I've been tagged!

Kelly tagged me the other day on her blog. This should be fun!

1. I do not like to eat of plates that are the same color as the food. We have Fiesta wear and eating a salad off a green plate or eggs off a yellow plate really bothers me.
2. My third toe on my left foot is very crooked. I really don't remember the details (no abuse just stupid kid stuff!) but some how I stepped on a drill and it went through part of my toe.
3. I love to organize. The worse something is the more I like to tackle it.
4. I still remember my best friend from elementary school's phone number and all of my locker combos from middle and high school.
5. I mostly use conditioner to wash my hair.
6. I hate to shave my legs! I do it because I have very thick hair and would have man legs quickly but I really hate it!
7. I never use dark blue ink pens. I think it looks weird to write with blue ink. But I use a turquoise pen to write important things in my planner.

Now the fun part! The rule say tag random people but I am not that brave so I will tag the last 7 blogs I have visited! I tag:
Dustina
Dawn
Deb
Sandy
Julie
Jeanie
Andres

Menu Plan Monday - a first for me!

I've seen this on Kelly's blog several times and have always thought I should try it. So this week I'm giving it a try. I am going grocery shopping tomorrow so this should really help keep the bill to minimum. Here's hoping! This is a crazy week at school with tests so I will mostly be using my trusty crock pot. For great crock pot cooking site check this out! Every recipe I have tried has been good!

Monday - whole chicken in crockpot *, garlic green beans and corn muffins
Tuesday- eating out - Celebrating Mom's retirement !
Wednesday-Simply Roasted Pork , roasted potatoes, veg
Thursday- Vietnamese Pho Soup in Crockpot, salad
Friday- Leftovers!
Saturday- Crockpot bacon and cheese chicken, garlicy mashed potatoes, salad
Sunday- French Beef Stew in bread bowls, salad

*I don't have a link to this recipe. Here is what I do. Bunch up 5-6 balls of Aluminum foil and throw into crock pot. Wash and season chicken (today I will use garlic powder,onion powder, salt, pepper, and thyme. I will also put half an onion in the cavity.) Place chicken on top of Al balls and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,

Bentley's Leash Bag Holder

I posted a picture of one of my latest FO on knittinghelp.com and received quite a few requests for the pattern. So here it is. I looked at a lot of bag holder patterns online but I couldn't find one that I really liked so I knit this.
It can hold four plastic grocery bags. I really love it, this is probably one of the most useful things I have ever knit. It has eliminated my pocket full of bags and I am always prepared when B goes.
This is my first attempt at pattern writing so if anything doesn't make sense please let me know! I'll also be happy to help if you need it!
Leash Bag Holder
Materials:
worsted weight yarn I used about half a skein of Peaches n Cream cotton from my stash.
This pattern is knit in the round. I used magic loop for mine but you can use whatever you favorite method is for knitting in the round.
size 7 needles for ribbing
size 9 needles for the rest

Cast on 28 stitches with size 7 needles.Being careful not to twist the stitches join to knit in the round. Begin ribbing K2 P2 around.
Continue to rib for 18 rounds.
Switch to larger needle and knit 2 rounds.
Begin increase rounds. I knit into the front and back of the first and last stitch on the needles for a total of 4 new stitches.
K-2 rounds
Continue alternating increase round and 2 rows knitting until you have 44 stitches.(total of 5 increase rounds)
K 6 rounds
Begin decrease rounds. I decreased by knitting 2 together at each end of the needles 4 stitches per round.
K 1 round
Repeat alternating decrease round and knitting rounds until you have 4 stitches.
I used the final four stitches to make an i-cord loop to attach to the leash. My i-cord is about 2-2.5 inches. (If I were to make it again I would make the i cord longer so I could pull the holder through it it attach it to the leash.) I finished the loop by drawing my tail yarn through the remaining stitches. I then brought the tail yarn through the top of the holder to the inside. I tied a very secure knot and wove in the ends. Congratulation you have now knit your very own poo bag holder! I attached the holder to his leash with an elastic ponytail holder- very classy I know : ) but it works great!

Reflections on my first week of school.

Yep, it is that time of year again classes started on Monday. Thankfully I only classes 2x a week Tues and Thursday. I don't think I have ever been able to swing that before. I have always tried but there was always one class that I needed that would be on a different day. This is my first semester at a different school. I was nervous and excited on Tuesday. I got to school early to pickup the one book I wasn't able to get online. I was shocked to see a line about 10 people deep to get into the bookstore. Then another long line to pay. I finally got in paid $135(!!!!) for a lab manual and made my way to class. My only other problem was parking. I couldn't find a parking spot anywhere near the building I needed to go to class in or the bookstore so I parked in a guest parking area. I decided I better not risk getting a ticket and moved my car before class. 15 minutes later I was parked and rushing to get to class. Not a very good start to a new semester. I kept thinking this wouldn't be happening at my old school but I will try to keep an open mind. Just keep an open mind Holly was my new mantra! I really liked my A&P prof as a person. But as an instructor he is sorely lacking. He posts his notes online and skims over them during lecture. I know that I learn best when I take notes and hear a prof say something. But I decided it's the first day give it more time. Lab was interesting-ish. Then came Ethics. I realllllllllly wanted to take this class online but they were filled before I registered. My prof looks like if Dustin Hoffman and Richard Gere had a baby. He sounds very Dustin Hoffmanish. I had the worst time staying awake in his class, he goes off on these tangents that just never seem to end or be related to anything. Then today was my second A&P lecture. Parking was a nightmare again. I was sitting trying to take notes but he really wasn't lecturing when the girl next to me said" do you think he will ever lecture? I guess we have a lot of reading to do." I agreed then the guy sitting next to her said" this is it, this is how he teaches" I walked out of class very disappointed. I have had several great sciences teacher at my old school and couldn't believe this guy was so highly rated as a teacher. I came home and talked to Mom about it all and she asked well is it too late to register for another A&P class at your old school. I looked online and saw that my favorite Bio prof had openings in her lab and lecture. I signed up immediately and dropped my other A&P. I am so happy I did this. I know I need to know this stuff for Nursing and I really don't think I would have learned as well or as much as I know I can with Ms. Mason. I sent her an email tonight so hopefully I can spend the weekend trying to get caught up. Tomorrow I am going to return my lab manual and get my money back!

