Hi all!! Fun things coming out of the Keyhole today!! Check out Lora's Keyhole for more bags for those wicked projects you have going on!

Lora's Keyhole



Other things are moving along smoothly around here. I finished mom's Cascading Leaves socks in the Lorna's Lace Shepherd Socks. They are so cool. I just love this pattern. It's by Jeanie Townsend. She has quite a few cool patterns!

Me and George :) 'nough said.

Now it's Time for a Knitting Commercial!!
Have you ever been online shopping and you're like "OH I like that!" Well, I'm going to share some things with you that "OH I LIKE!" Now on top of liking these knitterly wonderful smelly things (don't worry I'll get to the smelly part, and it's a good smelly), the people who are selling these items are my friends (or me, yeah gotta plug myself)

First on the list is Gina of Sleepy Eyes Knits. Gina had two new headband patterns on her blog for sale! "The "Amanda" and "The Jacqueline"They are sold together and on my list of "Things to buy REALLLY SOON!" because I have long hair and it needs control! There is also a cute Haiku Sock pattern on her blog. Check out Gina's podcast too. Fun listening for knitting.
Next on the Knit Parade is Heather of Sereknity.com. I'm linking you to her blog and she has a button there to her store. Now, Heather has the most beautiful Hand Dyed yarn!! I have bought a color from her called "Witchy" and knit them up into some beautiful Cascading Leaves socks. I think my favorite colorway that Heather has is "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Take a look and tell me what your favorite colorway is!
Coming up next is Ericka of Armedwithpointysticks.com. Now Ericka's products are a different sort, but OH SO SMELLY!!! (In a good way) Ericka is making her own soap called "Down to Hearth" Let me tell you all..........she has some goooooood smelling soap. Brownie Batter and Lavender (no no silly, Not together!), and my favorite is the "Cut Grass" though I think she's trying to come up with a better name. She also invested in the CUTEST sheep soap mold!! OMG too cute!
Finally I have to plug Myself. I have a small little Etsy shop called Lora's Keyhole. I've been making draw string bags to carry your knitting projects in. But these are good for any kind of small project you carry around. Crochet, cross stitch, or just a little carry purse for quick trips. I hope to get more bags up soon and last night I was thinking of other projects because lately I like my sewing machine. So who knows what will pop up there! Thanks to all that have bought my bags!! Let me know how they are...leave a comment :)



Now to our regularly scheduled blogging.



Hi all, I had the most wonderful knitting weekend in Maine!! I went up to York, Maine to The Yarn Cellar with the Manchvegas knitting gals to meet up with the Chicks with Sticks group. We had a delicious time at the Chinese restaurant next door followed by a sweet cookie time back at the Yarn Cellar. Patti and Roger, the store owners, were wonderful and open to our wild and woolly (no pun intended) gang of knitters!! I snagged this picture either off of Amanda's or Heather's blog, I can't remember.

Gina, Heather, Ericka and Chris (Ericka's boy toy) met Julie at a spinning show in Maine a couple months ago and set all this fun stuff up!! I rode there with Melissa (thanks for driving girlie!!), Gina and Jackie. We had an enjoyable time on the car ride. When we got to the store I quickly fell in love with George (Jackie or Gaye, I realllllly need a picture here to explain). No no I'm NOT leaving my husband. George is a Hedge hog. A huggable Hedge Hog. SO CUTE. Anyway starting at the bottom left sitting we have Laurin, Gaye, Ericka, Gina, Julie, Melissa, Amanda, Chris, Chris (yep 2 of them), Heather and Mary. Standing in the back we have Patti, Lisa, Jackie and Moi. The gal in green looking at the book is Martha, I think that was her name, she worked there at the store. If you look across the table from Laurin, you'll see my entrelac stole/scarf I'm working on. I had the BEST time and I am so happy I found this group when I moved to NH. It's good to have friends. Knitting friends to boot!

My Favorite Knitting Accessory.....................

This question came to me via Secret Pal 10. Yes I'm in. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's like a secret sister/pal where you spoil someone anonymously and then someone does the same to you.

