Keana.......a gal with a knack for knitting

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

I wish I was mushy & gushy & lovey & dovey.....my husband does too, but I'm not. I used to be but I'm jaded so it's not a big deal to me. Though I do have 4 men in my life that are the best Valentine's I could ask for. All 4 have stolen my heart a 1,000 times over & I am grateful that I will never have to spend February 14th alone. I took 2 of those special men out today for a wonderful treat. We hit up an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor!!!

Klavon's in The Strip District, Pittsburgh PA.

I'm a chocolate malt girl, though I would like to go back for a BIG sundae with my husband because I could never eat it all.

"Penny Candy" counter. Nothing costs a penny anymore but the candy was the kind of things you would get at the penny candy store. I bought candy cigarettes....one of my favorites!

Old fashioned booths.......

Jack looking out of the door into the city, he enjoyed watching all the trucks go by.

I think the pictures say it all.....though the last picture kinda creeps me out. Because what you don't see is that the ice cream man's sprinkles are going on ice cream below that the children are holding, it's a huge mural on the side of the building & the thought of someone spitting sprinkles onto my ice cream was kinda gross.

How to paint your brick fireplace....and totally freak out your husband.

2011-01-23T13:01:00.001-05:00

My husband used to travel quite a bit with his old job. The best trips he took were the trips to Germany, they were a week long & allowed me to do a little "home project." I would usually paint a room or make some curtains but the traveling ceased when he went to a new company. So when Dad went on his first business trip in a long time this past week I decided to take on a project. Painting a brick fireplace!

Here's the deal, you either love painted brick or you don't. You can love raw brick & painted brick but nobody ever seems to be on the fence about painted brick, the majority of people I meet don't like it. I love it! My husband....not so much, so I waited for him to go away & got to work.

I did a lot of research on this subject. Searched the internet for hours, talked to the guy at Lowe's until I was blue in the face & he was sick of me, I even took a picture of the fireplace & uploaded it into Photoshop CS5 & did a little "what it would look like" preview for my eyes. I was ready!

You will need:
rubber gloves
bucket
mild dish soap
vacuum cleaner
1 gallon of an OIL-based primer paint in white
1 gallon of ACRYLIC flat paint in color of your choice
3" paintbrush
2" or 3" thick nap paint roller
painter's tape
drop-cloths or plastic
old rags

Vacuum the brick off really well, get rid of cobwebs & loose grout, this is important & you may want to go over the brick a couple times.

Fill up your bucket with some hot water, add a few drops of the dish soap & swish it around. There is no need to have the rag or brick soaking wet when you are doing this., brick is porous & you must give it time to dry before painting it. A damp cloth will get the dust, dirt & cobwebs off & that is good enough. I did these 2 steps before I wen to bed & finished the next day, but I suggest you give the brick at least 2 hours to dry.

After the brick is dry..guess what....vacuum again :-)

Now we tape off what we need to do it well. I am a taper I love paint tape, my husband on the other hand thinks it's a waste of time. You would think the person who tapes off is the "Type A" personality but in this case, I tape because I am a slob & know full well that I color outside the lines whereas my husband is a "Type A" crazy person who colors inside the lines.

Most fireplaces have some "black soot" areas on the brick, usually above the hearth opening. This is the reason for the oil-based paint. My fire place is not bad but know that you may need to put several coats of the primer on this area of "soot spots" You may need 2 coats of primer on the entire fireplace since the brick is porous, so be prepared & let it dry throughly before you do the final color coat. Paying special attention to "soot spots."

BEFORE

Get out that thick, nappy roller....coat it really well & get to work. I wasn't sure what the reasoning was behind the 3" nap roller but I get it now. Having it that thick leaves a nice texture on your brick, it makes it look "naturally painted" - if that makes sense. I liked this roller because is reminded me of sheep fur....which reminded me of yarn....which made me want to go knot....but I controlled the urge & painted on.

I made a big mistake! I ignored one huge "rule of thumb" in the painting world. WORK FROM THE TOP DOWN! NOT FROM THE BOTTOM UP :-)
This made it a little harder for me to work on the top part & I had to wait for the paint to dry a little on the bottom before I continued on.

Let's talk brushes.....a lot of instructions on the internet said to use cheap brushes because they will get ruined when painting brick & that's true but what they don't tell you is that cheap brushes fall apart & you will get brush hairs in your paint job. Spend the extra 5 bucks, trust me!

After you roll the entire fireplace, get the brush out & dig into the grout....this is time consuming & boring but the finished product is well worth it. I found that angling the brush & dabbing worked great. Also, coat that thick with paint, it goes faster.

There she is all primed & ready for a coat of paint - I chose the color "Dove White" FLAT at Lowe's.
Not gloss or semi-gloss, you'll regret that.
It is a Velspar Acrylic paint & about $20 a can. When I first put the paint on I didn't notice a huge difference in the color of the primer & the color of the paint but as it dried I realized the primer had a "bluish" tint to it.
IMPORTANT TIP: after applying the paint in he grout with the brush you will end up with "brushstrokes" on your brick, go back over the brick with the roller to make them disappear while the paint & the roller are still sticky. You won't want those "brushstrokes" on he brick.

I love it, though I have to admit when that first brushstroke of primer went on I took a step back, gasped & had a moment of "Dear God, what have I done" You have to be 100% sure that this is what you want to do. I thought about this for months before the final decision was made. It was well worth it when I my older kids came home & said "Wow, it's so much brighter in here" and for the first time in their school life sat down at the kitchen table & did homework together ;-)

Was my husband happy? No, not really, he freaked a bit, we had a spat but I think it's growing on him. He's over it....like I told him, I spend 80% of my time in the kitchen.....I'm the only one that has to like it.

Final Cost: $80 for paint & supplies + $60 for some new decorations for the mantle from Marshall's

When mother nature sends you snow, make SNOW ICE CREAM!

2011-01-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

Things can get pretty cold in the Northeastern parts of the United States, at least once a winter we get hit by a pretty big snow storm & the world comes to an end. Everyone over 50 starts running for the store to grab their bread & milk. Me? I just grab the milk. Because when the snow hits & the kiddos get cabin fever this is one of the BEST things to do.

Google "snow ice cream" & you will come up with hundreds of different ways to make it. They are all tasty & they will all work. Just make sure you have all your ingredients, toppings & utensils ready to go because this melts pretty quick.

HOW TO MAKE: Take a HUGE bowl of clean snow, about 16 cups. Stir in 1 cup of milk & 1 cup of half-n-half. (you can use 2 cups of milk if you wish) Add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract & a half cup of sugar.

Most recipes call for a whole cup of sugar but I find that half cup of sugar works just fine & my toddlers really DO NOT need that extra sugar high :-)

Let the lil' ones go at it, stir! stir! stir! Let them get messy!
You can clean them & the table off later. Take some time to enjoy their excitement in stirring up some snow & milk, it's the little things that make memories. If you are standing their with a rag in your hand trying to wipe up every drop that falls out of the bowl you need to go get therapy for OCD, just sayin'

We used some leftover sprinkles from Christmas cookies, Starbucks carmel topping & chocolate syrup. Jack preferred to just use the sprinkles, he is a one-topping kinda man.

Now get outside, grab your spoons & have your family make a really cool treat after dinner tonight!

French Provence Smock

2010-03-30T15:04:00.001-04:00

My great-grandmother, Victoria Burell (that's her in the middle), came over to America from France when she was a little girl. Hoping for a better life. When she was around 14 a man did some work to my great-great-grandparents home. Instead of paying him in cash they gave him my great-grandmothers hand in marriage. They had 9 children, one of them was my grandmother, she was miserable her whole life. Married to a man 15 years older than her that she didn't love. I'm sure she didn't expect that America would be like that. On the flip side, if it wasn't for a leaky roof, I guess I wouldn't be here.

In honor of her, here is my French Provence Smock. I would love to tell you it took 3 hours & it was a piece of cake but it took me more like 3 days due to the little ones I have running around. I would like to tell my great-grandmother that times have changed & we marry men we love & pay people not only in cash but on these plastic things called credit cards and that she shouldn't worry because I won't be trading Sabrina's hand in marriage to my window washer anytime soon.

The author of this book, A is for Apron, complains about using bias tape, she doesn't like it. I loved it. None of that cutting strips of material & pressing, folding, pressing, folding. I ditched the pattern about a quarter of the way in & just wung it. The way it was written was to much for me to read, I like my patterns simple. It worked out just fine. I had a flaw here and there, but nothing noticeable. My only complaint is that I am a bit busty & it makes me look really pregnant. Which is not a pleasant thought to me seeing as how I had 2 babies in 18 months. (It looks lopsided in the photo because of the way I am standing & the wind was wicked) I would make every apron in this book if I had the time. But I think I am going to go give my husband a hug instead & be thankful my parents didn't give me away to the guy that delivered their mail.

Clapotis & Cancer

2010-03-17T13:24:00.004-04:00

I finished Clapotis! It was such a great knit, really it is, people would see me knitting this & were amazed at the outcome. The dropped stitch & all. But it's so easy, and much more easy the second time around.

It was knit for a friend who lost her mother this past summer to pancreatic cancer. My mom died exactly 14 days later. So as I knit this I thought about the women who have gone before us, my mother & my friend's mother. I thought about all that they would miss out on &about the time we were lucky enough to have with them. I'm selfish & would of liked more time. My mom was only 74, her mother, my grandmother, lived to be 94 years old. I feel a little cheated. Sometimes I would just be sad while knitting this. Other times I would have a smile on my face as I reflected in my mind the life I shared with my mother.

I hope my friend loves this Clapotis as much as I loved to knit it. I hope it brings her comfort on the bad days & warmth on the cold snowy days.

Know the signs, of Pancreatic
and Ovarian cancers. Stay with us a lot longer than cancer would let you. Be informed & be protected.

Barefeet.....

2010-03-11T08:11:00.002-05:00

Because it's just that nice out...

I can't bake! But I try...

