toys are good food

Happy Halloween!

yulp. hop inside for pix of our pumpkins and bucky

Inches 14.5 - 32.5

Phew. Another week (plus some) has gone by and where am I on my progress? Well, I've made an effort. That's gotta count for somethin', eh?

more inches - yay!

less yarn (trust me)

And for those Walter fans out there, here's a couple treats for you: like father, like son and kittens + yarn = trouble. Enjoy!

Is it SOX enough for you?

Interweb friends, I have a confession to make. It seems that I have been holding out on showing you sock fotos. I know - shocking! I guess I was waiting for one thing or another before I did the whole photo shoot and post. But wait no more!

This is a foto-laden post, so be careful. I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves.

Okay, well there aren't TONS of sox completed. I'm not, like, drowning in sox. This isn't a Tsox Tsunami. But for me, a little sox goes a long way. And so that's where I'll start.

The Great and Powerful Oz Sox!

pay no attention to the manikin behind the sox

BIG n' little sox - Aww

The great Mim of Mim's Knitting Frenzy has an easy and free pattern for Baby and Toddler Socks. Using this as inspiration, I knitted up a giftie pair for a birthday boy. Benny's grown so much and so quickly, I just hope that he'll be able to squeeze his lil' piggies in these sox!

Details: I used Schachenmayr nomotta Crazy Cotton in plantation (greens). This yarn is 100% mercerized cotton, but since he won't be in them long I didn't figure on needing any nylon to carry along. The Baby to Toddler Size Socks pattern was fun to knit and super quick. You can see how much Vannakin likes 'em.

dancin' sox!

karate kick!

playing...

and being played with!

Next up are Matty's Manly Sox. Now I finished knitting on these a while ago. But I was waiting to block them before I considered them done. (They could use a smidgen more give.) I tried making sock blockers from plastic-coated wire hangers, as quite a few DIYers do. But I found that I could only make small sized blockers this way; like for women's size 5 and smaller. And I don't know no one with that small of feet, 'cept Benny. And that's just silly.

I will be trying my hand at a different make-sock-blockers project, but until I do they'll just have to wait. (And trust me, once I am a master blocker-maker I will give the details of it all to you, my internets friends.)

The details of these sox can be found here. No need to repeat myself.

I said, no need to repeat myself. (ha ha, sometimes I'm just silly for no good reason.)

Why a Gringots goblin and not Hedwig, I'll never know.

They all seem to like the ribbing, 'cept that dern goblin!

A Ron Weasley cozy?

And lastly (but never leastly... leastly? Is that even a word? Doubt it.). I've started working on a pair of sox for myself. Special sox. Sox that have a deadline. I've started a pair of Hogwarts Gryffindor Sox!

I'm using Silja Superwash wool/nylon in gold and maroon. (Of course!) I'm working with a pattern of my own creation, which is kind of sad because I never planned it out and now I'm at the gusset/heel and I've gotta stop and do the math. (Ugh, math.) The ribbing is a K3, P2 rib on the top of the foot (and will be continued up the leg of the sock).

This is my first toe up sock AND my first sock on one circular needle. (Combine that with no pattern and math, and I may just cry.) Chris and Bot-gurl have been helping me out tons. And C. just loaned me her Queen Kahuna sock book to help figure out my toe-up heel flap.

But for now, isn't it cute posing with my Harry Potter nesting dolls? Bonez got those for me last Christmas. Again, I've always meant to blog about them, but time kept sneaking past. (Dern sneaky time!)

And I have a bit of boy-crush on Ron Weasley. Not so much in the first movie, where he kept making some weird half scrunchy-face. But more and more, he's stealing my boy-crushable heart. [sigh]

Walter devours a lamb!

So there you have it - my sox. And to reward your patience, I have a Walter pic for you! (Yes, I totally stole this idea from Bonez. Not like you're complaining!)

Inches 1 - 14.5

knitted

to knit

This is the start of... the decline of civilization? ... my madness? ... a project that ends in tears and disapointment? ... nope, my holiday knitting! (Boy, do I hope that all those other guesses are just plain wrong.)

To encourage myself ('cause man - I've got some tight deadlines) and to show y'all that I AM knitting, I will be posting my progress each week. This will be shown using two images, section knitted and yarn remaining, and the progress amount (inches referred to in the title). I'm playing by the KISS rules.

And just so you know... The yarn is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes on size US#7 needles (straight). 60 stitches/garter stitch (knit 'em all!).

I don't believe the recipient much/ever reads our site, but if he does he can only be happy by what he sees. And if you know who and what I'm talking about, please don't alert him to this or reading our blog. Thanks.

Little bit o' fun

Well actually, there was a whole lotta fun, but the afternoon was about little things. Namely, wee tiny sweaters!

