Crafting in Yoohooville

Brookhaven Coupon Matchups November 9 - 15

2011-11-09T19:00:00.000-06:00

So I hadn't visited Brookhaven in the last couple weeks, there hasn't been anything we particularly needed there. But this week there are some good reasons to go even without coupons!

Portabello Mushrooms - $2.99 lb. (Their quality is the best in the area)
Avocados - 99 cents each.
Roma Tomatoes - 49 cents/lb. (Their tomatoes are always good)
Pork Schoulder Roast - $1.69/lb bone-in $1.99/lb boneless (their meat is fantastic)
Miller Amish Chicken Drumsticks - $1.19/lb
Brookhaven's Bratwurst - $1.99/lb (great flavor!)
Whole Whitefish - $3.69/lb
Little Neck Clams - 3/$1

Other than that, let's see
Chobani 5/$5
Pillsbury Cake Mix 99 cents
Korio Wildflower Honey 2lb for $8.99 (Korio honey is produced in Lithuania and is not filtered)
Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream, Half & Half, French Vanilla & Hazelnut Coffee Creamers, all $2/5

So no coupons this week, but good quality products for a decent price!

Brookhaven Coupon Matchups Oct 19-25

2011-10-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

So I was thinking this morning before work that the great people in the couponing community have given me a lot - a stockpile of personal care products it will take me awhile to pay down that I've paid little for, great deals on food and drink, and pointing me to the best discount sites out there. So I thought I'd try to do something very small to pay it back by adding coupon matchups.

Brookhaven is a very small store that focuses on interesting ethnic foods and high quality meats and produce for reasonable prices. There are three locations: Burr Ridge, Darien, and Mokena. I highly recommend their produce, its of great quality and its usually where I go for most things.

In fact, you'll probably find me in there for the President cheeses and the produce this week!

Produce:
Whole White Mushrooms 99 cents per package
Zucchini 49 cents per pound
Sweet Potatoes 49 cents per pound
Dry Onions 99 per 3 lb bag.
Bananas 39 cents per pound
MacIntosh Apples 69 cents per pound
Tomatoes 59 cents per pound
Plums 69 cents per pound
Organic Celery 99 cents per bundle

Fuze 10/$7 after in-store coupon (as advertised in the ad, I don't have a copy in front of me yet)

Coffeemate 32 oz. $2.99
55 cent coupon: http://www.coffee-mate.com/Offers/Default.aspx
75c/2 coupon: http://www.coffee-mate.com/Offers/Default.aspx

Chobani 5/$5
30 cents coupon: http://www.chobani.com/coupons

Swanson's Broth 2/$5
$1/2 coupon: http://www.campbellskitchen.com/coupon.aspx?fbid=R9QW5i-AWUn

Mazola Cooking Oil $3.99
50 cent coupon: SS 10/2

Pillsbury Family Size Brownie Mix 99 cents

Golden Grahams 12 oz, Trix 10.7 oz, Cocoa Puffs 11.8 oz, Cheerios 8.9 oz $1.88
$1/3 coupon: GM 09/11
$1/3 coupon: GM 10/2

Organic Valley Pourable Yogurt $2.99
50 cent coupon: http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/

President Brie, Camembert, Light Brie, Presidente Plain Bree, and Herb Wedges: $4.49
$3/2 coupon: http://www.greatcheese.com/partyplanner/form-coupon.php

Why the Argument "Its Too Much Money & Takes Too Much Time" doesn't hold water anymore (or prevent fires)

2011-07-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

I posted this on Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter today as a comment, but I thought it deserved its own post. I've expanded upon what I said there below.

The Isanti County Historical Society in Minnesota had their building attacked by arsonists.

They lost everything.

Everything.

The first two comments on the Eastman page said it all to me.

"Shouldn't the arrest and conviction be of those that didn't get the records digitized? Clearly something is broken in the historical society model."

"If it did not require thousands of dollars and thousands of man-hours, I’m sure all societies would “get the records digitized.” When someone makes such a comment, I can’t help but wonder how much money and how many volunteer hours they give to their local historical and genealogical societies in support of digitization projects…"

You know, this is the same argument that's been waging on for a while.

Digitize and back up records?

"No, I can't, its too much money and too many hours"

"But you must, what happens if there's a disaster?"

"That would be horrible. But its too much money and too many hours. We don't have enough help or money to do it."

Here's where I think most people are lacking. It IS possible to do a digitization project without having thousands in the bank and armies of volunteers!

I understand. You're tired. You've been with the same core of volunteers since 1911, and it ain't about to change anytime soon. If it needs to get done, you've got to do it, and that's one MORE thing you have to fit into your schedule.

But...there's a thought. What if you did go out for more volunteers? What if you did start working on a project. What if you could get people energized about history and genealogy? Maybe you wouldn't have to be the ONE volunteer left.

If you're with me, and ready to make that leap, read on. If not, and you're already irritated with what I've said, feel free to comment or move on.

Need volunteers? How about posting on volunteermatch.org? How about reaching out to your local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts troops? How about reaching out to the local Junior Chamber and your Chamber of Commerce? Have you reached out to your local university or community college? Developing a digitization project could be a great project for some interns! Have you reached out to local bloggers, Google+ users, Twitterers, Facebook users? These people can all be a source for volunteers.

Need money? Run a project - sell a digital cookbook or history book. Or a hard copy one. Or sell Tupperware, run a fundraising night at a local restaurant or bakery, or open a cause on Facebook. Work with a local group to fundraise like the Junior Chamber or Chamber of Commerce or Development Corporations. Do a calendar like Calendar Girls did! Auction off hours of your time for other people. Think like any other organization - wash cars - do whatever it takes to get some seed money together. So many organizations I've seen solely confine how they fundraise to just genealogy type projects - a local history, a history day, selling research time, selling memberships. Those are great, but they aren't the ONLY things you can do!

Or work to partner with a local organization to help with some of the costs - one of my favorite societies partnered with a local library to get ALL of their newspapers scanned. The library hosts the data the society scans for them and OCRs for them.

Another group I've worked with worked with their local phone company to sponsor pages on their member-only website with old phone records. It just depends on where your group's strength lies - sponsorships work great for orgs with members in the business community.

Need knowledge of how to do the process? Reach out to people like Dick Eastman and others that willingly give out tons of good instruction guides and reviews.

All you really need to do is make sure that there are digital copies of your documents out there with your members. You don't have to build some slick website. You don't have to OCR your files (though that is nice...). You don't have to even have them in PDFs (TIF files in a labeled folder work just fine). You need to get those digital copies, and put several discs/hard drives/flash drives out there with your members (you know, in case one of their houses burns down or floods). All the rest can come later.

To end this off - my point is, you CAN do a digitization project. Focus on things unique to your library - there's no point in doing a US Census book, for example - like local history books, local censuses, photos of the area, etc. Start small and work your way up. There's no need to do all of your books and documents RIGHT NOW.

One society that I've belonged to in the past had a goal to do one book a week. By the end of the year, the entire library was digitized, and they discovered a new revenue stream as other people (including myself) could buy copies of books we liked and have them emailed to us.

It IS doable. People just need to make that leap between making the excuse (aka the comfortable way) and doing it (aka going into the unknown).

Much Less Frilly Moccasins - Additional Explanation

2011-06-23T20:00:00.003-05:00

If you're looking for the original pattern, it can now be found on Ravelry!

I've sent this to a few people on Ravelry, so I thought it might deserve some follow up attention because I think it might be confusing people, and I've slightly altered how I do them to make them more secure on the sides.

Most people do simple slippers as rectangles. Fold and Sew. I've found I don't like that style, as it leaves a weird elf-like quality to the slippers. So I do mine differently - a circle and a rectangle put together, like this:

The problem is that I think people are viewing it is a flat circle, when its not. Its in the round, like a cup. So you are always joining, they doing the chains.

The circle is at the front of the slipper, and the rectangle is at the bottom, like this:

If you can imagine it, you look at the circle in front of you and the rectangle flows behind.

Hopefully it makes sense that the circle looks like a cup when done correctly. A flat circle will have to be folded to make the shape.

So the instruction which I need to update is that at the end, I now take my sewing needle and sew a couple of the hdcs up each side of the circle giving it more definition.

Look for next month I'll do some step by step photos - this really is easy!

Sanctuary - "Out of the Blue" the Magnus Knitwear show!

2011-06-21T09:57:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

I know I have been very busy this year in keeping with all my commitments. But I was simply amazed at the gorgeous knitwear in the Sanctuary episode just prior to the Season finale. It makes me so excited for Season 4! Anyway, I thought you might enjoy some looks at the 2 most outstanding pieces, a long-colorway, Noro-like Shawl, and a piecework/freeform sweater that looked super comfy!

Enjoy!

Kangaroo

2011-03-14T07:23:00.000-05:00

03/06/2011 a photo by roostercf on Flickr.

I haven't been working on a whole lot lately. Mostly trying to clean up the fiber that is all over my living room, as my knitting and crocheting group just did an exchange/donation night and is planning another for June.

And I've filled another bag with fiber to go already, and I've realized I have entire plastic crate of fabric, too. How crazy is that? I don't even collect fabric and I've got a crate full.

Anyway, the kangaroo above is a test crochet of a darling project by Elizabeth Harac along with her new friend Pouch the Beanie Buddy. I apologize I can't link to her work as her designer page on Ravelry is not set up for outside viewers. If you are a ravelry user, look for eharac.

So I apologize if I haven't been very active lately. My designer mojo is at a low, so I have been focusing on getting my stash in order, cleaning up other parts of life, etc. I haven't even been working on my genealogy files much as I've been trying to get that mess cleaned up as well.

Reinvigorating the blog by participating in a contest!

2011-02-23T17:56:00.002-06:00

I am an active user over at the WeUseCoupons forum, and I was very excited to see there was a contest involving the blog for one of my new favorite users, Foggy!

Anyway, one of the conditions of the contest is to share the contest with my blog friends and spread the word of her awesome blog! So here goes...

Check out Laura William's blog.

Her specific post on the contest is here.

And the link to the giveaway - yes, 20 inserts IS that awesome! Is located here.

Check it out - there is a wealth of fantastic nice people over at WeUseCoupons, and I've found their advice invaluable.

History Repeats Itself

2010-07-07T10:24:00.001-05:00

Title: Free ice in New York
Creator(s):
Byron (Firm : New York, N.Y.), photographer
Detroit Publishing Co. , publisher
Date Created/Published: [ca. 1900]
Reproduction Number: LC-D401-13643 (b&w film copy neg.)
Call Number: LC-D4-13643 [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

1911 Census: How to find the full reference numbers

2010-06-24T11:18:00.007-05:00

After the blitz of free Findmypast.co.uk fun this past week for the World Cup, I was faced with a dilemma.

I had this for each entry:

But a real reference number looks like this:

"For example, the full reference given for the 8 year-old Yeo-Thomas is:
RG14PN5076 RG78PN225 RD78 SD1 ED5 SN313"
-quoted from the excellent Lost Cousins tutorial on Mastering the 1911 Census.

So what was I to do? I, like many others, were trying to hurry and get as many copies of documents needed from the 1911 census as possible, so I just downloaded and went on my way.

The secret is actually inside the Lost Cousins tutorial:

Go to the Findmypast Census Reference Search.

But wait - you have to have a piece number!

Ah hah! But where's the schedule number?

That's on your census, silly! Look at the upper right corner and it will give you the number.

Click search.

And in the results, you will see:

And that is the full reference number needed to record your census entry. Do yourself a favor and save that number - write it in your tree and add it to the file name.

ConcettaPhillippsResume051010

2010-06-14T14:02:00.001-05:00

Concetta Phillipps

concettaphillipps@gmail.com Multiple Forward Phone (630) 286-9413

Summary of Qualifications

With 8 years of experience in architectural and engineering administration and marketing, I can provide your company with strong organizational skills and an in-depth knowledge of the unique processes behind such companies. My marketing coordinator knowledge makes me an ideal candidate for helping a professional services firm grow, and my administrative knowledge makes me ideal to help your office stay organized, and focused on the primary goal of making it easier for your architects and engineers to build their buildings in an organized and profit-motivated environment.

Computer Skills	Office Skills	Research Skills
Adobe Illustrator CS2	Copier Maintenance	Internet Research
Adobe Photoshop CS2 & CS3	Editing	Social Media Research
Adobe InDesign CS2 & CS3	Reception Experience	Contact Management
Novell GroupWise	MS Office Troubleshooting	Maps & Directions
MS PowerPoint 2003 & 2007	Professional Communications	Schedule Tracking
MS Word 2003 & 2007	Proofreading	Vendor Research & Proposals
MS Access 2007	Customer Service Experience
MS Excel 2003 & 2007
MS Outlook 2007

Relevant Work Experience

Stivers Staffing/Client: Lions Club International Oak Brook, IL 2010 – Present

Administrative Coordination for the Language Services Department which receives upwards of 150 translations requests per month in up to 10 languages. Responsibilities include coordination, TRADOS project management, project tracking, proofreading, filing, reporting, and invoicing.

