YArN KNiTa

2010-09-07T01:57:00.003-05:00

I could be pumping shit out of a port-a-potty....

Let's start with happy news!!!The Boy has a new Jayne Hat. He's quite happy about it. This was taken at his first trip to a yarn store. He was a good sport. It was done exactly the same as the first one, in the exact same yarn, exact same skein actually. But I think I may steal it for myself. How could I be so mean?!?

The Boy found the lost bag of handknits.

There was much rejoicing.

So now he has two. I think I should get to wear one.

Despite my absence from the blog, not much has gone on around here. Work, sleep, knit, eat, knit, read, clean, knit.....

It's that work thing that has gotten me down though. I have a crappy, boring job. Even druing the interview, the guy told me it was boring. Don't get me wrong. I am thankful I HAVE a job and even one that has benefits. But I am determined to have a job that gives me something other than a paycheck. The title of this post has become my mantra lately. Yes, it could be worse......but it needs to get better.

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Along the lines of getting things in order, I am in official destash mode. I finally sat down and told myself that I really need to cull things down. I have even gotten very cold-hearted about it. I came home one night and sorted though the yarn, allowing myself to only keep a third of it. One third will be donated and the other third I will be putting up for sale.

I am working on getting pictures and loading up the flickr so keep an eye out. Remember, I'm being cold-hearted. There's cashmere. There's 220. Folks, there's Lorna's. Some of ya'll know how I am about my Lorna's.

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There really has been knitting done. I'm currently working on a Haruni shawl out of some yummy Dream in Color Smooshy. I would love to post a picture, but I can't find one that does lace or the color justice. I'm still working on the Tomato and it's almost cool enough that I can knit on it without getting heat stroke. I've done some small spurts cause it just needs a sleeve....that's like 50 rows.

Really ready for cooler weather.....and a new job.......

2010-07-28T14:21:00.003-05:00

In Memoriam: An Ode To Never Cleaning Again

About a month ago, The Boy and I went on a little vacation. His family was having a family reunion and, unlike mine who tend to get together every other day, his rarely congregate so we decided to head out a see everyone for a week.

In preparation, we got into a heavy "cleaning the apartment" mode so when we came back, it would be lovely. It had gotten to the point where pretty much everything was out of its place. Even hats, mittens, and scarves were still by the door, waiting for me to go buy a nice Rubbermaid and cedar balls to store them in. This was June people. Way past time.

So we cleaned.....and then off we went.....and did come home to a very lovely, clean apartment.

Fast-forward two weeks. I come home proud of myself because I finally got said Rubbermaid and cedar balls and was going to store all those lovely woolens that we put in a sack while we were cleaning. However, the sack was not to be found. We searched EVERYWHERE about ten times. We finally came to the conclusion that in all the cleaning, the sack must have gotten mixed up with the trash sacks and.....taken out to the dumpster.

Yea....I know. I would like to take a moment of silence for some of the woolens lost that day.

The Manly Mitts - You instilled my faith in wool.

The Hannah Hat - Best hat for those with the long hairs.

The Jayne Hat - The Boy was very, very sad to lose you.

There were others lost as well, but sadly, no pictures to remember them by. Replacements are in the works, starting with the Jayne Hat. I'm contemplating a different pattern for my mittens. Nothing wrong with the pattern....just something different. Hopefully, I can get stuff done before it gets cold.....in like 4 months.....

2010-06-22T16:53:00.002-05:00

Knitting is much cheaper than reading....

Yea, not much knitting today. And here's why.

The Tomato has come along swimmingly and only lacks a sleeve and neck ribbing. I love how the top-down sweater all comes together with the ability to try it on a adjust as needed and there's little to no seeming. However, when you are knitting a wool/acrylic sweater in this manner in the middle of summer, the pile of knitting that ends up in your lap is rather warm. When you get to the part of summer we have come to where you are only comfortable sitting in front of the A/C in your underwear, having a wool sweater in your lap just isn't going to happen.

I did have my week vacation where The Boy and I went to St. George, UT and Bakersfield, CA for his family reunion. Yay for travel knitting! I decided to tempt the knitting gods and start a new project, the Plum Frost Sweater, and just work on the sleeves, especially since I haven't decided whether it's going to be a pullover or cardigan. Nice, small, compact. And with the driving and flying I could possibly get both sleeves done on the trip.

Yea, that didn't happen. Well, I did get about 2/3 of a sleeve done. Sidenote: This was the first time I went through airport security where they didn't take my knitting out and inspect it. huzzah! So how did I pass the time? I read....a lot.

See, I work(ed) at Barnes&Noble for a few years. Been a big reader and this just fed my addiction and increased my usage of said drug. I have gotten to the point of reading 1-2 books a week. I don't always buy the books (library, friends, secret stash) but even with my "free" books, I figured out I spend more money on books than yarn, when you look at the "cost of entertainment" value. Allow me to explain...(knitters already know this because it's how we justify spending $12 on a pair of socks).

Cost of entertainment
2.5 hour movie / $8 ticket = $3.20/hr
10 hours to read a book / $8 book = $0.80/hr
48-60 hours to knit a sweater / $15 = $0.25-$0.30

QED

For those who are fans of reading, I thought I would give you a few of my favorites. I am a big fan of series, so I will list or give links to the reading order for books.

"Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon
By far my favorite books ever...ask anyone. I'm known at my store for getting people addicted to them. There are currently 7 published books in the series (Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and An Echo in the Bone) with at least one more in the works. The above reading order is important! These books are a mixture of historical fiction, fantasy, time-traveling (a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff) and an all-around great story.

The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward
I was skeptical about this series (I tend to be with ones in the romance section) but the characters and world that she has developed is phenomenal. It is a contemporary paranormal series with pseudo-vampires (NOT THOSE KIND!!!). Highly fun and enjoyable.

Rachel Morgan Series by Kim Harrison and Harry Dresden Series by Jim Butcher
Paranormal crime-solving series. They are extremely similar but one has a female protagonist and the other has a male protagonist. I personally feel that they are not "girl" books and "boy" books. I am currently in an experiment with a guy from work who lent me the Jim Butcher books. He agreed to read the Kim Harrison books so I can prove this. :D

Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Very cool fantasy series that has some elemental science in it that I really enjoyed since I'm a nerdy chemist. I'll admit that I have only read the first one at this point, but I could hardly wait to run out and buy the other two.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I almost feel embarrassed that it has taken me this long to read these books. They have been around a long while. Classic science fiction that everyone should read.

More to come later....I need to get back to my book....

2010-05-21T14:05:00.004-05:00

It's about time.

Gosh....it's almost been a month since my last post, but real life tends to get in the way. First I was sick, then The Boy, then I had a case of TMJ (muscle relaxers are fun!) and then we had a wave of tornadoes and flash floods that didn't make for good picture taking weather.

What? There are pictures?!? Oh yes....wonderful FO pictures.

Pattern: Ivy League Vest by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Salsa Heather, Autumn Heather, Brindle Heather, Twig, Fog, and White
Needles: US 4
Size: 34.75"
Notes: Spit splice, spit splice, spit splice (say that three times fast) Cannot emphasize this enough. Wish I would have done it the entire time instead of just half the time.

This has got to be my favorite project I've ever done. I have caught the Fair Isle bug and you WILL see more in the future. Pre-blocking it fit like a glove....like a latex glove. But with some help from Turtlegirl, I got it beautifully blocked on a wooly board and it's now perfect! The floats are stretched wonderfully and the crochet around the steeks has felted slightly and makes me much comfortable about it not unraveling. See Mom!! It's not gonna unravel!! The wooly board* was a godsend and will be saving my pennies to get one. It made all the difference.

And just so you don't think I've been sitting around waiting for the power to go out....well, I did do that, but there was knitting as well.....and hoping I wouldn't have to knit by candlelight....

I started the Tomato in the Encore and I am loving it! Top-down is definitely the way to go. Just two sleeves left and it'll be ready to go! Well, ready for when it gets cold again....in 4-5 months. But you have to stock up, right?

*Totally just found out that Wal-Mart sells these site-to-store. Much cheaper than other places and seems to be the same. Intriguing....

2010-04-28T17:09:00.005-05:00

St-EEK!That's all I've got right now. I'm still recovering....

2010-04-18T13:51:00.005-05:00

I'm trying to be a good monkey....

....I really am. See! I've even been knitting.

See? Good monkey. I've got about 50 rows left and they have been just flying by. However, since casting on the steeks, I've been worried it's not going to fit. It fit before, but I have passed the point where I can try it on to check. Hopefully just paranoia...

Now that I'm getting closer to finishing (and with the possibility of a trip coming) I have been researching my next project and I can't decide. I have three sweater's worth of yarn in my stash. However, the sweater at the top of my list is sadly, not in my stash.

The Choices:
The Tangled Yoke Cardigan, but making it a pullover instead.
The Simple Knitted Bodice, in a 3/4 sleeve. Yea, I know the yarns look the same color, but I couldn't get this one to come out right. It's more of a graphite color.

The Tomato, done long sleeve and possibly without the color band. If I did, I would move it down, under the boobs, more on the waist and probably in a gray or maybe blue (cause I have the blue in stash!). Plus, I love that this is top-down, which I have never done and always wanted to.

And now....the thing that is making me want to be a very bad monkey....

The Plum Frost Cardigan/Pullover....*evil grin*........../insert favorite emote/

What to do....that to do....help me! Leave me a comment and tell me you opinion. And I apologize in advance for any enabling I have done.

2010-03-31T14:01:00.005-05:00

In which I get a little philosophical....

FO's are always a good way to start off a post....

Pattern: February Baby Sweater (ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Fired Brick - 3 skeins
Needles: US 8

Notes: The above picture is misleading. The color is not that red, but I wish it was! It's has more of a maroon color to it, almost like a "christmas red". I put the sleeve stitches on holders so the whole thing is seamless, which was nice. I screwed up the buttonholes the first go around and, frankly, I'm not happy with how they turned out the second time around, but what can you do. As I found out later, if you want the "3 buttonhole look", do the buttonholes every 8 rows, not ridges, as stated by EZ. 8 ridges is 16 rows and that's too many.

First time use of the Knit Picks Swish yarn and it really is a good multi-purpose yarn. I wanted something that would be soft for the kiddo, while being easy to care for for the new mom.

All in all though, I'm happy with the sweater and am glad that I finally did one. This was done for a baby shower for a friend of ours. It was very well received and there are already plans in the works for her to wear this at Christmas.
The vest....it continues....

I'm just fixing to cast on the neck steek, which is very exciting. This project has kept me more interested than most of my projects have. I hate feeling that I have to push myself through a project. With this, not so much. I think everyone has their little knitting niche and I may have started to find mine.

I would like to be a well-rounded knitter. I want to be someone who enjoys knitting things for small children. I want to be someone who likes to knit up beautiful lace shawls. I want to be someone who has a drawer full of hand knitted socks. (Hence the insane amount of sock yarn I have.) However, that is just not me I think. I like the idea of being that person. I want to be this person, but I'm just not. Are we destined to be a certain kind of knitter? If we don't knit bits of everything are we somehow a lesser knitter? I don't think so...

I love that, with this vest, it has kept me intrigued an motivated the entire time. I think it has somehow tapped into my unique mindset of how I look at things and all the little weird things I enjoy....like how something is still awesome looking inside out....

One of the first things I did when I started was that I mapped out, row by row, all of the decreases, increases, and special instructions that went along with this project. I got a special, nerdy little joy out of that. I like how every row has that magical combination of being both being difficult and easy at the same time.

Have you found your niche? Is there one thing that you really like making more than all of the others? A you a lace knitter? Sock knitter? All-around knitter? Whatever you are, I'm okay with that.

As with most knitting, it also applies to life...but that's a diatribe for another day.

2010-03-17T13:06:00.003-05:00

Finishing-itis

Yep, I have it. Remember that February Baby Sweater I was working on before the Ivy League Vest? Yea, so I got a baby shower invitation for the recipient. When you get a shower invitation for a person whose project is half-finished, kinda motivates you to finish it.

Well, I'm having a problem with that and it's the same problem I have with most of my projects. I get close to the end and don't want to finish. How much is left of this sweater? One sleeve. And then it's done. And I don't wanna. I have told myself that I can't knit anything else until that sweater is done. No reason not to finish it. Even tried putting on a movie. If I knit through the movie, I would probably be done. But it just kinda sat in my lap.

Hope this isn't the start of a funk....cause I wanna knit on the vest some more.

2010-02-23T12:58:00.004-06:00

A Sticky Situation

With the Olympics going on, everyone is off doing their Olympic knitting. I am super impressed with what people have been able to accomplish since the beginning of the games and what they have learned in the process. I am not officially participating, but I am in the spirit of competition. I officially admit, I didn't cast on with the torch-lighting, nor will I finish by the time it is extinguished. But I am doing a project that challenges me and has given me new skills to add to my arsenal.

Behold the WiP.........aided by the decorative pine cone.

I can't believe how far I have gotten in a week. This thing is breezing by and it is so much freakin' fun to knit. (Yes, I know I am calling attention to myself and the knitting gods are going to smack me for it, but whatever.) I am about 12 rows into the pattern and have begun the waist shaping. I have taken the suggestion of spit-splicing the ends together for this portion and have found it very nice, even though I got even more weird looks in the employee dining room on my break. A word to the wise though: DO NOT spit-splice if you have been eating Jolly Ranchers. It does not make for happy knitting. Trust me.

I am glad that I didn't just jump into this project without having had some fair isle experience. When I was making my mittens, I came across several people telling me to hold my yarns several different ways. I have determined, figure it out for yourself. Because whatever works best for you is going to give you the best chance at keeping even tension, and that is even more important on this project. Start with something small, get used to your fair isle technique, then jump on in!

Other things that have helped:What I have found very helpful with this project is my KnitPicks pattern holder (keeps everything together), my rigged, clipable row counter (doesn't get lost), a blown-up copy of the color chart ('cause I'm blind), a copy of the pattern ('cause I scribble on stuff), and a row-by-row listing of the decreases ('cause I get distracted....SQUIRREL!!).

2010-02-16T15:20:00.004-06:00

Lack of Water Leads to Knitting

Before I went to work yesterday I found a flyer hanging on the door to our apartment that said they were rerouting pipes from the hot water boiler and, long story short, we would not have any water from 9am-5pm on Tuesday. Now, Tuesday is my first day off from work and that is usually when I do all of my chores, like laundry. No water means no laundry.

