Cathy Wood, Y'all!

Cathy was supposed to visit this weekend but couldn't due to Gustav. She needed to stay home and prepare and possibly evacuate. With her return planned for Monday night, she would have most likely been stranded in OK for a while

So as the storm strengthens and zeros in on the Louisiana coast, I just wish all my friends and family to be safe and prepare as best you can. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers. And if you want to evacuate to OKC, just let us know. I'm sure we can make the dogs share the couch.

Rejuvenated!

There's nothing like a few compliments to get you going again. The last 10 days or so, I've not been real motivated to knit. I haven't even picked up the thing. It just sits there and taunts me. And then I thought, well, maybe I should knit. So I did, but not too much. Just a few rows here or there.

Then I get a compliment on my work from someone I don't know and it just lifts me up. I would say that I've focused on some of the technical aspects of my knitting the last couple of months. I feel like I'm making progress. I'm learning new techniques. I'm fixing mistakes. I'm taking my time to do things correctly instead of just flying through things. I'm trying to control things like tension and gauge (I know... this is all wah wah wah waahh to non-knitters).

But I guess I still don't think of myself as a Knitter. That's Knitter with a capital K. I still think of myself as a knitter, with a little k. I feel like there is so much more to learn. And when someone else who knits compliments you, well, it rejuvenates you! It makes me think that maybe I am learning and progressing and other people notice.

I guess to my point (or second point).... I've decided I need to finish what I'm working on right now so that I can move along to other projects that are smaller and maybe more fun. So I'm rejuvenated tonight. I've made a list of the things I need to complete this fall for gifts, and then I'm doing something strange....

I'm going to knit for me. I've never done that. I've always done things that became gifts for others. So my plan is to be done with all Christmas gifts by the end of November. Then it's all me!

None whatsoever....

What am I lacking? Well, lots. But at the moment, I'm lacking willpower. For the last 142 minutes I've been stalking Sarah. Well, not her personally, but her online yarn store. I've really held off, especially since she offered me free shipping on my next order. So in order to obtain that, I need a next order, right? Right!

So anyway, in the spirit of the upcoming football season, I'm made some inspired choices (even though I wanted everything). Do you think you know the teams I was thinking of when these choices were made?

Keep in mind this is hand-dyed yarn. It wasn't processed in some NCAA clearing house. Teams were my loose inspiration.

Photos! Get your Photos!

I'm slowly but surely adding pics of the baby from the beach. You can find the link here. Keep checking back, because yes, I have more.

30 is the new 21!

Well, I'm not sure I want to be 21 again, but that's what I've been hearing. So since today is Stephanie's birthday (even though she refuses to admit it), let's everyone sing along....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR STEPHANIE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Steph, I hope you have a wonderful day, even though this day is of no consequence and nothing about it is special (oh yes, please ignore the top of this post).

Games to Play While Watching a One Year Old at the Beach

We played a bunch of a games. We played let's-see-how-long-Auntie-can-keep-you-pinned-on-the-sofa. We also played let's-laugh-at-daddy-while-he-sleeps. But the game that had the most fun outcome was let's-take-pictures-of-the-baby-and-then-show-her-on-the-camera.

There will be more pictures, but blogger is being stupid right now. Click on the picture and it will take you to my photostream. I'll continue to add to these pictures.

The Natural

The break in posting was due to a small vacation to Navarre Beach, Florida. And as you can tell, the baby named for the beach is a natural in the sand, water and sun. I took way too many pictures, so it's taking a while for me to edit them to manageable sizes and get them all uploaded. When I do, you'll get a link, I promise. But this one was too good not to share right away.

The Olympics are keeping me sleep deprived, but I am quite lucky in that my boss not only understands, but she is also in the same boat. So last night I was able to not only see the recap of the gymnastics that I fell asleep moments before, but I also watched Phelps tie the record for most golds and all the ensuing prostration at his feet.

Don't get me wrong, I think what he's done is absolutely amazing. It just makes me uncomfortable to watch people heap so much praise on one person straight to his face and then expect some kind of profound response. I give Phelps credit for actually having responses other than "yes, I do totally rock!" and "woo hoo!", both of which, I'd probably say.

