Making stitch markers

What a great idea! I never thought of using lever back earring wires...



...to make beaded stitch markers that can do the job of these...




Find the instructions here.

Tempting

No secret that I love knitting socks. So I'm surprised that I missed knowing about the Socks A La Carte book. (Must have been the move, the settling-in, and the broken ankle.)

I do know that it looks very interesting as the pages flip so that you basically are creating your own pattern. Sounds similar to Sensational Socks books but with pictures as you can create a visual to see how a cuff, body design, heel, etc., will look when put together.

Is it a good book? No idea. But I am tempted to find out!

If you have an opinion, let me know.

Happy Pi Day

Today is Pi Day.

Math geeks celebrate this...




Needle knitter's think of this...



...and Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi Shawl.

Loom knitter's might think of this Pi...



...found in this book. Hey, I had to mention it since it's my design. ;)

And I also have to mention my husband's favorite Pi saying...


I'm planning to celebrate by knitting since I'm feeling so much better.

Peacock's Best Vest

Daughter and I are still sick with bronchitis (pause for a moment of self pity). Between the lack of oxygen to brain and the medications to get well, I have no brain power for anything beyond the necessities. So all designing is at a halt including a proposal I had hoped to have done by now. Oh well (cough, sniffle) However I manage to browse internet looking at patterns for projects I would like to do.

Peacock's Best Vest from SWTC has caught my eye BIG time! Seriously LOVE it. Go look! I'll wait. ;)

But I don't love 19 skeins X $12.60. Maybe I'll browse for alternatives when feeling better. Let me know if you have suggestions.

(cough, cough)
___________________________________________

ETA (10 min later) - I have no will power. Have purchased the pattern. Will concern myself with the yarn when I'm feeling better.

"Stand Back, I'm Going to Sneeze"

One of my favorite books for children, use to read it to my daughter when she was little, and so appropriate for my household right now.

Family has been sneezing and wheezing for over a month. No one is sick at the same time but we do seem to be passing it around (like the game "hot potato").

Actually doctor says it's not a germ but the allergens in the area. Having lived in the high desert of Southern California for over 15 years, we're having to get use to new types of blooming plants here in Oklahoma. The cottonwood seems to be the main problem right now.

Whatever. We're sick and on medicines.

I wonder if knitted handkerchiefs are practical?

Wordless Wednesday (equation)

+

=

More on beading

Bead Therapy Bangle is now available for download here. I haven't edited the website to include it yet but will as soon as I find the html software (it's always something).

And speaking of beading, I just received an email that this book will be available in May -



I love weaving with beads and this one is 3D loom weaving. Very exciting as I love creating 3D beadwork.

A couple of my 3D creations -

Bead woven using mostly peyote stitch.

Beaded on weaving loom with 3D leaves.

Bead Therapy

So much knitting leaves little time for beading. But I needed a few minutes of bead therapy. Here is the results



A simple bangle, loom knitted with left over cashmere yarn.

I plan to upload this as a free pattern as soon as I get the new computer set up with the software I need to make it into a pdf file. That's the only problem with having a new computer.



But at least I don't have to share now. hehe

Signs of spring

As Bill Engvall would say, here's your sign....





The wasp picture was borrowed from the web. I never intentionally get that close to a stinger.

Yarn sale

JoAnn is having a 30% off yarn sale with free shipping (over $25). So I thought I would spend a few minutes browsing. Each time I click on a yarn, I get an error.



Hey yarn-aholics! Save something for me!!

Knitting Daily

Since everything I've worked on this year (so far) has been for publication somewhere, I haven't been able to show pictures of what I'm knitting. So blogging has been about whatever I think of...sometimes having nothing to do with knitting. (What? You didn't notice?) Regardless, I am knitting daily.

And speaking of Knitting Daily, have you signed up for the Interweave newsletter yet? Yes, I'm speaking to loom knitters also. While the newsletter is about needle knitting, the techniques can apply to loom knits also. It will be done a little differently but with a little imagination you can apply the techniques to the loom. Most recently has been how to pick up stitches. Check it out.

Back to knitting.

Cartoon Stock

What's next?

