Mamu's Ally

My kids!

2005-06-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

These are my beautiful babies! I'm not sure how to upload pictures yet so bear with me. The captions won't match up but they go in order.

Ally standing with assistance.

Ally making her funny face for Daddy who is photographing.

Matthew, Teddy, and the Dump Truck at his cousin's house.

Matthew on his third birthday all excited about his cake.

Ally does her head tilt pose for the camera.

Teddy's got a brand new... scarf?

2005-06-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

So even though I know DPN's aren't for cabling, I thought I would give it a try on the scrap wool left over from the French Market Bag. I had never cabled before and now I'm hooked and depressed because I used up the wool that I had and it just won't work with acrylic. So now Teddy (Mamu's beloved and much abused bear) has a new purple cable scarf. I also made a small bracelet that Mamu promptly confiscated and is wearing around. I am so in love with cables, they're awesome. (My goal right now is that every time I do something I try a new stitch). I also found out that I love my new Brittany's. They work perfectly as a cable needle in lieu of a real one and they feel great.

Ahhh, I think I'm in love. :)

I'm felting, fellllllting!

2005-06-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

So I felted my French Market Bag for the long overdue Felted Bag KAL (Knitting Chicks) and it didn't exactly come out how I hoped. It's still too big. And floppy. And yeah it's not what I wanted. I'll be running it through the washer again to see if I can get it to shrink more, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

I took my dearest friend CJ to the LYS at home and we had a blast. She picked out a pair of needles and some yarn and we went home and sat down so I could teach her to knit. (I came home with goodies myself, a pair of Clover 8's and my first set of DPN's, Brittany 7's) She took to it like a duck takes to water - after we figured out that she's a 'thrower' which I am not. Last time I checked with her she had over 2 ft done and I just showed her on Saturday. It was Monday when I asked for a progress update. I am so proud of her that she picked it up so quickly, but I always knew she was a smart one.

I did a post but Blogger lost it. Damn Blogger, damn you to hell! (insert virtual fist shaking)

2005-05-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

"Blogger.com

Dear Sir or Madam,
I wrote a post over the weekend to update my progress and update on the goings on of my life and frankly, I am shocked to see that it is not here. I am truly outraged that you would have lost my carefully worded post and for the next few days will hold you in the highest contempt. Sincerely yours,

An irate Bloggist"

So really I did do an update over the weekend because I was on a Yarn Adventure. Now, my life may be pretty boring but occasionally something will happen to spice it up a bit (see "The Quest" and "Down with Mr. X KAL"). This weekend my dear one gave me twenty bucks and the words "Go spend it on some yarn". (Of course he has no idea what limited things I can get for twenty bright shiny peach, cream, and blue US dollars but it was a very generous gesture from my beloved). :o) I had finally determined that , yes, there is an actual yarn store within 30 minutes of my house. So with an hour and forty-five till the shop's closing time I sped away in my little hoopdee (read Oldsmobile Cutlass sans carseats). I was blasting the music and having a good time with my carefully copied Mapquest directions lounging in the passenger's seat as I begun my Adventure.

So I arrive to turn onto Goold St. This street is all of 1.3 miles long and it says to drive for 1.0 mi exactly. So I do. No Barbra's Yarn Garden on the left, none on the right. I turn around (love me some U-Turn's) and go creeping up the street again. Nothing. Nada, zip, zero, nein. Turn around again and stop at the gas station that is exactly 1.1 mi from my original turning point onto Goold. Hey, they're only 0.1 mile from the Yarn Garden so hey, won't they know where it is? Did I mention that I'm in the Hellhole God Deemed be Named Racine? (Me and Racine don't get along, but that's a different story). They don't know where the Yarn Garden is. The friendly attendant smiles and says "Try going down Main St, you're bound to come across it." After I firmly stated several times that it_is_on_Goold_St. So I take her advice and drive down Main St for a few miles, pull into a Auto Repair parking lot and turn around. Now I stop at Walgreens. The equally friendly attendant here gives me the phone book and we try to figure out where Yarn Garden is.
It is currently now 15 minutes until closing time. I am now armed with the EXACT address and head back to Goold St, because the phonebook agreed with the website for the store and says that it's on guess where... Goold St! I creep along, and blammo, on the window is taped a printed paper sign saying "Yarn Garden has moved to &*%# Main St." (By the way, the address is all of five buildings down from the Gas Station aforementioned, go figure!) So I drive down Main Street and low and behold it is there, TWO DOORS DOWN FROM THE AUTO REPAIR PARKING LOT I TURNED AROUND IN EARLIER. Boy, I'm feeling like a genius. I pull up with eight minutes to spare. Exit car, lock it up, move towards door and pull. Door locked. Eight minutes people, eight effin minutes. Does she know that I had TWENTY AUTHENTIC PEACH, CREAM, AND BLUE AMERICAN DOLLARS TO SPEND? I did dammit. Well now I'm a mite upset, rightly so because I believe that if your store hours state 12-3pm then you are required to stay open those last EIGHT minutes.

