The game is on!

I started my Felted Fair Isle bag for the ravelympics. I've never done fair isle before, and I really like it! This is the bag yesterday!

And this is it tonight.

Pretty huh? Oh and see the little kitty in the bag? That's Desire, Dezi for short. Our newest kitty! Last Monday, my mom went outside to walk Asta and there were these two kitties! Which is so weird because the night before my parents were talking about how there are no outside kitties anymore. then BOOM! we have them.

So, my mom comes in the house screaming "OMG OMG OMG OMG! KITTY! KITTY! KITTY!" (not the letters OMG, Oh my god) we go out and see these two little kitties. I go in to get ready to go get my hair done and a few minutes later, mom comes in the house with a TEENY TINY kitty. He could hardly walk, since he was so little and underfed. In under 5 minutes, he had a name and a Vet appointment in a few hours. He had ear mites, fleas and worms, which is normal for an outside kitty. It's been a week and he's already grown! He loves playing with yarn (I see a big problem with that) and running and chasing things! It's amazing how much he's grown in a week. The cutest thing? Asta Adopted him! She barks if one of the cats tries eat his food or if she thinks the cats might hurt him. Isn't that ADORABLE?!?! I think I should explain about Dezi's name. A few months ago, my father said that the next cat we found, he wanted named desire. As in A StreetCAT named desire. I think it's so perfect for him.

Other than the bag, I haven't knit a thing! I did finish my scarf, pics to come soon. I have 1 and a half edges to finish on my HUGE granny square blanket, I started my second O sock, which I have the picot edging done, and half a repeat done. I need two repeats before I can do the heel. I did....... wait for it.... WAIT..... You ready?

SPIN!!! On my spindle! It looks ok for my first time. I think. I already ordered more roving! I think I might have a new addiction!

I did that in a day.I should have been knitting my bag, but I was having so much FUN! this week, I might try one of my mom's wheels.

I was tagged by emmus, so I'll try and do that in the next few days!

Catch-up!

Sorry about not blogging. There's been so much going on. Like,

A tree fell thru the house

The tree is gone now, but there are still holes in the ceiling. It was right next to where I sit in the family room.. Very scary. I was up in my bedroom when it happened watching the hail (yes there was hail) and lighting. No one was hurt, thank God. My hermit crabs got a dusting from the roof stuff, but they're ok. The animals were freaked out but ok. My parents cats (Autumn, Mouse and Lassie) all hid for a day. While mine (Sherlock, Miss Marple and Asta) all refused to leave my side for the rest of the night. It was very cute.

My knee. It still hurts. And since it's sprained (twisted whatever) I injury it more since it's weak. I slipped on a bag (that ironically I used to ice my knee) and twisted my knee and sprained my ankle. On my other foot. I am so good at doing things like that. Now, I'm on crutches and basically sitting around knitting and crocheting all day. Which I love, but I really want to get out and do stuff.

My grandfather had another stroke. It happened on Monday. We still don't know how bad it is, but as of now, he can't talk and has lost his balance a few times walking. He can mumble and stuff and he doesn't know my mom's name. He's going to be in the hospital for a week or more going to rehab. In fact, if he wasn't going to be going to rehab, they would have sent him home by now. Can you believe that? Not even a day after having a stroke, you would be sent home? That's awful. So if you could, please send some good thoughts his way.

Oh and since my mom took him to the ER, she took my car since hers was being worked on. And she had to use the valet. Who put HUGE freaking dent and scratch in my car. We're trying to get them to pay for the repair. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Since I've been sitting and knitting a lot more, I have a few FO's to show you:
My Baby Cable Rib socks

Knit in STR Spring fling. Look at that pooling! So cool!

Strawberry Fields Forever

still have to felt it. Felting means walking down to the basement, which I haven't been able to do.

Isn't Miss Marple a great model?

And a pair of Fingerless gloves named Ktb38 Hobo Mitts by Landolista.

Pretty huh? I made the pattern up, so just in case someone wants to make them, here it is. I used Moda Silk 'n Wool blend but you can use any worsted weight yarn.

