Investigating Ghosts in Gettysburg

Friends went armed with digital cameras and anEMF detector (a little machine that detects electromagnetic fields) to Gettysburg, PA. These are the tools that the modern ghosthunter uses to pick up spirits or ghosts that may be lurking around. We looked through all the pictures taken, looking for orbs. An orb is a round spot of light that shows up on the digital camera (or sometimes to the naked eye) . These are thought to be energy spots from spirits or ghosts that are floating around. They took this amazing photo in one of the graveyards.

Now when you look at a photo like this you first try to debunk it (everyone else will!), meaning what in the area could have caused the phenomenon. A lot of times inside orbs may be dust particles in the air that show up looking much like an orb. But outside you are hard pressed to say one huge piece of dust is floating around the Gettysburg graveyards. You then make sure that you take another picture of two of the same exact spot, most times they will come up with no orb, which is what happened here. The other thing you think of is, was there something on my lens? In this case I would say no, it did not show up in the subsequent pictures of the same spot. Also, if you look closely at the picture, the orb is directly over and BEHIND the headstone. It can't be from the camera. This is the best orb shot he has ever taken, and one of the best I have seen. And yes in the other photos of the battlefields and headstones there were smaller fainter orbs, but nothing like this.

The other point of interest is that they had the EMF detector on. The EMF detector will beep when it detects fluctuations in the magnetic field around it. It detects energy, which is what a spirit, or an orb is. In the house the thing goes pretty crazy because of the outlets, electronics, etc. Outside if you are near powerlines it will beep due to the EMFs from powerlines. But if you are in an area that should have no EMF, or no power, you get nothing. Like we got nothing at the Eastern State Penitentiary because there is no live electricity in the place, and apparently no ghosts either. On the battlefields and graveyards of Gettysburg there is no electricity, the detector would make no noise, but then for a second it would start beeping, and then again be silent. This would seem to confirm small amounts of energy passing by or that they passed through. Ghosts? You decide.

One caveat though, the detector when held up to my head and started beeping and when held to someone else's it did nothing. LOL, I guess that is another investigation all together!

Oh Baby Baby!

I just finished the little pink sweater I crocheted for a friend's granddaughter, it turned out really cute! I plan on giving it to her tomorrow, so I hope I can get a picture of her in it, maybe on with her Grandpa! I used Bernat's Baby Coordinates yarn and the little buttons have little white rabbits on them!

Now I'm off to start knitting the poncho my brother commissioned to give to his niece. It will be the same one I gave to my niece about a year ago.

I also just had to put a picture of this afghan that a girl on http://www.crocheville.org/ made. It is a picture of the face of Jesus from the Shroud of Turin. It is so amazing that I had to pass it along. She took a picture of the face and used some computer software to graph it out, the crocheted according to the pattern. It truly is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen!

Funny or NOT

Ok, the first funny thing is my dear Mother telling me she got around to reading my GLOB. Say WHAT??! I didn't laugh at first because I didn't know if she was serious, she has a habit of putting her unique spin on book and movie titles, and then I said you mean my BLOG? And she started laughing, I was like, WHEW. But between you and I, I think she WAS serious.

Another funny thing, since I have been in a crocheting mood lately, is this picture I found of a life size GREYHOUND someone crocheted! I don't know that I would have the patience to do something like this, but heck then I would have to crochet a dog bed for each floor to go with the greyhound, and I don't think it's worth it.

