Tired of Holiday Sweaters? Try a Cruise Sweater....

This Cruise Sweater is available right now on eBay.
Direct to you from Florida. Cruise capital of the world, so they should know cruise fashion. Right?


Black probably wouldn't have been my first choice for Cruise Wear, but what do I know. Maybe it's to take advantage of the slimming effect of black. But, no there's that huge white, and red, horizontal stripe accross the belly.
Maybe the black is because it's a
night-time scene? Then, what's with
all the sunglasses and tanning?
And it comes complete with sexy lounging sunbather knit right into the back ( or should I say butt) of this size Large sweater. Just what I would want on my size L butt, a skinny, almost naked intarsia woman!

Just what you need for that cruise with your "Fat Fighters" weigh in group.
Hey, my Mom would have worn this!
She was that cool kind of little old lady,
after she lost 100 # with her Fat Fighters
(her pet name for her gang, not mine).

And it's 100% Cotton - that'll look good wet. Right?

Proudly knitted, by hand, With TWO Needles, in Uruguay. Wow!

Did the designers give women what they wanted this fall?

Let's look back to the Fall 2007 Fashion week reports: "Designers are still making the case that fall is about chunky knit sweaters, but they have slimmed down the overall silhouette after a few seasons of over-the-top volume."

Do you think that's what we got?

It really sounds great when you read it though, doesn't it?

Carolina Herrera had some great stuff out there.

The Worst Direction

It is time to admit, to my chagrin, that I wasted time reading a book.
Contrary to my nature, I know. Usually, I consider any book that I have read to be a gainful experience on some level. But not this one. I wasted several otherwise lovely evenings reading "The Golden Compass". I don't even know where to start a diatribe against this book, it's writer, and his publisher!
I was really trying to give it the same chance I did with Harry Potter, and a lot of others. But this one goes in the same category with Ayn Rand. What a waste! With all the hazardous toys being recalled, I think this is a hazardous book that should be recalled.
First: It's not even a Compass; it's a glorified Magic 8 Ball.
Second: This is not a book written for children. And I resent that it has been made into a children's movie even more than I resented Gremlins in 1984. I would have been really ticked if I had shelled out the cash to see this in a theater.
Third: I guess the movie is reasonably successful, more's the pity. I thought with Nicole Kidmann, it might be a good movie. I always liked her. But, then I used to like Tom Cruise too, before he took a ride on the hopping couch. So, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that She's turning out to be spiritually flaky also.
Fourth: Any writer that was bashing any other race, creed, or belief would have been censored and politically corrected out of a job, or contract as the case may be, long before this. What were they thinking to publish such rubbish?
My recommendation: spend your money on something more enjoyable, like a root canal. This Gold could lead to Lead Poisoning. My children know that I won't spend my money on Bratz Cr_p, and now they know I won't be spending it on Golden Compass BS either.

Gave away Stash Yarn!

I think I may have started my New Year's Resolutions early!
I sent home a whole bag of yarn with a SIL after Christmas!
If you don't understand what a breakthrough this is, you just don't understand.
And, in the meantime, I have found Clutterer's Anonymous. Or at least their website.
Hi, my name is Ruby and I have a Clutter Problem.
Anyway, I'm not sure how, but giving away a bag of yarn for a church ladies' group that makes prayer shawls has got to get me some kind of points, doesn't it?
And, in the process, I got rid of a box of yarn that was trashed by mice and who knows what else. It was pretty icky. There was a part of me that really wanted to find a way to salvage even that yarn. Dusty, dirty, mouse goop, mouse skeleton, and all. I guess that's one of the ways that I should know that I have a problem. No one in their right mind would have any doubt, and would have torched the whole shebang at first discovery. But no, I'm still agonizing about what I should have been able to save.
But, I did it, with some help and encouragement. And hopefully, I will continue on into the New Year.........

Finished a Hat for a Nephew

I made a hat similar to the hat in a Spin Off magazine for the youngest nephew. He happens to love hats at the age he is right now. I'm sure he will outgrow it though. Right now, he's the only person that will wear my knit hats. I wonder why that is? People used to wear hats. They wear hats on TV. I see other people wearing hats in my geographic area. Just not my family, and no one I know. Hmmmmmm........

The Christmas Gift

Ok, we opened gifts with the MIL. And she seemed to be very pleased with the hand spun hot pad, pot holder, place mat thingy. I have to admit, I was nervous about felting (or fulling) it, and put that off till the last minute. I tossed it in the washer on hot with a bunch of socks. It seemed to shrink up more in the center than on the edges or ends. That will take more research. Anyway, it was fun.

The Harry Potter Scarf that started it all

This is the first Harry Potter scarf that I knit for John, obviously. I think it was in 2004, or may be 2003, or sometime in the haze of time before now but after 2002. It was from the first generation movie. The pattern was a free one from the Wal-mart yarn section. And, yes, it's good old reliable Red Heart yarn. It really has held up pretty well for the use it has had. I know it's been washed (and dried) in the machine several times.
Flaws: The duplicate stitch is atrocious. The color change has a dramatic jog each time.
Highlights: Done on circular needle, it was fast and easy. It was my first circular project.

