Check out Judith's Free Vintage Knit and Crochet Patterns. Lots of great stuff for babies :) These patterns are reprinted with permission from Coats and Clark. Hmmm. Now how did she get permission? Cool, eh?

Um, I have no clue how Jamma gets her title in those pics at the top of her blog. She has learned some kind of programming mumbo jumbo that I haven't yet.Eventually I get so pathetic that she comes to the rescue and tells me how to fix it. (Like the time she told me to start using BlogJet to post! lol)

Go on over to Too Many Hooks and check out her free pattern for an Ark Tote Bag. What a great idea! You could fill this with wee crocheted animals! I’ll post links for animals later on…

A Good Yarn has a bunch of free knitting images. There are lots of things you can do with these. Here are some ideas…

• use in a knitting scrapbook or journal
• jazzy up the blog a bit
• print and use them on Christmas cards
• print and use as gift tags for handknit items, gifts of accessories or yarns
• print on shrinky dinks and make stitch markers!
• print and frame them for your craft room
• make your own knitting t-shirts

Let me know if you come up with your own! We’ll add them on!

Also fun…

1…Amanda wants to be a cat.

2…Amanda wants more…not less.

3…Why do you think Amanda wants to be one of those strange pathetic lady creatures that goes “poot” when she gets angry?

4…Amanda wants her mom.

5…Amanda wants to do 20 things.

6…Amanda wants to do 15 things.

7…Amanda wants more camera time.

8…Amanda wants to be in the spotlight.

9…Amanda wants to compete in a professional Rodeo

10…AMANDA WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW… …she's "taller in real life and eats more
than you think."

Tara of Coffee Crochet posted this fun thing on her blog. You go to Google, type in “[your name] needs” and list the best.

Here we go.

Amanda needs…(check out another Amanda’s list) (and another Amanda)(yet another)

1…Amanda needs a mom in her corner with lots of time and attention to give to her.

2…Amanda Needs You to Map Yourself (if you are an Amanda doing the “Amanda needs” search, then go  on over to Cheezwerks and add yourself to her map! Only 2 lonely Canadians out there!)

3…Amanda needs to be loved.

4… Upgraded Amanda needs a small config change. (lol don’t we all?)

5… amanda shouldn't need X11 (now that’s funny)

6…AMANDA needs to know some characteristics of the tape media. (ha ha ha)

7…Now Amanda needs a loving home with someone who understands cats and will be….(click here to see the puddy this shelter is talking about. She looks just like my Denver!)

8…Amanda needs a home environment, which can combine loving acceptance, and firm limits.

9…”Amanda meets Marcus again, as the Duke of Yarborough. Marcus needs a governess for his sister Daphne and it just so happens that Amanda needs a job, so she accepts.” (excerpt from a book, The Magic Token)

10…Amanda needs a family.

11…I think amanda needs to be recompiled on landon (an ancient but good debian system) and copied to office (ancient and slow).

12… Amanda needs to read Barbara Bush's speech to Wellesley graduates given in 1990. First she needs to "believe in something larger" than herself. Then she must find the joy in life. As Mrs. Bush says, "it's supposed to be fun." Third, she should "cherish" her human connections which "are the most important investments you will ever make." Let Bob go off and conquer the world and slay the dragons with her blessings, which might serve to make the time she does share with him all the more precious. And if Bob is smart, and I'm sure he is, he'll realize where his priorities lie, as a much needed and loved member of a family.

13…Amanda needs to release her grip on this past and move on.

14…Amanda needs wisdom & strength to do what is right. ...

15…According to Sunde, Amanda needs Vip for support and reassurance. (Amanda is a gorilla!)

16…Amanda needs nonacademic colleagues as a reality check

17…Amanda needs her local food bank to put food on the table for herself and her
daughter

18…Amanda needs a wise friend to tell her that this too shall pass.

19…Amanda needs to rebuild her life.

20…Amanda's needs are my special needs. She teaches me daily about life, and not to take one precious moment of it for granted.

Ok, there is a robot called Amazing Amanda. I’m not kidding. And apparently she has needs too….Amanda needs to know the time so that she can schedule activities, know when it’s time to go to bed – and know when it’s Christmas, New Year, or Mother’s Day!

I know the meme is for 10, but I found this fun. There are many needy Amandas out there. AMANDA is a program and a robot. There are books and essays about Amanda. And some cats are named Amanda too. So there you go.

This one is the best.

Amanda needs to be very very disgusting in order to make Babe look good. (I think Amanda is a soap opera character? )

Check out The Switchboards: Connecting Creative Women in Business. I can think of a few creative ladies who have been wondering how to turn their craft into a business…..

