Greetings and best wishes on this festive season! My apologies for not being on time with my entries, but I really have been busy with family events and work. Throw in my holiday knitting, and out pops out a happy knitter with very sore wrists. Unsure of where to begin, the easiest would be sequential sentences dotted with photos.
Sunday, December 24th:
Spent the day at Barnes and Noble in Warwick, RI. Why? I was wrapping presents to get donations for Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue. Afterwards, since Rich and I had to pick up a family-sized salad/breadsticks for tomorrow’s lunch with Mom Reynolds, we had a late lunch (early dinner) at the Olive Garden across the street. Later that night, Rich stayed upstairs wrapping presents for Mom and me while I did the same downstairs. When we were done, we did our annual tradition and watched “White Christmas” and “A Christmas Story.” No presents were opened for the first time ever!
Monday, December 25th:
Presents were unwrapped and we both received much wanted goodies on our wish lists. 
Rich surprised me with the ring that I had been paying off on layaway at my favorite jewelry store, Concannon Jewelers. It took over two years, but I finally have it. (Cheers roar from the crowd…) Along with the requested DVDs of “Family Guy” and “Pirates on the Caribbean 2,” I had given him more memory for his computer. He was pleasantly surprised with the last item and before the day was over, had already installed and tested it!
At noon, we had Christmas lunch with Mom, bringing my cheesy meat lasagna and the salad/breadsticks to match the presents. Mom’s generous heart was apparent with her gifts. The dessert platter she selected was perfect in its variety. Interestingly enough, not sure why but I did not take any photos.
After a great morning and fabulous lunch, I drove down to Connecticut to attend the annual Christmas gathering at Cousin Tess’ Mom’s home. Auntie Nita (years ago had divorced my Mother’s brother, so is technically an “ex-Aunt” in the family relationship department) and her sisters always have a holiday feast with lots of Filipino foods. I had missed last year’s bash, which was at her DIL’s parents’ home and was with great Indian dishes. This year, the classic Filipino potluck presented pansit (noodle dish), stuffed de-boned chicken (not easy to do!), leg of lamb, Indian curry/rice with chicken, lumpia (springrolls), and so much more that I cannot list. Again I made my leche flan, and it was welcomed and complimented. I caught up with my cousin’s family once again, and had a blast! Because it was so late when everything started ending, I did not to drive back to Rhode Island by myself (Rich did not feel like going and would not accompany me) and stayed with Tess and her daughter. We chatted even later into the early morning, then finally slept.
Tuesday, December 26th:
Woke well-rested from sleeping on my cousin’s massage table. Yup, I said massage table. My cousin is a massage therapist with her own business. Immediately, I began working on Tess’ scarf that is based on the Horizontal Herringbone pattern in the “365 Stitches a Year” perpetual calendar (October 30th for those interested). The “My So-called Scarf” is the popular design that utilizes the pattern. On US-35 needles, I combined Fiesta Yarn’s Chinchilla in Amazon, Brown Sheep’s Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Blue, and a boucle blue mohair that I found at the FAB-u-lous “Manmade by Jonne” weaving/spinning/yarn shop. Feel free to click on the yarn to see the result.
After finishing the scarf, I left to spend my weekly evening with the bunnies. Little Ms. Pepper (left-side photo) was more than willing to show how adoptable she is! Her son Jasper (right-side photo) is also a real cutie. He has the biggest brown eyes that beg to be loved.
Wednesday, December 27th:
Worked in the office. After chatting with my co-workers in Denmark and St. Louis, found out that everyone was going to be working from home for the rest of the week. None of my managers or team leads were around and I cannot even push out code anyway, so it is a really slooooooow week! Saw Bond after dinner at Uncle Sushi’s. In agreement with Ellen from the “Knit Sisters” and others, the movie was nicely done, but I must express a bit of disappointment on Daniel Craig’s lack of cut abs. (AHEM…) However, if I were single and he was made available to me, I would be an idiot to turn him down. 
