Therapeutic Monkeys

Today was the funeral for my friend's mom.  It was very sad, but my friend did a great job on the eulogy and held up well....

I have been thanked over and over for the monkeys.  The boys have had held onto them since I gave the monkeys to them. 

They did not have them with them at the funeral today, but they took them to church yesterday and had them during the wake last night....

I do not have permission to post D's picture, but I can post one of A.  This is about 2 hours after I had given them the monkeys on Saturday.

Which Blogs?

How do you choose the blogs that you follow or read regularly?  I've found that I read many blogs that are the complete opposite of my life.

I would never become a farmer or learn to live from the land...and as a public school teacher, obviously, I wouldn't homeschool.  But it is interesting to read about these things.  I admire people who want and can do this...but it's just not for me.

The majority of the blogs I do read have something to do with knitting and crochet.  That is very interesting to me and I find lots of new patterns and yarns....and I've made some good online friends....

I also found some artistic blogs through the One World One Heart meme I did last year....

I also like to read blogs of people who live in vastly different places than me.  I love to see and read about new places, new cultures, etc...

When I was in high school, I had 25 international penpals and 5 American penpals...I still keep in touch with Tone in Norway, although now it's mostly through Facebook and email. 

Blogging for me seems to be an evolution of that penpal experience.  Although I know that some of the blogs that I read do not read my blog, that's okay.... And it definitely a version of a journal/diary for me....I tried keeping a diary all of my life and was never successful....this works for me...

I don't tend to hit the follow button on blogs, but if it's one that I want to revisit, I put them in my sidebar.  I like that it tells me when there has been an update.  In fact, I have been cleaning the sidebar up and need to do that to my follow list too...

My other question is when you go to visit a blog that you read regularly, do you go back and read the post that you missed?  I do....I hate missing out on things...

And lastly, when you visit a blog, do you leave comments?  I've noticed that I sometimes I have many pageviews, but not many comments.  I always try to leave a comment, even if I have to read a few posts.  I rarely leave a blog without commenting....And anyone who visits me, I will return that visit (although I had an issue with Google+ blogs a couple weeks ago)

Please leave me a comment with a blog that you love to read and why.....

Monkey Here, Monkey There

I have completed the monkeys....

The one in the white hoodie is for my friend's son Aiden.

The other is for the child, D, that they sponsor during the summer....

Although they are cute, having made two in about three days...and three (altogether) in the past month...I am a little monkey'd out.....

Enjoy some Jonathan Coulton - My Monkey

Tired

Today we are suppose to get lots of this...

and it has just started....

There is also the possibility of this

(how cool a picture!) - taken in Florida in 1991

Then it will be this...

back to heat and high humidity....

And I'm tired today...really tired...

I finished one monkey and another to go....

What's the weather like for you?  Hope you have a fabulous day!

Yarn Over and Wednesday Projects

This week I have been supporting my friend who has just lost her mother.  I have not been quite as busy as usual, but still have worked on a few things.

I have finished one of my Camouflage socks, and started the second.  I am having issues with heels, they are always too big...I have skinny feet....

The red circle at the front is a beret that I am adapting from a 1964 pattern.  My Mother gave me my Mémé's old craft magazines many years ago.  One of the challenges in Nerd Wars this month is to adapt something from an old pattern.

I thought the hat was very cute, but when I first followed the pattern, it was coming out like a tiny bobble, so I ripped it out and started modifying it.  Then I had to rip it out again because it was way to small and would sit like a pillbox type hat on my head....but I didn't want that...so now I am on my third try.  I love this yarn and color, so I want it to work....

The granny squares are my dissertation for Nerd Wars.  I am creating a Granny Square Tunic using alpaca farm yarn, except the dark purple.

The dark brown blob in the middle is the start of another Monkey.  I have previously made two monkeys here and here.  I am making two more....one for my friend's son (who just lost his grandmother) and one for the boy who is staying with them right now.  He is a boy from NYC.  When my friend was a child, her parents participated in the Fresh Air Fund.  The child, D, that my friend hosts now is the nephew of the boy that her parents hosted....it is absolutely wonderful!  Yesterday I took both boys to the store and let them pick out the colors for their monkeys and I need to finish those ASAP, as D goes home on Sunday.

What am I reading?