SPAAN Tech, Inc. (STI) Chicago, IL 2008 – 2010

· Marketing Coordinator: Prepared Responses to RFQs and RFPs. Updated and maintained all marketing records associated with each RFQ and RFP. Used databases to maintain client proposal results, sort project descriptions, and test generation capabilities. Performed market research using databases, websites and new media, such as Twitter, to find information about competitors, clients and interview participants. Reviewed and updated SPAAN Tech listing on websites useful to the A/E/C community and ensured information accuracy. Led effort to update client marketing materials including resumes and project experience description pages. Attended local business development expositions hosted by various local entities.

o Coordinated CDB 255 project that won a Prime Civil Engineering contract with the State of Illinois Capital Development Board

o Coordinated RFQs that won multiple City of Chicago Target Market and Non-Target Market Blanket Contracts.

o Coordinated effort that won STI’s first Veterans Administration contract in Danville.

o Served as sub-consultant marketing coordinator for STI’s first US Navy contract.

o Led other winning marketing coordination efforts for US GSA, Kane County, Cook County, and the State of Illinois Central Management Services.

o Led update effort of client project proposal response database. Started with over 300 open proposal lists and narrowed the open list to less than 100 entries.

BLDD Architects, Inc. Chicago, IL 2002 – 2008

· Business Development Assistant - Prepared marketing submittals using Adobe InDesign at discretion of the Marketing Director. Prepared PowerPoint presentations for use in interviews and public events. Conducted research for the Business Development Director. Analyzed data for marketing executives. Utilized WebEx services to liaison with clients. Made development calls and consultant calls as needed.

o Relied upon as the “cool under pressure” person for tight deadlines.

· Administrative Assistant/Executive Assistant – used MS Office products for databases, logs, cost estimates, reports, letters and transmittals; acted as a liaison with clients, engineers and consultants; answered, managed and coordinated conference calls for 5 phone lines on a Intertel system; purchased all office supplies; shipped materials; edited architectural specification documents, coordinated all bidding documents.

o Sole administrative assistant for an office that grew from 4 people to 12.

o Impressed company Principals with quick turnaround and dedication to my executives.

South Suburban YMCA Harvey, IL 2000 – 2002

· Annual Campaign Administrator – managed and publicized YMCA’s Annual and Capital Support Campaign effort to raise $40,000; performed donor tracking including creation of donor files; developed and managed databases and invoicing; designed donation “bid” presentation.

· Interim Business Manager - Prepared and entered budget; communicated with current vendors; monitored bank drafting and membership statistics; assisted in payroll.

o Filled the role “on demand” to keep systems running over 3 month period without a system failure.

Applicable Non-Profit Experience

GenWeb, US & Canada 2004-Present

· County Coordinator – manages websites, mailing lists, and message boards of genealogical content for use of genealogists in the following counties: Iroquois County, IL; Alpena Co., MI; Bay of Quinte Region, ON; Prince Edward Co., ON; Lennox & Addington Co., ON; Hastings Co., ON.

· Former North East North Central Regional County Coordinator Representative – for National Board on behalf of 13 states of Coordinators. Researched and guided the Region through such events as a mass website migration and delicate negotiations with vendors and potential project partnerships.

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees) Berwyn, IL 2003 - Present

· Member –active contributor, project manager, and fundraiser for such charities as the American Cancer Society, ASPCA, and Habitat for Humanity.

· President – managed Board of Directors, motivated chapter, recruited new members and wrote award nominations, ran projects as necessary and worked as a "problem solver"

o Declared The Outstanding President of 2005 for the Northeast Region

o Held monthly membership meetings that attracted an avg. of 30 people,

· Membership Vice President –

o Planned all membership recruiting events attended by an average of 30 people

o Held call nights in which over 2000 calls were made per night

· Public Relations Chair

o Designed all public relations materials for chapter and coordinated public relations activities.

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees) State of Illinois 2007

· Public Relations State Chair – Train members across the State in how to use PR resources, write PR materials for the Illinois Jaycees and act as a personal press agent for the State President

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees) Northeast Region (Chicagoland), IL 2006- 2009

· Webmaster – maintained the Region website and made changes as requested

· Management Program Director – promoted the use of Planning Guides throughout Region, edited and updated the Region website, trained all members on management practices, promoted documentation of Region projects

Education

Keller Graduate School of Management Chicago, IL 2009 – 2011

Currently pursuing Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing Management

St. Xavier University Chicago, IL 2000 – 2007

Bachelors Degree in Business Administration/International Business

American Animal Rescue Society Raffle!

2010-04-28T20:00:00.000-05:00

You guys all know how much I love animals :-)

Karin (Ravelry: knittypitty) of the blog Shouting Quietly is doing a great raffle for the animals of the Chicagoland area. Seriously - how cute is this?

Just one of the adorable items available!

All of the money helps the AARS pay their veterinarian bills and open a shelter at some point. Its a great cause and I like their philosopy - there's no discrimination against breeds, ages, or disabilities.

So - how do you help?

Go to this blog post.

Drool, oogle, and otherwise envy the awesome stuff for raffle.

See at the bottom the brown box labeled "AARSociety Spring 2010" and "ChipIn!" at the bottom? That's what you have to do - and she's posted the rules of the raffle just under that.

Good luck! That spindle lot is seriously calling my name - I may have to donate for a ticket or two!

Knitting, Blogging, Swap Sending!

2010-04-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

To start, I'm extremely happy that my latest project is blocking and drying right now. I'm hoping to take it to the knitting group tonight and show it off before I have to mail it as the swap package. Sorry for the lack of pictures of it but I do want her to have some surprise!

I've been catching up on emails. Its hard to believe in 3 years I'd accumulate 6000 emails, even if they are all neatly labeled and sorted.

Amber Naslund is a great writer. Rarely do I find blogs that make me think as much as hers. Her insight is valuable to me and yet I am certainly not a "social media expert" of any kind. LOL - I have a micro-business but that's as close as it gets.

Crafting in Yoohooville is a great micro-company for me. I build it when I can, and it rewards me by keeping my brain active. It also feeds my need for control of at least a small part of my own destiny. What does the company do? Well, not much yet, but its slowly but surely building. I'd rather not release a product until I know its of a quality that I value, and I know my work isn't there yet. I've given myself a deadline to get this product out into the marketplace, and so far, my development schedule is being met.

Anyway, check out the post that I linked to of Amber's. Its awesome. I cracked up when I read #5, because so many of the knitting and designer blogs I see have that exact problem - if you read the same thing 6 times, and that pattern is repeated over and over, you're certainly not going to want to come back for more. My blog's not a moneymaker, it doesn't do much, but I'd like to think that I'm pointing out something different than the pack each time I write something.

So here's what I have.

#1 - if you want to write your own knitting or design blog, keep the ideas in your designer notebook. Start posting your mood boards. Start posting your inspirational photos. Do whatever it takes, but make it yours. Don't make your blog the same as the Yarn Harlot. I really don't think anyone cares about any interpretation of what she writes outside her blog. I'm sure I'll get some hate mail for that, but its what I think.

#2 - I would love it if I saw more sketches in a blog. Come on, if we're knitting and crochet designers (even amateurs), we should be able to show off some sort of design skill to the public. How many sketches do people have that will never see the light of day because the idea just won't work in real life? I know I have notebooks full.

#3 - Just because I said it, doesn't mean you have to do it. ::grins:: I know that sounds contradictory, but its true. Follow your own ideas for your blog and don't worry about whether its perfect, boring, or nonsensical to anyone but yourself. As long as you write with feeling and knowledge, people *will* keep coming back for more.

Helping Bunnies

2010-04-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

Creative Commons Licensed Image by SusanG2 on Flickr.

I saw this in my inbox today and just had to share.

The Animal Rescue Site, that normally just gives bowls of food to needy animals is running a special for Easter. Anything purchased from their store gives help to needy bunnies in addition to the normal food funding. Or you can send a free e-card to help the bunnies.

I'm not normally a bunny lover - the darn things are killers for pretty flowers, get run over all the time, and in general, multiply way too fast. However, I know this time of year people get it in their heads that a bunny would be a fabulous gift for their kids for Easter, and when the kids don't take care of it, thousands of bunnies end up being "set free" or dropped off at the nearest shelter. So the shelters are going to need all the help they can get.

And seriously - you need to check out SusanG2's photostream on Flickr. She has a great eye for photos! Her pictures of the Canadian Geese even made me ooh and aah over the close view and great shots and I have a serious problem with most of those animals - hissing, biting sky rats that they are.

Anyway, I hope you all have a happy Easter, if you're inclined that way, and a good weekend if you're not.

New Loom Knitting Videos: Double Knit Stockinette Stitch Bindoffs/Castoffs

2010-03-20T14:46:00.002-05:00

I haven't done one of these in a couple years, but multiple questions have been raised by people, so I thought it was time to do some explaining. They're very simple, conversational videos about the two styles of stitch bind-offs I like to do. I also refer to http://www.knittingboard.com - they have great videos and demonstrate yet another technique to use. The choices are endless!

Single Sided Bind-Off

What I call the Box Bindoff

Dumpster Diving

2010-03-16T17:41:00.003-05:00

I used to have an interest in this topic as a super eco-friendly person. I had actually forgot about it until I saw a video on WalletPop (with my fave columnist Bargain Babe).

Allison Burtch has a great blog of what is actually being thrown away each night from grocery stores in her area. I have to say, I'm in agreement with her - that has to stop. Why on earth can there not be a "Good Samaritan" law to protect retailers from lawsuits from giving away their food? Expiration dates are set as a precaution - there's tons of food out there that you can eat way beyond the expiration date. Sometimes they're set as a marketing gimmick, too - if I convince you that your food is bad by X date, I'll get you to buy more of it at X date + one day.

Check out this find from one night in a dumpster!

Anthropologie: Green, Crafty, Cool!

2010-02-17T22:48:00.003-06:00

Just awesome. For those of you who don't realize quite how to do them, Happiness Is... has some great closeups and the official tutorial.

The City Cradle gives a more detailed tutorial and shows how they redid the craft. I so cannot wait to try this myself! I must have fifteen photos or so saved of the display.

Anthropologie is great - its nice to see that someone still values the true selling power of a good quality window display. So often I see clothes jumbled into something "arty" with no theme at the local stores, and it makes me sad, having seen the wonderful displays of Dayton's in Minneapolis, Barney's in New York, and countless windows in Italy (especially Venice). Stores so often forget that it is the power of the visual that catches their attention, and brings them in a door...I know I'll be heading to the Chicago store to see what their windows look like!

Followup to the Daniel Graves Dilemma

2010-02-01T13:00:00.001-06:00

So I've been trading correspondence across multiple mediums about this issue. The main question has been:

"What exactly do you know about the other "Daniel Graves" in the area? There has to be more than 3!"

Well, that's absolutely right - there definitely is more than 3, however, I look at 3 as being the main contenders. Here's what I know about the "other" Daniel Graveses.

Daniel Graves and Polly Allen - (no) - kids were born at the same time as mine in New Hampshire

Daniel Graves and Mary Buxton / Caroline Wellington - (no) - kids born much later (1849) in North Reading, Massachusetts

Daniel Graves (born in Ira, Rutland, VT) and Almira Loomis Rogers - (no) - is in Marengo, IL by 1850.

Daniel Graves and Harriet, son of Abraham Graves - (no) - settles in Rochester but is well-documented enough there with only two kids with nowhere near the names I have. The family is quite prestigious and a painting of Daniel is at the local historical society.

Daniel Graves and Hellen Hyde (in Gouverneur in 1870) - also no, they’re well-documented in the town newspapers as being much younger

Daniel Graves and Ann - no - In 1851, Daniel and Ann are in Salisbury, Westmorland County, New Brunswick with children Adaline Graves 19, Valantine Graves 30, Oliver Graves 25, Xenophon Graves 13, Burlin Graves 10 at ages Daniel Graves 58 and Ann Graves 52. I feel they are an unlikely candidate and with names like those, they would not likely be part of this family, since they were apt to repeat family names frequently (Daniel, James, Lewis, Enoch, Hezekiah, Hazleton, Sheldon, Hawley).

Daniel Graves and Rebecca - hmm - In 1851/2, Daniel Graves, b. 1813 in Vermont is listed in the Malahide, Elgin County, Ontario census with wife Rebecca, daughter Nancy and son James. In 1861, the family is listed in Middlesex, Ontario. In 1871, Daniel is listed as a widow in Mosa, Middlesex West, Ontario. In 1881 he is also listed as a widow in Newbury, Middlesex West, Ontario.

