Rockin' The Loom

My first publication!!!

2008-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am so proud. I am officially published in the Loom Knitter's Circle magazine!
My pattern is 'Leaves a Mark', which you can find a link to under the picture of my best friend's earrings on the home page!!! Great job, Jenny! And my tutorial for how to do the KFB increase on the looms is under the 'articles' tab! Let's all do a happy dance for me!!!!
And while you're there, check out the awesome earrings pattern by Jenny and the cute bangle bracelets by Isela and the awesome hats by Brenda. Oh, and another bookmark in there that is by Stacie Walsh. That cute little 'candy corn' bag by Isela.....GEEZ, the whole section of patterns is just cute and a MUST SEE!
Why are you still reading this? Go check it out!!!!!!!!!!!

The Kiss Loom Birthday Party

2008-08-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had sooooo much fun. I think about 20 0f us loomers had sooooo much fun! :D
We attended the Kiss Loom's First Birthday! It was like a very energetic chat room filled with door prizes and drawings, presentations, a game, and a party favor!
Anne Bipes had the first presentation in which she discussed gauge. Now, here I am...a dummy...telling myself that I needed to make guage swatches so that I could change the number of rows and stitches I needed for this or that pattern (example: me and the Simple Pink Sweater in which I omitted 20 rows from the body and added rows to the sleeves so that it would fit me more like I wanted. :D). But Anne pointed out that with our Kiss Looms, we could do a guage swatch then simply adjust the setting and washers to achieve a more desirable guage. DUH!!!! I mean, I should have thought of that already. I had thought about it for hats, like doing an adult's on one setting with so many washers, then reducing the setting and/or washers to fit a child's head. Granted, I still would have shortened the Simple Pink Sweater's body and lengthened the sleeves. But, why hadn't I thought about changing the setting and washers? LOL!
Then I was next to present with a lesson on lace. I had made a pattern for a fashion scarf that I named 'Robin and Lace' (like ribbons and lace, get it? LOL!) I used the Moonlight Mohair that Pam sent me for Teacher's Appreciation Day to make this really long scarf. I explained how to do the ssk and k2tog that is used in the pattern in this new tutorial (NOTE: This is a different method than the previous tutorial I had made. This is more based on needle knitting methods of ssk and k2tog). The pattern creates a sort of 'v' shape in the center of the lace where the ssk's and k2tog's slant toward eachother and I really liked it. It also shows the different ends and how it looks when you start a pattern with a lace design and then finish it with the same design. It turns out looking different. I got a sort of 'fish tail' at the end of the scarf, but more of a rounded edge at the beginning. :D Now, to create a hat to go with it. Bwahaha!
The next presentation was by my tia, Maria! She had this awesome 3 in 1 pattern. It is a cowl, but with a few alterations it can become a handbag or laptop cover! It is really gorgeous if you ask me and I can't wait to make my first cowl using this pattern. Of course, it would look just AWESOME in different shades of PINK! And she mentioned that you don't have to wear the cowl on your head, it can be worn as a neckwarmer or shawl type thing. Neckwarmer...that is what I need in the winter months. I find myslef hunching my neck down into my sweaters to stay warm. How silly when I could have made one of these all along?! LOL!
Then Graciela worked on presenting Karol's Yarn Substitution Chart! I swear, if I had known exactly how to read that chart I would have used it many times by now. I am so happy that I now understand it and will be printing it out to keep in my binder from here on out! You can use it to figure out which yarns are likely substitutes for eachother. Let's say a pattern calls for a certain yarn, but you don't have it and your local yarn store doesn't carry it and your only option is to order it online and pay a ton in shipping....or order a LOT of yarn that you really don't need to add to your stash to get free shipping (LOL!). Karol's chart can help you find out if you already have some yarn, or your local yarn store has some, that can be used in it's place. It doesn't account for texture (or fuzziness) but it can help with weight substitution. :D Really pretty invaluable, if you ask me!
And my friend, Trudy, made her presentation on problems she ran into when starting out with the Kiss Looms and the differences between the Kiss and the KKs. Turns out, a lot of people had the same or similar problems that Trudy did in the beginning. And hopefully the presentation helped the very newcomers either fix mistakes they are making or prevent them all together.
Last but not least was a game of 'Pin the Peg on the Loom' in which players picked a number from 1 to 15 to match up to a picture that Graciela had taken in which she had marked off one peg on the loom. The person who picked that peg number won.
The prizes throughout the party were Graciela's videos and patterns along with Cliff giving away some sets of 2-15 peg boards and his new 'Little Guy' which is a 4-4 peg modular (16 pegs). And as a party favor for everyone that was able to attend, I sent out the pattern for the Jeannette Knitting Tote. :D
I had so much fun and was so wired that even though the party ended at 8pm, I was still awake at midnight! LOL! I can't wait for next year, now!

OH! And here are the McCoy Mitts that I made up as a back up plan in case we needed it at the party. I am proud of them and think they turned out sooooo nice! And Angel has already made one and posted her picture to the Kiss Loom Group!

Getting to know me, getting to know all about me!

2008-07-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Bethany is having a Blogiversary Party and it is game time!!!!

1. What was your age when you first discovered your love of yarn? What (or who) was it that introduced you to all that fibery goodness?
I was 25 (it was last September) and my friend, Shannon, who lived in North Carolina at the time, but has since gotten married and the army moved her husband to England so she had to follow, is the one that introduced me...but she had set out to start me on needles when I got sidetracked by those curious multi-colored looms in Hobby Lobby. :D
2. If you could sit down with anyone in the world to have a little knit along, who would it be?
Only my favorite loomy friends: Jenny, Karen, Bethany, Graciela, Trudy, and Dianne...and probably a few others as well!
3. What is your favorite comfy place or position in which to work with yarn? I mainly choose my rocking chair. I need to learn to sew so I can make some comfier cushions, but it is a 'safe' place b/c there is no room for little kids to squeeze in with me and mess up my projects. :D
4. Like our heroin in the story below, do you ever dream about soft fuzzy goodness? Or how to do a particular technique you’d never thought of while awake? All....the....time!
5. What type of loomer/knitter/crocheter are you? Do you like long involved projects, or quickies full of fast satisfaction? I like quick projects. I find myself getting frustrated if I am taking too long to do a project. To me, I had no excuse to take 2 weeks to make a sweater!
6. Have you ever guiltily postponed dinner due to your involvement with a project? Um....too often.
7. What is your ultimate goal in your yarn life? I want to be famous.
8. Do you have a favorite snack you like to munch while working with yarn? Anything that only requires one hand a I can do little nibbling.
9. What is your all time most favorite yarn tool/accessory that you absolutely could not live without? The little plastic case that I use to hold my scissors, crochet hooks, yarn needles, measuring tape, stitch markers, pins, cable needles and stitch holders...OH, and my pick tool!
10. What is your favorite movie? Moulin Rouge
11. What is your favorite book as an adult…and what was yours as a child? It is and always will be 'The Little White Horse'
12. What are you working on right now with your yarn? A lace scarf that I am designing on the Kiss, a knitted tote that is on the Kiss, a sock on my DA sock loom, another lace scarf on needles.
13. Is there a special project that you’ve been just dying for someone (or yourself) to design? I have a design in my head for a tank top with an intricate cabled design in the center of the chest that will hopefully pull it in and give it some nice shaping around the girls. :D
14. Did someone invite you to join in on the party today? You did! I am sure I was first on your guest list!!!

Make sure that all of you go join Bethany's Blogiversary Party that is taking place RIGHT NOW! GO! NOW! Or you will miss it!!!!!

Finished something new

2008-07-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I actually finished this, I think two weeks ago, but forgot to post it. Whoops! I was very proud of the blanket stitch work that I did when stitching in the purse liner. I did a happy dance because of that. :D

It is for my sister for her 22nd b-day on Aug. 10th. :D I used Bethany's pattern and you can find it HERE. It is very easy and fairly quick if you have the time to sit down and focus on it, unlike me who was trying to do three or four different things at one time. LOL! I have been bouncing from knitting needles to crochet hooks to looms and then back again for about a week or so. I have a lacy keyhole scarf on my needles, just finished up with three travel/neck pillows that I crocheted, and am currently working on my first ever sock on my DALooms EFG Sock Loom while the knitting tote I am designing is on my Kiss Loom. Does that sound CADD (Crafty Attention Deficit Disorder) to you? Hahaha!
Ya'll don't forget that the Simple Sweater class on the Kiss Loom starts tomorrow in the Loom Class and lasts for three weeks. Here is the one that I made from the pattern at the beginning of May. :D
It was literally a simple sweater. The only challenging thing was that I was making alterations to the arm length and shortened the body of it. I didn't do too hot with picking up the stitches around the collar, but that is OK. It is still my favorite comfy sweater! :D Hope that everyone taking that class has fun and gains confidence in themselves. :)

I think this is like..the second MEME I have done on here.

2008-07-05T06:21:00.001-07:00

I was cruisin' my friend's blog and she had a MEME up. Figured I would be a good sport and continue it for her. :D

1. Where was I 10 years go. Well, I was 16 and in the 11th grade. Let's see...I was in the concert band and played the flute, in the marching band I was in the color guard, made it into the 'Who's Who Among American High School Students book for the first time (senior year I was in it again. :D), was making nearly straight A's. Um....worked at the Harrisburg Baptist Church Daycare during school breaks and vacations. That's about it, I think. :P

2. 5 things on today’s to-do list
Well, since it is Saturday and that is family fun day, there isn't many chores.
-dishes
-kids and I will play with Play-Doh
-Do up a tutorial for the KFB and a little pattern to go with it
-Finish up the little butterfly for the front of the 'little zippered purse' then hide it b/c that is going to be a Christmas gift for my Lady Tru
....I think that is it!

3.Snacks I enjoy
-Dove chocolates
-(during summer) vanilla ice cream bars coated in chocolate
-green tea and Ritz crackers
-bananas

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Knock down this house, build a gorgeous home that I can be proud of, hire someone to come in and clear the land really good (almost 10 acres of...well, jungle! LOL!), start an alpaca, sheep, or some wool-relating animal farm, pave our driveway so there will be no more gully washers causing half of the neighbor's driveway to wash away (we share a drive and the first half is theirs, and on a hill. If it rains hard, then it basically erodes the driveway away so badly that you feel like you are trying to drive your car straddling the Grand Canyon!), take the kids around the United States to parks and recreational stuff (Mammoth Cave, Ruby Falls, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, etc), move my parents back to Mississippi.....OH! And organize a huge 'looming convention' and arrange transportation and accomodations for all who would like to be part of it! :D

5. Places I have lived.
Texas, Mississippi, Indiana, and...Mississippi!

6. Jobs I have had.
Daycare provider, worked at an ice cream shoppe, became shift manager at the ice cream shoppe, assistant manager at an arcade, assistant manager at Claire's, manager of Claire's, SAHM (yes, it truly is the hardest one!), loom pattern designer/tutorial creator (this is the most rewarding one...besides the 'mom' part. That is pretty rewarding in itself.)

7. Who would I like to know more about.
I am an ever-curious person, so I like to know about anything and everything and anybody. :D

If you read this consider yourself tagged or not. Just let me know in a comment if you decide to do it.

All work and no play...lead to a very boring Robin

2008-07-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have been so boring lately. LOL! So busy designing and writing up tutorials and such that I haven't really done any leisure stuff! *gasp*

First, we'll show the 'Cabled Column Calamity' block that will be starting in Loom Class on Sunday. It looks hard, but HEY! You have my nearly undivided attention to help you along! What more can you ask for folks?! :D

Then I have been working on a collection of patterns that I have named the 'Jeannette Collection'. Why the 'Jeannette Collection', you ask? Well, if we flash back to my absolutely AWESOME, OFF THE HOOK, DA BOMB birthday, you'll remember that Jeannette sent me some Lion Wool to make myself a felted baguette b/c I was all pouty for sending the one I had currently made, to my mom (WHO ISN'T USING IT! What is wrong with that woman?! :P) Well, she should have known that I was going to totally make it all my own. And an entire collection at that! I still am working on the felted knitting tote, but I have the felted purse and wallet finished. :D I will post a pic later of the liner I have put in the purse. It is purty liner material. LOL! Oh, and these are all done on the Kiss Loom. I made that decision on purpose for the fact that there are so few patterns out there for the Kiss Looms...I needed to create some!

