September FOs

I'm pre-dating this, but I'd like to make it a regular end-of-the-month feature. All of my FOs in September were knit! How'd that happen?

10 fish for fish afghan
Scarf for me out of LB fun fur and boucle
5 different dishcloths: granny, fishy, lacy round, doily, & feather and fans
1 pair of socks
1 camera sock

Alexander the Babysitter... err, rather... the Fishsitter!

Well here's finally the story about Alex's baby/fish sitting adventures. Or should I say poor Nemo's adventures on having Alex babysit him! This all started last Thursday night while I was sleeping on the couch in the evening before work, and Derek was taking an evening nap as well. Earlier on in the evening, Alex had gotten into the bedroom by using a broom handle to uncatch the hook on the door, and the knob wasn't locked. He had pulled out Daddy's pool cue, but luckily couldn't manage the combination lock on the case! He also tried some baking, evidenced by the coating of flour over the entire kitchen!

I was running a little late for work {as usual!} and was in my bedroom getting changed and stuff when I turned around to look at Nemo. I was horrified by what I saw! The entire top half of the tank was like steel wool or something! What the hell was in there??? An entire can of bloodworms I discovered a little later. The water was also quite red, so I suspect a candy fish or two made it in there, although it may have also just been from the worms. And as if that wasn't enough, when I had gotten enough of the food out so that I could actually *find* Nemo in there, the air pump was foaming... I don't *want* to know what he put in there for that effect. My simple explanation for Alex's ideas was this... he gave Nemo his dinner {the bloodworms}, he got dessert afterwards {the candy fish}, and after dinner is bath time {whatever the bubbles were!}. As if that wasn't enough shock for that poor little fish, our reserved fishtank water was at least 5 degrees cooler than his tank was because our furnace wasn't working that night. He spent the night in a Tupperware bowl and even that had a ton of food in it just from what was sticking to the net when I caught him.

The next morning at work I was scared that I was going to come home to perform my first fish funeral. I took a good long look in the pet department at stuff. I bought more bloodworms {as that's all the others will eat willingly}, and was looking at the various tank toys and aquarium kits. There wasn't anything there that really appealed to me. I know what the prices are for kits over at Petcetera, and decided that I'd be better off hoping for a sale there, than my discount at work. I really want to get a larger tank, and was looking long and hard at the 10 and 20 gallon starter kits. I was also hoping to find a small betta tank like Dory's in a different colour. I figgered that if I was ever gonna get away with talking Derek into getting a Marlin and/or a Bruce, this was the perfect time. I came away quite discouraged, depressed, and basically empty-handed... hoping that I could get Derek to take me to Petcetera maybe on Friday, or more likely on Saturday after he finished work.

Well much to my {pleasant} surprise, Nemo was still alive when I got home. His movements were a little sluggish, but he seemed happy to see me. It took me over an hour to clean out his tank. As it was, when I was putting some water in to arrange the gravel a bit better on the bottom, you could still see the worms floating around a bit... I guess I wasn't able to completely get it all off of it. I changed a few of his plants and got him back into his refurbished home!

Well it's been nearly a week now since his Alex fiasco, and he's healthier than ever. If any of our fish deserve the name Nemo, it's him! He's gone through having his back scraped up, all healed, but I've noticed that there *is* a scar after all; made it out of the algae from hell; and now survived Alex's babysitting. He's definitely one tough fish!

Review Time: Simple 1-2-3 Knitting Scarves

I seem to find interesting magazines in the recipe magazine section. You know all those digest sized monthly recipe mags? Well every once in a while you can find them with a craft topic. My most recent aquisition is one from pil under the "Best Recipes" brand, and is titled "Simple 1-2-3 Knitting Scarves.