2010-03-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

I'm a gadget gal, new phone out...sure I'll buy it, Wii?...yeah, I'll search all over like a mad woman wanting one, Xbox? we got one of those too. Zune, IPod...whatever, I'm game! So when I saw the Kindles come out, then the Nooks, then the Sony Readers, I knew I had to have one. After some investigation, I snatched up a Sony Reader! Knitting books, cookbooks, novels, The New York Post, anything I want & I don't' have to leave the house. So if I read a review about a new novel I would love to crack open...no schlepping the kids to Border's to buy it, I just sit at my computer and click-click-click. Now, trust me, I still take the little rugrats to Border's & buy them their books but if you ever spy a lady walking around looking at bookshelves & talking into her Droid (yep, had to get that too!) that's just me working the voice recorder on my phone. I record the titles of the books I want on my phone, go home & click-click-click! It's in my Reader! I love this thing.

So when Heather told me about a blog called Pioneer Woman, I had to check it out. Great recipes! Great food! So much to read! Then, I saw she had a cookbook & click-click-click, it was on my Reader. So while I was out today with the hubby I was in the car skimming my new cookbook & decided to make the sheet cake, easy..... right? I dove right in like a crazy woman, all the while forgetting that I CAN'T BAKE! I've said it before & it's not a lie. I'm so bad at baking that one time I thought the corn starch sat so long on my shelf that it became baking soda, I'm not lying. After mentioning it to my husband we figured out that the kids tried to make play-dough, dumped the corn starch & baking soda out into bowls, then when they put them back, they put it in the wrong boxes!

So after pouring the cake into the jellyroll pan & popping it into my crappy-ass electric oven I realized I forgot one really important ingredient, the baking soda. It's essential. So I pull the cake out of the oven, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of baking soda on the batter& try to whisk it in there as smooth as possible. Back into the oven it went, while I made the icing, which turned out perfect, so perfect in fact you could eat it off the spoon! I did! The cake came out poofy all over but flatter in the corners....when we cut into it it was all fluffy & perky on top but dense and heavy on the bottom where the baking soda didn't go. Oh well, it still tasted great...live & learn! Make this, today! It's so good, so easy! Just don't forget your baking soda.

Clapotis...almost there.

2010-03-04T21:46:00.000-05:00

I have been busy, to say the least. My daughter is a dancer & competition season is in full swing, I have been busy with at my sewing machine this week but won't bore you with the embellishments of a dancers costume. I would rather be making aprons & sweater quilts, but those items elude me for yet another week or so. Though my beautiful 13 year-old daughter, that's her with a feather in her hair, informed me that this would be her last year trick-or-treating and she would like to go out with a BANG! She wants me to make the Satine Costume! YIKES! To be cont....

Though I did get to take off for a few days by myself with some girly friends on a little ski trip & had so much fun. I took lots of things to knit but did way more gabbing, wine-drinking, Olympic viewing & board game playing than anything else. It snowed a ton while we were up there, I spent an afternoon at the spa getting a hot stone facial & massage.....H-E-A-V-E-N for a woman that has had 2 babies in less than 2 years! I wanted to pack Jessica the Masseuse into my bag & take her home! I even got to teach one of the ladies(baseball hat) to knit, I hope it she sticks with it! I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I worked on Clapotis a little while I was gone & have started the decrease rows, I enjoy this pattern & intend to make more in the future, just not the near future. After this baby is done, I have some small things to knit, including a scarf, baby legwarmers, Toast & socks!

I met up at KnitOne with my good friend Leslie TWICE in one week! What a treat! The first time we met we got together with another Leslie that found my Leslie on her blog. The second week we met with Heather & Barb, that meet-up has been a very long time in the planning since we live so far from them. It happened & it wasn't long enough for any of us! You can see photos here & here & here. My D90 is at the hospital & I hope to get it back soon. Oh my, how can I forget, I mean this is a knitting blog, after all....Leslie made this for my Cole, or as we call him Cokey. Thanks Leslie!

In the meantime....check these out, how cute are they! I want one! or TWO!

Snowmageddon 2010

2010-02-11T14:20:00.000-05:00

I am sure you all have heard the East Coast has gotten slammed with snow, which means my 4 kids have been home since last Friday & we really didn't get out much.

Luckily before the storm came I had the good sense to go to Goodwill & grab some sweaters so that I could make one of these. I found a great piece of material at JoAnn Fabrics in the remenant aisle for the back & got to work all day Saturday. Then when it was time to sew her shut, my machine kind of died on me. I got the machine when my mom passed away & I think it just needs some oil because it is making one hell of a squeaky noise & the bobbin thread keeps catching. I even sewed little heart buttons in the middle of each square while watching Lost the other night.

It is such a warm blanket, I feel asleep on the couch yesterday while the boys napped. Now as soon as this snow clears a little I am taking the machine in to get some oil so I can start making some of these! Let the Spring thaw begin!

Model Husband

2010-02-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

This is one of my first creations, the scarf not the man. I made this about 5 years ago for my husband, I never posted about it. I taught my self to knit after 10 years of crocheting. While at Michael's one day I picked up a kit from Lion Brand to make socks. The yarn was Fisherman's Wool which was REALLY thick, after I got it home and read the pattern I realized this was not the best project to start with, so I knit a scarf for my daughter with different yarn. Later I pulled out the yarn from the kit and made him a scarf . The pattern, I am ashamed to say, came from a book I saw at Borders, it was a simple pattern that I copied onto a piece of paper because I didn't want to spend the money on the book for one pattern. *GASP HERE* I don't think he really liked it but he did wear it quite a bit so he didn't hurt my feelings. I found it in the bottom of our "winter stuff" box and made him pose...thanks baby!

I had a crush on Jacques Costeau

2010-01-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

It's true, when I was a little girl I used to watch Jacques Costeau on TV & dream of being on his boat, sailing the seas with him & exploring the world. I was glued to the television watching the Costeau Odyssey Series over & over. When I was in 9th grade we wrote a paper on what we wanted to be when we grew up, I was going to be an oceanographer! Dreams are a part of life, little did I know that I was claustrophobic, afraid of the dark & scared of sharks. (this fear was only amplified & confirmed when I had a panic attack while watching a Titanic Documentary) Good thing I never took out a loan to go to college with this ambition, I would of got a swift kick to the heart the minute I went underwater. I did the next best thing, The Jacques Cousteau Hat!

It is for one of my daughter's dance teachers. His name, oddly enough is Jack....or Jacques...

It is an easy pattern, though I hated my yarn for it, I used Mirasol Yarn, Tupa. The yarn is very nice but I just wish I would of used something a little less bulky, it took about 1 1/2 skeins. I CO for the men's size & feel it will be too big, should of CO the woman's for this particular yarn. I'm proud of my project & would like to think that somewhere in an alternate universe I am sitting on The Calypso next to my husband, Jacques. Wearing our matching hats that I knitted, his in Navy...mine in Pink,a place where I am not afraid of water, or of the dark, or of small enclosed spaces.

Recipes of the past......

2010-01-26T12:52:00.000-05:00

I went home for a visit & found myself going through my mom's cookbook collection. I came across 2 copies of the BetterHomes & Gardens Cookbook. You know the one we all have when we get married with that familiar red & white checked cover. Her copies were published in 1953 & 1962. I thought I would share a few delightful photos with you. That thing there, that looks like a pineapple is actually a center piece for an appeitizer tray. Want the recipe? Come on! I know you do!

Liver Sausage Pineapple
Mix 1# of liver sausage with 1 tbl. lemon juice, 1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce & 1/4 of mayonaise
Shape around a jelly glass.
Soften 2 teaspoons unflavored gealatine in 2 tbl. of cold water, dissolve over hot water & add 1 cup of mayonnaise; chill. Use to frost pineapple.
Score; stud with sliced stuffed olives.
Top with real pineapple top.

Though it sounds inviting, I think I might pass on making this, but I can't help wondering about the person that created this. Can you imagine all those ladies in the test kitchen at Better Homes. They were probably "ooooing" & "ahhhing" Betty for such a fabulous presentation piece. Little did she know this one would not go down in history as one of the most fabulous dishes ever to be made.

Then these was this little number, a Crown Roast Dinner. The "roast" is actually 12oz. cans of luncheon meat. You'll need 4 of those if you decide to make this dish, I'll let you figure out the rest.

The kitchen that was featured in the 1962 book I was a little jealous of, I must say, pretty impressive for the 60's. Notice the 1950's version of the book where the husband is standing over the wife smelling her delicious soup. Being the pessimist that I am, I imagine he is saying, "Honey, where is my martini & why isn't dinner on the table yet?"

All jokes aside, I couldn't sleep this morning so I came down to the kitchen. The books had been on my mind...haunting me....calling to me. The ripe bananas on my counter were screaming to me! So I dove in...looking in the index section of both books I found 3 different banana bread recipes, and went with the one that best suited the ingredients in my kitchen. I started to bake. Since I still get up with a baby twice a night my older kids rarely see me in the morning before they go to school. My daughter was shocked to see me in the kitchen, mixer in hand. So I asked her opinion on the bread, to chocolate chip or not to chocolate chip? She said, "No chips, you'll ruin the bread." My thought was....I can't bake anyway so it's final resting place is most likely the garbage can. But alas, out popped this little number...

Save the compliments, I know you can all see the doughy bottom part. It was good nonetheless. I added pecans instead of walnuts, which I like better anyway. It was not as fluffy as the banana bread I buy at Loafers, I don't know if it was the recipe or me. I'm gonna go with me, only because at one point it called for 1/2 teaspoon of soda, I think they meant baking soda, not club soda. So that is what I put in. I look forward to sharing many more endeavors with my new ancient recipe books....this will be interesting.

Banana-Nut Bread (Circa 1962)

1/3 cup of shortening
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

heat oven to 350

Cream together shortening & sugar; add eggs one at a time. Beat well with mixer. Sift together dry ingredients' add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Blending well after each addition. Stir in nuts. Pour into 9 1/2 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Bake in moderate oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Remove from pan, cool on rack.

I baked a pie! Sort of...