OK I know this is supposed to be a knitting blog and I bore you all with the everyday aspects of my life. Sorry! Here is a little something I worked on this week. Meet Go USA! baby oddball blanket! I really love how my section turned out.


I also updated the Southeast baby oddball blog.
I had the idea to show the blankets in progress instead of just as they are now and I am really happy with how our blog looks now. Not that I wasn't liking it before. I just think this takes it up a notch and really shows off each person's contributions a little better.

Goodnight all! Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Holly

I am woman!

Hear me roar! LOL!!! On the side of our house there are 3 very badly overgrown holly bushes. They are huge and not very attractive. For a while Mom and I have been talking about taking them out and putting in something pretty. Well today was a beautiful day so I decided to conquer one of them. And I did!! Bentley and I went out early this afternoon. He was laying in the grass while I dug and dug. About half way through I decided to take a break and eat some lunch. When I came back out I was absolutely determined to get it. While I was digging my neighbor called over the fence to see if I needed any help. I thanked him but this was my battle to fight and gosh darn it I was going to do it. Thinking back I probably should have let him help, it would have gone much faster with another shovel! Finally I was able to cut all the huge roots and get the bush out of the ground! I don't believe I have sweat that much in a long time! I even started to get a blister on my thumb boo hoo. After all was said and done Bentley decided to help by making the hole bigger and laying in it. Tomorrow I will be planting in this new hole a Rhododendron that my Mom received for Mother's day that has been just hanging out waiting for a spot. I am so proud of myself! Now I just have two more to go. I can't wait, well actually I can but if the weather and my body hold up I am going to get them!

I made the cardiology appointment for B today. I thankfully only have to wait until Sept 10th. So not too much longer. Seeing him digging today it was hard to believe there is anything wrong with him. I guess he did stop sooner than he normally would have but he was really working on making that hole right. I wish I had had my camera with me he was so funny!

Unbelievably I didn't do any knitting today! I think this is the first day in a long time that I can say that. The more I think about it the more I am convinced that I need to add more length to the body of Mom's sweater. She has a really long torso and I am afraid that it will be too short on her. She keeps saying it will be fine but I don't want to make a sweater that she won't wear. Or that she will wear to not hurt my feelings and feel uncomfortable in. I would just have to unbind off the armpit stitched. I am still working on the darn sleeves. I feel like if I ever get them done it will be a miracle! I feel like I keep knitting and they just won't get long enough! I'm going to make them a priority. I really want her to be able to wear it in the fall!

I'm actually tired tonight. Yard work apparently is good for making people tired at a reasonable hour. Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,
Holly

The summer has flown by!

I can't believe it is the end of August already! Where did summer go? I start classes again next week. Eek! I actually have a really good schedule. I only have classes Tues and Thursday this semester. I wish I could say my classes will be easy but that would be just a little too much good luck wouldn't it! As you can on my previous post I have been filling my break with meaningful endeavors. LOL! Remember how I told you about the engagement party and how my bros , sil and bro's dgf were coming down. Well Bro # 2 brought his Wii. So of course we played. A lot. On Sunday when they all left Mom and I were sitting around relaxing and suddenly she said 'I really want a Wii". Thinking who am I to argue I agreed it would be fun. So the next day Mom was running some errands and came home with a Wii! I didn't think she would actually buy one but she did! I haven't seen Mom this excited about anything in a long time. She loves it! Of course so do I! So my days have been filled with knitting and Wii. Not a bad way to relax!

I got the Autumn Leaves baby oddball blanket yesterday. I love the yarn Dawn used. I'm going to do my section in SS Autumn red. I also cast on for a new blanket Go USA! Spikey of the the Northeast region inpsired me to try a star pattern. Keep your fingers crossed it turns out! I'm trying to figure out a way to do exactly 50 stars. Yes, I am a little obseesive thank you. I'm going to have to play with the pattern a little to see if it works! I 'm really excited in last couple of days we have gotten 2 or three new knitters from Ravelry. Our little group is growing! Yippee!