Oh darn....that means I'm going to have to knit. Can't tell you how sad I am that I have to knit instead of doing laundry.

I finally finished all the planning and have gotten all of my materials together so I decided today would be a good day to cast on my Ivy League Vest. I fully concede that I ripped the color choices from the Turtlegirl and her lovely vest. She even helped me get some of the colors that have been discontinued. Hers is just too pretty....

....I must have it.

2010-02-10T13:20:00.005-06:00

All Better

I need to learn to not post right when I get home from work....scary things happen.....I had a little rant there.

But the problem was still there never the less. This is what it originally looked like:
Yeah...that looks stupid. So I dropped the stitches all the way back to the second buttonhole and redid them. And then I had a glass of wine...

...or seven. But it looks much better now, so it was worth it. The stitches are still a little wonky, but I'm hoping it will work out when I block it. Just the sleeve left to go and it will be good.

On a separate note, I thought I'd show you Smokey helping me with laundry. He really likes laundry day.

What do you mean you have to fold the sheets now?

Seriously, don't even try it.

2010-02-09T01:38:00.002-06:00

I'm annoyed....

...but I can't tell who's fault it resides. Probably mine...but...yeah...

I "finished" the body portion of the FBS and started on the sleeves. I ran some crafty errands, including going to the LYS for some needles for my Ivy League Vest (and, surprisingly, that is all I bought, I promise). I also shopped around for some buttons for said FBS. I made three button holes 'cause that's what everyone else did and it looked cute and I'm just that kinda gal.

So I being popping buttons on, seeing what they look like, which ones fit, etc. etc. Side note: I hate button shopping....just not my thing. That's when I really start looking at the sweater and the button holes look spaced really stupid. Lemme explain without a picture (cause it's dark).

Imagine a sweater that would have five evenly-spaced buttons. Now removed the bottom two. That's what it looks like. Right now, I'm feeling like throwing it in the corner yelling "This is stupid!" and going off and pouting like a three year old.

This is what I know:
1. I did use worsted-weight yarn and US8 as opposed to DK yarn and needle recommended. I concede that.

2. All other instructions were followed to the best of my knowledge. At first I thought I screwed up at "knit 8 ridges" and doing crazy math in my head to where that was 16 rows and therefore 16 ridges, but this is not the case. I DID do it correctly.

3. I did knit the body 5", as instructed. Granted, with the yarn/needle change, this may be an issue, but from looking at other projects, I seem to have done about the same amount of repeats.

4. I am 100% insane. I think this also important because I think the yarn keeps changing color on me.

I'm hoping I can sleep on it and the knitting gnomes will have fixed my problem. I'm trying not to think about dropping the buttonhole stitches all the way back to the beginning-ish and redoing them, or, god forbid, rip the entire thing out. Idk....opinions?

I'm gonna go find some wine....

2010-02-02T12:51:00.005-06:00

The Sky is Falling....

....or that's what it sounds like. Remember the winter storm I told you about last time? Well, everything has calmed down and has begun to melt. What happens when it just barely warms up and things barely start to melt?

Wicked icicles.These are really, really cool.....until they start falling and scaring the crap out of you.

Look! Knitting!My first Februrary Baby Sweater. Seems everyone I know is having babies right now. My family had a large census increase over the holidays. I think we grew by three.... So I will hopefully be knitting some things for them for their first birthdays, seeing as I wasn't in the knitting groove before they were born.

I would have to say that my new job has really helped with my knitting groove. See, I am very, very lucky. To avoid traffic implications, I leave early enough for work that I am usually there 30 minutes early. Bring out the knitting. Then, I get 3-30 minute breaks....on the clock. Use one to eat, that's another hour of knitting time, which is actually paid! This new job has given me about an hour and a half of knitting time that "can't" be interrupted or used for something else.

Initially, I was using up stash and stocking up on baby hats and these new baby booties that use up extra sock yarn. These getting me by until I could get a project in mind....and that project is the Ivy League Vest. Yep, I'm just going to jump in....eventually. Some of the yarn has gone on a sight-seeing trip, but it called and said it would be home soon. When I ordered the yarn I could actually order, I snuck in some KnitPick Shine Worsted and figured I could do a FBS in the meantime. I just attached the second of three skeins I got so I'm hoping there will be enough for a February Baby hat.

2010-01-30T01:46:00.002-06:00

The Joys of Wool

Okay, so it's 1:45am Saturday morning. I got home from work a little while ago after driving through a "crazy winter ice storm", or so they say. I say, "Meh". But I had a wonderful knitting epiphany and I wanted to share my joy with you.

Wool is wonderful.

I know some of you know this already, but you must remember when you first realized you loved wool too.

This winter ice/snow storm started last night, practically shutting everything down in the state. By the time I needed to drive to work, there was about 5 inches of snow (plus some ice underneath) on my car. It took me about 20 minutes to sweep it away and chip at the ice, trying to free my wipers and all that jazz.

But that's not the part we are here to talk about. When I was finally done, I got into my car and had my epiphany. You see, I had on my nice, newly-knitted mittens. The pretty red and gray ones. The ones made of wool. You know what I noticed?

My hands weren't cold.

Now, this seems like a simple thing, but after pawing through snow and ice and your gloves being wet, you expect your hands to be cold. But not if they are made of wool. They are just so nicely insulating and just wicked the water away to some mystical place where it wouldn't bother me.

I love wool.

P.S. I rescind my opinion about my mittens, as mittens. They felted and shrunk a tad during this incident and are now marvelous! Just thought you should know.

2010-01-26T16:56:00.009-06:00

Actual FOs!!

The business portion of today's blog:

Or....there was going to be stuff....but having technical difficulties.

So we are going to do this the "not as pretty" way.Pattern: Hannah Hat (formerly of MagKnits)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Quattro in #9432 (held double) less than a skein
Needles: US 10
Adjustments: I keep my bun/ponytail down lower, so I moved the hole down and added some stst rows to put it nicely all the way down on my ears. Specifically,
"Rows 16-23: Work in stockinette." *added 4 more rows, started knitting in the round at this point, add 4 more rows of stst.* I also added a super cool pompom on the top. Cause ever hat needs a pompom.

I absolutely LOVE this hat. I always have my hair pulled back and most hats just weren't made for that. I don't have an exact amount of yarn that I used, but it was probably about 1/2 a skein. Super quick to knit and nice and cozy. BTW, this yarn makes the coolest pompoms.

Pattern: Manly Mitts from Knitty
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in Dark Gray Mix and Bright Red
Needles: US4 and US6
Size: Medium

Still figuring out if I'm a mitten person, but they sure have been keeping my hands cozy. They are a little long, but I'm too lazy to rip them down. It says to knit to the top of your ring finger before starting decreases, but I would start before that, like maybe knitting to where your fingernail starts on your ring finger. I changed the cuffs to be different....makes like interesting.

KITTEN!!!!

This is Smokey, The Boy's kitten. Yes, I am living with a cat and I haven't exploded. I have always been very allergic to cats, but, Thank God, not this one. We get along nicely, snuggling up with me when I read, and he mostly stays outta my knitting bag....as long as I don't leave it on the couch.

**I think things have changed since I last did this. For some reason, I can't post pictures from my flickr account, at least not the way I used to. Any help on how to post pictures from flickr into the ol' blog would be greatly appreciated.

2010-01-19T13:27:00.003-06:00

Really? REALLY? /facepalm

Okay...so now I've only been back into knitting for like a month now and I'm already annoyed. But I have to tell you the funny part of the story first.

While researching my new project some more, I basically kept looking through all the Ivy League Vests on Ravlery. Like everyday. That helped me to decide that's the one I wanted to do. But there were so many color choices and I have never been able to pick colors that go together, so I figured I would find a color scheme I liked and steal it....urm, I mean, build upon it.

I need help deciding and who's opinion is readily available?

Me: I need your opinion on some knitting.
The Boy: Okay...
Me: I'm trying to decide which color I want to go with for this sweater. Which of these two do you like more?
The Boy: *contemplates while we switch back and forth between the two* I like that one more.
Me: Okay....I like that one too...
The Boy: It's more For The Horde....
Me: I'm sorry...*starts giggling*...what was that?
The Boy: Well, one is more Horde colors....the other is Alliance.
Me: *Starts laughing uncontrollably*

'Cause that's how we roll. Sidenote: Yes, we both play WoW. He's Horde and I'm Alliance. Every relationship has it's complications.

I finally get everything together and sit down to order the yarn. The Twig and Fog color of KP Palette are discontinued and the white is unavailable until the end of March, supposedly.

Therefore, I'm putting out a shout-out that if anyone has some of either the Twig or Fog color and can tell me which color they most closely resemble. I will also be bugging the turtlegirl goddess to see if she can tell me.

Edit: Manda makes an excellent point. Being away from the fiber world for so long, I had forgotten how gigantically useful the Rav is......

2010-01-15T14:36:00.002-06:00

What to do....what to do....

Since I have gotten back into knitting again (and I find it safe to say I'm officially back in, considering what I knitted this week*), I am now at an impasse at what to knit. I mean we can always do a quickie hat or scarf or mittens, but I am looking for something more substantial....like a sweater.

Yeah, I know.

I've been getting back on ravelry and started looking though my ancient queue, looking at all of those things I liked back then. Guess what....I still like them. So...I have a decision to make and, since I can now only communicate with knitting peeps online, I need some help with what to knit now. And I'm not going to be helpful about it.

Project #1: "Plain" Oatmeal Sweater.
Yeah, that's not helpful, I know, but hear me out. I have some oatmeal-colored wool, already in the stash, that I have wanted to make into a sweater for a long time. I found the sweater I wanted to make in Interweave. It's marked in the magazine. But do I currently have the magazine? No. Still in the moving process, okay? But it's only of those good, simple sweaters.

Pros: Already have the yarn and pattern....theoretically.
Cons: Worried it would be too plain and not keep my interest.

Project #2: Ivy League Vest
I have wanted to make this ever since I saw it in the magazine and even more when I saw turtlegirl's vest. It would definately be an endeavor, but that's kinda what I want. Plus, I just finished some fair-isle mittens and I'm still kinda feeling that. But here's the catch: I would need to buy the yarn. Granted, it would only put me back like $15 (using KP Pallette), but there's is definately something to be said for using something from my VAST stash of yarn.

Pros: Very attention-grabbing....would learn how to steek.
Cons: Would have to but even more yarn....would have to steek.....eek!

I also have another sweaters worth of yarn (a nice wine color) that was going to be another CPH, but I'm thinking of doing one of the other 5 million cardis I have queued up. Something like Mariah, Cabled Cardigan, or Mr. Greenjeans.

Need opinions!!

*I finished a pair of Manly Mitts and a Hannah Hat, but trying to find the cord for the camera. Hopefully, will post soon.

2010-01-09T15:37:00.004-06:00

One more time....with feeling...

Ok…so here we go for another attempt. But I’m really going to try and make it stick this time!

Yes, I have been gone for over a year. Yes, I have missed ya’ll. Yes, a lot has happened since we last spoke. If you are here because I popped up on your Bloglines or you’re cycling through your bookmarks, I applaud your confidence that I would return.

My return to the blog will have to be broken into several posts because I just can’t imagine anyone that would want to know that much about my life that they would read page after page. So…we’ll do it in small doses.

First off, I moved to Oklahoma and moved in with my parents for a while. The move got me a promotion and helped me to save a bit of money. However, this past Christmas was my last in retail, but more on that later. For those Chickies who are still watching, I have a surprise for you and it’s more important than any knitting I could show you. Not only did I get a promotion at my new store, I found something much, much better.

I found a boy.

Yes, he’s cute, isn’t he? He worked at the same store I did and we hit it off almost immediately. We’ve been together almost a year at this point and have begun to move in together. He did not run away from the massive amounts of yarn. Always a plus.

But one of the biggest was this conversation. One of the things we did when we first started dating was watch Firefly. I had never seen it, but had always wanted to. We hit the episode of “The Jayne Hat”. Firefly knitters know which ones I mean. Short and sweet, Jayne (played by Adam Baldwin) gets a hat in the mail that his mom made. The others don’t think much of the style, but he likes it and proudly wears it because his mom made it. I then tell Sean about the big popularity of the Jayne Hat in the knitter circle.

Me: Yeah, I have always thought about making me one.

Boy: Is it hard to do? Do you think you could make me one?

Me: If I made you that, you would totally not wear it in public.

Boy: I would totally wear that hat every day if you made it for me.

Yeah, I know. It’s what he got for Christmas and, true to his word, he wears it whenever he goes outside.

On to the knitting…I kinda got into a knitting funk for a while and didn’t knit much, which I think is a big reason I didn’t blog this past year. But I did knit some. I did another (and hopefully last) Christmas stocking. Still trying to find the picture I took of that one. Knit the Jayne hat for The Boy. And I have been working on a pair of mittens for myself. And that’s it. Seriously.

But I now have a new job, working at a casino. I work in the blackjack pit, basically being the pit boss’ lackey. It's easy work for more money, so you can't beat that. Plus, it gives me quite a bit of knitting time.

Hope everyone is doing well and I hope to be here much more often!

2008-12-15T12:45:00.002-06:00

The Mother of All Posts

Man, I am a blogging slacker. Many other kinds of slackers too, but my blogging seems to be the worst. Almost three months and not a word and I left you with so many things to come! Well, the end of the year is coming to a close, so I figure I better wrap it up. There is moving, knitting, family and sudden realizations to come.

So, I made it to Oklahoma. Um...yeah. We'll just leave it at that. Moving on! Most of my stuff is either unpacked or in storage. The only things I kept out of storage were my yarn/fiber, clothes, and a selection of books. I, oops, sorry, I mean, my mom limited me to one six-foot bookcase. The only thing that contends for space in my realm is yarn and books. They are at constant battle. The knitting book shelves is an interesting boundary.

While I have been unpacking, putting yarn back into it's loving spots among plastic drawers and bins, it really, and truly hit me. I have officially hit SABLE status. For the non-fiber folks, that stands for Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy. That means that if I never (hah!) bought yarn again and just knit from what I have, I would not run out before I died. I have sat and looked at all the money that's locked up in the yarn and it is quite baffling. "Yes, my 8 little balls of cashmere. I know you were 50% off and to pass you up would have been a sin against the knitting gods, but when will I ever get to you?" Yeah, I talk to my yarn, what of it?!?