The leader of the group I'm in gave us a question and asked us to blog about it.

What is your Favorite Knitting Accessory?
Hum..........I really had to think... and I've come to the conclusion that I like ALLLL my knitting accessories. Stitch markers are a life saver! A tape measure (or a yo-yo as Nathan calls it) can give you happiness (or not if you are stuck knitting in that black hole of never increasing your length), my little elephant bag that holds my socks, my big black bag I got from Knit Picks that I keep my current projects in and little scraps of this and that. And lets not forget the ever loved tapestry/finishing/darning needles. Projects would never get finished without them. It's all good. OH and then I started thinking about my knitting buddies and what accessory they would like the best. The one that sticks out the most and is kinda funny is Ericka. Does she ALWAYS have a cable needle behind her ear????

BUT, let me tell you which one I think is really neat!! A stitch holder!

As I was making a pair of fingerless mitts the other day I had to put the thumb gusset on stitch holders (a piece of yarn, we'll get into that later) and continue with the top part of the mitt. The back to the stitch holder I went after I finished the top. Oh please (I silently pray) do not let me lose one of these live stitches on this thing when I start to move the stitches to the dpn's! I start knitting...pick up some stitches...and voila!! A hole for my thumb to stick through! It's just so cool! I used to have two of the blue ones pictured above but they are long gone. I now rely on a strand of string to hold my stitches, and boy that's REALLY when you gotta pray you don't drop a stitch!! They tend to get all snugly with the yarn holding them.

This ole house once knew my children, this ole house once knew my wife;
This ole house was home and comfort as we fought the storms of life.
This old house once rang with laughter, this old house heard many shouts;
Now she trembles in the darkness when the lightnin' walks about.
"This Ole House" lyrics by Stuart Hamblen.

Yes my friends, it is finished. The house is SOLD! This is ..wait....WAS our house in Kentucky. (ok so maybe that last line of lyrics makes no reference to anything but it's part of the song and I loved the first three lines. It's actually a good song. Rosemary Clooney sang it years ago.)
In this house we had many birthday parties. In this house is where Nathan first crawled and walked. In this house is where there were many band practices in the basement. In this house we had the company of family and friends many times. Good times were had. Wonderful memories were made!! I love you old house, but I will not miss you! I'm sure the walls will ring forever with the joys of laughter from my boys and Brent and I. Good Bye Ole House.
A big THANK YOU to my parents, Cecil and Loretta, during this process!! We would have had to fly back to Kentucky (which really wouldn't have been a totally bad thing) to close on the house, but with their help we were able to sit in Brent's break room at work and wait for the phone call that all papers were signed and we were no longer Homeowners.
Another big THANK YOU goes out to the Manchvegas knitting group and the Sunergo Knitters (in Kentucky) for listening to me whine and fuss about the house and the selling process. Surely I can find something else to whine about now! haha!
So celebrate with Brent and I. We went to the closest 7 eleven and got a Mtn. Dew (for Brent), Cherry Coke Zero and a York Peppermint pattie (for me), and a sucker (lollipop, whatever!) for Nathan. Jacob was at school and didn't get to celebrate with us, but we'll get him a little something later. :o)

Happy Monday.
I have managed to shovel my car out so I'll be able to pick up Jake from school.
I have worked hard this morning so I can get some things on my Etsy shop. So take a look! Share with your knitting or crocheting friends if they need a project bag! There are some cute ones. Right now I only have two large ones in my shop but I'll be making more.

We all suited up and went out and "played" in the snow yesterday. We got quite a bit!! We are so lucky to have awesome neighbors with a snow blower!!! Below is our neighbor and Jacob in the "snowstorm" haha!! It was fun to stand there and let the snow drift on your face... Just watch out for sticks or rocks!
Poor Nathan...Both my kids were blessed with long legs... and in Kentucky when it snowed, they were OK. But here we are in the North East and well...looks like he needs to grow a bit more!! There was a lot of lifting and placing Nathan before we were shoveled out.