What's NOT funny is that I am still hacking away with this cough/cold thing. I'm a mess!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all! Went this past weekend to the Eastern State Peniteniary in Philly. It's an abandoned prison in the middle of central Philly and it's supposed to be haunted! We went to the Terror Behind the Walls haunted house, which is a haunted house inside the walls of the prison, and the next day toured the prison and tried to do some ghostbusting. But that was a bust! I took a ton of pictures, but captured no orbs or crazy mists. I also used the new EMF detector I got to try to locate ghosts, but also came up empty. The EMF (electormagnetic field) detector registers the EMFs in the room. Ghosts use energy to materialize, so it is thought if you get a reading in a place where there shouldn't be any EMFs, then you may have a ghost. We got squat. Here are a couple of pictures, one of the outside of the prison and one inside looking down a cell block. Here is the prison link if you're interested, it's pretty cool! http://www.easternstate.org/

I also finished the shawl/wrap that I was working on. It didn't turn out very well, to me, but someone might like it. I'm thinking about starting a crochet/knit group at my new job to make premie hats and prayer shawls. But, I'll wait a bit, until I fit in a little better with the co-workers. It's a strange job. Gotta go, it's 6:30 PM and I might actually get a trick-or-treater this year!

The Hybrid and Triphid

I bought a new crochet book called Crochet Inspirations that has really cool stitches and motifs, I've been doing sample swatches of different stitches. I decided that I really liked the Peephole Stitch and decided to use up some of my stash to make a wrap/shawl. Of course I get into it and realized I am doing the stitch wrong! So I've got a hybrid stitch going on. The stitch calls for a row of cross-over half double crochets and the a row of singles done in the front loop only. Of course mine are in the back loop, I think I like it my way better! It's also crocheted long ways, which I think looks prettier in the finished product.

We have had almost no rain this summer and it shows. I had a beautiful fern that had been doing so well out by the hot tub, and it was a brown mess! So I got the scissors out and chop chop! I cut all the brown out and put it in a slightly bigger pot. My lovely Mother does this with her plants sometimes, cuts them back to one lonely triphid and they come back like crazy! So here is what it looks like now:


I cut a huge amount off, mostly around the bottom edges, the center seemed to remain greenish. I will post the progress of the triphid in days to come!

Shrinkage

Here is a picture of the purse/tote I started last Thursday night and finished last night on Saturday. I started out as being a medium sized tote, but after I took it out of the washer I could still see the stitches although it was felted. So I threw it back in! I have a front load machine, so I couldn't really check it until the cycle was finished, when I took it out it was now a small purse! LOL, but the felting is dense and you can't see the stiches, just like I like it. You can see in the photo that I picked up two skeins of Patons Merino Wool and forgot to check the dye lot! MY BAD! But in person you can't really tell. The pattern is from Family Circle Easy Crochet magazine from Fall/Winter 2005.

Tomorrow starts my new job, I wasn't nervous, but I'm getting there! I'm not looking forward to how exhausted I'm going to be!

Finally Finished!

I finally finished the wrap/shawl I was making, you know the one that started as an afghan and ended up a shawl since I ran out of yarn! Well I was adding the fringe and ran out of yarn again! I went to every Michael's and Joann's around me and they didn't have it anywhere! So I asked my friends on Crochetville.org (a bunch of crocheting guys and gals!) and a crocheter in Michigan found it and mailed out to me! It was so nice! And I gave it to Rochelle, my neighbor, for all the support she gave me over the last couple of months. So here it is!

The color looks weird, so here is a close up of the same, the color here is closer to the real deal. The yarn is TLC Amore in Celery. The pattern is a variation of the Lilacs afghan in the July 2007 issue of Crochet! magazine. Rochelle loved it! I dont' know what's with me, but I'm really into the crochet right now!

On another note, I got a job! I start on Monday, Oct 15th, and I can't wait. The people seem really great and it is everything I was looking for!

The Green Monster

Ok, I was trying to use up my stash, and I wanted to make a present for a friend that moved away, and I had no reason to believe I couldn't find this yarn....BUT I was wrong!