On size 8's cast on 3o stitches. Join in the round, being careful not to twist it. Place marker. *knit 4 purl 2* around until it measures 4 inches, or however long you want it. For the thumb, knit in patt to the last 6 stitches. Bind off these 6 stitches. Continue and then when you get to the bound off stitches, cast on 6. Continue in pattern until it reaches 6 inches (or whatever you want). Bind off in pattern. Weave in ends.

It's so easy, and I made mine in a few hours. I hope that if you make them, you like them.

I'm going to making a purse (Felted Fair Isle bag) for the Ravelympics, so I'm trying to finish up a few UFO's before it starts. I finished one of my O's socks. It was my first time doing a short row heel, so it's a bit wonky.

I need to do some decreases on my sleeve, and then just knit the neck and seam and I have a sweater! I'm very excited.

I had to frog the toe of my mom's Jaywalkers. When I was doing the toe, I was really tired and didn't get the pattern, so I just did it my way. WAY to short. So I'm going to try again soon.

I was bad and did cast on one thing. A basic seed stitch scarf. Here's Miss Marple modeling again (I try and get Asta and Sherlock to model, but they don't like it.)

That's it for now.

No cupcakes yet!

You know how you think "I'm going to do this and it's going to be great!"? Well, that's what I thought about the cupcakes. I have everything I need to make them. But a few days after the polls closed, a propane (or as Carry says proPAIN) kneed me. I never get the cool injuries. I went and I saw the PA (yes, that PA there was no one else) and he said "Oh you just banged it". And that was it. This was about 2 weeks ago. It still hurts and it feels hotter than my other knee. I had an appointment with the Doctor today. Then I went to get X-rays on my knee. I was told it wasn't broken, so that's good. I might need to get shots to bring the swelling down.

Want to know why a propain tank kneed me? I was chasing after my new cat, Miss Marple. Heather's sister had this cat hanging around her house and didn't want to give it to a shelter so she asked her is she wanted it. Heather already has an a cat (Zuzu who is SOOOOOO cute) so then she asked if I wanted it. I said yes. Oh and if you go to Heather's blog, she has some kittens that need homes. This is Miss Marple Isn't she adorable? And she fits in great with everyone else.

I'm almost done knitting my little strawberry purse. It's been put on hold for a bit to knit some secret knitting things, but I am going to finish it very soon. I have one half already done, but I don't have a pic of that. This is just as I was getting into knitting the green ( or the stem)

Love the pattern. And it's just adorable.

On Ravelry, Gemnah and I started a group for a knit-along for the Seascape Stole. It's going to a lot of fun, so come join us! You don't have to knit it, you can be a cheerleader!

Just a quickie

Cupcakes won! I have everything to make them. I'm going to make chocolate cupcakes with 2 different frosting's. One will be a peanut butter frosting (made with fresh peanut butter) and the other is a yummy butter cream frosting/filling that my mom used to make. It's fantastic. I know I said I would make it on Saturday, but my mom's very good friend mother died. So I wasn't able to. But I am hoping to make them Monday or Tuesday.

My strawberry clutch is almost done. I finished half, cast on for the other side, got a bit into it, and messed up. So I frogged it. And then I re-cast on. Now I'm almost halfway through it. I LOVE it. I can't wait to use it.

Ok, that's all now. Here's a cute picture for you to look at! It's Asta crocheting!

June?

Already? Oh boy, I'll have to be a better blogger huh?

My nose is unbroken! Healed! Well, mostly. It still hurts every so often but nothing like it did. And I might not be having surgery. I have a deviated septum that drives me insane. On Monday, I'm having skin tests to see what I'm allergic to (I had a blood test already) and then my Doctor is going to treat it. If the septum doesn't get better with allergy shots and meds then we'll talk about surgery.

My mom is still getting migraines, though not as bad as she was getting. She's going to try and take things out of her diet and see if a food triggers it. Keep your fingers crossed we find out what's causing them!

Since my nose was broken, it was hard to knit and crochet. I couldn't look down for more then a few minutes at a time. I crocheted a few washcloths and finally finished the back and bottom of my cat bag. I'm now working on the sides. I am hoping to finish it up this week so I can felt it and use it.

I wanted a rather quick knit that was a bit more than mindless, but not so much that I couldn't watch a movie. So that's why I casted for the Strawberry Clutch. Which I'm calling Strawberry Fields forever.