To counter-act that, let's look at some actual knitting that was accomplished. So remember what I was doing this time last year? Yeah, so that was apparently the start of a trend.
Yep, another one....actually, two but the other one is still on the needles. We just won't talk about it, shall we? Luckily, I got to pick the yarn so knitting this one didn't actually kill me. I got me some nice Cascade 220 and went to work. This one is for my cousin's new wife. They were just married last month. I really enjoyed this one and I think it turned out really well. However, I was definitely freaking out when it got a bath, saying "Please don't let the red bleed, please don't let the red bleed..." And it did, but only on to the white towel I had it drying on. Interesting, no? A towel can be bleached. White parts of a stocking cannot.

More to come....

2008-10-04T20:58:00.002-05:00

So....much....CRAP!

Okay, so I am done-ish with packing before I leave and, as always, I don't understand why I have so much stuff. It boggles me.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom was down visiting for the PKD walk that we do every year. (Of course I forgot my camera...but I know someone has a picture...more to come.) She brought the pickup and we loaded it up with boxes that I had packed up and we filled it the best we were able. BTW, that first load had my knitting books in it and of course the day after she left I needed to look something up. I now have two large suitcases, two large duffles, 12 boxes, and various bags packed into my car and it still looks like I could be living there (short of the empty closet and dresser).

So here I sit in the "Business Office" at my apartment since my internet-connection apparatus is packed, there is a no wireless. Yeah, I sat at my laptop for 10 minutes trying to figure out why the internet wasn't working. S-M-R-T

Once I get to the Other State and get situated, hopefully, I can get those updates up that I have been promising! Happy knitting!

2008-09-30T21:24:00.003-05:00

I'm Back

Allright, I'm officially back on the blog and things will be back to normal....well, normal-ish.

As I mentioned before, I've been away, dealing with things. Everything is fine now, so don't worry, but it was a little hairy there for a while, hence my absence from my and everyone else's blog. Very long story short, I have ended up transferring to another Barnes & Noble and I will be moving....to Oklahoma....and living with my parents. Surprisingly, the bad part about this is the living in Oklahoma.

Now, I don't want to hear from all the Okies about me ragging on their state. It's nothing personal. Oklahoma and I have just never gotten along. Last time I went to visit my parents (who moved there not too long ago), I got my new-to-me car and the state chased me out with TWO tornados. Yeah, we don't like each other. We aren't going to talk about the last time I actually lived in OK. Plus, I'm a Texan, so there you go.

So this week, I have been packing, which is quite a chore 'cause long-time readers of the ol' blog will know how much CRAP I have. It's progressing nicely and all was going well. This weekend we had the DFW Knit Out which was awesome and I got to see folks I haven't knit with in a while. Tonight, however, was my last Knit Night with the Rockstars. We had a blast doing some eating, drinking, and knitting. I left to go home and then it hit me. I'm really leaving. Yeah, I cried the whole way home. It's crazy how it just hits you like that after all the preparation.

But things move forward and it's not like I'll never be back......or wat least I hope I will!! TTYL

2008-09-01T10:31:00.002-05:00

MIA

Okay, so I'm here.....sort of. Stuff has been going down and I have really been paying much attention to the blogosphere lately. I miss all of ya'll greatly and will be getting back into the swing of things soon.

I just wanted to let you know that I am here and I haven't been buried underneath a pile of yarn and fiber (although that is always a possibility). Information will be coming forthwith, including my experience in meeting the person I most wanted to meet. Well, famous person that is....all though some of ya'll bloggers are pretty famous, whether you know it or not.

Until then, may your gauge be correct and may you always have enough yarn!

P.S. Ripped out the sleeve on the baby sweater, started to reknit it again and still forgot to add on the stitches at the beginning of the rows. Yeah....it's still in time-out. FTL

2008-07-11T16:34:00.002-05:00

Verbal Expletives

I seem to be in a funk. A knitting funk. Thus, the lack of knitting content lately. I had a nice knitting day with my friend Becky and actually started to progress a bit on a baby sweater for one that's due in August. Figured I should get going on it.That would be the EZ February Sweater being done in CottonTots. I do like the pattern....probably make the adult version someday.

So I'm at the Rockstar meetup on Tuesday, planning on finishing the second sleeve. Had to keep the little the mojo I had going. So I do finish the second sleeve that night and sit back to admire my work. This is the point at which I came very close to a very loud verbal expletive in the middle of a public place.

I had forgot to increase the 14 stitches on my sleeve.

Shit.

So, I pick out the bind off, put it back on the needles, wind up the yarn and put it in the bag. It's still sitting there. It's in time out. It's been naughty.

2008-06-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

New Year's Day Curse

Want to guarantee something won't happen, like say trying to blog more? Make it a New Year's Resolution. That's sure to nip it in the bud. So, since it has been a while, that makes for a long post. I'll at least lead you in with some good knitterly content: my adventures from World-Wide Knit-In-Public (WWKIP) Day.

That Saturday morning, both Diana and I had to work for a few hours and the ol' B&N. Diana was wonderful promoting our National Holiday. We even got a coworker to make out with some yarn!
Okay, small tangent (you knew it was coming). The night before, say around 10pm I finally decide to get my stuff together for the next day. I start sorting through projects...and more projects.....and I realize, I do not have a portable, mindless project on the needles. That's ok....I'll pick out some sock yarn that I wanted to just make some plain socks out of. Also, I wanted some done toe-up for me. (Why did I not take my mom's socks? Well, me and the calf increases still aren't speaking to each other. I would just end up making a scene.) I cast on toe-up with the crochet CO, got it started and put it in the bag, after about 4 rows.

Okay, so back to WWKIP day. Diana and I get ready to head south to pick up Kristina and meet up with the other Rockstars. I reach for my knitting bag for the directions to her house. Didn't bring that bag. Schnikes!! That's okay....I'll just call her. Forgot my phone. Double schnikes!! So much for leaving straight from work.

After a small detour to my apartment, we head down south, pick up Kristina, and head to north Dallas where we go to hop on the DART rail to head downtown. That was our big thing for WWKIP day. We were going to take mass transportation for as much of the day as we could. The DART lines don't quite reach up to us, so we had to drive a little ways. Not only is it "good for the environment", it's good for the wallet.

Okay, so this is my first time on a train of any kind, so this was an experience for me. I grew up out in West Texas where the term "Mass Transportation" involved the back of someone's pick-up. I would have to say, I absolutely loved it! If I lived a little farther south, I would be using it every day. As we wait on our train, we, obviously, pullout our knitting. I'm going along when I realize.....I really need to go down a needle size.....badly. Triple schnikes!!! We still hadn't left the car yet, so I run and get my emergency knitting out of the car. If you want to know, it constitutes of a pair of US 19 needles, a skein of Homespun wrapped into a double stranded ball, CO 10 stitches, K till you run outta yarn. Perfect scarf. Plus, I tell myself, we are stopping by a LYS, I could pick up some needles later.

After our train ride, we met up with the other Rockstars for lunch at the Trinity Hall Pub.Apparently, I should have just skipped work and gone straight to the Pub because Dawn had earmarked several cute European soccer fans, but they left right before we got there. Damn...

After we were done eating and drinking (of which I did none, for which I was thankful for later), we hopped back on the train to head to The Shabby Sheep. This involved taking the train to the only underground trainstop, taking two very long escalators topside, where happened to be about 10 feet from the freeway. Completely freaked Dawn out. We then headed over to the spot where we were going to hop on a trolley. And these were originally trolley's folks. It was awesome.From here, we walked to The Shabby Sheep. Now, we were originally under the assumption that it was 2 blocks from the trolley stop. Oh not so....try about 6-8.....in June......in Texas. And being in Texas, most of us are in flip-flops. So, once we got to the shop, the shop owner took one look and got us all some water. It was wonderful. So I got my US0 for my socks when I saw it. I had searched for the perfect shade of it and never really found one I liked enough to buy. Meet my future My-So-Called Scarf.My first Manos. I seriously couldn't have left this there if I tried.....and I did. Didn't happen.

After we left the shop, we lost a few Rockstars to a cab back to the station, but others of us were on a mission. We headed down to the Dallas Museum of Art in search of a statue. We searched high and low, even had to stop and take a knitting/water break.Then we began to search and search. And with some help from the DMA, we found it.We loved the accuracy of the statue: the unlady-like posture, the multiple bags she carries, and the fact that she had multiple projects in said bag. It was a good end of the day.

2008-06-03T16:50:00.002-05:00

WIP it Wednesday

Thanks for all of the complements on my hair. I absolutely love it! The length is just perfect. Shorter would be bad. We've been down that road...it wasn't pretty. Longer and it would juuuust be too short for a ponytail and that would drive me nuts. I have even almost gotten to the point of got getting out a gallon of shampoo to wash my hair. What's harder than putting shampoo back in the bottle: conditioner.

Here we have the current, active WIPs:This my lifetime-perpetual project, enabled by Tasha. This is my first square for a Barn-Raising quilt from the new Knitalong book. This has become my purse knitting 'cause it's mindless and easy to remember! Great for using up sock scraps. You might recognize this as the Lorna's from my Flaming Monkeys.

I decided I needed a larger needle and a baby sweater for my boss, so I started a EZ February Sweater outta some CottonTots. When I first saw the sweater I really loved it, until I realized that it was done on small needles. You know me and kid stuff on small needles. But after surfing the Ravelry, always dangerous, I notice alot of people doing out of worsted, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Since summer it starting, this is the time of year when we start......
CHRISTMAS KNITTING!!! That's right folks! For those of us who are trying to be proactive about our Christmas knitting (or those of us who tend to knit REALLY slow), we use the 100 degree temperatures to remind us that in the knitting world, Christmas is just around the corner. This is destined to be a surprise Christmas stocking, and on the off chance they see the blog, this will be the last time you see it until it is given. Frankly, this is more of a Hey-mom-I-really-did-cast-it-on kinda entry! :-) (BTW, I got a little free reign on this one, so it's getting made out of Cascade 220, not Red Heart this year. WOO HOO!!) This is #1 of 2 that will need to be done, which is why I'm starting now like a good lil' knitter.

2008-05-26T20:03:00.002-05:00

Scrunchies Need Not Apply

Yep, won't need a scrunchie for quite a while.....

It's so long....and HOT.....

Aahhh......that's better......

Although I don't have the 20-second hairdo anymore, I really like it! Much cooler for the Texas weather. Interestingly, my aunt had another gal come in that day to donate hair and a gal who was recovering from cancer. Crazy!

2008-05-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

Birthday, Part Deux

Yep, I made it through the night, and surprisingly, didn't have a hangover. Don't know how THAT happened......

The actual part of my birthday was even better! I group of my friends and I hung out for most of the day doing fun stuff.

Did I take my camera? Of course.....

Did I actually take any pictures? Of course not.....

But I can show you the results!

Stop #1Manicures and Pedicures....don't my feets look better?

Stop #2Went and saw Indiana Jones. Come on, if this movie came out on YOUR birthday, you'd go see it opening day too! Didn't hurt that it came out on a Thursday, which is College Day at the movie theater, i.e. $3.50 admittance. Fun Fact: The last time I saw my birthday as a release date on a movie poster? Mission: Impossible.

Stop #3:
The Woolie Ewe....one of the biggest LYSs in the area. First, I got a free bag for being in their Ravelry group. Second, a selection of Cascade 220 for some Christmas stockings I am making for my aunt. Next, Happy Birthday to me - a skein of Berroco Comfort Sock in Dusk (which is SO freakin' soft and just wanna roll around in it) and a Woolie Ewe mug, which the sales lady threw in for my birthday! Lastly, a lovely selection of Plymouth Happy Feet in #2, which was given to me by my friend Kerry. She "made" me pick out some yarn for my birthday.

Stop #4
Home...for a home cooked meal. Yeah, I could have gone out, but there is something to be said for making yourself a really good meal. I don't really cook for myself very often, mainly just as far as stir-fry. I mainly cook when there are more people to cook for. But then I wondered why I didn't feel like I was important enough to cook all-out for. So, that's what I did....sort of. First, the wine and cheese course:Hmmmm.....I love me some Laughing Cow Cheese.....even better with my carefully horded last bottle of "Family Reunion" wine.The main course: Roasted chicken, roasted rosemary & garlic potatoes, and corn-on-the-cob. This is where I cut corners....I just bought a roasted chicken. Frankly, it's too freakin' hot to be roasting a chicken in my apartment.

My birthday was great and I had a wonderful time. I will be adding to the fun this weekend as I head out for the weekend to go visit family. First on my list, chopping off my hair. T-minus 18 hours.....I can't wait......

2008-05-22T02:15:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Alright, so apparently, it has to be a holiday for me to post, seeing as the last time I posted it was Earth Day. But today is my birthday and to celebrate, I am vowing to update the blog more efficiently. (We aren't going to talk about the fact that it was also a New Year's Resolution).

So, 27 years ago today, at 12:01 am, my lovely mama gave birth to me. Even though I took my sweet time about it (23 hours), she decided to keep me around.

And when you are live in a college town and have college friends, what do you do, especially when these "college bars" have things called "birthday shots"....
My Official Birthday Dealers......my choice on Mexican Beer Night (do they have these anywhere but Texas?)........"Oh, it's your birthday?!? Lemme buy you a shot! (Red-headed Slut, if you must know....)
...My First Free-Birthday-Bar Shot (Fancy Pants - 180 Energy drink w/ a shot of vodka)........This was another "It's Your Birthday?!?"-shot (Red-headed Slut), but we just thought the picture came out really cool.....

...We found another guy celebrating his birthday, so we took free birthday shots together....
...Finished of the night with another Mexican Beer and a sandwich from the only place that was open , within walking distance.......

...on a complete side-note (follow the bouncing bunny....), I got the Veggie Sub (only 'cause my veggie friend wanted to split.) Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some dead cow (or chicken), but this was truly an awesome sandwich. Even if you are a meat-lover like me, you gotta try it. End of song.

Yes, I took my camera. What kind of nerd do you think I am?!? I promise, this is not all that will happen today. Just what has happened in the first 2.5 hours of my birthday. I promise to follow up with other happenings, especially what has happened in the past month that I haven't blogged!

2008-04-22T17:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Earth Day

So, yeah, it's Earth Day. It seems everyone is doing something to celebrate and well, you know me. I'm a joiner! So I figure today at SnB I will start my Zoom Swiffer Cover (pdf). I have thought about doing one for a while, especially after reading weeze's study. I am a huge fan of the entire Swiffer line, so anything that will keep me from using the disposable cloths is a good thing.

