Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I haven't posted in forever...things have been VERY busy...but I have a new computer and I've been knitting a bunch so hopefully I can back on track with the blogging. Our news for the new year is that my husband is going to be deployed to Iraq in June...I'm going to try to get back in the habit of blogging on a regular basis so he will have a way to keep up with the news of us here at home while he's away...



One of the fun things we've done the past few months was attend the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the church my brother and I grew up in. It's Calvary United Protestant Church in Park Forest, IL and we had a wonderful weekend with our parents reminiscing with old friends.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with their families!!!! My New Year's resolution is to blog on a regular basis! Wish me luck!!

Laura

Another Finished Project!

I finished something!!! This is my finished Mystery Shawl 7. I'm not as good at wonderful creative pictures as some people are. I absolutely love this pattern and the way it turned out. It doesn't have a home yet...don't know if it will be leaving this home yet! As I said in my last post, I'm currently knitting lots of lace so hopefully there will be more pictures like this throughout the summer.

I heard from my Target in Sock Wars 3. She recieved her socks and was most gracious. A lot of us had problems with the pattern and of course, her socks were too big, but she loved the yarn and colors. One of my goals with the swaps and wars and KALs is to meet new people who share a passion for knitting and make new friends and I achieved that goal with Sock Wars (despite the negativity that is rampant on the boards).

What's going on in my life besides knitting, you ask? I'm still trying to stick to WeightWatchers and have a great group of online gals who are very supportive (and like to knit, go figure!). I need to get more active...I tell myself that today's the day, every morning and by the time the kid's are in bed at night I'm saying, "tomorrow's the day"...

I keep telling my DH he just needs to win the lottery so I can stay home, take care of the house, myself and knit...oh well...

'Til next time!

Laura

Stash and Projects

I've been roaming around on Ravelry and it's very addictive! My knitting buddy, Holly, warned me and I foolishly went and roamed anyway! It did get me motivated to log some of my stash and WIP's though.

I was signed up for Sock Wars 3 and just mailed off my first pair of socks to my target yesterday...I, of course, neglected to take a picture of them so we'll have to wait and she if she posts a picture once she recieves them. Once she gets her socks she has to package up the socks she was working on and send them to me to finish for her target. As long as I haven't recieved any socks from my "assassin" I'm still alive and can continue to knit socks. I haven't heard a thing from my assassin so I'm assuming I'm still safe!

I'm also participating in several lace shawl KALs...here's some pics of the works in progress. The Lace Mystery shawl has only had one clue released and it looks like this:


I'm using Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18 in Daffodil with gold lined clear size 8 beads.

I'm also working on the Mystic Light KAL. It uses fingering weight, which is much different to knit a shawl with than lace weight, but I love the way it's turning out...I'm currently on Clue 3 and the pattern has 5 clue total. I'm using Koigu in a burnt orange colorway (It's supposed to remind you of fire).

My third work in progress is the Slow-Bee Mystery Shawl. It calls for 3000 yds of laceweight yarn and 3000 beads...I'm using Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/24 (I was hoping to keep it from being a queen size blanket!) and I'm not sure I like the fabric I'm getting, but here's a look...I'm only about 1/3 way through the first clue.

That's what I've been up to! I'm going to log projects and stash on Ravelry now too, so if you want you can check me out there...I'm Lknits.

'Til next time!

Laura

It's Been A LONG time

Okay, okay...I admit it...I've been extremely lax in posting. Things have been very busy...we built a new house and moved in. We moved on Thanksgiving Day 2007 and had dinner for the family (12 people) on Saturday...not bad if I do say so myself.

I also changed jobs and I don't have the internet access during the day that I used to have so that has slowed me down too. DS#1 lacerated his spleen in January and spent several days in Riley Children's Hospital

I've become addicted to lace and lace mystery shawls. My first lace project was the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits (see pic). I gave the shawl to my sister-in-law for her birthday. I also finished "Swan Lake" from Pink Lemon Twist.