2010-01-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

I'm not a good baker, never have been, never will be. I can make chocolate chip cookies, sometimes they even get screwed up. Baking is too precise & I am not a precise person, so I cook. That is what I can do. But for birthdays around here I like to try to make the kids a cake, it is always more special from mom....right? So I stick with boxed cake mixes & icing that you buy out of a can but for my son's 15th birthday I went with a pie that I love. When I was 17 years old I worked at a restaurant that no longer exists, it sat on a country club golf course & their specialty dessert was Mallo Cup Pie! We would often sneak into the walk-in freezer & steal pieces of it, shoveling it in before we would get caught.

It's easy to make, but even easier to eat!

Mallo Cup Pie

Bag of mallo cups, frozen (you can use any size or any candy bar you want)
1 bag of Oreo Cookies
1/2 Gallon of French Vanilla Ice Cream
1 stick of Butter
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Freeze your candy bar, Mallo cups, bite size candy bar pieces in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

~Take all the Oreo cookies & scrape out the creamy center, throw in garbage, trust me on this you won't need the extra calories!
~Put Oreo cookie pieces in a ziploc bag, crush it with a rolling pin, so it is fine.
~Melt butter in microwave.
~Put Oreo Pieces in a bowl, and slowly stir in melted butter.
~Press into one of those nice deep pie pans.

Freeze for 1 hour.

Take your frozen candy & put in ziploc bag, wrap in towel, bang with heavy hammer until broken up into tiny chunks. In the meantime let you ice cream sit out until it is soft enought to stir, but NOT runny. Mix the candy in with the ice cream & stir. Pour into your pie crust. Spread the top all nice & pretty with peaks & such, then freeze, for as long as it takes it to get hard, usually a couple hours. Melt chocolate & drizzle on pie & freeze a little longer until the chocolate hardens. I spoon my chocolate eon in lumps we like it that way. ENJOY!

Candy that works well for this: Snickers, Mallo Cups, Milky Ways, Whatchamacallits, Snickers Dark, Peppermint Pattis, Peanut Butter Cups & one of my favorites....Heath Bar!

A New Year.

2010-01-20T21:58:00.004-05:00

It's a New Year & has been for exactly 20 days, I have taken such a long break from constant blogging I feel like a newbie all over again. Having 2 babies in 2 years relly keeps you busy, but I feel like things are getting better, we seem to be getting a routine & I am finding time to do the things that I love again.

I always thought of this is as a knitting blog, and since I have not been knitting, I have not been blogging. But alas I realize it's my life blog, knitting just happens to sometimes take center stage. With that said I am going to try to be better on here & not feel funny about posting, "oh look! I baked a pie today!" After all this is my blog & it's for me. I just like to share with all of you!

To start the new year I am knitting Clapotis....I know, I know she is so 2004, but really a classic that never goes out of style. I bought some Aslantrends Bariloche at KnitOne last week, and can't wait to get this one done, I think it is going to be beautiful!

Tomorrow my oldest baby boy turns 15! Where does the time go....Happy Birthday Justin! Here is 15 years ago, wearing antlers for my amusement....

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T12:45:00.001-05:00

Originally uploaded by KeanaLee

Christmas was wonderful....though I am still knitting gifts...Jack's first ornament ... Cole's first ornament & my LAST "baby's first ornament" ever!

I got some stuff done!

2009-11-04T08:06:00.007-05:00

I have been busy being a mommy & doing lots of things, but I am pleased to announce that I did get two projects done that have been eating at me! First off, I got my black & gold chevron scarf done. My son just finished his 9th grade football season & I will be wearing this scarf to every game until he graduates. This is the only photo I have of it, though it is not a very artistic photo it sure is one of my favorites.

The sewing gods smiled on me once again, and let me finish the pajama pants that I have been trying to finish for 6 months. Actually my mom smiled on me, right before she passed away I got her 1980 Kenmore Sears sewing machine & it runs so smooth. So I got to finish those pants, finally! Here they are! Jack and I were rockin out to a little Guitar Hero...he loved it.
Next time I am using bed sheets & skipping the trim. This material was a linen mix & were a PAIN to sew, since I don't know how to sew linen. The puckered occasionally & I had to rip out seams a couple times and they are scratchy. So I don't recommend a linen blend for p.j. pants.
(Sabrina was the photog on these shots, and did pretty well, I think)

I went outside the other day to shoot some random things, I got this photo(untouched) & I wanted to share it because I really like it. Winter is on it's way, the leaves are mostly gone & a chill is in the air. 50 shopping days left!

Mom

2009-10-07T09:01:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry I have been so busy & not here....my beloved mother finally passed on after her 2 and a half year battle with Ovarian Cancer. She passed on September 24th. She was so strong all through her illness & she will be missed by all the grand kids so much. This was the last picture that I took with her when Cole was just 10 days old.

We hand each grandchild put a hand print on the casket in paint. It turned out beautifully.....my sister and I took a photo of it before they took her to her final resting place.

On the knitting front I have been working on Haven and have about a half of skein left. I am giving it to my mother's hospice nurse Jessica who was so wonderful these past few months. As soon as I get it done I will take a photo.

Cole Joseph

2009-08-10T09:41:00.005-04:00

Ladies meet the newest heart breaker in our family.....Cole Joseph.
He was born on July 21, 2009 at 3:05 p.m.
Weighing in at 8 pounds 5 ounces.....

He looks exactly like his brother Jack...(you can see a comparison photo here)
Oddly they were born close to the same time, Jack was born at 3:04 p.m. & weighed almost the same, Jack weighed 8#4oz) They are little clones of one another.

Labor was easy & wonderful...I know you don't here that too often but as you can tell, since I have not posted since May, the last couple months were horrible. I swelled to amazing proportions, lost feeling in the fingertips on my right hand & my feet hurt so badly I wanted to cut them off. So there had been no knitting for me.

I picked up the needles this week & am determined to finish a scarf I wanted done last fall....life is slowly going back to normal & with the addition finished, the baby here, and my fingers alive again I plan on knitting as much as I can!

I took the above photo of Cole last week. That is his Daddy's wedding ring he is holding.
The D90 & I are becoming better friends & with the help of DVD's & books I am figuring him out. So hopefully I will also have time to take lots of beautiful baby pictures. I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs in the next couple of days.

Love,
Keana

Update.....

2009-05-18T08:15:00.003-04:00

67 days, really! That's all I have until this baby gets here.....*sigh* I'm ready but I think I need more time. As you can see time has not been my friend lately, I seem to run out of it frequently. Maybe it's the attention the little guy needs or maybe it's that my house is still in a disarray but we are coming to the end & I am happy to say that today we get electricity in the room & the tile in the shower will be done. Next weekend we will have running water! Then the fun begins, decorating! Any ideas ladies? Anything in your bedroom that you were so glad you put, painted or planted in there that you want to share?We did get a bed (our old one is a queen size) & bedding. I searched for bedding for hours on the internet, with no luck, it's so hard to tell the colors and what you are going to get quality-wise. So I was off to many different stores in our area & settled for some Martha Stewart Bedding from Macy's & was pleased once I got it home & the colors worked. I still need to get the bed skirt on & Matt is going to help me make a headboard. I found this link, it looks simple...so it's off to JoAnn's for fabric!
Jack had his surgery last week & I am glad to say is doing great! No infection, no split stitches & he can finally get a real bath tonight after 5 days! He was a real trooper. I got to save his little hospital gown & it now has a special spot with his older brother's hospital gown. Justin was 3 when he got his tonsils out, now when Cole gets here he will have to accquire one too!

Sadly knitting has still been scarce. Ruby has given me a little bit of a headache & I am thinking she needs to be put away for a little bit so we can get a break from each other. I am making a ring bearers pillow for my SIL's wedding in June so I have to start that. It's really like knitting 2 dishcloths & sewing them together, it shouldn't be that hard & my little man will be carrying it down the aisle. In the meantime I did start my conatiner garden on the deck & I love it. I have so many different herbs. Chamomille, Stevia & Catnip for tea. Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Oregeno, Chives, Parsley & Cilantro for cooking. Around Memorial Day I will add the veggies! Yummy!

Hope all is well with you all.....

Loco Loco

2009-04-14T08:40:00.003-04:00

Time flies by when your house is under construction. The days get away from me faster than I can blink & by 9 p.m. I am tired & wanting to go to bed. Maybe it's that I only have a 101 days left before the baby comes, maybe I am just getting old. Whatever the case I have been up to things, I just haven't had time to share....so here it goes. Short & sweet.Ruby is cooking along & is the only thing that I am working on at the moment. Ruby is more challenging & only gets worked on at night when the kids are tucked away. I am past the second armhole & am looking forward to the end, so I can start on the sleeves.I made these cute little letters for the Easter/Spring holiday for my mantle. Cardboard letters from JoAnn, painted by me with a cute little cutouts from JoAnn hot glued onto them. I had to take it easy for a couple of weeks because of a low-lying, torn placenta....I was kind of on "couch rest." But after another sonogram this past week I have been given the OK & everything fixed itself. These letters were a result of my "couch rest" period.I had baskets for everyone on Easter morning, including one for my husband. It consisted of some of his favorite candies & these really cool beer bands. I rediscovered Pier 1 Imports recently & found these there. Just like us ladies have wine charms the men can now have beer bands.My FIL brought me back these wonderful truffles from Belgium, If you have never had Belgium truffles or Belgium chocolate I insist that you try it. Find someone headed over there & beg them to bring you back some of these. You won't be sorry. It made my Easter so much better!Honestly, I could run off a list of the things that have been going wrong in our home. From the 4 hours I spent at Pep Boys the day before Easter with a 15-month old getting my car fixed, only to come home exhausted & find that my husband & our drywall-er had ripped out a Living Room ceiling because of a leak/crack. Which in under most circumstances isn't awful but when you are having Easter dinner the next day it's kinda bad.

But the worst is that 2 days before Easter we found out that the little boy you see there with that smiling face has a hernia & needs surgery. I am contemplating running away for a while until all the craziness is over. It's starting to wear me down. Anyone know any good pregnant lady vacation spots?

Miss you all.....I am going to go to my Google Reader now to catch up on all of you!