This Saturday, Aubyn, Purling Pirate, and I went to a knitting class at the Shabby Sheep. (No website yet, but an awesome lil' store!) The item to knit? Mini sweaters.

despite how confusing this might look, it was not

The pattern is easy and they work up in no time at all. Simply knit the four pieces (front, back, and two sleeves) on a needle each, and then join them in the round for a few rows and decreases. The final product will make you giggle with glee (if you're prone to glee-giggling, that is).

tee-he-he

These wee sweaters will be decorating a Christmas tree that is part of a larger, holiday event for charity. (I forget the event, but it was for good, not evil I'm sure.) But now that I've got the skillz....

I've got mad plans to knit mini versions of all kinds of things: socks, scarves and mittens (but not earmuffs - that would be ridiculous). I could knit any sweater that I'm considering knitting full-size. Or would that be creepy to have a mini version of your winter wardrobe?

Pez-O-Rama

You guessed it, another PEZ update. Yes, the PEZ has been flowing from the heavens like hard, plastic manna. Let's dive in, so we can see the exciting kitten photo at the end of the article!

You guessed it, another PEZ update. Yes, the PEZ has been flowing from the heavens like hard, plastic manna. Let's dive in, so we can see an exciting photo of the kitten at the end of the article!

Speaking of Walter (the previously mentioned kitten), he drove me out of the house and to the workbench in the garage to take the pictures today. This was due to his love of PEZ bowling, and my love of him not.

PEZ with torsos

First up, is a new American PEZ set, the Disney Princesses. I could only find Cinderella, Belle and the girl from Aladdin. There are three other PEZ shown on the package, but those will be released later, according to the guy at Froggies. Yep, I went to Froggies, a cool PEZ/Archie Mcphee-esque type store here in Dallas.

My thoughts are ... i dunno. They look good. The facial detail is good. I don't like the recent move to having a chunk of the torso on the top of the PEZ. The recent Bratz release also had this. All I can say to PEZ is ... um... "give me head, not torso."

Steaming pile of Sith

The Princesses were a surprise. I went to the shop because I'm on their PEZ list, and they'll call anytime something cool comes in. As it turns out, a shipment of Star Wars Collector Sets just came in. I hadn't even heard about this before I bought it.

Meh... All that's special on this is the packaging....and the "special" limited edition. Hurry now and buy one... only ... 250,000 have been produced. While I'm at it, if you're hoping to get #104470 you are plain outta luck.

This cost 21 dollars, and all nine of the PEZ are in wide release. If you assume that you can buy each of these for .99 cents apiece, you are paying a about $11 bucks for the pretty box. But I bought it, because I am a sucker.

This coulda been done a little better. First off, there are several PEZ from the initial Star Wars PEZ set that coulda been included for completeness. Luke, Leia, the lame version of Chewbacca... Also, make it worth it... They could've introduced a new dispenser (like i dunno, Aunt Beru or the Rancor Keeper) that would only initially sell in the fancy collector box.

Also, a quick moment of disclosure, since if I don't mention it, Nancy will leave a comment about this. When I first saw them, in a moment of unbridled new PEZ glee, I wanted to buy two. She talked me down to one. By adding this info myself, I can avoid any possible snarkish comments.

assorted cool

Now we move onto some new stuff that I'm happy about. Really quickly, from left to right, are the green crystal whistle, the Boston Scientific, and the psychadelic globe. These came from Craignymet, a PEZ dealer that often has cool stuff.

The whistle is from a small run (~300) of the new whistle mold in green crystal. mmm... pretty.

Next up is the Contour SE Microspheres PEZ. On the back, it says "Boston Scientific, in an similarly exciting Sans Serif black type. Scientists may be good at their science stuff, but they really suck at designing PEZ dispensers.

"But what are Microspheres", you might (but probably won't) ask. Here's a description stolen from their website:
"Contour SE Microspheres are performance engineered for exceptional targeted delivery. They are designed to combine the proven biocompatibility of PVA with a hydrophilic, spherical shape for improved delivery. Contour SE Microspheres are now available in a prefilled syringe and a wider range of sizes."

Yeah, I have no idea either. But these brave men of science, with their hydrophilic technology have created something else as well. They have created the ugliest dispenser I have ever seen. This beats the pants off of the so-called "Mary Poppins" (curious? pic here, link here)dispenser -- I still wonder who they fooled with that one! This PEZ is so ugly that I kinda like its no-nonsense demeanor.

So cool they need helmets

The plain round mold has been much maligned -- several times by me. Look, it's a baseball, no it's a planet -- wait a crystal ball, no -- smiley faces! The folks at PEZ have been industriously recycling this mold... (wait for next year -- you too will want "Cube"-- the newest design... look -it's a box, no wait, it;s a building, a Rubik's cube! )

This time, I'm totally wrong... these are cute PEZ, built on the ball mold. These are Bundesrat PEZ, which have something to do with a German child safety program. I do know that they are cuteness. The 50's stylized design works with the plain white globe. These also came from Craig. God bless the Internet.