Now before I forget, here is my Saturday Sky at 9AM this morning from my sister’s back yard. Because I do not want to make this a bigger post than it already is, I will continue tomorrow. Promise! Have a good night, and I do hope you all had a great Christmas week with lots of shopping on Boxing Day! =:8
Though I have a couple of other posts about my “Stash Enhancement eXperience” on Saturday at Sakonnet Purls and about how I miss my friend Rasha, I really wanted to share the fun evening I had with the Sweet Binks adoptables who are staying at PetSmart until they find a permanent home. Last week I introduced big loveable Buster, the funny brother/sister pair of Thomas and Tina, and the extremely shy Gigi. Since Gigi had torn her upper lip, Pam had swapped her out with another sweetie, Charlene.
Of course, I cannot leave out the other 3 rabbits. So here are a couple of photos plus the log entry that I wrote on all 4 of them. I am continuing with Buster. He actually was upset with me when I put him back in his cage! How much? He started pouting then began tossing hay around. Poor boy, he did not want to go back in his “bedroom” area. 
Now as for Tina and Thomas, this brother/sister duo were much more dynamic and social than the last time we met. Both were born and raised in the Sweet Binks shelter, and both did not have much interaction with people. Last week, these shy siblings thumped at me while I tried to play with them. Now, after all the folks who have been seeing them, this is what they greeted me with when I came into PetSmart tonight. They obviously had a blast!! See if you can find shy little Tina in the first photo too.
For the record, here is the entry I wrote in our Volunteer book. Yes, I rambled, but I was so excited with the socialization progress of these adoptees!
These furry kiddies made my evening with their cute antics and sweet personalities. I hope you enjoyed reading about them too! =:8
Lately I had a bad experience at the closest LYS near my work. This LYS in Wakefield, RI has a fabulous owner in Ms. Regina, but there is one staff member who leaves much to be desired in her snottiness every time I have visited. Basically, if you do not want to be treated like dirt and would rather just deal with Gina or my other favorite staff members, go on Monday, Friday or Saturday. Yes I am being quite frank, but customer service should be a priority and not be a “playing favorites game” for certain individuals.
Another LYS experience which left a mark is when one of the metal connectors in my Plymouth Bamboo Circular set fell off the wire. I had called the toll-free number and was told to just send in the case and a new would be sent in its place. Immediately after I hung up the phone, I wrote a short memo on a notepad (had no stationery available) which thanked the store and provided my shipping information, inserted the makeshift letter in the case, and FedExpressed it to the store. Using the tracking number, I noticed that the LYS received my package but never made any attempt to contact me. Confused, I looked up their toll-free number and dialed.
When the LYS owner answered the phone, I introduced myself as the person who sent the set. I was snidely told that the package was opened but all it contained was the circular needle set and that I did not help by not providing any information. I discovered that the “status of my set is on the web-person’s desk because all online purchases are handled that way” — even though my husband CALLED someone and purchased the set over the phone! “Excuse ME? I am really sorry but did anyone bother to open the case?” A bit upset at this point, I did my best to calmly state that I wrote a small letter that was folded inside the case and the broken pieces were taped to the paper. Seeing this store’s reaction verified my foresight (I have realized my QA engineering background has given me habits that pay off!) to have photocopied the letter with the broken pieces and case as backup documentation.
Needless to say, I finally did get my replacement set, but all that arrived in the mail was the case. No “Thank you for continuing business with us” message or even their latest newsletter. With all the competition nowadays, it is the little extras that keep people shopping at a store. No matter how insignificant a purchase or customer may seem, I know that all my favorite LYSes have me returning because they want their clients to come back. A perfect example is Ewe Knit Kits & Yarn in Virginia Beach, VA. I literally drop $50 or more there whenever I come home, and I will only shop at that LYS because of the friendly service Bobbie and her staff provide. In fact, I had my Daddy go immediately there after he picked me up from the airport. Yes, it was THAT worth it!
Now what am I doing to reverse these curses? Why knitting away on some secret projects!! Since I cannot show anyone what I am doing as of yet, I present my Elf Name. Feel free to tell me what happens in the name-generator. Until then, I will attempt to get some cool photos for the next post. =:8
Today was a busy one for work, and yet that is all can truly say due to the fact that I dislike mixing work topics (though I really do love what I do for a living!) on my site. However, after work was another story.
This evening I did my weekly volunteer cleanup at the Johnston PetSmart for Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue. We have a program that allows potential adoptees and unsocialized bunnies to meet folks outside the rabbit shelter. Actually, all I needed to do was let the bunnies run around and work with them on being handled. Needless to say, I cuddled with each of the four rabbits. Feel free to click on each photo to see a short description of these babies!