Ok, so in the past month or so I have cranked out several tutorials. (click the title to go to the link for the download of the tutorials)
'Cables on the Kiss Loom'
'Cables on the Knifty Knitter Loom'
'YO, SSK and K2TOG, YO' for both looms
'Bobbles on the Kiss Loom'
and the list is growing and growing for more. If you have a request for a tutorial you need, give me a hollah and I will add it to the list! :D

My good friend, Cliff (the creator/maker of the Kiss Looms) asked me if I would mind making an updated set of assembly instructions since he added hex nuts that can be used in place of wing nuts. OF COURSE! I would have beat myself up forever if I had said no! I mean, I LOVE these looms! I have to force myself to get the specified loom out for a pattern I am following so that I will actually use the other looms. LOL! And, I was tired of fighting myself about putting up my Kiss Loom pieces into the storage box in the family room where I keep all of my other 'not in use' looms. I decided to clean out an entire drawer in my yarn storage 'center' to put all my Kiss mod pieces.
I just had to pay Cliff back in some small way for this wonderful creation! He posted the instructions to the Kiss Loom Group this week, so if you need them, that is where they are. :D

Now, I am working on getting the last bits (meaning a pretty little butterfly) added to the 'Little Zippered Purse' that Anke is teaching in class this week (it ends tomorrow! And then my class starts.) I will try to post my pics of it tomorrow after I post the pics to the Loom Class. :D

Well, it has been a very long day. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Independence Day full of whatever ya'll do on the 4th of July (for me and my family...we go to the river/beach and cookout and chill with eachother all day long. :D Can't think of a better way to do it!)

OH! And before I forget....I really MUST brag about myself since I am so very proud. I will be submitting a tutorial to the Loom Knitter's Circle online magazine for the fall edition. Oooooo, another tutorial? Why is this one under wraps? Well, ladies and gents...b/c I believe I have stumbled upon something that I haven't seen anywhere else on the blogs and tutorials and videos I have watched. It is the looming method of doing the needle knitting increase that is commonly called the KFB or 'knit into the front and back loop'! Keep your eyes open for me in the fall issue with the tutorial and a simple pattern!

Life is short

2008-06-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am telling myself to be strong and quit mulling over the shoulda, coulda, wouldas.
I just found out today, that I lost a friend. She lost her battle with CF (Cystic Fybrosis) and God took her in his arms and carried her home last Thursday when the doctor's took her off of the ventilator.
Why am I so late in finding out? Well, I guess I just wasn't being a very good friend. That's all I can say.
I will miss you, Heather. I know that you no longer have to fight, just to take a breath. I know that you no longer will live in fear of your life b/c you caught a cold. I know that you are happy....
And I know that you don't want me to beat myself up. That you would tell me to hug my kids and live life to the fullest for you. :*) And I promise you that I will.

Tied in Knots With Cables

2008-06-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last night I did it! I finished my first cables tutorial (it is posted on the Project Lapghan-Afghan blog), though this one is just for the Kiss Looms. I was gonna add one more set of cables to it (the 6 stitch Right and Left Cross cables) then realized that it was already 25 pages long! Yeah, that is just the one for the Kiss Loom. I still need to do one for the KKs and I haven't even loomed up the pattern for the cabled afghan block yet to make sure that my design works. :P
Just a sneak peak:

LOL! And I need to make sure and get the tutorial for the next class together before that starts.
But I am trying not to take on too much this week since I am teaching the Pigtail Hat class for Wanda, who is on a 2 month long vacation! Lucky dog! (Love ya! Have fun! Hope to hear from you soon!) :P

I posted my 'Summer Spirals' hat to the Kiss Loom group and Trudy made it already. And in a gorgeous red. I love it! I will be posting the pattern as a free pattern to my pattern page later today.

Um, let's see...besides that I have already done my 15 minutes of excercise, made pancakes for breakfast, washed dishes and shined my sink, done my Weekly Home Blessing (spend 10 minutes on each task in your home: sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning mirrors and windows, purging magazines, and taking out garbage). My kids have been one step behind me the whole morning, messing everything up! And I mean it. I give Lady Tru her little tiny broom to sweep the dining room as I finished up in there and headed for the entrance. I turn around and she has spilled the pup's water and is smearing it (I am guessing mopping) it into the pile of dirt I left to sweep up when I came back through with the dust pan. As soon as I am done mopping the bathroom (I had done the entry first, dining room second, then the bathroom) I took to vacuuming. I did the living room and hallway, came back through the dining room and there is Lady Tru....coloring with green crayon on the floor! Good thing that baby wipes are magic wipes and cleans crayon right up.....but I was still mad. }:( Sir Thade has been no different. Demanding milk before I sit down with my coffee and breakfast (he already had his breakfast in front of him), then as I am finishing my first pancake, spilling the milk all over the table and into the floor. Refusing to do any of the 15 minute pick-up to get the floor ready for sweeping, mopping, and vacuum cleaning EXCEPT that he wanted to pick up shoes that Lady Tru had thrown out of a box and everytime he picked up one and put it in the box, she threw two back out. :P Something tells me that I am locking them up for the afternoon...just jokin'. They will lay down to nap/rest in their own rooms...that is what I mean, by lockin' them up. Gotta be careful what you say nowadays. :(
OK, well, I am off to check on my class again.

I seem to be an advertiser today....hmmmm

2008-06-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

No judgements, no advice, no husbands,children or even your own mother finding you.Simply your own place to let it all hang out!
Anonymous ThoughtsAnonymous DreamsAnonymous Stories
Your secrets are safe with us
Share your story http://www.anonymousmom.com/

Besides this site, I wanted to tell you guys about FlyLady.net!
It is a wonderful site that is gonna help me get rid of the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) in my home. It has already helped out immensely and I have only been a member for THREE days! Besides getting your home under control, they teach you to FLY (Finally Love Yourself :D) I don't think I have felt so good as I have the past couple of days. I haven't done much looming or anything like that b/c I have been reading up on this FlyLady stuff...and the HouseFairy ....oh and I have also joined an excercise motivation group that works along with all the FlyBabies (I is what I am!)
So, let's back up: FlyLady.net will help me get my home under control (over a period of time b/c it took longer than a month for it to become a mess, right?), it is full of positive motivation and makes you feel good about yourself. 'You are not behind.' :D I am in love! Your very first lesson is to 'Shine your sink!' This, is supposed to be done before you go to bed (but I do it all day b/c it feels good) and is her way of giving you a hug every morning, 'cause you wake up to a shiny sink and not dirty dishes and mystery water. She breaks down the areas of your home into Zones and you focus your attention on a specific zone each week. This week is Zone 1: Front Porch, Entrance, and Dining Room. Today's Zone Mission: set timer for 15 minutes and sweep your front porch, shake out your welcome mat, wipe down your door with cleaner and rag...if there is more time then continue on with whatever is around your front door and on your porch. Easy enough, right? And you are also supposed to do a 5 minute Room Rescue every day: go into the worst room in your home and clean it for 5 minutes then leave it. :D Today they sent me a message that I needed to do a 'Hot Spot Fire Drill' which means to take 5 mintues (set your timer) and rush around throwing away or putting up the things on flat surfaces of every room. They send you the messages through a Yahoo Group that you join from the webpage. It is all pretty cool! :D I am gonna use this same system to get my yard under control, too. :D Spend 15 minutes a day pulling weeds, trimming bushes, etc. The idea is not to expect instant gratification. It is gonna take a while so do what you can, when you can. No rush! There are also 'habits' for every month. Last month they were 'Blessing their Hearts' by walking/excercising. This month we are to drink 8 glasses of water a day. They remind you to put your full pitcher of water in the fridge every night with your 'Before Bedtime Routine'. Ok, I think you get the point that I am gung-ho for this!
HouseFairy.org is gonna help my kids out. ;D This site you have to pay a $13 subscription for the special stuff and get into the special member's area, but you can go check out the parents' section and then let your kids watch the videos in the kids' section. No lie, my son (3) watched the first video and promptly ran to his room and picked up 5 toys. (His room was attrocious before HouseFairy. I mean, you couldn't make it from his door to the window AT ALL without nearly killing yourself.) After we watched all of the 'free' videos she has we went to his atrocious room and an hour later was this:

Granted, we still have a lot to do to get it ALL PERFECT....but there was no floor to walk on before! I am so very proud. Then he went around and said things like, "We need to make the living room happy." then picked up some toys. If I set the timer for 15 minutes, he runs around and tries to pick up as much as possible in that time before the timer goes off. We call this 'Beat the Beep'. It is wonderful...and when I get a chance, I will pay the $13-2 year subscription so that I can access the other tools! :D This is one happy parent!
Besides all that stuff, I have been working on picture tutorials. :D And there is a hat pattern that needs to be typed up...it is for the Kiss Loom, but will have adjustments for the green round KK, so don't worry. :D

Working hard or hardly working?

2008-05-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Those are the two possibilities as to why I wouldn't have made a post lately, right? Well, the correct one is working hard. Working hard on what?
Well, there is the sweater that a bunch of us are making on the Kiss Loom Group.
Graciela wrote the pattern for a simple sweater for us. Of course, it was so simple that I HAD to make it challenging by changing things up. I shortened the body by 20 rows and lengthened the arms by 15 rows. Well, I basically made up the sleeves all on my own b/c I didn't cast on as many pegs as she called for either. :P I guess changing patterns will always be a weakness of mine. LOL!
In the middle of doing the sweater I decided I would work on a crocheted poncho off and on, so that I didn't get bored with one thing. I am very proud of it. Made it from the yarn that a friend sent me as a late birthday gift. Her is name is Karen and she is from Portland, Oregon. We have been friends for years and she likes to send me surprise Christmas and birthday gifts. :D She is the one that got me the flower loom and spool loom for Christmas if you guys recall those. We attempted to start needle knitting at the same time, but she works a lot and doesn't get the instant gratification that I do. She is contemplating getting some looms, though. She said she spent an hour touching and caressing yarn before picking out three skeins of Lion Brand Jiffy in deep purple for me. :D I love the poncho which you can find the pattern for free on http://www.lionbrand.com/ . It is labeled as the 'Town and Country Poncho'.

And a friend of mine e-mailed me this past week that her husband had passed away. Oh, how my heart ached that I couldn't do anything. So, I set out to crochet her a little animal. Everytime someone close to me passes away I purchase a stuffed animal to represent that person and when I am having a hard time and want to talk to them or cry, etc, I pick up the stuffed animal and talk to it. I know, it is probably stupid, but it is a comfort thing for me. I decided I was going to crochet the 'Baby Penguin' from my 'Amigurumi World' book....but the baby penguin wasn't as small as I thought it would be. I wanted something that my friend could keep in her purse or carry with her easily. The baby penguin is at least 6" tall. Besides, Lady Tru got up from her nap and totally claimed him. She threw a fit when I needed him back so that I could stitch his wings on. We named him 'Pepe'.

Besides that stuff, I have completed test looming a pigtail hat...which I will be teaching in 'Class' next month for my dear friend, WandaJean. She will be away from home for like 2 months and asked if I would teach it for her. How fun, huh?

I also made a bonnet (by Pam Keville) and baby booties (by Graciela) with 'Class'.

I got a very special, handmade preemie bootie loom for my birthday. They make these tiny little booties! I am working on making hats and booties that match now. :D NOTE: That bottom pic of the preemie booties is showing that the sole is only 2" long. Perfeclty Precious! :)

Oh, and I tested Jenny's block for next week and it is very cool! I need to make a tutorial on how to complete the bobbles on the Kiss Loom before the class starts. I just have to figure out what way would be best to do it....video or photos. I don't know if the webcam I have is a good enough quality to make a video. And I could try with my digital camera, but then I am limited on time and have to figure out how to prop it up b/c the tripod that we got free with my other camera is not really made for the big Canon cameras that I like to have. It is more for those tiny, skinny little digital cameras. :P
And right now I am testing out Stephanie's pattern for next month's block. Lace work! You guys are gonna love it.
I need to sit down and get to work on my own designs. I want to work out a pretty cable design for a block for July. And I want to make a tank top with an intricate cable pattern that is in the center of the bust area. WandaJean Sims sent me my 'Teacher's Apreciation Holiday' gift early, since they will be out of town, and I got a lot of baby yarn (for the preemies) and two skeins of blue yarn that I think will make a pretty tank top. I just really have to work on math calculations AND what kind of straps I want it to have. Wide ones, skinny ones, etc.? :D Wanda also sent me a pack of sewing needles and a pack of her favorite stitch markers which are really good stitch markers!
Ok, well, I know this wasn't a very productive post, but that is what you have to deal with for now. :D

My birthday was absolutely the BEST!!!