Cute huh? I love it. I haven't gotten much done so far, but I was only working on it for about a little bit.
I did finished a sock today. The pattern is Baby Cable rib and the yarn is STR in medium weight, the colorway is Spring Fling, and it seems that you can't buy it anymore. So HA! I love the colors. So nice, and of course I love the yarn. I just looked on their website and fell in love with pride. It's so bright and colorful.

I've made a bit of progress on my other WIPs. I'm almost done with the gusset on my mom's mother's day present, Jaywalkers. Yes, I know it's past mother's day. Your point? In my defense, she has yet to make me this one shawl in Wrap Style. From Christmas.

I'm past the heel on my O's socks. Which brings me to something. Now, so you can understand what I'm going to tell you I guess I should say a few things. I'm 20 and I took a year off going to college to decide what I wanted to do. Then, last year my grandfather had a stroke and my mother started getting sick so she asked me not to go to college or get a job so I could help her out. I said yes. I help my grandfather out and my mom. Ok then.

About 2 weeks or so ago, I went into Yarn Gallery and asked for help on my O's. It had a short-row heel and I had never done one before. The owner wasn't there, but 2 employees were. One was off helping my mom getting yarn to make a lucy bag and the other was "helping" me with my sock. I explained what I needed help on and the woman's response? "Oh, I never did one off these. Just do a heel flap." So I explain to her that I don't want to do that I want to do a short-row heel. Her "You should just do a heel flap." At this point, I'm getting a bit pissed off. So I tell her no, I'm going to do a short row heel. And then she "helped" me. By helping, I mean telling me what I already knew. So I said thanks and decided I would look it up on the web. As my mom was paying for her yarn (and a skein of sock yarn for me) the employee who "helped" me asked in a very bitchy I am so better than you could ever be tone "Katie, do you have a job?" I said no, I help my mom and grandfather out. She (I swear) shook her head and did this tsk tsking sound and went back to her knitting. Then, as we were leaving, she said in the same tone "Katie, how old are you?" I said 20. And again she did the whole shaking her head and the tsk thing and went back to her knitting. This woman had no right to judge me like that at all. That she would say that at her place of work just boggles my mind. How could an owner let someone who treats her customers like that work in her shop? In this day and age when I could easily go on the web and buy the same yarn cheaper, but instead I went to support my local businesses. Well, no more. I'm never going back there again. And I urge you not to go either. Go to The Soxy Lady, or Oh Susannah in Lancaster, Yarn Calling in Kutztown (I've never been there yet, but I hear the owner is very nice). Some yarn shops think that no matter how they treat their customers, they will keep coming back. I read how people walk into shops and no one greeted, much less are asked if they need help finding something. I get that yarn shops can't compete with some of the online prices, but they can at least find it in them to be decent at the very least to their bread and butter. Right?

So anyway, I've decided to have a poll. See in the upper right hand corner? You get to vote for what kind of dessert I'll make on Saturday. The poll will close on Thursday, so I can get everything to make it on Friday. And bake it on Saturday. The choices are Lemon Bars (as requested by Hopi), Souffle, Coconut cake, Cupcakes and a surprise! So go vote!

It's been a busy month so far

I've been so busy! This might be a very long post. Bear with me. My mom migraine's did go away for a little while. But during the month she had the migraine, it cost a small fortune to get rid of it. And do you want to know why? At the family doctor's, there's the doctor and the physicians assistant. Now, since it's a small practice, the nurses and everyone knew why we where coming. Every time we went, she would get the PA. Here, the PA can't right certain prescriptions. Like strong meds that someone might need to get rid of a migraine. And she kept getting the PA. He would write out something for a drug and it would cost a lot. But we thought it would work. And then he would shoot her with some drugs. We did this at least 5 times. Every time she called to make an appointment, she would say this drug blah bub isn't working. You would think that they would say "I think the doctor should see you". You would think. But nope. The pa. The last time she went, she begged the PA to have the Dr. give her stronger meds. He refused. Ass. Since it seemed nothing was working, my mom tried alternative methods. Like this honey/vinegar in spring water thing. Which worked. So to sum up, it took over $900 dollars to help get rid of it. And a 3 cent remedy worked. Needless to say, we're a bit ( A LOT) pissed off at the doctors office.