Okay, this post title is not an original idea from me. I “borrowed” the whole post idea from Femiknitmafia. It does make me realize how much effort I put into the title rather than the first sentence! Ooops!!
Instructions — Copy the first sentence that you posted in each month of 2006. Post it in the following format:
January
Sometimes you gotta have some laughs.
February
I think the store was pretty busy yesterday at RA Yarns.
March
Tuesday evening, Rich and I visited Pam, the Bunny-Whisperer, at Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue to see if we could find Caesar another buddy to hang out around the house.
April
Today is April 1st, which means that I start my diet on the Stashalong.
May
Howdy folks!
June
When Helene and I arrived for yoga yesterday, we were met with a surprise cancellation.
July
Yesterday after the oil change before embarking on the big drive, I stopped by Lacewings to see if that blue hank of Tilli Tomas’ Simply Heaven was sold yet.
August
Hel-looooooo AU-GUST!
September
Thank you all for the kind words about my hand.
October
Note: I apologize that this entry was created when I did not have internet access.
November
Currently I have been chugging along the Running Rabbit’s birthday shawl.
December
Sorry for such a late post.
Note: August is my favorite. =:8
It has been a very crazy 24 hours. After work on Friday, I picked up a printer cartridge for Rich then helped wrap presents at Barnes & Noble to help raise money for Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue until 11PM-ET. Afterwards, I went to the grocery store and picked up the ingredients for the leche flan (caramel custard) I was making. Literally by this time (2:06AM to be exact) yesterday (it is early Sunday now), I had put the leche flan in its water bath to bake away for Heidi and Jim’s Christmas party (which doubled as a surprise birthday party for her Mom, too). Little did I know that using the convection setting in my oven would stretch its 1-hour bake time into a 4-hour one. I never did get to sleep until about 6:30AM-ET, and I had a list of items I wanted to get done: namely to finish writing the rest of my Christmas cards, and to get a couple of packages together to ship by Monday. Here are a couple shots of the flan before I brought it to Heidi and Jim’s bash. With exception of this really ignorant idiot girl who is definitely proof on why blonde jokes exist, I had a fun time.
I must vent about this girl whom I discovered is a knitter. I honestly did try chatting with her by introducing myself when nobody would (I mentioned she could visit “Some Bunny’s Love” and a few other sites) and asking if she had read any of the magazines. The Yarn Snob in me (think Manolo’s voice talking) finally took over, especially when she said she bought the Lion Brand Funfur at her LYS in Attleboro. I have decided that anyone over 25 years-old that proudly wears a loudly tacky black/red slutty boa scarf in eyelash and gushes how she is knitting all her Christmas presents in it (sorry my dear Heidi!), AAAUUUGH!!! Note to self: Beware of LYS who sell yarn that can be easily bought at salvage stores for half the price. And no, she is not in any of these party photos… Heaven forbid, she would have broken the camera!
That is not my only comment on this person. She finally broke the camel’s back (should I say “alpaca” or “angora” in my case?) because she said something else that was quite upsetting for me — while I was getting some dessert in the dining room, she laughingly bragged to a bunch of folks sitting around the dining table on how she “LOVES — WEARING — DEAD — BUNNIES” in a high girlish pitch. EEEWWW!! It took all I had not to become unglued. I ended up leaving the party then because I could have physically hurt her with my claws! For those who wear fur, I can be quite tolerable if the circumstances require it. I have actually wanted a mink-lined leather trench coat. But to brutally declare “I love wearing DEAD BUNNIES” at a party that you are an unknown guest at?? Geesh!! (Kimberly withdrawing her claws back to normal now…)
EDIT: I forgot to add that she also said that her being vegetarian made it socially acceptable to declare her “I love wearing dead bunnies” statement. (Rolling eyes on THAT one!)
I feel better now. I really needed to get that off my chest, and I knew others would understand. Honestly, I tried giving her a chance when none of the other party folks approached her, but I should have seen her horrible self when she trounced into Heidi and Jim’s house as if it was her own. Now to write it down on paper, crumple it up, and toss that ball into the wastebasket. And because of her, I put up a new button on Sweet Binks‘ 3rd Annual “Dreaming of a White Bunny” adoption campaign. Caesar, our cuddly red-eyed white albino, is right here waiting for me to feed him more hay as I write this post.