I received some bad news from my vet this week. Bentley was due for his yearly. While I was there I mentioned that he has been acting really clingy to me. He is very reluctant to go out with Mom, and he just hasn't been himself lately. She thankfully listened to everything I said, asked a lot of questions and started his examine. He has alway had a slight heart murmur. After she listened to his chest for what felt like forever she said she wanted to get a chest x-ray. My poor sweet B has an enlarged heart now. So tomorrow I have to make an appt with a cardiologist for him. Those are words I never thought I would say. He has to get an echo. Dr W. is very confident that he can be treated. All of his blood work was good, he is a good weight, she said he is in great health except for this. But in the back of my mind I keep thinking of Ricky our first dog who died of an enlarged heart when he was 10. B is only 7. I hope I don't have to wait too too long for the appt with the Cardiologist. I need to hear from her that my baby is going to be OK, that this is 100% treatable and that he will have a normal long life despite this. I can't even imagine losing him. I would be heartbroken and so would both my cats especially Joey. I feel a little better get this off my chest.

Thanks for stopping by!!
xoxo,
Holly

Wordless Wednesday

Getting caught up

Hi! I know it's been awhile since I've posted again. I do have some what of a good excuse, I was on a mini vacation. My mom, Bentley(my dog), and I went up to visit my bro and sil for a long weekend. We drove up on Thursday morning and came back on Sunday afternoon. It was a ton of fun. I discovered my love for the wii. We played it every night I was there. I loved the bowling and tennis. I got much better at the bowling than anything other game. Mariocart kicked my booty! My bro and his friend said it made them carsick to watch me play. Yeah I rock! Lol! I tried the party games but wasn't very good at them either. I think I am going to have to look into purchasing one for myself, I am really interested in the wii fit package.

I am absolutely amazed at how long it has taken me to get caught up on stuff around the house after being out of town. I came home Sun night and feel like I have been doing laundry and cleaning ever since. I have to clean a little more than normal since we have company coming in this weekend and it will be a full house. I'm really looking forward to everyone coming! Both my bros, my sil and bro #2's girlfriend are coming. Along with bro & sil's dog. It will be a wild weekend.
A good friend of ours parent's are throwing him and his new fiancee a big engagement party on Saturday. Did you know that the spelling fiancee is for the woman and fiance is for the man. I just learned that this summer. I asked his parents were they are registered and was told they aren't yet. Eeek! They don't want any gifts for the party. I don't feel like I can go empty handed so I am going to make a batch of my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and put them on a really cute plate and include the recipe. K & M both love the cookies and have told me several times that anytime I want to make them they would be happy to take any extras off my hands. The plate is adorable I have to take a picture of it!

Knitting wise I am still working on Mom sitcom chic and the oddball #4 blanket. I'll have picts of both soon! I'm not sure when Mom's sweater will be done.

I have to go now! Thanks for stopping by!!
xoxo,
Holly

Name Game

I got this in an email and it totally cracked me up so I thought I would share it here!( Thanks M!!)


1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Turtle Camry
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Country Peach Cobbler Chocolate chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): H.Pat
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Dog
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Elizabeth Columbus

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Patho
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Blue Water

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers): Dominic Louis

9. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (first letter of mother’s maiden name & father’s middle name ): M. Edward
10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): McGee Madison

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Spring Violet

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Banana Khakie

13. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):Honey Nut Cheerios Dogwood
14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, favorite weather element + “Tour”): The Knitting Sunshine Tour

McGee Madison signing off! LOL!!

Quick Updates

It's late and I really should be asleep but I am not sleepy so here I am.
Apparently I didn't bomb my final in Stats as badly as I thought. Grades were posted last night and I got a B! This summer I made 2 "A"s and 1 "B" not too shabby if I do say so myself.

This afternoon I started the Atlantic Waves baby oddball blanket while watching Season 2 of Lost on DVD. Normally I don't knit during Lost but I had seen these episodes so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I can finally say I knit mistake free while watching Lost, it's amazing! Now if it had been a new episode I know I would not be able to say that. LOL
Speaking of the baby oddball blankets our group has two new knitters! I'm really excited I think we have 15 now (including a couple of Mamadawn's friends who aren't registered on KH)!!! Yeah Southeast way to represent!
I sent my secret pal's package on Monday. I haven't heard from her if she has received it or not yet. She should have since it is only going one state away. I hope everything is ok.

The sleeves for Mom's sweater are slowly coming along. I am finally past her elbow! My goal is to finish the sweater in the next couple of weeks before I go back to school. I'm pretty sure classes start on Aug 21st. So I have 20 days. I know I can do it.

Mom looked at my wordless Wednesday post and said Wow it looks like our whole yard is in bloom. In the interest of full disclosure the whole yard is not in bloom, there are actually a lot of weeds and ugly things. But really who wants to see that. I'm still waiting for the Encore azaleas in the hedge to start blooming again. We have other Encores blooming away. I think the blooming ones have been getting more water. Hopefully all the rain we've had will encourage them to bloom.
I liked doing wordless Wed I might make that a permanent fixture of my little blog. I need other theme days too. Any suggestions will be appreciated. In the mean time I will try and be creative and think of something.