I got in on the shoveling action. Started working on tire tracks and then worked on the front of the house, the porch and side walk. Half our drive way is gravel, so our neighbor can't snow blow it. We are thankful he does the front paved half though!!! So Lucky.
Bye the end of the job of shoveling, Brent and I were both out of our hats and coats and just had our layered clothes on. Wet up to our calves from the snow.
COME ON SPRING!

Yesterday I got this package in the mail!! Remember when mom and I were on a dishcloth kick? Well I was making some to send in for a swap, and this is what I got back!! Aren't they just so cool! I'm digging the one that hangs on the oven door, and I'm so glad I got a garterlac cloth back! I've already used the green square one in my kitchen and hung the green hanging one! There was also an abundance of chocolate in the package too! Butterfingers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.....YUM................ haha. Thank you Katherine!!

ok so posting that picture makes me think of something I keep saying I'll do and I keep forgetting!! Argh...what's up brain?? It's a simple request!

So Amanada dear...here you go! Go to this link and you'll have the pattern for the dishcloths and scrubbies I showed you all!!

Dishcloth Duo

OK So I go out to let the dog out this morning and well...he can't get out because the snow is so friggin' deep!! JEEZ but it's deep!!! Look at my poor car!! Where do you think I'll go today? um...NO WHERE maybe?

oh but wait!! We have a second car! yeah ok...not going anywhere to fast in this car either now, are we? Well the plows did come through about midnight last night so if we can shovel our driveway a bit, we can then shovel out our cars. Oh what fun!
I did see people out driving on the street behind ours, so apparently you CAN get out. I don't guess I need anything but maybe Milk and I can always walk up to Bunny's Superette and get that.

A little bit to throw you off. No knitting today (yet). I have been working on some juice can lids for a swap online with some old stamping buddies. I started out this morning in the mood like "Argh, I gotta get these silly things done and mailed off." After getting to this stage below now my mood is "MORE LIDS MORE LIDS"! I want to keep these dag gone it!
I found a funny phrase in a book that said Waiting for Serendipity to strike and I thought HOW PERFECT for their glum looks...so one of them got the phrase! LOL I love the little keyholes on them too...you should have known I put one in there somehow. I just love those. Going to have to get more! I have the yarn I'm going to use to hang it. I took three different yarns, one red wool strand, a blue eyelashly and a green eyelash yarn and twisted them together then zigzag stitched them to hold them together with some orange metallic thread. Can't say I'm afraid to mix odd colors eh?! :) I can't wait to get my returns! I'll make sure and post them when I do.

OH My gosh it is a beautiful day outside here in New Hampshire!!! Nathan and I walked up to the Superette (what a cute word) and got some chips to have with our sandwiches for lunch. I have my windows open and ***inhale*** FRESH AIR is swooping through the house!! I have not knit anything today but I did cut some fabric for about 5 more knitting project bags. So watch for them on my Etsy store either Friday or sometime this weekend!
Some of you saw the Supergirl bag I made for my friend Sonya. Well there will be two super bags up on my etsy with Supergirl fabric and another beautiful brown and teal bag up for grabs. I just love brown and teal together! I may sew some this afternoon if I feel like draggin the sewing machine out, but have to wait and see if we have Cub Scouts tonight or not...I'm really not sure!
In other exciting news, Nathan flushed the Scooby-Do Mystery Machine hotwheels car down the toilet today. This is a really Mysterious van....it came back!!! After a couple flushes I thought it was gone for good. But about 20 minutes later when Nathan had to "go" we went in the bath room to find it in the bottom of the toilet, just waiting to be saved. One good thing to know though is you can't Flush Buzz Lightyear!! Ah the joys of potty training! BTW...Nathan is doing a great job!! He hasn't had a pull up on in over a month!!! I feel so proud of BOTH of us!!

ok...so I had a whole rant typed up about selling a house in Kentucky and how it sucks and so forth, but I deleted the whole thing.
I'm just not going to post my drama of things that aggrevate me to the core. I mean come on, don't you hear enough from other people??
So anyway...send good thoughts to whatever powers that be in Kentucky that can get the GOSH DARN FRIGGIN' BALL Rolling so we can close on that frickin' house!
Thank you.