The first quarter of the booklet is dedicated to learn-how instructions. It seems to be very informative with several methods shown for casting on and such. This makes it an excellent choice for newer knitters, and there might even be a little hint that more experienced knitters can learn from too. The scarves range from plain and typical to fancy and frilly with a wide variety of yarns used. Some of the more practical-type scarves are dressed up with interesting stitch patterns. The textured yarns are shown in "useful" styles as well as more "accessory-type" styles. Novelty yarns are used as the basis and the trims on several patterns, and there is even two cowl-hood type patterns if that is more to your liking. If knitting scarves is "your thing", look for this one at the checkouts, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Review Time: Family Circle Easy Crochet plus Knitting

I picked up this issue this week at work and thought I would pass on my 2¢ worth on it... that's about all my opinion is worth, and don't forget the Canadian dollar exchange rate! *teehee* One thing I give them credit for is using a Canadian yarn company as their issue sponsor. All of the yarns used were from Spinrite, a mill in Listowel, Ontario that makes {among others} Bernat, Lily, and Patons yarns. For this reason most of the materials used should be fairly easy to obtain for most Canadians, unlike most of the time where we have to use the samples shown of the yarn to substitute. Wal-Mart carries a good selection of Bernat and Michael's carries a lot of different Patons yarns. Those are my two usual places I go to get supplies for a project. Zellers and Lewiscraft are also places you can go to find some of these yarns. Of course there is always your local LYS... I hope that yours isn't stocked with knitting snobs though.

Most of the articles that I took the time to read were very informative. There is one article on working with the novelty yarns which is invaluable to those that are new to working with them. I still find that knitting with them is usually easier, but it is good to have the skills needed to crochet with them as well. There is another article on the latest fad, felting. Most of the felting articles I have read lately have been geared to knitting... it's refreshing to see the crochet side of it for a change.

The magazine starts off with ladies' wearables. Even though I don't think I would take the time or money to make any of them {not my taste}, I'm impressed that they are stylish and not boxy looking like a lot of crocheted clothing patterns tend to be.
The next section is still wearables, but updates of older patterns. A few of these are the stereotypical style that I tend to detest, but others take on a new life in new fibres.
Next comes kids' wearables... a few of the "nasties" peek in, but the overdone poncho actually takes on a new life in two patterns, one a poncho and the other a loose cardigan.
After that we have the hats and scarves. These have to be the hardest to come up with something "new"... unfortunately they decided to do a portion of them in granny squares... UGH!!! Don't get me wrong, the granny square is okay, but it drives me nuts that so many people think you can't do anything else with a length of yarn and a hook.
Next comes my favourite part of the magazine, a few patterns that combine knitting and crocheting. This is my latest interest, and it is nice to see them blended together.
The magazine is finished off with a poncho out of edgings... nice symbolism I think! Not a pattern I'd make, but inspirational for sure.

Overall, I'm not really sure that I'd make more than 2 or 3 items out of this issue. This is the premier issue of it, so I'm hopeful that they continue on with things other than granny squares and toilet paper cozies... there is so much more than that to crocheting, regardless of what the editors of many magazines seem to think. One thing, if you aren't into wearables {adult or child}, give this issue a miss. There isn't a kleenex box cover to be found here, and the only afghan you'll find is in the felting article. For me, I think this issue will be mostly used for design inspiration...

This place has gone to the birds!!!

Wow... been a few days since I posted! I've gotten some more cloths done and started a sweater for Lissa, but I'll post about that tomorrow once I'm on my weekend. We also had a major fiasco with Nemo on Thursday, but I'll get into that later today or tomorrow... I'm *really* tired today.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we have a new member to our pet family... a budgie named we've named Nigel. Derek got him yesterday, and boy was he being a bird-brain about it!

With all these dishcloths, do you think it's time to wash some dishes???

Well I've been on a dishcloth binge lately. I'm not sure when I started the Lacy Cloth... I'll have to check my posts to be sure... I finished it yesterday afternoon and started a doily dishcloth off of the yarn wrapper. That one was finished today, and I whipped up a feather & fans off of another wrapper. I made a F&F before, and it didn't seem to work out. The one I made today worked out fine, but sure seems small compared to the huge {to me} cloths I've been making lately. I will have to take a pic of the "collection" and post it.

Woot, woot for the weekend!

Man oh man does work ever drag these days. I'm gonna be on a 5 day work week from now until Christmas so it's going to just about kill me... I'm getting soooo sick and tired of all the crap there.