2008-05-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I got tons of goodies! More than ever before which makes my 26th birthday the best one ever! :D Now, you guys have to top it next year....JUST JOKIN'!
So, here is a rundown of the gifts I received:
-Perfectly pink yarn (2 balls) and a handmade card
-12" Lace Knitting Board by DA Looms
-6 skeins of Lion Brand Wool, pattern for a cute birdhouse handbag, coloring books and crayon thingies (for the kids), needle threader, card and DOVE chocolate.
-Two little tiny preemie baby bootie looms (which I didn't get a pic of)
-Big bag of yarn (which half of it was already sorta claimed b/c my MIL wants me to make my niece an afghan. Don't have a pic of this either, but imagine the largest bag possible from Wal-Mart and fill it with yarn. Don't know if I will use the colors anytime soon, but yarn is an awesome gift, right? :D Most is Red Heart but some is Bernat Softee Chunky.)
-Wooden crochet hook set, dinner at Capt. D's, and a movie (Forbidden Kingdom)...OH! And my birthday cake! LOL!
-Drop spindle that a friend is sending me as soon as her spinning wheel arrives. The spindle is coming from England b/c her hubby was stationed over there just months before being sent to Iraq and that is where she is right now. :D

That is a good list, right? So here are the pics:
You must promise not to laugh at the cake (WHATEVER!) Hubby told me not to put it on the net...and poor man thought I was gonna listen. LOL!

And this is my felted baguette, finally dry, and ready to be shipped to my Mama for Mother's Day b/c I will be making a new one with the Lion Brand Wool. :D

THANK YOU to everyone for your wishes and gifts! They meant a whole lot to me (and show me just how appreciated all my help is. :D Not like I didn't feel appreciated in the first place b/c with every 'Thank you' that ya'll have given, my heart swells with love. :D)

My birthday is tomorrow!

2008-05-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

And even though I am not going anywhere or doing anything, I am still excited! :D I got on here real quick so that I could post some pics of things I have made lately.
My baguette is felted....but still drying from Sunday! SHEESH! But here are pics of the bag pre-felting. You can find the pattern HERE. (third pattern down)...but I used a SG Wonderloom and added crocheted sides to mine, so mine really looks nothing like the pattern. LOL!

And here is a pic of the baby bonnet (by Pam Keville) I made with LoomClass on Monday evening. Yes it is a very quick and easy pattern that is really a great idea to make for any new baby coming along. :D

This is the close up of the baby socks w/sharp heel (pattern by 'mi querida amiga', Graciela)

And I was test looming this for a friend (all other info will be withheld until friend puts her pattern up for the public....but I couldn't resist and had to show ya'll how pretty my Lady Tru is in this hat!)

I managed to get 4 preemie hats finished yesterday as well. And I hope to make a few booties when out at town, today. :D
TTYL!

What have I been up to?

2008-04-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Recently finished: 2nd test loom of block #3 for the Project Afghan on the Kiss Loom, Denise's Pinwheel Blanket, and 4 preemie hats (crocheted).

WIPS: Felted Baguette on Sg WonderLoom, preemie booties (crocheted).

Future plans: Graciela's Sweater class on Kiss Loom Group and Pam's baby bonnet class on the Loom Class group.

I have been taking on too much stuff lately. I don't even have time to design blocks for the afghan class, let alone design the ideas for other patterns that are floating around in my head. So I have decided that I need to stop doing LALs. Now, I know that is gonna be way too hard to make myself do b/c everything seems way too cool and I really want to do them. But, it is interfering with my own personal creativity that isn't getting out. This is some heartbreaking stuff here, ya'll! REALLY HEARTBREAKING!!!!

I have also been taking more pictures of nature, now that Spring has decided it will be sprung. (Takin' its precious time this year, huh?) Here are some pics that I have accumulated over the past couple of weeks.

A cool little break in those really bad storms from a week and a half ago.

The moon shining one night.

This rainbow was taken on Thursday evening. I saw the sun peaking out from the west but it was still raining so I snatched my camera and literally ran outside to find the rainbow. It was really the most gorgeous rainbow I had ever seen.

Sun shining through the trees with their new leaves. :D

And this pic is of Lady Tru lovin' on her pinwheel blankie. :D

The Project Afghan class has settled down considerably from the first week. :D I am assuming that it isn't b/c the patterns are getting easier, but b/c everyone got the hard questions out of the way the first time around? At least, that is what I hope. Everyone appears to be really enjoying themselves and that is an amazing feeling. Well, I am gonna run, gotta make 4 pairs of preemie booties today...and keep my eye on the class. Thanks for stoppin' by for a while. :)

Karen is having a contest!!!!

2008-04-11T11:52:00.001-07:00

First off, let's say that I am never gonna be as cool as her (yes, I know that this sucking up won't affect my chances of winning the contest..I am only being honest! :P)
Ok, so one of my best friends, Karen Gielen (all the way up in freezing MN where it is snowing), is having a contest on her blog. Here is the link so that you can go get into the action: Cre8tive KJ's Patterns though I wish I could be the ONLY contestant. She will be giving away a Dell P-Ditty MP3 player! I don't have an mp3 player and want one sooooo badly and it would be awesome to finally get one because I want to listen to my Spanish lessons (yes, I am taking Spanish...again. :P)
You guys will love her patterns as well so make sure that you check out those. And, as I am sure she is praying for it, send her some warm weather vibes. She gets tired of hearing how warm it is down here in MS (cough, 72 degrees at 8am this morning, cough) :D
I LOVE YOU, KAREN!
(I know....doesn't affect my chances, but a girl can try. :D)

Why are you still reading?! GO!!!

Back from Arkansas

2008-04-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

I didn't get as much looming/crocheting done as I had planned, but there are about 4 1/2 preemie hats finished. :D
My mom is now 50 years old. LOL! And my 26th b-day is in less than a month (May 2nd). The kids had tons of fun playing with their cousin, Baby Dylan, and Dylan's big brother (my sis's stepson) Kenny. They wrestled with my little brother as well. Got lots of MeMe and PawPaw time in. But neither slept very well. Lady Tru barely slept. :( Now the kids and I are a little runny nosed and stuff, but I figure that while we were gone over the weekend, something pollen-wise must have happened here. No biggie.
Since it would take forever to post all of my pics, I will try to post a few here and there, but for now let's do some random nature shots (I am one of the worst at seeing something and jerking out my camera to take a pic....just 'cause I can!) and a few of my parents with the kids.

The sun finally peeks through the clouds at almost sunset. Arkansas has had a rough last few weeks with flooding and storms. Good thing my parents live in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain range and on top of a hill. :D

One of my favorites b/c you don't catch my dad that often in a pic, let alone with Sir Thade and Lady Tru. :D

Mountains in the distance (don't laugh! I know that the Rockies and the Smokies are much larger! I know.....)

Nemisis and little Gandolph. Nemi will play fetch with a ball or frisbee until she literally falls down from exhaustion. :D Poor Gandolph couldn't get a chance to fetch, even if his mouth was big enough for the ball, so he just chased her everywhere. LOL!

I love this pic of Sir Thade standing by a tree. He was watching the little frogs jump into the water. :D

Kenny and Lady Tru sitting together.

A redbud tree blooming. :) Random pic, I know.

Beautiful sunset pic from Saturday evening. :D

The bonfire that my dad made for the kids on Saturday evening.

My Mama and the boys. :D

Me and my Princess....looking for froggies to kiss and turn into princes. LOL!

And are pics of my bootie from Bethany's bootie class given last week! I bought some prettier yarn to use on the next one. Couldn't find the wool needle that Bethany suggested, but I will continue on that search! :D I really had fun making this bootie. It was challenging, as well. And challenges are always good. I learned some new stuff and she designed them in such a way, I don't think I would have ever been able to do myself. :) Bethany gets 5 gold stars from me! :D I can't wait to see what her next class is gonna be. :D

Next week will start Jenny's afghan block class, then the following week will be mine. :) I still have people thanking me for the last session. Feel good to be appreciated. My mom is very proud of me. And that makes it that much better, you know.
In case any of you missed my post on the 'Loomer's Break Room', I am very proud of both of my parents. I would have expected my dad to say something like I was cheating by using a loom instead of needles to knit, but he never did. He was watching me pull down the fabric from the inside of my Kiss Loom and asked me, "Whatca' makin'? A sock?" I looked at him thoughtfully and said, "No, it is a preemie hat. But I am very proud of you for figuring out that I could make socks on the loom." He turned around and said that it just looked like a tube sock and he figured they would be pretty easy to make and I tried to point out that if he looked very closely at his socks he would see the seem for the turned heel on it and that it really wasn't that easy, but it is doable. I was still so happy to have had a conversation like that with him. However small. Then my mom got home from work and she and I were talking to my sis' stepson, Kenny. He is 2 and at that stage of pointing and questioning a lot. I was telling him stuff like 'yarn', 'loom', 'hat', etc. He looked at my mom and pointed to my loom and said, "ooom". She said, "Yes, Kenny. Robin is knitting." This was coming from a former needle knitter and crocheter. Those two instances just made my whole weekend. :D
Well, I will leave ya'll with that for now. :) I missed everyone so much! LOL!

Preemie hats from last quarter. I think that is 14 loomed hats and 8 crocheted.

PLEASE NOTE: One of my best friends is walking in the March for Babies and needs sponsor money! You can find a badge on the top of my right side bar so that you can help me sponsor her. I ask that you donate anything you can...though I gave $5. I remember when her little niece was born at 23 weeks and had a congenital heart defect on top of the premature birth. Everyone was praying for her and it was all very scary. That was about 2 years ago and Amanda is now a very strong and active little girl! One of my motivations to make preemie items, for sure. :D

What a week!

2008-03-30T07:05:00.001-07:00

I think this has been the busiest week of my entire life! And I was loving just about every minute of it!
I feed off of energy and excitement. I didn't realize that until a few days ago. But I was actually becoming depressed when the excitement of the Project Afghan class died down for a day or two, there. We ended the class for March with a bang, though, didn't we? It was so much fun! I think that teaching crafters is probably one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. Crafters are a different group of people from the rest. We care a bit more and therefore enjoy being around eachother more. I don't think I could ever tire of being around all of my crafty friends. :D
Besides teaching the class and being glued to my computer....well, I didn't get much done. I test loomed Jenny's block on the Kiss and am halfway done looming it on the KK (for the second time on the KK). I crocheted one preemie hat (these are all really cute...I need to get a pic!) and tried out a preemie bootie pattern...that ended up probably big enough to fit a 3 month old, not a preemie! So, I will just have to put on the puppy dog eyes and tell Chris that I need some smaller hooks because that size D he bought me last weekend just wasn't small enough! I will be trying out another preemie bootie pattern in the meantime. LOL! I also started knitting a puppy blanket for Gandolph, since he has stolen my blanket. What is with my pets and that darn throw that I knitted up?! First, my fat cat-Garfield, seized it and got pretty mad when I took it back. Acting all indignant and crap. Then the puppy took it over and he won't settle down throughout the day unless it is on the floor so he can lay on it! Good thing I had one more skein of the yarn left over. Probably just enough to make him a little snuggle blankie. LOL!
So, that means that I have been looming, crocheting, and knitting all in one week....while teaching the Project Afghan Class (and neglecting housework! Haha!)
Next weekend I will be in Arkansas, celebrating my mom's 50th birthday. She will probably croak that I just put that on here! LOL! But, really my Mama doesn't look 50. And you can definitely tell that I am my Mama's daughter. I am gonna try to get a pic or two of her with me and the kids, of course. I was gonna make the visit a total surprise, but after my sis and my hubby started getting nervous that we should let her know, I finally started getting nervous and I just up and called her the other morning to give her a heads up. :( I had planned out the perfect way to surprise her and everything, but oh well. We will be leaving for Arkansas early Friday and coming back later on Sunday, so if you e-mail me and don't get a reply...I am outta town, folks!
Ok, well...I think Lady Tru should be awake by now, so off I go to get her.

