Alphabet Meme

When I read Janice's blog yesterday I found out she had tagged me for this Alphabet Meme :)
This is what I came up with:

The Alphabet Meme:

A - Available or Taken: Taken

B - Best Friend: my husband!

C - Cake or Pie: Cake, provided it has chocolate involved and it's made from scratch!

D - Drink of Choice: tea with milk

E - Essential item you use everyday: my glasses!

F - Favorite Color: green

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: not crazy about either...give me chocolate

H - Hometown: Boston

I - Indulgence: Lindt extra dark truffles

J - January or February: February

K - Kids & ages: 3 boys - 20, 14, 12

L - Life is incomplete without: love

M - Marriage Date or Most Memorable Date ( and why) : Wedding Date 5/19/84

N - Number of Siblings: 1 and 1/2 sisters

O - Oranges or Apples: oranges...minneolas are my favorite

P - Phobias or Fears: public speaking

Q - Fave Quote: "What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered." Ralph Waldo Emerson

R - Reason to Smile: my boys, especially my youngest...he has an incredible sense of humor

S - Season: Summer

T - Tag 3 or 4 People: If you read my blog, consider yourself tagged and join in the fun.. that is if you want to :)

U - Unknown fact about me: I have an extraordinary sense of smell...too sensitive for my own good some times!

V - Vegetable you don't like: green peppers

W - Worst Habit: spending way too much time on the computer than I should

X - X-rays: neck, back, chest, foot, hand

Y - Your Fave Food: Brigham's Irish coffee ice cream

Z - Zodiac Sign: gemini

What kind of knitting needles are you?

I just saw this quiz on Amy's blog and thought it would be fun to do this quiz.

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are interchangeable.Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every eventuality covered and every opportunity just has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and every day is a new beginning. You are good at so many things, it's amazing, but you can easily lose your place and forget to show up. They have row counters for people like you!
Take this quiz!

Calorimetry - slightly modified that is!

After finishing my second sock, I needed a quick and easy knit...so I decided to try Calorimetry from Knitty. The past few days have been so cold that I thought I might like wearing a head band. I'm not really into hats. My hair just never looks right after I take a hat off. I decided to use the one and only skein of Moda Dea Cartwheel - coral reef, which was one of the skeins that I got a bargain on ( $1.00 a skein) . Ok, so the pattern calls for 50 g. ball 93 yards...my yarn is 50 g. but 77 yards....I decided to take a chance. No such luck... ran out of yarn 4 rows before it was finished. I frogged it back and knit it just as the instuctions say once again, except I repeated row 5, 9 times in stead of 15. Now I had plenty of yarn...even ended up with a tad left over. Actually I think the pattern fits my head better a little narrower. I like it and I'm happy with the way it fits. Lucky for me I found a good button in my old button tin that was a pretty good match. Now I have a little something to keep my head warm on a cold and blustery day :)

happy knittng :)

P.S. Since we got little bit of snow overnight I took the opportunity to wear my brand new hand knitted socks for the very first time today with my duck shoes. They fit perfectly and my feet were nice and warm :)

New "Blogger" and a pair of new socks!

Well, I had quite the surprise when I logged into blogger this morning! They said I could switch now...really...and if I didn't want to do it NOW... I could go back to my dashboard, but I would only have one more time to go back and switch. Well, I went for it and it went through. I really didn't think anything would happen. I've hit that button so many times I couldn't even tell you the number! Guess they were sick of me :) I didn't even have to unsubscribe from my Mason-Dixon KAL and Zimmermania. I can still post to these blogs, but they will remain in the old version until the owners switch. I am hoping and crossing my fingers when I publish this page everything will be fine.
The other good news I have is that I finished my other sock. Now I have a handknitted pair of woolease socks, perfect for snowy days when I wear my duck shoes! No more cold feet for me.

If I said the second sock was knitted without a hitch I'd be lying! The first one went so smoothly that I surprised myself. The second one, well not so good. My first hint of trouble was decreasing the gusset. I made the mistake of doing this while watching "24". That was my first mistake. I ended up with one too many stitches on one side. Being the perfectionist (wanna be) I figured I better rip it back and fix the mistake. Ok, did that and then did fine until I hit the toe...kitchener graft. Well, I thought I could do it...do the graft with out looking at the instructions. Well, I was WRONG! That had to be ripped out, too, and that wasn't a very easy task. Now it's over and done with and I learned a lesson...don't get too comfortable yet with sock knitting ...I have a long way to go and a lot still to learn. Good thing I picked up my own copy of Sensational Knitted Socks (ACMoore- 50 % off coupon) last Tuesday!

Happy knitting :)

My first sock looks like it would fit the Jolly Green Giant!

Last night I finished my first sock! Since I have big feet (women's size 10) I made the sock about 1/ 1/2 inches longer in the foot. I like how they fit although I think they are a tad too wide for my foot. I think they will be perfect for my duck shoes as my feet are always cold when I wear them. Hopefully the snow will hold off until I finish my second sock and then it can snow, so I can try them out!

They look so huge in the pictures. They probably would fit the Jolly Green Giant better. I'll have to work on perfecting the sizing on my next pair. I do think this was a good pattern to try first. Doesn't the foot part look huge in this picture? Even though it is probably too big for me, I love it....feels very comfortable on and after all it's my first sock!
Today I took Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch out from the library.
Hopefully this book may give me the help I need to perfect my sock knitting. There is tons of pictures, information and techniques, as well as patterns. Maybe this is another book I should add to my knitting library?