So after reading Bezzie's post, I thought I would share the few things that I do. Granted, like Bezzie, it's kind of a side-effect of cheapassness, but hey, it still counts!My Market Bags (formally of Magknits, linked to author's pdf). I have made these two, but really need another. These things are wonderful and SOOOO much better than the non-earth-friendly counterparts. They form much better to food and boxed and don't blow out when you poke a hole in it with some sharp corner. I think you can hold a lot more in them too. Plus, knitting them out of cotton, if something leaks or whatnot, you can just throw it in the washing machine.Reusable containers. This is my favorite! It's a Wonderbread sandwich container. It a little battered from being loved so much. It fits nicely in my purse and I can go quite a while before having to wash it. Granted, the sandwich is usually peanut butter or turkey with mustard - not exactly mess-makers. I rarely use plastic bags for anything. I will put anything else in a reusable container.Programmable thermostat. One of the best investments in my apartment. This helps by turning off the AC/Heat when I am not home, without having to remember to turn it off. Even if you aren't sure of what settings are good for you, most of them come with an "Energy Star" set of settings. These are designed to effectively use the energy. I only changed it a smidge by having it cool down a few more degrees in the evening (74 degrees from 6-10pm) main 'cause this is Texas and it's hot! But even so, I have the cheapest electric bill in the entire complex.Windows. Free light. It's just that simple. I usually don't have any lights one, just the blinds open.

My recycling initiative. Bezzie commented last time that she liked my above-bed shelving. That's because The Bez has a cheap eye! :-P I absconded those from work. They were formally "corrugated displays" for paperback books. Next time you go to your favorite bookstore, you will see them EVERYWHERE! Once the promotion is over, we do recycle them (we recycle a TON of cardboard), unless a bookseller absconds with them. So, I get free shelves and extend the life of a manufactured recyclable. Go me....

Sidenote: I discovered a new level of crack...the literary kind. Check out Shelfari at your own risk. It's addictive. I will be trying to keep it current with what I am reading. I warn you, it's random!

2008-04-20T19:16:00.002-05:00

I must have been born the Year of the Rat.....

.....or at least the Year of the Pack Rat. But my mother says I come by it honestly from my father, so see, it's not really my fault! When I started my whole "cleaning frenzy", this is one of the things I was trying to overcome. Mainly, getting rid of the stuff I REALLY don't need, i.e. TRASH!!! This means that whatever I keep needs to have a place. But even after going through everything, I still have a hard time finding a place for it all.

You see, I have a lot of stuff. Granted, as a knitter, you acquire the necessary implements of the trade: needles, yarn, books, fiber, the wheel, etc. As a student, you acquire a plethora of books, notes, journals, etc. When you like to read (and work at a bookstore), you also acquire various reading material. This makes for a very crowded bedroom.The paperback collection...along with my most read works, Harry Potter and the Outlander series......More yarn storage, hardcovers, chemistry texts, knitting texts, and class notes.
"The Desk"....this is its natural state. Like the rest of my bedroom, this is as good as it gets. It is just a permanent state of chaos. No use in trying to tame the beast.

Speaking of taming the beast, this one will be tamed at the end of May.....I am planning on donating my hair at the end of May. By then I should have enough and still have shoulder length hair. I am sure by then I will be begging for my aunt to cut it off 'cause, well, it gets a bit warm in Texas by Memorial Day weekend.

2008-04-11T11:03:00.002-05:00

Proof positive....

All right, so apparently I struck a chord with folks who hate to clean. Did quite realize ya'll felt the same way. I have even had a few converts! However, off-line I have had a few skeptics wonder if I have actually cleaned. Seems there is some sort of disbelief going on...can't imagine why....

Well, check out......the living room.....
Look, ma! You can see the floor!
Hey, that's about as organized as the knitting area gets.....Yeah, that's only a smidge of the amount of tea I have...it's crazy......but tasty!God I need a bigger kitchen.......It's so white...........a free of makeup residue.......

What? Can't here you.....you say you wonder where the pictures of my bedroom are? Well, yeah, so the bedroom isn't quite done yet. It always seems to be the last to happen.

Hey, look knitting!Pattern: Evangeline, formally of MagKnits
Yarn: Lion Brand WoolEase in Blue Mist
Needles: US 8
Notes: These were done elbow length, per the recipient's request. These were for a coworker and she was just ecstatic over them. Seriously, she wore them for like an hour around the store. Good to be appreciated.

2008-04-06T13:14:00.002-05:00

Such a nice smell......the little that I can smell........

I have a hazard at work. It can be somewhat avoided, but at some point, it happens to everyone. Oh the books, the books....I see a ridiculous amount on various subjects. It gets worse when you come across a book you have actually wanted to look at.

The only non-knitting magazine that I routinely read is Real Simple. It is conveniently delivered to my mailbox and I am never disappointed with the contents. It has great recipes, organization and cleaning tips, different uses for random items, and "product comparisons." I got intrigued when they started to advertise a cleaning book that was coming out. Working at a bookstore, I got intrigued.

I took it with me on my lunch break one day....and then again the next day.....and again the next. Usually if I keep going back to a book, that probably means that I like it more than a passing fancy. If you ever get a chance to take a peek, I recommend it. This is both for cleaners and non-cleaners, 'cause I was definitely a non-cleaner.

Seriously, I have a serious aversion to cleaning....or more like keeping things picked up. In fact, those that have seen my apartment are astonished that I am recommending a cleaning book.

Well, they should see it now!! Well, at least the kitchen and living room. Today was my first real day off in a while. Well, the first one in a while were I didn't have anything planned. It was even the perfect day for it. It's sunny, 72 degrees, and there is a back-to-back-to-back Lord of the Rings Trilogy marathon on today.

It even smells clean...well, what I can smell. You see, it has been a while since I have really cleaned like this and well, there's a bit of dust. Dust makes the nose stuffy.

Lesson I learned today: Per my new cleaning book, I used a seam ripper on the brush on my vacuum. It is WONDERFUL at getting off hair, yarn, roving, etc., that has gotten wrapped around the brush head. You just slice down one side and it comes right off.

Also, your vacuum doesn't work as well when it has had the same bag in it since you got it.....um, 5 years ago?!? Yeah, like I said, I wasn't much of a cleaner.

2008-04-01T17:09:00.002-05:00

Hello......goodbye.......

To catch up from last time, almost all of the quotes were gotten except for #5.

"I work harder than God. If He had hired me, He would have made the world by Thursday."

This came from "Keeping the Faith", a cute, funny movie. I recommend to all!

Meet The Golf Ball...I got this car when I graduated high school and it served me well for many years. It got it's nickname after it got caught in the mother of all hail/ice storms about 5-6 years ago. Those in the metroplex know which one I'm talking about. It took about three months to get into see your insurance agent. (Ironic sidenote: This was while I was in college and when we were going through the parking lot the next morning, the Lexuses (Lexi?), Audis, and BMWs and such all had windows broken out, where as us with the "cheaper" cars just had body damage. I always thought that was funny.)

So my mom decided to get a new car. It's very nice and pretty. But it turned out that my car, with the hail damage and, well, let's say questionable interior that has 97,000 would have a higher trade in value than my mother's newer, practically immaculate car that has 106,000 miles. Yeah, figure that one out. So I drove up to Oklahoma Sunday, traded in my car and I got my mom's old one. We were amazed that they gave us what they did for my lovely lil' car I have had for 9 years. We took it and ran!

Then, on the way home, God decided to poke fun at me. It wasn't nice. I got to drive down the highway, for three hours, going at 40mph. Why was I going so slow? Well, it probably had something to do with the tornado, horizontal rain, lots of hydroplaning, TWO instances of hail, and semis going way to freakin' fast in that weather. There was lots of cursing, especially when the hail started. "WHAT IS THE DEAL?!? AM I NOT ALLOW TO HAVE A NON-HAIL DAMAGED CAR?!?"

But I got through it and stopped at McDonalds for an ice cream cone. It made me feel much better. Then I looked at the car.Still a beautiful car......

As much as I will miss my ol' Golf Ball, my new Sixer will do me good 'cause you can do things like change the volume on the radio, open all the doors, open the windows at the touch of a button, adjust the side mirrors.....it's the little things you know.....

2008-03-29T23:50:00.004-05:00

The Movie Meme...and some business....

So, my interview on Friday could not have gone better and I appreciate all of the good thoughts. It's up to the Job Fairy now. I should know by Friday. I congratulated myself by going to my aunt/uncle's house to watch Texas beat he crap outta Stanford. Hopefully tomorrow, I get to watch them beat the crap outta Memphis. But on to fun things!

I stole this from my sassenach homegirl, who stole it from someone else, and so one and so forth.

The rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or get them out of your capacious memory).
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly in the comments, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

The quotes:
1. "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" (Anyone but Tasha on this one!) The Princess Bride, gotten by IrishGal and Da' Purse Ho!

2. "You can say what you want. It's always the guy in my job that ends up doing 18 months in Danbury minimum security prison." The American President - Good job, Nell!

3. "What don't you understand? I found the cure for the fucking plague of the twentieth century and now I've lost it. Haven't you ever lost anything doctor Bronx? Your purse? Your car keys? Well, it's rather like that: Now you have it and now you don't." The Medicine Man - Gotta give props to Miss Knotty. She came up with everything, but the title, so I figured I'd give it to her!

4. "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made." - Spaceballs - gotten by Miss Knotty and Kerry!

5. "I work harder than God. If He had hired me, He would have made the world by Thursday."

6. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just "Crewman Number Six." I'm expendable. I'm the guy in the episode who dies to prove how serious the situation is. I've gotta get outta here." Galaxy Quest - Another one by Da' Purse Ho!

7. "I was born a poor black child." The Jerk - Good job, Nell! For those who haven't seen The Jerk, think of Steve Martin saying that line back in the day.

8. "You have chosen... wisely." Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - Another one by Da' Purse Ho!

9. "Get off my plane!" Air Force One - Another one by Da' Purse Ho!

10. "The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook." - The Shawshank Redemption - Another one by Da' Purse Ho!

2008-03-27T19:25:00.002-05:00

One thing after another....

Hold on, I need a class of wine.....wine the Easter bunny brought me.....such a good bunny......

The maintenance guys came by on Monday, along with "third-party" plumbers. They were still working at 6pm when we last spoke. At 7pm, they were still there with the water off and, well, frankly, I had to pee. So I went up to work to see people and knit and drink tea (and pee). I went back home at 9pm to find one of the maintenance guys still there. The plumbers still hadn't fixed it so it wouldn't leak with the water on. To which I say, "Hey, you are a plumber and your job is fixing pipes. So you basically suck at your job."

The maintenance guy was trying to rig something up so that they could turn the water back on. He leaves about 9:30pm with it rigged up to where it's only leaking a little. He pulls a 30-gallon trashcan in there to catch the water so that I don't have to worry about it over-flowing or anything. That was nice of him (*rolls eyes*). I am dreading waking up to full-blown water gushing into my closet. Meanwhile, all of my stuff gets to stay on my bed and I sleep on the couch.

Tuesday rolls around and I get up from a restless night on the couch and go to work. When I get home, they had at least finished fixing the leak. There is still a hole in the ceiling, but it's not dripping water. They say it will be a while before they can come fix the whole so I can put my stuff back in my closet. WOO HOO, a night in my bed, which is good 'cause I am tired.

I head over to a work friends' house to watch a bit of The West Wing and go see my Chicks. I then get a call from my friend about 11pm that her brother was just killed in a hit-and-run. I please ask that you keep them into your prayers. It has been a rough and traumatic time for them. I obviously went over there and helped her out while her husband made arrangements for them. I ended up home around 1am, forced out after she realized I had to work in the morning! Seriously, she practically shoved me out the door.

Ah, Wednesday, good ol' Hump Day.....but it feels like a Monday.....after a long weekend of binge drinking. I get through work and head down to downtown Dallas for dinner with my mom, aunts, and my brother. There is loud music playing the whole way there, trying to vent frustrations and get in a good mood. The restaurant is one block off of the highway I start out on. Keyword is "start out on". The brain stops functioning and I end up going about 20 miles out of the way before I realize what I did. (For those around me, I was going to the West End, right on 35E and for some freakin' reason I took 635 to 75 before I realized. I have no idea where I was going.)

When I finally got there, I had me two of the BEST margaritas I have ever had. 'Nuff said. But it is short lived.....as I get home around 9:30pm I get a message from my apartment complex that they are coming by Thursday morning to patch up the whole, which means I have to take the crap BACK out of my closet....before I go to work at 7am, or sleep on the couch, again. Not to mention (actually, something that I HAVEN'T mentioned), I am working on a promotion and my interview is the next day after work. You know what I say? SCREW THAT!!! I leave them a message saying that I will not have my closet emptied, do not want them patching the whole tomorrow, and I will come by after everything to schedule an appropriate time. So I sleep, and all is well.

So yeah, my interview was supposed to be today, but she had to call and reschedule for tomorrow morning. Which kinda put an anti-climatic feeling on the whole day.....and I looked really cute too. So, I am drinking Easter wine....and it tastes good.

2008-03-24T16:26:00.002-05:00

It's like sliced bread.....

I have weird feet. Really! I do.....check 'em out.
This is the product of walking on my toes for......well, a long time. I was thwarted repeatedly for it, but it was too ingrained in my brain to not walk this way. Although, I think it's kinda cool that all of my toes are the same length. Having these nice, extra-wide feet makes shoe shopping a horrid affair. This is why I love me some flip-flops. Would love to wear them all-year round, which in Texas, is easy to do. It's hard enough finding comfortable shoes that fit, much less ones that are work appropriate. Let's just say that flip-flops aren't work appropriate!

I have tried to talk the boss man into letting us wear black Crocs, but the whole "holey" thing just wasn't working for him. So what did I do? Found some without holes!These are my new best friend. All the cooshieness of Crocs with the coverage of good ol' work shoes. The first few days I wore them for about 9 hours straight, all of it on my feet. They did rub a bit, like all new shoes do, and they "exfoliated" the crap out of my feet. But after that little breaking in period, they are like butter. They form-fit to my foot without squishing them. If you are on your feet all day, running around, you HAVE to get a pair of these. They come in several different colors and I got them at Dillards for about $34. Doesn't get much better than that!