Anyway... It's Monday, so that means it's Pool Night!!! YAY!!! I finally found myself a pair of shoes that I like, so if they are as comfortable as I hope they are, I'm gonna have to get the beige pair as well! I bought myself a new t-shirt to wear tonight too. For once I seem to be buying more pants than anything else lately, so I figgered a new shirt was in order.

I'm going to finish off my round dish cloth before I crash out for a few hours. I have a feeling it's gonna be a really late {or rather early!} night tonight, so I better get some sleep!

YAY!!! A knitalong!

There's a small handful of us on the CKT list that are working on a dishcloth together... I've just finished binding off my fishy dishy, and am about to cast on my stitches for the Lacy Round Cloth. It looks kinda interesting.. hopefully it's not *too* hard!

Oh the trials and tribulations of being afflicted with the designing gene!!!

Well I started one of my design ideas yesterday morning... one of the projects I'd like to submit to Knitty for publication. After frogging it twice, I think I got it going. I *do* need to restart it yet again since I found another problem with the sizing. Sorry I have to be deliberately secretive since they won't consider stuff that has already been announced and such! I was wrong about the deadline.. I thought the next one was Novemeber 1st for the December issue, but it's actually October 1st... EEP!!! With luck I can get it done in less than 2 weeks... that is *if* I can get this project to actually work out the way I want!!! The next issue is warm weather wearables... I can come up with a few for that one, and I think the deadline on that one is Feb. 1st... lots of time!

Just when you think you've reached the zenith of human stupidity...

...along comes a Wal-Mart assistant manager and raises the level for everyone!!! *ROFL*

I can't give any names or anything{at least not in print!}, but my AM last night was the biggest dipshit of all time! For those of you that don't know, I'm an overnight stocking associate for one of the local Wal-Marts here in town, and I have difficulty dealing with both my AMs... too bad they weren't "human" like my support manager is!! Anyway, like in any place, night shift is when the major work goes on in the store. Shelves are stocked, merchandise of all kinds is received, store is thoroughly cleaned.... yada, yada, yada.

At work, the overnight maintenence crew usually has some bone to pick with the staff... coffee spilled on the floors, pallet jacks moved over freshly washed aisles... you get the idea. Nothing too extravagant or uncalled for at all but difficult to accomodate everything since things *DO* have to be moved and all. The latest beef that the cleaning crew has had is the scratching of the floors. Mainly it is caused by people not taking enough care when moving pallets and such. The guys spend a lot of time waxing and buffing the floors and such, and some of the staff can't be bothered to take an extra second or two to make sure that the floors aren't damaged when moving something. Common sense and common courtesy are in very short supply on my shift as you can see.

Every night at the beginning of our shift, we have our "morning" meeting where we are informed of all the stuff that Wal-Mart wants us to know about. These meetings are usually given by one of our AMs... or the support mgr. if there isn't an AM on shift that night. So the AMs are the ones that tell us to use a pallet jack to move store fixtures {4-ways}, and get help to stack empty pallets rather than dragging them. Well what does the daft idiot {herein known as Gonzo} do last night???? Not only has a store fixture moved without a jack... but enlists several associates to do it... and not just a 4-way either... it was a 28-foot section of shelving {that's 7 sections together as one, plus endcaps!}... all the way across the seasonal section of the store and into the action alley.... SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!!! I *swear* that floor was not only scratched in the relatively fresh wax {within the last 2 weeks}, but the tile beneath HAS to be gouged. I would have loved to see the store manager's face when he saw that this morning... AND when he found out who authorized the fixture move and such.

As if that wasn't the bone-headed move of the year... it gets better still. Usually after last coffee break the focus for the back-room stock associates is to clear the sales floor of skids. There is usually a certain way that stock is brought back so that it can be accessed if needed during the day {in the case of foods and other consumables}, left in the back for the following night or two {in the case of overstock} to reduce wasted time bringing out a skid that won't have anything on it that we need for the shelves, or skids that need to be brought out the following night {ones that weren't worked that night}.