Spinning Wheel Update

I got the new bobbins for my Reeves spinning wheel! I finally got to ply two together. It was sooooooo cool! The DH has not finished fixing the treadle for me, so it was kindof interesting. He did spend most of a football game sitting with me and spinning the wheel (by hand) for me. It was so cute! It was so much fun.
So now I'm making a hotpad for my MIL out of the first yarn. It's plain unbleached, undyed wool. The plan is that it will felt just enough to be thick, but not so much that the stitch pattern is lost. We'll see. What if I accidently used the "super wash" roving instead of the plain?
Life is an adventure!

The DH Cleans UP!

Wow! My house is looking sooooo gooooood! My DH has been hauling off so much junk.
Take into consideration that it's mostly My junk.
And, with the help of my 12 step program, I can admit it:
I am a Clutter Junkie.
I have had too much stuff for too long.
For years, any time he would start cleaning, and trying to help, I would absolutely have a panic attack.
In this last week, I've only had a couple of melt down moments.
That urge to rescue the bags of stuff from the trash was nearly overwhelming.
But, I didn't do it.
I let it go.
I am letting it go.
There was a point where I near panicked, and spoke some hasty words that I regret.
But, on the whole, it's not going too bad.
The poor DH thinks I'm a real nut job though. He just doesn't get it. Not that anyone else does though either. Why did I ever start this? What part snapped and broke?

Yarn Thickness Chart at Ohio Valley Natural Fiber

I've been to the website for Ohio Valley Natural Fiber.
There's a great Yarn Thickness Chart in downloadable PDF form that I think will be really handy. I'm trying to put together a comprehensive chart or excel file or something that will let me figure out what to do with the yarns that I have. Part of my own 12 step program for OCD Clutterer.
In summary: The yarn weights come from how many Wraps Per Inch or WPI a yarn is. You wrap the yarn in question around something (can be anything from a ruler to a pop sicle stick to a very expensive specialty tool.) You make sure the yarn is not stretched, but not too slack; not over lapping anywhere, but no gaps. Then you count the times it wraps around in one inch of length.

#0 LACE Weight is 20 to 18 WPI
#1 FINGERING Weight is 16 to 14 WPI
#2 SPORT Weight is 12 to 10 WPI
#3 CHUNKY Weight is 9 to 8 WPI
#4 BULKY Weight is 5 to 6 WPI

Which obviously brings up the questions: What is 7 WPI? What about my lumpy handspun that starts out as 4 WPI and the eventually ends up at 24 WPI over the course of about 25 yards? All those questions, and more, will be answered as time goes by.

In search of a solution, or maybe just a definition.

Well, maybe I do need a 12 step program. So i searched online and found Clutterers Anonymous. No meetings anywhere within range of the middle of nowhere where I am. So, I'll be reading their website this evening. Do any of you have any experience with a CA group?
Do any of you think it's possible to do this on my own? Well, I mean I think I will have the support of family and several friends. But, I really don't think any of them really get it. I've tried to explain it to a few very supportive and well meaning friends. Sometimes it just seems so hopeless.
I'm not even sure what my real problem is. I collect things. Stuff that I don't even know why I collect it. Stuff that I should be able to throw away or give away without getting all crazy about it. I buy things I don't need. I keep things I can't use. Why?
So, if I admit it, and if I work on it hard enough, can I get control of it? Can I get past it?

Handmade Pledge: Buy Handmade.org

Wow, I just stumbled on this one today.
And I want to post it before I loose it.
I've been hit extra hard with the "be reasonable this Christmas" philosophy.
In other years, my OCD Hoarding / Shopping problem has gotten me into a LOT of trouble. Last year, I was able to admit that I had a major problem. But not before I had maxed out every financial resource I had. This year, I want to do so much better. I'm already starting with one foot in the hole though. The financial resources are already pretty drained. Why do I still have the urge to open new accounts so I can buy stuff people don't really want? I know that I don't really need anything. I know my kids only want "stuff" because other people and TV tell them they "want" it.

Friday night, I was watching "Numbers" when the guy made a bet that he could last longer without buying anything "unnecessary".
Sunday - wow, that pastor is really hitting home with me every Sunday! It's getting really eerie.
Then Today, I find this "buy hand made" site.
Alright already! I have stash, I know I should use it! I'll get back to work now.

http://www.buyhandmade.org/why-buy-handmade

http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=heartshandmade&w=507018%40N25&m=pool

What part of these projects is hard to make fit?

The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters: A Knit-to-Fit Workshop

I've looked through my copy several times now, and I'm just not seeing how hard it is to make these kind of things fit.

The Dolman, batwing sleeve thing kind of fits a pretty broad range of sizes doesn't it?

As far as I can tell, all of the designs in this book are pretty forgiving in fit. I was hoping for hints on how to make things really fit. Not that my figure is worth showing off at this point in time. But, I knit for people that have it and should flaunt it.