I think this is probably my first screw-up that I didn't catch and thought everything was going along fine. It started as an afghan, the pattern is hard to see, there is a pretty cool crossover stich that makes V's down the fabric. There were supposed to be bobble rows in between the V rows, but I took them out and did a couple of rows of dc and hdc. Things were going along nicely until I realized I ran out of yarn. I go to a couple of stores and can't find this color anywhere! The yarn is TLC Amore in Celery. So I said to myself "Self, you have enough for a wrap/shawl, soooo I made it into the width of a wrap (it is crocheted on the long edge) and bound off. Then I noticed it...the edge was uneven! ACK! Somewhere along the line I decreased, I was having trouble with the turning chain. I don't think I have ever done this before!

Usually I notice, rip out, and fix it. I wasn't going to add fringe, I was just going to do a nice reverse sc edge, but now it looks awful! The other edge is fine, straight as an arrow. I think fringe would take away your eye away from the edge, at least while it is draped around one's shoulders. Of course, the last point of the the story is that I don't have enough to make fringe! Double ACK! I'm not sure what do to with it. I will have to think on it more. Or ask my friends at Crochetville.com

Had ANOTHER job interveiw today, it is safe to say previous interviews didn't amount to anything. Keep your fingers crossed.

Gag Me With A Spoon!

Oh this is totally gross! My greyhound Gigi came running in with something in her mouth last night and sat on her bed. It was a dead bird with maggots on it! Of course I stood there and yelled until someone else came in and corrected the situation, but oh how gross. I was sick to my stomach and had a headache the rest of the night!

I finally took a picture of the top I made for my Mom last summer. It turned out really well, except that I used a yarn other than that suggested and it is a little heavy. Taught me a lesson on yarn weights when substituting yarns!

It's a Wrap!

I saw a pattern for a wrap, or shawl, that used different yarns knitted longways. I thought this would be a good way to use up some of my stash yarn. I chose five yarns that sort of went together and started to knit!

It's the first time I've knitted a wrap longways, and knitted straight on a circular needle. It is actually very easy to do, and the whole thing is in garter stitch so there is nothing to think about. It is very soft and the colors are melding nicely. Problem is it is hard to tell how long it will be, I put on 150 stitches like the pattern said, and had 20 more for good measure, but since it is all bunched up on the circular, I can't tell how long it is! The pattern never did say how to end each row since you have to cut the yarn at each end, so I added a marker at each end. I bind-off one at the end to tie the loose end, then make-one (M1) right after to add back that stitch I bound off. Seems to be working, but agian it is hard to tell. The finished width is supposed to be 40x60, I can measure the width, but I don't know about the lenght.

Promising news on the job front, I've got a possible call back for an interview for Thursday or Friday, I'm crossing my fingers. This would not be an Executive Assistant job, but a job in the finance department of a large company. It sounds fun and might lead to something greater eventually. I love the EA jobs, but they don't go anywhere. Keeping my fingers crossed.

My Fans Are Waiting...

Well, not really. I don't have any fans, but I haven't written in a while so I hoped somebody noticed! I finally finished Toothless' little sweater, however as I found out Saturday, Toothless is not exactly toothless anymore! She has some very large teeth coming in at the front, why do kids always get these HUGE teeth that come in at the front?

I guess I have to call her something else now, umm Big Tooth? But the sweater fit her perfectly, and she looked really cute in it. I added a few beads to the end of the ties because she likes jewels. Of course it is a summer sweater, and seems that the Fall temperatures have befallen us this past week. I need to finish the shrug I started for her over the summer.

I took a little break from my creations, but I've been working on something things lately. Hopefully I'll have some pictures in a day or so. LOL, I had one major screw-up that is pretty funny, I'll show you that later. I'm still trying to use up my yarn stash, but it never seems to go down!

I had purchased my niece a knitting loom awhile back and she wanted to use it this past weekend. Trouble is she likes to use the hook to move the stiches over the peg, but doesn't want to wind the yarn around the loom! Thus, every row I had to wind it for her, she was happy, but I was going loopy myself. I think she had about 10 rows done in the 12 hours!

Yeah for Big Tooth and her soccor team! They won their game 7-1 on Saturday, it was cold in the AM, humm.. guess I need to make myself a poncho.