Though the cards still need to be done as we speak, I did manage to put the packages together. One of them contains these small gems that little girls could enjoy for Christmas. I present all the finished headbands for the Soaring Eagles Project. Regretfully, I was only able to knit up headbands instead of the hats and mittens. I also thought that I would only get 4 done, but I was able to squeeze out a couple more out of that one skein of Filaro mohair. Thinking in the lines of “girly and sparkly” along with “bright and shiny” I hope the girls that do receive them will be wearing them with holiday dresses.
Like the Saturday Sky? When I awoke around 10AM, I was so happy to see the sun show its bright and shiny face. There was not a cloud in the sky for that moment, and I became excited about taking a pretty sky for everyone to see.
For those who have spied it on my KAL buttons, there is a sweater that has been on my mind since I read about it on this blog. In the recent Interweave Knits Winter 2006 issue, “A Cardigan for Arwen” is another brilliant creation of Kate Gilbert, who is quite known for her well thought-out patterns. For this cardigan, I really wanted to be spot-on gauge. I have been swatching away by using the considered yarns in my stash in other projects. Here is what I have found so far in this quest:
- I discovered that Tahki Charles’ New Tweed would be perfect (at 3.00mm needles mind you!) when I knitted Shalyn’s Fetching mitts. The problem is that the color I have enough yarn for is a 2-toned tweed of black and lilac. Basically, the cables would never show up. (Sigh…) Scratching that one due to color…
- Last year for Christmas, I knitted for my dearest friend Anita, a pair of fingerless gloves (my own pattern for her) out of dusty pink Horstia Silk/Wool yarn. Though I so badly want to knit the jacket with the rest of that yarn in my stash (1200m exactly), I do not think she would appreciate a cardigan that would be tight-fitting since she is still nursing baby Aidan. Instead I may knit her the Somewhat Cowl that I purchased a few months ago for the SKC. But if I really wanted to knit up Arwen with this yarn, I may have to use my burgundy Horstia, which after knitting Cathy her pair of fingerless gloves, I think I may have another 14 skeins worth. Hmmm…
- Finally, with all this swatching, I figured I better start practicing the cabled pattern. What better way than to knit up these cables than in a headband or scarf? Well, in Brown Sheep Company’s Lamb’s Pride Worsted, the fabric could be a bit too thick as a scarf for my taste, but its thickness is PERFECT for a headband! What do you think? As for a thin scarf version, I noticed that using US8 needles with Frog Tree’s Alpaca Sport weight gave a wonderfully soft fabric that was dead-on gauge. I just may have a project for the lilac Frog Tree Sport in my stash! Arwen reminds me of the ancient perfume commercial line, “Your Windsong stays on my mind.” Along with my charity knitting, this pattern has been occupying my mind. =:8
I am glad a number of you participate in charity knitting. I am guilty of knitting alternately for friends, family and charities. My in-laws seem to dislike receiving handmade items because wool is itchy and knitted items too warm (sorry, mute point so we cannot go there). So I figured that I can get fibery goodness out to those who would, namely my own family members, local friends, and different charities. For the holidays, I am thinking of making a few items, then donating them to charity in memory of somebody else. Here are the two headbands that I knitted tonight after “Walk and Knit” with Helene and Lorena. We had a nice time walking around Garden City. These ladies are true friends. Both let me photograph them in the shopping center’s gazebo during the windy jaunt. As for the simple pattern, here it is. Using a US13 16-inch circular and holding a strand of worsted-weight mohair and a strand of acrylic together, cable cast-on 36 stitches, knit 7-8 rows (whatever is the preference) of K2P2 rib then bind off in knit. Voila! you have a great kid-sized headband that only took minutes to make. Also, cast on 35 stitches to make a totally different pattern. That one works too! As you can see in the photo, I can make more from that 98-yard skein of sage Filaro, which I will do as soon I get a chance.