So then, Monday morning (Sunday night whichever you look at it) at 1 am she started vomiting and guess what came back? Yup. Migraine. She couldn't even keep water down. Around 8:30 she had me take her to the ER. We got there and they gave her IV fluids (since she couldn't keep water down) and some shots for nausea. And since her migraine was coming back, they shot her up with pain meds. And they kept doing this. For hours. And hours. And I had to sit in some of the most uncomfortable chairs every made. But I did get some knitting done. We finally left at 6:30. I still cannot believe that they didn't admit her! If you can't keep water down something isn't right. Right?


Anyway, Sherlock disappeared last week, around Saturday. I looked everywhere. She was nowhere. Now, this is a cat who if she does get out, in a hour or two she would be crying to come back in. I had thought something really bad had happened to her. But something amazing happened. After almost a week of being missing, she came back. I still can't believe it.

Hmmmm... What else happened? Oh yeah, MY NOSE IS BROKEN. Yup. Broken. Well, fractured. Tuesday, I woke up really late (since I spent hours in the Er on Monday with my mom) and saw a wolf spider and told my mom to kill it (OK, so it might have been more of a "Oh my god!!! It's A SPIDER! KILL IT!) and she went to go kill it, lost her balance, and her elbow hit the bridge of my nose. I saw lightning and then collapsed to the floor in so much pain. I went to the Er (twice in as many days) and found out that it was broken. So much fun. I went to an ENT Friday and she said that it might take a month or more for it to mend. But the good news is that I didn't get black eyes. Though, I could have made up some good stories about how I got them.

Yesterday, I was out to eat with my mother and her father (it was his birthday) and my nose started hurting. I didn't think anything of it. But then, half of my face felt really hot. And I felt like my nose was swelling up. Which it was. So I called the ENT, got the nurse and she said to go to my Dr. right away. Which I did. He gave me antibiotics and Tylenol 3. It could be a sinus infection. But he doesn't know. So now, I have to ice my nose for 10 minutes on, 20 minutes off. I might be seeing the ENT again next week but I don't know so we'll see.




Since my nose got broken, I didn't finish my mom's Mother day gift. Which is going to be a pair of Jaywalker socks.









I didn't want to knit them while in pain and on pain meds because my gauge would be messed up. So instead, I crocheted a blue washcloth (cause you can never have too many)






and I knit a pair of fuzzy feet for myself. The yarn is Lambs Pride Worsted and the color is Ocean waves, which is somewhat new. It's shaded a little bit which is very nice. I love them. They're HUGE! I'm going to felt them tonight.




And when I felt them, I'm going to felt this. It's the Sophie bag (from magknits when magknits was still around). I made this a few weeks ago. I was sick over the weekend and wanted to knit something that I could finish. And not mess up while I was sick. The yarn is Cascade 220 and I forgot the color.


I think it's such a cute summer/spring purse.

Speaking of purses, I finally finished the front of my Cat on the bag. I'm now knitting the back and then I'll knit sides and a bottom since the gauge is messed up. This was my very first Intarsia.



And now I must go ice my nose.

I got tagged!

Heather tagged me for the for the Seven Random things about meme.
It's my first tag.




The rules:Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.Let them know they are tagged by leaving comments on their blogs.
I'm only going to tag 5 people though.




1. I have lived with at least one cat since I was born.



2. I believe that Jif is way better then Skippy. Also, Coke beats Pepsi any day. But if I had to choose a soda to drink, it would be Cranberry Ginger Ale.



3. I can curl my tongue both ways.. And I can touch my tongue to my nose.

4. I have a birthmark on my hip. It's 3 dark freckles that form a triangle. I also have a strawberry shaped birthmark on my neck. My mother and my grandmother have them too.



5. I got my car before I got drivers license. It was a gift from my grandfather.



6. I cannot, for the life of me, fold a paper airplane that flies right. Mine just go pfft.


7. I cut the tip of my index finger on my left hand off about 4 years ago. You could see my bone and muscle and everything. Very gross. I went to the ER and they put this fake skin thing on and most of it grew back. I named the finger Stinky. I still have a scar. And if I press something with it, it really hurts.





Ok, so I'm going to tag:

Marvie
Penny
Regan
Kelly
Jay