This family troubles me some as I do have two kids who are born in Middlesex. Could they wrongly be attributed to the family I have when they should belong to this family? I don't think so. However, I need to do more research on this family as I believe they could be related to my family of people. Why? The names bring to mind two pieces of information: 1. The mysterious Rebecca listed on my family sheet. She's also listed as "marrying Lakeson" which I have never been able to find. 2. The names, excepting Nancy, are all heavy repeats in my own family. Could this be a child of my Daniel Graves' siblings?

The only one I keep coming back to is:
“Daniel Graves (44) may have been born about 1770 (probably 1765-1775), probably in Kensington or Andover, NH. He married ‑‑‑‑‑‑, and lived in Barton, Vt. (R‑200)
Children - Graves
123. Daniel Graves
124. William Graves
125. John Graves
126. daughter”

Not the father, the son. The GFA has absolutely no data on those kids and so far, I haven’t been able to prove one way or another. All I’m pretty sure is that its not the Capt. Daniel Graves from Barton as his line is well proved not to be the case.

According to the Brown Cemetery transcriptions from Barton, Daniel Graves (44) was born about 1775, and married Jane. They are both buried in Brown Cemetery.

At the same time, it gives more information from a Town report on that website:

"the Children of Daniel Graves and his wife Jenny"
Births:
Daniel Graves Junr., born in Andover, NH, Nov 8th, 1802.
William Graves, born Sept 14th, 1811
John Graves, born April 4, 1815
Recorded 22d April 1826 attest: John Kimball, Town Clerk

Deaths:
Daniel Graves died 25 January 1836, Aged 61 years
Jane Graves died 6th October 1844, aged 63 years
Daniel Graves Jr., died at Northfield, VT March 25th, 1879
William Graves died 1st December 1882

In the 1870 census, Daniel is listed in the household of his brother John Graves as 68 years old and a jeweler, no spouse listed.

In the 1860 census, Daniel is listed in the household of Ebenezer Wilson, a carpenter and joiner, as 49 years old and a harnessmaker.

In 1850, I have not been able to locate this Daniel Graves. Could he have been in Canada during this time?

The Daniel Graves Dilemma

2010-01-29T18:59:00.000-06:00

I've cross posted this in one group on Ravelry, the Knitting Genealogists, as well as here. I'll add a little more detail here to help out.

Okay, so I decided to start a topic as I’ve alluded to this situation enough and you guys give pretty good advice ;-)

Here’s what I know:

Daniel Graves was born in 1794 (according to the 1850 census) in New York, or in Vermont (if you ask his kids on their data forms).

He married Mary “Polly” Ferguson in 1813 in Bennington, Bennington Co, Vermont. A Ferguson researcher and I are determining and so far proving that she is originally from Bennington, a descendant of the relatives of the Hezekiah Ferguson family.

Between 1813 and 1815, they somehow manage to get to New York, where their first child is born. I don’t know this for sure, since its info from census/death certs, but its what I have to go on.

After having some more kids in NY (again, census info, biography info, death certs info), they show up in Middlesex County Ontario for the birth of 2 kids, and they’re back in New York by 1830, and have their last four kids concluding in 1838.

In 1850, I have a for sure census entry in Gouverneur, New York. (One of their kids is named Hazelton and another is nicknamed Hawley. Needless to say, its a bit unusual and makes them a little easier to find).

Then they vanish again. Nothing. I have two more kids assigned to them based off of family information, but no years for their birth and I haven’t been able to find them yet.

The problem is, there are three Daniel Graves in roughly the same area with roughly the same age range. One is in Vermont, still another one in Walpole, NH, one is in Middlesex Co, Ontario, and there’s another one that even shows up in Gouverneur about ten years later (luckily, not the same age so I could spot him).

These guys are driving me batty! I have no idea where else to look to find anything about him. The Graves Family Association has no idea other than he might be the Captain Daniel Graves that lived in Barton, VT for a time, since they don’t know the Captain’s wife’s name, there’s no telling. So I’m stuck. I’ve gone over this and over it, and I don’t know where their information could be hiding.

I have to be missing something here, it just doesn’t seem to make sense to me.

Children:
Pittman Graves
Son
b. ?

Rebecca Graves
Daughter
b. ?
New York

John Graves
Son
b. 29 Jan 1815 (also postulated to be 1826)
New York, United States
d. 7 Aug 1866
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Hezekiah Graves (m. Harriet Hart)
Son
b. 29 Nov 1818
New York, United States
d. 22 Sep 1892
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Enoch Graves (m. Rachel Sipes)
Son
b. 2 March 1826
New York
d. 22 May 1904
Oxford, Oakland, Michigan, USA

Sheldon Hall "Hawley" Graves (m. Hannah Jeffrey) - this nickname is carried down so it is confirmed.
Son
b. 26 Aug 1828
Delaware, Middlesex Bay County, Ontario, Canada
d. 1 Jul 1895
Sanilac, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Hazelton Graves (m. Lovila Green)
Son
b. 17 Apr 1830
Ontario, Canada
d. 18 Dec 1907
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Elizabeth Ann Graves (m. David Daniel Ingerson)
Daughter
b. 8 April 1831
New York
d. 4 September 1903
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Justus "Jess" Graves
Son
b. 1837
New York

Lewis Graves
Son
b. 1838
New York, United States

Snakes, Tacos, and Crafting

2010-01-20T18:45:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted here for about a month, so I wanted to assure everyone that I am

a)still alive
b)still crafting
c)still interested in blogging.

:-D

However, my time isn't always as well planned as it should be and I forget to make the posts that I had wanted to make. However, I am hoping that will change with the advent of planned blogging.

Its a concept I read on another person's blog (yes, I do read many blogs, usually via email since I can always download my email and read it offline). Instead of blogging "when you think about it", you set up a series of blogs in one day, and delay their posting until they meet set intervals. Interesting concept...

Then when you want to blog, you can also post "whenever", but once a month you plan the programming for the next month. That's where the word "genius" comes to mind!

So I'll try that in February. We'll see how it goes :-)

But back to the topic at hand....

Doesn't that look like what a glamorous Sea Snake should look like? Its a wonderful pattern by Nancy Nagle of Nangelli.com called "Delicious Diamond".

If you're interested, its a free Ravelry download, too. I found it to be quite fun to work and really worked to the advantage of the short fur style yarn.

Doesn't that look good? Sarahpark on Ravelry wrote up this nifty recipe which included those AND a pattern for a cast iron skillet pot handle.

Isn't that cute? It kind of reminds me of a fish, but it also makes Shawn happy and keeps his hand cool while cooking. A very fun test crochet project - I highly encourage you to to try it when she releases the pattern!

I've been working on some other things, but I'll save some stuff for this weekend to post.

Chicagoland Craft Collective Meeting - 12/16/09

2009-12-18T19:03:00.007-06:00

Wednesday was another great Chicagoland Craft Collective meeting. I learned how to make a really cool papercraft - an ornament that was 3D! Its on my tree now.

As you can see above, there are some very talented people in the Chicagoland Craft Collective that I highly recommend people come and meet. They have talents across the board from fiber crafts to paper crafts to sewing to embroidery to beading and jewelry, and there are professional sellers that are part of the group as well as the head of Craft Critique and talented crafters a plenty!

Next month we are going to do needle felting and I'm super psyched for it! I've had a kit at home and wanted to know more about how to use it, but I was going to wait for the class in April at the Westmont Public Library - so this is a lot sooner!

I'm working on a test crochet for a friend-designer on Ravelry that's turning out really cute. I horribly had to start over due to poor yarn choice on my part, but its starting to come together again. Anyway, will update more when I get the Black Raspberry Hat done - its about darn time I released that pattern! ;-)

Festive Winter Bonnet

2009-11-12T22:31:00.002-06:00

Festive Winter Bonnet Front
Originally uploaded by roostercf

My new pattern! This was a fun one. It actually started as an idea for a jacket, and then that didn't work, and it sat in my stash on the needle I left it on for months. I was starting to get out my Holiday things and found that the 2002 Holiday Teddy ornament has this adorable bonnet. Then I got thinking, and...

This is a simple drop stitch pattern that has minimal finishing and would be suitable in any fun, furry and nubby yarn. Lion Brand's Fancy Fur would be a good example, since the yarn that I originally made this in, Yarn Bee Playful, was discontinued. Sirdar Valentino might also be an interesting yarn to try.

Find the Festive Winter Bonnet in my Ravelry Store or here.

The Pavement Neckwarmer

2009-10-14T07:56:00.007-05:00

Front

SSPX0146
Originally uploaded by roostercf

Back

SSPX0147
Originally uploaded by roostercf

A quick project, a neckwarmer for the husband. The pattern only has two lines across a five row repeat, and then a switch in direction.

Worsted Weight Yarn (I used a mystery grey wool I had laying around)
Yarn Needle
Size F Crochet Hook

(US Terminology)

Chain 30.
Chain 2 at the beginning of every row.
Extended single crochet across row.
Every five rows (as in, 1,2,3,4,5 then this one), do one row of front post extended single crochet.
Stop when desired width is reached.

Extended Single Crochet down width side of project.
Every five rows of Extended Single Crochet, do one row of alternating front post extended single crochet and back post extended single crochet.

Stop when desired length is reached. Leave a long tail.
Sew together and weave in ends.

Simple, tidy, just enough ornamentation to make me not want to go crazy but simple enough the man still likes it.

Crochet Ruffle Scarves

2009-09-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

Crochet Ruffle Scarves
Originally uploaded by roostercf

Testing out the new instablogger for photos from Flickr!

Ruffles!

2009-09-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working on stuff for the Xmas sale of the Knitting Guild, and the thought occurred to me that this might be a great chance to use up my smaller stashes of LB Homespun (1-3 skeins) and Fleece Lite (2.75 skeins, really, I started a hat and had to cut it off my loom because it tangled so much). I started with my favorite pattern,
Ruffled One Skein Scarf by Liz Laferty, but had to stop because my knitting needles were bothering my hands. So I started crocheting them and had a very prolific trip to Minnesota this past weekend. I should have brought another project, but oh well, I forgot it.

Anyway, the crochet ruffles are fun because I changed them up as I completed them. Some have more rows, some have more increases, the one I'm working on now has less increases and more rows, etc.

Flickr looks like it got done automatically posting my picture of the scarves, so I'm going to go check it out!

New Post

2009-08-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

Just checking in and letting people know I'm still alive LOL. Lots of work at work to do, and I haven't done a whole lot of new stuff.

Genealogy and History: The Military Convoy comes to Wheaton

2009-06-27T17:57:00.024-05:00

Hi all! I promised a genealogy entry and I found the perfect topic.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Transcontinental Motor Convoy, a reenactment took place. One of the stops on the tour was practically on my doorstop, at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park.

Different from the first and second tour, the convoy had vehicles from many wars, all the way up to Desert Storm.

What's that? You never heard of the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy from 1919 or the second in 1920?

Do you have any idea what they accomplished? Well, I didn't either. So I had grabbed a knowledgeable comrade (who's intending to get a Masters in military history), and started some research.

A photo from the original convoy. Source: http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/arch_results_detail.jsp?&pg=27&si=0&st=b&rp=digital&nh=27

The first one was done to raise awareness of the state of the Lincoln Highway. The road was in such horrendous shape that they found bridges collapsing under the weight of the 81 military vehicles, and they barely got 60 miles per day!

At each stop, the convoy was greeted with barbecues, dances and very well received.

Most people agree the first convoy was a success in that they got a world record for the longest distance traveled by a motor convoy, public support for the military and repairing roads was higher than when they left.

The second convoy, done in 1920, was done to raise public support for a national highway system. It was a bit smaller, about 50 vehicles, and found issues with the Mississippi flooding, and impassable desert sands in the Southwest.

Its debated the effect the second one had - while the crew was again greeted with parties and press, they failed to garner support for a national highway bill (though a bill passed in 1921).

Longterm, these convoys did have an effect on the future of America. President Eisenhower, a rider on the first convoy, supported the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 (which created many of the highways we know and love today), partly because of his experiences with the first ride and even told some stories about it in his book, At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends (Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1967).

This new convoy, as we were told, has more than a single purpose -

1. To celebrate the anniversary of the 1st convoy
2. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln
3. To celebrate the fine work of the US military.

In all, I think that it succeeded. They visited Cantigny on the same weekend as the Fine Art Fair, and seemed to have quite a few visitors. Many were little kids who hadn't seen anything like that before.

Anyway, getting back to the genealogy of the convoy...

1. Learn more about it. NARA has a section on their website under "America on the Move".

2. Search the newspapers for the local community. ALL of them would have covered this, as it was a big deal when the convoy came to town.

For example, the Fort Wayne Gazette from Fort Wayne, Indiana on July 19, 1919 discussed the aspect of H. S. Firestone donating vehicles, and the Reno Evening Gazette from Reno, Nevada on September 6, 1919 discussed statements by Lieutenant Colonel C.W. McClure, the leader of the convoy, and the efforts of Captain J.H. Murphy, who was in charge of recruiting.

