So many years!

So many years have passed by, so many things have happened. Here's a picture of one of my beautiful daughters modelling a hat that I made for a friend.

I thought I lost you!

and...

Sweet William

Happy Anniversary sweetheart! ¡Te quiero mucho!

I love the poem "Autumn" from Garrison Keillor, so in honor of your special place in my heart, I'd like to share it on my blog.

Here on an autumn night in the sweet orchard smell,
Sitting in a pile of leaves under the starry sky,
Oh what stories we could tell
With this starlight to tell them by.

October night, and you, and paradise,
So lovely and so full of grace,
Above your head, the universe has hung its lights,
And I reach out my hand to touch your face.

I believe in impulse, in all that is green,
Believe in the foolish vision that comes true,
Believe that all that is essential is unseen,
And for this lifetime I believe in you.

All of the lovers and the love they made:
Nothing that was between them was a mistake.
All that we did for love's sake,
Is not wasted and will never fade.

All who have loved shall be forever young
And walk in grandeur on a cool fall night
Along the avenue,
They live in every song that is ever sung,
In every painting of pure light,
In every pas de deux.

Oh love that shines in every star
And love reflected in the silver moon.
It is not here, but it's not far.
Not yet, but it will be here soon.



--Garrison Keillor

I need a nosewarmer?

Of course I do! And all of the group from the Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group on Ravelry.

I'm going to take some pictures in a few minutes and update them here, but I wanted to post this pic of me.

First Sock on 2 Circs

I need to pat myself on the back. O man, I can hardly believe I'm all the way down to the grafting of the toe on my first 2 circ sock. I used "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" by Cat Bordhi as my guide. The pictures and the directions are clear and were easy to read for a new sock knitter.The yarn is a skein of Lisa Souza sock yarn in the colorway "Lime n Violet" that I won in the "Beth's baby's Birthday Contest". I made it short on purpose because I wanted to get it finished fast and work on all the sections to make sure I understood the directions.

I had only made one pair of socks previously on dpns (update on 11/19: OK I previously made 2 pair. The hideous blue ones and the manicure socks that travelled with me to Arecibo in September. Those actually came out even. I just didn't have enough yarn to meake the toes.), so I wasn't particularly skilled. In fact, even though the first pair are obviously socks and can be worn, the two socks came out very differently and the only reason I didn't frog them is because "They are my first pair of socks, dammit!" I'm proud of this HIDEOUS creation!


I had two problems with the sock. The first was a hilarious "all turned around thingie" going on where the you pick up the stitches off the heel flap and the heel and start to decrease for the gusset. I had stitches everywhere! I used a couple of dpns to rearrange everything. If it happens on the second sock, I'll take pics. The second problem was with the grafting of the toe. The book is DISMAL in explaining the how-to of the grafting part. I'm sure I'll be struck down for saying that. Other than that, the book is AMAZING. A fairly new sockknitter like me can follow the directions and get all the way down to the toe!

I got the instructions for that part here:
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips
If you watch these videos and they're all choppy and starting and stoppng, just watch them a second time. They're seamless the second time around.

And for the best part, more sock yarn! Blue Moon wool/silk in 2 colors. I'd like suggestions for sock pairs 3 and 4!

Rebuild puppy???

Will LOLCATS/Dogs ever not be funny?

Feliz Dia de los Muertos

And Happy Birthday, Torii!

Autumn Arrives in Caguas.....

.....By way of the Netherlands. Today I received my first ever swap gift. I joined the Fall into Autumn dishcloth swap and Monique from the Netherlands was my super special pal. There's a beautiful woven cloth in autumn colors, a multicolored cloth that's made of soft cotton, a skein of delicate, multi blue colored Schachenmayr cotton, two beautiful candles, juniper soap and a cinnamon sachet. Everything is so pretty and special. I also had so much fun geting my secret pal's things together. I received a note from Pixie today that she received my package. Can't wiat 'til my next swap.

Flaming June is back

I had deleted her last month because some cowardly anonymous poster left a rambling post on my blog. I was so mad I couldn't even figure out how to delete their post, so I deleted the whole entry.

William and I visited the Museum of Art (El Museo de Arte) in Ponce last week for his birthday. Both of us had visited the museum separately in the past, but were so awed by the Rodin exhibit and of course, by Flaming June, we just walked around with our mouths wide open the whole afternoon.

YAY CAROL!!!!!

WHOOT! Our girl, Carol is no longer temporarily retired! You go, girl.

Go visit and congratulate her! And now, I'll bet she needs to have a litle SEX (Stash Enrichment Expedition) since she's been on a yarn diet.

It's 12:24 AM, so it's time for the Wednesday surprise!

Drum roll.....

This week's AH is Hugh Jackman who's preparing for his roll in the next upcoming X-Men Movie as Wolverine. Just amazing.

In knitting news, I've managed to screw up Clapotis #2 big time and didn't realize it until the very end. I worked the straight section until I got the length I wanted and then started the decreases. I was following the pattern that's written out as an MS Excel spreadsheet. What I have is about half of the decrease section(all on the left) that have no dropped stitches.

I'll take a picture and post it here after I get some sleep. Grrr.

Clappy as a sailboat!

It's so neat and pretty! I love clappy two as much as number one. They're both about the same amount done. While waiting for another skein to finish the first one, I decided to start the second. Also, I have next week's AH all ready. You guys are gonna flip!

I have no idea who this AH is... and a few days early to boot!

All I can say is "Ravelry leads you to the bestest places ever!" I was minding my own business looking at the bags,bags,bags group. The Betties all know what a fool I am for bags and purses. Someone posed a question about laptop bags and at the Golla site, here he was. Can.not.resist. I'm going to need a free pass... He can carry my laptop and my knitting in that bag!