Well now it is even later and I am actually feeling sleepy. Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo, Holly

Wordless Wednesday

Words I never thought I would say

Today was my last final at my current school! On the way there I heard the traffic report saying the tunnel I have to go through was slightly backed up. By the time I about 5 miles from the tunnel I knew I was in for a long wait. Traffic was stopped. I didn't have my syllabus with me so I couldn't call my prof. I was frantic!!! I couldn't miss my final! After 40 minutes of sitting there they finally reopened the tunnel and we all crawled through. Then once through they had one lane closed. So we all merged in to the right lane and continues to crawl down the road. My final started at 5 I finally got to school at 5:45. My prof wasn't in the room so I picked up a test and started to work. I looked at the first question and was still really frazzled from my drive so I decided to come back to it. Same with the second question. I went on with the rest of the test.I got to the last question and drew another blank. I knew I had just read the info before I left but I couldn't quite remember it all. I answered as well as I could. I went back to the first question and started to answer it. I got an answer but I knew it wasn't right. Then I looked up and I was the last person in class. My prof said 10 more minutes. I left number one and started number two. All of the sudden he said "Sorry Holly I have to leave. You are going to have to turn in what you have. " I wasn't even half way through solving number two. I was really upset on my drive home. I've never left a final feeling as badly as this one. Thankfully I had an "A" going into the final so I should be fine grade wise. I was really thinking I was going to get straight "A"s again and I am pretty sure now that is not a possibility. All I really care about at this point is did I pass the class. It is the only class I need to get my associates degree.
So you are probably thinking what are those words you thought you would never say. #1 is I am done with TCC!! #2. is I'll be happy as long as I get a C in Stats.

xoxo
Holly

Southeast baby oddball

Shandeh the queen of organization and charity knitting over on Knitting Help recently announce some changes to the oddball baby project. The group has grown so much and there were so many blanket going on at the same time it became too much for one person to handle. Even Shandeh who in my book is a supreme organizer and leader. I bow to your talents Shandeh!!! Like any good leader she figured out a way to delegate. Thus our regions were born. Shandeh in her infinite wisdom split the group into geographical regions. MamaDawn is the leader of my region the southeast. I volunteered to help in any way I could. I don't live too far from Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and have always wanted to do something to help them. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity! I told Dawn about them and now we are going to donate our blankets to this great hospital! I know for a fact that if it wasn't for this hospital and the wonderful Drs. I wouldn't still have my youngest brother who was born with very rare heart defects. I love the thought that all these years later I can be a part of something that made a difference in my family's life. C was showered in handmade gifts during his many stays in the hospital. I recently was going through a box and found a couple of crocheted toys. I asked my mom about them and she told me they were from the ladies at the hospital. I got a warm fuzzy knowing that someday someone would pick up a blanket knit by our group and know that people they would probably never know made something with love for them.

The generous knitters for the Southeast Region are :

• doodknitwit
• howdovley
• kayrun
• kellybigeyes
• losnana
• LBECK
• MamaDawn
• misharf
• Moxiemade
  
• Shandeh

I am truly honored to be a part of such a talented group! MamaDawn asked for ideas for blanket themes and within hour we had a ton. In August we will be starting up with four blankets! The themes are M&Ms, Atlantic Waves, Autumn Leaves, and Cookies n Cream . A lot of our ideas involved food ,LOL! We southerners love our food!

I'm 98% done with Speed Racer oddball baby blanket! I should finish it tonight. I love this blanket! It is so cool!!!!! Picts to come I promise!
xoxo,
Holly

All the photos I should have posted.

I tried to post this yesterday and I had all sorts of problems. Out of frustration I finally decided to walk away and try later. So here I go again! Fingers crossed!!

Let me start by saying I am still in awe of Deb's generosity! Here is the picture of everything together


My swap partner is going to have to be a little more patient! I had to order the yarn I wanted to get her. Now I'm just waiting for it to come. I'm really excited about everything I have gotten so far. I'd love to spill the beans and tell all about it but she could possibly read this and I don't want to ruin her surprise. Here is a picture of the extras I have for her package all wrapped and ready to go!


Remember how I said I had 5 oddball baby blankets. Slowly but surely they are getting finished! Of the original 5 I only have Speed Racer to finish! I finished the Red Roses yesterday! I truly love this blanket! It was knit with Caron Simply Soft in Red. Each knitter did a 4 inch section with a different stitch pattern. The different textures on this are amazing. I did the last two sections and the border. For some reason I kept thinking of this as a girl blanket so I did crocheted ruffle. I wish I had known about this ruffle before it was so easy!( 1st row sc around, 2nd row 3 dc in each stitch). I think I am going to suggest to the Southeast Oddballers that we do more blankets like this. I really wish you could see it in person, the pictures don't do it justice!


Here is a picture of Rainbow Joy II. I did the purple section and the crochet border. I decided to keep the border simple and just did sc around.


Here is Rainbow blocks. As I said in an earlier post I did the green section.

I've looked and looked but I guess I didn't take a picture of Lavender's blue.I don't know why! I'll definitely post a picture of Speed Racer when it is done! Well I think I am all caught up on show and tell :) Thanks for reading about all of this!
xoxo,
Holly

Surprise surprise!

Let me preface this by saying I know I am going to ramble. Don't say I didn't warn you!!