Well, shoe wise at least. Right now I am wondering where I am sleeping tonight. Why am I wondering? Check out my bed.See? And ya'll think I am exaggerating when I say I have a lot of crap. This is everything from my closet. So why is it on my bed instead of actually in the closet? Well, let's take a look at the ceiling, shall we?Yeah, I got a nice lil' leak going on. Luckily, it was slow enough and right in the center of the ceiling so it didn't get on anything. The problem is that this is still how it is at......6:00pm. And it's still not fixed and it leaks when the water is on. Which means that the water will be off for quite some time. I have been assured this will all be fixed by tomorrow, but that still leaves me sleeping on the couch without a shower in the morning.

But I have comfy shoes...... :-)

2008-03-14T12:16:00.003-05:00

Happy Pi Day!!!

Yes, I am a geek, but you know this? What is pi day? March 14....3-14.... pi=3.14..... There we go! And it took me a while to find greek pi in the system....stupid HTML.....and then blogger wouldn't accept it. Poo!

In celebration, I would like to serve a little humble pie to a little someone who didn't actually believe I got buttons.....

BEHOLD!!!Pattern: Central Park Hoodie from KnitScene Fall '06, also available on KnittingDaily.com
Yarn: Plymouth Encore in #1444 (I think I used 7 skeins)
Needles: US6 and US8
Size: 40" (for the TMI of the day, my bust is 41.5")
Buttons: From Village Wools in Albuquerque, NM

Notes: The body is 1.5" longer than the pattern - I just wasn't paying attention! I Kitchenered the hood together, from front to back. First, this turned out a lot better than I thought. I was expecting the purls to look different, but they don't really, or I can't tell. Second, the back part ended up very pointy, but I think it will just leave it alone. I also added some reinforcement along the neck and shoulder edge to give it some stability via the Harlot.

Next time: I will add another button. I would on this one if my buttons weren't a 12 hour drive away. I also want to do my hood a bit different. I want to see about working decreases so that I can carry the back cable up to the top of the hood so it looks prettier when you aren't wearing it.

This did get some snow time in NM and a lot since I got back. The yarn is wonderful. It knitted up a lot softer than it was in the skein. Encore has definiately won in my book. It's other good quality.....cheaper than all get-out. I made this sweater for about $50, including buttons (which were $10, but so freakin' cute.)

2008-03-11T12:56:00.002-05:00

Crazier things have happened.....

I have never been much for the whole New Year's resolution thing. I usually don't make them, but when I do, I usually don't succeed. Three months ago (ish), I made my Knitting New Year's Resolutions. Let's take a look at how they are going:

1. Finish my Central Park Hoodie - Done! I promise!! Buttons are on and I have worn it in public with them on. I have been having trouble getting pictures taken, but tonight is Knit Night, so I am sure one of my Chicks will help me out there.

2. Knit socks for my Mom - So, I have had this yarn, actually picked out by my Mom, for over a year and she still doesn't have a pair. Well, we are going to fix that!These are complements of a snow day, a day off and the Third Season of The West Wing. Really gets the mojo going. These are going to be knee-high Dublin Bay Socks done in Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Black Purl. I adjusted these to be toe-up so that I can utilize every scrap of yarn 'cause I only got three skeins. These are also my first toe-ups and my first done on two circulars. I haven't quite decided if I like the two circs but I really like the toe-up.

3. Knit Hats - This one was a long shot. The plan was to have hats knitted up for our ski trip. I did get one knitted up for me, but Mom and Dad kinda got shafted. I was hoping to have my CPH knitted faster so I could make said hats. We'll put that one off for the next ski trip.

4. Blog more - I think I have been doing pretty well on this one. Speaking of blogging, here's some!This was a shot from the Sticks 'N Stitches game on Sunday night, Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche. We won 3-0 and kicked some ass along the way. That was my first NHL game and it was a good one. Unfortunately, that was the only picture I took all night. I had worked on getting a picture of the group, but the logistics just weren't there. Hell, there were logistics required for getting in and out of seats. Let's just say you had to like the person next to you!

2008-03-06T20:04:00.002-06:00

W....T.....F......

That is about the summary for today. Ya'll, it's March. For most in academia, next week is SPRING Break. Not only it is March, this is Texas, ya'll.

When I get up this morning, (nice and leisurely, since I don't have to be at work until 3pm), I hear it raining outside. "Self," I say, "This seems like a good morning to stay in bed and read, especially since we don't get too many." I read for quite a time, until around noon (don't look at me like that), I think, "Hey, that rain is sounding really hard on the windows. I hope the patio isn't flooding (as it tend to do in high amounts of rain)." I slink on out of bed and what I see compels me to immediately get dressed and try to get to work. Why try?My normal 10-minute-door-to-door trip took almost 45 minutes. Last I heard, we were closing in on 7 inches of snow.....in Texas.....in mid March. Luckily, they closed the store early (with pay, WOO HOO) and I got back into my jammies with my book*. In the end, doesn't get much cozier than that....at least until I added the box of Girl Scout cookies to the mix.......and some hot chocolate......some Bailey's may have been added in there too.

*If your interested, I read (in a day, no less) Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Moning. It doesn't require any brainpower, but it's entertaining enough.

2008-03-02T15:52:00.002-06:00

Hey, what's that white stuff?

Okay, so I have been back from my ski trip for a week and still haven't blogged. I was hoping to have pictures of my CPH by now, but that is a story for later. Yes, it got finished, but again, story for another day. What? You want proof? Alright, here you go:This was taken in the airport terminal at Dallas Love Airport. I got there in plenty of time for my flight ('cause I am OCD that way) and sat down and sewed the sleeves in and finished up all seams. Yes, and then I put it on and didn't take it off all day. But more of that later....

Once I finished my CPH, the next logical step was to cast on something else. My Chicks were unnerved by the fact I was going on a ski trip, i.e. a place with actual snow, but did not own a knitted hat. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of hats I have wanted to knit. I just haven't gotten around to it. So while waiting for my flight (that was late, of course) I cast on a Lucky 7 Hat. By the time I actually boarded the plane I had the ribbing done. While we were sitting on the tarmac (and sitting, and sitting.....), my fellow passengers and I considered starting a pool to see if I would finish the hat before we actually touched down in Albuquerque. Sadly, I only made it to the head decreases. But, the rest was finished on the way to Red River, NM.
Pattern: Lucky 7 Hat by weezalana
Yarn: Um....worsted? I dunno....it's some handdyed I got from a swap. Anyone I swapped with know this yarn?
Needles: US 8
Mods: None

I was going to make the ribbing longer, but I didn't know how much yarn I had. I kinda wish I did, make it fit nice and low on my ears and have the possibility for a ponytail. Can't really have one the way it is, hence the braids.

What? Your checking out the VIEW?!? Yeah, it was really pretty up there.Check out one of the favorite sports at Red River. What you see before you is a run called "The Face", as in "the face of the mountain". It is a rather steep slope and there are quite a few people who go down this slope, or at least attempt to. You see, at the bottom of the slope is a nice little establishment called "The Lifthouse". It has a nice balcony, tables, chairs.....and a bar. Yep....one of the favorite activities, when you aren't on the mountain, is to sit out with a beverage of your choice and watch people fall down the mountain. It's entertainment folks. Normally, I might feel bad about something like this, but I fell down the face a few times and gave other folks entertainment. But you know what's better than watching adults fall down the mountain?
He's king of the mountain.....gotta love little kids in the snow.

2008-02-20T23:14:00.002-06:00

I should really train for this.....

(What is with me and ellipses......anyone else notice I use a lot of those?)

Alright, so it's, what......11:15PM CST and I have had to put the hoodie down. Since Monday night, I have Kitchenered the hood (more on that later), picked up and knit the button band, and woven in any extraneous ends. The only thing missing are the sleeves.

And I have to stop.

You know when you knit too long and your hands start cramping? Usually you take a break for an hour or so, do some stretches and whatnot. Normally, I would have. But I am on a deadline people. I have a flight into Albuquerque in the morning and I am planning on walking off the plane in this sweater.

So, I push through the pain like one of those crazy athletes. Seriously, you need to train to be able to knit this long. We should have training camps for "Athletic Knitting". And what happens went you push too hard through the pain? You end up having to type most of a blog post with one hand.

Yeah, yeah, all will be better in the morning, but how freakin' anti-climatic is it to be so close and you physically can't do it?

Yeah, okay, so maybe some of this is the after affects of a couple of Venti Fraps and a large soda combined with slight sleep deprivation. But I digress......

See you on the flip side......I'll be the crazy one in an airport terminal sewing sleeves onto a sweater.

2008-02-18T20:12:00.002-06:00

To Kitchener or not to Kitchener........

......in other words, Do I like my hair in my head as opposed to pulling it out and throwing it on the floor?

WOO HOO!!! My hood is done....well the knitted part anyway. So, all that I have left is to sew on the sleeves, do the button band, and sew the top of the hood together. But here is the thing.....

....I haven't bound off the hood yet. Why? Because I am actually considering Kitchenering it together. Normally, this doesn't phase me too much, but is always plain stockinette. Here, folks, we have some ribbing. So.....yeah.....

Am I crazy? I know it will be hard and liquor will probably have to be involved, but I know it will probably look 10x better. That, and I have a feeling that a three-needle BO will just bug the hell out of me. Will I see it? Yes, I have been known to use the hood on a hoodie so I will see it more than those who merely use it for show. I dunno.....anyone have any suggestions? Tips?

I gotta give a shout out to my homegirl who finished her CPNSH. I think her's turned out great, even though she cheated and put a zipper in. Now I'm gonna have to find buttons.......

2008-02-14T16:05:00.002-06:00

Happy Single's Awareness Day!

....THE day where you are more aware of your singleness than any other day. This is followed at a distance by Christmas and Thanksgiving, when your family asks why you aren't married yet.

Since I am not supporting the greeting card, jewelry, or chocolate industry, some single friends and I are going to go support the fermented beverage and sushi industry. Yeah, wrap your head around that one.

Knitting is progressing at a comfortable pace. I am about a quarter of the way through the hood and still have a week of knitting left. I have been on a button hunt, but have so far be unsuccessful. I have a feeling that this may get worn for a while without buttons. Buttonholes, yet, but no buttons.

Isn't that a knitting fashion trend?

2008-02-11T21:31:00.000-06:00

Really? REALLY?!?

Good News: The sleeves are done! So, the body and sleeves are now blocking and I will start the hood tomorrow. I am not going to state my expectations 'cause I am just trying to keep my head down. But, let's just say I am leaving for a trip in 10 days and I am hoping to take this sweater in fewer pieces than it is currently in.

Annoying News: I call is annoying 'cause it wasn't really BAD, just annoying. Look what I ran into when I was three rows from finishing one of the sleeves:Yeah, I hit the end of the ball, the ONE, FULL ball I used for the ENTIRE sleeve, three rows before the end. Like I said, not bad, just annoying.

Thanks for all of the get-well wishes. I am feeling much better. Let's call it 98%....it's like a recovery period. Apparently it is something that's been going around. I have several culprits of who gave it to be, so I will chock it up to one of those "things". This Monday was better than last Monday for me....so I am hoping that had been true for everyone!

2008-02-08T17:11:00.000-06:00

Ugh....TGI-freakin'-F.....

Alright, so since I started working at the bookstore, TGIF doesn't quite have a the same ring to it anymore, but I still dig the sentiment. I am mainly just glad this week is almost over. Let's see....

Monday....get yelled at by a crazy customer (this was verified by other nearby customers and store personnel) for trying to do something she wanted me to do. Like I said, she was crazy.

Tuesday....Knit Night. Yes, some good ol' knitting time. What?!? I sat and knitted for over 2 hours and only did three rows?!? Okay, I should clarify that. I knitted and UNKNITTED for 2 hours and only got 3 rows done. Man, my throat is scratchy tonight....

Wednesday....Wake up for work at 6am....no, wait strike that. "Waking up" assumes that I went to sleep in the first place. Why couldn't I sleep? That would be the viral sinus thing/"The Crud"/"The Plague"/bronchitis "Thing" that attacked me with swift accuracy. This resulted in no knitting getting done and lots of drug intake.

Thursday....Second verse, same as the first....sicky, sicky, no no knitty.....hey, 3:30pm isn't too early to go to bed, right?

Friday...Finally got some sleep and therefore got better and got some knitting done. I am about 1/3 of the way done on the sleeves on my CPH. These few lost knitting days have put me behind, but I am still hopeful to finish in my timeframe which is....

.....TWO WEEKS?!? Oh crap.....well, better get back to the knitting.....

P.S. If your week was bad too (which is has been for everyone I know) check out Shiboopi over at TurtleGirl's blog. I love me some Family Guy.....

2008-02-03T22:21:00.001-06:00

Chuggin' along....

Not to thwart the Knitting Goddess again ('cause that would just be stupid), but I would like to share my appreciation about Her letting me to knit so much, so well lately.

Is She gone? Alright, down to business.

I got to finish the ribbing on my sleeves before I went to a Super Bowl party (i.e. starting imbibing fermented grains), at which point the knitting mojo was transferred to the Perpetual Harry Potter scarf. Yeah, sure.....I enjoy watching football, but if people are playing that I don't really care about, don't expect me not to knit. In the same turn, if I am going to drink, don't expect me to knit something complicated, like sleeve shaping.

My Harry Potter Scarf has been neglected recently (try about 6 months) and was recently picked back up for the Knit Flicks Night watching of 27 Dresses (awesome, BTW) and the Super Bowl - events where knitting was required that could be done without looking.

Okay, yes, I am able to knit without looking. I don't know why, but it freaks people out. I can sit there and watch a movie or talk to someone and not look at my knitting. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not knitting lace or anything remotely complicated. So far it just works on garter, stockinette, and on ribbing, sort of.

Am I the only one that does this? Am I a freak? Wait....don't answer that......

So, needless to say, the scarf gained another stripe and I actually could have gone farther, but I didn't think to bring the other color for the scarf.

Wouldn't have mattered anyway. The fourth quarter was just too exciting....

2008-02-01T18:18:00.001-06:00

Get me out of this crazy thing!

Yeah, so that how I have felt the past....what.....good Lord, 2 weeks? I got sucked in for two weeks?!? That's just crazy.... For those of you not aware, here's what went down.

