What have you Done?

I found this meme on The Ramblings of a Knitter blog. Hmm...now I have a list of things that I want to do.

Mark with bold the things you have ever knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing(first thing I ever did :)
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat (my dog sheds all the time! And his fur would work, too!) hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Hancock Fabrics bancruptcy

Why did I not hear about this before? Have you? Here(pdf) is a list of the stores that Hancock is closing, I don't think it's complete, but I can't find all of the 100+ stores that ARE being closed. I am glad that my local one isn't closing. And here is the actual Chapter 11 info from the Hancock website. If anybody has more info, let me know.

For one moment, I thought I was covered in brownie batter...

oops, no, ignore that, it was just a stray fantasy ;)

Actually, I just removed from the oven a pan of brownies. (yummy yummy yummy) They've got burgundy chocolate chunks, and double-dutch dark chocolate, and lots of sugar, and eggs, and butter (oh yummy yummy) I had to wash out the bowl right away because I kept eating the left-over batter.

I made the recipe that was on the back of a King Arthur Flour bag, and I used up some of my chocolate supply from King Arthur. I love that company. I could spend a fortune on items out of their catalog. (yummy yummy yummy) But back to the brownies...I'm going to save myself from the brownies; I really don't intend to eat the whole 13x9 pan all by myself. They are for Little Sister's Sunday School class (that's what I keep telling myself yummy yummy) for their last class of the year party. The recipe said it made 2 dozen brownies, so I'll probably keep out 4 for myself (and Big J, if he deserves it ;) and then I'll send the rest with her. But I am sooo tempted to keep them all!

Book List

Little J slept most of the morning (on my lap. If I tried to put him down, he woke up, cried, and wiggled back on top of me) so I had hours to read in. These are the books I finished today.

• By Scandalous Tongues, Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis
• The Crown of Dalemark, Diana Wynne Jones
• Scandal in Spring, Lisa Kleypas

Grace asked for my opinion on Anne McCaffrey's Maelstrom. It's the second of the "Twins of Petaybee" series. (BTW Grace, I like your pictures :) That's after the events described in Powers that Be, Power Lines, and Power Play. The son and daughter of a bioengineered selkie are endangered when they move new aquatic creatures to their home planet. And did I mention, their planet is sentient? I enjoyed this book, becuase I have been attached to the characters in the previous books for years. However, if a new reader picked this book up, while the characters are engaging, the plot was a little scattered. It bounces between different scenes a bit too rapidly for my tastes. And there are a glomp of loose ends, left, I suppose, to be tied up in the next book of the series. But Grace, if you love everything else by Anne McCaffrey, go ahead and read this, it's a pretty good book, that adds more depth to some of her old characters.

Unexpected Expenses

It happens to all of us. We plan for a special treat, we're sure we have enough in our bank accounts (or on our nifty magic plastic pieces (credit cards ;) ) and then something happens that requires a huge outlay of money, so that we can't afford the treat anymore. :( It's very, very sad.

I don't think I'll be putting in that yarn order. (I'll put it off for a couple of months) First, my husband decides that his car needs a checkup. It does, but the new symptoms he was telling me about may mean mega-bucks in repairs. (Big J dosen't do power tools, or autos, or mowing. I take care of that stuff. I enjoy doing it, and I've got lots more experience) In addition to the car repairs, the dog needs to go in for repairs, too. Gallant tends to have skin problems, and he just developed a small growth that needs to be surgically removed. ::sigh:: Did you know it costs more to have a big dog than a small one? It does, they require more medication, more food, and can have more health problems. In this case, the vet wants to combine the surgery with a dental cleaning (he's due for one) which means even more $$$. Hopefully, this is just another benign hypertrophic growth, and not a malignant cancer. Poor Gallant, he has such problems.

So, no yarn for me. Must finish current WIPs. (and then maybe we'll be able to indulge me in more yarn...)