An article from the conclusion of the trip on September 7, 1919 in the Oakland Tribune, gives a list of official observers from the trip. You never know what you might find!

I suggest if you try Ancestry.com, to search 1919 for keywords "Transcontinental Motor Convoy" and see what happens.

3. The Eisenhower Library has quite a few records about his time in the convoy.

4. Check out more about the new convoy at the MVPA website.

This video was taken by the MVPA as the convoy was going through Iowa.

Sources:
Ancestry.com - Copies of the Reno Evening Gazette, Oakland Tribune, and Fort Wayne Gazette.
MVPA.org
AmericasLibrary.gov
Eisenhower.archives.gov
History.sandiego.edu

New Pattern from Berrocco - HOT! I love it!

2009-06-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

I know I've been hard on Berroco before on my blog. They have created new yarns for the fall and reawoken my interest in them.

Cirilia Rose sent out an awesome KnitBits this week getting us excited for Sundae yarn!

It looks gorgeous. But that's not really why I'm posting :-)

Check this out: Bolt Legwarmers

Aren't those incredible? They look like they might be one of the few and proud legwarmer patterns that STAY UP of their own accord and HUG, not slouch.

And the cables make me think they'd be a sexy knit, rather than a poke-your-eyes out stockinette field like so many other legwarmer patterns.

More news to come later this weekend!

Poor missing Bear!

2009-05-15T20:17:00.004-05:00

Things are quiet in Yoohooville...

2009-05-06T21:48:00.001-05:00

...I haven't being doing much crafting lately. Too much working!

I am designing a new blanket that I hope to be done with after my summer vacations. A couple good trips and I'll have all the crochet I need LOL.

I also officially started my etsy store, though nothing is listed in it yet.

I'm also working on these, to help raise money for my knitting guild. The pattern is Dainty Earrings.

Please sign this petition regarding gardening at the White House

2009-04-12T12:26:00.000-05:00

Subject: Tell Pesticide Peddlers: We support Michelle Obama's organic garden.

Dear Friend,

The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has a bone to pick with Michelle Obama. MACA represents chemical companies that produce pesticides, and they are angry that - wait for it - Michelle Obama isn't using chemicals in her organic garden at the White House.

I am not making this up.

In an email they forwarded to their supporters, a MACA spokesman wrote, "While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made [us] shudder." MACA went on to publish a letter it had sent to the First Lady asking her to consider using chemicals -- or what they call "crop protection products" -- in her garden.

Michelle Obama and has done America a great service by publicizing the importance of nutritious food for kids (she's growing the garden in partnership with a local elementary school class) as well as locally grown produce as an important, environmentally sustainable food source.

I just signed a petition telling MACA's board members to stop using Michelle Obama's garden to spread propaganda about produce needing to be sprayed with chemicals. I hope you will, too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/wh_garden/?r_by=-1982793-oaoVC5x&rc=paste

Thanks!

Construction Marketing

2009-04-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

Those of you who know me well know how much I enjoy working in the A/E/C industry. One of my favorite sources for outside-the-normal RFPs/RFQs is the RFP Database. This is one of their press releases for the week, and I think such cross marketing is awesome!

Its nice to see an RFP database that isn't a front for another website, charges you a reasonable cost and has an astonishingly high quality community. If you haven't joined, I encourage you to do so.

---

Wanna Get Dirty? The RFP Database is Proud to be Featured on MikeRoweWorks.com to put America Back to Work

Northampton, MA (PRWEB) April 1, 2009 -- The Request For Proposals Database is proud to be working with Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" to put America back to work! In honor of Mike's site going live last month, the RFPdb Team scoured the web to add more than 100 new construction RFPs. Visit http://www.mikeroweWORKS.com and go to the "Job Site" portion of his site for the RSS feed of all our construction projects on his site and a link to the "RFP Database".

"We share Mike's values and celebrate the businesses that land the dirty jobs that build our country," said David Kutcher, president of , the creator of RFPdb.com. "Our goal is to enable businesses to find work and help their employees, as Mike says, 'go to work clean and come home dirty.' That's what RFPdb.com is all about."

The demand for skilled workers to rebuild our country's infrastructure has never been greater. Areas of opportunity listed on RFPdb.com include construction, engineering, architecture, advertising, marketing, web design, computing, management, manufacturing, and other fields - basically any work brought to RFPdb.com by its members. The RFPs range from small projects in the thousands of dollars to large projects running into the millions. Project solicitations are issued by municipalities, state and federal agencies, major corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations and others.

Membership on RFPdb.com is free. Got time on your hands before your next project? RFP Database wants your labor, and we'll compensate you for it! If you help the rest of us by uploading projects you aren't bidding on, we'll stock your account with credits that enable you to download your next RFPs for free. Need more incentive? There are no registration fees, no subscription fees, and no commissions. If you'd rather purchase the project leads without uploading projects they cost a mere $2.

For contracting officers looking to attract competitive bids on their projects, RFPdb.com offers an easy-to-use and active marketplace to list your project with over 38,000 registered users from small, mid-sized, and large businesses. The listing cost per project? Free.

Join us and discover for yourself why thousands of people, representing diverse businesses and organizations, are registering each month.

RFPdb.com offers:
An exceptionally affordable and high-return resource for businesses seeking new work.
No fee for joining -- you get the first 2 projects free, and you can be selective in the projects you choose to bid on.
No registration fees, subscription fees or commissions
$2 per project lead -- free if you help by uploading projects
Free sign-up to daily or weekly customized alerts of new projects
200+ new projects uploaded every week
A community of more than 38,000 registered users
A LinkedIn group for members to learn, collaborate and discuss

About the RFP Database (RFPdb):
The Request for Proposal Database (http://www.RFPdb.com) was created to facilitate the submission and sharing of RFPs between organizations and contracting firms/independent contractors. This goal of the RFPdb is to provide a public site for organizations to post their Requests for Proposals (RFP) to a centralized location that will garner them the most responses and a destination for companies seeking projects to bid.

About Confluent Forms LLC:
Confluent Forms LLC (http://www.confluentforms.com) is a boutique branding, graphic design, web design and custom software development firm based in Northampton, MA. Incorporated in January of 2002, Confluent Forms has provided technology consulting, branding, graphic design, web design, PHP and MySQL development, Web 2.0 software development, application development and hosting services to customers from the Fortune 100 to local non-profit organizations, startup businesses and academic institutions.

For More Information:
David Kutcher
President
Confluent Forms LLC
+1-413-303-9612
http://www.confluentforms.com

Genealogy and Sources

2009-03-31T08:46:00.004-05:00

Earlier this morning, I read a blog entry entitled "5 Bad Genealogy Sources".

I know there is a war between the "new" generation of genealogists that use Internet sources and the "old" generations of genealogists who supposedly only use non-Internet sources.

This seems to be on the "old" generation side. My problem with it is thus:

"Where is the idea of critical thinking in this entry?"

Genealogy is all about critical thinking. New people will take sources and use them blindly without thinking of the following factors:

-Where did it come from?
-When did it come from?
-Who did it come from?
-What is the evidence?
-How many degrees is it removed from the primary source?

And it is up to us more experienced genealogists to teach them this. NOT to tell them to blindly take sources off the list - because for every "bad" source, I can think of an exception.

1. Wiki Sites - Wikipedia is obviously not a great source of information but there are many focused, centered Wikis created by people with a knowledge of the field. I consider http://medievalgenealogy.org.uk/index.html to be a "wiki" of sorts considering its format - and its got more sources than any other website I know.

2. Personal websites - again - you have to READ what the site says. My site contains hundreds of sources and when possible, links or images of original documents. There's a good list of a hundred associated with my family that I can come up with that I know are well sourced as well. I can come up with, sadly, dozens of sources that aren't good sites. But you have to READ and make that decision for yourself.

3. Blogs - I think most of these are about techniques in genealogy. I rarely see any regarding information. I can only think of one site where sources are posted and she's affiliated with USGenWeb. If I saw more personal blogs with sourcing I might think otherwise about them.

4. and 5. Well -- I'm with you on that one. Movies and Stories are great inspirational tales but aren't necessarily accurate. There are a few storytellers that take great pains to do research and be accurate for their stories, though. Alison Weir, for example.

In the end, please apply the critical though process to the use of any source. And keep track of the unsourced ones as well, but don't build your portfolio around them. Many "stories" of my family that were unsourced turned out to be 100% accurate.

-Where did it come from?
-When did it come from?
-Who did it come from?
-What is the evidence?
-How many degrees is it removed from the primary source?

If you think about that each time you read a new website, blog, Wiki, book, newspaper, microfilm, database, etc. - your genealogical project will be something to be proud of!

an Institution is ending in Chicago ...

2009-03-25T13:10:00.000-05:00

...

For Immediate Release 25 Mar 2009

For confirmation contact Mary Beth Sheehan (773-393-8687)

RE: SOUTH SIDE IRISH ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE PLANS FOR 2010

Let this release serve as notice that the South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is not planning to stage a parade in its present form in March of 2010.

This decision was not arrived at lightly. For 31 years, this parade was a staple of the Beverly/Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood communities – a celebration of faith, family and heritage that was cherished by thousands. Founded in 1979 by the Hendry and Coakley families, it was intended to instill in this community an appreciation for the Irish heritage that so many of its residents share.

This parade was an eagerly anticipated annual event which celebrated families, many of whom have created decades long traditions that we hope will endure. But what began as a neighborhood parade is now an event of international proportions. More than 300,000 people typically flock to the Beverly area each year, and the sheer volume has become more than the neighborhood can reasonably accommodate. With these numbers comes a collection of issues that strain both the host community and those individuals charged with effectively managing the crowds. Additionally, the amount of resources required to launch the event has become overwhelming to the community.

The Committee would like to thank the tens of thousands of parade faithful who supported this event for more than 30 years. The multigenerational families who turned out along Western Avenue each year, along with the fine organizations featured in the Line of March, were the essence of what made this parade so special. We would also like to thank the Chicago Police Department for the effort they put into managing the ever-growing crowd while working to maintain the dignity of the event.

While we regret the need to alter such a fine tradition, the Committee feels that suspending the South Side Irish Parade in its present form is the just and responsible thing to do. It is our hope, however, that this will not mean an end to the neighborhood’s annual celebration. The Committee will work to create a series of alternate events that will return us to what the parade’s founders had in mind – a neighborhood-friendly celebration of Irish heritage. Please look for news of our plans later this year.

Thank you for your support,

The South Side Irish St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

Happy St. Patricks' Day! New Alltop Feed

2009-03-17T09:51:00.005-05:00

(This adorable photo is by dalcrose at Flickr under a Creative Commons license)

I have but a wee bit of unproven Irish ancestry in me. My grandmother's family always carried the story that their ancestor Robert Perry was Irish. So far I've got the tree back to 1700s Virginia and hit a dead end. He may have been Irish, English, or possibly Welsh.

So I'm not sure. If it was true, my share of the Irish bloodline wouldn't be large, but enough to celebrate today! :-)

One of my favorite sites to use for mass amounts of news - Alltop - released customized URLs and personal sites. Hurray! If you would like to learn more about what I like to read, feel free to check out the

Crafting in Yoohooville Alltop

Essentially, its a hybrid list of many of the blogs I read that's kind of like looking through a magazine rack, only its online stuff (though a couple blogs are missing, namely Bargain Babe and Retire at 40).

Please check it out and enjoy! And feel free to create your own Alltop and let me know where it is so I can check you out too!

Help BlueAvocado Get 1 Billion Plastic Bags Off the Street!

2009-03-14T10:52:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MbTVC1BWaY

Change the way you shop - for good. Watch this video and make the pledge to use fewer plastic bags. Together we can keep one billion plastic bags from polluting our streets this year.

Monster Mini Golf - the countdown begins!!!

2009-03-06T14:10:00.005-06:00

We are inviting you to the 5th Annual Monster Mini-Golf Pub Crawl to benefit Berwyn C.A.R.E.S!

Sign In is from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm at the Windsor Bar
Tee Off is at 12:30 pm
After Party is at 6:00 pm at the "19th Hole" at Windsor Restaurant featuring pizza compliments of Berwyn's own Salernos!

Drink specials will be available at every bar and there are plenty of prizes to be had!

Registration is $50 and is due by April 13, 2009!

Bars include:
Cabin Fever
George's Tavern
Quan's Oasis
Windsor Restaurant & Sports Bar
The James Joyce Irish Pub
Salerno's Pizza
Garv Inn
Cherry Lounge
Olive or Twist
Over the Rainbow

For more details and our registration flyer, visit, our http://www.berwynjaycees.org or our Facebook Group

Social Media - how much time does it take? (or the #1 question I get asked)

2009-03-04T08:48:00.002-06:00

This is probably the top question I get asked, so I thought I'd list my time out here:

-Twitter: I check in a couple times a day, and scroll maybe the first page of tweets in my newsfeed. I post tweets more frequently, but those take maybe two minutes to write. - Total: app. one hour per day

-Facebook: Err...I spend a lot of time on here On days when I have to help the Jaycee groups I spend an extra hour - probably two hours a night and an hour spread across the day.

