Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween, Knitters!

I don't know if you're as excited as I am, but I can't wait until tonight!! As you see above and below, I have all the yummy candy ready to hand out, my witch hat on, and the traditional "Halloween Tree" set up in the living room....a black tree with fiber optics lights in purple, orange and green...glowing ghosts, bats, and pumpkins hanging off of it. It's sooo cool and the boys love it...when you turn it on, it says, "Booooohhooooooo". (yes, I'm also a bit batty...)



Ben is going as Spiderman this year (although he originally wanted to go as Ben10...the costume is hanging around here somewhere...) and I was lucky to spend the morning with him at his very first school Halloween parade. Unlucky for me later, though, because in a rush to get everyone out of the house, I forgot my camera. Dammit. But, even without pictures, I loved watching Ben and his class sing a "spooky" song and walk around the playground, parading their adorable selves. Then, they were treated to a big table of goodies, freeze dance and stories. Oh, to be young again....



I was up late last night finishing up Tim's costume. Close to midnight, I was going over the checklist of everything he wanted to wear for school the next day (apparently, freshman are still "cool" if they wear costumes...thank goodness!). Green broadcloth tunic? Check. Sword? Check. Gloves with Triforce symbol? Check. Leather-like sling and belt to hold sword? Check. Brown leather elfish hat? Check. Yellow Triforce on upper left hand side of green tunic? Uh...no. Damn! (that's why I was up so late)

Can you guess what he is? (Ericka and Chris probably know this...)



He's Link from the Zelda video game. How do you like my handy work?

In honor of this occasion, I also managed to finish TWO knitted projects:



1. Plain Jane Socks....pattern and mini sock class pdf are soon to come to the blog....knitted using size 1 Knit Picks circs and the Magic Loop method...and Regia's Landscape Storm colorway by Kaffe Fassett. I'll be wearing these babies tonight!



2. Rocketry Cardigan....by Dream in Color for the soon-to-be-born baby boy of my pedicurist, Melissa. I used Knit Picks circular needles and KP Swish Superwash in 5 different colors - Baby Blue, Capri, Aloe, Deep Ocean and Dark Navy. I think it came out so cute...



I'm also starting to pack for Grand View....we're leaving on Friday evening (eee!) and we'll be back on Sunday evening (awwww, man!). To be honest, I am dying for a little time without the kids. This week has been torture with working and also doing a million things at home. Once this weekend is over, I think things will be calmer and less stressful. (At least until December rolls around! Shhhesh!

I'm making a promise to myself (and to the kids) that I will finish both of their sweaters while I'm at GV. Both are at least half done (or more) and I just have to get the motivation to finish them. It's getting colder and I'd really love to see all three of my guys in their hand knit sweaters....and hats and mittens.

I'll be posting about "The Month of Mittens" probably on Friday before I leave...or, in the semi-probable event that I'm WAY behind in packing, Monday. There will be a button to grab to place on your blog and, if you put the button on, link to me, and comment that you've added it, I'll put your name into a drawing to win some great yarn! Woo-hoo! Let's see how many mittens we can knit before the end of the November : )



Have a spooktacular night!!!!

Can a Spinning Wheel fit in a Forester?

Yup. It can!

On our way down to RI to visit my family for Easter, we stopped in Bellingham, MA (at the Whole Foods Market...why don't we have one in NH?) to meet lovely Ilene...and to pick up my new wheel.

Eeeeeek! It's great. Yes, at spinning on Friday, a lot of women were bashing Ashford wheels, but I still LOVE, LOVE my Joy and I'm so happy to get this new Traditional. It's how I've always thought a spinning wheel should look like. This one is for home and my Joy will still be for traveling. So far, I've had 1 minute (literally) to spin on it, but I'm looking forward to many, many more hours on it this coming weekend.

I've been up to my eyeballs (with my patience level at NIL) in packing and getting my older son (who is usually known around here as Cyberworm) ready for his trip to D.C. with his 8th grade class. There is a list 5 pages long of all the things he's got to bring, can't do, should do and what he should think 24 hours a day (well, maybe not THAT far...). But, it helps for me to know what he'll be up to all day long...not that it will make me miss him any less. He's been driving me BONKERS for the last week, but I know I'll be crying in the car all the way home from dropping him off. (Beware of me on the road if you live in Londonderry and plan to be driving around about 5:30 am)

Anyway, Easter was fun...I got to see my sister's new apartment (awesome! I wish it were mine...I tried to stow myself away, but Ian noticed I was missing...damn it!) and was able to give my Grandma her sweater....which she LOVED! My sister took a pic of her in it, so I can hopefully post that soon. She put it on right away and seemed very appreciative. It fit her perfectly...though it might have been a bit long (she's like 4'8" to my 5'2") and a bit roomy around the bust.

My mom and dad made a great lunch (Ben and I had turkey burgers!)...and everyone else had ham, potatoes and such. Ian and I took the kids to the playground (where I used to go as a kid!) and my sister came, too, which was fun. I REALLY wished that I'd brought my camera. After the kids got tired of playing (it was freezing out), my sister and I took the kids home and Ian did more geocashing. He is SO addicted!

My mom got the kids tons of cool toys and candy...she got me a Hello Kitty dvd and lollipop, some makeup and candy, too. Am I spoiled or what??? It was a fun time and I was glad I got a chance to spend with them. On the way home, Ben kept saying, "I miss her......!" (meaning my mom) So sad...

Good news, though. I got my fiber swap package from the beautiful and talented and super awesome Kimberly of The Giving Flower and, when I tell you it was FANTASTIC, I so mean it!

I got these:



[golden and blue fiber are 100% merino and the red (oh, Ericka, you're going to drool when you see this!) is merino and luscious tussash silk! Plus, a handmade herbal bag with lavender! Smells so good!]

and these:



[tons of yummy chocolate from Germany...do you know that those eggs have TOYS in them??? Not just junk, but very cool toys?? The kids went crazy over them!]

and this:



[PINK!!! Regia self striping sock yarn....oh, Kimberly, I love you!]

and, finally, these:



[Hello Kitty magazine (in German...so cool!), pencil and adorable notepad set in a cute tin...she even gave me the HK shopping bag in came in...oh, I'm a pile of mushy love!]

Thank you so much, Kimberly! BEST SWAP EVER!!!!

And, last Wednesday, I bought these yarns from the talented Heather:



Punky in Pink and Martian...aren't they awesome??

Finally, a pic of my progress on my Lizard Ridge....



Hope you all had a great holiday and my next post will be goodies to win if you send in a "Ask Sleepy Eyes" question. 'Night!

P.S. Here are some belated pics of the snow we got last week...it was disappointing because I thought spring had come! But, it was pretty....



and one pic looking up at the ceiling of the sunroom....