gaysknits

this week didn't quite turn out...

like i had planned.  vacation weeks never do though. it's already new years eve where did the time go? many things i planned to get done did not get done...at least they did not get done yet the vacation isn't over...a few things did.  i cooked a little bit. i knit a little bit. i got a hair cut which i originally canceled because i didn't need it and then as soon as i canceled...i needed it bad..that's hair for you.  long hair was so much easier...it never needed anything.

the youngladygrandaughter and i lucked out finding one of her favorite stores was having a close out sale and everything in the store was 1.99 so i picked up a few tee shirts and a denim jacket and a cotton skirt for summer...all for 8 bucks.  she found a few rock and roll tees and a denim skirt and later advised me on a new pair of skinny jeans from tj maxx which i purchased.  who knew pocket placement on the butt is apparently such an important and major issue.  i for one am quite happy with the new skinny jean trend. i always liked them in the summer with a pair of flip flops or flats and of course who could argue that they are way easier to stuff into a pair of boots.  not that i've done that in a million years...course it's been a million years since you could buy skinny jeans.

  

fashion is fleeting though and if you like something you have to strike while the iron is hot because the next season it'll be out of the stores...out of sight ...out of mind.  i hate to admit it but i  like a change in silouette now and then...always have. i don't know if i am influenced by the moon and stars or by my mood or by something i happened to see and didn't necessarily take note of consciously but i do get a little tired of the same old thing and want a different shape of things whether it be the type of  heel on a shoe or the shape of the leg on a pair of pants or skirt length.  i guess that's why it doesn't pay for me to knit sweaters.  by the time i finish them i'm tired of the shape of things and am ready to move on to the next big thing. same with my hair i guess.  early in the year i just got tired of looking at all that long hair. 

   

i am not yet tired of looking at the new shorter hair but the grey in it has spread out over the entire top of my head and i am getting tired of all of that paleness.  i am seriously thinking a few dark streaks or low lights will darken me up just a bit...maybe that is the next big thing...but my hair gal advises against it...says it'll just turn orange in the sun when summer comes and i am outside all the time.  in the meantime the lesson here is that one never can tell what a person will like as far as fashion goes.  one season a certain preppie clothing store is  wow e wow  and the next that same store is for losers...one day fish hats are funny as heck and the next day they are suitable only for use as a dish rag or a dog toy!  will let you know!!! later...love   g

fish need fins...

and this fish is no exception.  not only does this fish hat need fins but it needs a few eye's and he will be ready to swim into the new year...

he will most likely be the last knit of the year so i better be sure to take a nice pic of the little guy modeling it.  wish me luck making that happen...he thought this was sooo funny when he saw the finished fish hats on the knitty web site so hopefully his amusement wasn't so short lived that he tosses it aside.  i'm not holding my breath.  kids!  they change their minds like the rest of us change our socks.  i had a few balls of queensland rustic wool which is a superwash wool that i used for the basis of the hat...not itchy at all.  i used some left over arucania atacama for the multi stirpes...soft at first touch and a bit itchy after it lays on the skin for a while so not my favorite yarn and some red brick brown sheep nature spun and a lovely bright red tonal wool that i think was arucania wool...lost the label a long time ago so i can't be sure.  the fish hat will have to be hand washed in cold water because there is a good bit of wool in it but the superwash part will be on the head so no worries as far as comfort goes.  i'm quite smitten with queensland yarns this is my second time using their wool and the yarns are quite beautiful and not at all itchy which most wool is to me.  this superwash is great and comes in many manly and not so manly colors so i'd love to get more of it to make some scarves or neck cowls which would be warm and comfy.  it appeared that it would be more tonal rather than pooly but pooly it is so if i used it in a larger project i would definately alternate balls for a less pooly effect.  they have the stuff at webs and i am already tempted to buy more yarn and i haven't even moved into the new year yet.  yarn diets are not easy are they?  the numberoneson was spotted wearing his guy hat yesterday so yipee another happy customer!  later...love   g

we took the younglady...

grandaughter to breakfast in bloomfield the other day to a little sandwich shop run by a couple who has been around the block a few times.

they have the best food...breakfast or lunch...hands down...the best. friend kathy let us in on the secret. she lives around the corner and knows all the best haunts.  anyway it is a cacophony of sights and smells and food and fashion.  people make drawings and leave them on the walls for decoration and the owners who double as cook and host know everybody in the neighborhood and know all the regulars by name.

it has culture...that's what the youngladygrandaughter says about it...culture.  these gloves remind me of the place...don't know why.  they go with the boots too.  don't ask how long it takes to get these babies on and laced up just so.  anyway the glove  pattern is a free pattern called raging fingerless gloves from ravelry.  these are made from brown sheep nature spun.