-Blogging/Reading Blogs: I don't blog as often as I should (guilty!), but I do spend a lot of time reading my favorite blogs (Frugal Dad, Retire at 40, Sustainablog, Construction Marketing Ideas, Seth Godin's Blog, Blog Maverick/Mark Cuban) - probably an hour a day total. If I write something for my blog make that an hour and a half.

-Ravelry/Craftster: I peruse at my leisure. I will go weeks without going on at all, and then stay on for hours a day. It all depends on that weeks content or if I'm looking for something. - probably fifteen minutes a day

-Email: I still spend a LOT of time on email - I run the mailing lists for my USGenWeb sites, interact with people on the Canadian ones and am an the National Advisory Board for USGenWeb - which translates into a ton of email. I also get a lot of newsletters sent to me because I'm terrible about checking websites. - Total spent across the day, 3 hours across 3 email accounts.

-Google: I've set up alerts for my name and my maiden name to see what comes up. Sometimes I have to play defense, but most of the time its a pleasant surprise to see my name in the news (even if its not me). - total spent: 10 minutes a day

-Flickr: I still post pics when I have time, but rarely do I do it when its not associated with Ravelry somehow. - maybe ten minutes or less each week

That being said, its not the majority of my day spent on the SM circuit. I still make plenty of time for working, knitting, eating and working out.

Anyway, what reminded me of this was the latest batch of emails I had received expressing wonder about how much time it took to do this and then there was a beautifully written piece at Museum 2.0 about the topic of how much time they spend doing things and what they recommend for time crunched museum peeps.

Alton Brown and Company in the FN Dish

2009-02-25T14:41:00.005-06:00

Guys,

I am so excited! One of the photos I did for Ravelry was found by Food Network, and they're in the FN Dish.

If you haven't already read it (since its a very cool blog, you should read it regularly!), here's the link

Food Network Action Figures

Twittering Again

2009-02-18T16:18:00.004-06:00

More followers or Better Followers?

I have this problem ALL the time. I have to clean spammers out of my Twitter regularly. I would rather have a network of experts and interesting people to read than watch my counts go up or down. As long as people aren't twittering on something really stupid, I never defriend them. A great many people I follow just because something catches my eye, or Mr. Tweet says they're interesting so I start there.

Twitter's a hard little critter. I'm somewhere in between its totally useless and a timesink like Facebook and its interesting because of its totally lack of boundaries to people I really admire. I'm still working on it.

Valentines Day - or why I hate reading articles about it

2009-02-12T10:42:00.003-06:00

Here's the latest example:

"How Not to Gain Weight on Valentine's Day"

I don't hate Valentines Day. I rather enjoyed as a kid handing out the little cardstock cards saying "Bee mine" with a little picture of a bee for example. The act of stuffing a homemade mailbox full of cards was fun, to say the least.

However, when you grow up, Valentines Day becomes all about gifts, chocolate and flowers.

I bucked that trend a long time ago. My boyfriends quickly learned that I wouldn't be happy with a gi-normous bundle of flowers. All I wanted was a single rose with a pretty velvet ribbon. On occasion, a cute stuffed animal. The man who married me even gave me a bit of jewelry one year.

That's as far as it goes for me. I think its idiotic that people have Valentines Day "arms" races to see what guy can spend the most on his lady. Or lady spend the most on their lady. For that matter, Sweetest Day in October is the same thing.

My husband and I have declared Valentines Day and Sweetest Day null holidays. We'll say Happy X Day to each other, but there's no gifts, no fancy meals, no insanely expensive things, etc.

We prefer to show each other love on the date of our union - our anniversary. This makes much more sense. And we don't go crazy and buy tons of jewelry or anything. We spend the day together and enjoy some time. Sometimes we pick up a bottle of wine. We also tend to go on vacation around our anniversary since its right by Memorial Day, so there's a paid day off.

Why people make such an insanely big deal out of two days a year and then treat each other like crap is beyond me. My husband shows love by cooking dinner and fixing my scooter. I show love by making him things and cleaning the house. Its that partnership that shows love, not either of us spending mega bucks (or not) on the holiday.

So I encourage you to think outside the box and plan something nice for your anniversary - even if its just taking your spouse to the park and then Pizza Hut for dinner. That would show more love than anything the press is suggesting.

Even in the darkest times, a light emerges...

2009-02-10T15:00:00.002-06:00

David Tree Shares His Water with an Injured Koala

Can't get onto Yahoo, but I can get on Youtube!

2009-02-01T15:26:00.002-06:00

Slip Stitch with yarn in front on a loom

*You might have to crank the sound - no matter how much my video editing guy worked with it, we're still having trouble with it.

This is driving me crazy! I still can't get onto Yahoo!!!

2009-01-31T13:47:00.003-06:00

ARGGHH!! I must have 500 messages built up by now. I can't access groups, I can't access my mail - nothing but the home page and that's IF I haven't signed in.

Our home computer is down so I've been accessing things on the work laptop - and its locked down otherwise I'd download Firefox immediately.

Curses! I apologize if anyone is trying to get ahold of me - use cfbandit at gmail dot com instead.

LoomClass Yahoo Group -

2009-01-30T08:42:00.004-06:00

If anyone sees this, please let them know I have not been able to access Yahoo since about 12 noon yesterday. I've made all the updates to my browser and added all the shortcuts that Google suggested, but all I end up with is an endless spinning circle in my browser and nada for any Yahoo site.

Yesterday I was able to get on for short periods of time (a minute or two) before it would start that bit.

My computers from work only have Google Chrome on them since IE was deemed too much a security hazard and FF too resource intensive.

The video for "slip stitch in front" is in processing now and should be up tonight.

I've also updated my twitter status, facebook status to reflect this in the hopes someone sees it!

Great Marketing!

2009-01-29T11:05:00.001-06:00

River Pouch - Final Information

2009-01-27T23:32:00.002-06:00

The final versions of the two patterns have been uploaded as well as the conversions lesson PDF. Enjoy!

River Pouch - Final Needle Knit

River Pouch - Final Loom Knit

Conversion Lessons - River Pouch - Knits, Purls, Slips

Chart for the River Pouch

2009-01-27T10:38:00.004-06:00

For the Slip Stitch Portion, here is the chart of the stitches. All white boxes are knits, all black boxes are slips.

The dark blue lines are the outer edges of the design - 15 stitches per row, 22 rows.

Edit: I'm going to add here a question that was asked in class since it would clarify things.

Yes, you do need to add a row of purls for the needle knit version or a row of knits for the loom knit version between each row. That will give you the correct amount of rows.

Vroom! Motorcycle Handle Covers

2009-01-26T12:01:00.006-06:00

I hate when I forget to make a post!

I made these this past fall. They're super easy to do -

1. Measure the circumference and the length of the handle being covered.

2. Multiply that by the number of stitches per inch from your normal crochet gauge. In Jiffy Print, the yarn these are made of, that's 3.5 stitches/inch. With a 1.25 inch circumference, that's about 4.2 stitches around, rounded to five to make sure it slides on and off when needed.

3. Using an J hook, chain 5 and join to make a circle.

4. Do single crochet until you have reached the proper length of the cover. In this case, about 4 inches - 4.5 inches.

5. Bind off and go slip them on!

River Pouch: Class on Needle/Loom Conversion, Post 1

2009-01-25T16:00:00.004-06:00

Hello all!

In this post are two pictures of the same project. One has been loom knit, the other has been needle knit.

Can you tell the difference? Leave a comment in the comments section with whether the dark blue or the light blue projects have been needle knitted or loom knitted.

Oh yeah, and the pattern document is now on the blog!

Funny!

2009-01-22T15:16:00.001-06:00

Someone very creative on Facebook made this up:

(I do agree, though I shamefully went through a I heart Nickelback phase)

Cooking

2009-01-20T15:49:00.004-06:00

Hi all!

I've been doing a bit of cooking lately. Here and there, a bit now and then. Nothing too fancy. I love making soup - adding lots of different things together to make such a great comfort food. My husband made the comment the other day that he should send my info to Gordon Ramsay's campaign to bring women back into the kitchen (no, not that way, stop your outrage in its tracks). I was a little teed off, then I started looking through my recipe files.

And realized part of the reason I didn't want to cook is that the recipes I have are exactly what I don't want to eat - too many carbs, too high fat, and too complicated.

So I've been searching the blogosphere looking at different people's blogs and recipes. One particular one popped out at me (while I was ...ahem...searching for a martini...picture) as looking really intriguing.

Dr Mary Dan Eades

I don't often spend time going back and reading past posts (save for the Bittersweet blog, but that's partly because I enjoy the recipes and partly because she's a damn good writer). This one I went back and read them. And found another writer that is refreshingly good with the English language, cooks a lot of interesting stuff, and BTW, happens to be the author of a best selling book. I like when people are like that - they may be celebrities, but they are refreshingly down to earth and seem like they understand the struggles of us little people out there (err...should I say not so little?).

I have been extremely busy lately, so no cooking as of my newfound discovery. The husband's been experimenting with low carb, though - Sunday's meal was a "pizza" frittata that I absolutely adored and sincerely hope he makes again.

Aside from the stress of putting a proposal together and suddenly finding your CFO forgot to do the cost estimate, I've been putting together a design for my class on the 25th. I need to get that photo over there...

I've also been going to the gym three nights a week since early December (yes, I beat all the stupid New Years resolution people in and I'm still going where they are not). I had been winning the stupid incentives - free water bottles, a tshirt, etc. Two weeks ago, however, I won a personal training session. I had two goals: 1. to lose weight and 2. to gain abdominal strength (of which I've had none since the cancer treatment).

What an eye opener when I went last week! She had me do things I swear I haven't done since high school. Push ups, weights, etc. and a few things with a new twist - lunges and crunches on a ball as well as my work on the extension machine to help my legs. And I'm embarrassed to say I got on the elliptical machine for the first time and am wondering why the heck treadmills exist now. Seriously? I can do 2.7 mph on the treadmill and be able to do 20 minutes. 8 minutes of elliptical and I've burned the same calorie count at 1 mph. And its a LOT more of a workout. I have to say I've been enjoying my workout sessions more with this new plan. I was a bit bored before and now the workouts are back to being interesting.

With the new(ish) diet and the extra exercise, I'm at least hoping to see either the weight or the inches go down (I've been having issues with water retention) soon. My membership at the gym is through February, I'm hoping to have enough money to renew it.

We shall see!

Architecture: 5 cents

2009-01-08T12:19:00.002-06:00

Great post at Treehugger. I know, I cringe at the name too - but I think this is a very creative, inventive way to get out there and market his business.

My parents have hired architects on a few occasions. Even if its for a tiny project, it tends to be worth it to get the expert to lay down all the issues instead of going in and having to spend weeks, months, years figuring it all out yourself. The four season porch at my parents, for example - the architect helped Dad out with the roof issues.

I love it when humor, education and marketing all come together :-)

Urgent Notice to My UK Residing Friends

2009-01-07T13:20:00.003-06:00

CareNews just posted a notice about this on Twitter.

Maggie's Law Petition

I read through it and am truly saddened that anyone could hurt a poor creature like that.

I can't sign the petition (I'm not in the UK), but I urge any one of my friends in the UK to sign it.

Hopefully the attacks will stop and life will be happy for the animals once these horrendous people are brought to justice.

Exciting New Things Ahead

2009-01-02T14:46:00.002-06:00

Image via a Creative Commons License from Flickr User cursedthing

I know I've been promising a new pattern for awhile. Well, I'm signed on to teach a Loom Class at the LoomClass Yahoo Group so I'm gonna have to do one now :-)

The twist on this one is that it will be a needle knit pattern I design, and I'm teaching how to make a conversion of it on a knitting loom.

So far I've picked what I think might be an interesting stitch at a large gauge but have not tried it yet. That's for this weekend.

The Blackberry trio (hat, scarf, mittens) is taking me longer than I thought it would to do - my circs have been giving me a little trouble, poor vintage things that they are - and I've been sidetracked on genealogical stuff.

Anyone have ancestors named Joel Graves and Adelia Root? :-D

I've also got an idea in the works for a new project that I'm going to try and have done for the next Loom Knitters Circle.

For those of you who are relatively new to my circle of friends, Lycanthropile has taken the Supernatural Impala Dishcloth chart and made an awesome Metallicar Illusion Scarf out of it! I have to give her some props - the scarf looks awesome and I'm thinking about trying my hand at illusion work since I can actually see the image in her design!

I've been doing a lot of updates on my genealogy site since there have been so many new pieces of original data posted to the Family Search Labs, to HQ, etc. I've been itching to go back to my local FHC since I know they have a World Vital Records subscription but they closed for the holiday.

Did I mention my husband got a job just up the street from it? :-D Now I can have him pick up film order forms and drop off the cash to order them so I don't have to make a special trip out there just to order something (I swear, with all their changes I wish they'd implement online ordering of those darn things!).

