New Tape Measures are listed!

All of the new tape measures are now listed in my etsy store finally!! I am also thinking of some new designs for these little things... it's a surprise though! he he!! Now I have you all in suspense! I have some yarn on order, I'll post them as soon as I get the yarn & a couple of them made up.....

Well, they were all listed but someone snagged two of them within 5 minutes!! WOW! Now I have to get a couple more made up. :)

Contest! Contest!!

GeorgeAnne is having a little contest.... she is trying to "Spread the Word" about the SanDiego Wildfire Project. Go over to her blog Hook & Needles and check out her post about the contest, you can win stitch markers!! Woo Hoo!!

And go check out the San Diego Wildfire Blanket Project if you want to participate, they are requesting 8" knitted or crocheted squares to be made into blankets for families that lost everything in the fires.... click on the photo below to go to the Blanket Project blog...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I'm back.... at least I think I am! Busy weekend traveling & visiting with friends & family. Then waiting for me when I got home was all of the "weekend stuff" I didn't get done, like TONS of laundry, cleaning, etc.... The hubby & I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at home, just the two of us. Then I headed out of town for my visits. Thought I'd share a couple of photos of the cuties that I met this weekend....


This first photo is of Abby, sadly she left this world for a much better one this past summer. She was Beth's (my best friend since kindergarten) baby, and is soooo missed!! But we will always remember her. It would have been just wrong to post the other photos without mentioning her first, she was such an important & cherished part of their family.....



This second photo is of Lennon, isn't he beautiful??!!! He is the senior child, I believe he is 16, Beth will correct me if I'm wrong. :)


Ok, now on to the newest members of the family.... you are just going to LOVE these cuties!! How could you not? Just look at them! :) Here is Starr, she is a Golden Persian. (forgive me if I don't get the exact name of the particular colors, I just know they are the most precious things I have seen since I brought Jazzy home!!)

And this last photo is of the adorable Lucy, she is a Silver Shaded Persian.....

I really, really, really enjoyed my visit with my friend Beth & her family. And while I just love cats of all ages, there is nothing like spending time with kittens!! They are so much fun & full of energy & spunk. :) I'm also glad that these babies have found their way home to their new family, they will be well spoiled there, I know Beth & Les!! he he!

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And lastly, I will have some sock knitting updated photos soon!! I have frogged the heel of the red sock twice now!! The first time it was too big, the second time I created a horrible pucker at the ankle, I think I have it figured out this time. I should be ready to take another photo tomorrow, if all goes well knitting tonight.....

In Memory Of:

I have been reading my friend's blogs the past couple of months and it is just so sad that so many have lost beloved furry family members. My heart goes out to each & every one of you. I truly know how you feel.

It never fails to provoke a fond memory of my own loved family members who have crossed the rainbow bridge. I miss each one painfully still but I have such wonderful memories & can't imagine what my life would have been like without them......

Theodore.... my loving companion & best friend for 13 long years. I will miss you always, you were such a wonderful, cuddly, fat boy who was always there for me.

Harley..... Such a funny, smart, sweet girl. My Hubbie's constant companion & the entire family's joy. You became such a special part of our lives in your short 11 years, you were taken from us way too soon but we where so glad we had you in our lives for the time we were given. You & Theo were such good friends while you were here with us... now you are together again.

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And we are so thankful for Jasmine, she has become such a wonderful, joyful part of our family. She doesn't take the place of those who have left, she fills a new place in our hearts. :)

Three Arrivals & One Departure

What a wonderful thing to come home from work and have packages waiting for you!!! I just love getting packages full of knitting goodies!!

I received my "Sock Project Bag" from Elizabeth today, it is totally awesome!! Check out all of the goodies that were in the bag when it arrived.... A sweet card from Elizabeth, super soft purple sock yarn (3 of them!), lotion, pens, stickers, 3 sets of note cards, 2 mini notebooks, knitting needles, yarn needles, a zippered pouch to put all my little bits in the bag with, chewing gum & lip gloss!! What a great package, I thought it was my Birthday again!! Thank goodness it wasn't, ha ha!

