Caffinna’sCreations

Well I finished the first one of the pair of “Broadway Mittens” for Erchin. In the four pictures at left he is modling it. He can hardly wait until they are done so that he can wear them and show them off at school! If you ask me I could have done a bit better, but he won’t let me re-do it……LOL!

He needs them and atleast I know he realy realy likes them. I just wish that I had had enough of the Alpaca (the blue yarn) do them entirely with it. It’s warm and so soft. Anyway, I checked the company’s website and apparently they don’t even make that shade of blue anymore. Dang-it-all to hell! It’s Erchin favorite blue and I’d have loved to have made the Broadstreet, a hat, a scarf, etc from it….oh well!

I used Pallette yarns from http://www.knitpicks.com/ in Fog and Ash for the cuff and convertable pocket. I used Blue Alpaca from Plymouth yarn for the fingerless glove part.

Now dh has decided that he wants a pair of wool mittens. I have two balls of Essential from Knit Picks in Pine that I had gotten for his socks. So I asked him if he wanted socks or mittens. He said that he wanted socks AND mittens. I thought for a bit and then I asked him, which he wanted first socks or mittens. He then told me that he wanted the mittens first. So he’ll get mittens first. I just don’t know if he’ll get them as a “I love you” pressie, a birthday pressie, or a Christmas pressie. Decisions decisions decisions.

I have also decided to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves and not gauntlets. I think I’ll use two differant colorways of Knitpicks “Dancing” in Jig and Tap. But who knows, I got too much to knit before I get to the “me” things.

I still need to knit the striped yellow socks for dil, Christmas for dgd, socks for ds#1, finish Christmas socks for a friend, and………..well you get the idea.

I got some 18 gauge wire, a pair of jewlry/craft 3-n-1 pliers, and some pink and some black beads. I am attempting to make some stitch markers. The wire isn’t quite the gauge I’d like for such a project, but it was the largest gauge I could get at Walmart. I’ve made a few and they look okay. I am just not sure if they are

going to be good enough to give as a gift. I need to get some sort of apoxy or strong glue to finish them, or a larger gauge wire. O well. I’ll let you know. Oh, I’ll post some pictures of the one’s I’ve gotten done so far tomorrow.

Dad is to go and possibly get the car dh wants on Monday. They came to an agreed payment plan the day the van burned. It’s an 1983 Chevy Impala. Dh has seen it and says it’s in good running condition with power steering, ac, heat, and a working radio/stereo. Will keep you posted.

Well that’s about it for today. Sorry it wasn’t much.

I got three lotto tickets on Wednesday. Two were winners, each getting a free ticket. So I got my two free tickets, and only one of those was a winner. I won the very $7 you see to the right! WooHoo!!! Nomatter what, I won!!!

Tuesday morning at out house is know as Trash Day. It’s the one day a week the city comes by and picks up the trash (provided someone remembers to take the cans to the curb!). Yesturday ds remembered and ran out and took cans to curb without wearing a coat. It was around 32 f at the time, so he got quite cold. When he came in and got his coat on to wait for the school bus, he came over to me and asked,” Mom, can I have just a bit of wool to put in my pockets?”
Now this boy lost atleast one of nine differant pairs of mittens and/or gloves last Winter alone! He’s mildly autistic, so if they are to keep up with or difficult to get on and off they get lost quickly. It isn’t intentional, and it isn’t exactly an accident either. Anyway, I asked him if he wanted me to make him a pair of mittens/gloves or did he want a bought pair. He choose wisely, he wants a pair knitted for him.
Now I searched the internet trying to find a pair that I could knit easily and that he’d wear and keep up with. This might sound easy, but isn’t as easy as it sounds. He wanted mittens, but I know for a fact he’ll pull them off to use his hands and end up loosing them. (He did just that with a $18 pair of fancy smancy ones my folks got for him for Christmas last year!) Combine this with two other facts–1, I don’t have the money to purchase extra yarn just for mittens; 2, I only have sock wool available to use–and it wasn’t so easy.
Then the light bulb went off! I checked Knitty.com and found just the perfect pair to make for him. I am almost half done now with the first of a pair of “Broad Street Mittens”, a convertable mitten. They are mittens that you can fold back the finger cuff and have a pair of fingerless hobo gloves! These should hopefully do the trick. With any luck he’ll hang onto them….atleast untill the weather warms up next Spring!
Sorry the picture is such poor quality. But what can you expect from a $20 digital camera? and ofcourse the flakey (me) camera operator! LOL

Today was a Monday in more ways than one pretty much sums today.

First of all because I didn’t have a receipt for a gift, the new printer that my computer won’t run, Walmart wouldn’t take it back! Not even for store credit!! So I stopped by the post office on the way home.