The other KAL's I have on the needles currently are The Mystery Shawl 2008, Mystic Waters, Mystic Light, and Spring Mystery Shawl. The new ones starting soon are Casablanca, Goddess Knits Anniversary Shawl, Slow-Bee Mystery and Slow-Bee Mystery 2.

I will try to be better about blogging and I will find DS#1's digital camera and get some pictures of my WIPs and post soon.

Now I'm going to make a cup of tea, enjoy my very quiet house (all the "boys" are out for the evening) and knit!

See you next time! Laura

More Bragging

DH just finished his two weeks of Annual Training with the Indiana National Guard. He is a helicopter pilot and today is Armed Services Day. This weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indy 500) the National Guard had their helicopters on display. We spent yesterday wandering around the track, watching qualifications and hanging out with the guys and their "birds." It was very nice to be walking around the Speedway with DH in his flightsuit and having people come up to him and thank him for his service to his country. People do support our troops! If they only knew he was also a firefighter too! DD calls him the "ultimate do-gooder!" and we are very proud that he is!

Part of our day yesterday was spent watching the qualifications runs for the Indy 500. Alex Barron qualified to start in the 9th row. Being up close and personal with these machines makes you really appreciate what it takes to run this race...220 miles an hour is amazing to watch!

On the knitting front, I struggled all week with some socks...I finished one, the second one came out nothing like the first so I ended up frogging them both...I've got some better sock yarn and a different pattern that I will be trying sometime soon...In the meantime, I relaxed and got rid of my sock frustration by working on the Lady Eleanor shawl I am making for myself!

Until next time!

Laura

Bragging Rights

Here's two out of the three kiddos....I promised a baseball picture from yesterday's game, but they lost and they didn't play that great and Eric was not in the mood to have his picture taken! So this is a picture from last year's season. My dad took this one. He's a much better photographer than I am, as you can tell. Eric's self-portrait is next to his baseball picture. He's a fun loving 14 year old and despite his hormonal moods he's a pretty great kid! He called a little bit ago and said "Mom, my homework's done, can I ride my bike up to Dairy Queen with Alex?" Oh, to be young and carefree like that again!!! I wish I could impress upon them how they need to cherish these moments and times in their lives...unfortunately, you don't realize how great being a kid is until you aren't anymore....

This is DS#2, Mark...he's got a personality just like his picture...sunny and fun. He's not in the least competitive so sports are not his thing...give him a book, a jigsaw puzzle, some Legos or a video game and he's a happy camper. He's very insightful and astonishes me sometimes with his wisdom...he's wise beyond his 13 years...

As Mother's Day approaches I realize that they aren't going to be around (at least living in the same house) very much longer. I'm sure the next five years are going to fly by and all my kiddos will be gone. Having one in college hasn't been that hard to adjust to, probably because she is good about calling and e-mailing and there are still two at home...the next one will be harder and the third will be harder still...so despite the trials and tribulations of adolescence I deal with on a daily basis, my kids are wonderful human beings and I'm very proud of all three of them.

Amazing...nothing about knitting in this one!

Progress!

I've been splitting my knitting time every day. I work on Mother's Day gifts for awhile, then I do a repeat on brother's aran and then I do a tier on the Lady Eleanor. I feel like I have a lot going on but it also feels like I'm stuck...I'm not seeing lots of progress on any one thing! I do love the way the Noro knits up into lovely rectangles!

My DH is gone for two weeks (active training with the National Guard)...It's been a long time since I've been a single parent and I'm not looking forward to it. He's usually home after school so homework is done and dinner's on the stove when I get home from work. The next two weeks it's up to me...and I have to cook! The boys aren't thrilled at that prospect either! I will definitely have to knit a few rows in the evening to save my sanity! Can you tell I'm feeling sorry for myself? Everyone keeps saying "Won't it be nice to have a break?" It's not a break! Not only will I miss him, but he does so much around the house (unlike a lot of husbands, I guess) and the boys and I depend on him for so much that it will be a busy two weeks for me. I have to do a much better job of planning out the day to make sure that everything gets done!

DS#1 has a baseball game tonight and the weather is beautiful. I'm going to try to get some good pictures at the game and hopefully will have pictures plus news of a win to post tomorrow!