Clappy visits the beach/Clappy visita a la playa

Undaunted by a cloudy, windy day, I took Clappy to the beach for some relaxation. Earlier in the day, I knew that I was coming to the end of the 1st skein of yarn and needed to find the 2nd one to continue. I had photographic evidence damnit that there were two skeins! My stash is one of the only organized things about me. Unable to find the hiding skein (here kitty,kitty don't you want to be a part of this extremely pretty Clapotis?), I set out on finding a replacement on the internet. How hard could it be to find Lana Grossa Mulitringel sock yarn in color 2213? I found every other color EXCEPT my color. A very sad e-mail to the betties explained my plight. Within minutes, Carol had come to the rescue! It was on one of my favorite, favorite sites: Kpixie! Whew!

After the beach, I had to celebrate! Clappy and I went to one of my favorite places on the beach! The Holiday Inn where the super bartender, Jose, whipped me up a couple of great cosmopolitans. No knitting while drinking cosmos! Clappy stayed safely in my backpack. I learned my lesson last month after drinking mojitos and trying to start another argosy scarf. Here's the evidence of that:

Buenos dias a todos!

LL Cool DAY (aka AH!, tuesday)

Thank you Torii for the suggestion for AH of the week. Want.that.bad. I'm going to put the poster up on my bedroom wall. And I don't want to hear any complaints about the lack of ass! This is scrumptious.

AH! It's Tuesday/ Es Martes!

Since I neglected all of you faithful AH watchers last week, I present double Red Sox goodness today. Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell, two former 2003 World Series Winning Florida Marlins. Now stars on the Boston Red Sox, they are in the playoff hunt! My favorite teams have always been the Marlins and whoever is playing the Yankees, so Boston fits right in! Josh just won his 19th game of the season and is in the hunt for the Cy Young Award. Mike has been the super 3rd baseman for Boston and is eye candy extrodinaire. I'd pay some good money for a seat right on the third base line (and I'd have to in Boston!).

Since I neglected all of you faithful AH watchers last week, I'll be giving you double goodness today!

Happy Birthday to me/Feliz Cumpeanos a mi

I can't figure out how to get the keys on the computer that make the n with the line in Spanish for the cumpleanos. DOH.

Here's a pic of my birthday flowers.

Thanks to everyone who wished me birthday greetings!

Here's my first solo socks. I didn't have enough yarn to make a complete pair, so I made pedicure socks. They were declared "ridiculous" by Jose at the beach. KMA! Wish you all were here with me. It was a beautiful day.

My first swap ever!

It's the "Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Exchange"
Thanks,Mimi for the link!

http://dishclothexchange.blogspot.com/
Here's my answers to the questionnaire:
1. Do you knit or crochet? knit , knit and knit some more.
How long have you been doing it? IT? hmmm o, knitting? About 18 months.
2. Have you made dischloths before? It was my first project ever! I've made a bunch since then too.
Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? BOTH!

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? For gifts, I like Plymouth Yarn's Fantasy Naturale. The colors are vibrant and the quality of the yarn is very sturdy. I also have a few skeins of 100% cotton from the Sassy Skein that have gorgeous bright colors and very delicate for washcloths.
What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? Don't know!
4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? I use both equally.For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? I'm not particular, and in fact am a charter member of the crappy knitting needle club!
5. What are your favorite colors? blues, lavendars, any bright or strong colors.
Any colors you don't like much? browns, pale colors

6. What do you like best about Autumn? ha ha! I don't get autumn here in PR.
7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! All of em!
8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day? I was a school half -liker. Some years were terrifying because of mean nuns.
9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) I celebrate Halloween. Some years more than others.
10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? Good Chocolate, gummy bears, and ???
11. Do you have any pets? I have three iguanas that live in my backyard and a little kitty that I share with the rest of my apartment complex. She stops by every day for a litle playing and petting. Kids? Three grown kids, 28,25 and 22.Husbands who seem like kids? What's a husband?
12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? I dunno!
13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? both
14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) Thanksgiving because as many of my family members as possible are together.
15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? nope!

Cheryl and her daughter and her sock visit Arecibo

Am I limber or what? Arecibo is pretty cool. If you liked the movie Contact, this is the place where part of it was filmed. They're out here in the middle of nowhere looking for galaxies and hoping to get signals from other worlds. I hadn't tried knitting socks since December in San Diego when Brandi coached my sorry ass through it. I took out her directions again and had to laugh. There's specific instructions just for me! "Cheryl, at this step... " Brandi, you'll be happy to know that I got all the way through the hard part and it looks great. I am just doing the long boring round and round to make the foot. My daughter came from Ann Arbor for the weekend so we're busy running around and having fun. Tonight we'll take the sock to Old San Juan for dinner.

AH tuesday and Quotable Wednesday all rolled into one! HOT DOG!!

Here's a really funny (well to me, anyway) line from my friend. He called me the other afternooon and when I answered, he said "Hi Cheryl, this is Matthew
Mc Caunahay (sp, crap) . So, I reply as any woman would "WOO HOO, HOT DOG!! Come on over!" Knocked him right on his ass! What the heck did he expect? According to him, I'm one loca gringa.

So, are these guys putting us in their book like Becky and I want to do to them?


my AH for the week comes from Lord of the Rings. Viggo Morgenstern.
OMG! All scruffy and messy.
Which I was watching when I f-ed up my second try at the extremely easy fit n flare skirt from Knitting Lingerie Style.



The quote of the week is from Ann Landers:


"The real trick is to stay alive as long as you live."