Wicked Pissah!!!!!
Yep that's what I got last night after singing White Rabbit at a Karaoke Bar. I had to google this phrase and here's what I found.
wicked pisser (noun) note used in New England pronounced "wicked pissah" Descibing something very good or very bad. Usage: when used without an article as in "This food is wicked pisser" it is taken to mean very good. when used with an article as in "Your job is a wicked pisser" its taken to mean something very bad.
I'm going to assume that I got the very good version as the dude was standing clapping and such. I'll take it ! LOL Let me start at the beginning.
It all started in a quaint little bookstore called Barnes & Noble. OK...not so little. I was there meeting up with some local Manchvegas knitters for a book signing of "The Friday Night Knitting Group" written by Kate Jacobs. Look she signed my book :)

She read a bit from her book and answered some questions. She seems very nice. After the book signing a couple of us from the group went to a local pub called McGarvy's where they had karaoke. A few opted to go across the street to a smoke free bar, but Ericka and I stayed at McGarvy's since she had already ordered onion rings and a drink. So I pulled up a stool and ordered myself a drink and got comfy. Ericka and I thought, what's the harm..we'll sing ONE song then go across the street and meet up with our friends (one which was her fiance'). Well one song let to two and then well ya know how it goes from there.
AH Squidd. What a dear heart! :) The guy hosting the karaoke that night was named Squidd. I started out the night singing "These Boots are Made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra. Fun...did well... Ericka started with a little "Criminal" by Fiona Apple...she'd been a bad, bad girl. haha. Then when my turn came around again I belted out a little "White Rabbit". The moment this song was over was when I received my "Wicked Pissah" praise. Of course Ericka had to tell me that meant "really good"!! Ah still so much to learn about New England. LOL After I finished, Ericka belted out some "Proud Mary" with Squidd backing her up! ROCK ON! It was so fun! After awhile, OK maybe 2 hours, our friends showed back up wonder what the heck happened. We kinda just were like Oh what? yeah? um well.....KARAOKE happened. We were sucked in. We couldn't leave!!! We had one more song each in the wings!!!!! Ericka and I finished off the night with both of us doing tributes to Janis Joplin. I did Me & Bobby McGee, and I do believe I was the only one that got excited when I sang the phrase "From the Kentucky coal mines"......Ericka belted out Mercedes Benz and the whole bar erupted and sang along, clapping and banging on tables for the beat since Squidd decided Ericka was the featured A Cappella singer for the night. It was fun, awesome, enjoyable, entertaining!! Oh some guy did "Just a Gigolo" and I was about in tears laughing...he really hammed it up! So entertaining. Oh and some dude named Paul, very good voice!! But know what...HE DID NOT GET A WICKED PISSAH BABY!!!!! tee hee...ok done bragging.
Watch these blogs for pictures from the book signing if you're interested. NO PICTURES were taken at Karaoke...ya just should have been there. :)
Ericka,Heather,Gina,Nichole,Gigi (did you even have your camera??) and Jackie. Are in in the side bar links of my blog because right now I'm too lazy to link them here and I want to go eat an apple with my boys, then go outside and maybe blow some bubbles with Nathan...it looks nice out there.

Thanks for a fun night Ericka!!! I had a blast with ya!

These are some random pictures from inside the house while my parents were here.
Funny story about how Mom and dad are sitting beside Nathan. It wasn't enough that they were beside him but they had to be CLOSE!!! The first night they were here he wanted Pop pop beside him and every couple minutes Nathan would just reach over and touch Pop-pop as if to say "Is this real??" Every time he did it my dad would laugh! Nathan would sit at the head of the table and Mom and Dad would have to pull their chairs around to sit next to him on the end. It was a crack up! We got so tickled over it!
This is Mom and I knitting our dishcloths.
Nathan was "eating up" his Mom-mom serving him pancakes one morning! As you can see he has a handful of Starburst candy (he calls it Bubblegum) for pooping in the potty that morning. Pancakes fed to you and and Bubblegum....how much better can a three year old's life be?!? I think having Mom mom and Pop pop here just made it THAT much better!
Jacob's a funny sort. He has his moments where he'll cuddle and sometimes he just wants to be left alone. This particular morning he decided that Pop pop's lap was JUST the place to be and I think my dad ate that snuggle time up!
Yet another time Pop pop's lap got a work out!! Dad was amazed how Nathan could find his way around the Internet to the site's he wanted to play on.
I'm still knitting. I have sock going and still working on Lady Eleanor. No pictures lately and I'll be sharing more pictures from Mom and Dad's visit. By the time you're tired of those pictures maybe I'll have some knitting to share. :) Until then, stay warm (cause I'm COLD!)

