Is Start-itus Contagious?

If so, you knitters had better stay away! Last week Goozle & I went to the Scarves for Cancer Patients kick-off at Yellow Dog. Goozle was very good. He didn’t knit, but he played with his cars, and Dixie even set up a dvd player for him in her office. By the time we got home, he was spent.

That’s where I picked up the start-itus. Scarves are really hard for me to knit. I don’t have much for an attention span, and they’re so long. So on Saturday, I quit what I was knitting and knit this:

I think I screwed up the pattern, but it looks cool. I used Arucania Nature Wool Chunky doubled on size 13 needles. It’s super squishy, and Goozle thinks it’s a track for his truck.

I also started the hat on the left and my cancer patient scarf on the right. Both are my own concoctions.

On Saturday Girly and I had girls day. We went to the pet store, so she could see the puppies without her brother freaking out. She loves doggies! Then we went down to International Festival. It was a super gorgeous day out. The only thing we got:

Cookies and drinks from Acoustic.

“1 more?”

I can dream

I had a dream last night that I was knitting. And, I actually finished projects! I had a baby blanket knit out of purple yarn that I inherited from my grandma in some kind of lily of the valley lace pattern. I also knit a sweater. It wouldn’t have been a strange dream, if I wasn’t finishing such large projects.

I love this time of year. I love the weather. There’s football to watch, and it’s apple season! I wanted apples yesterday, but it’s just not the same going apple shopping without my sister. Doesn’t that sound sentimental like we went and picked apples off of trees together? Here’s what we actually would do. There’s an apple orchard outside of Waupun. We would get a big bag of apples, a couple of caramel apples, apple turnovers, and a jug of apple cider. Then we’d proceed to eat all of that (except the big bag of apples) on the way home. There’s a precious memory for you! 🙂

There’s also a couple of my favorite local festivals coming up. Oktoberfest in Chippewa Falls is next weekend. As someone with a German degree, I feel strongly that I should attend. It’s a small Oktoberfest, but there’s good food and good beer, and a small chance I can practice my language. And seriously, in case you’re wondering why Oktoberfest is in September, it’s because September has better drinking weather. I have a German degree; I learned this! September 20 is International Fall Fest on Barstow St. There’s lots of people and food and vendors, and best of all, Yellow Dog does some demos and sets up some tables for knitting outside. I went last year, and it was a lot of fun. And I still didn’t finish the project I started. Maybe I’ll take that with.

Speaking of Yellow Dog, I’m linking to their (pdf) newsletter. Thursday September 18, there’s the “opening” of the Scarves for Cancer Patients drive. They get yarn donated to them for people to knit scarves, hats, etc. for cancer patients. Now that’s actually a project I finished!

Here’s another project I finished last week:

It’s from the yarn I got from Lindsey from the hand dyed yarn swap. I’m going to try to be one of those trendy, scarf-wearing people now 🙂

No More Humdrum Mittens Swap 3

I’ve joined the swap again, because I love knitting mittens!

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? about 3 years–Cindi at Yellow Dog taught me
Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? advanced (more like fearless)
What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike? Reds, greens, blues–I don’t really dislike any colors.
Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?  Yes–there are too many good ones to choose a favorite.
Do you desire mittens for yourself, your “special someone else” or your child? Meeee!
What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger? 7 inches
What is the circumference of your hand at it’s widest point? 7.5 inches
What other things do you enjoy knitting?  small projects like kids clothes and hats

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum) any except plastic

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make? an adult size sweater or a pair of socks–I get bored easily
What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with? kauni effektgarn
What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook? spinning, dabble in sewing
Besides yarn, do you collect anything? postcards
What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?  I prefer sweets.  I hate cilantro and basil, but I’m not allergic to anything.
Do you have any kids? Pets? 2 kids, no pets
What is your favorite part of Winter? how bright it gets when the light reflects off a fresh snowfall at night
What is your least favorite part of Winter? the cold slop that soaks the bottom of my pants and then dries and leaves salt rings

Goozle’s Growing Up!

Thanks everyone for the nice words on my promotion. Things are going so far, so good!

And, a long long overdue thanks to my dishcloth swap partner Carola:
She sent me a lovely package from Sweden! Girly likes to wear the scrunchie as a garter, and I just finally caved in and used the washcloths. They match my bathroom perfectly.

Goozle turned 3 a couple weeks ago. He absolutely loves cars! I made this cake for him:


It tasted better than it looked! Goozle also got a “real” race car for his birthday. He spent all afternoon driving it around. He only stopped to change his tires.

He got the Cars movie, too. The week before K and Tiny came up to visit. We went to the demo derby at the Dunn County Fair. The boys had fun; Girly was bored.

The same weekend, the kids and I met some celebrities on Barstow St. in Eau Claire!

We ended the day with ice cream, which resulted in stripping Girly’s clothes off and plunking her in the van.