My RedHeart Plush yarn, that Patty–from the yahoo Knitting Chicks group that we are members of–got for me. It’s black and neither of the local/nearby Walmarts carry that yarn in black. And since I had found one skein of black and wanted more, Patty kindly offered to get it for me. I sent her a money order and she sent the yarn and a gift!

facecloth gift from Patty
See, isn’t it pretty! Thanks a ton and a bunch Patty!!!!!

Then I got home and checked my emails. I got an email from Knitpicks that there was a hold on my order. So I called the debit card company to find out why they were witholding payment since I knew I had put the money on the card for my yarn order. Someone, probably from the Trojan Horse virus that I had found on my computer, had gotten my debit card number. Apparently some idiots had been trying to charge on the debit card, and use it to withdraw monies from various ATM’s around the world! In the last 24 hours people had attempted to charge over $4 grand on the debit card!!! Three attempts were even made while I was on the phone with card company! Anyway, the card company had put a hold on the debit account as a security measure. They were clued into it because I had said that I never traveled outside of the country and listed only two states likely to be charges in, combined with the fact this is a prepaid debit card.

To the right is the shrug I have started for myself. Up to the elbows will be pink, the rest will be black. Both yarns are RedHeart Plush. Will be sure to post pic of the shrug whenever it gets completed.

Be sure to update and maintain your anti-virial programming!!!

finished pink shawl

I finished the pink shawl that I designed myself. Ignore the mess on the sofa that I was too lazy to clean before snapping the picture, and just look at the shawl. There is no real wrong or right side to this shawl, although there is a subtle diamond pattern in the fabric. I did the diamond pattern not so much for the design as a way not to get bored as with straight stockinette stitching. I used RedHeart’s “Plush” yarn in ‘Grenendine’, and RedHeart’s “Foxey” in cherries at the top edge and in the bottom tassle. If you are interested in the pattern post a comment asking for/about it, and I’ll respond as soon as I can. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want the pattern, you’ll have to leave your email address. Otherwise I have no where to send it too!!!

Caught….. This is my youngest son, effectionately reffered to as Erchin. (Not his real, but his internet nickname from me.) This is the second time he is washing the same dishes. I went into the kitchen and went to get a plate out of the drainer. It was slimey and greasy and yucky! He was made to rewash the dishes, only this time get them clean and NOT take an hour! The first effort took him nearly an hour and a half, and resulted in a flooding of counters and floor and greasy dishes. Second try took him ten minutes and resulted in no such flooding and dishes were clean!! When will he learn?

Oh what a day yesturday! The flipping frigging fucking van got roasted toasted and died yesturday morning! Let me go back to the beginning.

Pellivan (local version of public transpertation) called thursday afternoon and left a message on the answering machine. They were not coming to my little town on friday so I needed to find another way to doctor’s appointments for Erchin (youngest ds) and myself. I was going to reschedule. But since I couldn’t get refills on my meds untill I was seen, dh said we’d take the frigging van. We would drive the van over to the Walmart where mom and dad work, then barrow dad’s truck to run errands around town. We discussed various ways we’d handle things, because last time we tried to take van over to the next town it broke down and we had to have it towed. So we decided that if it broke down we’d use our towing insurance to have van towed to Walmart parking lot. Then after running errands, we’d use mom and dad’s AAA insurance to get it towed home.

We started out just over two hours before the scheduled dr’s appt, this to allow for “breakdown and towing” time. We stopped and got a couple of sodas, $10 in gas was put in the van, and some scratch and win lottery tickets. (I kept winning free tickets, but no cash!) Then we headed off. A few miles from destination the frigging van started to sputter and cough. Since the van held a grudge, you didn’t dare talk bad about the fucking thing, dh petted dashboard and said “good girl, you can make it”. I petted dashboard and said, “just get us to Grove” (Grove being the next town over). The sputtering and coughing stopped. We got near Honey Creak Bridge, it started again only with a vengence this time! DH and I both, using differant words, kept saying how we didn’t want to break down on the bridge.

We made it across the bridge, just barely, before the engine died. We coasted over to side of the road and stopped right in front of the little motel, “Honey Creak Motel”, about two blocks from the Walmart parking lot. I went inside to call the towing insurance company. No sooner had I gotten ahold of a real live person, than ds came running inside hollering that the van was on fire. Insurance lady said to call back after firemen had finished. While she was telling me this, motel manager was calling 911 on the other line.

Long story short is the van burned up! It took firetruck nearly 10 minutes to get there, and in that time the van was fully engulfed in flames! The police said we couldn’t wait for towing insurance to send a tow cause van blocked traffic (the street is also a state highway) and pulling it into motel parking lot was not allowed as the van possed a safety hazard in that condition. So they called the company next on the emergency rotation. That tow company didn’t take our towing insurance. But the tow guy wanted the tires and rims from van, so he towed and dispossed of the piece of total crap just to get those.