I got my package yesterday from Deb(the bestest swap partner in the world!)!!!! I still haven't taken pictures . I know bad me and this post is basically worthless without pictures. But I am so excited about everything I have to post anyways! Mondays and Wednesday I am at school all day. Literally. I leave for school at 10 and get home around 8. It's tough but almost over!Only 4 more class days! Yesterday I had woken up with a slight headache that was threatening to blow into a full blown one any second, it was raining and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch watch movies and knit. But being the good student I dragged myself to school. In the middle of the day Mom called to say I had received a package and was I expecting anything. I thought about it for a second and thought no I haven't ordered anything. Then the light bulb went off! It must be from my swap pal!! I couldn't wait to get home but I still had 2 classes.
This would be so much better with pictures! It absolutely made my day! Everything was wrapped in light purple tissue paper and I felt like I was never going to reach the bottom of the box . Every time I pulled something out something else was under it! I was very spoiled! Here is everything Deb gave me in no particular order

• 3 skeins Lamb's pride worsted in a beautiful rich purple called Clematis(one of my favorite flowers). What ever I make with this will be gorgeous!
• 2 skeins Berrocco Medley in a variegated purple, blue, green, and a bunch of other colors. It's so pretty, I can't wait to knit it up!
• a pattern book! It's called Ready set knit cables I've flipped through it briefly and am in love with every pattern!
• A pattern for the my little companion felted bag.
• a black lab mug. It has a face of a lab on it that looks a lot like my Bentley. I used it this morning for my coffee. It made me smile every time I picked it up!
• A pin that said Registered Nurse. I was really touch by it. It's nice to have something to remind me in the midst of all of this craziness of my goal.

Deb if you are reading this( I know you have in the past!) thank you from the bottom of my heart!
xoxo,Holly

Me A-Z

I read this on Julie's blog and she tagged everyone who read it so here I go
ACCENT: Ohio with a little Virginian thrown in.
BREAKFAST OR NO BREAKFAST: Breakfast every morning
CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: putting away laundry
DOG OR CAT: both one dog& two cats
ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: cell and camera
FAVORITE COLOGNE: I really like rose scents like Vera Wang and Stella McCartney
GOLD OR SILVER: Silver
HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: depends on the season. Right now a cute Isaac Mizrahi from Target
INSOMNIA: Occasionally : (
JOB TITLE: Student
KIDS: Not yet hopefully someday!
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: In the same house I grew up in, in a quiet friendly neighborhood
MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT:honesty and devotion
NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: Ganging up with brothers and picking on my sister
OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: when I got ear tubes when I was 6 or 7 and after my foot was run over by a car
PHOBIAS: walking with my foot asleep
QUOTE: I can't think of one right now
REASON TO SMILE: Life is good!
SIBLINGS: 2 younger brothers, 1 older sister, and 1 older sister in law (I love to rub that in!)
TIME I WAKE UP: between 8:30-9:00
UNUSUAL SKILL OR TALENT:I have an amazing memory for random trivial facts!
VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: peas- yuck!!!!!
WORST HABIT: I can be really hard on myself over little things
YUMMY STUFF: chocolate cake with chocolate icing or pretty much anything chocolate!
ZOO ANIMAL I LIKE MOST: The orangutans. The babies are so incredibly cute the adults aren't bad either!

I'm going to copy Julie and say if you read this you are tagged & must do it in your blog!
xoxo,
Holly

Making Progress

I tried writing this last night but my computer was acting wonky. It's back to normal after I rebooted so I'll try this again! I finished Dotty's hat! I'm really happy with how it turned out if it fits. I am in desperate need of a good head model. I have a huge head as does my Mom. So we are both out of the running. I was going to try it on my bro's girlfriend but I ended up being sick when they were going to visit. So for now it is sitting in my knitting bag. I finished one section of Red Roses. I used a quilted lattice stitch The flash did odd things to the pattern but you can get the idea. I really love this pattern. I've used it before and am always happy with the result and how easy it is!I have one more section to go on it. I think I am going to use a pattern form my stitches calendar called crocus buds. Then I will do the border! I also finished my portion of Lavender's blue preemie blanket. I don't have a picture yet as my batteries for my camera are charging. I'll post one tomorrow. I'm about half way done with my section of Rainbow Joy 2 . I'm also doing a border on it. I finally found a not hideous green (I'm using the kelly green which looks better in person thatn it does on my screen) for rainbow blocks and am half way through my first repeat. I should have it finished in the next day or so! I really love the pattern we are using. It's called seed blocks Again I will post piccys when it is done! Yes I do have knitting ADD right now! Mom's poor sweater is just waiting paitently to be finished. I think I may have mentioned that she decided she wanted it to be long sleeved not 3/4 so I am stuck in st stitch boredom trying to get the sleeves long enough. I have to try and finish it up soon or she'll think she is never going to get it!
Well it's late and I should try to get some sleep.
xoxo,
Holly

And the list get longer and Yeah!!!

My UFO list just keeps growing and growing and growing. Tonight my dlb( little brother) called to ask if I would knit him a bag to keep his Rummikub pieces in. I knit one shortly after we got the game. It made much more sense to me to have a bag than to pass the box with pieces around. C(my dlb) made so much fun of me when I made it. Now that he has the game he has decide that yes my way was better and would I please knit him a bag. For some reason I just can't say no. It will be made with the hideous super saver I inherited. I should do tons of ugly stripes in non matching colors but then I would have to weave all those end. Yuck!! He is coming this weekend but I don't think I have the time to make one between now and then while I am working on eveything else and summer school. Of course that doesn't stop me from trying!

Now for the Yeah portion of the title. I think I may have mentioned that I am participating in a Secret Themed Swap on KH. Last night I received the name of my partner. I sent her, I can safely say her because I don't think any guys joined this time, an email today to get more information. I really love participating in these swaps. I always enjoy getting to know other knitters. I am going to make a real effort this time to really get to know both my receiver and my giver. I feel like I have missed out in the past with some of my partners by not really getting to know them. I haven't heard from my giver yet but we are supposed to be contacted within the week. I am so excited!!