Check out this great bag she made for me..... it is green & brown, it has 2 pockets on the outside (the little mini notepads fit in those like they were made for it), a shoulder strap & two mini tabs for a grab-n-go feature. The lining is incredible, Elizabeth's sewing abilities far exceed mine!! :) The pretty sunflower lining has 2 pockets in there too with a really neat drawstring closure.

What makes the bag so special is that Elizabeth made it especially for me, and it is AWESOME!! I'm going to go put my "red socks" project in there right now! Aren't you guys jealous that I have such a wonderful bag??? Na na na na.... JJ :P I will think of Elizabeth often while using my new bag. She put such thought into the bag and all of the goodies she sent. I'm so honored!!

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Ok, on to arrival #2.... I received a package from my Seasons & Celebrations Stitch Marker Exchange pal, Joye.

Joye sent a book by Sandra Brown that I actually haven't read! I read a lot of books!! A super cute Santa bookmark, check him out in the photo, isn't that just too cute!! :) A Christmas pen & pencil, a calendar to keep track of all my swaps (I need it bad!), a flip flop note pad & 4 sets of stitch markers!! 2 Christmas sets, one set with little gift beads & one set of cutie charms, a set of fall stitch markers & a set of Valentine heart markers, one of them has a little charm that says "love". Joye, you are awesome! I just love everything and the markers are really sweet, I'll get tons of use out of them!

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Here is the Departure: These are 2 washcloths/dishcloths that I made for an angel package for the Dishcloth Exchange. I used the same pattern that Terri used for the ones she sent to me. Great pattern, very easy & knits up quick. This angel package will be in the mail tomorrow, I hate that it is so much later than everyone's original packages, I hope this makes up for not getting one sooner.

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Oh, one more arrival.... late to post this one! Super Duper Terri sent me an extra package of goodies after the original box. She included this wonderful night light & some pink flamingo soaps! Isn't she great, or should I say "Super Duper"!! Thanks Terri, I'm so glad that I met you through the exchange!!! She is becoming a wonderful friend indeed!! No, not because of all the wonderful goodies she sent, those are a bonus! I would have liked Terri even without all the "stuff"!! :)

Water Bottle Koozie FREE Pattern

Here is a simple pattern that I designed. I used Schachenmayr Punto yarn which is a little thinner than Worsted Weight, but feel free to use whatever cotton you have on hand. You can make it with 2 colors like I have, or use 1 color, or make stripes if you want, have fun with it. I have also included a 2nd option at the bottom if you would rather not have the leaf pattern on there. If you find any problems with the pattern please let me know & I'll get them fixed. I have used mine many, many times & I just throw it in the washer & dryer with the rest of the laundry and it comes out great every time. I like to freeze my water then it will melt & stay cold for a long time in this!

I am working on creating this same pattern but starting at the top & working down to the decreases instead of starting at the bottom & increasing... I will post that here when it is finished. I'm thinking that might be a bit easier.

Thanks!! Hope you enjoy the pattern!!

Bottle Koozie
Pattern By Anita Moore

US size 6 (4mm) double pointed needles, set of 4
You could also adapt this pattern for 2 circulars, just divide the sts in half
Tapestry needle
Stitch marker
Schachenmayr Punto yarn: 55% Cotton / 45% Acrylic – 50 gram ball / 90 meters – 18 st x 26 r
For 2 color coozie: 1 ball - color #73 (Color A)
1 ball - color #72 (Color B)
For 1 color coozie: 1 ball – any color

Guage: 4”x4” = 24 sts x 30 rows in rib pattern (k3, p3)