Felicity

2009-03-23T11:38:00.004-04:00

I finished Felicity a couple of weeks ago & forgot to post it! It was a simple knit & I really love this hat. Looks great on, especially from the front but I won't show you my unwashed, raccoon-eyed tired face today, don't want you all to loose your breakfast.

I have been working on the remainder of Ruby like a mad woman, I am past the second armhole & cruising along. It's my night time knitting because nothing gets done during the day.

Today I have electricians here, and this weekend they broke into the main part of the house & tore out the walls separating Sabrina & Jack's rooms. Lots of dust & lots of cleaning today....here is shot of what used to be Sabrina's wall & Jack's Closet...all gone...

Just call me Slacker!

2009-03-11T13:22:00.004-04:00

I know, I have been terrible. It's bad when you feel guilty because you haven't kept up with all your cyber-friends blogs. Not commenting or ohhing & ahhing over their creative talents. My creativity hit a wall these past couple of weeks. But it is slowly coming back.

I have spent most of my online time picking out faucets, shower heads, body sprays, sconces, ceiling fans(I still have yet to find one I like), recessed lighting and a new bed. I sit down at night for what should be a few minutes of searching for the perfect sconce & 3 hours later I wonder where the time went. This experience has taught me one thing, I am not fit mentally to ever take on the task of building a home from the ground up, Matt & I would end up in divorce court, or living together in our beautiful new home, sleeping in separate rooms. Here is the progress so far.
On the creative front..................a big fat ZERO! Nothing to share, nothing to show. But as soon as I finish this post I am off to put the trim on those PJ pants that have been haunting me for 3 weeks. Now I see why so many bloggers skip the trim on these babies.

I did get home to see my mom 2 weekends ago & she gave me a stash of vintage material that was in her attic. Most of it is from the 70's ans 80's when she was in full on sewing mode!My favorite piece is that of Henrietta Hippo from a show that my sister & I used to watch(click her to see a YOUTUBE of the show & see if you can figure our who the mailman is!) called The New Zoo Revue . I can still hear the theme song in my head!

Charmed....I'm sure

2009-02-24T09:31:00.002-05:00

This lovely neck warmer started out as Felicity, I got to the decreases & realized I was going to need another skein. After a frantic, 20 minute search online, I came to the realization that I was not going to find my colorway, the yarn, Charmed, has been discontinued & everyone was pretty much sold out. So I went to Ebay & bought 2 skeins, that match, in a Raspberry color. So I will cast Felicity on again this week!

*House update....this neck warmer is hiding my cold sores, 3 in all! I look like a leper & it is because of this house. So much going on & getting to my washer to do the laundry is a challenge since I have a large pile of dirt in front of it....God help me. They start ripping the roof off this weekend.

Purple Overload

2009-02-16T11:41:00.002-05:00

Purple seems to be the theme around here. I finished the Rose Hill Hat for my Aunt Lilia & I am making another one for my mother in a lighter purple. Now that the scarves for my daughter's dance school have also been done I have been working on Haven in the evening & just love the way it is turning out. I think I may cut back to using 2 skeins instead of the recommended 3....it's very long with 1 skein already....with the leftover I am thinking of making Felicity, inspired by A.D.D. knitter.

Confessions of a Disgruntled Housewife

2009-02-10T13:32:00.003-05:00

I am disgruntled, I want spring to be here and for my house to have open windows & fresh air. I want my Lilac bush to blossom and smell heavenly. I want to play outside with my son and feel the sun on my face. I want to grill food on my deck and sit outside on the front porch to have my morning tea. I want to wear my Hunter "wellies" in the spring rains. I want birds chirping & see flowers blooming. Is that so much to ask? Well I asked, and it's not really happening. So to combat my spring blues, I made a spring apron......I am on a bit of a sewing kick, learning something new can be so invigorating!

I found this pattern in Amy Butlers book...In Stitches. I think I did really good for my second project. Right now I am tackling the Amy Butler Wide Leg PJ pants. Stay tuned....

Some of my FLiCkr.com friends have already heard & seen some photos. This past week we started a 5th bedroom onto the house, while searching for the drainage to our new bathroom we found this. A secret room underneath our garage. Nothing was holding up my cars except for about six of these beautiful 2x4's & a steel beam that had rotted away & fell down, it was a disaster waiting to happen. I'm just glad we found it. So before we can add the bedroom we have to fix this problem. The bonus is that this dirty, gross room will now be a "theater room" in our basement. We are going to have to bust through a wall in our already finished basement but I am all about utilizing space.

This one is for Abi....these are some vintage plates that were my Grandmother's. They hung in her house as long as I can remember. All they are is pieces of material that were cut out & seem to have been dipped in glue then pasted onto the plate to make a Victoian man & woman. The glue has browned over the years & the black painted outline of the plates is not in great shape, but I keep them in my kitchen & think of Grammie everytime I look at them. She passed away in 2005 at 94 years young.

A little something to keep you warm...Bobby's Sick Soup.

2009-02-04T18:02:00.004-05:00

I had a friend who was a great cook, we were friends, about a decade ago, so I can tell this story now. She was in her late 40's & a great mom(though her kids were off in college), great wife, great friend.....she had one little indiscretion. His name was Bobby, yes she took a lov-ah, in her defense her husband was not a very good communicator but they are still together from what I hear.
One time Bobby was sick & she took him this soup with a nice loaf of bread & a down comforter to keep him warm.....she was a great girlfriend too! I remember stopping by her house & she had stored this soup in a giant ball jar & was headed over to see him.....she rolled the recipe to me off the top of her head, I think I got it right & quite frankly have never written it down....until now.....for all of you.

Bobby's Sick Soup*
1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup of mild slasa
3/4 cup of rice
1 can of mexi-corn
black beans(optional)
48 oz. of chicken broth
32 oz. of chicken stock

Put broth & stock to a large pot. Add salsa, corn & rice. Pick apart the breast of the chicken, tearing into pieces. Add to pot. You can simmer all day if you like or out it on Med./High until the rice is cooked through. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread, I bought a loaf of Pan Bigio at Giant Eagle OR if you are feeling ambitious you can hop over to Leslie's & grab the link to a homemade loaf of bread.....enjoy!
*I think I might need to come up with a new name.

This is what has been going on over here....

2009-01-28T11:10:00.004-05:00

I wish I could tell you all that I have been doing some fabulous knitting but it has been really boring.

I am doing some striped garter stitch scarves to be used at my daughter's dance school for a recital number that hails from Mary Poppins. The little girls are dancing to Chim Chim Cheree & are dressed as chimney sweeps....all black....dirty faces and they only splash of color will be scarves. I taught a group of moms at the school to knit a couple weekends ago & while most got it some were not bitten with the bug. A couple ladies were. We need 19 scarves by February, I have turned out 3 & am working on my 4th. My duaghter isn't even in this number.....oh, the things I could be knitting.In sewing news....I took a class at JoAnn Fabrincs & walked away with this. Not bad for my first project. I hope to get some more sewing in......we will see if time & kids permit me! Aprons are fun. I think I might try one from the book A is for Apron...I picked it up at JoAnn's when I got me other sewing notions!

Malabrigo

2009-01-20T12:59:00.004-05:00

Anything I knit in Malabrigo, always pills....why? I don't understand, it makes me so mad! I paid good money for the yarn & somehow I end up looking like I grabbed some item at the Salvation Army & threw it on. Does anyone have advice? What do you block it with? How do you block it? Does it pill? Erin & A.D.D. Knitter both use Malabrigo & their things never seem to pill.....am I cursed?

The Winner is.......

2009-01-13T08:50:00.003-05:00

Kristin!
I had hubby pull a name out of a hat & you are the winner. E-mail with your info!

I met up with Leslie at Knit One last week & bought some great yarn by Rowan called Cocoon.
It is so soft & smooth. I started knitting Haven (Ravelry link) & can't stop.....it is such a pretty scarf. I am hoping to have it done next week.

Namaste' & a contest...

2009-01-07T12:27:00.003-05:00

Last post I told you all what I look forward to for this year! Leave a comment here & tell me what you are looking forward to, and get a chance to win this bag. It was a birthday gift & I really wanted it but it just never worked right for me. Contest ends this Saturday, January 10th at Midnight.

Bring on 2009!

2009-01-05T09:13:00.003-05:00

As I sat down to reflect on the year ahead with all of you I started to panic slightly. I realized how much I have ahead of me. It was scary. The scariest part was the realization that I don't know that I will have a lot of "me" time.

As many of you know my mom is not doing well, and after her appointment on the 30th of December the doctor told her to just go home, call hospice, and enjoy her time. So I will be traveling home quite a bit to see her. Sometimes with the kids, sometimes without.

On top of that, my sister-in-law gets married on June 13th, my daughter's BIG recital is June 20th, my baby arrives somewhere around July 24th & oh yeah, we are adding a 5th bedroom over the garage. Which in itself is HUGE, but then I realized Sabrina will be moving into our old room(it will need painted) Jack into Sabrina's old room(it will need painted) baby-to-be into Jack's old room(it will need painted because we are taking a wall down in there). Hold on a sec.....panic attack coming on! *breathe, Keana, breathe* Was it's God's joke not to give mother's 8 arms, because we really needed them!What I would really like to do is take a sewing class at JoAnn's ( I think I just might). Sew more, organize my home, finish knitting Ruby, attend the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival, get my D90 fixed(the LCD screen broke) Flickr more, cook less, & organize my yarn storage chest. Wow, I really try to make it all about me, but somehow it just never works out that way.
I started my first project yesterday, going through 3 big plastic bins full of old photos. I went to JoAnn's & got these. I started labeling photos & trying to remember what year they were taken. It will take me a couple weeks but I know it can be done. I guess my overall New Year's Resolution is to be MORE ORGANIZED!!!!! It would make my life so much better.
Happy New Year bloggy friends, I couldn't imagine going through all this craziness without you guys!

We interrupt this blog........so mom can rest.

2008-12-29T18:55:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, Christmas was great, it was my first & I really had fun. But mom is taking a break till January 1. Seems my new sibling is making her tired & sick most days. I will give him/her a talking to when they come out in July!
The hours she feel o.k. she is busy with me & my siblings. She will be back though. Promise! She posted a few photos on Flickr.com, you can find her there under KeanaLee.