While mom and dad were here we went to the See Science Center. I recommend this to anyone with little ones! It was so cool! The picture above is of the family sharing some popcorn before we left.
Here's a picture of the boys close to the entrance.
Nathan playing some music.
Jacob spinning in a chair.
Me and my mom in a three walled mirror. Kinda like a kaleidoscope. WILD to see that many of me!!

OK ...so in my comments from the previous post..Gina is apparently speaking in tongues to me about needing to post!! So here goes....

Mom and dad got in last Wednesday night for their NH Visit!!! WOO HOO I was so happy!
So here's how it started!!!

We went to B&N on Wednesday night and they met the Manchvegans. No disapproving looks after meeting the crew, You all were SUCH GOOD Manchvegans!!! So well behaved...pulled the wool over their eyes... LOL.
Thursday we did a little shopping and mom and I got some yarn and decided to try some dishcloths. FUN!! Thursday night Brent took Dad by his work and gave him a tour. I think dad enjoyed that a lot!! Right up his alley!
Friday...Nor'easter of sorts came through and kept us all in the apartment. Nothing like snowed in family time!! It was wonderful! Of course...mom and I knit! Nathan pestered and played with my dad, Brent and Jake played PlayStation.
Saturday we went to the See Science Center and then out to eat at Famous Dave's. YUM. I go there every Wednesday night with the gals from knitting but I never eat. Now I KNOW what I'm missing! Mom and I went back to AC Moore for more yarn and coupons in hand!! LOL
Sunday we went to Mack's Apple Orchard and got a peck of apples, some apple cider donuts (YUM must get more) and some caramel and peanut butter caramel dip. The boys are in heaven!! They Love apples! And I must admit..the apples we got there are much better than the grocery stores for some reason! Oh yeah... AC Moore again yet for some more yarn for dishcloths. (we were on a kick!! let me tell ya!)
Monday we went to the Raddison hotel to get some gifts for family back in KY and then a little ride up to Hooksett to go to Joann's (needed needles to sew on Mommy's head [Mommy is one of Nathan's stuffed Bears that he named "Mommy"] and the post office (because it's easier to park at that post office than the one in downtown Manch.) Then back home for some chili for lunch, loaded the car, pick up Jake from School and off to the airport.
We dropped mom and dad off and now things are kinda.......lonely



All in all, I give the visit a 10,000 out of a scale of 1 - 10. It was so nice to be able to show dad around and now he knows where we lived and such. I think it gives him a bit of peace knowing.

In other news.....Sonya gifted the family with some fun stuff!!!! Coloring books for the boys, Yarn for me and well.... for Brent???

This is Fabric Sonya wants made in to a project bag.... Still want that bag Sonya after you've seen what Brent can do with it?!? Sexy? No?

And of course the box it came in....a fashionable hat?? I think not!
So that's what's been going on. Once mom emails me some pictures from the visit off her camera I'll be posting more!! There are going to be some good ones I know!!
I can't wait for Wednesday night knitting group!! I'm trying hard to stay busy since we got home from the airport so the blues don't set it with my parents leaving for KY. Part of me silently prayed that it would come another big storm and they'd get stuck another day, but alas sometimes we do get unanswered prayers.... pfffffft!!!

My Mom and Dad are here in NH with me!! I'm so happy!! I'll hopefully have some fun pictures in a couple days!! I'm going to take a blog break while they are here.
See you in a couple days!