I'm about 3.5 inches into Dotty's hat. I decided to go ahead with the floppy brimmed one first and attempt the lacy one later. I really hope she likes them. I haven't seen Dotty since she and her husband moved out of the neighborhood last summer. She is part of my Mom's homemakers' club. She had really good news this week that her brother is a good match for a bone marrow transplant. Thank God! Out of five other siblings he was her only match. I know they are all relieved that they found a match so easily. Prayers really do get answered.

I know blogs are pretty boring without pictures. I'll be sure to post some when I actually have a finished object, hopefully in a few days!

xoxo,
Holly

Adopt a cat month!

I was reading the paper this morning and one of the stories was about June being national adopt a shelter cat month. Then I looked up at the calendar and thought wow it's the 16th already! But I digress. I didn't adopt my cats from a shelter but they were going to be taken to a shelter if I didn't adopt them. I just couldn't let that happen. I'm pretty sure I would have never gone and adopted a cat let alone 2 if they hadn't been shelter bound. The shelter here is a kill shelter. They don't give kittens a more than a couple of weeks before being euthanized due to the constant and overwhelming number of kittens they get. I don't agree with their policy but I do understand lack of funding and space. Here they are a few days after they came home. How could anyone resist those faces!?! Joey is the gray one and Sierra is the tabbyThis picture was taken a couple of months ago. They will be turning 5 next month.

I know it's cliche for a knitter to have cats but I really don't care. For the most part they leave my knitting alone. Occasionally one will attack a tail hanging while I am knitting but other than that they are good. I don't regret for one second that I chose to have these sweet loving creatures become part of my family. This next picture I took this weekend. It's a little gross but sweet at the same time. Joey never covers when he uses the litter box. He will scratch the wall, the box everything but the litter. Sierra always covers for him. On Saturday morning I went to clean the litter boxes and saw this expression of Joey's love for me.


I highly recommend adopting a cat!

Knitting wise I start Dotty's chemo cap but it was turning out humongous! Note to self read the needle size recommended and make a gauge swatch. I'm using the laced edged lady's hat pattern from Headhuggers. I'm using Plymouth Bamboo which is really soft and breathable! I decide to go ahead and make her two. My second hat will be the floppy brimmed hat. I think it will be perfect for summer! I'm not sure what yarn I'll be using for the second hat. Darn I guess I'll have to go yarn shopping! ;) I'll be sure to post pictures when they are done!
Hope everyone is having a great Monday!!

xoxo, Holly

100 things about Me

It is very rare to see a blog without one of these lists. I throughly enjoy reading them so I decided to go ahead and try to make on myself.

100 Things About Me

1. I was born on April Fool’s day at 12:02 am
2. My mom wanted to name me Katie but my dad said Katie my last name didn't work so they named me Holly which works quite well with my last name.
   
3. I am the second of four children. I have an older sister and 2 younger brothers
4. I have a black Labrador retriever named Bentley
5. I also have 2 cats Joey, who is a light gray tabby, and Sierra, a tabby
6. I knit
7. I also crochet but prefer knitting for the most part.
8. I have an amazing wealth of useless knowledge
9. I tend to learn quickly and am very good at memorizing
10. I wish I had a photographic memory
11. I am very competitive when it comes to board games
12. My mom is my best friend
13. I have long brown curly hair
14. I have blue eyes
15. I am 5’7”
16. My skin is very fair. So fair it is lighter than most foundation’s lightest shade.
17. I need to lose about 100 pounds
18. I love to cook
19. I went to Culinary school did extremely well until I decided I didn’t want to be a chef
20. I love the smell of fresh laundry
21. I served a year on a traveling retreat ministry team
22. My dad died two weeks before my tenth birthday
23. I often wonder how my life would have been different if he had lived
24. I’m close to my brothers, sister and sister in law
25. I can’t think of a time that I have gone more that a few days without talking to one of them.
26. As close as I am to my family I am not very close my cousins and extended family.
27. I think it mostly has to do with the physical distance between us.
28. I can barely see my outstretched hand without contacts or glasses
29. I prefer to wear my contacts!
30. I have never had a brand new car
31. Two of my cars were hand me downs that I bought from my Mom
32. I have decided to go into nursing and will be starting a pre-nursing curriculum in Fall 2008
33. I love being able to help people
34. I like to garden but hate to weed and only do so when I absolutely need to
35. Little things can make me so happy
36. I took French for 3 years in high school and can remember very little of it
37. I love to read
38. I’ve been known to stay up all night to finish a good book
39. I am much more likely to get a book from the library than to buy one
40. But I did buy the Harry Potter books as they came out
41. I love coffee, I take creamer and 2 Splenda packets
42. I drink a lot of water especially at restaurants
43. I always tip big
44. I believe in love at first site….but haven’t experienced it
45. I'm very detail oriented. I notice everything.
    
46. I try to perform as many random act of kindness as I can
47. I am Catholic
48. My middle name is Elizabeth after my Grandmother, who was and will always be one of my favorite people ever
49. I seriously dislike email and text message slang. You is only 2 more letters than u how it that so hard? But I have been known to use lol.
    
