Mr Greenjeans

Mr. Greenjeans 

I kept forgetting until tonight to take a picture of my progress with Mr Greenjeans. I’ve been playing around with my new puzzle – it’s been a challenge because of all the similar colors but it’s fun. So here you go:

And a closeup of the cable detail, note that I originally though there were supposed to be cables ALL around and not just alternating with the stockinette stitch. Oops. The picture is kind of odd because the sweater is still on the needles and I was trying really hard to make sure none of the stitches came off! So things are kind of wonky.

I’ll probably do about 5 or 6 more cables and then it should be to the length I want. Then the sleeves are next. I’d love to have this done in time for Stitches in February but I’m not going to push it. Pressure knitting? No more for this chick.

Washcloth 

I’m also in the process of making a washcloth (in a pale yellow yarn from Panda Cotton, I’m actually crocheting!) for the charity drive I started up. I work on it on the bus to and from work – except this morning because there were two windows stuck open about 2 inches each and even though the heat was on, it was flipping freaking cold on there!

Remember, there’s no due date on this drive (more info below) or any of the others that will be listed there eventually. In fact, there will be multiple drives at the same blog going on simultaneously, as the year moves along. Maybe even contests, you never know what I’ll think up.

Ravelry 

If you’re a member of Ravelry, there’s a group that’s been set up by ‘metime’ and myself (knitgirl63). It’s called MN-Knice Charity Drives. Get it? Minnesota Nice? Ahem.

Just so’s ya know, even though the charities we’re benefiting will likely reside in Minnesota - if you aren’t from Minnesota you can still join up. We may even do drives for other states and locations, we’re still in the infancy stage so to speak and have lots to think about with this. My hope is that this will just go crazy and benefit a ton of people EVERYWHERE.

Work

Okay, I brought  my laptop home so I wouldn’t have to work there another hour or so and instead will do that here watching my soap on soapnet tonight. It starts in just a few minutes so I’m off!

What Is It?

It’s a puzzle. Actually, it’s the front of the Springbox puzzle box. I just picked it up today while shopping. I plan to put it together, glue it, frame it and hang it in the office. I don’t have the box right in front of me but if I remember the dimensions correctly, it’s 28 x 36. Huge. It will take me a while to do as I’m not even normally a puzzle person but how could I have passed this up?

I’ll have a WIP picture of Mr Greenjeans tomorrow. I had to rip back a LOT and have made up about 2 inches of the bit I had to rip back. I wasn’t going to work on this yet because I need to make the baby outfit for my cousin. However, I made an executive decision and am putting that off until Mr G is done. The baby isn’t due until May so I’ve got plenty of time for that. As for a shower gift I’ll be giving her a bunch of baby socks (out of leftover sock yarn) that now I can really personalize because she knows she’s having a boy. 

Speaking of the shower, I’m helping host it (56 people are invited) and it’s in February, I’m in charge of games/prizes (hee hee!!). I’ve come with about 5 or 6 games plus 2 door prize drawings and today while shopping I picked up the prizes. Man, I had so much luck I was shocked. I was walking by Bath & Body Works and I normally don’t go in there because the scents are just too overwhelming for me. But I saw signs. Big ones. They said 75% off. There were other ones that said $2.00. Yes, only 2 buckeroos. I spent 17 bucks on 12 things. What a deal. My plan is to have two or three winners per game (since there are going to be so many people) and two door prizes. I also picked up at another store (the dollar store, believe it or not), 2 sets of 2 candle holders made of glass. One set is shaped like hearts and the other is flowers. Really small, only about an inch high and three inches in diameter each and they use tealights (which I’ll include). Oh, the door prizes I found at Marshall’s. I found some scented drawer liners – never thought about using them myself but they look gorgeous in their long boxes. and they’d look really pretty in a drawe. One is Lilac and the other is something like Spring Cotton (aka fresh?, this one was my favorite). Neither smell was powerful at all, just very mellow.

I finally took a picture of the ornament that my best friend gave me for Christmas – for your viewing pleasure:

Off to start the chili and then head out the campfire that my husband is starting up. Enjoy your night and I’ll get that picture of Mr Greenjeans out here tomorrow. The sweater, that is.