The other AM knew that we were all clearing the foods area first {always our first priority}, and gave us instructions as to which other type of item was to go in which aisle in the back. Firstly, there was *WAY* too many skids of foods on the floor {which "Gonzo" had told the unloaders and the support manager to pull} since out of well over 30 skids, less than 6 were cleared. By about 6 am, we had less than ten foods skids pulled back, let alone anything else in the store. Gonzo tells one of my co-workers to start pulling back fabrics because there are 19 skids in there to come back... first of all, what the hell were they thinking putting out that many of skids in the first place {that area is about 6-8 max and usually 4}? and secondly... FOODS COMES BACK FIRST. My co-worker told Gonzo that there is still like 30 skids of foods on the floor... and continues on with what he was doing. Gonzo decides that fabrics has to come back NOW, and starts doing it himself. After Gonzo was told which type of item was to go in which aisle, puts all 19 of the fabrics skids {which need to come out tonight} in the aisle with the stuff that's not supposed to come out for at least 2 nights... WHAT A DIPSHIT!!!

What's really scary is that these aren't the only examples of this person's lack of intelligence of any kind... just another typical night I'm afraid! At least when it comes to this particular AM, it's not just me that's going nuts and pulling my hair out {like I do with the other AM}, but the entire shift just about! Oh well... I've had my giggle and my vent... back to your regularly scheduled blog entry... I've got a "something" I need to design to try and get published in knitty!!!

Why do weekends have to go so fast???

Man oh man... is it really Wednesday already??? It sucks when your weekend goes so freakin' fast. I feel like I haven't really accomplished a heck of a lot either, which feels even worse. I've gotten a bunch of laundry done, and some fish maintenence... that's about it around the house.

I've gotten a school of fish knitted up. I'm not sure whether or not I should be proud of that since that means I've been outside {probably smoking} quite a bit. I will update the sidebar later on with my fish count. I want to get some hot pink yarn at work tomorrow morning, and I'm gonna hunt for some purple yarn in my stash so that I can start sewing a few of these guys together. I've decided to go with a planned colour scheme {yes... changing my mind YET AGAIN!!!} for this project. I'm going to use the vari I bought as the basis for it. Not sure of the colour name ATM, but it's RHSS, a new colour... it's got hot pink, and three shades of purple in it. If you've been in the yarn aisle at WM lately, you can't miss it! LOL! I'm gonna turn it into a bedtopper or even maybe a bedspread for Lissa. Most of the bedroom-type stuff I've been eyeing up at work for her have been in this colour range, so I think it will be cool!

I looked into the newest issue of Knitty... couple interesting patts this time around as usual. I'll be putting a blog button on the sidebar later on for it. Most importantly, I looked into their submission guidelines and joined their submitters group. Wish me luck in this one... it could get me some much-needed exposure.

Oh well... time for a quick smoke and then it's time to fold up a couple loads of these clothes so that the girls can put it away when they get home. I'll be back later probably with my new issues of FCEK&C and Vogue Knitting...

Last year's issue

Well I dug out last year's issue of Interweave Knits Crochet from the pile of magazines and pattern books on my desk. I'm leafing through it as I write this to look for any patterns of note.

Brave New Bra Top: the sample for this was crocheted in a shade of Patons Grace that I don't really like, but I do have a stash of it here. It calls for just 3 balls, so I'm sure that if I really wanted to, I could just go to Mike's and get some.
Tunisian Vest: again I don't like the colours that this unisex vest is done up in, but I'm certain I could find soemthing more to my tastes. I just dunno what I'd wear it with... give me time, I'll go buy something! LOL
Lace Dress: this is the pattern from Lily Chin for this issue. I like the idea of it, but I would be altering the pattern a bit if I make it.
Cranesbill Square Blouse: another pattern with possibilities...
Tapestry Crochet Bag: this one looks like I could do up several in different colourways to match what I'm wearing. Since I don't take a purse to work anymore, I'm used to only carrying the essentials with me when I go out... a tiny little bag is perfect for me.

After all this, it seems that last year's issue is a lot like this year's... not a lot of WIMs out of it, but definite potential for new designs, or altering the shown designs to more of my liking.

Is there a light at the end of this tunnel???