Breaking News!

2008-12-21T22:12:00.004-05:00

At night this is where we sit, usually watching the television. Tonight was a perfect night for a fire, temperatures are hovering around 7 degrees, tomorrow they will stay in the teens. This gives me hope for my white Christmas, though they are calling for freezing rain on Christmas Eve. Christmas looks cloudy, followed by more rain. My husband says "If there can be precipitation, it could be a Christmas miracle, we could get snow", he thinks because Elmo has Christmas miracles we will too. Do you think he watches too much Sesame Street? Well, there will be a lot of Sesame Street for years to come, Jack is getting another sibling! Yes, I'm having another! They will be 18 months apart & I am due sometime the end of July. I told you my life has been flushed with lots of good news. I'm off to knit a little before bed in front of my fire. Have a good night.

A gift for Sarah

2008-12-18T12:46:00.004-05:00

Life's funny. Over the past few weeks I have been hit with a great deal of good news & wonderful things have been happening, everything just seems to be falling into place. Little things, just the other day I got a flat tire, which normally is horrible. But I decided to stop in my chiropracter for an unscheduled visit & when I came out I had a tire on it's way to being kaPooT! Luckily I was right across form a service station, and they put on the spare. Now had I gone to Wal-mart as planned it would of blew on the highway & that would have been ugly.

My husband got a promotion! I got my Christams stuff done, on time! My ex-husband's estate finally closed & the long 4 years is over! I got some new Malabrigo sock yarn! All GREAT news.....but it seems that for every 2 things that happen good, I would get some kind of bad news.
I got an e-mail from an old high school friend telling me that a friend of ours was recently diganosed with Ovarian Cancer. She had just given birth to her first child, a beautiful little girl, Louisa. She is stage 3C & in for a long road. I know this because as many of you know my mother was diganosed with stage 3C Ovarian Cancer almost 2 years ago. Oddly, the same day I got the news about Sarah, I got some news about my mother. The cancer has spread throughout her body, her options are none. There is really nothing else to say. I know what comes next from other peoples stories & online reading, the nagging question that hangs so cruely in the air for all of us is, "How long do we have with her?" I hate surprises. I just want to know. So I will be spending time at home with her in Altoona, driving back & forth. Jack turns 1 on January 10th, this calls for a party at Grandma's house!

I sat down last night to knit Sarah a pair of fingerless mitts, chemo can make you cold. I know she'll love them. I have to get them done tonight. They will be sent off with a care package that a girl from our high school is putting together for her. I hope she has a very Merry Christmas with her family. I know I will.

Cookie Exchanges...bah humbug!

2008-12-14T20:34:00.004-05:00

Hi my name is Keana and I'm a houswife who can't bake, or doesn't want to bake, I'm not sure which. A little of both I think. I bake occasionally, a batch of cookies here a cake there but when it comes down to it I'd rather cook. I know a lot of people that bake around the holidays & give away cookies but honestly if I baked for that long I would want to keep them for myself. I seem to always burn cookies or screw up cakes, though I am really good at no-bakes & bar-type cookies. Every year when Christmas rolls around I just make a TON of these. I package them in these great tins & chinese food containers that cost $1.00 at Michael's and off they go. To cookie exchanges, teachers, neighbors, family. This particular batch is headed to 2 cookie exchanges with me this week. Most exchanges ask that you make 3 or more dozen & seperate them into half dozen packages. Since you can't really give somebody just 6 of these I scoop about a half pound into each package.
5 bags of Snyder's of Hanover Snaps, 10 pounds of chocolate discs, 4 bags of M&M's and about 8 hours of work, I have these. Easy to make & delicious to eat, just ask the extra 5 pounds I've put on in the past 2 days. You can find the Recipe here!

Jack's Hat

2008-12-11T13:09:00.003-05:00

I knitted up this hat for Jack last week. It's called The Boyfriend Hat. Perfect, since he is my boyfriend & will never date...EVER! Let me have my dreams :-(
I used Cascade Wool 220 Heathers in color #2430 & this took about 3 hours to knit. Lovely!

Chritmas gifts.

2008-12-08T07:27:00.003-05:00

Noro Cash Iroha, I never knitted with it but I am sure glad I did. This scarf goes to Karen, she has taken care of the kids finances & estate since day one, she works in downtown Pittsburgh where it can be awfully chilly by the 3 Rivers. I thought this would keep her warm. I used 2 skeins, you can see more about the project here. A sickness has ripped through our house knocking most of us out for almost 2 weeks but the baby & I are finally over th hump. It's good to back. Next up, socks for the estate attorney that has dealt with this mess for 4 long years.

Flickr Meme

2008-12-02T10:33:00.003-05:00

This was a fun Meme.

1. What is your first name? Keana
2. What is your favorite food? Pizza
3. What high school did you go to? Altoona Area High School
4. What is your favorite color? Pink
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Jude Law
6. Favorite drink? Tea, hot or cold
7. Dream vacation? Montana
8. Favorite dessert? Choclate, any way shape or form, but mostly in a Souffle
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Stress Free
10. What do you love most in life? Peacefulness
11. One word to describe you. Bold
12. Your Flickr name - KeanaLee

Want to play too?
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. KEANA!, 2.Pizza, 3. AAHS 4. pink gerbera 5. Jude Law, 6.true tea 7. A Montana River, 8. chocolate souffle 9. stress free 10. "Peacefulness", 11. Sunflower, 12. keanalee

Toasty & warm......

2008-11-29T12:34:00.003-05:00

I knitted up some Toasty in 2 days. So cozy in Malabrigo, color #80 Azul. This yarn desreves to be a full on pair of mittens too. These would be a great last minute knitted Christmas gift.

I have been under the weather for about a week with a cough, stuffy nose & headache. Not much knitting going on, makes my head hurt. I'll be back soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T11:33:00.002-05:00

Last night the kids & I played this game, they got me it for Christmas last year. It was Thanksgiving Eve & we had fun. We played the movie in the background & it truly marks the beginning of the Christmas Season for me, the minute I play that movie.

I know some people aren't big fans of the movie & some just don't get it and I don't get them, I find that these people have a sense of humor I just don't get. (no offense to anyone, though I am sure I have offended) I call them the Anti-Ralphies.

To me it brings out my inner child, remembering wanting that ONE THING so badly & somehow it always made it's way under the tree. Our parents never let us down. That is what this movie reminds me of, that my parents never let me down, always understood what it was like to walk in my shoes, always made the holidays super special, and always taught us to be thankful for what we have. That is what I am thankful for today, my Mom & Dad. Without them there would be no me. Thanks!

Birthday Wishes do come true.........and you don't have to be in Disney!

2008-11-21T08:32:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me............to my shock & amazement my husband surprised me last night with my birthday gift two days early. May I introduce you to the Nikon D90, which I have so lovingly named Moose.Moose & I are becoming fast friends & he has so much to teach me. He tells me that there are a bunch of accessories that he would like as well!
Moose was given to me very without much fanfare. A box arrived at the house yesterday & when I told my husband that I knew it was my birthday gift, he replied, "No, it's some books I had to order for a class I'm teaching at work." Now, you must know my husband cannot lie, he is terrible at it. So I told him I wanted to see the books. FINE! He says, rips open the box & just sets it in front of me as I am sewing curtains at the "craft table." I hyperventilated for first time ever, then I got teary & was afraid to touch Moose for fear I might break him. I got over that quickly!So here are some photos I was snapping last night, no touch-ups, just them.
I can't end this post any other way than to say Thank You Matt, I love you.

Christmas Kntting

2008-11-19T11:59:00.004-05:00

Don't mind me, I'm still here, knitting away. I just find it so difficult to post pictures of Christmas knitting for fear the recipients will see their gifts. So I try to be coy.
I found it difficult to decrease a cabled hat, though I followed the instructions, it wasn't working out. So a little frogging was in order..........I'll try again tonight with a fresh mind but can't help but to think there is something missing from this pattern.
I was in downtown Pittsburgh yesterday, stopped at the Starbucks in the Westin William Penn & knit a few rows. What have you all been knitting for Christmas?

Dimorphous Mitts & birthday wishes.........

2008-11-14T20:19:00.006-05:00

I have fallen in love. I have to make these. I must make these. I bought the outer yarn today, now to find the perfect color to go underneath. Hop over to Mimknits & pick up you pattern!

I have to give a belated birthday wish to my wonderful husband who turned 29 on Tuesday.Your finally the age I was when I met you 7 years ago............I love you Shnoogets Dad! You are the most wonderful man ever. Who would of thought that the day I celebrated my 7th birthday so many years ago, my future husband was somewhere lying in his crib, only 11 days old, dreaming of someone like me!

Around the Corner

2008-11-09T09:28:00.007-05:00

I feel it. Santa is coming, and the chaos will start. It is chaos that I love & welcome every year around this time. I look forward to the crazy things of Christmas, some of them are:

~~snow
~~wrapping gifts
~~decorating the house
~~Black Friday shopping
~~my baby's first Christmas
~~crowded grocery shopping
~~my daughter's shortbread cookies
~~Salvation Army guys outside the Giant Eagle
~~my carved Santa, which is from the trunk of our tree from last year
~~my Christmas Morning Casserole (made every Christmas since my daughter was 3)
~~A Christmas Story all day long, everyday, for about a week. I drive my family crazy!
~~crunch time for knitted gifts(one is in that house in my photo, I will show it after the holidays)
~~our light display that I make my husband do every year & the pride in his face when it's done
~~Christmas Eve, late at night my husband & I getting ready for the morning with a roaring fire
& a sparkling tree
~~and snow

Check out this Giveaway!

2008-11-06T23:19:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite blogs to read is by a gal named Tsh, she currently has one of the best giveaways ever! Has nothing to do with knitting but everything to do with photos. Get there! Enter to win!

Simple Mom Blog!

While you are there, check out her link to Shabby Apple Dresses. The best little black dresses you will ever see - all in one place & all at terrific prices!