Last time, which was a Thursday, that I had begun the armholes, done the decreases, and went on to the straight knitting portion. (You see it coming, don't you?) Since I had a few free days off, I felt confident stating that I would finish that up during the weekend. I was just going to fly through that portion and have it done and ready for posting the next week, along with the sleeves half-knitted. (Can you here it?) You see, underlying these ASSumtions, here's what was in the subliminal messaging:

"SMITE ME ALL MIGHTY SMITER!!"*

Yeah, I got smacked upside the head by the Knitting Goddess. And I felt it too....right between the eyes, it was. First, I'm chuggin' along at Knit Night and I'm working on a cable row,

"Alright, slip off those three stitches (cause I'm being spiffy and not using a cable needle), knit the next three...wait, that last one is a purl.....Why do I only have five stitches in this cable.....where did the sixth one go?"

Where was that elusive sixth stitch? At the last cable crossing.....10 rows down. Yes, there were several expletives in the middle of Starbucks, why do you ask? I then spend the evening dropping the five stitches down ten rows, do the cable properly with all SIX stitches, then pick them back up ten rows.

Then I went and had a drink.

It was a rough time for CPH and I, but we trudged through it......until I began to pull out the measuring tape.

"Okay, I've got about 4.5" here and I need 6.5"....... Each 10-row repeat is about 2"....... so one more repeat should do it."

*SMACK*

Yeah, I got sucked into the mother of all knitting black holes. I just kept knitting and knitting and it wasn't getting ANY LONGER!!!! I finally put the knitting down, went and sacrificed a rubber chicken to the Knitting Goddess, begging for forgiveness for transgressions. In my more enlightened state of mind, I went back, knitted two rows and had reached my goal.

And I give you, the body of my Central Park Hoodie:

And yes, I immediately cast on both sleeves.

*This is a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time.....what, you think I'm gonna tell you if you don't know?!?

2008-01-17T10:17:00.000-06:00

Look! A place for an armwarmer!

Yeah, so the whole "blogging more" resolution has kinda gone down the toilet (unlike some of Bezzie's stuff), but finishing the Central Park Hoodie is progressing nicely. I have started on the armholes and I am hoping to finish this part this weekend.

I am really liking knitting this pseudo-in-the-round. It is really nice when doing the armhole decreases. One thing I noticed that could be trouble and I wanted to mention. The back is knit longer in the back than the fronts. This could be a problem when you get going, trying to finish. Now, this would not be a problem if, you know, you read the instructions. But that would just be silly......

2008-01-08T16:40:00.000-06:00

I'm hot, I'm cold.......pick one!!

Yeah, so the weather has been playing with me lately....and I am getting a bit annoyed. The weather does change quite a bit in the Fall and Spring in Texas (yes, I have personally seen it snow 18" on day and it be 80 degrees the next....in April). But here in the Lone Star State, I consider it "Winter" on Dec. 26. Usually by that point, the weather has leveled out and stays rather consistent. Boy was I shocked the other day when I woke up to a beautiful 75 degree day. (Apparently, the freakiness went all the way north, cause a lil' birdy told me it was 65 in Indiana....in JANUARY!!) Needless to say, it has dropped 15 degrees since 6:00am, when I got dressed this morning.

But, hey, look.....YARN!This was the final Rockin' Sock Club package and by far, my favorite. Hey, it's blue....what's not to love? This is Socks That Rock Lightweight in Bella Coola. Alright, so here's my take on the sock club. As the year went on, I liked the yarns more and more. The first few I wasn't too hot on, but it got better. The folks at BMFA did a great job, but I don't think I would do it again (even if I could afford it!), but that just my personal choice. I would much rather choose what yarns I was getting, just so I wouldn't get something that I did love.

We won't talk about how not one of these pairs of socks is even remotely done.

Thanks for the comments on my CPH. I have got about 5" left before I spilt off the back and fronts. I really am enjoying the crap out of it and already can't wait to make another. I am a cardi gal....so I figure I will have at least three of them in the end. One of them I would like to be in some Kathmandu Aran. This is a yarn I have been LUSTING after and dying to do something with. Come on, a wool/silk/cashmere blend? Who wouldn't?

2008-01-03T09:46:00.000-06:00

FOs (and a WIP) on parade!

Okay, so I know that one of my resolutions was to blog more and it's taken me three days to blog but I have an excuse! Really! I had to hunt down an undocumented FO and get a picture. Yeah, I wanted one, but this has the funniest story!

We had a Secret Santa at work and got the lovely Megan (Interestingly, one of THREE at a store with about 25 employees). She has always appreciated my knitting (as have most of my coworkers) so I decided to knit her a scarf and some Fetchings:Pattern: Fetchings from Knitty.com
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in #142 (Pink)
Needles: US6
Mods: Added extra cable on the knuckle end and subbed regular BO

This was my first venture with this yarn. I am "Meh" about it. I wanted some LB WoolEase, but I couldn't find any in pink, which is her favorite color. The yarn also didn't seem to wear very well. She's had these about a month and they are already very pilly. But the good part is that it means she wears them all the time.....even to Starbucks. Read the linked post....well, scroll down to "Knitspotting) It's hilarious!!!

While I was at it, I knit myself a pair:Pattern: Fetchings from Knitty.com
Yarn: LB WoolEase in Avocado
Needles: US6
Mods: Add cable round at knuckle end and subbed regular BO

When doing these, make sure you do a tight-ish BO. On my other glove, I did a looser BO, like a usually do, but it rolls down the hand a bit. So I did my BO tighter on the other one and liked it much better.

My next resolution was to finish my Central Park Hoodie. It is progressing well and I am not even close to getting tired of knitting it yet!
To eliminate some of the seaming, I am knitting the sweater pseudo-in-the-round and then I will split it off when I get to the armholes. The hardest part is getting the right color of the yarn! It's a bit darker than I have been able to get photographed. Otherwise, I am loving it and MAYBE (fingers crossed) I might finish it before going skiing in February.....but, we'll see.

My favorite tool in this sweater is my row counter bracelet:
Normally, you just push the beads along, counting your rows. But to keep track of what row I was on in the repeat, I put one marker after ten beads (# rows in repeat) so once I got to the marker, I knew to start over again. I added another marker with a claw clasp to snap on in case I needed to stop in the middle of a repeat to keep my place. It works really well....thought I'd share.

Next, we'll have a little yarn pr0n!!

2007-12-30T20:27:00.000-06:00

I was a good girl this year!

Well, sort of.....but I apparently fooled Santa!

I had a good holiday - short, but good. I could only get off Christmas Eve and Christmas, so it was a quick 5 hour trip to West Texas. I did half to work the day AFTER Christmas (at 5-freakin'-30AM), but it was surprisingly not very busy. I guess bookstores aren't on the top of everyone's "day-after-Christmas-sale" list. I am happy to report that I did make it through my first Christmas in retail without losing my Christmas spirit or killing/maiming any customers.

So, on to the goodies!!

My lovely grad-school-friend-turned-knitter-friend, Kerry, got me a very colorful set of stuff from Knit Picks These are the Knit Picks Harmony Socks Set. These are so freakin' pretty and pointy. I can't wait to use them!!! Hmmm....maybe on my Mom's socks....work on that resolution.

Call it selfish, but I also got myself a Christmas present....and a very geeky one at that...but it's pretty!!This is a ring called "Claire's Ring." It is designed after a ring in a book series that I read called "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. This is one of two series of books that I can read over and over and not get tired of them (the other would be Harry Potter). If you enjoy reading, I highly recommend at least giving it a try. It is a bit adult oriented (i.e. it does have sex in it), but not like super-romance novels. This is the way I see it - in romances, everything in the book leads up to the sex. In these books, the sex is just part of the story, not the POINT of the story. If you do take these on, here's the order: Outlander, Dragonfly in Autumn, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, ....plus more to come! (The next one is called "An Echo in the Bone" and she's hoping to finish it in 2008.) Like I said, geeky but pretty.

As stated before, Santa was very nice to me this year - he brought me everything I asked for. This included a new DVD player (mine has been kaput for over two months), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD, Christmas PJs (a Christmas standard), and, the chief provider for this posting, and many more to come......a new camera!!!!

Mine got solely dependent of being plugged into the wall and that just wouldn't do. SO I let Santa know what I wanted, specs and whatnot, and he did an AWESOME job! The pictures my new camera takes are just awesome. Check it out!Usually the trees around my apartment go from green to brown to ground, but today they were actually Fall-ish looking so I took my new camera out for a spin. If you are interested, it's a Canon PowerShot A570 IS and it is probably the easiest camera I have ever used that gave me such great pictures.

Next time.....a WiP and FO Parade!

2007-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday and I'll see you next year!!

2007-12-22T01:16:00.000-06:00

Really?

88%DRUNKARD

Find Ultrasound schools near you

2007-12-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

It's almost here!!!

Yep, Christmas is officially a week away and I am excited!!! And I am happy I am still loving Christmas. This is my first Christmas working in retail and I was afraid I would really start to hate Christmas. I am happy to say that this is not the case and I think it has a lot to do with where I work and who I work with. I am sure that if I worked at Wally World, then...well....let's just say there isn't enough tinsel in world to save THAT Christmas spirit.

And if case you need a little "Christmas Cheer", use the following recipe"
1. Make one cup apple cider in you favorite fashion (I am a fan of the Alpine Cider mix)
2. Add 1-2 oz. of Crown Royal.
3. Repeat as necessary

This is also a great cure for the winter chill. Trust me.

Anyhoo, as Christmas comes approaches, so does the new year. Yeah, wrap your brain around that. There was a point last week when I couldn't remember whether it was 2006 or 2007. Seriously. I had to look it up.

With the new year comes the "resolutions". One of my fellow Chickies, Dawn (who also now has a podcast, and I am mentioned a few times, actually), had challenged us to make some knitting resolutions. She's got a nice Mr. Linky, if you care to join. Mine are taken with a small grain of salt. Call it "things I would like to do in 2008".

1. Finish my Central Park Hoodie. Yep, that was the project I casted on for myself after I finished the stocking. It is going along smoothly and is one of the best knits I have been knitting. It is just mindless enough and just complicated enough. It is everything everyone says it is. There is a reason it is so popular. In case you didn't grab the issue of knitscene, they are selling the CPH pattern, with new plus sizing(!) on the Knitting Daily website.

2. Knit my Mom's socks. My poor momma has been neglected. Last Christmas (that would be 2006), my mom picked out her own yarn for some socks (Lorna's in Black Purl). We even got a pattern picked out (Knitty's Clessidra) and I even cast on. Then things got dicey. They might not be Clessidras, but I vow that my momma will have a pair of socks next year.

3. Knit hats. We are taking a family ski trip in February and I am hoping that my parents and I will be going down the slopes in hand-knit hats. My brother already has one, so he has no excuse. In Texas, especially with the VAST amounts of hair I have, hats are usually not an issue. I would really hope that I can get us there in hand-knitted hats. My Dad is probably getting a Koolhaus Hat and I am thinking a Tam-like hat for me and my mom. Can't have hair squish-age.

4. Blog more. Yep, I said it. In case you don't know, I have a HORRIBLE short term memory. I think of 5 million things to blog about every day, but forget them the moment I have time to sit down and blog. Definition of irony, anyone? I am going to try and make a conscious effort to blog more and share more of my "insight".

So, there we go. My knitting goals for the year. You wouldn't think it would be much, but they are my resolutions and I like 'em.

Since I am working until Christmas Eve, then traveling, then working some more, I am going to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy Festivus to all. I hope that everyone travels safely, along with your families. I wish everyone well in their Christmas knitting and I would hope that you would support Leigh in the Knitting Wars.

Happy Holidays! Love to all, Jennifer

2007-12-06T15:51:00.000-06:00

Praise the LAWD!!!

Sorry, still very excited about finishing the stocking.....that and the fact that I ACTUALLY have an FO.

Several weeks ago, I got an email from my (now) cousin's mother-in-law. Apparently, all of her nieces and nephews had hand-knitting Christmas stockings, made by a lovely lady where they used to live. Well, there was a new addition to the cousins and this lovely lady has since passed away. Hoping that little Katherine (now almost three months, I think) wouldn't be without a stocking, she asked if I could figure out a pattern from an existing stocking and make her one. Sure, I said. It's just a big sock....shouldn't be too hard. She brought me a sample and it looked relatively simple, with a little intarsia thrown in to break up the monotony.

Ever sense that moment before the Knitting Goddess comes by to smack you upside the head?

Yeah, so I didn't quite think about intarsia...in...the...round. Think about it folks....and there are big blocks of color. The whole slip-stitch-float-in-the-back thing wasn't gonna work. But it had been done...I had the proof in the sample in my hands. So I studied....and studied....and studied. That's when I saw it - a seam! But only on the intarsia panel. When she started the panel, she un-joined the sock and began to knit flat, then joined it back up at the end of the panel, then the panel is seamed up.

So here it is, in all of it's glory - the stocking!

Pattern: My own-ish - I uninvented the pattern from a sample stocking that was provided
Yarns: Red Heart Super Saver in Paddy Green, Brown Sheep NatureSpun Sport (held double) in Aran, Patons Brilliant (held double) in White Twinkle (silver), Moda Dea Dream in Waterlilly (fuzzy pink), plus various bits in my stash
Needles: US8, plus a EmbellishKnit for the I-cord (Hey, I HATE I-CORD)

Now that it's done, I did enjoy the knit. I did greatly celebrate its completion. Course the only way of celebrating one Tuesday night at 10:30 is with a bottle of wine...and blast it to the world, via a blog. It was nice. I am planning on writing the pattern up, if anyone is interested.

2007-12-04T22:19:00.000-06:00

It....is......DONE!!!!

Holy crap, ya'll.......I have had a project going that I don't think I have talked about here. My cousin's wife's cousin needed a knitted Christmas stocking (story for a later date) and I started about.....well, a while ago. There was acrylic.....and intarsia......in the round........but IT IS DONE!!!!

I'm off to find a drink......pictures to follow......of the stocking, not me drinking......unless things get out of hand.......we'll see.......

2007-11-29T18:03:00.000-06:00

Bring on the pr0n!!!

Yes, it is that time! After Kid-N-Ewe a few weeks ago, have I got something to show you!
This is some YUMMY merino roving that I got from Lynn's Texas Fibers in the colorway Thistle. I walked by this roving several times, petting it each time. I finally decided that if it was there the next time I came by, I would get it. You see what happened.