Things Used to Scratch My Dry, Sunburned Back

1. the ever popular door frame
2. letter opener
3. long handled spoon
4. my boss
5. knitting needle
6. handle removed from the Swiffer mop

Heard by a fly on the wall...

TV Announcer: "Don't miss the season premier of Grey's Anatomy September 25th..."

ME: "WOO HOO!"

T: "You do realize that is over a month away, right?"

ME: "There's football on TV and they are running ads for fall shows to return. I don't care if it's hotter than the surface of the sun outside. This means fall is right around the corner! WOO HOO!"

FOOTNOTE: We've set record high temperatures most of this week. If there actually was humidity here (the Louisiana kind, not the faux humidity they have here), people would just burst in flames if they stepped outside.

Knitting Updates

For those of you who don't care about the knitting, just close this page now. I've been knitting in secret and it's been killing me! But now that my recent projects have reached their final homes, I'm here to share.

First up is a sweater for Stephanie. And since she's outlawed her birthday this year (which is in 16 days and she'll be 30 - oh yes, I put it in print), I went ahead and gave her the sweater as a "you're a great person and this isn't for your birthday" present. I knew the pattern would be perfect for her, but it's hard to knit something in secret for someone that you talk to all the time without knowing sizes and dimensions. I think I came close. I apologized to her today in case she thought I was checking her out a couple of weeks ago.

The color of the yarn, I loved. And I knew she'd like it too, but I had originally bought this yarn for another project to be completed for Christmas. When she saw it, she oooo'd and aaaahhh'd over it. So I thought, I'll just switch. I had equal amounts for each similar project, so it worked. And yes, it is the same pattern as Leslie Christmas sweater. When I saw the pattern, I knew it was perfect for both of them.

My latest FO is a dozen eggs for Stephanie's son Mason. His birthday is on Friday and because we will be in Florida, we won't be able to attend his party. Eggs, you ask? Well, Mase likes to play with cooking related items. In fact, he's asked for some more eggs. He currently has wooden ones. So one dozen, colorful eggs, coming right up! There is even one with an "M" on it for him. I also dyed some yarn for the very first time and it made it's way into the dozen.

That scary looking M is my first attempt at intasaria, and of course, I had to start with stranding in the round, without any kind of pattern. Apparently, I like the punishment. But it worked out after a couple of go rounds. The first box is all cottons I had lying around the house. Frankly, I don't know why I had them other than they were cheap because they weren't used for anything. Well, not true. I used the yellow for a penguin I made for Mason last year. The only wool is that small purple stripe, which was left over from Leslie's sweater.

The second box features mostly wools. The top left red is leftover organic merino from Navarre's Baby Surprise Jacket (finished in early July, posts and pictures to come later). However, it wasn't originally red. I DYED IT MYSELF! The white bits weren't supposed to be there, but I'll say they were and it's just how I wanted it to turn out. The bottom left is the tiny, tiny bit I had left over from Stephanie's sweater. I was actually sweating whether I would have enough to finish her sweater. But I did and now Mase has a matching egg!

The purple is the same wool left over from Leslie's sweater. It's Dream In Color Classy, the same as Steph's sweater. For a semi-solid, you can't beat Dream In Color. I'm always happy when I open a box of Dream In Color. The bottom right egg is Malabrigo Silk... because every little boy needs a knitted egg made of silk, right?

I've finished a couple other things, but because they are gifts, I can't post right away. Of course, I will when they are given out. I love giving knitted gifts to people who really appreciate them. I don't know if I can explain how much their joy makes me so happy!

Enough yarn.... for now!

Mr. and Mrs. Frantz

Shelly and Travis tied the knot over the weekend. For pictures, check out Stephanie's blog here. Since her husband Nick was the photographer, we've got some quick access to pictures!

Congratulations to you both! I hope you are not reading this and enjoying your time on the beach!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Guess who turned 1 year old today! Yep, that's right. My niece, Navarre, had her first birthday today. She had a party in Baton Rouge with family and friends. We weren't able to make it there this weekend, but we will be there next weekend!

I hope to share some pictures soon with birthday cake smeared all over her face and head. She's real good at that, so I'm sure they didn't have a problem with it.

And one week from today, we will all be relaxing on the beach.