Hello, Hello, Hello

Edited 1/24 to add picture of the tinsel eggcarton tree. If I remember correctly, this is about 18 inches high and however wide an egg carton is at its widest part. Scroll on down…

Slacker

I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. Yeah, I’ve done a couple short ones here and there and misc updates but the last 7 or 8 weeks have just been really rough and it hasn’t been a priority for me. Same with checking all of my friends blogs. But I’m back and you will get so tired of my lonnnnnnnnng posts and tons of comments that you just might wish I was doing short ones again and leaving you alone. Well, hopefully not, actually.  :-)

Flickr

Check out the two posts below this one. Just discovered a flipping cool thing on Flickr – I can do a post FROM Flickr right into wordpress with the picture I want. I’m a little slow, I know, some of you already probably knew that but hey, I still think it’s cool. What would be even cooler is if someone can tell me how I can post an entry with multiple pictures in it right from Flickr, any ideas?

Always Believe What Your Mommy Tells You

I decided this morning after waiting for the bus in negative temperature weather that it was time I grew up. Yes, it’s time to actually – hold on – wear a hat. I’ve always hated wearing them and as a kid my mom would make sure I had it on along with a scarf and mittens and all that good stuff. The moment I was outside and out of her sight? Off went the hat into my pocket. It didn’t go back on until I was almost home. To be honest as a kid it just made me too warm. As an adult I don’t want to mess up my hair. Well, guess what. Function will now win over fashion. I will be knitting myself a hat!

Christmas

Last Saturday was Christmas with my family at our house. We should have ended up with 13 people but it came down to 9 instead which for space purposes, it worked out great. On the menu were appetizers that JT made (yummo – they were the pinwheel things, you take a wrap and some cheese, meat etc, roll it up, cut them up and we had them with salsa on them) plus some maple, bacon dip and another dip for pretzels. We had two pork loins but they were cooked very differently. One was in the crockpot with peaches, chili sauce, pumpkin pie spice and other ingredients and the other was grilled and had a jerk rub on it. Then we had Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes, corn, salad and for dessert my mom made her Jello cake.

Ever have that Jello cake?? It’s so good. You bake a white or yellow cake in either a 9×13 pan or two rounds or squares. When it’s cooled you poke holes in the cake with the end of a wooden spoon or you can use a fork to make a bunch of holes. Then you take Jello that’s been diluted (I don’t know the ratio) and pour it over the cake. Chill it, frost with Whip Cream and chill again, then serve. The Jello is so good – my mom uses both red and green at Christmas but you can do any color or colors you like.

My best friend, CP, gave me a gorgeous handmade - BY HER no less- trivet. I’ll use it in the studio to put the soldering iron on. She also gave me an ornament that’s a silver wreath with red berries and hanging down in the middle is a charm that says Best Friends. So cool. Check this out, CP and my hubby have for years exchanged gifts. But they’re sort of gag gifts. Each one is always trying to outdo the other whether it’s just the packaging or the silliness of the gift. A few years ago CP gave hubby a gallan sized coffee mug from Gander Mountain. The next year it was a foot long metal lighter that looks just like a match stick. Seriously, it LOOKS like a match stick, wood body, red tip. This year she got him another lighter but it was a foot long rifle in chamo colors. His bb gun was stolen a few years back so this was sort to replace, ha ha, that one. She had it in a long box, had written fragile on it, told him to be careful, etc. Oh, the one that started it all was the year CP gave us 3 – 3 foot tall wood carolers. They’re wood body forms that you dress up.

This year hubby gave CP a Black & Decker contraption that I’ll have to have her explain because I can’t remember everything it does. But you can charge just about anything on it, you have a radio tha not only gets radio stations but you can listen to TV and a whole lot of other things. I know he’s given her other things too but I can’t remember them all. Anyway, CP, feel free to elaborate.

The best part of the day was when my mom gave CP this Christmas tree made out of egg cartons.  Seriously. I have to get a picture from her as I forgot to take one. CP is like family to us and so she gets treated the same – that seems to be working for her so we’ll keep her.

Anyway, I told her to shut her eyes and then held up the tree (it’s decorated with tinsel, it’s spraypainted silver and it has red and gold ornaments on it) just about a foot from her face. She opened her eyes and nearly bawled she was so ecstatic - you have to understand, she IS Christmas so this to her was just the cat’s meow.

There’s more I was going to blog about but I’ll have to continue tomorrow. Enjoy your nights all!