Allyson's Dropped Stitches

Book Giveaway!

Allyeggpop — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:37:18 -0400

Hey check it out...At the csa blog she is giving away three copies of Shear Spirit in honour of International Year of Fibre. Go click & enter!
Apparently this is a must have book for fibre lovers!!

The Missing Link....

Allyeggpop — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:29:28 -0500

I found this link by accident while surfing the web.....

Greenpeace

Sad, but true!

Bringing back the Big Wheels!

Allyeggpop — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:32:40 -0500

I've been wanting to try freezer paper stencils for a couple of years now, but haven't been able to get my hands on the paper. Today I found a tutorial on how to make your own freezer paper.

I was so excited I had to stencil a t-shirt for Caleb. He absolutely loves it! I ended up pulling up a Big Wheels commercial on You Tube, and now he wants one!

The paper curled a bit as it got wet with the fabric paint so I'm going to tinker with the method a bit. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out though. I can't wait to make a bunch more!

Happy First Birthday Greyden!!

Allyeggpop — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:49:46 -0500

Greyden celebrated his first birthday, on February 14th Valentine's Day!! He's the best gift I'll ever get!

While not the most mellow little guy, he certainly has energy and a terrific sense of humour! He has the best laugh, especially when his older brother is being a clown. Greyden's laugh is so infectious, right from his belly, pearly white teeth flashing and his head thrown back!

Its so much fun watching him walking, I can't believe (ok I can), he took his first steps at 10 months old. I remember at 4 months he would roll off my lap, and just assume his legs would support him. At those moments I knew he wouldn't be content to hold still much longer!

We are so excited to see what the future holds for him. We know he'll face it with energy, drive, and his engaging manner.

I've posted pics of his birthday party in Pontypool at my Flickr account

Me want cookie!

Allyeggpop — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:39:27 -0500

I can't believe Greyden is turning ONE in a few weeks!!??

And I'm totally making these for him!!!

Cookie Monster!

Christmas Aftermath

Allyeggpop — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:44:10 -0500

So here I sit amidst piles of laundry...clean and dirty. Caleb has finally given up calling everyday boxing day, he actually got dressed in clothes today! Big event! Soon we will be forced to start cooking real meals again...cheese, crackers and Kielbasa just aren't cutting it anymore. (Never mind that we've run out of Kielbasa and cheese!)

We've just been too busy, having fun. We got most of the Christmas stuff done...the cards and letters are almost done, mom's mittens got knitted, Amanda's shawl got wrapped (although she also received a skein of yummy wool from Americo, with a pattern. Hee hee!) And 90% of the baking was finished. Not bad.

I think we'll start the new year with a clean slate from the holidays...we'll finally get that laundry put away (for this week), we'll put away the Christmas gifts (when we are not playing with them) and we'll cook a proper meal. Well, only if it doesn't snow...the tobaggans are calling!

Happy New Year!!

Holiday movies!

Allyeggpop — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:52:19 -0500

We had a problem at our house tonite...do we watch Anne of Green Gables....or A He-Man Christmas?!

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Allyeggpop — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:39:50 -0500

I've just come out of my post-Halloween sugar coma!!! So here goes my Halloween parade.....

Greyden the Reptile

The Lion and the Reptile with Gramma.

Before the pumpkin carving...the green one is the one Caleb grew this summer.

Our little collection of ghosts...made from milk and fabric softener bottles. (thanks to a midnight raid on neighborhood recycle bins! )

All lit up!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe night!! Check out my Flickr account at the side for more pics!

Creative Show

Allyeggpop — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:11:50 -0400

So I haven't even posted about going to the Creative Show yet. I coerced mom into going with me for a girl's day, something we haven't done in a really long time.

There was alot of beautiful things...we could have gotten into alot of trouble with our hubby's, so we tried really hard to keep our wallets in our bags!

I ended up coming home with some thread for a good price. I got 50% off on a Olfa cutter How cute is that!! I needed a smaller one for more precision, smaller cutting.