Signs of Spring and some Baby Items

2008-03-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well, ya'll....I got to thinking about Isela's post about 'Signs of Spring' and figured that it wouldn't hurt to take a walk through the yard with Sir Thade and see what all we could spot. There are various plants popping out of the ground and a tree or two full of blooms.

This is an Iris' leaves popping out of the ground.

In this bed, around the dogwood (one of my favorite flowering trees, but no flowers from it yet), are some day lilies.

Here are my wilted daffodils...along with some more daylily plants.

These will be tulips and daffodils..I think. I am sure about the tulips, but can't recall if my mom had put some daffodil bulbs or daylily bulbs there.

This is the plum blooming.

You see, I have this grave condition called 'BLACK THUMB'. It causes anything that I try to take care of, plant-wise, to die. I can't even water the darn things. If I try to do anything besides look at it....it will wilt and die! I have a miniature rose that is sitting in one of my kitchen windows. Had it for about a month. When it was bought for me, it had two buds on it and looked healthy. But those buds never bloomed after I waterd it and stuck it in the best window in the house for sunlight. I pruned it to remove the dead buds watered it whenever it was dry and it actually seemed to be thriving. It was green and healthy and adding new leaves everyday. I was getting excited! Then it just started shriveling up. I watered it, I pleaded with it not to die b/c I LOVE roses, I whined, I got angry and bossed it around, I moved it to another window, I tried everything I could think of.....but it looks beyond my ability. Or is it that I did my best to kill it?! AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!

Well, besides my trying as hard as humanly possible to not do anything to care for plants, I have been busy making the baby items in Class. The sweater didn't turn out as small as I needed it, but it will make a nice jacket for my Cabbage Patch Kid. My mom used to sew clothes for my CPK when I was little and I want to loom and crochet clothes for Lady Tru's CPKs. :D
I love the baby items though. I plan on adding some embellishments in the color of the tie that I made for the booties. I am thinking about putting a K for the recepient baby's name on the blanket and the hat. But I am still a little undecided. My brain keeps saying, 'Maybe, maybe not.' IDK. Maybe......LOL!
The kids went and spent the night with my MIL on Saturday, so you would think that I got to sleep in on Sunday. Nope. I awoke from a dream about making a poncho that has sleeves (I had just stitched together my baby sweater and that was my first experience with sleeves) that had the cables like the sides of the Cion Earflap Hat running up the sides of them. It was 6am...on Sunday with no children in the house and no obligation to get up. So, I should just roll over and go back to sleep. I rolled over, after removing Yang (my grey cat), and closed my eyes. "Attention! ATTENTION!!!!! New poncho idea coming through! You should do a poncho in the same color as your Baby Items, long enough to reach down past your elbows, fitting around your shoulders and coming in around your neck, but then flaring back out for a cowl style collar! End of bulletin." Needless to say, I couldn't get back to sleep. I layed in bed contemplating what these two ponchos would look like and special things to do with them until 7, when I rolled out of bed, grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. Then I drank some Bigelow English Breakfast Tea for the first time and that wasn't too bad, folks. I could get used to drinking tea for breakfast to change up the coffee. I usually just get different flavored creamers to switch up the monotany. LOL!
Today, I am test looming Jenny's block pattern. I only got to row 3 last night before I wanted to just rest. My neck was hurting and I was starting to get tired. But hopefully today I will get it finished and then test loom it on the Kiss Loom to make sure it will all work out fine. :D
I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!!!

And here I thought that I wouldn't get to use my hat!

2008-03-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

Isela posted signs of spring in her neck of the woods and that she wanted to see other bloggers' signs which I thought would be really simple stuff here in Mississippi. With the weather being so warm throughout the week last week, I thought I wasn't going to get to wear my Cion Earflap Hat when it was actually cold. Well, not until next winter, that is. Then on Friday night and early Saturday morning we got our very first snow....in like 3 years. Sir Thade and Lady Tru got to see their first snow and it was so exciting for them. We didn't go outside b/c it was getting dark as it started coming down. Sir Thade said he wanted hot cocoa anyway. :D
Here are the pics of the extent of what accumulated after 14 hours of snowing:

And here are the pics taken only 6 hours after the first set. That's Mississippi for ya!

Isela, I guess the fact that there were no signs it had even snowed only 6 hours later could be seen as a sign of Spring, right? The snow made my daffodils shrivel or I would post a pic of them. I don't like showing people sad flowers. And they are REALLY sad. Weaping, actually.

While it was snowing outside my hands were busy making my very first amigurumi. The Baby Octopus from 'Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet'. This was my second ever crochet project and I have to say that I did a great job. I didn't add a face b/c it was for my 4 1/2 month old nephew who got here with his parents at 11:30pm on Friday night. They traveled through the belly of the storm all the way from their house to ours. :) Took my sister an extra 3 hours to get here.
But this octopus turned out much better than the 'OctoBear' accident that I had with my first crocheted project. And Dylan loved to chew on all the little legs. :D He really likes my octopi, but fishies are his favorite toys. He loves all the 'Ocean Wonders' stuff by Fisher Price. :)

And now I am participating in the Baby Items Class on the Kiss Looms on the Loom Class Yahoo Group. I took some 'no more procrastination' time and typed up the patterns and charts for the two afghan blocks that I have designed so far. I guess after I loom up a second block for my second pattern and then do Jenny's block, then I can get to designing my next block. A little more advanced.
And I am trying to talk my SIL into participating in the class. She is a newbie loomer and I think she will learn a lot from the classes as I hope that everyone walks away with something they didn't know before. :D
Well, I am off to have some more coffee (coffee, tea, and chocolate.....those are my vices!) Then I need to see if I can get finished with the baby blanket (52 rows down, 28 to go) for the Class and then I will be attempting to adjust the size of the rest of the items so that they will fit a 4 pound preemie that was born on Friday. His mother is one of my hubby's employees and I felt a need to make him something special to help him fight his way to strong and healthy! To me, any baby that weighs less than 7 pounds is just so small and fragile. Lady Tru was the smallest baby in my immediate family at 7lb 11oz. Sir Thade is our largest at 9lb 6oz. I was the smallest out of three kids at 8lb 7oz, so to me. an 8 1/2 pound baby is a normal sized baby. I consider my Lady Tru to have been small, but wouldn't you when your first born was nearly 9 1/2 pounds?! LOL!
Ok, I did say that coffee was on my list. :)
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Cables Crazy!

2008-03-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have recently recieved a copy of the 'Learn to Knit Cables on Looms' pattern booklet by Isela Phelps and I have to say that at first I was a little scared. Terrified, actually. But I don't know why! Look at the beautiful items I created in the pic above. and that was just in the past week!
I had done 2 stitch cables on a hat at Christmas last year and a headband right after that, but I didn't do anymore cables until last week. It wasn't that I wasn't willing to do them, just sorta moved on to other things. I was participating in the Ravelry Group Loom-Along and we were doing Cabled Mitts for the month of February and they were just so much fun. I think they turned out so beautifully and am very proud of them.
So, with the confidence that I gained from that project I sat down to flip through my pattern booklet and see what other cabled projects I could do. The beginning section of the book has tutorials on how to do the preferred cast on, common stitches used, bind off, decreases, increases, and most importantly of all, the various cables. Yes, I said 'various'. There aren't just one kind of cable b/c you have 2 stitch cables, 3 stitch cables, 4 stitch cables, and 6 stitch cables. All of these have a right cross method and a left cross method.
Yes, my head was swimming when I skimmed through all of this, but since 'Finding Nemo' is one of our favorite movies around my house, 'just keep swimming' always pops in my head when I reach a challenge. After all, I am one of the most stubborn people you will meet. LOL!
I glanced at the selection of patterns on the outside of the book and skimmed through them throughout the book. They are all gorgeous and tempting! It includes a throw, backpack, purse, hat, scarf, mitts, socks, a baby sweater, and a shawl. I want to do them all, but so far have only completed two of them.
I sat down on Monday afternoon and picked the Cabled Purse. It has 6 stitch right cross and 6 stitch left cross cables. At first it was a little tricky, but I finally worked out a process. I have found that if you keep your knitting loose on all rows, not just the row before the cables, that it is much easier to make your cables. I am very proud of the finished product b/c not only was it my first project with 6 stitch cables, it was my very first handbag! It is so gorgeous that I plan on making them as Christmas gifts for my MIL and three SILs this year...but don't tell them and spoil the surprise. :D
On Tuesday morning I was stitching my handbag together and choosing another project. These cables were so addictive! I picked the Cion Earflap Hat. I had lots of left over yarn from the Cabled Mitts and wanted a hat to go with them, so this was perfect. Too bad that it is getting too warm here in NE Mississippi to wear my mittens and my new hat, but at least I am prepared for next winter!!! I love how the cables appear to be braided. It is so unique and sophisticated.
I really suggest this pattern book to all. Even if you are a beginner, Isela has included the tutorials and instructions you need for every step. There are plenty of pictures to help you out. And the pics of the projects themselves are just inticing.
If I wasn't already interested in Isela and all the work she does for the loom knitting community, this booklet certainly gave me the courage to jump up and talk to her. I am sorry to say that I couldn't have a sit down chat with her personally b/c of the whole living half way across the country from eachother obstacle. But, I was privileged enough to get a few precious moments of her time to get some 'cables' questions answered via the internet. :D So, let's all sit down with Isela for a moment and see what she had to say. Grab your cup of tea (TAZO green tea with herbal infusions for me) or coffee and a little snack, sit back, and pretend you are with us. :D

1. What colorways do you think are best for doing a cabled knit?
Cables show up better with light color yarns. The cables kind of disappear
when worked up with dark color yarns. However, cables on a dark colored sweater are a great way to add some subtle appeals.

Solids or multis/ombres?
Solids usually allow the cable to “pop” more. The variegated yarns tend to
hide some of the cable qualities. I do want to mention that it is best to use a
yarn that is smooth to allow your cables to show, some yarns such as boucle
would hide the beauty of the twists created by the cables.

2. Do you think that shades matter? Lighter shades versus darker ones?
Lighter shades usually work best for having a cable that shows up best.

3. Is there a weight of yarn that works best or do they all perform well as long as you are using the appropriate gauged loom?
All the different weights of yarn perform fairly well with cables as long as
they are used with the appropriate size gauge loom.

This is great to know, so that I can make cables for socks using an EFG loom and the appropriate yarn, just as pretty as I would if I were using a super bulky yarn and a KK loom. :D

4. What is your personal preference of yarn weight, color, and looms that perform best when creating a cabled knit?
If my goal is to make the cables noticeable, I would most likely use a cream
color yarn, bulky weight, and the appropriate loom gauge that works for the yarn
thickness.

5. If you had to choose your most favorite pattern from the booklet, which would it be and why?
My favorite pattern from the booklet is the Fairamay Shawl. My grandma who
taught me how to knit when I was little always wore a Reboso (shawl) and when I was knitting it, I was thinking of her and imagining her wearing it in the
mornings while she sipped her morning coffee. In a sense, I knitted the shawl
for her. My dream is to deliver it to her this year when I go back to Mexico to
visit her. We haven’t seen each other for about 15 years and the shawl is a
token of my love and a way to say thank you for everything she did for me,
especially for sharing her love of knitting and crochet with me.

This is my favorite pattern as well (followed by the throw) so now it is even higher on my list b/c of the sentiment that you put into it. :D
Thank you Robin, it was a pleasure being with you on your blog and answering
the questions. I hope you find some of the items in the book inspiring.
Isela
Phelps

Oh, no! Thank you! I have enjoyed our time together and got some good tips on how to continue my cables addiction! I hope to incorporate cables in some of my own designs in the future. It was great visiting with you, Isela.

You can purchase the 'Learn To Knit Cables on Looms' pattern booklet and Isela's 'Loom Knitting Primer' at Decor Accents Inc. And don't forget to pre-order your copy of Isela's second book in the 'Loom Knitting Primer' series that will be coming out in mid-May on Amazon.com!

2008-03-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

This was fun and I encourage everyone to copy and paste it into their own blogs and do it. :D Go check out Karen's as well.