I've been piddling and farting around here trying to get a few things accomplished and haven't seemed to have made much headway at all. I got Nus' and Nemo's tanks cleaned. I've moved Nemo into the bedroom. I still need to clean Dory's tank and decide where he will be going. I might just put him on my desk after all, but that will require a heavy duty cleaning of the desk first. I've finally got the laundry on the go, now I just need to arrange a place to fold it all that isn't in Derek's way since he's in a cleaning mood, and I'm safer steering clear of him then!

Anyway, here's the promised review of the latest Interweave Knits Crochet mag. It is labelled simply "special issue"... wasn't there one in the spring? Or is my memory going, going, gone?
Erm... I'm *REALLY* dense... I've got the last issue here on my desk. DOH!!! It's the 2004 issue, this one is 2005... so I guess it's gonna be an annual special. Okay, I'll shut the hell up now about my stupidity, I'll just give you my 2¢ {that's Canadian $ btw, so basically worthless with the current exchange rates!!!} on this issue.

Fingerless Gloves: thanks but no thanks.
Hyperbolic Plane: really cool idea, but nothing that I would ever need {or want!} to make.
Milan Dress: I can see this becoming a WIM. It's done in a WW wool/rayon, but I'm sure I could find something more suitable {translation: cheaper!!}.
Fever Tank: a way-too-cool halter tank... too bad I don't have the courage to try and wear something like this... no matter *how* much I have to drink on Monday nights!
Felted Folk Rug & Chair Pad: I'm sorry, but this felting fad just doesn't turn my crank... besides, I can't see me walking all over something I paid wool prices on.
Go-go Granny Bag: this bag can go-go outta here! I'm not really a granny square fan since they seem too stereo-typical. This bag is different, but I'm still getting childhood flashbacks with this one... too close to the 70s for me!
Zig-zag Skirt: this one is *really* close to being a WIM!!! The pattern calls for baby/fingering {#1 using those new yarn scales} weight which I only have in baby colours. It sits on the hips {which I *will* wear if my tank top can tuck in enough to cover the stretchmarks! *ROFL*}, but could easily be altered to make it higher on the waist, or out of a thicker yarn. Hmm... I wonder if a couple strands of crochet cotton would equal the fingering...
Fifth Avenue Jacket: a semi-tailored jacket. Designed by Lily Chin, it reminds me of the Chanel style... sorry, not my cup of tea. I can't see me *EVER* wearing something *that* conservative...
Shell Stitch Hat: a hat made from raffia??? This hat reminds me of the newborn hats I make, which are nice in their own right, but would I want to wear one??? especially out of this stuff??? No thanks, makes me think that someone squashed a berry on my head or sumlike.
Two-tone Bag: kinda neat... but I have no use for a bag that can carry my two youngest children... and one that takes up like 8 balls of yarn to boot... EEP!!!
Easygoing Hoodie: this one is another defo WIM. It's shown in a cotton/microfibre blend, so I wouldn't be able to use dishcloth cotton or regular acrylic for it. I'll have to find a suitable substitute since I really like this one.
Hemp Flowers Necklace: I've never been one for crocheted necklaces and the like, and this one is no different. If you are into it, this one is a bit different than usual... but you can keep it! LOL
Prism Shawl: nope, nope, nope!!! It's definitely a quick project, but not one for me! It's lacy and bulky at the same time, so it makes me think of that stereo-typical crap again, while not really being useful. The "dingle ball" trim can go too... can you say 70's Chevy Shaggin' Wagon???
Textured Tweed Clutch: umm... okay... a nice idea, but nothing I would want to take my time to make. I *could* take the basic style and turn it into something I do like... but it would be much easier to simply design exactly what I want!
Flowered Tea Cozy: kinda cute if you're into the Gramma's kitchen type of flowery look. My kitchen isn't flowered anymore so all those ends would NOT be worth the effort by any means!
Pirate's Jacket: all I have to say is this: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??? nuff said...
Toddler Poncho: yet another one of the bazillions of poncho patterns I've seen recently. I've seen tons better, even on freebie sheets, so I'll do on eof those if I'm gonna bother.
South of the Border Jacket: another tailored one... not my cup of tea...
Striped Scarf and Headband: a quickie project, but not one I'll be bothering with. If I had a daughter in high school, I could see me making these up by the dozens tho!
Retro Car Coat: drive this one back... PLEASE!!! Some retro is cool, some isn't... I'm putting this with the "isn't".
Extreme Earflap Hats: now these are something that I'd bother actually buying wool and trying to felt it for... too bad none of my kids would be caught dead in anything like this!
Oversize Pullover: hmm... I dunno... I mean I REALLY dunno about this one. It's nice, it's different, it's done with relatively normal fancy yarn {Paton's Divine}... but would I actually want to make one??? I dunno!
Colorwaves Pullover: this one's so plain and simple that you'd think I'd give it a miss... well you're wrong!!! I want to head to Michael's to price out this yarn since we don't have it at work! It caught my eye, and it would defo be a quick to make project for me... a weekend mebbe tops!
Flare Essesence Poncho: very, very few ponchos catch my eye, and this one's no different... if I'm gonna spend the money on a bunch of novelty yarn, I'll find something that I really like.
Ruffle Scarf {cover project}: a neat way to treat yourself to some fancy snob yarn {only two balls}... but nuttin I would use.
There's a couple interesting articles, including one on figuring out symbol crochet {I would LOVE to get my hands on that computer program for charting!!!}. Overall, not bad, maybe even better than last years... but the $10 CAN cover price makes it a treat buy, not a everyday magazine IMO.