This is a braid of 100% Superwash merino from Lone Star Arts in the Mixed Berry Cobbler colorway. This stuff is SO SQUISHY!!!! I just want squeeze it....so....squishy...... One of the gals of LSA, Amanda, was the one who had handy dandy Ravelry nametags. Several of us met up and we got to meet in person. Always nice!As pretty as these are, I couldn't quite get the color right on the camera. Just think BRIGHTER!! These are dyed mohair locks from Kai Mohair. She had the coolest set-up. Basically, she had about 20-25 bins with locks dyed different colors. You paid by the ounce and got to mix however many and much you wanted. She called it her "salad bar" of mohair.

I hope you enjoyed your pr0n today. Do I need to pick anyone up off the floor?

2007-11-27T13:54:00.001-06:00

It's the most wonderful time.......

.....of the year!!!

Yeah, I have been singing that all day 'cause I've been putting up Christmas decorations! Yes, I am one of those. I LOVE me some Christmas! I love the music, the decorations, seeing family, and all of the goodwill toward men going on. Maybe it's me, but everyone tends to seem just a bit nicer this time of year. And I like it!

It's always nice pulling out the decorations. For me, I think alot stems from the fact that I am a BIG day-after-Christmas shopper. I usually horde in on the Christmas stuff and then stow it away for next year. So when I pull out the decorations, it's like early Christmas when I see what I got the year before. It has dropped off a bit, since I don't have a big tree (I had one in my old apartment - this one....well....there's barely room for yarn, folks), but I still go to Dillards and look for new pieces for my Nativity. Several years ago, my grandmother got her children a "starter" Fontanini nativity (Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus). Over the years, they got other pieces, like angels, Wise men, and livestock. The Christmas before I went to grad school, I found a set at the after-Christmas sale and began to collect different pieces. I have Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, The Wise Men, Glorious Angel, and livestock. Which livestock you ask?

Sheep, of course!

2007-11-26T23:08:00.000-06:00

Did everyone make it?

Are we all here? Did we survive the holiday? From what I see, it seems everyone had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Hopefully, we have gone through most of the leftovers. For those of you who still have pounds of it left, I am happy to take it off your hands. For me, there is no such thing as too much leftover holiday food.

A few years ago, I did Thanksgiving in my apartment for me, my parents, my bother, and my paternal grandparents (that's 6 people). My parents had just moved to Oklahoma and DFW was about half-way between their house and my grandparent's. It was a little snug in the apartment, but it went quite smoothly. Let me add a sidenote here: Every other Thankgiving I have attended (that I can remember) has been a collaborative effort amongst many kitchens, some having double-ovens, which I highly recommend. Mine was done with a total of one oven, one stove, and one creatively used microwave. To pull this off requires much preparation and timing.

Yes, I got up at 4am to put the turkey on....and then promptly went back to bed. You don't really need to watch a turkey cook, right? Plus, I have a VERY sensitive/good smoke detector, so we were all good. Dishes were prepared in accordance with the available cooking medium, i.e. if you steam green beans, it leaves the oven free for the stuffing. They are better steamed anyways (which is healthier) and then tossed with bacon (which is not).

One of the most notable things I learned that Thanksgiving is something I wish to share, so no one else makes this mistake. When cooking a turkey, it makes the turkey taste REALLY good if you half a lemon and stick it in the turkey. Super tasty!!! However, if you make gravy from the drippings of said turkey, it tastes like lemon-rind gravy. Very much NOT tasty.

On the knitting front, yes, I got pictures taken this weekend, but am still ransoming them from my parents. In due time, in due time.....

I also have a new "dealer", as my dad calls him. You see, I have this uncle, who, you know, happens to be in the wool biz. No lie.....We have chatted and when my aunt learned I was spinning, she sent me some "stuff" she had in her closet. This was some lovely merino (we think) roving that she had LYING AROUND!!! And now, my uncle has begun to bring me a pound or two when ever we meet up. It tends to go something like this:

Hotel lobby morning after cousin's wedding
Me: Morning!
Uncle: Hey Jen....um, would you mind coming by the room later. I have some stuff for you.
Me: Really? What kind of stuff?
Uncle: (eyes shift nervously at my dad) You know, just some stuff I had around.
Me: Oh, *wink wink* Sure! I'll come by later.
Dad: God, it's like he's your dealer.

I love my family.

2007-11-22T10:10:00.000-06:00

Turkey, turkey, turkey......

I hope everyone's Turkey Day is going well so far. Right now, it's 10am and I still ain't dressed!! I'm in the queue though....

It will be interesting for me this year cause this is the first year that I have two dinners on the same day. Ugh....

I wish everyone a very happy Turkey Day and no one burn their house down frying a turkey......hmm.....fried turkey........

2007-11-20T16:50:00.000-06:00

Did you miss me?

Well.....did you? Yeah, I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog for a bit, but I am determined to be back to normal, posting more. I just never thought about how hard it is to have a knitting blog, with no immediate camera access. Not to worry, though....over Thanksgiving, I plan to steal/borrow my parent's camera and take some shots. But in the meantime, I steal from other folks!!

One of the big knitting events that happened over the past month is that I got to go Kid-N-Ewe with some of my Chicks.

Thanks to Liz for allowing me to steal the pic!

That's me with my fellow Chicks, but by the end of the day we were known as Sheeple. The sheep ears are the official uniform for our SnB, but this was my first outing in them. We all had a great time and got to meet several Ravelers (...Raveleriers........I dunno....). I always find it cool to meet people in real life whom you only "know" on the internet.

Allright, I gotta say. This was my first big fiber festival. Ya'll there was so much fibery goodness!!! Even as I say that, words are not enough.

Brooks Farm goodness.......aka yarn pron exhibit

We were there an hour and Tasha had to sit me down with a Frito Pie so that I could come down from my "yarn high". Several of us, me included, believe we would never last at Rhinebeck. I think it would put me in a yarn coma. Talk about sensory overload!

I did get a bit of fiber (no yarn....fiber gets you more bang for you buck!) and plan on taking pictures this weekend, so I will have some fiber pron next week.

Sidenote: For the Non-fiber folk, I didn't make a typo above. I meant to type pron. Many fiber folks talk about it normally, in terms of really nice yarn/fiber/needles, etc. However, if you type it correctly on a blog, you get nasty spam. Therefore, we use pron. Thus endth the lesson.

I also had another first over the past few weeks. My mom, who is not a knitter or any other fibery person (aka a Muggle) went into a yarn shop, all by herself, and bought yarn! And came out with something appropriate to what she wanted! I think I finally convinced her that if you go into a yarn shop and tell them what you (or what you want your daughter) to make, they WILL be helpful and get you what you require. I have been to this shop only once and loved it and I am grateful that they were so nice and accommodating to my mother. If you are ever in Tulsa, OK, please take a stop by Loops on Utica Square.

And last, but not least, a big congratulations to my cousin and his new wife who got married this weekend. I was the "House Party", which meant I got to stand over the picture they were using as a guest book. Folks signed the mat surrounding the picture. Check me out at my post!Yep....my ride was going about 2 hours early, so....I brought a sock. Hey.....I didn't knit during the wedding, I promise! Not during the reception either, cause, well, let's just say knitting under the influence is ill advised, but knitting on a Potmatomus sock while under the influence is just asking for it.

They are currently in Hawaii, lounging by the ocean, drinking umbrella drinks....shopping for yarn for his cousin....

2007-10-23T22:22:00.000-05:00

Decisions, decisions......

Alright, so.....(man, I start alot of sentences that way....) so I need help with a decision. I have a good sweaters worth of a nice, dark-ish brown Plymouth Encore Worsted (#1444). My original plan, many moons ago, was to do an adult Tomten for me. I got the Encore 'cause I wanted it to be a general, multi-purpose, hard-wearing cardi of some kind. I have since grown out of doing the Tomten, mainly 'cause doing that much garter stitch would probably kill me.

As any good knitter on Ravelry, I took a run through the ol' queue to see what kind of matching I got. Here's what I came up with:

- Dollar and a Half Cardi (I would symmetrize this, probably with the cable side)
- Cardi for Arwen
- Central Park Hoodie
- Mr. Greenjeans

What is everyone's opinion? I won't tell you my leanings right now, 'cause they are changing, depending on the level of my wine glass.....but I digress..... :-P My hesitation is that I am worried that these have design elements that I am afraid might get lost in how dark the yarn is. But then I look at the $1.50 cardi, and it helps to slightly alleviate that, but still....

I have decided that this is what I am casting on once I get my holiday knitting done. However, this year, none of it is for my Christmas presents. I have a baby blanket (baby due beginning of Dec.), Christmas stocking for future cousin-in-law of my cousin (to be done by mid-Nov. for said cousin's wedding) and 6 HP scarf bookmarks (commissioned by a co-worker).

The stocking is coming along - I am in the home stretch of the intarsia portion, so once that's done I will probably finish it quickly. I haven't touched the blanket in a few weeks, but we will see what happens. I just got asked for the book marks, so they aren't even started yet.

BTW, everyone needs to check out Jen's bag in the IK Winter '07. How freakin' awesome is that?!? Must....have.....it......

2007-10-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

Brrr......

There is apparently a saying. Texas has the largest state fair in the US and it's quite a thing if you live the the DFW area. Apparently, once the fair closes, that is the time of year when it gets cold and stays cold. I don't remember about previous years, but let's just say this. The fair closed for the year yesterday, when it was a nice 80 degrees. Today, it was 50 degrees. Of course, all I was thinking was.....

Man, I need to knit a hat.....and maybe some fingerless gloves......

It would be nice if it stayed this way for a while. This summer in Texas has been VERY mild, maybe only a handful of over 100 degree days. That's saying something since I come from West Texas where we have six WEEKS of 100 degrees days.

But I am certainly jealous of some of ya'll who get these pretty color changing trees. We don't really get that....ours is more like the stuff that got burned up over the summer falls off. It's all very brown....

If you need to check out some pretty color changing, I hear Leigh's got some of that.....and some very tangled yarn.....

2007-10-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

Random Post

Alright, so here are some of my random thoughts for the past few days:

But first, pardon me while I conduct some personal business:

HALEY!!! I don't have your email anymore. Please email me @ yarnknita@yahoo.com. Plus, your old, psycho, Republican boss is having a book signing at my B&N. Just FYI.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program.

1. When you get large amounts of cash at the bank, don't get $100 bills - get $20s. The bank has them - take them. And, if you are forced to take the $100 bills, PLEASE do not go into a store and buy a $0.25 newspaper with it. It really pisses off the cashier.

2. When you go to check out at a store, please don't be on your cell phone....it's rude.

Can we tell someone had an annoying day at work, which is made even worse by the fact that she had to miss her SnB? Moving on....

3. I got my replacement Sox Sticks....3 of them actually...in the ROSEWOOD, even though I have blondewood. Trust me, I don't care. Anyone have any idea if the rosewood ones are stronger? They sure are prettier......

4. Leigh is a HUGE enabler.....beware......

And here is today's poll. Saturday we are having a "chili cookoff" potluck and this was brought up:

Beans or no beans

I am a firm believer in that beans have NO PLACE in chili.....unless you REALLY need to stretch the chili, but then I think it becomes something else entirely. Of course, I am probably a little wierd (HA.....little....he he he) in that I can not eat chili plain, in a bowl. I have to have it Frito pie-style (chili on top of Frito chips, for you Yankees). I think it is just that is how we always had it growing up and I have never really been able to eat it plain.

2007-10-10T19:47:00.000-05:00

Again?

How is it that I post more when I don't have a camera? Yeah, I dunno either.

It's a shame it's not working too because I got my KnitFlix swap package last night. Our knitting group did a secret swap centered around a movie. I had quite a haul from Dawn. I got a Glow-Batt from Merlin the Cat's etsy shop (it freakin' glows in the dark!), a Sock Monkey nightshirt (I have a SERIOUS pj fetish), a lovely hand-beaded orifice hook for my spinning wheel, a set of dangle-free stitch markers, a yummy candy and soda stash, and one of my favorite movies on DVD - Galaxy Quest. Gotta love it. Thank you Dawn!

As an aside, I just wanna put something out there. Okay, I know Oprah is big and all....or at least I thought I did. I never really quite grasped the large expanse of her influence until I started working at B&N. Any book on her show instantly goes on the Best Seller list. Monday she had on Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry Seinfeld, author of the new cookbook Deceptively Delicious. The book went on sale Tuesday. We had 30 copies. We sold out in 3 hours. When I went to work today, B&N in it's entirety was out, as in they are going to have to print more. This is just crazy....not good or bad, just crazy.

So, here is today's question: Hardback or Paperback?

If I have a choice, I like paperback, but I am also not one to wait for certain books. Therefore, my collection of my favorite books are a mixture of both.

Random, I know.

2007-10-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

Create-a-meme

I think that I have discovered where memes are invented. They are written by people who are either desperate for blog fodder or who have a non-functioning camera. I therefore bring you the "Either or" Meme.

There are lots of instances where people can be separated into two categories. These are not ment to be exclusive by any means, but are just meant to be a generality. I am not really tagging anyone, but feel free to steal this if you feel the need for blog fodder.

Paper or plastic? Paper

Mac or PC? PC all the way baby

Straight or circular? Circular

Toe-up or Top-down? Top-down

Vogue or Interweave? Interweave

Coke or Pepsi? Coke

Dogs or Cats? Dogs

Pen or Pencil? Pen

Hamburger or Hotdog? Hamburger

Mayo or mustard? Mayo

Shaken or stirred? Stirred

Waffles or pancakes? Pancakes

Bacon or sausage? Sausage

Now, go forth and fodder your own blog!

2007-10-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

Picture-less....

Alrighty, so I have been putting off blogging so that I could try to get some pictures, but that entails getting my camera to cooperate. It really needs a new battery and I haven't quite gotten around to looking for one yet. Cameras pretty old, as digital cameras go. Kinda like how people balk when I say my good ol' computer runs on Windows 2000. All I say is that it works about 10,000 times better than my new one that runs on Vista. So, just because I don't have pictures, doesn't mean we can't have some fun still, right??

So I had my first knitting angina the other day. I was knitting on my sock on my lovely new Blondewood Sock Stix.....

Who says we can't have quality pictures!

Yeah, so I know that I am a tight knitter, but still. Luckily, I talked with Lantern Moon and the are lovingly sending me a replacement. Luckily, my sock I am knitting is only on three needles, so there isn't any lull in the knitting.