This past weekend, we had an early Spring. And in Oklahoma, Spring brings tornado weather. Thus, the weather happenings yesterday. We were lucky...missed us totally. But did make me thankful we had the storm cellar added to the property last fall. And it reminded me that we need to put a few basic emergency items in it, just in case.

Over the past month, there has been the ice storm, an earthquake, grass fires and now tornadoes.

What's next? Flood? A shortage of wool?

My computer is dead...

...at least temporarily. Norton found a virus Sunday...which morphed into 7 different bugs. My computer geek (aka husband) attempted to revive it from backup CD's. But the CD player is acting goofy and is most likely a piece of crap broken.

I'm now sharing the family computer and subject to being booted off because that's the meaning of SHARE. Can anyone please remind me why I taught "share" to my daughter...only to have it thrown in my face? sigh...

Special Olympics scarves

Did you know that there were so many scarves sent for Special Olypmics that there was excess? Yep. The extra's were sold at Walmart in Boise, ID to benefit Special Olympics.

Knitter's and crocheter's are an awesome bunch of people.

Square Knitting Neeles?

Knitting with square needles? Well, I thought knitting needles with lights were strange and found I like them when knitting with dark color yarn (an age thing).

So who knows? These might be great for for those of us who ache after hours of knitting (at least that's what is said here). I definitely need a trip to the local yarn shop to check these out.

I mean...I did accidentally step on one of my bamboo needles and broke it. Perhaps I'll replace that size with a square needle. Hey! It's a good excuse!

Ice...just ice

We had our welcome to winter in the plains this week. Ice storm. Perhaps a little snow but primarily ice and sleet. You know the kind? Where you slip and slide on the sidewalks? The grass is frozen and it crunches if you step on it?

Tuesday morning -




It's just ice. Solid and slippery.

This morning (Thursday) on my first outing after the ice storm. This is our little neighborhood in a rural part of Oklahoma City.




There is a road under there. All I had to do was find it.

This is the "melts-during-the-day, freezes-again-in-the-night, watch-your-step" stuff - ice! At least the main roads are clear once we get out of the neighborhood.

I really do not mean to complain. Several states got it far worse. And we never lost electricity. I guess I just lived in Southern California for so long that I had forgotten how winters could be.

Note to self - need firewood.

Monday Musings

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
— Marcus Tullius Cicero

Very true for us. We shipped about 15 boxes of books that are still unpacked as the new house had no bookshelves. That doesn't count the few boxes we unpacked and have scattered around the house in portable bookshelves.

Since the house has a den, we had a place for putting in built-in bookshelves. It's been a work in process for a month. And it's almost completed. Here's a peek.



The side moldings and trim should be finished this weekend. The crafts person doing the work is fantastic. He has worked with us to put our vision for the room into reality. We're really excited to be able to unpack the remaining boxes and have the house complete.

Currently reading Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber checked out from the library.

On the knitting loom - a sweater of my own design
On the needles - a sweater that is on the back burner simmering while I finish some loom knit projects

Shoes!

For the first time in 5 weeks, I'm wearing shoes on both feet! yay! It took some hunting through old pairs to find one with a foot opening large enough to accommodate the ankle brace. Luckily the oldest pair did the trick!



Ankle is still a little swollen...which means that the bone is still mending (at least that's what I'm told). And it aches a bit. I guess that's OK since there is still 3 weeks to go before it's considered "done".

And how is your week shaping up? hmmmm?

Please BE a part of the CHANGE

It's almost here. The start of a new government administration. The election platform of President-elect Obama was CHANGE. I want to make him stick with that. Don't you?

I know that there is so much change needed in the U.S. But one that is near and dear to my heart is the END of the waiting list for people with disabilities to receive help. It affects me personally as my daughter is disabled. That gives me first-hand knowledge of why services are needed by this group of U.S. Citizens. And why we need to help by making our voices heard and bringing this need to the top 10 Ideas for Change in America.

(Click the above link to read about it if you are unfamilar with the dilimena of disabled people. And voting would be good too.)

In Oklahoma (where I live) the wait is 3 years. It's longer in other states. This is unacceptable to me. Anyone involved with people that have developmental disabilities (a.k.a. mental retardation), KNOW how much help these people need with just day-to-day living.