Let's see...what else is going on? I got pissed off and left the kniftyknitterlooms yahoo group for the first time in almost five years because of a nasty note from the moderator. Its okay, though, the KK&LK group is a good replacement and the mod Helen is totally awesome (and prolific! You should see some of her designs! Ravelry user: myheartexposed).

I've also been editing a lot of photos taken over the summer and plan on starting to upload them soon for the Evergreen Cemetery in Lake Orion. I've also got a disc of ones from Ogle County, IL that I should upload...hmm...

I've got to get my Canadian GenWebs up to speed though. I've been trying to work on them quietly and replace a few links at a time, but my customers are demanding better and I'm going to try and get it to them. I need to develop a contact up there to start helping me develop some new stuff. I feel sad that I can add all this new exciting stuff to my USGW sites but not the Canadian ones.

Anyway, its back to procrastinating on filing for me!

Access 2007 - the Label Error

2009-01-02T14:41:00.002-06:00

Okay, because this really annoyed me you're all going to have to suffer though a short post on MS Access 2007. Sorry!

Those who know me know I can't stand the program but that I have to use it at work in a multitude of functions.

Today's issue really frustrated me. I open a database, click "create labels" and then I get a label report that reads

"#error"

Huh? Searching the internet didn't give me any answers. I tried it three times before deciding that since it didn't work the first time, it was probably not going to work the 4th time.

So then I decided to go back to typing entries for my proposal log. And I see the "create" tab is available. So I click "labels".

This time, it gives me the SAME field options but it WORKS. It gives me a label listing I can export to an RTF and open in MS Word to edit the formatting (little blips here and there based off of how people entered titles.

So that's my big exciting thing of the day. The next thing I want to try and figure out is how to get it to do only entries done after a certain day.

Busy with Christmas Crafting? Take a Break!

2008-12-21T14:37:00.002-06:00

I've been busy getting ready for Xmas. Just one crafted gift this year but I did manage to get all of my trees, lights, wreaths and garlands up this year!

Big accomplishment for someone who barely got one tree up last year and sparsely decorated it! I guess you can say I'm really feeling the holidays this year.

Anyway, I'm off to bake doggie biscuits but I wanted to share one entertaining piece of news from the New York Times.

SantaCon 2008

This was hilarious and so timely! I think this year is all about individualizing the Christmas experience instead of everyone going mass-commercialization. I even managed to stick to a budget this year and came out pretty well!

Ha ha - Everyone Needs A Good Laugh Today!

2008-12-10T15:43:00.007-06:00

Warning: Rant Ahead

2008-12-05T08:45:00.002-06:00

I love Berroco yarns. And their patterns. And they employ my favorite designer ever, Norah Gaughan (Benissimo's designers are a *very* close second).

But this, well, I found it kind of offensive. And now they're on part 3 of a series on "recession fashion"!

In a recession, I realize they have to take a look at saving money. But are people really cutting back to where $50 is a deal>

Not in my world! My most expensive projects are in the $50-70 range. I like to buy expensive yarns and make smaller projects with them in a time of recession, not spend as much as my most expensive projects!

Here's a clue, Berroco - try listing smaller projects, not full sweaters, or giving a discount on your yarns (as in, buy a book or pattern booklet get 15% off or something) and don't try to kid that you're into the whole cutting the budget thing.

For those of us who have to cut our budget down, here are some better ideas:

1. Learn to unravel old sweaters from the thrift store. I can get all the cashmere/angora I want for $10 a sweater!
2. Learn to use expensive yarns next to the skin or places where the design impact will matter. Its not necessary to use the most expensive wool for a standard stockinette cardi, but it is necessary to use softer product for a pullover or for a cardi that will be worn on your skin, like with a tank top.
3. Buy some $10 gift cards from the store each month instead of buying yarn. Save them up to make a big purchase and it won't feel so bad in this economy (its already paid for!). If your yarn is "no dye lot", than buy one skein at a time.
4. Use your stash. Nothing costs more than yarn you aren't using. And if you just can't bring yourself to use something, donate it. Get it to someone who will be overjoyed at the thought of using your neon green fun fur (hello new crocheted Oscar!).
5. Learn to block acrylic. Its a different technique than learning to block wool, but once you try it, you'll never go back. I'm still learning it myself, but there are several projects that I need to photograph that show the results of learning to lightly block it.
6. Learn about knockoff brands. Like Noro Kureyon? Try Patons SWS. Like fancy sock yarn? Try Knitpicks. Like Malabrigo? Try some of the hand-dyed yarn on etsy. Hobby Lobby is especially famous for knocking brands off. I particularly like I Love This Yarn's selections!
7. Hankering for something new to learn? Purchase a set of knitting looms and learn how to knit differently. You'll be amazed at the way it will blow your mind at just how many ways you can enjoy knitting!

All of those will help squeeze some yarn time out of your budget without insulting you, making it seem like its a token gesture, or making it "fashionable" to be under budget.

Berroco, I'll still buy your yarns and avidly read Norah's blog, but like the parent of a five year old, all I can say is that I'm very, very disappointed in the company.

One Dollar Giving

2008-12-04T10:46:00.004-06:00

I regularly read many blogs, and Frugal Dad is one that I subscribe to because many of his insights are very good. (I also like Retire at 40 - he's very inspiring!).

Todays post was about small giving to charity - its been a rough, rough year for many people and charities are suffering for it.

So here's the idea, 31 charities, 31 days, and all they're asking is that you put forth $1 through Network for Good.

I decided to skip my weekly hamburger and throw my buck in for Community Access. I encourage all of you to do the same - and they are looking for etsy sellers to donate $1 from each sale of items on etsy to the various causes.

Thanksgiving Quiz

2008-11-26T22:00:00.000-06:00

13 out of 20 - not too shabby if I do say so myself! He he...

Click on the link below and see how much you know about our American
Thanksgiving!

http://home.aristotle.net/Thanksgiving/trivia.asp

New Job, New Crafting

2008-11-26T13:13:00.002-06:00

Hello all!

As I mentioned before I started a new job in September. I think I grossly underestimated the differences in timing required to do proposals on this side of the business.

In a perfect world, on the architecture side, I would spend about three days putting together everything that everyone wrote for a proposal. Sometimes I got it down to one and half by working an insane amount of overtime and really rushing it. And that's with a team of three working on it. And then I'd send it off to print and be on my merry way.

On the other side, there's not only the time spent writing, there's also the time spent writing for subconsulting, and time for printing (since my new job isn't stupid enough to spend $4K/month on outsourcing). I'm looking like more at a week. And that's with overtime, a lot of the time. I was disgusted to find I had spent an entire day on subproposals this past week!

Anyway, that's enough ranting - onto the crafting!

I started Jeni's scarf on the train out of Paton's SWS in plum. I've been really pleased at so far how its worked out - the color changes are nice, and the initial scratch factor of the yarn has pleasantly worked itself out as it tumbles around my bag. For those of you who are interested, it is the "One Skein Tapestry Scarf" on Ravelry. I think I entered the project...

I had heard many bad things on Ravelry about SWS, but I got the yarn for free, so I said what the heck. Jeni has been a very good friend and dance teacher and I wanted to make something nicer than usual. Of course, now I have to figure out what to make Jason, but that's doable, right? ;-)

C.

Updates and Such

2008-10-28T08:49:00.002-05:00

Hi all!

I've been working on the long standing Friendship Afghan project - its been sitting in my queue since October 2006, so I thought October 2008 was a good time to repick it up! haha...

Its all sewn together (slip stitch crochet) but... its just not there yet. Its too wild, too crazy with all the different patterns and textures. Some people's idea of fuchsia, for example, is vastly different - the afghan has everything from pink to hot orange, in my opinion.

So I'm going to make a black border for it. Got the needles, gauge and stitch count right for the yarn...now I just have to do it. :-( Five feet of the most boring knitting possible. On each side. Ick.

I've got to get the new photos on Ravelry. I've finished the black raspberry scarf and started a hat - well, I'm at 50% completion on the hat.

That's all for now. I'm going to a special event for the Western Suburban Purlers tonight at Stitchcraft.

C.

Open the 1926 Irish Census! Please help!

2008-10-28T08:45:00.001-05:00

What's the Deal?

2008-10-02T08:25:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I haven't written a post in forever.

I bet you thought the blog was dead, and nothing new was going up.

Weeelll, not exactly.

There's been a lot of personal turmoil going on.

1. I got a new job.
2. I got into a scooter accident.
3. My husband's job is being shut down.
4. I got an insulin pump finally!
5. I've been doing Yarn Smackdown all summer.
6. There's this little addiction called Ravelry...

So I've been out, but not necessarily about for the past couple months. Luckily, none of these things are particularly bad - I walked away from the accident with only an arm injury that's much better now, and the husband is looking for new work - so I'm around.

Here's what I have planned for this blog for the rest of this year:

1. Updates on the Dolce Cabo dress started this summer. I started it, then had to drop it after gauge problems. I want to get that one done before next summer!
2. The Happy Okra pattern. He's cute and cuddly and I want to make him a star!
3. China's Sweater pattern. China the stuffed panda and I share the same birthday, and I always make her a knitted or crocheted item each year. This year, I've got an adorable cotton sweater almost done for her.
4. Some new loom patterns. Inspired by what I've seen the Spanish and Argentinians doing, I've seen some *interesting* new ideas and want to get some internationally inspired patterns up here!
5. Some holiday stuff...not sure what yet, but the Halloween --> Christmas time of year is great and I want to share the joy!

So, in short, stick with me, guys and gals, and I'll be back strong soon!

Busy Swapping

2008-08-05T19:59:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a couple weeks. Sorry about that. I've got some new patterns almost ready. I've been concentrating on getting a swap package done, getting over my injured hip (no, I'm not secretly 80 LOL), and trying to stay out of the heat as best I can.

I've also re-joined the Project Runway fray. I LOVE that show! Its so addicting.

Talk to everyone soon!

Support the Illinois Jaycees - No Money Required!

2008-07-25T10:44:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends, Family and fellow Jaycees,

The Illiniois Jaycees are participating in the “Make My Non-Profit Run Better” contest for a chance to win an office technology makeover from RK Dixon. The winning organization will receive new office and network equipment valued at $20,000. The second prize is valued at $10,000 and the third prize at $5,000.

This is a great opportunity for us, as you know firsthand the time it takes to raise this amount of money. This makeover would allow us to be more efficient in providing services for those who need it most. And, typically, money raised tends to support our mission, rather than offset business technology costs.

How can you help? For once, not by donating money, but by voting! The organization with the most votes will be selected as a top five finalist. The more votes, the better chance we have to win.

Go to www.rkdixon.com starting on Monday July 28th and vote for the Illinios Jaycees until Aug. 4. Please vote once a day. This is tracked as a 24 hour period so if you vote at 8:00am you will not be able to cast another vote until 8:00am the following day. But, stay tuned … if we are chosen as a finalist we will need your votes again! We need this makeover to help us run better.

Please forward this email to any friends or colleagues who you feel would be willing to vote for us.

Happy voting and thank you for your support!

Tanya Lee
2008 State President
IL Jaycees
"Quest for Success"

Yarn Smackdown...

2008-07-20T19:38:00.002-05:00

...is coming soon!

I can't wait - I'm signed up for two events! :-D

New Loom Knitter Circle! Kitchen Cooking Apron!

2008-07-11T16:11:00.001-05:00

And my pattern is in it! Yea!!!!!

If anyone attempts it and struggles with the 3 needle bindoff imitation, I've created a video and put it on YouTube to help people with it.

Hey everyone, happy...

2008-07-04T21:04:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone, happy 4th of July. I'm sitting here at the Westmont fireworks, listening to the lovely sounds of big band music and watching the high(?) ____ dance, it's entertaining. 9:30 the fireworks are going off, I'm excited. I'll put some pictures up in my blog if I can get them. Hope everybody have a happy 4th. Bye. listen

Powered by Jott

The Anniversary Cowl

2008-06-20T16:35:00.001-05:00

So this one has a good story behind it.

I had originally gotten this yarn from a swap partner who had no idea what to do with it. "Its slubby" she said, and "wool" so I can't use it, it "itches" and such.

So I boldly said I shall take it! And make it into something nice!

I tried it on my looms. It didn't look good. In fact, it looked so bad I rolled it back up again and stuck it in my stash.

It then went to a garage sale my mother had two years ago. Everyone looked at it - "too itchy" "too slubby" "too...something".

So it went back home to Illinois from the garage sale in Minnesota. Mind you, this yarn has went through three states of moving now from its home to me to the garage sale and back to me.

The colors were right for Relay for Life. Kind of a silver, a purple and a white, I thought to myself that this just might be something unique. It didn't feel that scratchy, now that I'm more used to what wool feels like. And it didn't look "that" bad.