With color A cast on 8 sts, place marker, join to form a circle
Round 1 – Knit
Round 2 – *K1, increase (increase by knitting into the front & back of same stitch), repeat from * around – 12 sts
Round 3 – Knit
Round 4 - *K2, increase, repeat from * around – 16 sts
Round 5 – Knit
Round 6 - *K3, increase, repeat from * around – 20 sts
Round 7 – Knit
Round 8 - *K4, increase, repeat from * around – 24 sts
Round 9 – Knit
Round 10 - *K5, increase, repeat from * around – 28 sts
Round 11 – Knit
Round 12 - *K6, increase, repeat from * around – 32 sts
Round 13 – Knit
Round 14 - *K7, increase, repeat from * around – 36 sts
Round 15 – Knit
Round 16 - *K5, increase, repeat from * around – 42 sts
Round 17 – K3, P3, around
Rounds 18 - 21 – Repeat round 17
Round 22 – Switch to color B, repeat round 17
Rounds 23 – 31 – Repeat round 17
Round 32 - 33 – Switch to color A, repeat round 17
Round 34 – 37 - Knit
Round 38 – K2, *work leaf: insert needle 4 rows down & 3 sts over to the left, K1, pulling a long loop up to current row & put on left needle, YO on right needle, insert right needle into same st below, K1 pulling loop up and putting on left needle, YO on right needle, insert right needle into same st below, K1 pulling loop up & putting on left needle, now K3 loops & 1st st on left needle through the back loops together, then slip both YOs off right needle and over st just made; K4, repeat from * around.
Round 39 – 40 – Repeat round 17
Rounds 41 - 45 – Switch to color B, Repeat round 17
Rounds 46 – 54 – Switch to color A & repeat rounds 32 - 40
Rounds 55 – 64 – Switch to color B, repeat round 17
Bind off in pattern, use your beginning tail to cinch up the hole in the bottom.


For 2nd option – Ribbed pattern without leaf detail
Same pattern but substitute rounds 34-40 with following:

Round 34-40: repeat round 17

Missing the puppies...

Just a quick note & a couple of photos...


These guys hang out with me at work every day, they are the owners dogs. Doppler (the older, heavier guy) & Mack (Mack is still a puppy, just about a year old now). They are both sweet, Doppler is pretty much a lounger, his job is to greet all of our customers and get a scratch on the ears from them. :) Mack's job is to "try" to stay out of trouble! ha ha!! He runs around like a mad man, stealing things off the shelves to chew on, and generally makes a nuisance of himself, but he is soooo cute when he is doing it!!

The owners here have been out of town this week so the doggies haven't been here, it sure is lonely without them!! Can't wait till they get back next week & things return to normal.

We have Winners!!

Jazzy & I drew names last night & we now have 2 winners for the Tape Measure contest! (Most of you decided that you would rather have 2 winners instead of 2 tape measures for one person)

The winners are Jessi & Carla!

I'll contact them to see what colors they want. I had a real hard time drawing names, I really wanted to send everyone one!! :)

Update on Red Socks...

Jasmine & I are having trouble sleeping so we thought we would take a few photos...

I will have to take more this weekend when I can get some good light, the flash just isn't showing the sock to it's full potential.

Click on the little photo, maybe it will get big enough for you to actually see the cables.

Even Jazzy thinks the yarn smells good!!! :)

Multi-Tasking....

I'm having a hard time doing 2 things at a time.... or should I say adding one more thing to the millions (it seems!) of things I have going at the moment.

I am still working on my red socks, coming out beautiful!!

I'm working on another dishcloth for a secret pal who didn't get their package yet. :(

And I've been working on getting some things up on Ravelry, so check me out over there (yarndemon) if you want to see what I've been up to lately. I haven't forgotten about my blog, just seems to be so much going on that I just can't get to them all at the same time! :) I'll be posting my progress on the socks soon!!

Tape Measure Contest Update...

Ok everyone.... you guys that have entered the contest, Mommie of Drew brought up another option.... would you guys like the 2 tape measures (one for you and one for a friend) or would you rather have me & Jasmine draw 2 names out for 2 different winners? Majority rules....

Only 5 more days to get a post in for the contest!!! Spread the word! Click on the photo here to go to that post.....

NOTE: You don't have to live in the US, I will ship other places too! :)

I started some socks!!