What could the future hold for one of our own?

2008-11-05T16:31:00.006-05:00

Vote.

2008-11-04T08:48:00.005-05:00

I went out early this morning to miss the lines & cast a vote for the next President of The United States. Jack went with me & I wish I could of taken a camera. I let him push the final VOTE button to cast the ballot. It would have been a priceless shot. His little baby fingers were more than happy to press a bright red blinking light.
I also wore the new gloves I knitted for my son, Justin. I used some fabulous yarn from Kraemer Yarns out of Nazareth, PA. It is from the Vintage 2006 collection, some of the softest alpaca I have ever touched.
The pattern was Those Mitts by Leslie. It was a quick knit & he loves them!
Happy Election Day!
**picture was touched up with Picnik's new "sandbox", go play in it! So fun!**

Before & After

2008-10-29T08:58:00.003-04:00

The bathroom floor was finished this past week. It looks beautiful. We plan to do the whole foyer after the 1st of the year but this time we might leave the tiles down & use a grout saw instead of taking the whole floor apart. In all fairness the before photo has some tiles that were removed & just laid down there for picture purposed, if you look closer to the top of the photo you can see the old grout in tact.

The cabinet is getting a paint job in the next couple of weeks. Along with some new knobs & some TLC. Thanks to my wonderful husband who did the grouting, yucky job! I highly suggest this if you have old tile you would like to save & restore. If you have any questions about the products I used just e-mail me. I spent a total of $156.78 on this project & still have enough product left to do the rest in the new year!

Pattern Hording..............guilty.

2008-10-23T11:33:00.003-04:00

The blog organizing is going very well. Google Reader has been a dream & everyday suggests new blogs I may like according to what I already have saved, I have found some very talented, neat ladies out there. Amazing how many knitters there are!
Now on to working on the sidebars.

I have been pattern hording or should I call it whoring...... Does anyone else do this? Where you just sit for hours on the computer sifting through Ravelry, saving patterns to your computer, printing them out & just reading them for the shear excitement of reading them, & dreaming about what your project will look like. If you ever get to it!

I found 3 patterns that I love from ChicKnits. Lara just knit Cassidy & when I went to look at it I ended up with 2 other patterns as well. I bought Ribby Cardi, Cassidy, & Basic Chic Hoodie. Ribby is definitely my fav!

Then off to Ravelry stashes I went to see if anyone had the yarns that I wanted. They did. I bought. We are all good.

My husband was telling me last night that he read somewhere recently that in tough economic times historically people will spend money on there "vices" or "habits". So I am guessing that beer, cigarettes, porn, & yarn sales have gone WAY up. Knitting just doesn't seem to fit with those, does it?

I also LOVE the new Knitty surprise, Franken Socks, created by this talented lady right here.
I just wish they would of put them out the beginning of October so you could have them in time for Halloween, but on the bright side if you use the recommended yarn it is only $3.99 a skein. Now that is a deal!

I also bought KoolHaas by Jared Flood. It looks hard but I would like to tackle it for my husband. I am going to the Ravelry ISO destash group & see if I can locate a nice Penn State Blue for his Kool Haas.

I would list all the wonderful patterns I downloaded, bought, & saved but it would take forever & Jack is asleep so mama gets to shower! Here's a quick photo I took of my new finds.

P.S. Stop over and say congrats to Abi!

Blog Makeover, part deux!

2008-10-20T11:05:00.004-04:00

I'm in Phase 2 of my blog makeover/organization. Something that I had promised I would do by Halloween. There are 3 phases.

Phase 1: I completed by giving myself a new look & a new name.

Phase 2: is organizing my blog roll & transferring everything over to Google Reader. If you have not done this, I highly suggest that you do it NOW! It may take an hour or so to get it organized but you can transfer all of your blog lines feeds with a couple clicks of the mouse. You don't have to enter all of them all over again. Google Reader is easier to read, easier to use & easier to leave comments. I LOVE IT!
Instead of organizing all my knitting blogs in one folder I have organized my favorite blogs by regions. I have Knitting Blogs Canada, Knitting Blogs Northeast, Knitting Blogs Southeast, etc., etc.

Phase 3: Is weeding out the blogs of people that do not update enough, don't take enough photos(I'm a visual person), don't leave comments or never say thank you when I comment. I don't expect people to respond to my comments all the time but a little acknowledgment that I am there would be nice. I think that is fair.

In Phase 3 I will also find new blogs to visit & hang out on. I have to decide on what to put in my blog sidebar in Phase 3. I see so many cool options. Off The Needles/On the Needles/Projects past, Present & Future/Blog Rolls/Percentage Bars of things you are working on/last visited/last commented..........and the list goes on! Any suggestions of really great blogs you love? AND what things do you like to see in a sidebar?

I have no new knitting photos but my daughter took this photo of herself, by herself & I just love it!(no touch-ups, no Picnik)

Cat Lady

2008-10-16T13:19:00.002-04:00

I cast on a new project 2 days ago. The UPS guy delivered a box of yarn! I wonder if he thinks I am a little nutty, every time he makes a stop I say. "Oh, yeah you brought me yarn!" In an ecstatic shrieking tone.

This one is so much fun to knit. It is from the book Knitting The Easy Way by Terry Kimbrough. It is out of print but I did buy a used copy on Amazon.com.
I'm using what it calls for, Karabella "Aurora 8" in Vermillion. Which I bought from YarnMarket.
I'm really falling for cables, I don't do them often enough! Such an easy pattern.
My daughter's cat joined me for a little knitting this afternoon. His name is Lucky. He is quite possibly one of the most annoying cats in the world. But he was keeping me warm so I left him on my lap.

The unvailing of BOB.

2008-10-13T10:42:00.004-04:00

He is here & he is a hit! Meet BOB of Mission Falls Cotton 1824, pattern can be found in Wee Knits 3 by Mission Falls. He is a little roomy, but that gives him some growing room. I have 4 more skeins of Mission Falls to make Rugger for Jack, which I will start soon. These are such easy knits, great for TV knitting. This is a size 12 months, and it is huge. I think I would of dropped down to a 6 month size & modified the sleeves a bit. It won't be bad when he is walking but for a crawling baby he gets his knees all caught up in the hem.

New Look........same old me...........Sunday Reflection

2008-10-12T10:43:00.005-04:00

The buzz word is FRUGAL, it's the "in" thing to do. There seem to be frugal blogs popping up left & right. How to save money! How to cut your grocery bill in half! How to save on gas! Suze Orman is everywhere. I always noticed she wears the same earrings, someone finally asked her why, she replied, "I bought these as a gift for myself, and they were expense, the only pair I own, I don't need any other ones, they go with everything & nobody ever notices I wear them everyday." She kinds has a point, I guess. (I don't wear jewelry so I wouldn't know)

The coupon mom was just on OPRAH. Go to her site for coupon deals. Oprah also had two families on that swapped furniture that they were tired of, to give there home new looks. Making your own cleaning products is hot right now & hosting parties where you make your own is even hotter.

Crafty people have always been turning junk into beauty, yarn into fabric for our clothing & homemade cookies instead of store bought have always been our thing. A lot of us are used to this. Sewing, baking, cooking & knitting just like some of our mothers did.
We have said YES! to aprons & no to fake nails, fake tans, hair extensions & overpriced jewelry! Natural is better, less is definitely more.................but I must admit I have expense taste for certain things. Yarn is a weakness. As are jeans, underwear & shoes. I spend money on a good haircut & buy $90 face cream, I wont' lie, I don't mind spending it on my skin. I like good tea, quality paper towels, quality toilet paper & quality laundry detergent. Some areas you just don't skimp but you do use coupons.

I like to pick & choose where I am frugal, I think we all decide where to spend & where to cut corners. That is why I clip coupons, always have, always will. My kids don't care that I didn't buy THE BEST cut of meat, they would rather I spent the money on a night at the movies with their friends or on their ZUNE subscription, which they pay off by doing chores.

I didn't grow up poor, but by today's standard's I did. My mom stayed at home after trying to get pregnant for 13 years. She came out of it with me & my sister, who is 3 years older. You bet your ass she stayed home after wanting babies for that long. My dad left school in the 9th grade to help support his family which consisted of my immigrant grandparents from Italy & his 6 brothers & sisters. He served his country in the Koren War then worked in the railroad supporting us for 42 years. We never wanted for anything but we never had an Atari either.
I married at 20 to my husband of 10 years, the father of Justin & Sabrina. He was a professional athlete & we lived very well & lived it in an 8000 square foot home on 7 acres, which was really hard to keep clean! *I'm so glad to be out of that place, it was like white-collar prison*

But my roots never escaped me. I still looked for deal, clipped coupons & got samples when I could. Now on my second marriage I have married beneath me.....not in that way....in years. Matt was just finishing college when I met him, he is 7 years younger than I. We budget, clip, & save, we do our own home repairs & remodeling when our expertise allows us. I just won't let him deal with gas lines & electricity. Though it wasn't always this way, he had to teach me to budget better & over time it has worked. He is only 7 years out of college & nowhere near retirement. Which we are both grateful for, a lot men & women that are taking that step towards retirement are losing it all. Probably having to work longer than they wanted to gain it all back, afraid they might get "let go" before retirement because someone younger can do their job cheaper. God bless them all.

I have been thrift store hunting lately & I have mixed thoughts on this. I go to these places & sometimes I buy stuff I really don't need but because Target sends their clearance to my Goodwill I will pick up brand new bath towels for $1.50...........but when I come home I take the same amount of old towels and turn them into rags.
*Tip: Look for Goodwill's in affluent areas around the city, that is where you find great stuff*

I got a great pair of Citizens For Humanity Jeans for my daughter, priced at $5.99 at Goodwill, $158 at Nordstom's. I also picked up a pair of Club Monaco Jeans for me & a sweet pair of JCrew jeans that fit me perfectly......$5.99 a piece.