They are as vulnerable as an elementary child alone in the world. Think of a child that never grows up mentally. Their bodies look like adults but they do not think like one.

POINT is.......YOU can help with just registering at change.org and letting our new President and his administration know that fully funded Medicaid and waiver program needs immediate resolution. Please!!

Here is the link - Change.org Click on that or copy and paste this long url into your browser -
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/fully_fund_medicaid_waivers_for_the_developmentally_disabled

You have to register (sorry!) and confirm your registration via an email to your email address (please, it's worth it!).

IMPORTANT
NOTE: MAKE CERTAIN YOUR VOTE REGISTERS. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE NUMBER TO THE LEFT OF THE TITLE THAT SAYS "VOTE" UNDER IT IN ORDER TO HAVE YOUR
VOTE ACTUALLY COUNT. ONCE YOU HAVE DONE THAT, IT WILL SAY "VOTED".
REGISTERING ON THE SITE AND ENTERING A COMMENT DOES NOT
COUNT AS A VOTE!

If we make it to the Top 10, Change.org will:
On January 16th, Change.org will co-host an event at the National Press
Club in Washington, DC to announce the top 10 rated ideas and our plans
for supporting the formation of a national advocacy campaign behind
each idea in collaboration with our nonprofit partners. The top 10
ideas will also be presented to President Obama on inauguration day.

Slowly mending

The ankle is mending and the bone has not shifted. Really good news for someone over 50 and diagnosed with osteopenia (that would be me on both). I confess that I was concerned the recovery would go more slowly because of both.

I have another 3 weeks of transitioning from boot cast into an ankle brace while working the muscles to accept weight again (somewhat painful). Then 2 weeks in the ankle brace.

I am knitting but have nothing finished. I suppose that is the knitter's ADD I sometimes suffer from. I have 5 projects I'm working on all at once. And that doesn't include this sweater. oh well.

2009 - Bring it on!

As I am an infrequent blogger, it shouldn't surprise anyone that my first post of the new year is 6 days into it. I won't make excuses.

2008 went out with a huge black cloud hovering over us. As ya'll (that's my Texan showing) know I broke my ankle the week before Christmas...which was the week before my MIL had eye surgery (3 days before Christmas).

As DH had promised we would be in Dallas to "help", we thought we would make it a family Christmas and enjoy time with my Mother too. But I still had to get the motor home ready for the trip - broken ankle or not. Thanks to DH and DD, I managed and off we went with high hopes that the ankle wouldn't ruin the trip for us. Stupid, eh? You would think that I would have acknowledged that this little mishap was "fate's" way of telling me to just stay home. But as we hadn't been able to spend a holiday with our elderly Mothers in many years, it seemed the right thing to do.

So I took pain pills and smiled in a medicated haze...
1. through MIL surgery
2. through the transmission problems of my car (repaired Christmas Eve)
3. through the freezing temperatures while the motor home furnace (thank goodness for sleeping bags)
4. through the ignition coil of the car going out...

All that from Dec 20 to Dec 27. Too much in a week even though the time spent with family was wonderful. We kissed the Mom's and came home before anything else happened.

After finally finding an ignition coil for my Cruiser, DH managed to put the new one in on Jan 2nd. It seemed to be fine...finally. Famous last words. It broke down again yesterday while DH was driving it to work. He has given up and left it at the mechanics all the while muttering "l.e.m.o.n."

Obviously the dark cloud hasn't left yet. Stay tuned.

Ringin' in the new year

We're home after a wonderful Christmas with our mothers. The first time in many, many years we've been able to spend the holiday with them.

Our plans for New Year's Eve? A quiet evening at home with DD playing the new Wii game "Santa" brought. ;)

Happy 2009 to everyone!

Happy Holidays plus Winter 2008 LKC is live

We are visiting family for Christmas. I hope your Christmas is a joyous one!

My 2008 Christmas ornament (love him!)

Oh! And Winter 2008 Loom Knitter's Circle is live. Enjoy!

P.S. Thank you for all of the notes wishing me a speedy recovery.

Fractured Fibular

That pop I heard when I stumbled (not very gracefully) last night was the crack of a bone. The extreme swelling, pain, and bruising was a good hint that I needed to see the doctor today. So I did. The left side of ankle is broken (fractured fibular). At least the "cast" is this boot thing that I can remove for showers.