One Stroke; Two Stroke

First things first, Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mother! I love you Mom!

Rochelle, my neighbor, and I took a One Stroke painting class this week at Michael's. Bless Rochelle's heart for getting me out of the house and away from my troubles. We took the One Stroke class where we each created a birdhouse. Here's my attempt, not to bad considering that I have tried the One Stroke painting thing before and could never get the hang of it. It was so much better with an instructor to telling you what you are doing wrong! My leaves and stuff aren't perfect (which is a step in the right direction for me, since I usually give up if I can't do something perfectly!), but from far away it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Not to sure what I will do with it, I still need to finish a few things on it, but it was kinda fun. I think we are going to try to take a couple more classes and see what we can do.

Never heard anything about the interview I went to a couple of weeks back. Which is kinda weird since they usually at least send you some kinda rejection letter. Anyway, I have a couple more interviews this week with some agencies, so I'll just focus on those.

I've decided to enter three things in the state fair this year, since I always say I wished I had entered something. They always have a blue ribbon on some kinda ugly crocheted toilet paper cozy, so I'm sure I could win something! I'm entering the crocheted sweater I did for Mom last year, the pink sweater I just did for my niece, and the pink drawstring purse. I have to get them out to the fair Monday or Tuesday, which will be a pain since I have interviews in the afternoon, but hey what else do I have to do???? I'll keep you posted

Attack of the Yarn

Ok, I've been hording yarn. It was on sale is my best excuse. I have no idea how much I have, but I plan to log it all into a spreadsheet so I at least know what is on hand. This picture is about 2/3's of it, and it's all a mess. All the knitting and crochet websites I peruse all say this is the "Year of the Stash" meaning you aren't supposed to buy any more and only use what you have to make something. Wellll, I've tried, and I have made a few things, but it obviously out of control! I did call the local paper and they are going to print my name and email address if anyone wants to start a knitting/crochet club, so we will see if anyone responds.

I am almost finished the little sweater for my niece, I'll probably get it done this weekend. It's cute, but may be to big. She's a tiny little thing!

Hot Flashes

Lordy, I think I'm having a hot flash! I'm only forty-three so it might not be a real hot flash yet, but man! I don't know why crocheting would make me break a sweat!

When I went back to the little sweater, I finally figured out how to make the left side decreases while continuing in the 3-chain mesh pattern the sweater called for. It was pretty vague, so I had to do and redo several times before it looked right. Only one more front side to go. It is a wrap around sweater so there are two front sides that taper down in the middle, and it goes really fast once you figure out what you are supposed to be doing! Starting right side tomorrow.

Ok, I'm still hot so I'm going to sit in the swimming hole, well it's really the hot tub, but we turned off the heat for the summer so we could take a cool dip in the water. The weather is still in the 90's and no rain in sight. Most of my carefully planted flowers are kaput, we have a water ban in effect so I can only water by hand, and frankly I got tired of doing it. Blah!

I think I will sort and categorize my yarn stash starting this weekend, it's getting WAY out of control! I'm trying to only make things from my stash and not buy any new yarn, so I plan to do a bunch of hats and scarves to give to charity. I think I may try to get and Elkridge Knit Club together to make stuff for the Elkridge Love Mission which is a local mission some folks have put together to help folks in our town. I have two bags of yarn to donate to the cause if I can just get some knitters and crocheters to do the work. I think they have food, meals, clothes and such there. I've been meaning to contact them for sometime to help out and I just need to do it. I will do it tomorrow, I promise.

Perspective From a Greyhound's Nose

I haven't taken pictures of my two greys in a while so I wrestled (or rasseled as my southern Momma would say) with them to get a nice portrait of each from the nose up. Not an easy task when you are working with a greyhound snout! Here is Hans (a.k.a. U Too Handsome on the racing circuit) looking cool as a cucumber. At 7 he takes everthing in stride, and will even model hats and scarves once I'm made them. I don't know about trying a sweater on him, his legs are awfully long! Well, maybe a wrap around number?