I recently saw this sign on the side of the road. 10 CENTS! (they are 39 cents at pumpkin patches)I bought 14 pumpkins for $27.oo.----we are having a chili cook-off in 2 weeks & I am giving the neighborhood kids pumpkins to carve. I would of never bought that many pumpkins but at that price I did. If I would of bought 4 of those at a "commercial" pumpkin patch I would of paid around $10 a piece. I still saved money.

I found a copy on Salam Rushdie's Satanic Verses at Goodwill for $1.99. Knowing a little about books I looked at the copyright, it was a first edition!! Worth way more than what I paid. I bought it. I am not going to sell it, I'll hang on to it, I am sure it will only appreciate over time. That little teapot there I used this morning cost me 50 cents & that sweet little mug someone brought back from The Roman Baths of Bath, England, was a quarter. It is stoneware & keeps the tea nice & hot. Did I need any of these things, probably not. That is why I get conflicted about thriftiness. I buy stuff because it's a good deal. Not necessarily because I need it. Though I did get 300 Target brand sandwich bags for $1.00. (opened box)

So bring on the yarn swaps, spend a night at home with a good bottle of wine & the one you love. Rent a movie & watch it curled up on your outside deck with the family for the drive-in effect. Be frugal, be thrifty but most of all be happy. While the market tumbles take time to be thankful for the intangibles in life..............healthy kids, healthy spouse, a large stash of yarn to keep me busy and most of all a fixed rate mortgage.

Bob

2008-10-09T12:24:00.002-04:00

I still had no luck finding my camera, I am beginning to think I have Alzheimer's. I stole my daughter's camera & snapped quick photo. Bob will be modeled by Jack this weekend at the pumpkin patch. That is where I believe Bob will shine.
The ratty looking white cloth hanging above Bob are my Martha Stewart Ghosts. Make them. They were quick, easy & look so cool at night.

Stop by & check out this new blog from a dear friend of mine that I have known since the boys were in pre-school together!!! She recently left us here in Pittsburgh for a sunnier climate but her artistic vision lives on. She has her own businesses & is great at all of them! Congrats on the blog Cris. Can't wait to see all the great stuff you make!

No camera....

2008-10-08T08:27:00.002-04:00

BOB is done, blocked & has been ready for photos for about a week, but I can't find my camera. :-(
I am frantically searching, hopefully I will find it soon.

The floor pieces look amazing, hopefully this weekend Matt & I will set them. Then I can fill you in on the trials & tribulations of this particular project.

Keana

Mojo is SLO-jo....but coming back

2008-09-29T14:57:00.004-04:00

My knitting MOJO is coming back slowly. I met up with Leslie on Thursday, which was SO MUCH FUN! Thanks, Leslie. We sat at KnitOne for a few hours & hung out on the couch chatting away. If she inspires you on the computer you should meet her in person, & she is F-U-N-N-Y, makes me chuckle quite a bit. She even helped me with RUBY!

It will be about 2 years ago when Leslie first left a comment on my blog, I of course went to her blog to reciprocate & there was an actual photo of Leslie on there, yes her face! I thought she looked very familiar to me so I e-mailed her a note after I left a really nice comment, of course. I asked her if she lived in the same town as I, reassured her I was not a stalker but told her she looked oddly familiar. So maybe our paths crossed somewhere at one point & as fate would have it I remembered her face. An even bigger fate was her face was on her blog! Maybe someday I will figure out where I first saw her................

Funny thing is I have no pictures to show you, though I took my camera, I mean how many photos do you really want to see of us two knitting & chatting. We were too busy being chatty, and for got about photos. We had some colorful people there & had a good time. So I think some Leslie MOJO rubbed off on me, though it didn't inspire me to knit, it inspired me to do this.I have a love/hate thing with my home. I love my neighborhood, I love the house but it is 43 years old and though it is in great condition occasionally things start to go. this I hate because they always seem to be BIG things. I have a slate floor in the entry way & downstairs bathroom. I am ripping it out, restoring it & trying to put it back together............*sigh*
I really love "original" things about homes, it is so rare to come by. Quality in homes is not what it was 40, 50, 60 years ago.

Hubby is not thrilled, he will have to grout. Abi has the same floor. Abi if you read this, please be prepared to rip parts of your floor out & ship me pieces in case I screw up...LOL

I will keep you all posted!

P.S. Wasn't Grey's great on Thursday!?!?!?!?!?!

Bob --- a.k.a Satan

2008-09-24T18:57:00.006-04:00

I haven't blogged for a bit because my MOJO is NOJO. I had to rip out BOB, still stuck on Ruby & my Chevron gives me headaches, I have never had bad knitting MOJO, in 4 years, NEVER! I guess I was due. Even my picture taking is silenced by my lack of imaginantion. I feel like that Indian/Native American guy on the cliff looking over the polluted lands of our country, a single tear streams down my cheek as I think of the polluted mess in my brain.
On the brightside, I'm meeting up with Leslie tomorrow & I hope some of her MOJO & the MOJO inside KNiToNe rub off on me. Here's BOB.....my P.I.T.A(pain in the ass).
Bob is knit with Misson Falls Cotton 1824. It's very loose & stretchy, and being a loose knitter already it has given me problems, I ripped it out once already, lets hope it doesn't happen again.

New Twist!

2008-09-18T11:19:00.003-04:00

There is a new knitting magazine online it's called Twist Collective. You can find it here. Kate Gilbert, whose blog I love, is one of the masterminds behind it all. It's really cool. Check it out.

I have a question, it's not a knitting question, it's a blogging question. When people leave me a comment & it goes to my email, blogger puts a "phantom" e-mail address up for them. So I can't hit reply & comment on their comment, or even thank them for the comment. How do I fix this? I have searched in the HELP/FAQ's over & over but have had no luck, anyone?

I have no photos of knits today, for I really F*'d up a sweater that I was working on. It's called BOB which is short for pain in my ass.

I will share that this past weekend Matt & I went to a very cool function called Steel City Big Pour. (tickets were sold out!) For $35 you walked around, ate food, drank lots of different micro brews & had a great time. Lots of artsy type were there with booths, making things. I got Matt to help join in on piecing together a stained-glass window, that they will hang at Construction Junction, where the festivities were held. We even saw chainsaw artists & glass blowing, which was all done with recycled glass that they poured right there on site!

Cruises & Caps

2008-09-13T11:00:00.005-04:00

I am so excited this morning I can barely contain myself. Over The ShizKnit a.k.a Tonya I discovered Knitting Cruises. I can hardly stand it! Is it too much of a fantasy for me to get some interested blogger friends together & go on the Mediterranean Cruise..........I'd also settle for Alaska which is a bit cheaper & isn't Alaska a great place to knit...all that chilly weather. OR we can do China with Lily Chin.....oh the possibilities are endless. Can we start a Ravelry group on this subject? Sept. 2009 we go? How awesome would that be!!!!

For all you crafty bitches out there that sell patterns, own shops, instruct, dye yarn (SCOUT!!) etc. etc. you can look into earning a free cruise here..........just cruise & teach! How awesome is that?

OK, I think my adrenaline rush is subsiding, I can talk about my latest project. Justin's football coach had a little baby boy the other day so I knitted this little hat (in school colors of course) up from Knitting For Peace. The Caps For Kids Swirled Ski Cap.
It took me 2 evenings, about 3 to 4 hours. It was an easy knit, I just wish it could have been knit in the round, a lot of loose ends to weave in.

Sometimes I wish my kids went to a different school or had different school colors, I live in a city where where ever professional sports team is black & gold, and so is there school. I get some black & gold overload sometimes. But I guess it makes for easy wardrobe selection to all sporting events and they are colors I look good in!

School Spirit Chevron Scarf

2008-09-09T11:22:00.004-04:00

I have been working on this Chevron for, um, about ............10 months. It's Justin & Sabrina's school colors, I plan on wearing it to all his football games for the next 5 years.
Though the Chevron Scarf is beautiful when finished it is quite frankly one of the most boring knits I have ever encountered. This may be the last one I ever make.(Until Justin plays football in college then I will have to whip one out then, too)
This pattern seems to go on for an eternity.

I finished another Chevron last year & should of went down a needle size(a #4 instead of a #5) It's gappy.....I occasionally look at it & debate on ripping it out & making socks. Someday.....

Honeymoon over.......

2008-09-02T08:26:00.003-04:00

Ruby & I have been going at it for a couple of weeks, staring at each other lovingly & so tightly wrapped up in our bliss that I failed to realize that 12 rows after the bind off of of the first armhole where it says "continue in pattern" that they meant the cable pattern. I thought they meant "knit the knit" "purl the purl"...DUH! "How long have I been knitting?" So that sweet cute little ball of yarn is what I have ripped from my Ruby. So I guess this where Debbie Bliss separates the woman from the girls & I need to step up to the plate. I have to figure out a few minor things but I shall continue on....LESLIE, HELP!!!! *we must meet soon*

First Day of School 2008-09

2008-08-28T08:56:00.005-04:00

Justin & Sabrina start their first day of school. the last time in their lives they will share a bus or a building, They grow up so fast...........glad I have this one waiting in the wings, he already is waiting for their return, I think he may sit by the door all day long.

Something to Share

2008-08-27T13:28:00.001-04:00

Ruby, the beginning.

2008-08-19T19:40:00.004-04:00

I have begun to knit Ruby by Debbie Bliss & it really has been great. No major mistakes & such a learning experience in cables. The only cable piece I have previously knitted was Dashing. I am afraid of the armholes & sewing anything together, but with all the great advice Ravelry & having a friend who has knit it, I should have too much of a problem. I'll keep ya posted!

Happy Birthday Justin

2008-08-18T16:20:00.001-04:00

Justin's Shelf
Originally uploaded by KeanaLee

I have a shelf in my house that has been a constant for the past 5 years. It holds memories of a life gone by & a life celebrated. Today would have been the 40th birthday of my older children's father.

This shelf will always remain, as his memory does. The pictures & tokens on the shelf sometimes change but they are all things that have a memory, a vase of ceramic flowers he gave my daughter, a cat she painted for him, dried flowers from a school art project that he kept on his mantle & photos of him.