May leave a bad taste in your mouth

The final entry is the crystal versions of the Sourz PEZ that came out a few years ago. New PEZ molds are probably expensive. For a while, the PEZ online store would have 'special crystal editions' of every new line, including Star Wars, Sesame Street, and -- ooh the Sourz! The Sourz PEZ are pretty lame in any version. The special crystal ones were sold in sets online, and were 8 or 10 bucks each.

Apparently the demand for clear crystal and color crystal versions of those lovable(?) Sourz scamps was a little lower than somebody expected. These bad boys were packaged up, and the 99 ¢s; Only store had a whole floor shipper of them... (if anyone cares, I found 'em at the one in Garland). They were... umm... .99 cents *only!

An uneasy truce

That's all the new PEZ love for now, and you did manage to make it all the way through. Here you go, a picture of Walter, sitting close to Slocombe, trying to steal a bit of the light beam.

More Meme fun!

Another fun (and quick!) meme is making it's way around the interverse. You simply Google "[your name] needs", and post the top 10 posts that match. So here we go...

1. Nancy needs to make sure that her Mom understands Nancy's message. (ha - this came from another knitblogger's meme of the same!)
2. Nancy needs witness accounts of rental activity to take action.
3. You calculated that Nancy needs 2097 kilocalories per day. (Eep?!)
4. Nancy needs help choosing snake to breed.
5. Nancy needs catechists. (EEP!)
6. Nancy needs to "bite the bullet" and let her boss know that...
7. Nancy needs the exact same hardware in both machines for the servers to work together.
8. I was just informed Nancy needs a copy of our DLs.
9. Nancy needs a family who can not only provide her with the nurturing, care and security, but also firm and consistent boundaries.
10. It's too dark, however, Nancy needs a flashlight.

Funny note... when I did this a day or two ago without the quote marks, I pulled up a lot of Nancy Drew mysteries. Now go check yourselves out!

My tootsies

I may be cutting this close, but this is for Mim. A pix of my feet.

Warning to those that don't like nakeed feet (Rachel): There are bare toes in the next bit! Don't go any further, even for pix of Walter. Here... here's a Walter pic to appease you. Now you have no reason to go on. Everyone else, click to see Walter attacking my toes.

tastes like...?

The only way that I could bare (pun intended) to show my feet on the internets, was to add a bit o' cute and use Walter to my advantage. Unfortunately, Walter seems to be a bit high strung after a long day of kitten naps. Go figure.

It was a bit difficult to get a foto, and I had to use the jingley, green feather thing-on-a-stick to get his attention. (Or at least get him in the same area as my feet.) And as you can see, he likes to play with toes as much as oddities-on-sticks.

But he is cute.

Another dose of vitamin K(itten)

yep.

I think that this world is based on balances. For every cute kitten action, there is an equally grotesque and vile toll that must be paid. If not for this tenuous balance, the world would implode. or explode. ... well, something 'plode-y, anyway.

Here is today's balance. The cuteness of a kitten, and the non-cuteness of cat scratches on my leg. (btw... it's really hard to take a picture of your own leg.)

By the way.. Walter was super cute last night... and he's sleeping next me right now. So. I'm sorry for all the cancer that this may have caused. It's not his fault.

kitten sittin'

shins of the father

Cats + kitten =

How are our three, mature (not older, gotta watch that!) cats taking the invasion of Sir Walter? What do they think of his ultra cuteness and high energy? I believe that Dil's look captures not just the moment, but their collective philosophy of new kitten.

no need for words

Exciting News!

There is a new member of our family. More info and pictures inside. Do not look unless you can handle a boatload of cute. If you get woozy from too much cute, do not look at the pictures while operating heavy machinery.

Banned in 16 countries-- too cute!

If you had asked me last week if I ever thought we would add another animal to our angry cat menagerie, I would have answered immediately, "nah, nah, heck nah."

Our three cats are not super friendly, even with each other. There is an unsteady truce between them, but the mixture is volatile.

However, last Friday, the receptionist at work was looking for a home for a stray kitten. Looking back, my downfall was holding the kitten. I realize that now.

Mew

Nanc and I and chatted on IM about it, and the wee kitten came home with me in the box from a ream of paper.

Let me give you some vitals here. The kitten is a boy, and he currently is living in our guest room. He weighs 2 lbs., and is about the cutest thing this side of anywhere. His name is Walter.... maybe. We're not super sure yet about the name, but this seems to work okay.

32 ounces of kitten

So far, the rest of the cats are doing okay with Walter... well... better than we expected. There has been some hissing and some growling, but no bloodshed during supervised playtime. Soon he will be accepted. He is sooo cute.

Bow to the cuteness.