Oh well... my dryer is buzzing at me like crazy {so much for a quick smoke break!}. I'll take a quick peek at last year's issue and give a contrast on that later... TTFN

Do I *really* have to do housework today?

I guess I'm gonna have to get off my duff and actually get some stuff done around here today! I did go out last night, so I got my usual "didn't get enough sleep" headache. And of course I'm being too bloody lazy to grab some Tylenol.

Ahh... much better! I went and got a fresh coffee and popped a couple pills. Hopefully they will kick in soon! Once I'm done this entry, I'll go have a quick smoke and then I *HAVE* to get some work done! Derek spent yesterday morning finding the kitchen... I *still* don't recognize it as part of my house!

I have to get laundry done today, and I want to get some work done in my bedroom. Derek wants Nemo's tank off of the kitchen counter, so I am going to put him on the nightstand where Dory is right now. Of course that means that I need to clean the nightstand and all that first, and where in the heck am I gonna put Dory? I would love to have him here on my desk {which was my first intent with fishies way back in March or whenever it was}, but the desk is way to wobbly for his little tank. I know for a fact that he would get dumped out within a week {if that!} and it would end up all over my computer and no Dory and all that horrible stuff.

More later... including my review of the newest issue of Interweave Knits Crochet!

It's the weekend finally!!!

Well *my* weekend anyway! Tonight is my pool night, and Derek is probably coming too... YAY!!! That means I don't have to be careful about how much I drink since he'll be doing the driving... DOUBLE YAY!!!

I decided on going with the larger needles for the fish. There wasn't a heck of a lot of difference in the way the larger two feel when I stretch them and such, but the actual needles themselves are a lot smoother to work with... decision made! I got a few done yesterday, I'll have to do a fin count to see how many I've got made with these needles.

I don't know what I'll do with the blue fishy I have, but I've got two beige ones made with the small needles that I can sew together and stuff into a fishy toy for Lissa!

Oh well... I just got up from my after work power nap and I'm in desperate need of a cup of coffee and a cigarette... bbl

There's something fishy here!

*Definitely* something fishy for sure! I just finished doing up another fish with my size 10 needles. Somehow this one seems to be cupped worse than the others! How in the hell did that happen?

I compared all three sizes of fish and I now know for sure I'm not going to bother with the size 8's anymore. I'm still undecided on whether I will use the 9 or 10. There is a bit of size difference, not much on a single fish, but enough that it would matter in the long run. I'm thinking: "bigger fish means less fish and afghan sooner", but at the same time I think I like the look and feel of the stitches better on the "size 9 fish".

I think I'm gonna grab a bite to eat and then {hopefully} pass out for a few hours. Maybe I'll be able to think better once I wake up... YA RIGHT!!! ROFL

Sleepless in Winnipeg...