Mom and I both bought a set of handmade jewellery for a super cheap price. The sets were matching necklace, earrings and bracelet. I wore mine to the Schizophrenia Iris Ball in Toronto last week. I know I picked up a few more things, but I just can't thing of them right now!

We checked out the knitting fashion show...Paula Lishman made quite a statement with her gorgeous collection.

I've been on such a finish my UFO's since the Ravelympics, that I actually managed to keep any wool from falling into my bag!! I was actually kind of shocked!

The biggest thing that was the hardest for us not to buy was a serger at the show. We could have brought home a beautiful machine for $300....that was hard to pass on. I guess I'll have to wait for the Spring Festival!!!!!

Lucky Day!

Allyeggpop — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:53:46 -0400

I just got this call today.....

Congratulations to our 2008 winners:

$450 Steam Press compliments of Singer Canada Allyson Susko, Ajax ON

it's not a serger but I'll take it!!! ha ha

Happy Thanksgiving!

Allyeggpop — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:20:39 -0400

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing weekend spent with family and friends!

I thought I'd do a list of some of the things I am thankful for....(this is not all inclusive!!)

- the time I have spent on maternity leave...it has allowed me to bond with Greyden and watch him grow and explore his world. He has gone from a wiggly little lump of giggles to a stretching, walking (close!!) determined little guy. He has such a strong personality, making those around him both laugh and cry! It has also given me a better peak into Caleb's world. So much has changed for him since I left work in February. He's now a big brother, we've moved, he's started school, he's formed and lost bonds with friends and family. He is growing into such a sparkling little kid. Every where we go his personality shines, and his contagious smile and big blue eyes catches people's hearts.

- my husband, who no matter how hard a day its been, always kicks me out the door every Friday night for knit night. Who makes me coffee every morning. Who can drive me totally crazy, but also keeps me sane!

- the fall, the weather the cooling off of the earth as we prepare for winter. I love the colours, the smells and the flavours of fall. Going to the farmer's market and picking out squash and apples. Rotating Caleb's pumpkin in his garden getting ready for Halloween. The crisp mornings, and the sun as it burns off the frost.

- the roof over my head. Living in your mil's basement may not be everyone's cup of tea but it has allowed us alot of freedoms the past few months. It has given us some physical and emotional security in very uncertain times.

- the repitition of a good knitting pattern. The knit and the purl, the in and the out. The odd twist, and wrap of yarn overs and cables, and the eventual satisfaction of a finished object.

There are probably a hundred or more things that I should be listing, but if I keep going I'm not spending time with those things listed above. So I'll finish with this....What are you thankful for? Are you thankful for the small, seemingly mundane moments and things in your life as well as the big? Are you taking the time to notice these things? The incredible orange leaf, laying on the blacktop driveway, when you hop into your car? Those little God moments that He puts in our everyday path, to make everyday matter, not just the big days. For those I am truly thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

New beginnings

Allyeggpop — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:16:17 -0400

Caleb had his first day of school yesterday. What a day! He got up in the morning and immediately wanted to put on his school clothes. He was so excited, this is something we've been building up to all summer. It was a half day in the afternoon, so we spent the morning slowly preparing and getting ready. Picking and packing his afternoon snack, showering, packing his new school bag.

As we set out on the walk to school, it was a beautiful fall day outside, perfect for the first day of school. For once in his life, he didn't dawdle. As he walked ahead of Len and I, he looked back and said, "Mom, you and Dad are slowpokes and I am a fast poke." We got the message and hurried up a little.

We rounded the corner and walked the few feet up Lincoln Avenue, he reached out for our hands, slowing down just a bit. He looked up and said, "I like you Mom. I like you Dad." We stopped at the front of the school for a few obligatory pictures of our big boy.

No longer a pre-schooler.