DH had his tools in the van, along with his good winter coat. I had taken 12 quilt blocks for a swap I WAS in (to mail while we were out), a ball of Classic Ellite Paintbox yarn along with a ball of co-ordinating eyelash yarn on my 20″ bamboo circs which I was knitting into a hat to felt, a ball of KnitPicks Dancing in the Tap colorway on my size 1 dbl pts which was a 4/5 done fingerless glove, all of which were burnt up in the van. UGH!!!

Now on to some better news from yesturday. DH got me the copy of Windows 98SE that I needed for my computer. Unfortunately my computer doesn’t have enough RAM to run the new printer. I will dig the old printer, which I cannot find ink for locally anymore, and see if I can get it to working again. DH offered to get more RAM for my computer but I said no. If we are planning on getting me a new, albeit cheap Walmart, computer then we need to stop dumping money into this one. He then said if I can get the old printer to work, he’d give me the money to order ink for it online, provided ofcourse I can find a place online to get it.

But the software did allow atleast a few things to happen with computer. A number of my favorite Club Pogo (online games I play) run alot better now. Also, I can now use my cheap digital camera that dh had gotten me back in February!!!

Pink Shawl

Here is the pink shawl that I am currently working on. I have designed it myself, you cannot tell from this picture, but there is a subtle diamond pattern in the fabric. I am using RedHeart’s Plusch yarn in Grenidine, which to me is a deep but hot pink color. The green thing at top left of picture is “Friggin’ Frog” my stuffed knitting/quilting mascot. He is a prince and guardian against the dreaded “frog stitch”…..rippit, rippit, rippit out…lol!!!

Well now with a digital camera that I can work and use, I will be able to more readily post pics of work now. I still have some pics on the disposible camera, the roll of film isn’t used up yet, that I will post after I can develope the film. But for now I can use digital!!! Y I P P I E ! ! ! ! ! !

Someone else did this first one on their blog, so I copied and am doing on my blog.
Put in search……(Your Name) Needs

Jan Needs…..
(1) Jan Needs A Man………..ROFLOL My hubby wouldn’t agree with this one, but there was time (pre-dh days) I would have agreed!
(2)The Happy Homemaker…….okay, so the tittle atleast fit to a degee.
(3)Jan’s Special Needs Travel……okay, I could use some special travel.
(4)Jan needs help………no argument there.

So I got to thinking of other fun things to do on/with Google. Try this one, put in search…….a pronoun, a verb, a noun

She Dances Gorilla……..
(1)Gorilla My Love……..hmmmmmmm?
(2)White gorilla lights up, sings, and dances…….????????
(3)Gorilla among us………..Okay, this could describe any number of family events…lol!

Someone commented that I needed a digital camera. Well no not realy. I have a $20 cheapie one that I got at Walmart. So your asking yourself “why doesn’t this dingy bitch use the daggum thing?” It’s like this, my computer is old and was purchased as a refurbished deal that was cheap. I only paid about $300 for it originally and got monthly payments of $30 with no interest!!! Anyway, I didn’t get hard copies of the programs like Windows 98SE that are installed on the computer. When I try installing the digital camera and/or the printer, I get the message that I need to re-load Windows 98SE. Please do not tell me where to get that program, I have two sorces already. Online I could pay arround $65 for it. Locally, or atleast nearby, I can find a used but good copy of the program for about $50. Now you ask, “So why don’t you?” It’s like this, hubby said after we get a decent used vehicle with tax return money we’ll get a computer if there’s enough left over. I am hesitant to spend the money on the program only to around and get a new computer in a few months. Especially with the hollidays looming nearby!

Well I have the second roll of film about half taken now. Will likely be atleast the first of November before any pictures will get posted from it. Maybe I’ll get lucky and win the lottery! Oklahoma now has Scratch n Win lottery tickets! We will join the multi-state Powerball Lotto in January! Woo Hoo!!! Currently there are four S-n-W tickets, and the maximum you could win is $25K, but hey we got the lottery!!! (We were the last state to repeal prohibition, and even then didn’t do it untill 1957!)

DH has to get gas, and I want to get lottery ticket……..wish me luck!

Here are my handmade kitchen curtains. The valance was made over a year ago when we moved into our currant residence. Then about three-four months ago I found the co-ordinating bottom fabric online at http://www.fabricblowout.com/ so I got it. I am so pround of my curtains.

My dh works at a chicken processing plant. He wanted chicken shirts to wear to work, so here’s the front of just two of 10 Chicken shirts that I have done for him.