As usual, I can't get to sleep and I'm beyond just beat. On both Friday and Saturday I got a good solid sleep... hell, you coulda set a bomb off next to me and I wouldn't have flinched! Quite the difference from my usual lately... 2 hours at a time max. Right now I feel like I haven't slept in a week and my feet are so sore they are numb {but not numb enough that I can't feel how much they hurt}.

I *finally* caught up with Lyz yesterday morning. I asked her about my knit fish problem, and now before I make any more, I need to try using an even larger needle. The first three I used a 8, and then I tried one in a size 9. The body is still cupping with that one so I will see if I can get one made with a 10 or a 10½ {5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 mm respectively} today and see if that helps. If not, then I'll just go back to the 8 or 9 and see how far I can "swim". It's not *that* big of a deal anyway, but if I can un-cup them before sewing them together, that's all the better.

Derek and I went out to do a bit of shopping yesterday, but that turned into window shopping since we couldn't find anything that we were looking for. =o( We also washed the truck so that he could wax it, so I got a few rounds done on my sock. I guess I better get working on those! i have tons and TONS of sock yarn that I want to use up...

Does the word "DUH?!?" mean anything to you???

Sheesh, sometimes I'm so dense I could rent myself out as uranium or sumlike! I was just taking a quick peek through my posts here and looked at the one I wrote YESTERDAY morning. It said that I didn't have any WW acrylic yarn at my desk. So that means that I started it YESTERDAY, not Wednesday! Although that's not too bad... 3 fish in about a day! Hmm... now if I could only limit myself to 3 candy fish in a day. Heck, who am I trying to fool??? I can't even limit myself to 3 HANDFULS!!!! *rofl*

Okay... I better get some rest before work! *UGH!*

I got fishy!!! Fishy, fishy, fishy!!!

Well I couldn't resist the pattern anymore and I started my fish afghan on, umm... Wednesday I think. Man, it sucks working midnight shift, you never know what day it is, especially when your weekends are during the week!!! Anyhoo, the pattern is easy even for a newbie like me, and even when I'm overtired! I just finished my third fish while out for a smoke.

The first one I made I used some of the blue varigated that I have for my knitting bag. Right now I'm finishing off a leftover part of a ball of beige. I bought some cool vari's today that I'm also going to incorporate into the 'ghan.

I think this will be my main "going out for a smoke" project for a while... maybe I'll keep a "tote board" on here for how many fish I've got swimming!

Just keep swimming... just keep swimming... just keep swimming!!!

Just call me fish face!!!

Sheesh... I'm so fishy these days I might as well grow gills and fins! I found this cool fish afghan pattern a while back, it was sent as a link to one of the groups I belong to and I've been eyeing it up ever since. I'm pretty sure it's within my abilities, and will be a great way to use up some of my scraps around here. What I find really strange is that I don't have any WW scraps of acrylic here at my desk, just some tidbits of cotton, or acrylic in different weights, as well as a ball of 100% wool that's asking me if I'm ever gonna use it for socks or not!

On a fishy note, Nemo seems to be doing a bit better. He's still not happy about having the air turned on in his tank, but that's just too bad! He spends a lot of time just hiding in his bell cave... guess those air bubbles just won't leave him alone! LOL

Gotta run!

Fishy Dishy to Keep My Mind Off of Sick Fishy... =o(

Well Nemo isn't doing too good today. I noticed that his tank had a *very* bad case of algae growth. I changed half of his water last night and put on the air pump. He can't stand the movement in the water, but it needs the circulation right now. He doesn't seem to be swimming right, and I think his face is whiter than usual. It's pretty silvery, so I'm going to try and not worry about that right now. At least his back is 100% healed up, and he absolutely loves the bell cave I bought him to use instead of the one that scraped his back to begin with. He still comes to greet me whenever he sees me, so that's a good sign too. The other two fish are doing quite well. Dory is going nuts swimming laps {as usual!}, and Nus still plays hide-and-seek with everybody. He will come out and look at me sometimes, and he won't always wait until I've put the lid back on his aquarium before he comes out from his plant to eat the food I've given him!

I started a granny's fave cloth on Monday out of some really cool {and BRIGHT!!!} cotton I had picked up in the spring. This particular colour is a vari of lime green, electric blue and yellow. Sure cheers up a dreary job! I finished off that cloth earlier today and decided to make a fishy dishy out of it too... in honour of Nemo.