Happy Knitting :)

Finally a nice (but cold) sunny day...

...to take pictures of my knitting! Guess winter (12 º F with a windchill in the single digits) is finally here and this morning I wore my winter jacket for the first time this winter. This is a first for me being able to wear a light jacket until the middle of January and very unusual for Massachusetts. Usually by November I'm wearing a heavy coat. Great while we had it, but now reality sets in!

Even though I finished this baby blanket several days ago, I've been patiently waiting for a sunny day to take a picture. It's still not the greatest. I have a hard time taking pictures of blankets :( This is my first official finished object of 2007!
I've also been working on my new knitting project. This is a picture of day three of my very first sock ever, not including Christmas stockings knit on two needles!
So far so good, as I'm using wool-ease and an easy pattern for my first pair of socks. Seems to be working out well...will let you know more in a few days or so. Then I'll have to broaden my horizons and try some other sock patterns. I have yarn for two more pairs of socks!

happy knitting :)

What kind of yarn are you?

To find out what kind of yarn you are click here.

I'm dishcloth cotton! I'm not sure if that's good or bad...I guess I'm just a plain Jane!

I thought this was kind of fun...what kind of yarn are you?

Wanted: Photos

Since blogger is making me wait to move over my blog, I have been having fun with my two new blogs, hakucho's gallery and hakucho's kitchen.

Currently I am searching for photos to add to my Knitting Friend's Gallery. You can't imagine how happy it make me feel when I see an item that someone has knitted from one of my patterns, so I thought it would be nice to have a gallery dedicated to these photos. If you have made an item from one of my patterns, please send me an email [ hakucho19(at)yahoo(dot)com] and I would be happy to post it in my new gallery!

I also am enjoying sharing what's going on in my kitchen. If you have the time please check out hakucho's kitchen to see what I have been up to :)

happy knitting and cooking :)

An item from my knitting past

Since I have no new finished knitted items yet to show you now, I thought it might be nice to show you something I made a very long time ago. This something is a hooded, bobble sweater. The pattern came from a old McCall's Needlework and Craft magazines. Did I save the pattern? - regrettably no. I didn't think I would ever make another one. Guess that sums up what I thought of the pattern back then!

Here's the picture, which was difficult to take without a model:
This is a sweater I knitted sometime before I was married. I can't remember when, but keep in mind our 23rd wedding anniversary is coming up in May. This sweater is probably one of the most complex sweaters I have ever knitted. It has a hood and built-in side pockets which are knitted into the garment, not sewn on after. I slipped in a calculator into one of the pockets so you can see it better.

Well, I'll leave you with this. I am working diligently on the baby blanket and hopefully I'll have a picture to post soon!

Happy Knitting :)

Well, I finally bit the bullet....

....and finally got up enough courage to switch my blog over to the new version of blogger! I even started up a new blog, a gallery of my finished knitted items, Hakucho's Gallery to try it out as a test blog. I've been playing with it and I really like what I have seen so far. Today, I did it ...I clicked on thebutton on my dashboardthat says I can go ahead and switch now. Well,they lied. I got a message back thatthe are not ready yet to switchmy blog. They are working on it. :( Am I disapointed...YES! I just don't understand...why would they say I can and then say I can't?

Here's the direct quote from my dashboard:
"Your new version of Blogger is ready!

The new version of Blogger now has all the original features you're
used to, plus new post labels, drag-and-drop template editing, and
privacy controls. And, it's a lot more reliable.

After you switch you'll need to sign in with your Google Account, but
your blogs will stay the same. Their content and layout will not
change."

This is the message I got after I clicked:

"Could not switch you to the new Blogger
Thanks for your interest in the new version of Blogger! Unfortunately, we cannot switch your Blogger account at this time, because one or more of your blogs cannot be moved.

While the new version of Blogger is no longer in beta, some users with certain types of blogs
will not immediately be able to switch to it. We'll be adding support
for these blogs as soon as possible, so everyone can join in the fun."

The only thing I can think of that might be the problem is that since I belong to the Mason-Dixon KAL blog and Zimmermania ...that's why I can't switch. Oh well, at least I have had the chance to play and try out the new version with my new gallery.I must say I really like the new gallery much better than the old one, that I fudged previously here in my blog. No new knitting to show offthere yet, but soon...

I am presently still working on my prayer shawl, knitted the long way. I only work on this outside the house when I have to sit and wait. I'm probably a little more than halfway done with
this. It won't be much longer before it's finished. Just a few more doctor's appointments, private music lessons and basketball games!

My new knitting project is a baby blanket or afghan for a gift that I need in February. I'm using Joann's Sensations Rainbow classic yarn - pastel, which is very soft and cuddly. The pattern is my favorite because it is really easy once you've mastered it, but at the same time there is enough pattern changes to make it interesting.
The pattern was my Mom's. She wrote out the pattern on index cards. I'm not sure where the pattern originally came from. Here are the original cards:
She has scribbled notes on the front and back of the cards. Actually the way she wrote and used the cards makes it very easy to follow and helps keep your place until to memorize the pattern. I love the pattern, the cards and I especially love and cherish the memories of my Mom. I'm really trying to stay focused and finish this gift, then I'll be free to do what ever I want...can't wait!