Next stop Kindergarten class. His excitement was mounting, as we set off to the back of the school, to the specially fenced in area for the JK and SK kids. Again, as we rounded the corner, he slowed, this time dropping right back. We could sense his hesitation. I grabbed his hand and reminded him that he was going to have so much fun, and we would be back in a few hours.

The three of us quietly waited with a few other parents and their kids, all us exchanging shy quiet smiles. I think we all felt nervous and excited, hoping for the best for our children but a little afraid, as well. Would our kid be the one to cry and want to go home? Or would they even notice we weren't there?

The bell rang, a few minutes of chaos. Caleb's teacher dismissed her morning class to their parents. We both wished Caleb the best, big hugs, and sent him over. His teacher turns, big smile, welcomes Caleb and puts him at the front of the line.

A few more minutes rounding up the last of the kids. Len and I stood there and soaked in the moment, studying his face. He's got his serious face on, but we can see he was nervous.

He stood so still, even when some of his older friends from Parks N' Rec walked past and gave him big waves. They didn't even get a smile.

Everyone is finally organized and together, his teacher leads the line into school. Len and I leave. As we walked away, we both choked up.

Someone asked me if he looked back as he went into school? I don't know, I don't think so. I couldn't look. We sniffled part way home. The house was strangely quiet for the remainder of the afternoon. Its not as if he's never gone away before, but this was different. This was putting him into the hands of strangers, introducing him to other kids and their influences. The good and the bad that comes with that. This was the beginning of packing him up everyday and sending him off to school until he's 17 or 18.

When we picked him up, the first thing he told us about school was that some girl knocked him down at recess. His teacher said, "Welcome to Kindergarten." He had storytime, snack time and he got to wear his new running shoes. He made some friends, but he can't remember their names. He had fun. Nobody cried.

And he missed us.

Dude....Suhweet!!!!

Allyeggpop — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:30:04 -0400

Stash that is. Amanda and I had an awesome time at the Stitch n' Pitch in T.O last week. We swapped and gawked more than we knit, oh, and we did catch some of the game to. I've uploaded some pics to Flickr so you'll have to check them out. Special cheers to Haley from Knitomatic who has potentially upgraded my future scarf to a small sweater, ok maybe a shrug or poncho. But still gratefully received!!! And while we are on the subject of Haley...check out her Wychwood Beautifucation Project. I have got to find some ugly poles!!!!

Take me out to the ball game.....

Allyeggpop — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:38:26 -0400

I'm so excited! I'm meeting Amanda today to go to the Stitch N' Pitch in Toronto. Its going to be so much fun! I'm picking her up right after work and we are going straight there. When I spoke to her yesterday we were not sure what projects we were bringing. Amanda told me that what she wanted to bring only needed a tonne of ends woven in...then she realized what she was saying! Eureuka! Now she wants to pass the project up and down the rows and have everyone weave in an end or two until done. She may be onto something!!!

I'll post pics to flickr!

I'm Back!

Allyeggpop — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:41:14 -0400

Holy Smokes has it been so long since I last posted. Last time I posted I was suffering ridiculous pregnancy insomnia, the time posted was 4:49 am! ACK!

Happily since that time, our beautiful baby boy, Greyden Kenneth Jack was born on Valentine's Day. Labour was very quick. At 3:30 pm I was knitting in a rocking chair, and Greyden was born at 4:30 pm. My doctor barely had time for the nurse to throw a stool under her to sit on. Len was absolutely amazing, knowing exactly how to make me feel better and when. My mom attended again, as she did with Caleb. We ended up a few extra days in the hospital, as Greyden became jaundiced really quickly and had a stubborn fever, so they shipped him to the special care nursery. But in keeping with the holiday theme, we came home on the new provincial holiday, Family Day.

Caleb loves being a big brother, as a matter of fact when he came into the birthing room afterwards he asked, "Am I a big brother now?" He absolutely adores Greyden. He hugs and kisses him all the time, he's very gentle too. His big brother job is to sing to Greyden when he cries, and rock his cradle or chair.

Check out my Flickr pics for pics of the boys.

Itchy feet...