I finished the second sock for Rebecca on Sunday and cast on the stitches to finally make me a pair. Unfortunately, I kept procrastinating and I didn't get the toes grafted in time for the girls to wear their new socks for the first day of school today. That's okay, because I went out with my friends on Monday night to play pool, and Derek and I went out last night to play pool and had a blast.

Our latest additions!!!

Sheesh... what kind of fishy mom am I anyway? I haven't posted pics of my bettas, better known as Siamese fighting fish, yet! Anyway... here goes!
This one is Dory, our first betta. He likes his little tank and swims laps incessantly! He also doesn't like Derek very much, as he tends to "show" whenever Derek looks at him! He is actually the freindliest of our fish, and the kids just love him. It's sooo sweet to see Lissa go running into our room and call "fishy, fishy, door-wee, door-wee".
This one is Nemo. He is also pretty active... to the point that he's gone and scraped his back up pretty badly. He was swimming in and out of his cave, and got his back pretty good. I got Nemo when Derek decided that he had to have a fish... since I was having so much fun with Dory! Thank heavens for Buy One, Get One deals at the fish store! All Nemo cost us was the tank... the toys... the food... hmmm... not quite so free after all! *LOL*
Next there's Nus... he's Derek's fish. He lives up to his name {Nus means wolf} by being a loner and and very wary of everyone. He's starting to get used to me, and will even come out of his plant to eat when I'm standing there!
Dory is the only one of the three that will eat flaked food, and none of them will eat the pellets. We finally got the other two eating bloodworms, and of course Dory goes nuts for those too! While out hunting for some complete food that they all liked, I found a really neat fish store that breeds bettas. Some of the colours they had there were simply stunning, as well as ones with fringed tails. I can see a Marlin and a Bruce coming home soon! *ROFL*

I've gone socky!!!

Well in my endeavours to cut back/ quit smoking, I've been going outside to have a smoke instead of sitting here at the pooter chain-smoking all the time. I bring my sock out with me and I'm getting about 5 or more rows done on it each time! For the second sock of the second pair, I've got about 15 more rows until I start the toe shaping, so with luck, I'll have that done and I'll be able to graft both socks tomorrow when I get home from work and take some pics then. These ones are Jackie's and I did them up with Bernat Sox in Hot Tamale. One ball makes one pair, and these are my first ones ever!!!

It's Derek's payday today and I have a *ton* of running around to do. I'm hoping to hit a different WM {or three!!} to see what yarn they have on clearance. I'd love to get my hands on some more of the RH Casual Cot'n. That's what I made my top out of and I have a few other things I'd like to make out of it. And of course, I can always use more sock yarn! *LOL* The regular price at WM is about $3.24 and it should all be on clearance for $2 a ball. That should keep me socking for quite a while {I'm *not* going to mention the {at least} a dozen balls of it I have in the craft room ATM *teehee*}.

OH WOW!!! While going to grab the link for the pattern for these socks, I found a new pattern on the Bernat site for ones done in worsted weight... YAY!!!! It looks like the pattern is multi-sized, so that means socks for everyone... ohboyohboyohboy!

Hmmm... wonder what we did to upset her?

Geesh... it's been MONTHS since I've been here! But I guess a lot of that has to do with my state of mind lately. There's been a lot going on, and I've been going through a pretty major slump design-wise. I've been mostly knitting lately, and I've got the bug for patterns that combine both knitting *and* crochet. The top I found on the Coats site sure worked up beautifully! All I need to do is finish up the lace edging on one sleeve and sew it up. Then I've got a new going out top for my Monday night adventures!!!

Anyhoo... I designed a camera sock this week. I'm quite impressed with myself and want to keep up with the designing and getting stuff done and all that! You can find it here. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Oh well, I'm *supposed* to be sleeping {or at least resting} right now since I called in sick to work with more chest pains... out!! out!! with me and I'll get some sprucing up done on the Bistro site and on here tomorrow and over the weekend I hope. I've seen sooo many cool blogs lately, and I want a cool one too! *whine*

Laters!!!