So I turn my little hoopdee around and head home. Aha! Hobby Lobby! Another business determined to drive the enterprising small American business to the ground. Well, as I said before I'm a mite mad at the small American business right now, so I swing in. I got my yarn (only two kinds of 100% wool people, that's just a crime. Several types of cotton and two full rows of acrylic.) Now I'm spoiled because I'm just this close to finishing my Clapotis and I've used cotton and now dammit I don't want to use acrylic. I want to get real 100% wool so I can felt my damn bag and a set of Clover circs to knit it up on. Is that so much to ask? So, purchases made, I return my happy little ass home, much upset and disappointed in the Yarn Garden.

However, Hobby Lobby being a product of mass corporate America and carrying mainly ACRYLIC I bought a big ass skein of LB's Fisherman's wool (people, does this stuff always STINK?) and two colors of Rit dye. Because I'm going to try dyeing my wool because I'm not into a creamy ecru whatever shade for my bag. So as we speak my wool is getting a bath in the sink and will shortly be moving into it's bucket for dyeing. Wish me luck and let's hope that I don't spill anything.

On a side note - if felting goes well for me I will be changing my Mr. X KAL project to a cute little felted bear type fellow for Laurie (www.crazyauntpurl.com) because DS accidentally frogged the progress I'd made in forging a pattern for a voodoo doll (read: dammit doll).

Hugs'n'Happy thoughts and no more Adventure's for the week please.

Update

2005-05-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

Teeth. Teeth are BAAAAAD! Bad bad bad bad. My 8 month old is teething and has not let me have a moment of peace or sleep for almost a month. Hence the lack of posting and updates and checking email and anything non-tooth related.

Kate emailed with an update that can be viewed here.

http://katechrist.typepad.com/snake_surly/2005/05/disneyland_is_m.html

Minou's Mom finished the devil toy and Minou states that she won't play with it. I can't blame her as it must eminate Mr. X energies.

I have finished the head and upper torso of the voodoo doll or 'dammit doll' that I'm making for Laurie.

Other knitting news. I'm on repeat 19 row 3 of my daughters blanket, that leaves about 25 rows left. Very, very happy about this as it's the first big project I've done so far.

I also joined a Stitch'n'Bitch! Yay for me! I hope to be able to meet up with them next Tuesday. Nope the hope. Heavy emphasis on the word hope here people.

That's it for now.
Hugs'n'happy thoughts!

I've been a baaaaad poster :o(

2005-04-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry all for not having commented since last week. Kids, oy, let me tell you they're exhausting. Mine probably aren't any more than the next person's but it's been a loooong few days.

So we started on our KAL items on Monday! Yay! In addition to having been a bad poster I've been a delinquent knitter as well, haven't picked up my needles in almost a week. I'm going through withdrawls! Ugh, and I was supposed to start my project. Tonight, I shall as soon as the little'uns are tucked safely in bed. Inspiration has yet to strike for my project, but LA Ell has already finished a Mr. X square! It can be viewed by clicking on her name in the list on the side.
On a side note, I have changed the design of my blog since it was hard to read, even if I thought it was nifty looking. So bear with me while I get everything updated. If you still want to join the Down with Mr. X KAL you're more than welcome, we'd love to have you! (email me at angilwithdevilwings@yahoo.com or leave a comment)

And now back to my adoring public, errr, I mean the kids.

Details of the Down with Mr. X KAL

2005-04-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

At one point in our lives we've all probably had or know someone who has a Mr. X. Perhaps yours cheated on you, lead you on, dumped or divorced you. Mr. X takes many forms and personalities. Maybe you hate him, maybe you love him or maybe you just love to hate him. One fine example of Mr. X is the one belonging to Laurie (Crazy Aunt Purl). He served her with divorce papers, sent them to her without letting her know in advance. I can not begin to imagine the emotional struggle she is going through right now, but let me tell you, this lady is a trooper. She makes us all laugh, sometimes cry, but our lives are better for reading her blog everyday.

So, to show our support of her and other women who have or had a Mr. X in their life the 'Down with Mr. X Knit-a-long' will officially start on Monday, April 25, 2005. I encourage you to join in. There is no specific pattern or item that you need knit. It can be anything, but I ask that while you make it you think good happy thoughts for Laurie or any other woman who has a Mr. X in her life.