Everyday he is in my thoughts & I am sure the thoughts of my kids. I wonder what would he look like now? Would he have remarried? Has more siblings for our kids to play with? Where would he be? Would he be happy for me? Would he have shared a laugh with my new baby? OR perhaps a beer with my husband? My questions will always go unanswered & we will always have a special birthday wish for him every year on August 18.

Happy Birthday Justin! We miss you.

Monday again :-(

2008-08-17T20:20:00.002-04:00

My sister & her family came for a "spur of the moment" weekend visit. We had a lovely time. Smores & a bottle of Blue Nun by the fire. How was your weekend?

Blondes Have More Fun!

2008-08-15T13:13:00.004-04:00

I'm a sucker for blondes....well, not really but I am definitely sucker for sock yarn. I found some great stuff here, a hidden gem! A new gal on the block! You must check out Laura's Blog & then head over to her Etsy Shop. Though, she has sold out of her yarn, more are in the works.

I can't remember how I linked to her store, it was from someone in my bloglines feed. I would like to thank them for sending me there, though I can't remember who linked me?

This yarn is 560 yards of some of the softest yarn I have ever touched. Her name is Doris...as in Doris Day (I'm assuming) but her professional colorway name is Summer Orchard. She was peeking out of my mailbox this morning, with a little extra special something inside, a Dizzy Blonde Studios tape measure. Thanks Laura, I love them both!!!!

Now if anyone can suggest any great knee sock patterns, I'd greatly appriciate it, as nothing on Ravelery really jumped out at me. Just leave the name of the book or a link to the pattern & I would be ever so grateful!

Finished Objects & New Friends

2008-08-08T16:27:00.004-04:00

I have to say that I am very pleased with my Illusions socks that I have knitted. The pattern is from Laura Patterson over at Fiber Dreams. She really has some great sock patterns. These should have been done a while ago *shame on me* but life gets in the way. Hubby is happy withthem & has officially decided that they would be his Pittsburgh Penguin Socks & he will wear them for ever game.

Though I have kind of made a decision in my life about socks. This pattern is beautiful but so hard to see with all the colors of the yarn. I have come to the conslusion that when I knit a sock I think I will stick with solid colors for a sock with such a pattern. It's just easier to see. I'll let the colored sock yarns do there own striping.

My post yesterday was just thrown together & I didn't get to share with you the highlight of my vacation........I found a yarn store! It's in Manteo just over a bridge, not far from where we were staying, maybe 10 minutes. It was called Kimeeba Fine Yarns. I took Jack with me for a little drive after I left the others off to go crabbing. *I would show you photos of that but they caught nothing* I bought some lovely yarns, which I will show you in the next post. Cybill, the owner, was such a nice woman & was helpful with Jack. (as you can see, he loved holding the yarn!)She held him while I shopped around. If you get down that way stop in. I made some new friends that invited me back for a "S&B" that night but sadly I couldn't make it due to other family plans. But I will definitely be back next year!

Vacation Hangover

2008-08-07T09:16:00.008-04:00

I am suffering from a severe case of vacation hangover. We got back last Saturday but the list of things I have to do seems to be just getting longer & longer. So let me cut to the chase.

Vacation was good but......Jack ended up in the hospital on Monday night with a 103 degree fever. After 3 hours there we found that he had a virus, which included a lovely ear infection & blisters covering his tonsils. Here he is with Dad on the hospital bed.

Vacation was good.....I got some knitting done since the baby slept a bit. I got about 4 inches into the leg of a new sock when I realized I had to rip 3 inches out becasue I made a big BOO-BOO.

Though I did get to finish my Illusions socks for my husband & as soon as I can nail him down for a photo shoot, I will post you some photos. I also finished the Alligator Scarf, which was a bit smaller than I thought it was going to be so I might just put it aside for Jack when he gets a little older. Though I am not sure Purple is his color.

I got to stop by my favorite Farmer's Market on the way into Outebanks. We picked out some lovely fruit that became a glorious fruit salad for all to share.

Here are some really nice ones of the family that I'd love to share with all of you.

Vacation...........

2008-07-25T13:44:00.002-04:00

I am here.......wish you were here......talk to you all in 8 days!

Summers fly by........

2008-07-23T10:21:00.008-04:00

Summer is flying by like no other summer that I have had. I have been so busy & I feel like I have so many things going on. I have been dilligently working on Christmas presents & have been really going at it on my nieces Gator Scarf from Moorhouse Farms. It is a lot further along that what you see here. I believe I have 8 more rows of gator scales to do then I give it a tail.....fini! I also finished a pair of socks & I am starting 2 more pair this week.

I also have been trying to organize my home, but not just my home, my computer. I have been working on all my picture folders & have signed on for Flickr Pro & Picnik ~which is my new most favorite thing ever! I'm still finding my way around it. I took some photos of Jack yesterday, such a ham!

Plurking has become a big part of my life also. I just enjoy it so much, It's like having a live blogging, IM'ing session 24/7........if you have not tried it, you must. There are thousands of people on it, but I have limited myself to only "friending" knitters. If you get on find me in the friend search under KeanaLee.

Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts for my Mom. She was so impressed with the blanket. On a bright note she was tested for the Ovarian Cancer/Breast Cancer gene, since she has had both, and it came back negative. Which means less worrying for me & my daughter in the future.

Blocked, sewn & delivered!

2008-07-12T15:55:00.006-04:00

FINALLY! I am done with my mother's blanket & it is on it's way to Altoona. I hit a little snafu in the end that I was not expecting. ONE, and only one panel was too long?! I think the culprit was a cable that was longer than the others, I must of lost count. Instead of ripping the whole thing & re-knitting that panel, which is what I should of done. I was lazy & only ripped a few inches. I don't think mom will notice that there is only 7 cables instead of 8.

I shipped it off today & was very happy with it. It is incredibly heavy. I think it will keep her very warm! My son modeled it for me on the deck, even though it was 90 degrees out & he was very hot, thanks Justin! I can't wait for her to get it. I'moff now to Plurk.com dome more & get ready to leave for the shore in 12 days! Yeah....Vacation!

Plurking!

2008-07-07T15:21:00.006-04:00

Ladies, I have been very busy http://www.plurk.com I found this site through a fellow knitter & you just have to check it out. At first I was thinking this is so stupid, but it becomes like an addictive game you can't stop "plurking" -- and the more KARMA you get the more things you can do & groups you can join. Like the "Plurkette HenCircle" That just looks like so much fun! I spend too much time on the computer as it is, but I just couldn't help myself. Note: The top Plurker in the world is WendyKnits! *** Here is a little Jack love!***

The economy & crafting.........

2008-07-02T07:26:00.012-04:00

I recently got a great catalog in the mail from art.com. While flipping through I came across some paintings I thought would be great for the kids newly remodeled bathroom. But with the price of gas & milk, spending $160 on paintings just didn't seem right, so I did what any wannabe artist did. I painted them myself. I changed up some of the background colors to better match the new bathroom, but all in all I don't think I did that bad. All that for $26.oo(canvas at Joann's), the paints were mine & I have had for years. No matter the price of gas, there will always be money for crafting, I think it keeps you sane in these economy-stressed times. Now with all that green I saved I can fill up my gas tank TWICE!

My name is Keana, and I'm a dumpster diver.

2008-06-27T07:04:00.006-04:00

Yes, it's true when garbage day rolls around, especially in the Springtime I find myself excited about the prospect of finding my neighbors "spring cleaning' cast-offs on there lawn. I take a walk with the baby through the neighborhood, looking for goodies that might become part of our home. I recently came across what looked like an old school house chair. I immediately went back home grabbed the car, and threw it in. After I debated on stripping off the paint, I decided against that, I had my ever-so-helpful-hubby drill a small hole into the seat which allowed him to get the jigsaw blade down in there to cut an almost perfect round hole. Then with a little lettering & some really good polyurethane I had a new home for my Rosemary bush on my deck. I'd like to add on some more decorative vines & lettering when I get more time, that may happen in about 6 years when Jack is in school all day!

Kitchen Knits Swap

2008-06-24T10:04:00.002-04:00

I swore that this year I was not going to do any swaps or KAL's. I didn't want to make promises I couldn't keep & didn't know how much time I would have with my new baby boy. But I saw a swap while surfing blogs & I just couldn't resist.

Marisol started the Kitchen Knits Swap(which I hope she does again) It combined two of my favorite things, knitting & cooking. The idea was that you sent a knitted kitchen-themed item or a kitchen themed pattern with the yarn. A favorite kitchen staple of yours & 3 of your favorite recipes. Along with anything else you might want to throw in.

I received my package yesterday & boy was it GREAT! We all filled out short questionaires for our swap buddy along with putting pictures of our kitchens on the swap site. I got a "tuscany" themed box of goodies. Carla sent some great things; a cookbook, Peaches n' Cream yarn to create the oh-do-cute Nubbins Dishcloth, Ruby Roobis Tea(which I already have tasted, sooo good) dish towels, oven mitts, a recipe for Ratatouille, Ghirardelli Brownie mix and the most beautiful Tuscan themed coffe/tea mug! Thanks Carla, I loved them all!!!! Cheers.

Blanket of Comfort

2008-06-23T08:33:00.004-04:00

As many of you know my mother has been fighting Ovarian Cancer for the past year and 5 months. Sadly things are not getting better & it seems that fighting the good fight sometimes just isn't enough. I have been trying to get home as much as possible to see her & spend time with her. I took the kids to Altoona this past week for 5 days & let her spend time with everyone, especially the new baby.

Weighing in at 84 pounds she gets cold easily, even in the summertime, so I am on a mission to finish a beautiful blanket for her that was first introuduced to me by Leslie.

I have 2 and half panels finished up & it's such a quick & easy knit that I hope to have it done this week. You can find the pattern ont the Lion Brand Website. I searched the web ferociously for the best price on yarn. I found that going to DefinitiveDeals.com & linking to Joann Fabrics from there got me free S&H. The yarn on site was even cheaper than it was in the store!

This blanket would make a great Christmas gift, but for me it has become a mission to give my mom some warmth & comfort.

Telluride

2006-03-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

Telluride 2006 & my Moda Dea Tutu dropped stitch scarf