What I've made on my knitting looms and what I have done knitting/fiber related:
Afghan - I would just call what I needle knit a throw, but Jenny and I are putting together an afghan class for looms.
I-cord - YEP
Garter stitch - Yes
Knitting with metal wire - no
Shawl - Not yet, my first throw was supposed to be a shawl and turned into a throw.
Stockinette stitch - All the time, baby
Socks: top-down - Only one paire so far
Socks: toe-up - Not yet
Knitting with camel yarn - I don't think so.
Mittens: Cuff-up - yep
Mittens: Tip-down - No
Hat - Uh, yeah....they tend to just happen. LOL!
Knitting with silk a fine strand with wool for socks - Not yet
Moebius band knitting - In the future
Participating in a KAL - Not a KAL, but I am participating in a LAL and a CAL
Sweater - Some day, but I want it to be really nice and...dare I say it? SEXY! So I need to learn about shaping.
Drop stitch patterns - I think I have
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn - Yeah! I love any kind of yarn, old or new.
Slip stitch patterns - Yes
Knitting with banana fiber yarn - No, but if it smells like bananas count me IN!
Twisted stitch patterns - Took me a month or so after getting my looms, but I discovered that I was in fact using the twisted knit stitch!
Knitting with bamboo yarn - Not yet, but I wanna try it out
Charity knitting -I try my hardest to do it. But have only made a few preemie hats so far. Well, more like a dozen hats.
Knitting with soy yarn - No
Cardigan - Not really a cardigan person
Toy/doll clothing - I made a doll hat and a blankie. Plans for doll dresses for CPKs are in the works though.
Baby items - hats and booties and one blanket so far....taking Graciela's Baby Items Class next week!
Knitting with your own handspun yarn - Hubby says NO!
Slippers - Hubby loves my slippers! Can't blame him, I love them too. :D
Designing knitted garments - Yes, some hats and a cloth diaper soaker.
Cable stitch patterns - Oh, just wait until tomorrow's post and you will see I have gone cables crazy in the past week!!!!
Lace patterns - On my to-do list
Publishing a knitting book - Someday!
Scarf - Enough of them, but not too many
Teaching a child to knit - I try with my son. He sorta gets it. My one year old just thinks you need a loom and pick with no yarn. :D
Knitting to make money - Just a little here and there...upon request.
Buttonholes - Nothing too fancy, but yes
Knitting with alpaca - Not yet, maybe soon.
Fair Isle knitting - No, but on my to-do list
Dying with plant colors - No
Knitting items for a wedding - no
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…) - So far, just towel toppers, but someday there will be wash cloths....and I need a tea pot so I can make a tea cozy!
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) - yes!
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn - No, maybe Karen will oblige me someday. :D
Holiday related knitting - I will be doing a lot of that this year b/c I plan on making all of my own ornaments this year...maybe our stockings too.
Teaching a male how to loom knit - Hubby won't listen....but I talk and show
Bobbles - I tried once, and will be doing them again soon.
Knitting for a living - I think that would take the fun out of what I do.
Knitting with cotton - Not that I know of.
Knitting smocking - no
Dying yarn - no
Knitting art - no
Fulling/felting - no, but sometime this year.
Knitting with wool - yes
Textured knitting - yes
Kitchener stitch - yes
Purses/bags - I just made my first one a couple days ago and am very proud!
Knitting with beads - No, but in the future.
Swatching - To tell you the truth (she looks down bashfully) I have never made a swatch to determine gauge of a project. I have only made a swatch to determine that I had set my Kiss Loom to the same gauge as a Knifty Knitter Loom. I am sooooooooo bad!
Long Tail CO - Both needle and loom knitting
Knitting and purling backwards - What? What is that?
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn - Variegated, yes. I want to do self patterning yarn, it sounds fun!
Stuffed toys - Yep!
Baby items - didn't we ask this one already?
Knitting with cashmere (mmm, cashmere!) - sounds delicious, but haven't done it yet.
Darning - no
Jewelry - no
Knitting with synthetic yarn - Basically all I can afford. :(
Writing a pattern - yes
Gloves mittens are warmer! - half fingered gloves and mittens
Intarsia - If that just simply implies colorwork, yes
Knitting with linen - no
Knitting for preemies - yes, they are dear to my heart.
Short rows - yes
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers -You know, I did the fingerless mitts, but have been meaning to do armwarmers. :D
Pillows - yes
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine - No, but I really need to do the Chevron Scarf from the Loom Knitter's Circle magazine.
Rug - no
Knitting on a loom - It is my weapon of choice, but I do own needles and crochet hooks. :)
Knitting a gift - Most of what I knit is given to someone else, so I guess they are gifts.
Knitting for a pet? - Nemi has two sweaters and I want to make one for the puppy, but will wait to see how big he gets. I also want to make some chew toys.
Shrug/bolero/poncho - no
Knitting with dog/cat hair accidentally or on purpose? - If you mean finding Nemi's tiny short black hairs or the cat's hair in my knitting even though they don't touch the yarn....yeeeeeaaaaaah.
Hair accessories - yes
Knitting in public - yes
Knitting with buffalo yarn - They make that? I will have to ask the Tupelo Buffalo Park about that! :D
Knitting with pygora - no
Dyeing with food dye/drink mixes - no
Dyeing with chemical dyes (acid, etc) - no

Tune in tomorrow (Friday, March 7th) for a very special post all about my adventures in cables this past week!

What a busy week!

2008-02-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

My head is spinning (and not just from the virus the kids so graciously passed on to the loving and doting parent that cares for them so!) This has been one helluva week! I mean, I taught my class on the Strawberry Sundae Delight hat and it turned out to be such a hit. That threw me for a loop b/c I figured that not that many people would be interested in making such a silly hat. I guess there are more silly people like me out there than I realized (apologies to any that don't like to be called silly. I use that term affectionately for myself. Like calling myself cute! :D)
Well, not only did they enjoy the hat, but the started coming up with brilliant ideas that spin off of my hat! Wanda Sims made the cutest Strawberry Delight TP cover. LOVE IT! And she is now working on a tissue box cover. I would have never thought to make something cute like that from my hat. :)
On top of the class, I have still been working on the not so secret project. Most of you have already found out that Jenny and I will be teaching an afghan block class every month starting with the last week of March. I have already designed two blocks and worked another after the first design on the Kiss Loom. I have to reconfigure things there. I think I got the wrong gauge or something and am waiting on Graciela to help me determine what I have done that isn't quite right. :P
BTW, I have seen Jenny's block and it is absolutely ADORABLE!!!!!
Also, I got two crochet books in this week. I am very excited about this first one! Ana has a blog here where you can see more of her CUTE creations! And I think all knitters and loomers should have a book on crocheted trims and borders that you can use on blankets or to finish sweaters, pillows, dishcloths, ALL KINDS OF STUFF!!!

As well as that, I have made one (that's right, I just took time for 'me' for only ONE) of Isela's cabled mitts with the Ravelry LAL. I love it. It fits, not too big and not too little. The only thing that I am unhappy with is how I decreased for the tip of the fingers....I ended up with holes that I weaved yarn into to fill up. If I do it right next time, I am sure there should be no holes...or less noticeable ones. Hopefully, I can finish up my second one this weekend. Maybe take the day off tomorrow to do it. :)

Oh, but the dishes that have piled up over this week! I can't believe that I haven't done dishes in 4 days! Yes, we were sick...but my son kept saying that he wanted this or that that he would normally eat on his meal schedule, then wouldn't eat it! UGH! And my daughter didn't lose much of her appetite and hubby didn't catch it until today and you wouldn't have noticed with the two tomato sandwiches and bowl of veggie soup he ate! So, Robin will be dishwasher first thing in the morning after a nice, hot, cleansing shower! My appetite has just come back in the past hour and is ravenous! Hahaha!
And just b/c this Mom-O is so proud of her big boy, I have to post this pic of the picture that Sir Thade drew for me and didn't even show me. I happened to see it sitting on the table and had to get a pic of him holding it. BTW, it says Mom-O but since he is left handed and just turned three he writes from right to left! LOL! Doesn't make it any less sweet, though!

Lady Tru feeling sickly (her hair is so unruly when she won't leave a barrette in it):

And both kids having a good moment and paused while playing peek-a-boo with the other end of my quilt:

Almost forgot! Meet Gandolph, the newest member of our family that was added this week as well! He is a 7 week old long haired chihuahua...and chunky one! But he is a very good puppy. Only a handful of accidents but 95% of the time he goes potty outside like he is supposed to. I have already taught him to sit. :D I can't wait until he gets a bit bigger so that I can make him sweaters...though with his thick fur right now, he might not need them. There will always be chew toys though. This puppy likes my yarn and the knobby ends on the KK loom pegs. Hmmmm, I will have to be much careful of where I leave my 'toys'. Nemisis, my min/pin is very smart and you just tell her once to not touch something, it isn't hers...and she just doesn't look at it again. Gandolph doesn't quite have the memory for that yet. :(

Tutorial for ruffled brim of Strawberry Sundae Delight Hat

2008-02-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

Step 1:
Place slip knot onto the first peg and slide your crochet hook into the slip knot from top to bottom, hooking the working yarn and pulling it through to make your 1st chain.

Step 2:
Pull your hook and 1st chain between pegs 1 and 2 so that you are working from the outside.

Step 3:
Chain the number specified in the pattern PLUS the extra chain to place onto peg 2. (In the pic, you see that I have chained 6 and have an extra chain on my hook to place on peg 2.)

Step 4:
Move your hook and chain to center of the loom.

Step 5:
Place your loop in the peg.

Kickin' off the weekend with a laugh!!!!

2008-02-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Warning: Do not read this will driving, eating, or drinking a hot liquid. It is best to be sitting down and to take a DEEEEEEEEEP breath. OK, you may proceed.

So, this week I kept getting the overwhelming urge to pick up some yarn and a crochet hook and practice some crochet. I had done this before back in October of last year. And I stopped b/c I got really busy with my looms and Christmas and all that. But my little swatch of single crochet always called out to me to come back and give it some buddy stitches of half double, double, and triple crochet. So, Wednesday evening I sat down and practiced. I did a few rows of each of those stitches until I was comfortable and moved on to the next. Once I felt fine with all four stitches I decided to do a simple project. A cute little bear that some of the ladies on the TeenyTinyTreasures group were making for preemies. Looked pretty simple...though probably not the best project for my very first item. I never follow the rules of yarn craft though. LOL!
I sat down and followed the pattern for the head, chaining 4 and joining in the round and continuing on like they said. Before bed I had the head finished! Woohoo. I did notice an error in the center of the head (you dc into each stitch on the chain and then chain 2, where this chain is....it leaves a hole in the head. I will just have to do some research and see if I am doing something incorrectly.)
The next morning I couldn't just pick it up and start on the arms and legs. We had to run Sir Thade to an appointment, so I grabbed a small skein of yarn and a hook and put it in my purse to practice some more crochet. Haha! I got home and picked up the body-less head, read the directions and completed an arm. This was pretty easy! I continued the legs and other arm and ended off the working yarn where they told me to. I looked down at the first side of my bear and saw this:
Go ahead....it is OK to laugh! I giggled uncontrollably for 3 hours afterwards. I really have no recollection of making the extra leg. I can't for the life of me figure out how a made that third leg without remembering doing it. ROFLOL! I sent the pic to Jenny and she looked at the pic before reading my message and thought to herself about it being a cute octopus....needed a face.
But it wasn't supposed to be an octopus!!!! See? I can't help but change someone's pattern!!!! LOL! I sat down with my very first crochet project and ended up creating a totally new pattern. Haha!
I came up with a simple quick addition to make another head and add 3 arms to it and got this:

I planned on giving the 'bear' to my nephew, who is only a few months old, when my sis comes to visit in a few weeks. But, I bet Dylan won't mind an 'OctoBear'. Yes....that is right, I am going to be adding the ears from the original pattern to the octopus to create an 'OctoBear'.
I am sorta glad that I messed up so badly. It will make for a very memorable first project, I had lots of fun (when I could get the giggles under control), and I get to give it to my sweet nephew, Dyl Pickle. Ooooooo! Idea! I need to make him a dill pickle toy, too!!!!