Allyeggpop — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 04:49:59 -0500

I've got itchy feet...well I think I've had them for some time, but I think I've finally resigned myself to a cold hard fact. I think its time to break up with my blog, I've been thinking about it for a while now. Sorry, its you not me.

I keep visiting all these other blogs and they are so pretty, and they have pictures, a beautiful colours and mine's just blah. I believe the turning point was converting to mac. Now that I have a mac, I have to do all of my blogging using html for everything, including photos. On my mac I've fallen in love with dragging everything. The html is so tedious that I don't blog photos any more, I don't even use bolds or italics. Over the past years I've told myself that when I'm not working I'll "fix" my blog, strip it down, implement some coding etc. etc. but it's never gotten done. (darn family time!) So now I'm patiently waiting to migrate, maybe give wordpress or typepad a try...something pretty. I deserve something pretty don't I!

Makes you wonder.....

Allyeggpop — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:29:01 -0500

I was just wondering who the pregnant one is in the house!?

After dinner tonite, Caleb started asking for dessert. After telling him we didn't have any dessert, he cuddled up to me and asked for cake. I told him we had no cake. Then he asked for ice cream. I told him we had no ice cream.
Then he says, "I know!
Pickles! Can I have a pickle for dessert?" So of course, I let him.

Holy....

Allyeggpop — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:41:57 -0500

Pardon my french...but Holy crap! In case you missed it on Ravelry, they've posted the world's biggest yarn stash. I couldn't help but show it to Len, with the clarification that its NOT a yarn shop he was looking at but someone's basement. It's bigger than many yarn shops I've been in. But now Len is a little nervous, he wants to know if my yarn stash was going to get that big. Get me a house baby, and I'll see what I can do!

Ho Ho OH!!

Allyeggpop — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 02:07:09 -0500

We took Caleb to the Santa Claus parade tonite. Unfortunately, we were pretty mellow about getting there, so we just saw the tail end of the whole thing. Santa passed, and I enjoyed the amazing look on Caleb's face, as he watched his very first sight of Santa for the year. As Santa ho,ho'd away, and the parade ended, Caleb turned, put his little face into my jacket and began to cry. Feeling guilty that we had been late and had missed most of it, I put my arm around him and asked him what was wrong......

He looked up to my with his big teary eyes, "Santa didn't give me a present."

Its about time...

Allyeggpop — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:03:41 -0400

Yay, I'm part of the "cool" crowd...

"Hey there,

frecklegirl has invited you to Ravelry!
"Here you go! Thanks for your interest in our little site."

Now I just need time to actually really use the site. What I've peeked at so far looks pretty neat. However, I'm a little afraid to catalog my stash. As I've been pre-nesting, I've been finding hidden caches I'd totally forgotten about, and so far its not a pretty site! I love the idea of keeping track of my needles though. I had tried this a few years ago on paper, but I never have it with me/can't find it/forgot to add new ones. So we'll see if an electronic version serves me any better. But in the meantime, I'll roam around and check things out, and start using it bit by bit, project by project.

See you there!

New and Exciting News

Allyeggpop — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:20:16 -0400

Some of you already know this news but its time to tell the rest of the world...

We're having another baby!

We're pretty excited about this, personally I think I'm most excited because I'm not so sick any more. Somebody told me that this is because your body remembers being pregnant from before...well I wasn't this sick before...I think its payback! We'll see how the rest of the pregnancy goes, if that's true!!!

So for now I'm being lazy and I'm posting these tickers in my post but I'll move them into the side of my blog a bit later.

Baby

Caleb

Is 3 am a good time for anything?

Allyeggpop — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 04:24:39 -0400

So then is 3 am a good time to blog? I'm awake and vertical and (well duh!) at the mac. I awoke an hour ago to traverse the obstacle course of sleeping cats on the floor to go to the bathroom. Now I'm awake, because, after tucking myself back in I couldn't go back to sleep. I lay awake debating...read a book? knit? watch t.v? The first two would just interest me enough that I would be up to see those first orange streaks of dawn. TV?....its all infomercials and old movies...so here I sit. So far I've lurked around Facebook, tweaked my Flickr account a little....and now I blog. Unlike Jamie I have no wit or humour (or grammar) at 3 am!
All I can offer you are these:

Hanami Gorgeous!