Completed item photos can be mailed to me at angilwithdevilwings@yahoo.com and I will be happy to put them up for viewing. You are also welcome to email me with your name and I will start a Down with Mr. X KAL list of members.

Remember, this is about showing support for Laurie and other women with Mr. X in their life!

Support Crazy Aunt Purl!

2005-04-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was recently introduced to the blog of Crazy Aunt Purl (www.crazyauntpurl.com) and if you haven't read her blog yet then I highly recommend you do so. She is an amazing woman, in and out of the knitting community. I'm starting my "Down with Mr. X KAL" item asap... now, should it be an ugly hat? A mangled sock? Hmmmm....

When it rains it pours...

2005-04-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

So, let me tell you a little about average everyday life for me. I live with my two children and their Daddy. We live in a rented townhome near Lake Michigan in WI (I believe I mentioned that before). Life for us is pretty average. I stay home, Daddy goes to work, Mommy goes crazy and somehow regains sanity at some point in the day. Yeah, average.

Rejoice! For Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest is GONE! Out of the kindness of our hearts (yeah, that was it) Matt and I decided to let our 'friend' stay with us for a few days while he got on his feet and until he got into his new place. I should have started by saying I swore to never have a roommate ever again. We invited him into our house and told him to make himself at home, that's how the saying goes right? Well in true traditional style he did. Three days turned into 4 weeks. We have a two-bedroom townhome. Matt and I do not have a bed right now, we sleep on the couches. So where does Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest choose to sleep? On my couch (my as in the one I sleep on). My daughter still gets up a least two times during the night to eat. So where do I have to feed her? On the floor. (It is not easy to keep a baby asleep while you try to get up off the floor and put her back in bed). So the next day he has work. I think that this means he will get up at a reasonable hour... you know, Seven AM and go to work. Does he? OF COURSE NOT! It was 1 in the afternoon before he got up. That's definitely the impression I'd want to leave my new boss with, right?
Error number two in my book of bad houseguesting - Leaving your dirty smelly nasty underwear in my living room, where my children play. Does he do this? OF COURSE! Wouldn't you?
Number three - Use Homeowners cell phone that you have been told does not have long distance included to call all your friends at all hours IN ALL STATES! And then, don't forget to give them Homeowners cell phone number as if it is your own. I have people calling my phone for him. Not ME, HIM! And these were not calls of a brief nature, no these were all night talking sessions. So Homeowners cell phone now gets disabled, because of the several hundred dollar bill that Evil Porn-surfing Houseguest did not even offer to pay.
Number four - tie up the bathroom for no less than two hours every time you use it. And then walk out and tell Homeowner that you were 'On a Pointless Mission'. This one requires a tad more explaination. Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest has an addition. A drug addiction. And this drug addiction requires the use of needles. IN MY HOUSE! WITH MY BABIES PRESENT! A side effect of this addiction is that the male species are left unable to... ahem... perform. So what does 'On a Pointless Mission' stand for? Two hours of masturbation in homeowners bathroom. At least once a day. Homeowner was just delighted at that bit of shared information as I'm sure you would be also.
Number five - Homeowner number two (My boyfriend) tells Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest that Homeowner number One (Me) needs the couch to feed the baby in the night. So where does Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest choose to sleep? In the middle of the living room floor. Until 1 in the afternoon. So now Homeowner's children are unable to play in the room where they have been heretofore accustomed to playing.
Number six - Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest acquires his name when Homeowner one opens files on computer that contain pornographic materials... in front of a three year old. Upon checking her history, Homeowner determines that Houseguest is now an Evil Porn-Surfing Houseguest. So on the third time of being told to not return to Homeowners Residence, Homeowner number one locked the door. Does he return? OF COURSE! Do I care? No. He can sleep outside.

Sorry that was a tad bit of a long rant.