50. I cry while watching the news, Extreme Home Makeover, movies, etc
51. I am a hair and face product junkie who is trying to reform her ways
52. I babysit my brother and sister in law’s puppy anytime I start getting the feeling of wanting another dog.
53. I have only knit one thing for myself in the 9 or 10 years I have been knitting
54. I am a sucker for little things: kids, puppies, kittens, plants, mini food I love it all
55. I love Josh Groban
56. I mostly listen to country music in the car
57. My first trip out of the country was to Canada
58. My foot was run over by a car, it took 3 surgeries and months of PT to be able to walk again
59. I have gotten not one but 2 speeding tickets for going less than 5 mph over
60. I fought both in court
61. I want to have a large family
62. I love when the weather is nice and I can open all the windows
63. Purple has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember
64. I live on the East Coast but love the West Coast
65. My immediate family all live on the east coast so I will probably never move out west
66. I can be very hard on myself- I’m working on it
67. So far in my life there have been very few decisions that I have regretted
    
68. I am a creature of habit
69. I always change my sheets on Sunday nights
70. My closet is such a complete and total mess that I don’t even know where to start to get organized
71. I love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and brownies
72. When I eat something sweet I always want a glass of milk
73. I can type fairly quickly but often have typos mostly inverting letters
74. I love photography
75. My college GPA so far has been a 3.98
76. I’m hoping to get perfect 4.0 in nursing school
77. Every room, except a small windowless hall bathroom, in my house has at least one houseplant
78. I recycle, compost, & donate religiously
79. I always sleep on the right side of the bed and sit on the left side of the couch
80. I will always try very hard to solve a problem myself before asking for help
81. I can be stubborn , obsessive and a little nutty at times
82. I am an optimist
83. I consider myself shy but most people who know me laugh when I say I am
84. I have had dreams that have come true, but they have mostly been about random things.
85. I often sit with one foot under the other leg.That foot always falls asleep, and I honestly can’t remember a day that it hasn’t happened.
86. One of my biggest fears is walking with my foot asleep
87. I am fascinated by architecture. I love Victorians with turrets, log cabins, craftsmen, cute cape cods I guess it's all about the details!
    
88. I spend entirely too much time online looking at people’s blog or different websites.
89. I love to drink cold sun tea in the summer.Hot chocolate is my drink of choice in the winter.
90. I am a sucker for "new and improved" and packaging. I'm an advertiser/ marketer's dream.
    
91. I’m always amazed at people’s generosity especially other knitters I have met.
92. I love the show Lost!
93. It is the only show that I will not answer the phone, knit or do anything else like fold clothes during.
94. My to do list is always long
95. I try to keep my list of unfinished project to less than five but it doesn’t always work
96. I love the sound of babies laughing
97. I am always sending emails to friends and family of product or ideas that I think will help them
98. I love getting mail! Real mail like cards, letters, and magazines not bills
99. My dream is to someday own a farm with sheep, alpaca, dogs, cats, horses you name it. I think I should probably marry a Veterinarian to make this dream more financially feasible!
100. I completed this list in 2 sittings and it was harder than I thought it would be!

Caffeine good!

Last night I read on knittinghelp about a copy cat recipe site. Being a former culinary student and all around lover of cooking I thought I would check it out. I found quite a few recipes I really want to try. But one in particular really caught my eye. The copy of Dunkin Donuts coolata. I love coolatas in the summertime! I made one this morning with a few mods. I omitted the hazelnut syrup because the I had hazelnut coffee, I used homemade chocolate syrup and instead of just milk I used 1/2 Coffee mate and 1/2 milk. It wasn't exactly like a what I would get from DD but it was darn good. As I was drinking it I was inspired to start working on one of the oddball baby blankets that showed up here yesterday. I actually received two yesterday. I already had one here and soon I'll be getting a preemie blanket! Oy! But I LOVE working on them! I'll post picts as soon as my camera is charged of the goodies that came with the blankets. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again knitter really are the most generous people!I'm about half way through my 1st section on Red Roses now. I'm doing 2 sections and probably a border on it.I most likely would have finished it but, Bentley(my dog) needed to go out so I took him. It has been 100 degrees here for days and finally yesterday the heat wave ended and it cooled off. I have a garden around my mail box that was being overrun with weeds. When walking past it with Bentley, I decided to start weeding the garden while it was still in the shade. An hour later I was done. I'm so excited! I've been eyeing different flowers to put in it and now it is ready to go! I was shocked to see that a few annuals I planted last year came back but were hidden by the weeds. B , after he went potty, was so cute he just laid down in the shade and took a nap while I was working. I don't know if it was the "coolata" , that I 'm feeling better or a combination but it sure feels good to get things accomplished again . Especially after a week or so of feeling like a slug!
xoxo,
Holly

I don't want to whine....

But I am sooo frustrated right now. It seems as if everything in my life is conspiring against my knitting. Summer school is kicking my booty. What was I thinking trying to take Chem , Medical TerminologyII and Stats all together? I have a bad cold that is taking for-evah to clear up. It's so so hot outside. And I was just diagnosed with Insulin Resistance. The IR requires a special diet that doesn't seem too hard to follow, but it's just another thing to deal with. I really want to know how people handle it all. I know as soon as I feel better every thing will seem less dire, but for now I just want to curl up on the couch with a good movie and some knitting. Unfortunately I have way too much schoolwork to do it.

Ok I'm done whining- really!! I feel better just putting it out there!