next up after another pair of dashings from knitty for the guy...who has never...well hardly ever asked for anything and after that is a pair of these ragings shorter in length of the same yarn in a deep plum...for the daughter...who's office is a bit on the chilly side.  on the needles is fish hat...a hat pattern for kids of all ages from knitty!  the little guy calls it fishey!!!  that's all for now.  later...love   g

the year in knitting may be at it end...

still i find myself finishing up some last minute items.  like the raging fingerless gloves for the youngladygrandaughter and another pair for the daughter and a pair of dashings for the guy and a fishey hat for the little guy...small small projects!  i still have not started my black arucania nature cotton  whatever it is going to be but i'm hoping for a jacket type cardi and then i thinking i'll swear off sweaters for a bit. i don't need them...don't really wear them and am having too much fun lately knitting accessories and i have some felting and sewing projects on the back burner so...bye bye sweaters...you were the love of my life for a few knitting seasons and now the bloom is off that rose and i'm moving on.  wish it were that easy in every other part of life...moving on that is.

the lady eleanor  for the mom never got modeled or pictured. on the only day i had available to do so it rained all day so here she is ready to be gifted, no blocking and no modeling.  it was instantly adored and passed around to show off to one and all.  a great big hit it was!!!

the daughter was spotted wearing her birthday socks on christmas eve so those were also a hit.  the guy hat in noro iro and a pair of matching dashing mitts with noro trim on one hand

along with an extra watch cap were tied together and gifted to the #1son and i have yet to get his reaction but  i can just visualize him wearing the gloves to play video games...seems like they were invented for that purpose.

not much in the way of christmas knitting i'll admit but i made a few things and am working on a few more before i see then end of this year.  it has been long year.  it has been difficult in some ways and hopeful in others and it promises to have many more hurdles along the way into the new year but it is time to think about starting new and i'm heading that way with my knitting and for a real change i plan to knit with stash yarn for the most part. i have lots.  i think i'll let my stash dictate my projects and see what comes of it.  it can't hurt the pocket book.  it promises to be a way to knit things  i ordinarily wouldn't consider but find fun to do nonetheless and i'll pass along the fruits of my mlabor instead of trying to find storage for all those things fitted to my own body never to be used or to see the light of day.  it all makes sense to me and that is only a plan.  i know how things can change and change quickly.  i wonder what other folks are planning in the way of knitting in this new year.  later...love   g

how'd you like to spend christmas day with...

an annoying foreign object wedged up your butt cheeks?   a few years back the guy said to me" why don't you wear a thong?"  to that i replied "why don't you wear one?"  "ok!" he replied...curses foiled again i was!  so  i bought myself a thong and wrapped it up in a nice christmas box and gifted it to the guy on christmas morning.  good times!!!  that thing instantly wedged itself so far up the crack of my butt that i thought i was going to have to go to the emergency room to have it surgically removed. i wore it under my pajama's for a second or two before i apologized profusly, took it off and tossed it in the trash.  i like my underwear comfortable.  i like them on my butt not in my butt.  i like them to stay put and i don't like when they wander around in my pants and creep into places where i don't want them to be and where they do not belong.  that's not too much to ask.  there is a reason i'm telling you this.  oops it seems i did it again!

i was shopping the other day for some burberry cologne for the guy for christmas.  he requested some smelly stuff and i have fallen hard for the burberry colognes. give them a smell you will too...anyway i came upon a pair of black undies and a matching bra with bows on them.  perfect for a surprise chirstmas gift for the guy.  "gay you know you're gonna have to wear them now"  the mom said.  " i know that's the idea."  "you know what happened the last time you bought him underwear for yourself."  "that was different...this isn't a thong...it's a string bikini."  so...a string bikini isn't that bad as far as comfort goes.  the guy liked it.

the daughter put together her first family christmas feast and it was perfectly orchestrated and delicious.  the youngladygrandaughter enjoyed her converse boots, ugg flip flops, skinny jeans,  pandora charms and wow...e...wow  electric guitar!

the little guy was quite happy to have received a pair of "army"  emu boots which is what he calls camo and a matching "army" hoodie complete with fingless gloves...he loved his nerf shooter and of course the ds game he was hoping for and he will learn to love his electronic drum set but his dad already does love it! 

 

 the son in law loved his green and ordered himself up a jeep accessory pronto and the daughter went gaga for her tom tom...now she has no excuse for ever losing her way.

the guy was thrilled with his beard trimmer, toothbrush heads and miter gauge as i was with my bath & body shop mositurizing soaps and and the cutest courderoy jacket ever...i'll model it i'm sure in a later entry sometime.  i'm off to weigh something on  my new postal scale and then maybe give myself a nice foot massage while knitting in my reclining chair...don't i have the life huh? hope you all had a  happy christmas...and now may you have some happy bargain shopping if you want it or some happy downtime if you want that...i want both!  later...love   g