Now I move onto other male stupidity. My dear boyfriend, Matt, has a bit of a speeding problem. This has resulted in a few citations. A few... as in seven. Now, Matt's work requires him to travel. They would provide a company car for him except that he is unable to be insured as he has no license. (Of course I in all my intelligence let him drive my car). So we have been on The Quest.
The Quest is to get his license back. We start off with requesting information on the outstanding ticket in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 77 in a 45. First, he must write a request to have the citation speed lowered to be able to pay the ticket without having to appear in court. Done. Easy. Then he must pay this citation. $200 cold cash money. Done. Not quite as easy. (It cost $28 to pay for two overnight envelopes to send and receive the reciept in a speedy manner). Reciept recieved. Whoohoo!
So Matt takes off of work early yesterday so that we can drive an hour to the courthouse to pay off remaining IL citation. Three hours in Chicago traffic. With two small children in the back seat. Lovely. Arrived at the courthouse with gas light blinking, at 4:37. Drop Matt off and swing around to the corner to get gas. Matt beeps phone... courthouse closed at 4:30. Beautiful. Well, family is only ten minutes away, we'll stay overnight and he will go in the morning to have this mess cleared up. So we visit with family which is most of the time a nice event. Of course, all we have are the clothes that we wore and a few diapers. No big deal, Gomma has changes for the kids and diapers.
We wake up this morning and Matt goes back to the courthouse. $59 for remaining citation. Now he drives to the DMV. There he waits for an hour, only to be told that the reciept that Meck County sent is not what they needed. Of course not, why would it be? No, The Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles requires a notarized release from Mecklenburg County. Time wasted at this point? Almost 24 hours.
So we set off in the car to return back home so that Matt can go to work. It's approximately 11:15am. Around 12:45 20 miles from home the tire has a blowout. Did I mention we'd had to put the spare on on Sunday? The stem on the regular tire was broken. So, yes, the SPARE tire has a blowout. In the middle of the highway at lunch rush. With two children in the backseat. Did I also forget to mention that both cell phones had low battery because we hadn't brought a charger with us? Nearest friends are over an hour away. So we wait. And wait. And wait. Until 3pm when friend finally shows up. And the knitting related value of this story? I had brought along the baby blanket that I 'm working on and got 12 rows added. :oD

Bad day, naw!

Progress!

2005-04-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I worked through my burnout on the blanket and am back on track. Half a scarf and I was ready to be working on the blanket again. I will be adding the third skein and am half-way done. :o)

So do you bargain with your husband/significant other to be able to get more yarn? I did, told him that I would get the mountain of laundry washed and put away all in one day if he would get me my next yarn order. (Laundry is the only thing that I find difficult to want to do around the house, ugh). Well, the kids are napping and the dryer just buzzed, and of course, the blanket is calling. Time to run and get some things done.

Blankie Burnout :o(

2005-04-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

So I've been working exclusively on the blanket for my daughter lately and I have 'Blankie burnout". I had to take up my spare needles and work on something else for awhile last night. I was kind of surprised at this as the pattern for the blanket is challenging and changes every row for ten rows before you repeat. I wonder if other people get this or if I'm just a little bit odd.

My son, dear as he is, decided last night to stay up until all hours. And I mean ALL hours. It was 1 am before I had him settled into bed and would stay there. How did Mommy get him there? I handed him an extra skein of yarn and a set of needles. He played quietly and contentedly for an hour. And if he was a little bit older I believe he actually might have made something! I thought that he was done watching me knit as lately he seems to have lost interest. Perhaps he was also tired of seeing me knit away on his sisters' blanket. :o)

The Knitted Child

2005-04-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that knitting is like raising a child?

You search for that perfect someone (skein of yarn).
Maybe you like to touch, others like to smell, still some look for what it is made up of. Most of us make a choice on it's appearance at least in part.
You take this wonderful yarn (man) home, invite it into your house where you make plans for it. You plan to create a project (child) between the two of you, you with your needles, the yarn with it's fiber. You think of all that it could possibly become. Should you name it Aran? Sock? Bag? Afghan?
Between the two of you, you will come to settle on what it will become.
You cast on (conceive). It is hard going at first (pregnancy). Some enjoy this stage, others don't. An inch or two appears after much hard labor (the baby is born)! You work all through this knitted creations infancy. For some it is easy, others make small mistakes and have to go back a few steps to correct some imperfection (behavior). The project begins to take shape (toddler). It takes on it's own special texture, feel, and life (you see your child's personality bloom). Maybe so far it's not what you expected. You work harder to make changes to make this become a better project. Maybe you change the way you hold your needles, your tension (your parenting/discipline techniques). It grows some more and perhaps the pattern changes (teenagers! Oy!) For awhile the going is rough, yet somewhere you smoothly transition into the pattern that will continue for the rest of the project (you find that place in between them and you where you can get along). You near the end (college/marriage/moving out). It is sad to see them leaves the needles (nest). Has it become all that you'd hoped for? There may be a few imperfections, a twisted stitch here and there, something you wish you'd done differently or handled better. Pride bursts in your chest. This is something you've loved and perhaps cursed yourself at. Others don't notice the imperfections (the child falls in love). They take it and cherish it understanding the time, effort, and care you've given it...

All knitters are mothers... in their own unique way.

Checking out other blogs!