I seem so scatter-brained as of late. Because I am scared to put away all the WIPs lest I forget to finished them, I have a number of incredibly naughty WIPs strewn across my favorite knitting spot. Each one seems to call out and beg me to work on it. Oh, and how naughty are these WIPs? I have been either standing up next to the chair or sitting on the couch to work on them. “Wicked, bad, naughty” WIPs! (Think Monty Python’s Holy Grail) Oh, and it does not help that Rich baked cookies while I was at work today. Here is what is left after our devouring them. Sorry for the dark photo, but that is what happens whenever I decide to photograph things before getting ready for bed! The milk bottle is shown for scale.
There is another thing that I can be delighted about. I won something (Gracious GOOD-ness!!) on Carole and Margene’s “Knit Unto Others” from Scout’s Swag! I received an e-mail from Carole telling me that I won a $20 gift certificate to Scout’s online store. The neatest things are over there, so it may take me a bit to decide what to choose. I do know that if I used the amount for yarn, I would probably get tanned, so I better not. There are some really cool measuring tape cases, hmmm… Meanwhile, keep on knitting (or spinning as in Robin’s case — I hope you are resting yourself young lady!), and I just may show what else I have been WIPing for some special folks. =:8
Wow folks, the comments knocked my socks off! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. I am glad that I was not alone in my feelings about that charity blanket. The part that upset me most was that I had to knit up the square(s) first before being given the address. My pride felt more sting out of that one. Now, let us move on to much more positive vibes.
This weekend, I concentrated on both charity knitting and newborn gifts. Three folks at work had babies recently, so I have been plowing through miniature socks and hats. Inbetween, I have been working on my Red Scarf Project by testing out different patterns with different yarns. I want to make sure the scarf is machine washable yet warm. I am thinking about combining a strand of mohair with red acrylic — a trick I read about on the Dulaan Project Yahoo group to create warmth and washability. During all of this knitting, there is another Charity knit that warrants attention.
The Soaring Eagles Project collects knitted items for school-aged children. To quote the site, “Please knit hats, beanies, headbands, mittens, whatever you would like to help our cause.The pieces will be given out to students in a grade level assembly on December 20th or 21st.” Sizes needed are for ages 4 to 12 years-old. I am sending over as many mittens and hats that I can. All items need to be received by the 18th of December — only 2 weeks away. Hope you can help out!! =:8
Sorry for such a late post. Had an issue with the laptop tonight. Many thanks for the compliments on my Holiday Meme. After last night’s outting with my former team from Fleet Bank, I decided to knock out some gift items, and I just finished one of them tonight. It is supposed to match the socks I showed you all in my last post. For now, I have photos from last night.
I actually started this morning with a shot of the backyard trees. You definitely know it is winter because the neighbors’ houses can be spotted through our miniature woods. (Please click the left-hand photo to see what I am talking about.) I also was able to photograph the project I really wanted to finish today. Notice the measurement of the hat by clicking on the right-hand photo.
If you can figure out my lack of hands, I shrank the measurements a little too much for my nephew. Guess you figured out what happened next. Yup, lots of croaking for this one. No idea why fair isle bores me now because it did not for the other Vinter Lue I made, but I need to get this finished ASAP!
Despite not being able to work on my nephew’s Vinter Lue, I did finish my second square for Comforting Jenn, the matching hat to the last post’s socks, and began another gift that must be a secret for now. I thought about making a couple of squares for another “Make a blanket for charity” KAL, but have second thoughts about the whole bit.
Unlike Warming Grace, Papa’s Quilt, and the other charities I am knitting projects for (Ryan’s Dulaan Project, Norma’s Red Scarf Project, and Sarah’s Dutchicans Project), this “charity” requires that high-end yarns be given, with the requirement being silk. Plus it looks like I must not be trustworthy, because the person who started it emailed me a message that I needed to show her what they looked like before she gave me the address on where to send them. I find it hard to stomach such demands for a blanket. Please consider that we have to live solely on my income until Rich finds work. Also, I had to sell my hard-earned stash (most of it was literally my pay for working at a now-closed yarn shop) in order to go back home and for the latest month’s bills. It is so disheartening that the yarns in my stash are either the wrong fiber content or color. The whole matter deflates me. Am I being selfish for being so frugal? Jessi and Zy could care less. All they want is for me to leave them alone for their morning snooze! =:8
Must have bad karma.
ME!!