Well, I finally chose a pattern for that wonderful red yarn from Sand in my Stitches. I didn't go with the Clessidra pattern, it called for size 1 needles, that was a bit small for this yarn & I'm just not good enough yet to modify a complicated pattern like that yet. Instead I chose the 3x3 Cable with moss stitch sock pattern from the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I am modifying this pattern to make them knee socks. I have another pattern for knee socks that starts with a larger needle & changes to smaller ones as you go, instead of decreasing, so that is what I'm trying. We'll see what happens!!

Sock Project Bag

Here is a little bag I made for a bag swap at the Bag-A-Holics group.... this is my own pattern, I couldn't find one the right size for a sock project bag.... they were either too big or too small. I sure hope Elizabeth likes this one, she picked the colors. Oh, I also lined this bag, I hate lining bags, I'm just not real good at sewing! :) I lined it with some fun satin animal print & put a pocket in there. It also has a small pocket on the front & back of the bag, I made the buttons with polymer clay. They have magnetic closures & the main part of the bag does too.... another finished project!! YEAH!!

The most beautiful sock yarn in the whole world!!

Would you just look at this.... this has to be the most beautiful yarn I have ever seen!!! Really, I'm not joking.... this stuff is incredible!! It even smells good! :) I got this hand-dyed yarn from Super Duper Terri's etsy store, Sand In My Stitches.

I stole this photo from Terri's shop, her's was much better than mine.... I'll try to take one this weekend when I can get one in the daylight.

I'm trying to find a pattern worthy of this beautiful yarn... I found this one at Knitty, Clessidra, a bit challenging but I'm liking it..... I'll keep looking just in case I find one I like better, any suggestions you guys have would be welcome. :)

Aren't you jealous of me, no need to be, you can get your own wonderful yarn from Terri. Go chat with her, I'm sure she could hook you up with some of her awesome yarn!!

Mystery Swap Package has arrived!

I received my Mystery Swap Package from Marisol today!! YEAH!! You will notice that one of the cute pumpkin cookies has a bite taken out of it, I can honestly say that they are yummy!! :) She also included 2 sock patterns & some beautiful yarn... a skein of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, a skein of sooooo pretty Lorna's Laces purple & aqua yarn, & 2 skeins of Art Yarns Supermerino sock yarn.... some cute sweater needle protectors, & some delicious (I've already eaten some!) Starbucks Milk Chocolate Caramels.

Thanks so much Marisol!! I love everything & I can't wait to get some socks started with that yarn!!

So much yarn, so little time....... he he!

Newest Addition, Froggies

Here are my latest stitch markers... little Mini Froggies. They are only 1/2" tall, real cutie pies.

I have socks!!

I finally got those "Simple Socks" done!! WooHoo!! Now I need some cool weather so I can wear them!! :) I'm not a fanatic about having the patterns match up but while I love the feel of this yarn I think the patterns are a little wonky. I like the sock on my right foot much better....

Only you fellow sock knitters can appreciate how difficult it is to take photos of your own feet!

I am a Knitting Guru

While blog surfing, I came across this quiz on Kimberly's blog... thought I'd give it a whirl. It says that I'm a Knitting Guru - ha ha!

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.

Take this quiz if you want to see what kind of knitter you are...

Finished one UFO

I've had a bit of ADD going on here lately.... I've been so excited about sending & receiving packages that I haven't been able to concentrate on one project for very long. Lets just say I did have about 20 UFOs going (I should be ashamed!), now I probably have 25!!! :-O

I suppose all of that sugar I've been loading up on here lately thanks to all of my swap buddies hasn't helped the skipping from one project to another situation any. I loved all of it though!!! I probably could have used a little restraint and not eaten it all so fast... I think I got the sweats from the sugar overload!! ha ha!

But........ I did complete one project!! I finally finished one of the dishcloths I am making for my kitchen, take a look.

Sand In My Stitches is open!

Everyone go over & check out Super Duper Terri's etsy shop!! She has lots of yummy yarn for sale!!