When the dog's away......

the cats will play!

I'm on the cap of the second sleeve then onto the home stretch!

Nothing quite like a 4 day weekend to get things done.

Happy Easter!

A date with destiny...

I been trying so hard to catch up on my knitting but I'm still coming down off my high.
Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society was coming to Toronto this past Friday night. We wanted to get tickets but guess what?, SOLD OUT!
What's a girl to do? I have admired this man's music for a few years now and would have gone to see him in a minute. So after a little crying in my beer and feeling sorry for myself, my daughter tells me there's a contest on the radio to go see Zakk at an undisclosed location in Hamilton for a meet and greet. All you have to do is guess the 5 snippits of songs. You know the kind, you can hum the tune, you know the song, it's on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't spit it out.
I had 2 of them right away, I got my son involved (he's a big Zakk fan)he got 2 more, all we needed was the last one. Next, my daughter's boyfriend (biggest Zakk fan of all time), he knew it but couldn't spit it out.
So I loaded up im mp3 with every album and was on a quest to find the last song.
"Crazy or High". I should have known that.
Now we just need each one of us to enter. 4 chances to win.
I entered right away, my son forgot, the boyfriend forgot, and my daughter remembered 5 minutes before the contest closed.
Now we wait. No call back. I'm ready to cry. How can he be so close but yet so far?
My daughter leaves it to the last minute and she WINS!!!!!!
Fortunately my daughter is not a big fan, so I got to go with her boyfriend.
WHOO HOO!
So off we went the next day to a church of all places turned into a recording studio. It was broadcast live, only 10 winners with 1 guest each, and some radio personallities.
This was better than any concert. Up close and personal with Zakk Wylde!

After his performance we were allowed to meet him one on one and have one item autographed !


Thanks Dave, it was the best afternoon a mom could have!

Now on to knitting news.......

my Dublin Bay socks are done.
Yarn: Socks that Rock (Scottish Highland colourway)
Needles: 2.5mm bamboos
The only modification I made was cutting the pattern down to 60 sts which was very easy to do.
I have read on a few blogs lately about the STR felting in the machine so it was suggested to me to knit up a swatch and throw it in the washer and test it first. It might just be handwashing for this pair.
Also I joined a web ring if any one else is interested:
Knitting in Ontario. Why not sign up!

Also I have signed up for the Six_Sox Knitalong. One pair of socks every 2 months with some great looking patterns.
Check out I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can for details!
Now back to that darn Aran!

I'm still knitting....

My blog is worth $7,903.56.
How much is your blog worth?

Second verse, same as the first...

Back done, front done, now on to the sleeves.

Miss "P" came for a short visit yesterday so I worked on my sock while we played with balloons. It didn't take much to keep her in one spot for a couple of hours. She also likes to take pictures with gramma's camera so here are her pics, and I couldn't resist throwing in some of her trying to blow up balloons. I've never seen a child turn purple before.

So, enough of the fun and games, back to work.

Lace & 007...

Look what Amazon sent me today. How delicious. Instead of knitting this afternoon, I've been browsing through this. A veritable feast.














And to keep my a** firmly planted on the couch, my son and daughter-in-law surprised us with these.... the complete James Bond collection (minus one, but that is coming). And we also got the new Casino Royale, very enjoyable.




















As you can see the cold weather and mail delivery just sucks the moisture right out of my fingers and I now have a most painful and ugly split in one of my most important knitting fingers. The yarn keeps getting snagged on the band-aid so I'm thinking I might have to try the liquid bandage and see if it helps.

















Russell says "Back to the couch, it's time for From Russia with Love! Hey, I might just get off the fridge for that one."

Slow going....

Well the back of the aran is finished and the front started.

I have today off of work so I'm hoping to make some good progress today and this weekend.

And just to keep the boredom from setting in, I whipped up a baby hat and mittens for my friend when the little one is a bit bigger in the fall.

Our daughter stopped be last week with a new toy for Lady Dog, but we found Duece had taken possession of it under the dining table. He must love the smell of dog slobber. We also keep finding him sleeping in the dog's cage. What's with that?

And for all of you who celebrate , Happy St. Patrick's Day!

and a Happy Birthday to Jenn!

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New Knitty...

Knitty Spring 07 is up!
I see some nice sock patterns.

March already?

Okay, so I've been busy. I finished the baby set.

I love the details..... diamond stitch and daisy buttons.

I guess you figured out my friend had a little girl. 8lbs-1oz, and her name is Sydney.

In other news I received a phone call from the lady at the Alpaca Farm.

It's only about 15 minutes from where I live and she had my phone number from when I was there in the fall and purchased some yarn.

She is desperate for some knitting. She apparently sold almost every item in her store since her grand opening and needs more knitted items. How could I refuse?

I took my Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran to show her my work and it was love at first sight.