On the knitting front here is my WIP /need to finish list
1. PIF gifts( I would link to them but they are supposed to be a surprise!)
2. Mom's sitcom chic
3. Chemo hat for Dotty
4. NIU healing blanket squares
5. Ongoing Oddball baby blankets

I'm really excited to have gotten my Great American Aran Afghan pattern yesterday! I like the idea of this afghan since it is a bunch of squares. A few seem a little over my my skill level but I think in the long run I will be a better knitter for having done them. There is a GAAA along on blogger and Ravelry. I'm pondering what yarn I should use. I'm also not sure what color. I love the idea of a cream aran afghan but the thought of the dog and cat hair in this house makes me a little hesitant. I'm leaning toward something washable. Any suggestions would be very appreciated! I have no idea when I will start it but I will be sure to blog about it when I do. I've learned so much from other people's blog post about it.

If you have read all this and are still here thank you!
xoxo,
Holly

To my PIF angels

I have not forgotten you! And I have not flaked out on this! I know my 6 months has come and gone. Life has seriously gotten in the way of my knitting. I am so so so sorry!! I am working on your gifts and will hopefully be contacting you soon to send them out. Please forgive me. I promise if I had a choice I would have finished my gifts long before my deadline. Thanks for being patient!! You all are the best! xoxo, Holly

Giving it another go

Blogging that is! Somehow in the midst of this past semester I have totally stopped blogging. I really wanted this to be an accurate record of what I was working on and for whom. But somehow I have let it fall to the wayside. Lately I have been fairly prolific with my knitting. I suppose it doesn't hurt that every thing I have done has been for babies, but still! I mostly have been working on the Oddball charity baby blankets. I have also made 2 blankets for new babies in my life . The first one I made was originally going to go to my cousin for her new baby but once I started the second one I knew it was perfect for her. I then decided to give the first to my friend's baby. I love both blankets each are beautiful in their own way.
The first blanket I did was the Pinwheel baby blanket.

Used Bernat Cotton Tots yarn in very berry and strawberry.

The second blanket was originally a pattern for a dishcloth. I love way the dishcloth looks so I decided to try and turn it into a baby blanket. I used Bernat Camouflage yarn in go girl. Here's a pic of the blanket with its inspiration. I really wish I had a better pic of this blanket. It really is much prettier in person!


I need to upload more pictures from my camera so I can show off everything else I have been doing lately. Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,
Holly

Sigh of relief!

I am so happy. I only have one more ufo from my original list. Andy's hat is done, Malden's sweater is done, Craig's never ending scarf is done, and Mom's calorimetry is done. I am a very relieved knitter. I only have my socks to finish. Of course I also have the log cabin blankets that are a continuing charity project.
I am disappointed that my batteries in my camera were dead so I have to rely on my brothers to actually take pictures of these gifts while being worn and email them to me so I can post them here. It could happen!!
Tomorrow I am going to buy a replacement needle for my socks. Right now one of the needles is really hard to work with. I knit tightly and the join is not smooth at all making it difficult for me to really get in a rhythm when I am working on them. I am debating between going to Micheal's or buying from Knit Picks. I love my options needles so much but I am antsy to get back to my socks. Decisions, decisions!

UFO list progress report

Hi and Happy Monday!

I know I just posted my ufo list in my last post but my knitting diet challenge has helped my whittle away a couple of the projects. I'll find out tomorrow about my weight ; ) .
Here is my list of UFO's as posted last post with an update
1. Craig's Ohio State scarf - only one more red striped section and one and half more gray sections.
2. My socks- haven't touched
3. Malden's sweater redo - starting later this week
4. Mom's calorimetry
5. Andy's hat - haven't even thought about it!
6. My crocheted Log cabin square for the Charity Log Cabin round robin- being mailed tomorrow!

Craig's scarf is my Achilles heel as far as UFOs go. I work on it for a couple of nights then I am so bored I have the work on something else. This is to avoid poking my eyes out with my new Options. So tonight I will be back knitting on it. I am getting sooo close to finishing it I... must... press... on.

I just noticed that I am more worried about my UFOs than I am my homework. This is a bit disturbing to me. But I suppose it is the price one pays when they have such an addiction.

My UFO list

I joined a weight loss challenge on KH. Here are the guidelines
To join, you have to pledge the following:
1.) To work on an UFO at least 1/2 hour each day
2.) To pick up an UFO instead of nibbling
3.) To decrease your stash along with your weight
4.) To post pics of your FOs
5.) To share your joys and frustrations whether weight or yarn
6.) To share links to free patterns you are working on that are terrific!

In order to keep myself honest I thought I would post my ufo's here.
1. Craig's Ohio State scarf
2. My socks
3. Malden's sweater redo
4. Mom's calorimetry
5. Andy's hat
6. My crocheted Log cabin square for the Charity Log Cabin round robin

Craig's scarf has the most time in it but still has the longest to go. I am probably about18 inches away from being done.
Malden's sweater is a pretty simple fix I just need to reknit the bottom portion to make it a little bigger for him. His neck is much bigger now than when I first measured him and the collar of the sweater was absolutely choking him.
Mom's cal is the same thing I just need to make it bigger
Andy's hat was a complete disaster and I frogged before I even gave it to him. Thankfully he doesn't really mind but I want to get it done soon as it was a Christmas present. The log cabin square has to be done by the 14th so i can mail on the 15th. I am not too worried about it but I need to get it done!

My goal for this week is to work on Craig's scarf instead of nibbling at night and get it done! I am pretty sure I can do it.