And I can still knit.

New loom knit patterns and free tutorial

Twist'n Hat and Scarf patterns are finally finished. It took awhile to put together the tutorials so that I was happy with it. I think you'll find it was worth the wait.

Hopefully I'm not confusing anyone by offering not only the hat and scarf pattern separately, but for loom knitter's who want both I'm offering the Twist'n Combo at a discount.

And since I needed to do a tutorial on decreases (needed for the hat), I put it up as a free download.

Find it all by clicking here.

Holiday lights spectacular last weekend

We drove through the holiday lights spectacular this past weekend (at night of course). Wow. It really is spectacular! It's at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park in Midwest City, OK (the soccer fields). If you are local, go. If you're not - enjoy the pictures I took with the cell phone. These are just some of the light displays that are there.

Santa in his sleigh over the world.

Two bears having a snowball fight (the light in the middle is the snowball moving).

Santa and his reindeer

A few displays here. The Christmas tree in the background is huge!
The display on the right is a chimney with Santa's feet dangling.

My favorite. The carousel ponies "move" up and down. Wonderful light illusion.

A bear standing on the shoulders of another bear (who is standing on Christmas presents) putting the star on the Christmas tree. The bears tilt inward toward the tree

Santa's candy cane factory. It was close to the road and so very bright!

Santa at his computer. Reading Christmas letters I suppose. ;)

The Nativity. Beautiful.

Truly amazing that these are done with frames, lights, and electronics. No real reindeer, bears, or santas were harmed in the making of the displays. hehe

Hiding in plain sight

A recent discussion on a Yahoo group about patterns from More Knitting Wheel Fashions made me realize that I'm not as active in groups as maybe I should be. For that I apologize. I'm not intentionally hiding. I just get so immersed in *real life* that I forget to read message boards.

I did try to stay on digest with these groups in the beginning. But there are two groups that generate so much daily email, I couldn't keep up. After a few days of not being able to read the digests, I decided it was pointless to keep trying. So I went to "read online only"; and then I forgot to visit the group. sigh

Anyway, that's my excuse. Good excuse or not, it's honest.

I do manage to check direct email (typically) daily. If you want or need to contact me, email me direct at kathy @ kathynorrisdesigns . com (just remove the spaces). I will respond. Really!!

The weekend

Doc really knows what he's talking about when it comes to Boniva. The 2nd dose didn't cause the horrendous side effects from last month. Just a little muscle aches. Go figure.

So instead of the terrible weekend I was expecting, we had a great family weekend complete with decorating the Christmas tree.

And playing with the dogs.


Elvis has really grown! He's starting to look like a Dachshund.


We also managed to drive through the local park where there is a display of Christmas lights. More about that later complete with pictures.

And knitting....I have knitting!! Yay! Great weekend!!

Ugh...monthly Boniva time

Doctor called in November after my first bone scan. Bad news. I have osteopenia. Good news, there is medication to reverse the bone loss and prevent osteoporosis. He had me try Bonvia. Well, Sally Field "takes it" so it must be OK, right? The everyday-women that took it and said side effects were terrible must be wrong, right? Yeah, right.

I took the first pill on November 5th. I carefully followed the dosage instructions...take it with 8 oz of water on an empty stomach; do not lay down or lean back nor eat or drink anything else for 1 hour. The first day went fine. No major issues at all! I just knew it would be breeze to take it once a month. Wrong!

I underestimated this pill. The next 4 days were miserable!! Stomach problems that nice people do not blog about. Muscle pain that woke me up in the middle of the night but did ease up with 3 tylenol - yet never really went away so I moved around like my Mother who is 85 yo. Joint stiffness, a general feeling of being sick. And I swore I wouldn't do it again.

Sigh. But doctor reminds me that the instructions say the first dosage is the worse and it should get better with the next. I hope so because I'm giving it a 2nd chance.

Tomorrow is the next dosage. There goes my weekend. CYA afterwards.

It's a total waste of time but...

...it's just as entertaining as popping bubble wrap online. Perfect for when your brain needs something to do other then think. hehe

Here, click on the link and have fun! Holiday Snowglobe Be sure to watch the house on the left of the screen for the old man.