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