Best Joke Ever!

I don't know why but this ranks pretty high on the making-Rowan-giggle meter

Last night when Jason was pouring water into the cat bowl he said:
"Yay, Fresh water kitties! ... as opposed to those funny saltwater kitties!"

Frogged... now reknit

So remember the shot glasses and the ripped back sweater... well it now looks like this:

I am now over the boobs and down to the stomache!
In the mean time I made some other stuff

There are a few other things, but they are presents and are hush hush!

Ichnology Gauntlets

Ichnology Gauntlets

Ichnology is the branch of geology that deals with traces of organisms, such as burrows, nests, and footprints. When I was designing these little gauntlets all I could think about was how the cute little paw prints were actually quite an accurate representation about how my cats walk all over me while I try to knit, and so, being the geologist, I started imagining the lace on my gloves like little scaber toothed kitty footprints preserved in the rock record.

Yarn used: Blue moon fiber arts socks that rock lightweight (1/5th of a skein). Although any fingering weight yarn will do and since these gloves (as written) take less than 100 yards, you can probably whip these up out of some left over sock yarn.

Needles used: US size 2 (2.75mm) or size needed to obtain 8 sts and 12 rows per inch (roughly)

Resizing options: any yarn weight or needle size may be used and I have written the pattern so that it should be easily adapted.

CUFF
Cast on 45 sts using a stretchy cast on (I use long tail cast on over 2 needles) To make a different size, cast on any multiple of 4+13 sts. (e.g. 5*4+13=33, 10*4+13=53)
Rows 1-5: K11, P2, work K2, P2 rib to end of round (for 45 sts work K2, P2 8 times)
Row 6: Place marker, work paw print chart, Place marker, P2, work K2, P2 rib to end of round. The markers denote where the paw print chart is, the rest is just K2, P2 rib.
(for symmetrical gloves, start the paw print chart on row 11 on one cuff)
*Repeat row 6 for 2 whole repeats of the paw print chart then divide for thumb:

DIVIDE FOR THUMB (RIGHT HAND)
R1 (Right side): Work paw print chart, P2, K2, P2, K1, TURN WORK, Place marker to denote new beginning of round! To resize go to ***
R2 (Wrong side): Sl1 Purlwise, K2, P2, K2, work WS of paw print chart (i.e. P all K sts, K all P sts etc.), Knit sts as they lie until new beginning of round, TURN WORK.
R3 (Right side): Sl1 Knitwise, P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart, work paw print chart, P2, K2, P2, K1, TURN WORK
*Repeat R2 and R3 until R15 of paw print chart
R15 (Right side): Sl1 Knitwise, P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart, work paw print chart, P2, K2, P2, K1 (DO NOT TURN WORK), K1 (this is the “end of round” stitch… to tighten this up, slip this stitch then work a Cat Bordhi “hungry stitch” the row above), P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart.
R16-20: Work paw print chart, P2, work K2, P2 rib to end of round.
Bind off LOOSELY, I like Judy’s super stretchy bind off or EZ’s sewn bind off.

DIVIDE FOR THUMB (LEFT HAND)
R1 (Right side): Work paw print chart, P2, (K2, P2) to last 7 sts (i.e. to middle of second last K2 rib) TURN WORK, Place marker to denote new beginning of round!
R2 (Wrong side): Sl1 Purlwise, K2, (P2, K2) until paw print chart, work WS of paw print chart (i.e. P all K sts, K all P sts etc.), Knit sts as they lie until new beginning of round, TURN WORK.
R3 (Right side): Sl1 Knitwise, P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart, work paw print chart, P2, (K2, P2) until last stitch before new beginning of round, K1, TURN WORK
*Repeat R2 and R3 until R15 of paw print chart
R15 (Right side): Sl1 Knitwise, P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart, work paw print chart, P2, (K2, P2) until last stitch before new beginning of round, K1, (DO NOT TURN WORK), K1 (this is the “end of round” stitch… to tighten this up, slip this stitch then work a Cat Bordhi “hungry stitch” the row above), P2, (K2, P2) to paw print chart.
R16-20: Work paw print chart, P2, work K2, P2 rib to end of round.
Bind off LOOSELY, I like Jeny’s suprizingly stretchy bind off or EZ’s sewn bind off.


*** To resize, slip the cuff over your wrist and decide where you would like the paw prints to sit on your hand (I put mine on the back of the hand but you might want yours placed differently). Then determine where a comfortable place would be for a thumb hole (I chose the middle of a K2 so that the edging looked nicer). Mark this spot with a removable stitch marker then work as follows:
R1: Work paw print chart, work P2, K2 rib until marker, TURN WORK
Work as written, but note that the K2, P2 stitch count for your gauntlet might be quite different.

Paw Print Chart *Thanks to the Tsock Tsarina for the adorable paw prints!

Frogged...

My lovely sweater has been frogged (because you rip it... rip it... rip out the stitches)...
It used to look like this:

It now looks like this:

Jason Helped... Black seal rum helped too...

Our TV, it is huge...

SO maybe most people are graced with large screen TVs but this TV is the largest I have ever had in my life... this is why I have a tech-ready husband :D (details concerning the TV are at the end of the post)

Oh, and Scimi approves of Jason's new socks

Our new TV is a Samsung LN40C630. 40" LCD screen with 1080p resolution (1920x1080). Full array of inputs (HDMI, Composite, etc), as well as a network connection for streaming media over a LAN. Lots of settings and features, so that it can be tweaked to perfection. The built-in speakers are quite good (for a TV). Total weight with the stand is 38lbs.  Currently, we're running it using my new laptop (which I suppose I should probably blog about in more detail at some point) via HDMI.  Streaming Netflix movies look surprisingly good, DVD's are great, and HD shows playing from the computer are amazing.  Perhaps one day we'll get a Blu-ray player...  but not right now.

Awesome belated birthday present

Look what my Mommy bought me for my birthday! Isn't it awesome, I feel all growed up now!

It is a Brother CS-6000i and I am in love, it is so cool! I have already threaded a bobbin, set up the various stitches, and replaced the presser foot.
The cats think this new machine is as strange as the printer!
I wish I had thought ahead and bought little squares of fabric to practice with.
I wish I had bought better spools of thread.
This is my work station... note glass of beer, tiny cactus, open manual, and huge tray of threads (on craptastic spools I might add!)

I cut up a pair of Jeans (I know mother... worst fabric ever but it was the only piece of clothing that was already torn up!) and tried out a few stitches and even worked on turning corners, making arcs and doing a little embroidery... i still have yet to figure out the funky button-holer-thingy but hey, I can't get it all in the first night :)

Things I love about this sewing machine that I have not noticed on other sewing machines:
1) No threading the needle! There is a funky little gizmo that threads it for you!
2) While there are manual controls for everything, there are a few nice little buttons that do the everyday things for you (e.g. raising, inserting needle, winding the bobbin, and an auto needle up/down function.
3) There is a secret little compartment! (OK probably every machine has this but I think it's freekin' sweet!)
4) It goes through denim pretty easily.
5) the button holder (which does many different types of buttons actually holds the button you want to make the button hole for to make sure it is the right size :D

Thank you bunches mum, I love it, I can't wait for the long weekend to play with it more!

Everyone, expect mini pillows for Christmas!

Best Short Weekend Ever!

Santa Ynez Wineries Annual Picnic at Bridlewood!

My New Tank top!

Our lovely hotel!