I tried the "Peasy Scarf" pattern. Didn't work. I tried crocheting with it. Didn't work. I tried a drop stitch scarf pattern with it. Not quite it, either.

Then it hit me. I could knit it larger than suggested, to make something that would account for the largest slubs while accentuating the laciness of the smallest slubs.

So I made a simple pattern - knit, purl, knit with 2 wraps, knit and drop the extra wraps, and purl. And I sew it together into a cowl. Perfect for just one skein of this very unique yarn.

And guess what? It was the first thing I sold at the RFL, and for the most, too.

And it went to a friend of mine for his dear mother for her wedding anniversary, whom I know will take beautiful care of it and keep it looking great!

Pattern:

Materials:
Approximately 50 grams of thick and thin yarn. This pattern would be great for handspun since it can be so wonderfully textured!
Appropriately sized needles. For this example, I used size 13
Yarn needle

START BY SWATCHING!!!! Take your yarn and find the ideal needle size. For Darice Sweet Sensations, they suggest a size 11.

Then go one or two sizes up - more if you're a tight knitter.

I went up one since my tension is fairly relaxed.

Cast on 18 stitches.

Knit row.
Purl row.
Knit row, but add a wrap to each stitch as you knit it.
Knit row, but keep your tension loose, and drop the extra wrap as you knit.
Purl row.

Use three needle bindoff, and sew in ends.

Voila!

Argh!

2008-06-18T11:42:00.004-05:00

Okay, so this is more about righteous indignation, or something like that.

I love Ravelry. Its no secret. But sometimes the forums drive me nuts. I'm not going to name any names, but there was a post on corn fiber yarn and a person from another country used it to try and snub the US for providing GM foods. I played it off, but after thinking about it, well, it's frying my eggs.

Now, do I like the idea of genetically modified anything? No. I don't want my kid to be allergic to shellfish someday and not be able to eat tomatoes becaus they have fish genes in them to tolerate cold better. Nor do I think we need a corn that has double the amount of sugar in it. Americans are fat enough without having to worry about the carbs we eat doubling due to genetic modification (myself included).

But, I don't like the idea that people from other countries just try to jab that remark in whenever someone talks about an alternative fiber yarn - like corn, soy, hemp, milk, rice, whatever.

There are lots of other countries providing GM foods to the world. Brazil is a huge producer of GM soy and GM corn. India is a huge producer of GM cotton. China produces GM corn and is working on GM rice. Its not just the US at fault here. GM's even shown up in Mexico as blow-over from the US and as corn prices rise there.

Recently I read that Monsanto and other companies were promising that they could "double" the yield of corn and soy crops and more countries were falling prey to the GM promise. Let's think about this. Did they "double" yields in the last twelve years? Did the products live up to their promise? Further, did these companies cause some of the price rate jackings because they patented corns and soybeans and made them more expensive to acquire?

The last article I read about the topic explained that the GM contingent was moving into China to give them GM corn so they could boost their yields. Have anyone ever stopped to think that maybe that it was a good idea they weren't using GM product? That we are supporting a world population that is nearing unbearable?

More important are the people who insist that using wool is sustainable and GM free. How can that possibly be? Are they monitoring the diets of the sheep they get their wool from? Are they only buying from farms that have food logs to make sure no GM foods get into the sheep diet?

Further, does wearing a fiber made from a GM food give you side effects? Does the turning of corn from non-resistance to resistance of BT mean you're going to turn green? Does anyone know the safety of this?

Ugh. This whole topic just fries my eggs. There's just not enough known about it to be spouting off on Internet forums. Personally, I'll take what I can get, recycle my yarns from the thrift store, drink my soy milk in the morning, stay away from corn (it upsets my stomach anyway) and try to live in the world the best I can.

I'm more concerned with what the product is made from. If its removing food from the system, I'm not interested. Something made with unusable byproducts is much more sustainable in my mind - using product that would normally get thrown away. Now that's ingenuity! And not using as many chemicals to do it - another ingenious idea! Or not using as much energy to make, releasing as much greenhouse gas, etc.

And bringing it back to what I was originally writing about, this isn't just about the US anymore. This is about the whole world. No one should be tossing in remarks when their country could just as easily be part of the problem.

Salt Lake City Climb4Life

2008-06-18T09:36:00.002-05:00

I am deathly afraid of those kinds of heights, but I encourage everyone else to have a good time in Salt Lake City this September.

Climb4Life

Some of the Ravelers pointed this awesome project out, so I'm sure there's going to be a large contingent of knitters and crocheters there.

Maybe I can talk my husband into climbing. Anyone know if an AMA or MotoGP race is there in September ;-P

Hi everyone, I am testing...

2008-06-16T13:06:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone, I am testing out a new service. This is from Jott.com where I can say things over my cell phone and they gonna put them in my blog. Talk to you later. listen

Powered by Jott

Busy, Busy, Busy (did I mention busy?), new tunes

2008-06-07T14:05:00.002-05:00

I've been working up a storm lately. First for Hiawatha, then Canstruction, and its going to start up again next week with 4 submittals due.

But while that means it sucks in regards to my time, it means my music intake has expanded exponentially!

Here's my new faves:

Ladytron - Ghosts

Katy Perry - I kissed a Girl

The Spill Canvas - All over you

Sandrine - Where do we go?

South - Wasted

Save Knitty Gritty!

2008-05-30T13:50:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the online petition:

"Save the Knitty Gritty Show"

hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/1234lulu/

I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

Best wishes,

Concetta Phillipps

oh my God!!!!! A super fiber tragedy

2008-05-30T12:17:00.002-05:00

http://www.malabrigoyarn.com/

The Malabrigo yarn mill caught fiber! Luckily, no one got hurt so we can semi-joke about it being a major fiber tragedy instead of a human tragedy.

All that yarn! All those records!

I thought my heart was going to stop for a second when I saw the post on Ravelry!

The Day of, it storms, again

2008-05-30T10:08:00.003-05:00

So its once again the Relay for Life, and once again its storming and there's a tornado watch.

Sigh.

There's storms abrewin' at work too, so I'm just not happy. I was up until nearly 2, so I really was hoping for a calm and pieceful day. Of course, that won't happen when the bosses who were going to go golfing today don't.

Then, my addiction reared its ugly head. I saw this when I tried to log onto Ravelry this morning!

AWGHHHHHRHKHJHGKKJHJKJJJJJHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Its one of those things. I don't log on for a day or two at a time sometimes, but I always know its there. Its like a fiber arts community blanket, that keeps everyone in it warm all the time.

Then they take it away to get it washed. And then people go crazy!

So I ended up with a bag and part of a box full of stuff to sell at the Relay. I'm hoping to get more done during lunch today.

I really just want to go home and go to bed, but obligations arise, I suppose. I'll have some new patterns off of what I did last night - a couple new scarves. And we'll see what I get done between the time I get to Relay, the time it starts, and the time I'm probably going to spend in the car, waiting out the rain.

Much Less Frilly Moccasins

2008-05-26T17:02:00.004-05:00

This pattern can now be found on Ravelry! Check out my latest post on the moccasins for more details.

Purple Flower Power!

2008-05-26T01:08:00.002-05:00

You guys will probably see a flurry of posts from me in the next couple days as I try to make stuff to sell at the Relay for Life.

I know, I know, I got talked into another charitable thing. Again. With a tight deadline. Did I mention I know?

Anyway, this was an idea for something quick and fun and I think they should be a big hit with the kids!

Feel free to use them for your Relay for Life projects!

This project has two parts, the flower and the "chain". Here's what to do:

Creating the "Chain"

1. Slip knot (leave a nice bit of yarn free) and Chain 120.
2. Single crochet into the 2nd chain from the beginning, and each chain thereafter (118 sc)
3. Chain one, then turn, and Single Crochet into each Chain. (118 sc)
4. Slip stitch into each single crochet (118 slip stitches)
5. Fasten off, and make sure to leave a nice bit of tail.

Creating the "Flower"

1. Chain 6. (6)
2. Do 12 double crochets into the space (like doing a granny) (12)
3. Chain 3, and do 2 double crochets into each double crochet from row 2. (24)
4. Chain 4, and do four treble crochets into the first double crochet from row 3.
5. Single crochet into the next stitch, then chain 3 (so essentially you will have a single crochet with three chains on top of it).
6. Repeat rows 4 and 5 through the entire circle.
7. When you reach the last set of treble crochets, you should be back at the beginning with no space for a single crochet. This is okay! Do the single crochet in the stitch where you had started the treble crochets (they should scoot over just fine).
8. Then join the first treble crochet and the last single crochet with a slip stitch. Fasten off, and weave in your ends. Your flower is complete!

Creating The Necklace:
1. Take your "chain" and fold it in half. Make sure it lies flat against itself! Take the pesky beginning yarn tail (from the beg. chain) and thread it through a yarn needle.
2. Weave this through the back of the flower, preferably into the first set of double crochets nearest the center ring. DON'T CUT THE YARN!!!!!
3. Once that's completed, do the same for the tail from the other side of the "chain".
4. Now, while I mentioned "don't cut the yarn", I really mean "don't cut the yarn!" here, also!
5. Now, take the remaining tails and thread them through the other side of the yarn, and weave them in. NOW, you can cut the yarn, LOL! If you're much more adept with a sewing needle, you could use some new yarn, but I'd just as same use the same thread from before.

And there you have it, a cute little flower necklace, modeled here by my bear Groovy!

Relay Scarf

2008-05-25T22:43:00.003-05:00

My newest pattern, created just for the Relay for Life of Berwyn Cicero.

I could REALLY use your help...if you can possibly donate your time or your dollars, here's where to go:

Concetta's Relay For Life Page

Anyway, to get the pattern, head over here:

Relay Scarf

Cute Puppy!

2008-05-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

The Great American Mutt Show was AWESOME!

The El Paso Bolero

2008-05-11T20:25:00.002-05:00

If you're on Ravelry, you've already read of my trials and tribulations with this pattern.

The sizing is crazy, the gauge is way off and its written in the most confusing way possible.

So if you choose to attempt it, and you've read my other notes, this is the shaping for the right front. As Lion says, work the same way on the other side, just "reverse". (*&*((&&&(*

Row 2 N2A: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 3 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 4 N2A: dc
Row 5 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc, 2 dc in last stitch
Row 6 N2A: dc
Row 7 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 8 N2A: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 9 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 10 N2A: dc
Row 11 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc, 2 dc in last stitch
Row 12 N2A: dc
Row 13 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 14 N2A: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 15 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 16 N2A: dc
Row 17 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc, 2 dc in last stitch
Row 18 N2A: dc
Row 19 A2N: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 20 N2A: 2dc in first stitch, dc
Row 21 A2N: dc
Row 22 N2A: dc
Row 23 A2N: dc, 2 dc in last stitch
Row 24 N2A: : dc
Row 25 A2N: dc
Row 26 N2A: : 2dc in first stitch, dc

When the piece measures the same as the back to armhole (aka the place where the marker was on the back piece, not called the same thing here), place a marker on each side. Decrease 1 stitch at the neck edge every row 4 times, and then every other row 3 times.

The work it until it measures the same length as the back, and do the funky neck shaping that they've developed.

Friday Funny!

2008-05-09T09:30:00.002-05:00

He he... I'm waiting on the boss to come take a look at what I'm affectionately calling the "kitchen sink" powerpoint (as in, "everything but the ...).

I'm randomly surfing Ravelry and in This Week in Ravelry #14, there was this project posted:

Yes, that's right...its a chicken wearing a sweater. I had a good laugh over it, and then I saw how nice the photos were in the users account.

So without further ado, thank Squiddles from Flickr for the lovely chicken sweater (and her photograph thereof) and I highly encourage you to waste some time on this lovely Friday looking at her other excellent photographs.

We need your help!

2008-05-08T08:54:00.002-05:00

This was posted to the Records Preservation and Community Access Blog yesterday. I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE.

America is a young country that needs to preserve its history for future generations. What we have gone through in the past may very well repeat itself, and how are future generations to learn?

With the downfall of many genealogical and historical societies, without these grants, the remaining ones may not survive.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Action needed for the Preserving the American Historical Record Act
Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Chris Cannon (R-UT) have issued a “dear colleagues” letter to the members of the House of Representatives, inviting them to sign on as original sponsors to the “Preserving the American Historical Record” (PAHR) bill.

PAHR proposed to increase federal support for state and local archival records held by government agencies, historical societies, libraries, and related organizations. This initiative would establish a program of formula-based grants to states for re-grants and statewide services to support preservations and use of historical records. The program, to be administered by the National Archives, will provide a total of $50 million per year nationwide. Each state would receive a portion of these funds for redistribution to organizations within its borders. This program would be in addition to the existing national grants program within the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

How can you help?

Contact your Representative in Congress and urge them to sign on as an original sponsor of PAHR. Write a few sentences telling him or her how PAHR would help his or her constituents — you! (Tell them how vital it is to have records preserved and available to the public.) Also, spread the word about this action alert!