I went to a local used book store on Monday and found Jane's Fame:  How Jane Austen Conquered the World  I have just started it....and I am still plugging away at American Gods

What are you doing this week?  Please check out the other projects at

Adventures with Wilkey and Violet

When we went to Tennessee earlier this year, the Hubs brought Wilkey with us.  It surprised and delighted me.  So now Wilkey accompanies me on my trips.  I decided to make my niece a companion monkey for the trip.  She named her Violet.  Here are some of their adventures on the Florida trip.

Chilling during the car ride

At a rest stop along the way

After eating BBQ on the Georgia/Florida order.

Riding the pedicab around the Mall in DC

Taking the Metro into DC for the day.

At the Holiday Inn Express in Virginia, where we lost power.

Taking pictures

Having a Monticello root beer

Teasing the dinosaur in the window at Downtown Disney

Getting comfortable at another hotel with some friends.

Suessland at Universal

As you can see, they had fun too,,,,

The Miranda Hat

Awhile ago, Evelyn of Project Stash posted a charity KAL.  She gave away a pattern and asked that you make as many hats as possible by Sept 30 and then donate them.

I'll be donating mine to my school.  I did this last year too...Many of our students do go hatless.  I teach in one of the poorest districts in Connecticut.  Many times the parents just have enough money to buy coats and mittens/gloves.  Hats, many times, are not purchased.  So last year when there was a challenge on Nerd Wars and I wrote about my school, I had a few people donate hats.  I give the donations to our social worker (yes we have a full time social worker) and she hands them out to students and families who need them.  I get a bit of a thrill every time I see one of the students wearing one of the hats.  Since we are a preK-8 school, all sizes are needed...because have you seen the size of some 8th grade boys?

I finished my first hat on Wednesday evening.  It was a quick and easy pattern, although I got lost a few times and had to RIP back a few rows...I'm going to make a few of the smaller size now....

It is hard to see the pattern in my pictures, I apologize for that....

Every time I finish a new knitted project, it's a bit of a thrill.  I do tend to pick projects to learn new skills.

I also continue to work on my beaded Camouflage socks.  I finished the beaded section last night and am on the heel.....woo-hoo....

Please visit...

Hooks

As a new knitter, I am still figuring out what type of needles I prefer....I have used DPN's, circulars and straights.  Some of them in wood/bamboo and some in metal...I'm still not sure, but the metal does hurt my fingers more..

But as a hooker, I have definite preferences..I prefer an in-line head on my hook.  So I usually prefer Bates hooks over Boye hooks, although I have both types. And my preferred size is an I or 5.5 hook.

I definitely prefer wood over aluminum and both are vastly preferable over plastic (shudder)

I have also bought some "fashion" hooks over the years, hooks I will probably never use, but it is fun to have them.

I apologize that the pictures are crappy.....I took them inside and we don't have the best lighting at times...

A Lacis Abalone hook.  I bought this at Stitches East last year.  It's not very comfortable to hold, so I will probably never use it.  And I think it is too delicate to use.

Another Lacis hook.  This one is some kind of bone.  Also bought it at Stitches East.  I've never tried working with this, but I would think it would slide really well.  However the shaft is very short.






I do have some metal hooks.  These are most, but I keep my hooks with my projects, so they are not all that I own.

My favorite metal hooks are the Bates hooks with bamboo handles.  I find them more comfortable on the hands and fingers.

These are kept in the hook holder my friend Amy made for me.  I picked out the fabric.

I love these kind of holders.  I had bought one previously, but it didn't have a flap and the hooks would fall out.








I also bought some gorgeous Grafton Fibers (Dyakcraft) hooks before the whole issue with Knitpicks. I have never ordered from Knitpicks, but I always think it's crappy when big companies do this to smaller companies.  My husband owned a mom and pop store that was partially affected by Walmart moving into town, among other things, and he had to close his store.

I have not used these hooks, but just love the colors...










My favorite hooks? 

Asciano hooks.  I got them both at the 2009 CGOA conference. One was the show hook and then I bought another from the vendor.  I have never seen these anywhere else...so I just have the two.