I hope that I gave everyone a very good laugh b/c I feel so happy inside when I see the 'creation'. I smile everytime I see it and I hope that Dylan does too. Oh, I just can't wait to see him!!!!
In other news, my Strawberry Sundae Hat class starts tomorrow so if you haven't joined my class already...go ahead and do so.
And Jenny and I are coming up with a top secret class (Ok, so it isn't top secret...but we are ironing out details and I don't wanna blab until the details are fixed) that at least some of you will really enjoy doing! I am hoping that a LOT of you will want to take the class...keep your eye on the schedule for the last week of March. ;)
Well, I am off to work on Chris' second slipper. He has been whining and bugging me for a few weeks. Ever since he busted a huge hole in the heel of his others. He really loved those slippers (the GrouchMan Slippers that I made him for Christmas). :D So, off to finish the second one so that I can get on with working more on our top secret class!

Teaching

2008-02-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

This year I had decided that I was gonna 1) start writing my own patterns, 2) do some charity looming, and 3) teach a class (or more than one) for the Loom Class Yahoo Group. I just figured that my first class wouldn't be until later in the year when I establish myself and my name more. But, nah! Fearless me jumped in head first and answered Pam's plea for classes to be scheduled soon. Now, to tell you the truth about that statement....it was more like a shaking and terrified me felt guilty that Pam couldn't find teachers and so stepped forward timidly with my meager patterns at her disposal. LOL! No, lie. I was terrified. Haha!
The class will be for the Strawberry Sundae Hat and starts on February 23....that is next Saturday, ya'll. So get to signing up for it! If you downloaded the pattern already and haven't touched it b/c of the fact that you were not so good with a crochet hook, get on over to class, hon! I will help you out as much as I can (like I wouldn't have anyway! You guys can e-mail me anytime!) I am interested to see the different flavors that you guys create with it.
And in case you guys wanted to do Jenny's Cream Cones, that class starts tomorrow and goes right up until my class starts. If you understand her pattern then you will do fine with mine! Then we can all have a Sundae Party! Woohoo!
Besides, the class biz I have finished Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap! I will make sure to post pics tomorrow b/c I haven't taken any of it yet. My yarn choice made it soooo warm and cozy. And I loved it so much that I wanted to wear it out grocery shopping today. But, no matter how silly I am, I don't think I could pull off that really warm hat on a 59 degree day. LOL!
Talk at ya'll later!

Half Finger Typing Gloves

2008-02-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

I finished my 'Half Finger Typing Gloves' offered in the Loom Class this week. Karen Gielen is the pattern designer and teacher and she did a brilliantly wonderful job! I love my gloves and plan to make more in the future. Maybe even some for the kids...but I wonder if they will wear them. Since I got the glove pattern down now, I will work on Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap starting tomorrow morning.
For now I am gonna go watch the rest of Shrek III. LOL! Hope to get a tad unbusy soon so that I can loom more, and therefore, update more. :D

Bonus: a cute pic of Sir Thade and Lady MaryAnne (daughter of my SIL's boyfriend who has taken a liking to Thade. More like an obsession but that is OK b/c I just love her to pieces myself! :D)
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Kisses for me!!!!

2008-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Kiss looms that is! Mine showed up last Thursday. And I am so happy with them. It is the combo 2: 4-6 peg mods, 4-9 peg mods, and 4-30 peg mods. Here they are:

The four 9 peg mods assembled in first position with no spacers.

The four 6 peg mods assembled in the same fashion.

This is a pic of one of the 30 peg boards shown assembled in the 2nd position, no spacers.

And this is the baby doll blankie I made for Lady Tru's babies. I used the 4-9's in first position with no spacers and I used the U-stitch. And I was so excited that I totally forgot to do a purl and knit edging so that it wouldn't curl. LOL! I will have to slow down and think about what I am doing next time. But I did try my hand at crocheting a border for the very first time. I did a single crochet around the edge once then continued around the edge with chaining three, missing next stitch, then single crochet into next creating the simple picot. I have to practice on it...but I am still proud. So far, all I know about crochet is to chain and single crochet. :D GO ME!

The gauge for the blankie is 16 1/2 stitches per 4 inches using a worsted weight yarn. I like the colors of it (Jeannette, is it familiar? I have made several preemie hats with it also.)

I only got to play with my Kisses on Thursday and Friday b/c hubby and I dropped the kids off at his mom's and we took off out of town for the weekend. Our 4th anniversary was yesterday. We went to Florence, AL and stayed in the Marriot Shoals Hotel and Spa. It was very nice. A restaurant in the hotel and then a revolving tower restaurant connected to it. It was a very good weekend. Managed to get away from the kids....but then bought a bunch of junk for them. LOL!

You can barely see the hotel and 360* Bar and Grill from this shot as we left yesterday. Sorry.

Here are better shots of the hotel and the 360*. I also made a preemie hat on the way there and one on the way back, so it wasn't totally a non-looming weekend. I just wasn't gonna risk my new babies getting broken!

That last one is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (recall
history lessons on the Great Depression and the TVA.)

And this one is what woke me up at freakin' 7am. Like I could even manage to sleep well in a bed that was actually comfy and warm, then I got woke up and I wanted to sleep in for once! UGH! It is beautiful though, isn't it?

Now I am off to work on my Fingerless Typing Gloves for the LoomClass and when I am done with those I will either work on some of baby items with my Kiss looms or I will finally do Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap! LOL!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT'S FRIIIIIIDAAAAAAAY!

2008-02-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

And since my New Year's Resolution to myself was to create a free pattern and a 'for sale' pattern every few weeks to put on my pattern blog I wanted to announce that another free pattern (the Strawberry Sundae Delight hat) and a 2 for 1 purchase pattern (Short and Long Brim Ruffled Hats) are up on my pattern page, Rockin' the Loom Patterns!
Thank you so much for checking them out! I hope that everyone finds something that they can use. :D

My baby boy turns 3 tomorrow!

2008-01-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

And really, I don't feel a bit sad. Well, that is untrue. He has called me Mom-O ever since he grew out of that baby 'mama' stage....but recently he started just calling me 'Mom' and that sorta makes me sad. Chris takes up for my feelings and corrects Thade, telling him that he is supposed to call my Mom-O. I am not the only person who has gotten a name change though. He changed 'Mamaw' to just plain 'Grandma'. We don't know why. All the other grandkids call Chris' mom, "Mamaw." He also has started calling Stephanie, 'Stephie' half of the time. The other half she is just Sissy. Oh, and sometimes when he is being short with her he will call her 'Tru' in a long and exasperated way like, "Trrrrruuuuuuuuu!" LOL!
I asked him this morning what Sissy was gonna be when she grew up and he said ballerina. Ain't that cute? Then I asked him what he is gonna be when he grows up and he said he was gonna be a cooker. Hahahaha! Yes, I corrected him and said, "Do you mean a chef?" He said, "Yeah." But it was in the 'DUH!' tone of voice. I then asked him if he was gonna have a five star restaurant? He was like, "YEAH! And cook for people!" It amazes me the things he knows about. He told me last night, while we were watching the American Idol try-outs, who sang bad and who sang good. He was only wrong on one person. So, how does my big boy know these things? He astounds me. And I am very proud of him....all the time! Have I told ya'll that he is teaching HIMSELF to read and write?! HIMSELF! Then he turns around and can't sing 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' or the alphabet without help. I don't understand how he can't remember songs but he is so smart in other areas. Just the way his brain is working I guess.

So, you are thinking to yourself, 'Is she just gonna go on and on about her brat that is fixing to turn 3....or is she gonna post something loom related?' Number one, I could go on and on about my nearly 3yo brat, but that is why I have another blog that is MUCH more protected and that is where I discuss the very personal things about my life. :D Number two, YES I am gonna post something loom related.
Pictures of the hats whose patterns will be posted on Friday. :P
Here are both of the Ruffled Hat patterns that you get as a 2 for 1 deal ($4.50).

A close up of one of the one with the shorter brim.

A close up of the one with the longer brim.

And here are pics of the free pattern. Strawberry Sundae Delight. It started out as a dud, but turned into a pretty cute hat!

Ya'll come back now, ya here?!

Hmm, no pictures?

2008-01-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

No, there are no pictures in this post. I am working on the pattern for a ruffled edge hat...that has spawned more ruffled edged hats. So it is going to be a package where you get more than one hat pattern with the purchase. And I didn't want to post pics and give it away. I was hoping to have the pattern up for sale yesterday, but we were super busy and barely even home on Thursday and yesterday. I have only had time to loom up the hats, but no time to do the patterns. Since Fridays are the days I have chosen to post my patterns, you will just have to wait for next Friday! :D

On Thursday we got our taxes done. Well, it is really Chris' taxes but I get to spend some money too! And yesterday we got a check for most of the money (that is something offered by the accountants we use).
I told Chris that I wanted to order an EFG oval sock loom from DA Looms along with the Kiss Loom Combo 2 Modular Unit that he promised me. He said OK, and I am using some of the money I have made over the past couple weeks to purchase the cables booklet that Isela had released in December. So, when I was on the DA Loom site trying to narrow down what loom I needed I decided the EFG oval sock loom looked like a good candidate that wouldn't use up too much money. But then I saw the Wonderloom in the small gauge and I want that too! Ever since I saw it I have been coming up with more and more ideas for patterns and I don't even have the darn thing! So, I added that to my wish list hoping that he will tell me to go ahead and order it as an early b-day present b/c we never have money when it is my b-day. Keep your fingers crossed, Ya'll! I want it, and I want it NOW!
Sir Thade is excited to tell ya'll that, according to the pediatrician office, he is 41" tall, weighs 36 pounds, and his b-day is this upcoming Thursday. He will be three and he tells me everyday that his birthday is soon. :D We are getting him a $150 kitchen set from Toys'R'Us b/c he loves to pretend to cook. And he also wanted the table and chairs that comes matches it. So, the kitchen will be a belated Christmas gift (Chris and I couldn't afford to get the kids anything for Christmas, but don't fret....God and family and friends gave the kids a wonderful Christmas!) And the table and chairs will be considered Thade's b-day present. :D He is gonna love it. And we bought his booster seat yesterday. He is so excited about that!
As for Lady Tru, she is 32" and 21.5 pounds (at 15 months old) and she got a porcelain baby Princess Aurora doll that she thinks is a regular baby doll and can't figure out why Mom-O won't let her take it out of the box. Princess Aurora is her favorite princess and we have a bunch of the dolls around. She loves baby dolls!
Ok, that is enough rambling and filling up space. :P

LATE BREAKING NEWS: I have just went loom shopping crazy (hubby told me to do it, so don't freak!) and purchased the DA Looms EFG sock loom, Wonderloom, a wooden handled pick tool, and Kathy Norris' 'More Knitting Wheel Fashions'.....the cables booklet was out of stock. :( Then I went over to Kiss Looms and ordered the Combo 2! OMG, I am so excited to get these looms in. I want to hold them and love them and squeeze them....then yell 'OUCH' b/c I am sure that those pegs and pins aren't too comfy to squeeze. LOL! I can't wait!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!

Maybe toilet seat covers aren't such a great idea....

2008-01-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

The more I think about it....the more I think that the toilet seat cover isn't such a wonderful idea. It would get awfully filthy and you would have to wash it constantly. A comment left on my last post suggested a wooden seat b/c those don't get cold! Good idea and a lot easier to keep sanitary. LOL!

As for my Plushy House Socks (umm, SOCK)....well, the first one is finished! I don't know if it was the yarn I used or what but when I got the toe all seamed up the sock seemed boxy looking. I put it on and it fit perfectly on my foot, but not around my ankle. Every slipper I have made on the blue KK doesn't fit around my ankle so I am assuming that my ankles are just too small for the loom. :D Easy fix will be to take some elastic thread and weave it in and out of the cuff of the sock. No big deal! So, you wanna see the sock? HERE IT IS!!!!!

And I wore this lone sock on my foot for about 2 hours before we went to bed last night. Chris thought it was funny. But I think he sorta understood. After all, he wears the slippers I made him for Christmas every day. He gets home from work and takes off his shoes and puts the slippers on. :D I would have never imagined that he would wear them so much. I am so proud. LOL!

Well, I am off to work up some patterns today....after I get the always dreaded dishes out of the way (and I guess it is close enough to lunch time to get the kids fed and Lady Tru off for her nap! That is always good b/c I can handle one kid bugging me while I am looming, but with her....UGH! :D)

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.........I SOLD MY FIRST PATTERN LAST NIGHT!!!!!!! Uh-huh, oh yeah, go me, it's my birthday!

It was MY afghan!!!