And then there is Gigi (a.k.a. Cruizing Electra) who is 4 and still rather skittish. You can tell I had to wrangle her down to get a picture, and she looks pretty freaked out! But they are good puppies and I love 'em.

I stuck gold recently when I got a deal in the mail for a craft book club, one of those where they give you some books for a buck and then you have to buy 2 more in 3 years. Well I couldn't resist and finally got my order today! Here are the 6 (count 'em) books I got for $24.50 which included the shipping and handling! A $125.00 deal! They are awesome and I have already chosen some patterns to make. Look out friends and family!

My lovely neighbor Rochelle gave me a bag full of crochet thread that was her Mother's before she passed away a year or two ago. There were a couple of unfinished items in the bag that her Mom had been working on, I'm sure it was difficult to part with them. I saw a darling little clutch purse in one of the books that I am going to make for Rochelle out of the unfinished items from her Mom's "stash" as we call it in the yarn world. A little something to keep jewelry or something in, and I thought I might add some pretty beads to it also. I'll keep you up to date!

Still working go the sweater for little Toothless, the pattern got confusing so I had to step away to rest and go back with a new perspective. I'm almost half finished!

Frankenstein

Not everyone has a 5 1/2 foot Frankenstein in their kitchen. I do, and it seems perfectly normal to me. Frankie is a darling to model my knitted and crochet pieces for me (for some reason no one else will). Here is Frank modeling a crocheted scarf I made this past winter. It is a huge thing of ruffles and it's 70 inches long (I swear the pattern said to make it that long), and when you wear it you feel like your head is sitting in a marshmallow.

Yesterday I started a little crochet sweater for my niece who is 6, and shall henceforth be known as "Toothless", until her two front teeth come in and then I'll have to think up another name. This little number is a new pattern on the Lion Brand website and the yarn called
for is Microspun. I had some yarn left over from Peanut's sweater, so I'm trying it with that. It is a really cute sweater to be worn over a tank top or t-shirt. This didn't take very long at all, so I hope to have a finished garment this week sometime. Stay tuned.

In other matters, I had an interview today for a job close to home and I was quite nervous. I would like to thank my friend Susan, who flew the coop to Florida (damn her), for helping me prepare for the "behavior interview questions" I might need to answer in the interview. Anybody who has been on an interveiw recently knows that these questions are now all the rage with the HR people. They don't ask you if you can type anymore, they want to know "what is your biggest weakness"? Say WHAT? Not something I wanted to bring up. Let's see...humm, I can't eat just one cookie?? Obviously this is why I asked Susan to help, she can bullshit with the best of 'em. No really, in a good way, I swear. Thanks Susan, you're the best! Now everyone cross your fingers.

Split Personality

Some knit, some crochet, but in few cases do folks do both. I don't know why, but a great number of knitters cringe at the notion of crocheting. Maybe it's because until recently the best things to come out of a crocheter's hands were either a toilet paper roll cover or a tea pot cozy.

Now before you think I'm here to crochet bash, I'm not. I love to crochet, AND I love to knit. I'm not saying I'm that good at either, I taught myself, so hell I could be doing it ALL wrong!

But, I like both. I like to crochet in the summer because the materials are lighter, and I like to knit in the winter because who can resist a big snuggly ball of yarn?

Here's a little crocheted number I did to practice on. Not to practical, but it's cute. I also made one in black with silver and turqouise beads crocheted in the top ruffle. It was cute when the purse strings were pulled tight, it looked like a mass of beads at the top.

Over here is a little baby sweater I made for my husband's new grandbaby. Since I don't have the express written consent of my husband's son and daughter-in-law to publish the baby's name, the baby shall henceforth be called Peanut in this blog.

So, I knit, I crochet, I like both. Who knew?