Is it over yet?????

Be forewarned this will be a long possibly whiny post! This has been a totally nutty week in the P house. Yes I know it is normally pretty nutty here especially considering it is just my Mom, my dog , my two cats , and myself who live here.
I live in a large room above the garage at my Mom's house. It has a lovely large picture window that brings beautiful sunshine into an otherwise cold( or hot depending on the season) room. This past Fall I noticed a piece of the interior trim had fallen off the window frame. I looked at it and told my mom about it and really didn't think too much about it. Then winter came and every ounce of wind outside that window came in through the spot where the trim was. I gave it a closer look and again talked to Mom about it. Then a few weeks later I noticed mold on the wall under the same spot. I have allergies and mold really freaks me out. I talked to Mom again and she agreed we probably should have someone look at it. I moved into a guest room to get away from the mold. The day after I moved into the guest room I was walking through the garage and for some reason looked up. The wall under my room was covered in big nasty mold splotches. The next day the moisture guy Tony came. The window that I love so dearly was incorrectly installed almost 14 years ago. It has probably been leaking almost since it was installed. He took the insulation and drywall( can it still be called drywall if it is wet?;) down in my room under the window and in the garage. He has to replace a bunch of studs along with the window, insulation and drywall. We ordered the windows and on Monday he is coming to start the work. The big window is now going to be 3 energy efficient windows! Right now I have clear plastic covering the studs in my room and just studs in the garage. Tony came out on Monday and did everything else on Tuesday. So really in all not counting the time for the windows to come in the whole project will be done in 3 or 4 days. All of this I can handle.
What I am having a harder time handling is my sweet Joey being sick. On Tuesday morning I came into the kitchen to find a pile of cat vomit. No biggie, it's not that unusual to find vomit when you have 2 cats. When I fed them they both ate so I figure it was just a hair ball coughed up on a full tummy. Later in the day I came home and found another pile. I was starting to get a little worried but I have 2 cats and didn't know who the puker was. Wednesday was calm until after dinner when again my mysterious vomitter left another pile for me. I was tempted to take both cats the the vet and say figure it out but they both seemed fine. Then on Thursday I saw Joey throw up shortly after having eaten his dinner. Finally I knew who it was but the vet was closed for the day. He still seemed fine so I decided not to go to the e vet and wait until my vet opened in the morning. Friday morning Mom woke me up around 7 and said Joey had just thrown up after she fed them breakfast. I took a quick shower and rushed him to the vet. He didn't have a fever, he hadn't lost any weight, he wasn't dehydrated,and his abdominal examine was inconclusive. So Joey got his first set of x-rays. The diagnosis was Joey is constipated. Yep, my cat is full of poop! He was given a shot of anti nausea medication and I was given some meds to give him at home along with a couple of cans of gentle food. What does cat constipation cost in Southeastern VA $110.639! After I was told the total amount I was even more glad I didn't go to the e-vet it probably would have been at least $300! Thankfully Joey has not thrown up since the shot and seems to be feeling a lot better. He even wrestled his favorite mouse toy tonight and carried it all over the house trying to find the perfect place to deposit it. I'm not sure if he has pooped at all since his sister is a big pooper. Since I discovered the first pile o vomit I was partly wishing that I had only one cat. It would make this stuff( puke & poop watch 2009) a lot easier. Not that I would trade either of them for anything in the world. But a girl can dream can't she....

Wordless Wednesday

A quite Saturday

It's so bizarre to me that this week is over already. I honestly can't say were it has gone. The beginning of the week my bro , sil and wondermutt were here. They left Tuesday, and I have basically alternated between working my bootie off and chilling the rest of the week. Mom and I are both on huge organize the house kicks but there is just so much to do. I watched an entire season(8 episodes) of a new(to me) show on Netflix , and I started a baby blanket with some stash yarn. Why are BBC and British seasons short? I've have been watching a lot of British tv on Netflix and am always amazed by the shortness of the seasons/series and the blatant use of certain curse words. Netflix recommended Coupling to me. I was shocked by how risque it was. The entire show was built around sex. It was quite funny but I felt that I should go to confession after watching it! Then they recommend another series Ballykissangel which is a lot more wholesome. How Netflix's recommendation system work is beyond me. If you liked this show about British people's sex lives you'll like this show about a British Priest assigned to a small town church in Ireland. It honestly boggles the mind! Maybe someday it will all make sense to me.
I mention briefly before that I started a baby blanket with stash yarn. I was itching to knit something mindless while watching my British TV so I cast on for another Multi directional diagonal baby blanket that I adapted from a dishcloth pattern. I knit one for my cousin's baby a while ago and really liked the way it turned out. Some where on this blog there is a picture but so you don't have to go searching here it is again.

The blanket I just started is also a variegated yarn. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out. It is a much more masculine yarn. I'm not sure how big it will be when all is said and done. I'm just going to knit one way until I get half way through my yarn and start going the other way with the remainder. Hopefully it will be a decent size. I decided this is to be a completely stash yarn project. So no matter what I won't buy more yarn for this! It can always be a doll blanket if it turns out super small , but I don't think it will. I about half way through my first skein and have a at least ten inches in width.
Well I really should go to bed. I have a busy day tomorrow. I'm finishing priming a bedroom that was painted Virginia Tech orange on the walls and maroon on the trim. The first coat is on but it definitely needs a second!
Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Holly

New Year new look

Well at least for my blog. I was reading someone's blog today and loved her background so I followed the link to the cutest blog on the block and had a looksee. There were so many choices! I finally decided on this one. So far I really like it!
Once again I can't believe how much time has passed since I've been here. I haven't been knitting much since the Christmas push. I knit felted mitten ornaments for the extended family this year here is a picture of my test mittens I made a while ago. For some reason I forgot to take pictures of my finished projects before I sent them. Each ornament had a pair of matching mittens held together by a matching braid. The mittens ended up being just over 2.5 inches high. I was really pleased with how well the turned out. They were just so cute! Every person who received a pair was really impressed, they couldn't understand how I made them. I loved feeling like a knitting genius!
I also finished my Mom's everlasting bagstopper (except for the straps) on Christmas morning! eek talk about cutting it close. Every year my gift to my Mom is her stocking. This year I put her other stocking gifts inside the bag stopper then put it all in a large gift bag. The stocking I had knit for her birthday (just remembered I didn't take a picture of that either- doh!) is much more decorative than functional.
Last night I decided to finish the sitcom chic, that was supposed to be for my Mom, for my sister's birthday. I was exactly on gauge but the sweater was still really short on my Mom's incredibly long torso. I had planned on lengthening it since I hadn't sewed the sleeves on yet when I noticed she had a sweater almost exactly identical to it in her closet that fits her really well. Thankfully my Mom and sister are the same size except my sis doesn't have the torso length. It is a huge relief that I can actually used the sweater and not just frog the whole thing! It's also nice that I only have a little bit more to go since her b-day is only a couple of weeks away.

I have tons of things to do today and need to going but am so not motivated. I guess I should sign off.Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo,
Holly

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