Feeling better and energized again.....

Whew, Thanksgiving even by myself was a lot! LOL!  I think I was fighting off some bug because I could barely stay awake much less have any energy but I'm feeling like my old self again...even better!

I'm cleaning and clearing out unwanted things and unnecessary clutter of which I have a lot of.  I take breaks though and sit down and knit a round.  I finished the gusset last night and I  must say, for once, I am pleased with how it looks and all the numbers of stitches are correct...so far....I don't want to jinx myself at this stage!  LOL!  Now that the gusset is done I need to knit until it is time for the toe and make it long enough for me to fit my big foot into it.  I wear a size 10 shoe so I have big feet.  I'm 5' 2" but I swear I would be much taller if my feet weren't so big!
I also finished a book I've been reading.  A memoir of sorts by Alice Marie Carey, an American gal born of Irish parents who reside in New York.  The Father is rough, drinks and barely brings in any money but the Mother has a good job with a famous actress/Broadway personality as a housemaid.  Alice grows up among these interesting characters and even goes to Ireland with her Mother to visit as a girl.  When she grows up and gets on in age, she and her husband decide to fix up an old house in the Irish Countryside.  It certainly held my interest but the country parts were the best and I wished they would have fixed up the house themselves but they hired people to do it.  She and her husband never had any children and they led an interesting if unconventional life.    I was also trying to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the same time but I was getting the characters confused as they both take place about the same time in New York and Alice even mentions the book in her memoir so I had to stop reading the fiction and stick to the non-fiction.

Here's a picture of our new "kitty", Bernice? (Still not sure about the name)....better than that first picture where she was hiding among boxes! LOL!  She's feeling more comfortable around us each day and Nitty and Annie are being very good about it all.  She's a very sweet cat....maybe it's the extra confidence you have when you have all 4 sets of claws. LOL!  My Patches was a great cat but she had her moments.  This one is just a kitten about 4-6 months old and has not clawed me or bit me or even scratched me and lets me pick her up and even comes when I call her...maybe I should have called her "Amazing"  Grace?  Is  it too late?  I named her after my favorite Aunt who raised me but I was mostly looking for a name that would not sound the same as Annie or Nitty......I'm thinking Grace is more fitting for her.   Grace it is!  

I hope you all had a great weekend and I'm off to do more cleaning and de-cluttering!  TTYL!

Ravelry YOP Update! Don't get too excited...LOL!

Above is a result of a long and fulfilling Thanksgiving.....no....she's not dead just "full" and we all feel like she looks! LOL!  We definitely "bulked up" for the long Winter ahead!  Ha! Ha!  I just had to share as I rarely catch Orphan Annie like that.....she's so funny!
Anyway....on to the YOP UPDATE! 

No, it is not a second pair of socks...oh, how I wish!  But the yellow yarn got very tired so I grabbed another skein.  I am learning so much....in fact, I actually know that I am knitting the gusset of the sock right now.  I think it looks better too.  This is where I ran into problems the last time I "frogged".  I have the cuff down pat now and even the heel flap.  If I can get this gusset then I only have to master the toe and I will have one whole sock and be able to go on to make many!
Here's my cross stitch project which I'm not sure is legal for Ravelry but it is a project on my list......

Wow!  It's been a long time since I cross stitched but I am getting back in the hang of it.  That plastic waste canvas is a "dickens" to work with though.  I'll be going back to something a little more basic after this project.
I finally wrote up a word document to list my projects for this year and to update and include in each Sunday's post.  These are all my needlework projects of any kind although I don't have a category for spinning yet and I want to learn that too but next year and only if I can knit properly by then! LOL!  So, it's not much but it's what I have for now.  Thanks for tolerating my lack of progress! LOL!

Ravelry YOP Project List  from July 2012 to June 2013

(anything added after the original list will be for next year)

(not as many knitting projects as I am learning this year)

Knitting:                                   Started:                                        Finished:

3 dish towels (cloths)               07/15/12                                      07/28/12

Bath mat                                   07/29/12                                      08/29/12

2 pairs of socks                         07/28/12

Situpons

Crocheting:                               Started:                                         Finished

Granny Stripe Table Runner    07/05/12                                       08/12/12

2 crocheted pot holders            08/17/12                                       09/05/12

Blackberry Salad Striped afghan

Everyday Edgings

Pinata Bag

Cherry Jam (crocheted cherry sprigs)

Crochet Covered Stone(s)

Seeing Stars Blanket

Striped Rug

Babette Blanket

Tornado Twist

Sewing:                                                    Started:                        Finished:

Flannel pajamas from existing pairs

Quilting:                                                   Started:                        Finished:

Sew binding on sampler quilt

Finish Uriah’s grow chart/quilt

Cross Stitch:                                            Started:                         Finished:

Cath Kidson little purse                           07/13/12

Applique:                                                 Started:                         Finished:

Finish folk art appliqué quilt blocks        07/13/12

Embroidery:                                             Started:                         Finished:

  The MS Word document doesn't look quite so good in blogger form but you get the gist of it.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and even if it wasn't a holiday for you I hope you enjoyed yourself!  Next up........................Christmas!!!!