2005-04-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well I have spent some of my well deserved 'alone' time - i.e. the babies are napping - looking at the blogs of my fellow Knitting Chicks. Hi Chickies! And the men too of course. I came across some randomness at Mel's blog (http://melsknittings.blogspot.com/) and was taking all kinds of crazy 'tests'. Thought I would post the funniest results here.

**I took out the results because they weren't showing up correctly.**
On the knitting front I am on my 8th repeat of 22 in my daughters baby blanket. It is about 14inches long now and looking pretty damn good IMHO. I'm using Woolease in Fisherman but have some Merino Style in Cornflower on order from Knitpicks to make her another one if I'm not happy with my 'practice blankie' when it's done. Of course some of you might understand this ploy that I used with my boyfriend to get him to let me buy more yarn without complaining. He loves to spoil our daughter.

If we had a digital camera I would put up pictures but we don't... so alas we must wait until the tax returns come in the mail and then we may go get one. Until then, you've just got to use your imagination on how the blankie looks. And if it looks better in your imagination then it really does that's not necessarily a bad thing, now is it?

I will try and get the list of blogs I read updated to include the ones I read today. :oD

Flickr

2005-04-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Success

2005-04-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

As the title states SUCCESS! I have finally gotten threw my first skein of yarn on my baby blanket (the only project I have on one of my three sets of needles). I have done 5 complete pattern repeats (whoomotherfuckingwho!) without having to rip anything out. It just seemed like it all clicked right into place the other day and bam, I'm now a one-woman lace making baby blankie machine.

Of course, now that I've got the pattern down I have to order the actual correct type of yarn to use for this project. I've settled on Knitpicks Merino Style but my oh my so many yummy colors to choose from. The blanket will be for my daughter and I'm a little more than sick to death of baby pink. If her daddy had input which he doesn't since I'm the one making it it would probably be black just because... which is why he doesn't get input. Blue is out because my son knows that blue things are mostly his (or at least he claims them as his). Maybe a purple shade or a bold pink? I don't want to go with the regular baby pastels because I'm tired of them too. Bleh.

I guess I'll just have to order a couple of different colors and decide when they get here. >^.^<

Frog it!

2005-04-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

For all you knitting ladies and gentlemen out there how many times have you had to frog something before you get it right? I've had to frog the first two rows of my current project six times today. Of course I was trying to snatch a stitch here and there while watching the babies so I guess it's understandable to have dropped a stitch, or two, or five, or more.

A little about myself?

Well, I'm a young mother of two children both under three (wish me luck in keeping my sanity). I live with their father who I love dearly. I love you, Matt! (Not that he'll probably ever read that but hey, it's there in case he does.) We live in a nice little tri-level near Lake Michigan. I can't wait til it's summer and we can spend some time at the beach!

I listen to rock music mostly but I keep an open mind about other styles out there. I love to spend my days with my babies even though they drive me absolutely insane. Recently I have discovered the joys of knitting and hopefully I will be able to put some of my completed/in the works projects up for scrutiny. Reading is another pasttime I find enjoyable when I have spare time which is rare. I like to read a variety of books. I hate watching the news because it always seems depressing.

I like people who have character. I do not discriminate among friends. I love piercings and tattoos and people who consider themselves to look boring or plain. I have 3 piercings currently and intend to get more soon, hopefully. I have one tattoo and my next will probably cost a fortune to get but I will get it eventually. I think that the body is a work of art and I intend to make mine more visually appealing. :o)

I like rude and offensive comments although I don't make many. I say cuss words in public in front of old ladies (sorry!) and don't bat an eye. Hey, I'm only human. I can take the lead in a conversation but like to sit back and watch it take on life in other people. I like to hear the opinion of the quiet person because often they have put the most thought into their words before they speak. I'm a lover and a fighter and I love to fight (with words, just ask Matt). I wear my heart on my sleeve and if you hurt my feelings I'll get over it and love the person anyway for saying what they really feel.

I love to be with my kids. They are the best thing that could have ever happened to me and was I ever not ready for it. I love that I will be able to be a kid with them because of my age and fuck anyone who looks down on me because I am a young unmarried mother. My children are good and know that they are well loved, does anything else really matter?

And goats are the cutest damn animals on the planet.

Is there anything else that you really want to know?

Mamu's Ally is open

2005-04-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have just started to get into knitting and wanted a way to keep track of my progress and projects. Since blogging has been recommended by other people I decided that this was the best way for me to organize (Especially since my kids tend to get their fingers into everything that I have around the house and I can just envision them now with a notebook torn to shreds and swatches and yarn tangeld around them!)

So this is my first post on my new blog (feelin speshul :oD )