Project "Creme de Menthe Snuggle"

One of my current knitting projects is a baby blanket for a friend that is expecting. I have titled it Creme de Menthe Snuggle because the color of the yarn reminds me of Andes chocolate mints. I am using the pattern Pine Forest Baby Blanket by Ingrid Aartun Bøe and making it with Knit Picks Cotlin in Pistachio. 


I chose this pattern so that I could learn a new lace pattern. This particular blanket uses a variation on the gull lace stitch used in the famous February Sweater pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s  book Knitter’s Almanac. The yarn had to be something that was machine washable since it is for baby and a busy mom. Cotlin is 70% cotton and 30% linen and will knit up into a fabric that could be used for many seasons unlike a washable wool which would be too hot for Spring or early Fall. 


Below are photos of the finished blanket from fellow ravelers (I am working on a review of Ravelry.com right now) JoannaCos and VickiT.

BP2 - iGoogle PLE

This week one of my masters assignments was to create my very own Personal Learning Environment (PLE) using iGoogle. I created 4 tabs full of gadgets and links that will hopefully keep me organized and help me get to all my sites with a fewer clicks. At first I was skeptical, thinking that my highly organized bookmarks bar already filled this need for me. But as I started working on the tabs I realized how the gadgets are what makes iGoogle really shine. The ability to look at multiple information feeds from social media is something I could never do with a bookmark bar, no matter how organized. Here is an overview of how I setup my PLE on iGoogle. 

Tab 1 - Home

This page includes everything (and a little more) that I use on a daily basis. I have a Youtube gadget with videos of the day, a date and time gadget, a weather gadget, Merriam-Websters word of the day gadget, a Facebook gadget, a Twitter gadget and a box of links to Full Sail Online, my Wordpress dashboard, my Blogger dashboard, Ravelry (knitting site), Cooking Light Recipes and Romulus Community Schools. 

Tab 2 - FSO/AR

This tab is specifically for my Full Sail Online and my Action Research (AR) project. I have included a countdown to my Full Sail Graduation as well as links to my google tools (gmail, google docs, etc.) and sites I use for my AR project. 

Tab 3 - Resources

This tab is for resources for my current FSO course Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture. I features links to editing my blog, a Google Reader gadget special ETC sites as well as links to Lynda.com training. I included a gadget with funny cat pictures just for fun. In case you didn't know, I like cats!

Tab 4 - Knitting!

I most certainly could not leave myself hanging and leave out my favorite hobby! I created a box of links to Ravelry, Lion Brand, Knit Picks, Knitting Help.com, WEBS and Vogue Knitting. I also included the Knit One Purl Two gadget which gives me quick access to the following knitting related blogs: Yarn Harlot, Wendy Knits, See Eunny Knit, Mason-Dixon Knitting, The Keyboard Biologist Knits and The Purl Bee. As if that weren't enough the Knitwit gadget give me access to additional blogs and knitting websites. 

BP1 - Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to This is NOT dental floss....below you will find the story that explains how I came up with that name for the blog.

So I am sitting down and knitting my little heart out and I am really humming along. All the sudden as I pull more yarn from the ball I realize that the yarn is damp. I think "that's odd", but I keep knitting. A few more inches into the yarn I find that my cat, The Unbelievable and All Seeing Grand Duchess Holis Octavia of Brown Paws, had been using my yarn as dental floss and split the yarn!

I looked her straight in the eye and said "No Holis, that is NOT dental floss!"

She responded with a look of utter contempt that I'm pretty sure meant "You idiot....I'm a cat and this is yarn...what don't you understand lady!" She then turned back to the yarn and continued flossing.