Lantern Moon...OMG!  These hooks are like working with butter...they are just amazing!  I have had a problem with one head having a chip in it, but I filed it down and it works.  These I can get at most LYS's now and because I love the hooks so much, these are also my preferred DPN brand too...I have more than these three, but they are with projects.  They don't seem to make the smaller or larger sizes or stores don't stock them.

With all of these wooden hooks, many are longer than aluminum hooks.  At this past Stitches East I was on the lookout a storage solution.  I found this.

It's a bag with a mesh front.  It's from Seabury Organizers.  It's a great case.









My other hooks...

Laurel Hill...I've used the square handles one and liked it, but don't tend to pick it up a lot.

The one on the right was the first one I ordered offline.  I don't use it, as the varnish that was used continue to make it sticky to use.

The middle hook was from CGOA 2008 (I believe) and is from Brainsbarn. It's a pretty hook, but a little too long with the bead.

The other is a large hook from Brittany hooks.

The last one I'm going to show you, is a basic D sized crochet hook, but I went to a meeting and we needlefelted the handles.  It was my first experience with needlefelting. Whoops, forgot the picture..

What are your favorite hooks or needles to use?  I'd like to hear some recommendations on both...

Hither and Yarn, Torrington, CT

So I was asked to blog about the closing of a local yarn shop.  Hither and Yarn in Torrington, CT is closing it's doors.  The owner has recently published a knitting book and will be working on designing.  Personally this has always been my favorite name for a yarn shop.

So I got the letter when I got home on Saturday.  The store is closed on Sunday and Monday, so Tuesday I headed off.....

Right now most of the discount is 20%.  I bought 4 books (I am now officially addicted to sock knitting books), some yarn, a circular and a shawl pin.

So I know most of my readers are not Connecticut residents, but if you find your way near there, stop in.  She still had quite a lot of stock left, especially an entire wall of Noro....

Now with the skein of Nerd Girls yarn that was waiting for me on my arrival and the Candy Skein I just ordered...I have added quite a bit to my stash over the past week or so....

and, of course, I stopped at my local, local yarn shop to let Mary know about the closing and picked up another skein of sock yarn....it's got sparkles...

:)

WIP and Yarn Over - home Edition

I am back home for this edition of WIP Wednesday.  Not much has changed from last week, as I was traveling for a part of it and when I got home, there were things to do..

Still working on my Camouflage socks.  I have gotten another repeat done.  I did have to RIP it back for a bit, but it is all good now.  So that is on the left.

My Miranda hat was also ripped back last night.  But it is now back to where it was in the photo.

I think part of it is I did most of the work at my Mom's, at night.  She doesn't have the best lighting for doing this kind of work, so I made mistakes.  The Miranda hat is still not exact, but I can live with it.  The third diamond is off by a bit...

What am I reading?  Well I picked up the "hot of the press" Indie Socks book at Yarn Explosion in Virginia....I love, love, love this book!  It has profiles of 24 indie yarn dyers.  Some are favorites (Lorna's Laces) and some are brand new to me. 

She takes yarn samples from the dyers and creates sock patterns to go along with the type of dye job on the socks.  She separates them differently than just the type of striping/pooling of the yarn.  She calls them mild, flavorful and spicy. I love the book!

The next book I started reading is Shirley Busbee's Scandal Becomes Her.  I'm a fan of historical romances.  I don't read modern romances, just historical.  Busbee is a favorite.  This is a new series...I still need to get the other two in the series...

I'm also still plugging away at American Gods on the nook.....

As always, please head to visit Tami and Ginny....

Yarn Explosion Roanoke, VA

The last stop on my going home yarn store tour was Yarn Explosion.  This shop was recommended by a Ravelry friend, The krazysheep.  She mentioned they had a decent selection of yarn....an understatement.  They had a fabulous selection of yarn!

The store was in a one story house.  It was a little bizarre, but I think all the houses on this street had been converted to businesses.

There was so much to look at in this store and it took up several rooms of this house.

                 

They also had a room with embroidery and needlepoint materials.

They were also supporting local artisans by displaying their works for sale...

They even had materials in the bathroom! :)

It was pretty easy on, easy off to the highway..and so friendly!  If you are in the area, you definitely need to make a stop here....

I had a wonderful time visiting all of these yarn shops.....I came home to the news of a long standing yarn shop closing its doors.  But she is giving a private sale to returning customers for a week, so I'll be heading there today....