So I have this gorgeous creamy colour Alpaca but it's like a fingering weight. So I used my yarn counter to find out how much yardage there is,

and if I double it I will have enough for the sweater. I'm just going to modify the neck because she doesn't like the turtleneck. So we'll go with a nice round collar.

How cool is that!

To hat or not to hat......

It was time to make an executive descision. Although the post office hat is quite warm and practical....it's just not stylish.

So I thought what about this.... it's cute it's stylish and it would be warm.

I went to the Needle Emporium, picked up the yarn and guess what I did all weekend?

Here it is before felting.

After felting....

It's quite cute.

I tried it on and Mr. D said it would look better on my daughter.

I still plan on getting opinions from my co-workers, but I think I will still be on the hunt for another chapeau. I really want to be a hat person.

Any and all suggestions would be welcome. Is there a hat out there that would look good on anyone?

So I cast on for a baby sweater for a co-worker who has gone on maternity leave. She is due anyday now. She didn't want to know the gender, so I'm doing plain old white. But I'll dress it up with special buttons when we find out what she has.

I hate these things.........

Today they actually called the mail off due to the amount of snow we're getting. So that means I get to stay home and knit. And what am I doing I'm sitting on this damn computer wasting valuable knitting time.
I don't usually do these things but Julie tagged me.
Do you know how hard it is to come up with 6 weird things about me? I don't think I'm that weird. Okay let see.........

1. I'm not a morning person. I start work at 6:30 am, so that means getting up at 5:15. Even though my co-workers say I'm always so cheery (I put up a good front), I'm really grumpy till my second cup of tea.

2. I can't drink coffee as my first cup of hot liquid in the morning. It must be tea and only Tetley tea. I can't stomach coffee till the afternoon or evening and then it's off to Tim Hortons.

3. I like my French toast with ketchup not maple syrup. I rip and dip.

4. I prefer my cornflakes or mini-wheats soggy warm. I pour boiling water on them, drain that and then put my milk and sugar on.

5. This gramma loves heavy metal music and a lot of other stuff too. Metallica, Megadeath, Ozzy, Black Label Society, A/C D/C, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Stone Temple Pilots, and on and on. There are so many I can't list them all. This is mostly my son's fault, brainwashing does work.

6. Mr. D and I love to drive anywhere. We have been known to just get in the car and start driving with no destination in mind. As long as I have my knitting and a cup of Tim Hortons, and the CBC radio we can end up anywhere. We'll stop at antique shops, yarn stores, and occasionally we might find a fishing spot. It's a lot of good quality time spent together.

I think I'll tag Valerie, Rhonda, Renee, Anny, Sue, and Alisha, unless you've already been tagged, then anyone who wants to be tagged.

HERE are the RULES:
Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

I have a problem....

Hi, my name is Rhonda and I am an e-bayoholic!

This was a bargain that was just too good to pass up. 20 balls of each colour, 2 shades in Jo Sharp Soho cotton and 1 shade of Desert Garden Aran. What's a girl to do?

I did take a break this week-end to make my princess a fairy nightie, I just need her to measure up the length.....

and 2 aprons for baking cookies, one for home and one for here at gramma's.

Now I must go and finish the sweater for Julie's customer and maybe peruse my Jo Sharp books.

You can teach an old dog...

Tuesday's guild meeting was a blast. Thanks again Julie. I learned something new.


Julie taught us Cat Bordhi's moebius cast on. If anyone had told me what this technique does I would have never believed them. But seeing and doing is believing.
You end up with a tube that has a twist in it.

You cast on over and under the needle and coil of the circular needle.

Then you knit in each loop, either in the front or back so not to twist it.(as I did the first time and had to rip it out and re-cast.

Then slip on a stitch marker and start knitting.
Around and around.
When you get back to where the marker is, it's on the coil not the needle. So you keep knitting till you get back to the marker again and it's on the needle.

It's like magic! you end up knitting from the middle out and each half round is one side or the other. Amazing. The possibilities....

It's so addictive. I'm just using a left over ball of and it's almost gone so I'm thinking of adding on another colour. I can't seem to stop.....

Tough decisions........

This......

or this......

Pattern: Kristen
Yarn: Dale of Norway Heilo
1 ball of each colour
Needles: 3.75 mm

As you can see from the first picture Canada Post designers have no idea about fashion. It's all about function. Even though I am not a hat person (I will not scare you with those pictures) it's been damn cold outside this week and have been forced to wear the BORG HAT! How could I go out in public like that you say, I don't have much of a choice.
After finishing Kristen, I've been imaging all sorts of designs that would be post office suitable, and a little more up to date and fashionable. Something that doesn't make the public run away laughing hysterically. Stay tuned.

And now for my model with her new sweater. Fit like a glove. It's just a little long in the sleeves , but that's why we roll up our cuffs.

Why is that dogs and kids love the snow so much?