2008-01-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

Let's start off this post talking about a needle knit afghan that I had made myself with Red Heart Light and Lofty and size US 19 needles. I made it back in the beginning of October and though I had cast on 60 stitches, ended up with 70 stitches only a few rows in to it, then had to get back down to 60 stitches, and the final product ended up with 55 stitches I just loved my very first afghan. It might have been too short for my tall frame, but it was great for watching tv. Not so great for when I was looming b/c the afghan kept catching on my looms. But, I felt special even though I made it for me.
Well, it is no longer MY afghan. Garfield (a.k.a. Fat Cat) has claimed it and has slept on it nearly all day, every day for the past week! He gives you this look of annoyance if you come anywhere near him on the blanket. I have now moved it to the back of the couch where he liked to camp out the most and guess where he is at this very moment. I was gonna make the cats and my dog some sort of 'pet tent'/'pet sack' but I guess he thought I was taking too long. If I didn't feel bad for taking so long to make his own, I would snatch it back......but he can have it, now. Covered in cat fur anyways! Nyah!
And for good measure, here is the baby (8 months old), Yang. Notice the look of annoyance on his face as if he is pissed that I haven't made him a blanket yet and Fat Cat won't share the one he claimed. LOL!

And here is a pic of one of my other towel toppers from the class. I decided that you didn't need to see both b/c they look identical....and my camera battery was about to die. I need a new digital camera....the batteries can charge all day and you only get a few uses out of them. But the problem is not the batteries themselves b/c you can put brand new batteries in the camera and you are lucky to snap three pics REAL quick. That is if the camera even turns on. :( I used to take so many pics. Like 20 a day or so. But the camera started messing up on the day of my daughter's first b-day party. So, my mom ended up taking most the pics with HER camera and my camera was so much better.

Enough talk on digital cameras. Hopefully I will get a new one in the next month or so. :D
Let's talk about one of my latest pattern designing ideas. Drum roll, please..........................A TOILET SEAT COVER! Not a lid cover, but for the toilet seat so that my poor bum doesn't fight me b/c it doesn't want to sit on the frigid toilet seat. You guys would bust a gut laughing at me if you saw my face when I have to sit down on the seat! ROFL! Really. It may not get so very cold here in Mississippi as it does in the northern states, but I can tell you that when you only have small electric heaters in the kids' rooms, 2 in the great room, and one small one upstairs in your room, the rest of the house is frigid. Somedays, the old thermostat in the hallway doesn't even register numbers (the lowest of which is 50) so going in the bathroom and sitting on that seat is murder. I usually hold it, if I can....but everyone says that isn't good for your bladder or urinary tract. :( Sir Thade and Chris are so lucky that they can stand up to pee!
So, requirements for the toilet seat cover (or multiple ones depending on how quickly it becomes filthy) will be: easily washable, durable yarn, easily removed and put on. I can see a whole coordinating set coming from this. The seat cover, lid cover, tank lid cover, and a floor rug (to be used later when Sir Thade's aim gets better!) Might even do the toilet lid cover in a fun fur with some eyes and stuff on it. That sounds funny! But....the kids might get scared about a Potty Monster so maybe not a good idea. Hmmm, a tongue coming off of the bottom of the lid cover. Yeah, maybe I could get away with it. After all....I won't put teeth on it! But then again, I wanted to do that bathroom in a dolphin and whales/underwater theme and furry Potty Monsters really don't fall in that category. Upstairs bathroom is frogs so maybe a froggy face and long tongue will work up there!

I had a mild heart attack when I sat down to start on my Ravelry Loom A Long Plushy House Socks. I picked up the skein of yarn (Baby Bee Lambie Pie by Yarn Bee) I chose to do it with since my Hobby Lobby did not carry the brand used in the pattern. I though the yarn was a thick kind that would be perfect for some house socks, but when I pulled a strand out it looked more like thread with a bunch of soft fuzz coming off of it. I was sure that even using two strands there would be holes everywhere. But I decided that 'you don't know until you try' and I started my socks. I can see absolutely NO holes in it and they are so soft. I can't wait to get it off the loom. It was my first attempt at short rowing also and I did it perfectly fine with no issues (accept for having to put it down b/c Lady Tru wanted to be held and she likes to try to loom with me and I didn't want her to mess up my short rowing, so I marked where I was in the pattern and set it aside). I still have a long ways to go with the foot part of the sock b/c I wear a 10 to 10 1/2 size shoe. Now I am nervous about the Kitchener stitch for the toe. Isela says there is a tutorial on her site...so I need to go check that out and watch it a few times before I actually need it. But other than that, these should turn out pretty cool. That is, after I buy another skein of the yarn b/c I didn't buy enough in the first place.

Another Loom Class project!

2008-01-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

I finished my Loom Class 'reversible dishtowel toppers' taught by Christine Clauto. Well, two of them. I still have another two to go. I will be using red yarn for the other two. :D These were so easy and useful! I had been wondering if there was a way to put a loom knitted topper on towels b/c I get furious when Chris or Sir Thade move my towels from the drawer handle by the sink! Thankfully, Lady Tru hadn't figured out she can pull them off the handle yet. Chris is afraid to wipe his hands on my new towels. LOL! He said, "I don't wanna wipe my hands on your new towels b/c I am afraid you will fuss at me for getting them dirty." I laughed and said that they were meant for function and not aesthetic purposes. Of course, those words were too big and I had to scale it back to about kindergarten level speak. LMBO! My hubby is not quite the brightest crayon in the box and I tend to forget that. :D

I also finished the second initial scarf and Chris ran off with it this morning before I got to take a pic of it. I should have taken a pic yesterday, but oh well. At least that is finished!
Now to finish my other two towel toppers and move on to my plush house socks that the Ravelry Loom A Long is doing! I couldn't find the right yarn at Hobby Lobby for the project so went up and down the two aisles of yarn searching for a close enough texture and weight. I ran across Yarn Bee Baby brand called Lamby Pie that is soft and plushy only to get home and look at the pattern again and realize that I need about 90 more yards of it. So I guess after the dishtowel toppers I will work on ONE sock and use a 40% off coupon to get another skein so that I can make my other sock. I am sure I will be sad and walk around in just one sock until I get the other skein though. They look so warm and cushy on the pattern! :D
Well, I think that is all I have for today! Talk to ya'll later!

Butterflies have gone.

2008-01-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

And I thank all of you that reassured me NOT to be nervous. The wonderful comments that were sent my way made the process a LOT easier and by the end of the day I was giddy to call myself an official 'DESIGNER' as Kathy Norris told me to say that I was. :D YEAH, Kathy Norris was the very first person to e-mail me and congratulate me, give me a pat on the back, and tell me that she is still nervous putting patterns up for sale and for GOODNESS SAKES she just had a book come out for sale! I was like star-struck. LOL! Then the next two people were Karen and Bethany and I look up to these two like they are the wiser, more experienced big sisters and it just made my day that everyone was so supportive. I had about 10 messages in all, congratulating me and telling me that I had done a great job. :D As of 3pm yesterday afternoon I had 45 downloads of the Woven Ribbon Hat. Chris, my hubby, was just like, "WOW!" I am happy that you guys like it.
My plans for the future are hopefully to put up a new pattern every few weeks. And I want to keep just as many patterns for free as I have for sale. That is my plan, at least. And maybe someday, in my wildest dreams, you guys will see me writing up my own book of patterns and being well known in the looming community like Isela Phelps, Denise Layman, Anne Bipes, and Kathy Norris! That would be awesome to be able to add my name to the list! But I am not the only crafty 'designer' out there. There are others all over such as Bethany and Karen that should get their names on the list before me. Other designers are all over out there! :D

Oh, and you guys need to run over to Dawn's site and check out her cupcake hat! It was her first project ever and she finished the soaker last night so hopefully she will have HER pics of the soaker up soon.
And Penny made a post about all her charity hats that she has made. Ya'll give her some encouragement to move beyond hats and to flat panel knitting! :D

Totally and completely nervous

2008-01-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

I just posted my very first free pattern and my very first 'for sale' pattern. I am absolutely, completely a nervous wreck since these are the very first patterns I have posted. I have more to come in the future, so let's hope that I did everything right and that I did a good job typing them up.
Whew, butterflies PLEASE go away!
The patterns can both be found here: Rockin' the Loom Patterns

What is on my looms:
Right now, on my red KK I have a waist band for longies (or shorties) b/c down here in the Mississippi summer heat I let the kids run around naked (meaning in underwear or diapers) but Lady Tru likes to pull at the tabs of her diapers if it is exposed and next thing you know...the child is actually naked and lovin' it! LOL! If she has anything covering the diaper she forgets about the tabs (until she gets smarter, I am sure) so I wanted to knit up something to cover it up in the hot summer months. :D (For those interested, pattern will be available...eventually. :P)
On my pink long KK I have another initial scarf. Same pattern as the first one except initials are JMK and the main color is black and the contrasting color is light pink. I would say that I am 1/4 to 1/3 finished with it at this very moment.
And on Monday, I sat down and made another Woven Ribbon Hat. This one is for a friend of mine that is in the hospital. She has cystic fibrosis and seems to be in and out of the hospital frequently. I hate that she has to do that and I feel like it depresses her. She was asking questions about the Woven Ribbon Hat, but was wanting it in black (instead of the original cream). Her coat is black. I tried really hard to get her to buy her own looms (seeing as that many of the looming community uses them while in and out of the hospital and at doctor appointments), but I think she was admitted back into the hospital before she had a chance to purchase any. I will suck her into this world one way or another! LOL! But for now, since I can't send flowers and she doesn't live here (she lives in Indiana) I will send her that hat she wants so badly. :D

Blown away

2008-01-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

It is so silly, but I get totally blown away when people like Karen, Bethany, and Brenda comment on MY BLOG! I bow down to these women, so when they comment to me instead of the other way around, and they give me a pat on the back or thumbs up, I am just flabbergasted and am left with my mouth open in shock! They commented to ME!!!!!! Ok, I know I am silly, but let me be giddy for a minute. :D

Chris said that I can order THIS when we get our income tax refunds back this year. I started out just wanting the combo needed for the Loom Class on the Baby Items done with the Kiss Looms. But the longer and longer I wait, and the more I read on the Kiss-Looms group, the more and more I want to order! I gotta have it all! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Loom Classes, here is the Shellie I made for this weekend's class! The teacher and creator of such a cute little turtle is Jenny. I named him Scooter and then Little Miss Tru snatched him and I don't think she will be giving him back. LOL! I will be making another one today in a red, orange, and yellow variegated Red Heart for Sir Thade. We are naming that one Speedy. :D I love these little Shellies so much that I think I will make a whole family of varying sizes. Haha! And guess what Little Miss Tru surprised me with this morning? When she held him up I told her, "Yep, that is your turtle. His name is Scooter." And she said, "Tuhtul." Ok, proud Mom-O Moment that few will understand I am sure, so quit rolling your eyes at me! LOL!

I am so proud of myself at this moment!

2008-01-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

So, I got the scarf and hat delivered and Stephanie is so in love with it that she wants me to make one for her sister as well. She also said that her sister has 'babies' (meaning dogs) that she might want me to design some sweaters for. Looks like I am gonna be quite a busy girl.
I have been out of my mind designing a diaper soaker. A lady named Dawn was desperately seeking some loom knit diaper soaker patterns, but could only find one and it had no picture. This couldn't be just a diaper cover, b/c she cloth diapers. It had to be functional. So, since she was in need of this and seemed pretty near her wits' end, I offered to try to convert any crochet or needle knitting patterns she might have for what she wanted. I might have skimmed through both patterns once before realizing that I don't know how to read crochet or needle knit patterns. I didn't know them from Chinese. But I looked at the pics for them and figured that I could come up with something with the same shape and function. (I believe there shouldn't be any copyright infringement b/c I didn't follow any part of the patterns. Not even stitch used or anything. I just used Dawn's daughter's measurements (soooo close to my own dd's so I had a model!) and made the thing up as I went.
This was my first prototype:

The flaps came up too high on the hip and the rise from belly button, through crotch, to about the same place as belly button on the back) was to low. I figured there must be an easy fix for this.
So, I started on a new one. This one started out w/a ribbed waist band that follows a slightly wierd pattern b/c of the fact that it is done on an even number or pegs but needed to start and end with the same type of stitch. It then switches to double stitch so that it is a very tight knit. She had the idea of two rows of buttons so that it is nice and secure and by placing more and more buttons to each side, then you can adjust it. Brilliant. She also has other ideas bouncing around in her busy head at the moment that she is gonna try with the pattern when she gets to knit it up.
But here is the pay off for my OCD perfectionist complex. (Present me with a challenge and see if I can say 'no'! It is impossible.)
Oh, and we know that the butt is baggy (taking off an inch in the pattern will fix that) and I needed to sew on the buttons closer together (side to side wise).