Time is critical. Deadline for action is Saturday, May 10.

Faxing your Representative is the preferred method of communication. The Humanities Advocacy Network maintains a website with all of the contact information for legislators: http://www.humanitiesadvocacy.org/action_ctr.html

Further information about PAHR, including the bill, background information, and the amount of funding for each state can be found at:

http://www.archivists.org/pahr/

After all, work's well, that ends well

2008-05-06T11:08:00.004-05:00

So after ditching two deadlines (stupid work - we'll never grow if we can't give up micromanaging marketing), I found myself today with a bit of free time.

Here's what productively came out of that:

So I look a lot like Beyonce, Jesse McCartney, and ... Bob Dylan?

Hmm.

That thing is so off. If I use a different photo I get totally different results - a newer one I took and it said I looked like Halle Berry. Yeah right!

Here's another one - alright...

And what's really entertaining is that in real life, everyone says I look like Nichole Richie, but weigh more! ha ha ha ...

Work

2008-05-01T09:59:00.004-05:00

So I'm sitting here at the computer, working a "tight" deadline supposedly. the guys are supposed to be helping me with stuff, and one's doing a webex, and the other's on a conf call denying reality.

Grr...

I decided to take a fifteen minute break to chill out some. And took a Meyers-Briggs test at the urging of a staffing company email.

Here's what came out:

ENFJ.

Interesting. Here's what an online profile says about them (brief excerpt):

ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or
grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with
their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's
usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their
dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually
are.

ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is
expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or
projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial
ability.

ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and
decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in
organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are
organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may
not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about
people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than
those of their NFP counterparts.

I like that! It very much fits me. I juggle a TON of different things at a time. I would ADORE having my own business, just lack of financials right now is the only thing that prevents me.

I particularly like this part:

Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.

Resilient. Hehe. My husband more commonly calls it "being stubborn". I make an opinion and then I stick with it, unless it can be proved wrong. And there's only a few people who can prove me wrong - the husband, my good friend Emiel, and my two best girlfriends Amy and Lorraina.

More disturbingly, this is also true:

Face-to-face relationships are intense, personable and warm, though they may be so infrequently achieved that intimate friendships are rare.

Hmm. Interesting.

Its here! Its here!

2008-04-28T08:07:00.005-05:00

I was SO excited to find the package notice in the mail - and then my camera decided it wanted to not turn on.

Grr. That is SO frustrating!

Two trips to the K-M repair center later, I have a camera back - and I have been DYING to post these photos!

This was the only one I got before the camera went cuckoo:

Everything was so pretty wrapped - but I wanted to show my knit club and ripped them right open :-)

First off, the fun stuff:

Yum! Regia and new needles!

Then the stitch markers, of which I ALWAYS need small ones. For lace, for socks, these things are the bestest!

Allitrya went above and beyond and found me a little Lucky the dalmatian from 101 Dalmatians, my favorite movie ever! She is one awesome swap partner :-)

She also got two bags of sugar-free candy for me, which, unfortunately, didn't make it to the camera shooting. Needless to say, they were very tasty chocolates and mints :-) (DH said thanks for the mints - those are his favorite)

And the grand finale......

That is the most GORGEOUS bag I have EVER seen. My entire knit club was superbly jealous and wanted to know how I had got it. I love it and am SO glad to have had Allitrya as a partner!

Loom Knitters Circle

2008-04-21T01:16:00.002-05:00

I just sent in my first pattern to LKC! I'm so excited...I hope they like it!

Catching up...

2008-04-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

...so first I want to say I'm really sorry to my partner that I had to get an extension.

My grandmother died, I really apologize - but Dad and I got kind of involved with it and I spent hardly any time crafting the last piece of the bag (which is a 46 inch strap).

Its almost done! I've got six inches to do and sew it on. Then its pack it up and GO! Off by owl to my charming partner.

I can't wait to see if she likes it!

House Quiz

2008-03-25T21:18:00.000-05:00

Wear Orange on April 10, 2008

2008-03-21T09:01:00.003-05:00

ASPCA Day

Please support this great organization by wearing orange, and maybe kick them a little money? They support animal rights, and not in that weird, college age hippe, PETA animal rights.

I mean the ones that animals should never have to endure - mental and physical abuse, cruelty and torture.

My poor Heidi was an ASPCA pick, burned by a cigarette by her former owner and beaten so badly her pelvis and her back eventually fused together from their malformation. And she was a great pet - kind and sweet, loved to play with her rope. Her only fault was that she got a little nippy when people touched that sensitive area of her back, the poor thing. RIP, babe!

Please help them in anyway you can. I've been a member for years.

QUIDDITCH!!!!

2008-03-14T13:02:00.002-05:00

1. When Rita Skeeter prints a bad articles about Hagrid in the Daily Prophet, which Professor teaches Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class while he is away?
a. Professor Trisonikly
b. Professor Snape
c. Professor Grubbly-Plank
d. Professor Meshdeh

2. What was the article Rita Skeeter wrote about Hagrid called?
a. The son of Fridwolfa the Giantess
b. The Truth About Rubeus Hagrid
c. Dumbledore's Giant Mistake
d. Half Giant at Hogwarts

3. When the school champions were being chosen from the Goblet of Fire, whose name cam out first?
a. Fleur Delacour
b. Viktor Krum
c. Cedric Diggory
d. Harry Potter

4. What is the spell Ludo bagman says to magically magnify his voice when he commentates?
a. Sonorus
b. Sonafy
c. Lumos
d. Sonatus

5. What kind of dragon did Cedirc have to face in the first task?
a. A Hungarian Horntail
b. A Swedish Short-Snout
c. A Welsh Green
d. A Chinese Fireball

6. Who raised the trophy after winning the world cup?
a. Troy and Moran
b. Troy and Quigley
c. Quigley and Moran
d. Lynch and Connolly

7. How many bedrooms did Mundungus Fletcher claim to have?
a. 4
b. 8
c. 10
d. 12

8. For what did Moody mistake his birthday gift of a carriage clock?
a. An intruder
b. A basilisk egg
c. A bomb
d. A Blast-ended Skrewt

9. What did Mr. Ollivander produce for the end of Cedric's wand?
a. A bunch of flowers
b. A fountain of wine
c. Twittering birds
d. Silver smoke rings

10. The dark mark is on Snape's left arm.
a. Yes
b. No

Picture Scavenger Hunt
Karkaroff

A Basilisk

Mundungus Fletcher

Amos Diggory

Snape

The end of the week?

2008-03-07T17:19:00.002-06:00

Nope, not for me. I'm a bit crocheted out - thank god my bag for the HSKS4 is knitted!

I think I should be able to get far with it, but it may depend on the ability of the Elgin interview to get finished quickly. I don't know. With DB, who knows?

I'm a bit tired out of crochet for the week. I literally, spent the entire week doing nothing but blankets, booties and a little jacket, and buying baby clothes. My dance studio is donating everything to charity, and there was a nice little contest about it.

I figure I have everyone beat - I made some stuff, bought some stuff, and my mom even sent a baby picture for the "do you recognize me?" contest!

Fun stuff!

I also joined LinkedIn this week. Yup, I finally joined the adults and plan on using it for networking. I deliberated inviting my boss to my network, but decided against it and only invited the boss I like.

Talk to y'all later!

Woohoo! I've got it!

2008-03-05T12:07:00.001-06:00

Yes! And it came with two zipper pulls and its AWESOME. Best movie ever!

LOVE the New Norah Gaughan!

2008-02-29T11:41:00.003-06:00

I have a love of Norah Gaughan's knitting work, even though most of her stuff is for the *really* skinny people and probably not for me to wear. However, I just ran through the Preview for her "Objet d'Art" booklet for Berroco, and can we just say "WOW!" - Stuff that's original, exciting AND wearable. She's hit a good one here.

The above picture is "Veil" which is a really cool looking cardi that reminds me of one I had in high school that I absolutely adored to wear to my job selling pantyhose and purses to old ladies. This one is different in the shape of the back and shoulders, which almost remind me of a shawl or very loose shrug. Loads of fun there at my old job LOL, but at least it afforded me some of the classic shoes and purses and such that I still own because they're in fashion today. And it helped me refine a sense of style that I don't think I would be able to wear to my current "real" job!

Roundup in Hogwarts Land...or Happy Leap Year!

2008-02-29T11:35:00.004-06:00

This week has been absolutely fascinating.

-Monday, I worked on my HSKS4 bag some. Got really frustrated and decided to put it down for a little while. (stupid yarnovers...)

-Tuesday, I fell asleep on the couch at like, 7 pm. WAY too many nights of going to bed late, I think!

-Wednesday, I went to dance class and worked on merengue, salsa, bachata (sp?), and waltz. So fun! I also found out about the next dance party is going to be "Ballroom Baby" where they're going to collect things for the local "abandoned/chronically ill/abused" baby shelter.

-Thursday I spent in bed due to a strained calf muscle - yech!

-Friday (aka today), is Happy Leap Year! I've basically found out they don't need me for the addendum, so I've been looking up baby patterns based on the suggestions of the people from Ravelry for Quick yet useful items. I don't want to give them a bunch of headbands, for example, and find out the shelter can't use them!

Normally I would go to the dance party at the studio tonight, but I'm not going to bother since it would be a bummer just sitting along the sidelines with an injury.

So this weekend I plan to make baby items and intersperse that with rows on the HSKS4 bag. I'm on row 33 of 63 for the first side - I've got to pick it up a bit!

Quidditch, Round 2

2008-02-19T11:20:00.003-06:00

Questions

1. With whom does Ginny go to the Yule Ball?

a. Neville

2. When Harry arrives at the Burrow and Mrs. Weasley makes them all dinner the night before they leave for the Quidditch World Cup, what does her wand turn into?

a. rubber mouse

3. Since some of the sixth-year girls didn't have any quills on them, what did they think Krum might sign their hats in?

c. lipstick

4. How old does the Quick Quotes Quill say that Rita Skeeter is?

a. 43

5. What color cloak is wormtail wearing in the Riddle house?

b. Black

6. What color is "Mad Eye" Moody's magical eye?

d. Blue

7. What color are the robes that Rita Skeeter was wearing when Harry meets her at the Weighing of the Wands ceremony?

b. Magenta

8. What does Sirius Black tell Harry, Ron and Hermione to call him when speaking around anyone else?

b. Snuffles

9. Which team beat Wales, disqualifying them from competing for the Quidditch World Cup?

c. Uganda

10. What does Madame Maxime say is the only thing her steeds will drink?

c. single-malt whiskey

Picture Hunt
Goblet of Fire

Madam Maxime

Dragon from first challenge

Viktor Krum

Madam Pomfrey

Eww!!!!

2008-02-18T14:17:00.003-06:00

A poster on Ravelry was talking about how she basically pierced her tongue where a DPN got stuck in her mouth...

...but the best part of the thread was this:

That is the funniest graphic I have seen in awhile- that one and the Time magazine article that said Architects are the happiest people in the world. Yeah. Right.

Quack Here and There

2008-02-18T07:36:00.002-06:00

Sometimes, I just have to get something done. Little guys like this are what come out of this feeling that irks you until something happens.

I was sitting at home staring at a pile of Red Heart Super Saver that had been donated to me via my aunt-in-law and my grandmother-in-law. Bright yellow, orange - very odd colors I wasn't sure what either of them could have thought to do with them!

Then it occurred to me - this was a baby duck in the making! With a beak to grow into and cute little wings, this was a great idea!

I thought about how much sewing I would have to do if I followed the pattern in my Crochet project deck and decided to make my own. This isn't so much a pattern as a description of how I did it, and you can judge for yourself if you like the idea - or not.

I started by chaining five and then gradually expanding out in a circle until I had a small bowl sized shape. I then started decreasing until I had a ball shape, but enough room to stuff - which is what I did then. I closed off the circle and then used that as the beginning of a "foundation" for the back of the neck. I single crocheted around in a circle, I believe five stitches, and after that was tall enough, I stuffed it and closed it off as well. I then took the string and pushed it through the inside back to the other ball and made fan wings - cast on eight stitches, treble crochet into the fourth stitch eight times, slip stitch into eighth stitch - and then stuck the yarn through and did the same thing on the other side.

I then took some orange yarn and did fans for the feet and looped them through the bottom of the yellow ball - these were only four tc's instead of 8. Last, I did the beak, in which I kept doing single crochets until I got the shape I wanted. Then of course, I had to do eyes, which became simple French knots.

So a cute little duckie was born, and he lives on my tv now.

Accio - yarn and needles!

2008-02-16T21:09:00.002-06:00

I went up to MN for the Knit Out and Crochet Out at Mall of America. It was great fun - and I got a ton of free yarn and needles.

So "accio yarn and needles" and "accio patterns" from Patons, Lion Brand and others.

Lion Brand is coming out with a sock yarn! I'm so excited - it will be great if they do Harry Potter colors next year!