Thursday, December 25, 2008




MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR from my family to yours

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I have had an interesting couple of months. To start I haven't finished my Christmas knitting. A lot has gone on to prevent me from knitting. My b/f is not able to drive so I was taking him to work and staying in town to conserve gas.

Now on to the biggest reason I have not been knitting. On Wednesday December 17, I was walking to a friends house on the snowy roads and I fell on a patch of ice and broke my leg in 2 places(spiral fracture). Luckily someone saw me fall and got me help. My friends called my b/f and my parents as well as 911. They brought me a blanket and waited with me for the ambulance. The ride to the hospital was pretty uneventful. I spent 5 hours in the ER hallway with everybody looking at my leg and shaking their head. I finally got taken to a room and I must have slept cause I don't remember much until around 4 am when they told me I was having surgery at 7am. To make a long story short I have a titanium rod in my leg held by 4 screws.

I am at home now and still not feeling well....

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Stretching Your Knitting Bucks




In today's world, we all have to think of ways to economize and stretch our finances a little further. Here are several thought provoking ways to have your knitting dollars make cents!

1. Shop online and save on gas. Shipping rates are probably cheaper than incurring the cost of driving.

2. Try 1 skein projects.

3. Buy used knitting books, or try and get hold of them for free.

4. Check the web for free patterns.

5. Shop with a project in mind and stay with that. They always say shopping from a list is the best.

6. Get an extra skien or two to make sure you have enough and some for another project later.

7. Organize a yarn swap or try a bartering group.

8. Make projects that use up your stash like hats, mittens, scarves and baby sweaters.

9. Inventory your stash - you'll be amazed at what you have and this will help avoid duplicate purchases.

10. Consider using a less expensive yarn for trimming and accent areas and using a better yarn for the majority of the project.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I have completed most of my Christmas knitting. This is a good thing because I can't stand all the hustle and bustle at the stores. Don't even get me started on the grabbing and pushing, the nicest people become extremely rude and so not themselves. Anywho, enough of that.





Reading is another passion of mine and I have been reading the Chicks With Sticks trilogy. I know what your thinking it is a teeny bopper book. Who cares? It is still a book and a good one at that. I have also recently read The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. I found myself putting myself into the lives of the women in this book. Knitting has helped me through alot in my life. I call it my therapy, the clicking of the needles and getting into a rythmic trance tuning out all around me. I have even been caught falling asleep mid-stitch. What are some of your favorite knitty reads?





I am going to leave you with a great fall foilage picture.








Saturday, September 20, 2008

Fall is here in Norther New England and that means official sweater weather. The girls in my knitting group The Village Knitters have been sporting their newly knit sweaters. We meet almost daily at our lys http://www.fiberphilia.com/. Michelle the owner is very nice. Chreyl and Burla are great at teaching and helping with knitting errors.

I just bought yarn to make myself a sweater, can't wait to get started. It will be a Raglan cardigan with a hood. This will be a treat since I don't usually make things for myself.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Shopping Trip

This has been a fun week on Tuesday my friend and I went to Freeport. We had the the best day. Our main mission of the day was to go to this shop http://www.beadinpath.com/index.php. I was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the beads and buttons. Next trip I will bring more money and buy more.

We also went to http://theknittingexperience.com/ in Brunswick. It is a quaint little shop with comfy couches to sit and knit. The shop carried a lot of yummy yarns of all kind of textures.

I didn't find the buttons for the sweater I am working on, but I have a feeling the search will be fun.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

It's been a month since I last wrote. I have been doing a lot of knitting, sweater #2 is almost complete and then I just have to make 3 vest and all my sisters kids are done for Christmas. Then I will make a sweater for my brother, he won't care if it is done for Christmas as long as he knows its coming. I have been test knitting a shawl which is coming out gorgeous, it will be fun to wear.

I am hoping to get a new camera soon so I can take pictures of all this knitting.

I have also been doing some beading. I made myself some stitch markers to learn the technique of turning the wire. It is not as easy as it looks.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Knitting in the summertime is sometimes a challenge. With all the humidity ,then add hands sticking to the yarn and needles. Where do you get relief? For me it comes in a couple of ways. I knit at my lys in the sun room which is air conditioned or stay up later at night and knit as it becomes cooler in the evening.

Knitting at the lys is not only productive it is a great time to catch up with everyone on goings on around town. A bunch of us are currently making afghan squares for an afghan to be auctioned off to help the local library with funds for a new and better building. A couple of us are thinking about continuing after this one is done and then giving them as needed, for example a house fire, homeless, as a comfort for someone who is ill. You get the idea, it would just be a way for us to give in a time where incomes are being stretched and then stretched more. We are hoping that as people clean out Stashes of yarn they will donate yarn not wanted to yarn left over from projects and we will do the rest.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

I am almost done with my with my first fair isle sweater and getting ready to make #2. With that sweater starting and with merletto mitts going on the needles later today, 1 sock to finish, and an afghan on hold until cooler weather I feel I have become a true crafter. There are many other projects not mentioned from quilts to cross stitch in progress with no end in site LOL.

My love for crafts is getting expensive as alot of others have said the same, when do you stop and just by gas. Never is my answer, why give up something you love to do. I just plan it into my monthly budget and only buy for what I am making at the time, only buying onsale or with coupons. I get my fabrics at Mardens(my fav) or Walmart(markdown rack only). I also find alot of useful craft things at thrift stores.

In this day and age where times are tough and cost are high I still can find a way to do what I love. Wether using coupons, discounts, or sales. I intend instead of spending money on gas to go shopping I will knit most of my holiday gifts. I coincide any hobby shopping on the same days I grocery shop.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Spring/Summer has finally come to Maine and I find myself already thinking about Christmas knitting. It takes time for me to get things done and with everyone in the family getting a knitted item I can see some late nights in my future. Some of the things on the list so far 2 fair isle sweaters, 5 vest, a felted bag, and a readers wrap. I haven't thought about what to make hubby yet and his family.

I have been thinking about going back to college and finally getting my degree. I will be changing my major to Social work when I go back. After 14 years in Medical Records a change would be refreshing. I want to work with Veterans and get them on the right path to the care they require. Being a Vet myself it will be a way to give back some of what I have learned.

Monday, May 19, 2008

I have found that being a housewife isn't as bad as it seems. Filling my day with knitting and other crafts make the day go by. My new love is knitting and I have completed several projects in the past year. I started right out with a pair of socks, I know you are saying why socks I figured that if I could make them I could make anything. Since completing the baby socks I have made a felted bag, a vest, and the list goes on. Currently working on a fair isle type sweater for my nieces.

The ladies at the lys have been angels in helping advance in knitting, I would be lost without them. I made several new friends there and hope we can keep inspiring each other to knit as well as having a place to chat about what is going on in our lives.