We haven't quite decided what we are going to do with the pattern yet. Since it is a collaboration it is hard for just one of us to claim the glory, but hard to share it since she lives in NY and I live in MS.
Now I can get started on my Shellies for the Loom Class. :D YAY!

And without further delay

2008-01-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the initial scarf that will be delivered to hubby's employee tomorrow. I still had leftover yarn and wanted to thank her for her patience (I was finishing up late Christmas gifts and then got the sinus infection...AND DANGED IF I DIDN'T MAIL OFF THE BEARS W/OUT GETTING A PIC!!!!) so I made her a matching hat w/out initials. I really hope she likes it. She said that she LOVES Cody's hat and that he wears it everyday. He is only 5 or 6 and loves the fact that his initials are on his hat. :D

And these little guys are for preemies.....though I don't know yet if they will even fit. I sure hope they do. But if not, I can always frog them or give them to a poor little deserving baby doll (b/c you know, Little Miss Tru didn't have enough in the first place and so she recieved 7 regular sized ones and 7 mini ones for Christmas. :P)

In other news, I purchased the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar from Books-A-Million on sale for half off. EXCITING!!!!
I also found the grippy for my hooks that I have been searching for everywhere (pics will be in next post). It is called 'The Pencil Grip' and I had originally purchased one in college, had it for several years, used it last about a week before buying my first KK loom set, and POOF! It has disappeared off the radar. You can imagine how I freaked at the checkout counter at Books-A-Million when I saw a container of them!!!! Cashier thought I was crazy. I only got one at that moment.....but I am thinking I need ten more. They are only $.25 so it isn't that expensive and they make my pick sooooooo comfy. Big smiles and happiness here (and over a stupid grippy). LOL!
And quick question for all who have or had small children......do your kids eat yarn? I caught Little Miss Tru eating, YES EATING, pink yarn the other day. It was soaked with spit. EEEeeeeEEEEeeeEEEeeEEEWWWW! Sir Thade hasn't ever put it in his mouth, but then again, he is almost 3 (TURNS 3 ON THE LAST DAY OF THIS MONTH!!!!!)
Well, hubby is beckoning me to go to bed.....I am so tired.
Rock those looms!

No more initial hats for me....at least for now.

2008-01-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

I bet doing fair isle is different from trying to do initials, but I totally stressed myself out over making this hat for one of hubby's employees. It was for her son and she wanted initials on it. This is the finished product:

All the weaving and making sure floats weren't too long and all that jazz. GEEZ! Not fun!
Now I am working on an initial scarf for the employee, herself. This seems much easir since I am using the pink long KK as a board BUT it would have been beneficial if I had figured out that using cream yarn on a light pink background wouldn't show up. Easy fix, I didn't even frog what I had done. Just took it off the loom and started all over again using the leftover red from her son's hat instead of cream in the pattern. I hope that she likes it. I really am putting a lot of effort into them.

Well, I got to meet Penny and her family, in person, last night. We had hamburgers and hotdogs at her place (good food, mmmmmmm). And they are such a nice and friendly family. I really enjoyed my visit (most of all Chris enjoyed himself and he is always uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations!). It would have been perfect had Little Miss Tru not run around the ENTIRE time getting into this and that. I am not saying that Thade was an angel, himself, but at least he wasn't into EVERYTHING. I am seriously thinking the pack'n'play would be a must the next time I visit with them. LOL! Penny and I will be taking a trip to the Women's Hospital this week to get specifics on what they need for us to make the preemies and newborns. :D

OMG, I just had a heart attack! I look at the kids and see that Little Miss Tru had the pink long KK with 'scarf in progress' attached and she was attempting to wrap the whole 12 inches of it around her neck. Talk about Mom-O jumping up and racing across the house fast and Stephanie trying her hardest to put it back before I reached her. Silly how she always thinks that if she puts something back before I get to her then it is like she never touched it. LOL! 'Scarf in progress' is undamaged and Little Miss Tru now has HER scarf and wrapping that around her neck. WHEW!
Ok, well I am off to try to get as much done as I possibly can on that scarf. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Stupid Sinus Infection!

2008-01-01T19:33:00.000-08:00

It is succeeding in keeping me from finishing a silly hat! I just want to finish a HAT!!!!! For goodness sakes. When I take medicine it knocks me out (even non-drowsy) and I am totally oblivious to the world. Chris said that, as I was sleeping on the couch, Thade came up and basically had his nose touching mine and was staring at me, waiting for me to wake up. He made Thade leave me alone......but I was totally not even there! Had no clue. LOL!
I had really wanted to make some bread today.....and that hat should have been finished 2 days ago. I did get the dishes done though. SCORE! 1 point for Robin!
Well, since I don't have anything Loomy to talk about I guess I will leave you guys with
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charity Group for Northeast Mississippi

2007-12-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

Penny and I, well mostly Penny, are trying to get a charity group together up here in the Northeast Corner of MS. I am guessing that it will probably be based out of Tupelo. Right now we are focusing on loomers, but it will probably expand on to ANY craft that can be donated or auctioned off for charity.
I think for now the focus is on hats for St. Jude and LeBonheur (did I spell that right?) And blankets, too. But hopefully we can expand as needed.
If any of you are interested PLEASE LET US KNOW!!!! Right now it is just the two of us and that is why we need more people.
Oh, and you can visit Penny HERE. I say that she is doing most of the work b/c she truly is. She is way more organized than I and I think she knows a lot more than I do on how to go about this. I feel like I am just along for the ride for now, but really REALLY want to help her out!
This is going to be a great thing and I am proud to be a part of it. :D

Wow, uneventful day.

2007-12-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have accomplished nothing today. I was supposed to 'get looming' as my hubby told me to do (imagine that! He didn't say to do the dishes or clean up the living room, but to get looming. Haha! Just so I can finish up what I have on my to do list so that I can make the hat and scarf for an employee, I am sure. I'll get to it!) Anyway, I finished up an 'Imperfectly Perfect Bear' last night. He is green and white and I named him Gulliver. I decided to do the two days worth of dishes this morning and I am currently working on Gulliver's sister, Rosa. She only has a body and arms right now, so I just have to do her legs and ears, then she will be ready to go.
After that, I am working on two adult male hats. I want to use some of the patterns in my head for them. I need to graph the designs out to make sure it will work and then loom them up and take pics of them. Hopefully it will show up with the black yarn I plan on using, but something tells me it won't. I can't wait to get the kinks worked out on my hat patterns so that I can start selling them.
This poor little red-head needs money for yarn and more extravagant looms, ya know? I REALLY can't wait until our income tax refunds come in b/c then I get to order my Kiss Modular Unit. I should talk to Graciela and get a feel for just what I need to order though. She is so smart. I call her the 'Kiss Expert' in my head. Sounds too kinky to say outloud. Whoops! I just did! :D
Me and the kids are under the weather. Have been for the past couple days. Just sinus issues. The kids only have runny noses but me....oh I have to feel like I am knocking on Death's door. Sneezing, burning throat, pressure in my forehead that makes me feel like I am crossing my eyes and I can't think straight.
And in the midst of all of this, I have been obsessed with trying to answer every question submitted by every new comer on the Knifty Knitter Looms Yahoo Group. I don't know why I feel that I have to do it. Like I am the only person in the world that could help these people. HA! Robin, you aren't that great. No 'Goddess of the Looms' are you! But I try. And I think I succeeded........IN CONFUSING SOME POOR NEWBIES, that is! Since, I can't think straight I think I might not be able to type straight either and I think I might have made problems worse for a few people instead of helping them. Poor people. I hope they don't give up the looms b/c of me. :*(
Ok, well, enough of that. I apologize for not having pics of the 'Imperfectly Perfect Bears' but should have some for you soon! :D

Loomed projects from Oct. 2007-Dec 2007

2007-12-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

I figure it will just be easier to put all of the pics in ONE BIG POST! Easier for ya'll to see them all and easier for me to add them all.
So, let's get started: This hat was made using a blue variegated Red Heart Super Saver and it was my very first project. It was supposed to be for my 2 yo ds, and I followed the recommendation of using the red KK loom for 'small children' only to discover that it was WAY too small. So my nephew (was unborn at the time) recieved it instead.

My second project was to make my 1yo dd a hat out of Red Heart Light and Lofty on the red loom (which was the correct size for her.)

Then I bought my ds some more yarn of his choice and attempted to make him a hat on the green KK but shorter than I would for myself. It turned out a bit too short, so off to my newborn nephew it went!

I decided to try out a mitten pattern that said it would fit an adult female, older child, and smaller child....but it never gave the adjustments for the older and smaller child. I made the mitten up and it was HUGE! Like my dh's big club-like hands fit in it fine. I decided it makes a great dust mitt and I can use the other side of it for polish. LOL! I attempted to use the same pattern and make a smaller mitten, but it was too small for 2yo ds. I gave up.

Next came the magic scarf I made for dd to match the one I had purchased for myself 2 years ago. She is already a yarn-a-holic and snatched up this wonderfully soft Moda Dea Dream yarn at Hobby Lobby for $.71 a ball. I knew right away that I wanted to make her the magic scarf to match Mom-O's!

Then I made some imperfectly perfect teddy bears. No matter what I do, my bears are always somewhat...unique, to put it nicely. So there are dubbed 'Mom-O's Imperfectly Perfect Bears'. This is Boogers and Trudy. I name each one that I make like they are my own kids. :D

I worked on a woven ribbon scarf (pattern found at http://www.provocraft.com/ ) but don't really like how it turned out. Next time I will make it a lot longer and skinnier. I created the hat design to match it since I wanted to gift them to one of my best friends for Christmas!

I made a fun colored hat for a lady that goes to church with my MIL. This was my first time finishing off a hat in four decreased sections. Nicole loves it and I actually got an order to make 2 more hats b/c of it.

This is the extra long baby hat that I made for my niece. She is only 4 months old, but the newborn one I made her no longer fit and I wanted to make sure to keep her ears covered and warm. I made a matching pair of booties, but forgot to take a pic of them. :(

Next project was a spiral ribbed hat and a double knit scarf for another friend. Note to self, use a plain color for spiral ribbed hats!

Then I made my first cabled project. A cable hat and magic scarf for one of my nieces, Molly.

And a magic scarf and what I call the single and double stitch ribbed hat for another niece, MaryAnn.

I worked on some slippers for my kids.

Then a headband for myself. It has cables but you can't see them too well.

I call this hat 'Toasted Marshmallow' and it was for my MIL for Christmas.

This hat was for my FIL.

I call these slippers 'Grouch Man' slippers b/c they remind me of Oscar the Grouch. My hubby got them for Christmas and wears them daily. He says that they are really warm. :D That makes a woman proud!

And I became obsessed with an Old Navy commercial (for $15 items) that had a pair of boot slipper thingies and made up a prototype. They aren't overly difficult, but they ARE NOT for mere beginners.

The last thing I have completed is a hat out of the Moda Dea Dream to match my scarf and I will use the left over for my dd so that we can be twinkies!

Well, this should be fun

2007-12-28T09:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently moving all of my info from http://mrs.robinlmccoy.googlepages.com over to here b/c the previously mentioned site can be pretty temperamental about saying that pages can't be found by the public user but I know that they are there and published and perfect. Oooooooh, weeeellllll! We'll just start anew and give it a different feel, shall we?!
Most likely you were lead here b/c we are in the same yahoo group together. Welcome and thank you for stopping by. I hope that I can give everyone wonderful tips and information that they were looking to find (or just stumbled upon but could use.) I plan to start selling some patterns in the near future. I am currently working on getting them written up without any typos or pattern errors. And I need to find a good program to make charts b/c it seems a lot of my hat patterns that I have created could be better done by using a chart. :D
So, I hope that everyone bookmarks my page (and possibly links it on their own blog like I tend to do so many others). Let me know if there is anything that you think might need some attention or changing!