Wicked Amanda knows how I found this one! I love it! Maybe, if I start it now I can wear it next year!

And while I'm on that theme....Fun!

Goodnight Gracie!

A holiday in pictures....mostly

Allyeggpop — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:59:09 -0400

Heading north to Pancake Bay Provincial Park 76 km's north of Sault Ste. Marie.

We got ambitious!

..but we did it in four hours, including stopping at the lookout, lunch at the waterfall and swimming!

Overlooking the final resting place of the Edmund Fitzgerald

I must have been to busy cooling off in the waterfall to actually take a pic of it...duh!

We went for a stretch up the beach a bit, to more rocky shores.

Caleb called this a dragon.

The Driftwood Dragon of Pancake Bay

Guwoulf......

Allyeggpop — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 20:02:18 -0400

...that was the gargantium sucking sound that engulfed my entire month of June. At work, I was on the planning committee for a big conference we hosted at Trent U, so that completely sucked up the entire beginning of the month, and the rest has been in recuperation. We did manage to escape to the cottage for Canada Day weekend, despite me being under the weather. It came down to laying on the couch at home or laying on the couch at the cottage...easy choice! The weather wasn't the warmest, but I'm sure if it had been to hot I would have complained. It also allowed me time to add to my sock, as Gramma Susko and Nana kept Caleb pretty entertained.

In other news, I am really happy to receive Joanne into the local knitting fold from the wool barren boonies of Timmins. This is the woman who made woobie. She's so sweet, I'd never even met her, but she knew her husband's old high school chum was expecting so she showed up with a cute little sweater and the greatest blanket friend a little boy could ever have. Oh, and she's a Romni virgin! What fun we'll have with her!!!

New Favourites....

Allyeggpop — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:48:18 -0400

I'm so excited, I've got a new website to post to my favorites.....www.ottermere.com. The funny thing about it, is growing up at Ottermere we had no hydro, no flush toilets only outhouses, and we had woodstoves to keep us warm in the winter. In the summer, we drove 2 hours in the car, packed all our gear into outboard boats, travelled another 45 minutes by boat, crossed the portage, and crossed over into Ottermere, docked and then hauled all our gear up to the appropriate camp. In the winter we did the same routine except by snowmobile, not boat. When Len and I lived in Thunder Bay we would go on the weekends, because it was only a 6 hour drive, compared to when we moved to southern Ontario which puts it at approximately 22 hour drive.
Its a pretty amazing place, I think you have to be from there to really truly get it. Its the kind of place that is a part of your blood.

Cold, Wet and Tired.....

Allyeggpop — Sun, 27 May 2007 18:59:28 -0400

But I've got new wool to keep me warm. So what did I do this weekend.....?

Spent the afternoon at Ikea, where I bought a beautiful red rug....bye bye Homemade rug
Stood in line to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee encourage knitters to resist and fight the stigma of CHOKE (Cultural Humiliation of Knitters Everywhere).. Her talk was so funny, I loved it that she was nervous, it made her very approachable. While we were waiting for the Yarn Harlot, you could hear the clicking of hundreds of knitting needles...really awesome. I won't rehash the evening, Martha does a fair job of it, as does Sherri. Jamie gives her run-away (well almost) mommy version here. And Amanda...we may get her to do socks yet, puts in her two cents! I took pics, but with Jamie's camera, somehow I ended up with dead batteries in mine...boo hoo. I'll post when Jamie sends them over. I couldn't resist taking pictures of Stephanie taking pictures of us!

