isn't it?"  She then admitted to being an unrepentant yarn snob, "never ever" using anything but top quality yarn in her work.

As, I assume, every knitter realizes, good yarn does make a remarkable difference in a project.  Personally, I've not always been able to afford top of the line yarn;  in fact, the Noro for the sweater mentioned above was on deep clearance in my favorite Nashville yarn shop.  It took me a while to find enough matching skeins in the big sale bin for any size project.

I've worn sweaters and scarves and gloves made from Red Heart, and from K-Mart store brand yarn.  I've worn things made from pricey yarn my mother got from the yarn store for which she did custom work.  I've knit with Caron and Habu.  I like Lion Brand, and I've had Fun Fur in my stash.  That made me no less a knitter than someone who only use cashmere or quiviut or Manoush.

Look. . .  Knit what you want.

Knit the way you want.

Use yarns that make you comfortable, in every way.

Knit to be happy,

to be creative,

to relax.

Not compete.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cleaning Up

Once again, I missed a Color Prompt Day.  The 3rds are hard to remember, for some reason.  With apologies, I do command that your next square shall be

THE COLOR OF YOUR FAVORITE VEGETABLE.

Make it so.

Monday, October 3, 2016

KAH-veezel and KAH-westjuns

Aside from sports and news, I am not a television watcher.  If I get wind of an interesting-sounding program, I'm not above bingeing.  Right now, "Person of Interest" is where it's at.  The premise of the show always intrigued me, and there are worse ways to spend 40+ minutes than watching the excellent acting of Michael Emerson, and looking at Jim Caviezel:

Between that, football, and the Ryder Cup, there was lots of quality TV/knitting time this weekend.  The windows open to a Fall day, football game on television, knitting --- that is definitely a Happy Place for me.

Kathy asks:
*Which did you last wear?
Flannel shirt or Sweatshirt?
Sweatshirt.  I haven't owned a flannel shirt since high school.

*Which chart is easier for you to read?
Fair isle or Cables?
I don't find any chart easy to read, which is why I avoid them like I avoid the plague-causing DPNs.

*Do you prefer a turtleneck or a cowl neck?
Turtleneck.  I can't ever get a cowl neck to lay right.  Plus, turtlenecks show jewelry off better, and are much easier to deal with if one wears a scarf.

*Have you been on a ghost walk?  Where?
Nope.

*What is the bulk of your stash...
sock yarn? Worsted? Bulky?
I'm guessing sock, but I also have a lot of baby-weight.  Is that consider Fingering, or DK? 

*Have you tried acupuncture?
Would you?
I have, and it was amazing.

*Have you eaten Halloween candy yet this year?
No;  I don't do Halloween.

*Have you seen Christmas decorations yet?
Yes.  And it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

*What's your charity of choice to donate to ?

*You are at the apple orchard,
do you buy 
apples?
donuts?
cider?
I'd look at the doughnuts first.  If there weren't any that I wanted, I go to cider.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Knitting Content

Just off 45 minutes at this site, because Kathy is making the Capucine hat.  What positively gorgeous patterns they have there --- and for free!!!

On my needles right now, the Side-to-Side Shrug, still, and this
in this



The Nectar Scarf is done. but
I can't decide whether to keep it for myself, or put it in the etsy store.

48

If you've ever rented a movie on Amazon Prime, you know you have 48 hours in which to watch it.  (By the way, why do we "watch"...