I just love Brenda Gilliam’s Around the Rosy Baby Blanket and I just might make it for some upcoming arrivals. Patricia is expecting baby # 2 and my uncle is also going to be a dad for the first time.

Yarndex is a resource designed for the public and the yarn industry. All the information about any yarn you could possibly imagine (and likely a lot more) to help you make those difficult choices when substituting yarns. YAY!

The AntiCraft is for your darker side. Or for my family. With patterns like, Curse Your Boyfriend, Snowball’s Chance in Hell, Eternal Embrace and more!  I absolutely love them! I need Amber to work me up some charts for some more positive runes! ;) Check it out.

I met a fellow knitter on the streetcar on the way home from work last night. She was knitting something in the round (a sock maybe?) and we got chatting (as knitters KIP’ing usually do). She told me about an SNB with cocktails. Of course this peaked my interest…

Remember the TTC Knit-A-Long in October? This group is really doing it in style this time. This event on November 26 purports to be the swankiest knit out ever. The group is meeting at the Rosewater Supper Club. It’s a night of dressing up in grown-up clothes, wearing makeup, having your hair and nails done, heels!, combined with knitting and fancy eats! (Disclaimer: um, male knitters do not have to wear makeup and heels.)

The knitters will be situated in the Rose Wall Lounge (Scroll down to “Front Lounge”). It’s downright sumptuous, that is!

“…ideal for casual bar dining, pleasant conversation or just lounging to the regular piano and live entertainment provided by John Roby and his lively band of jazz musicians.” 

If you are interested, you need to RSVP as space is limited. More information is available at the TTC Knit-A-Long blog.

Favourite Quote of the Day:

As we were heading into the subway (fellow knitter and I)….

Fellow Knitter (FK): When did you start knitting?

Me: When I was 6.

FK: Wow. So how long have you been knitting then?

Me: 18 years.

Silence. Conversation in my head…

HUH? Is  that right? 18 + 6 = …….. HA HA HA HA HA

Me: What? Why did I say 18? That’s not true! It’s way more than 18. I guess I must think I look pretty good for having been a knitter for so long! Oh well. Close enough. And you looked like you believed me, so I guess I could have just left it at that.

Last year for Christmas, my Grandma gave me my doll that lived at her house. A tall walking doll with long blonde hair and eyes that closed when you made her lie down. (I enforced strict napping rules on all my dollies.) Her eyelashes are a little ratty, making her look a little scary! Talky Tina Press has instructions and repair kits to fix all your favourite old dolls and toys! I want one!!

Momma loves Green Day. How do you feel about this, then? It’s a chart - for knitting.

And this is my favourite Hallowe’en costume, ever. (Warning: semi-not-so-Explicit content ;)

Here are some more great charts for knitting goodness.

Strange but Trewe has some funky knitted creations on her site. I’m in love with the Lacey Skull Shrug! Definitely on my ever-growing future projects list!

Cakeyvoice is going to be added to my list of crafty links too.

For the Uber-geek in your life, you could knit up this Linux Illusion scarf!

Crochet me is looking for submissions for a Crochet me Special  Issue. The theme of the “mini issue” is LOVE. They are calling for submissions of love-inspired items. You know, things that love inspired you to create. Ideas and sketches are due November 15th and final pattern, photos and supporting materials are due by January  5. View their submission guidelines.

I can’t wait to see what is in this issue!

Have you seen the new magazine Knitscene yet? Check out "Projects" for a bunch of "On the Web" patterns available for free.

It does not appear to be available as a subscription. This is the Fall/Winter 2005 issue so I am assuming more will follow.

The new MagKnits is up! Yay! A lot of lovely patterns this time around. Holly, Jessica and Durrow all have me itching to pick up my needles.

SpunMag has been on  hiatus and says they will have a new issue out in December. I can’t wait for that. They’ve had some really funky, fun patterns in the past. I’m looking forward to seeing what they will bring us in December!

I’m still tinkering away with Amber’s table runner. I’ll be posting some magazine reviews soon. I have bought a tonne lately. I love nothing more than pouring over knitting and crochet magazines. Might be something to get me for Christmas. hint hint

 

The Rader Pumpkin Patch

We had people coming to visit us to see our fabulously scary pumpkins! We bought a pumpkin Dremel and Ross used that to carve the wee pumpkins. They look so great! Next year we’ve decided to have a Pumpkin Carving Party. We have some neighbours that love carving too. A street over from  us had a street party last night. They had an Elvis impersonator and a Celine Dion as well. Kids came and told me it was so amazing and they were having the best Hallowe’en ever! Very cool.

Witchy Poo

This is last year’s pumpkin! I started it but gave up when the “going got tough” and got hubby to finish it. Isn’t that what hubby’s do?