As for the Yarn Crawl, we started bright and early at Naked Sheep, we almost got Choked but my darling brother altered his plans to get us there on time. Naked Sheep was kind enough to offer us some discounts, but I think I fell in love with something not on the list...of course! I found out that I get motion sick when attempting to knit on the TTC, so that pretty much sums up how much I accomplished on my first sock. I spent my time at Americo crapped out on the couch, (btw, I wasn't bored, I yawn when I get sick) I did manage to wobble a little bit around the store, just to take it all in. But I have decided to figure Americo into my meeting in Toronto on Friday. Two gravols and two gingerales had me mostly fixed for Romni Wool. We then set off for Lettuce Knit in Kensington market. I think the Big Fat Burrito I ate, fortified me to find something to go with my Naked Sheep find, and pick up a cute little $5 denim jacket. (Oh, did I mention it was freezing out and I had dressed for 30 degree sweltering heat!?) After the lunch break we headed out to fight Choke...curse you TTC, and figure out how many knitters can fit in a bus stop...stashes included of course, we weren't putting anything down! Our final destination was alterknit cafe . We proceeded to continue fondling and crooling until it was time to pack up, hit the TTC one last time and return to our families. What an awesome time.

Oh, and the wet part of the weekend? That was Sunday morning, we had our local chapter's Walk of Hope, as part of the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario's walks.

And tired is ok, cuz last night I dreamt of self-striping sock wool all night long......

Death by DPN

Allyeggpop — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:00:23 -0400

There will be no shame, no horror, no throwing of dpn's....I finished the sweater I was crocheting for the Walk of Hope. I stayed up last night and put the edging on it, there was NO WAY I was going to be doing crochet amoung 200-300 knitters!!!

Its a pattern. I've done before, a real quick and easy one. The hardest part of the pattern is to simply crochet away and not get caught up in the strange way it works up. The edging is courtesy of Jess Hutch.

Toronto Bound!

Allyeggpop — Fri, 18 May 2007 19:15:20 -0400

Only knitters will get this one, but I'm going on a pilgrimage to worship at the altar of all things knitted. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is coming to Toronto for the launch and book signing of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting with the Yarn Harlot herself in attendance. So of course, Jamie and I are going on a road trip! I think Jamie's already figured out her outfit, the baby's outfit and probably what project she'll work on while there. I'm trying to calculate how early we'll have to get there to get in, of course, what project to work on while there, and what can I buy!! Oh, and is there a sushi place nearby!! Apparently, we're trying to out attend Colin and Justin the day before...no problem!! With Stephanie coming back to her home town, she sounds like she's hosting this at her house...Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself. This afternoon we showed Little Miss Sunshine to the highschool students from our four county area, and tonite we are screening Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself. It's been a couple of weeks since I've been home at night. Things have been really busy at work, with it being mental health week, our Walk of Hope May 27, and the Lynx Symposium in June. I've been joking that I'm counting the days to July, when we take the family vacation at Pancake Bay. Knitting is unknown, as is everything else. The only book I've been reading lately is for work...its a good one but still its work. I passed Wicked onto Colleen though and so far she's loving it. I'll have to get a good project going for July!

Why I hate bathing suits!

Allyeggpop — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:06:44 -0400

Jamie and I have made a pact to shop for bathings suits together this season....that is, assuming of course, we were not drunk at the time - to decide to wear bathing suits this year, or that we won't conveniently get lost on the way to the store and end up at the pub!

Out of curiousity, I checked out the Land's End website, I had heard they had a build your suit option. (too bad its not a build your body option!) They try to charm you by choosing different styles and colour options, it lulls you into that false sense of security that you haven't spent most of the winter, butt on couch, knitting in front of the t.v.
But then it hits you, in the descriptive text for the one you've chosen (worn of course by a slim model on a beach!) this bathingsuit isn't going to fix anything! Not when the text says stuff like, "styling flatters your shoulders" or "V-neck flatters your face" That's their code for, "Your screwed, its already the end of April, what were you thinking eating your kids entire chocolate rabbit!"

Maybe this late winter will buy me some time!