Last weekend was the DFW Knit out and we all had a blast! Regina and I did a spinning demonstration and had some fun. I won me a lovely bag 'o Plymouth Dreambaby DK which will end up as a few Hats for Alex. The best part....well, one of the best, it was all good.....was that we went out for dinner and drinks and Mi Cocina and the folks next to us were having an interesting "love connection." Regina did a good recap here. Gotta love it.....

2007-09-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

Am I being stalked?

Alright, so I officially joined the Knittyboard Blogstalking 2 'cause, you know, I'm I joiner.

So this weeks assignment is "Purse Guts" to which we reveal the deep dark contents of every guys worst nightmare.....seriously. I tend to fluctuate between the big purse and the small purse and I am currently in the big purse phase.Courtesy of Target, apparently a popular purse destination for other Stalkees. I have placed a 9" needle for reference 'cause, you know, that's what was handy. Let's check out the contents, but a warning....one of the rules of this assignment was that you were not allowed to clean it out first, so bare with me.From the top we have the address book, planner, B&N nametag, checkbook, wallet, excess card holder, sock pattern, wine list from Grapefest 2007, Purse knitting (currently a Pomatomus in Trekking XXL #100), Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, various coupons and receipts from the last grocery run, iPod, a bazillion pens and three tins of mints from the PKD walk goody bags, paystub and various business cards.

My wallet is my new favorite thing ever. I saw several customers that had them and finally asked someone where they got it. Of course, mine came from Target, but I have seen them other places, especially Hallmark. I like it cause if I need to slim down a bit, then I can just grab the wallet and go. I do use a little card holder for all of the other card that I have that I need but don't use every day, like the video card, grocery card, etc.

Alright, so how about some knitting. As you can see, I got the camera to work for a bit so here are the Flaming Monkeys!Pattern: Monkeys from Knitty.com
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Flames
Needle: US1
Mods: Increased pattern repeat to 18 sts and added a picot hem.

I have also begun a project for my cousin's future cousin-in-law. Everyone got that figured out? Okay, good. I am working on recreating a Christmas stocking for a newly arrived cousin.It's progressing nicely and quickly. Should be done in plenty of time for the wedding in November and for Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, I got gifted some yummy yarn from Tasha.It is some Lorna's in Glenwood and quite yummy. I also got some new Inox and bamboo sock needles from Dawn, but that is when the camera cut out....one picture short.

2007-09-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

Did you miss me?

Yeah, so I have been away from the Net for a bit...so much so that I missed my first blogiversary! Well, post #100 is around the corner, so maybe we'll have something special!

Something that tipped me off on my anniversary, was the PKD walk that occurred this past weekend. I remembered that last year I posted about the walk and so I went back to check when it was. Oh well....check out this year's crowd!Yep, our group grew a bit this year, which was great. What was even cooler was that we grew so much that Paul's Posse won the award for the largest team. I am excited to see how many we have next year! Even the lil'uns got in on the fun:That would be Miss Lizzie and my mom. She is the recipient of the lil' purple dress. Her and her brother are some of my littlest knitting recipients.

More to come...gotta get the camera to operate. Mine died after one picture. The above are complements of my Dad's camera.

2007-09-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Oh crap!

Yep, that's how it's been the past few days. I got called into work on my day off on Monday, but I didn't quite mind it as much since it was time-and-a-half. Things that didn't dawn on me until I got to work: (1) it's a holiday which means it will be crazy busy, and (2) I was closing Monday night (~10:45pm home time) and opening on Tuesday (be there by 7am).

Oh crap! #1

On said Tuesday, it was the first day after a three day weekend, the day new books come out (which is busy at B&N), and there was some kind of weird alignment of the planets and moon or something cause the crazys were out. Plus, we have determined we have some kind of house elf or something in the store that screws everything up just enough to be annoying.

Oh crap #2.

I then got some take-out and went to SnB last night, a little early, but had to save some seats! But then the take-out and my LONG few days caught up with me and barely lasted an hour.

Oh crap #3.....I really needed knit-night too.

Today got to be my day off so I got to catch up on errands and go get important things like food. I get back and have a lovely note from my apartment complex saying that I didn't pay my rent. BS to them I say!! I paid my rent on Sunday when I came to get my new parking pass. See? I can show you the carbon copy here in..my....checkbook......yeah....throughout the whole thing Sunday, I didn't actually GIVE them the check.

OH CRAP!!!!!

Luckily, I talked my way out of the $75 LATE FEE!!!! If I hadn't, this would have been a much longer post....

Plus, still haven't finished my Monkeys, which I find annoying. I have hit the point of "I just want them done," and they are getting longer. I have about 2 repeats and 5 plain rounds to go before I start the toe.

2007-08-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

Say that again?

So I get a message from my apartment complex yesterday. I'm thinking "Crap, what do they want now?"

"Hi, this is your apartment complex calling. We just wanted to let you know that to thank you for staying with us for four years, we are going to give you a new Dell laptop. Have a nice day!"

Um....what?It's freakin' crazy insane!! Makes for nice Ravelry and knittyboard surfing in front of the TV.

Now, let's WIP out a little knitting.I made a little progress on my MS3. This is my current "complicated" project. This is not one I knit on in front of the TV....that would be a no-no....doing that is probably why I missed a yo (or two) that I just noticed. However, I am working on getting the Outlander books onto my iPod. Perfect for this especially since I have read the books a thousand times. If I haven't gotten you addicted to them yet, don't worry, I will.

As a side note, Diana Gabaldon just came out with a new book, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, which is a spin-off series from the Outlander books. Yes, I pre-ordered at B&N and got it the second it came out of the box...as I will with the next one when it comes out in November. She's been a busy little bee.

The Flaming Monkey is getting closer to having a partner. I am almost to the heel turn, but ya'll know what that looks like so I won't bother you with a picture. Hopefully, I will have a picture of a pair soon! I got quite a bit done on it at my SnB last night. I had my first internet meeting. Jennifer from pieKnits came by our SnB last night. I have read her blog for quite a while and knit some of her lovely patterns. This was the first person that I "knew" online and then met in real life. It was kinda cool, thinking, "Hey, I know you....sorta." :-P She was finishing up a loverly sweater that will be in the Spring Interweave. You will definitely have to check it out.

2007-08-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

Monday, Monday....da, daaaa....da, da, daaa, da.....

I am starting to get to the point of posting only when I have an FO....which isn't bad right now since I am on a finishing craze.Pattern: Monkey from Knitty
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Sock in Flames
Needles: US1
Mods: 5-row Picot hem, 4 cuff repeats, 9 total, 12 stitch toe

Check out Flaming Monkey #1!!! I have been trying to get better pictures, but it is just not cooperating. No one but knitters understand how hard it is to take a good picture of your own foot. Seriously.... Flaming Monkey #2 is on it's way, almost to the heel. These will go great with Weezalana's Monkey Hooters.....

2007-08-20T15:08:00.000-05:00

FO, FO, it's off to knit I go....

Oh, come on....it's catchy, right?

Thanks for all of the compliments on my hair! I have been feeling quite sassy lately. But much to the dismay of my hairdresser, no one of the male persuasion confessed his undying love for me and my sexy hair. For now, I am okay with that.

Okay, so last time I promised an FO....Tomato #2!!! Hey, it's an object, and it's finished.....and quite tasty too!

What?!? You want a knitting FO? Yeah, okay, well check THIS out!Pattern: Sandnes Mandarin booklet #305 - "White Dress"
Yarn: Idena Bambino Bomull #187 (3.5 skeins)
Needles: US2 and US3 (yes, you read that right)
Size: 9 mo.
Notes: I was worried about this project for a while. It was hibernating once I going on the 12" of ribbing on US3 needles. But I finally sat down and decided that I needed to finish before Lizzie grows out of it. Toward the end I was getting annoyed cause it was taking so long and I was afraid I wasn't going to like the product.

It very much redeemed itself. I am so glad that I made this and pressed on with it. The yarn splits like no ones business. A tip: Knot all strands at the VERY end when joining. It does unravel and then becomes a big mess. Knotting it kept all the plys together until I was ready to weave them in and then I just cut the knot off and voila!

This was going to be for her birthday in November, but once I finished, I just couldn't wait to give it. Lizzie and I had lunch today (Mom, Dad, and Brother came too) and she received her present. However, like most 9 month olds, she was more interested in the cool holographic bag the dress came in.

Since I cast that off, I could now use the needles to cast on my MS3. Yeah, yeah, I am a bit behind and it's not such a mystery any more, but I still want a go at it.
I am doing it in some black Cashwool with garnet red beads. I am not, however, doing the wing. I have nothing against the wing, and I just a very "symmetrical" kind of person. All of the asymmetrical stuff that is out there right now just drives me nuts.

2007-08-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

The Pony Style

Alright....I have been a chemistry graduate student (and chemistry student in general) for many moons now. And being that I have long hair (and have for many more years), my "hairstyle" has been "throw it in a ponytail". Sometimes I varied this with a bun or twin braids, but always tightly secured back. This is a safety measure...yes, so you don't swing your hair through a Bunsen burner or get acid on you when an idiot student spills a beaker of acid on you. Hey, you laugh until it happens to you...I have my favorite pair of pants (which is now full of holes) to prove it....but I digress.

The permanent pony in all of it's glory

But now, I am working in a place were no such huge safety hazards exist. This means that for the first time in.....many, many years (forgetting that CRAZY year I cut all my hair off), I get to have a hairstyle. I finally went to get a haircut today....first one in about six months. Hey, when all you wear is a ponytail, you don't need to really get your hair cut.

"Can I help you find something?"

And yes, that is my natural "curl" and I am sure that some will begin to have an instant dislike for me now. My new hairstylist asked if I had a boyfriend (no, I said) and then proceeded to tell me that I won't have that problem long. Um....okay.....but do I want a guy who will only notice me 'cause I changed my hair? But again, I digress....

In a previous post, it was commented by several, on and off blog, that I am a bit, um, overly caucasian. I used to be a lifeguard for about five years and it tended to give me this "permenant tan", which lasted for quite some time. I guess too much time in the lab (we don't get much sunlight in our caves) and here I stand in my paleness.

BUT WAIT!! I am no LONGER in the lab, I realized. I can go outside and sit by the pool and, well, knit! And so, I did just that....

SUNLIGHT!!! Oh how I missed thee!

See? Proof I have gone out into the outdoors, away from fires, big magnets and harsh chemicals. All complete with iPod and knitting. Speaking of knitting.....an FO will be unleashed!

2007-08-06T14:55:00.000-05:00

Poisoned Apples

It just seemed appropriate that the day after I read about these "poisoned apples" in Drums of Autumn, I would get to show you this:
Yep, the first one! It will be quite tasty on my salad tonight....or it just may get eaten by itself. I have two others that are still growing, one of them already bigger than this one. This would probably be the only one, if it weren't for the VERY mild and wet summer we have had down here. We haven't even hit 100 degrees yet, according to the weatherman. For the non-Texans, we should have had about a month of days at 100 degrees, just to give you an idea.

Yes, yes, the knitting. Unfortunately, I don't have anything to show! Most of the stuff on the needles is "gift knitting" and can't be displayed quite yet.

I did get the new VK and IK this weekend, thanks to Mom (best birthday gift!). This is the 25th anniversary issue for VK. There were a few nice patterns, but nothing that really jumped out at me. There was a couple of articles that were interesting, including an interview session of knitters from "back in the day" and those that are popular today. Okay, well, they are ALL popular today, but you know what I mean. It was a really cool read.

IK did have a few patterns that I liked, including one, to which I exclaimed out loud:I love me some Fair Isle. And seriously, what Texas doesn't need a Fair Isle wool sweater?

2007-08-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

We are family!

I went to a family reunion this weekend. We have it every year in Frederickburg, TX and always have quite a bit of fun. This usually involves some shopping, winery visitation, game-playing, a music jam session, and, more recently, we have added a hike up Enchanted Rock. Enchanted Rock is a big hunk 'o granite bedrock and is around a million years old. The hike to the top is less that half a mile, but try doing that at a minimum 45 degree angle. Check it out!
(L-R) Daniel (brother), Jarod (cousin), Casey (cousin), Courtney (girlfriend of Casey's brother), Katie (aunt who brought me Italian yarn), and Me (yes, I do need a tan, don't I!)Here's a shot on the way down. Much easier on the way down, but what a view! It was very foggy and misty on the way there, but it cleared a bit once we started.

I also had a wonderful discovery. About 10 years ago, I found some Key Lime Fudge and it was wonderful. I am a big fan of anything Key Lime flavored. Over the past 10 years, I have looked high and low for more of it, but to no avail. So what did I find last weekend.....

What?!? You expected to see a picture? Yeah, like I have that kind of self control. But I did stretch that 1/4 pound of fudge as long as I could....which was about 4 days.

2007-07-27T13:21:00.000-05:00

Hmm.....donut.....
Make your own here! http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html

Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will!

2007-07-25T23:56:00.000-05:00

What would you want from Italy?

My lovely aunt and uncle just got back from Italy. Before they left, my aunt asks, "What do you want me do bring you back?" Yarn, I said, thinking I was being sarcastic because no non-knitter would go to, not only a LYS, but to a foreign LYS. So she asks me what kind I want, etc. I figured I would go with sock yarn because it's easy, small, portable, and most LYS have a "sock yarn" section. I tell her about what it should cost (as much as I would LOVE cashmere socks) and how much to get, but I see it's kind of getting lost on her. I tell her to go a shop and ask the salesperson - LYS shopkeepers are VERY helpful and VERY nice. Granted, I have only been to LYS in the US, but I think that the international "knitting" language and attitude is pretty universal.

So my aunt actually found her a shop - Beatrice Galli Yarn Shop. I have to toot their horn. They were extremely nice and helpful to my muggle aunt and found me some yummy sock yarn.This is some Mondial Ecco in #728. It's a purple/green twist, but the green fades in and out. I am really excited to see how this knits up. Plus, it's DK weight, which means bigger needles!!

And, because, lately, a post wouldn't be complete without an FO:Pattern: Saturday Market Bag from MagKnits
Yarn: Sugar and Cream, ~1.5 balls (pretty pastels)
Needles: US 13, 10
Mods: Used distressed mod for two handles; CO 75 sts and knitted in the round; did 7 repeats, instead of 6.

I like this one alot better than they other one. I think this was just because I could make it as big as I wanted, without worrying about running out of yarn......

Holy...crap....just realized I didn't BLOG about the other one!!!Pattern: Saturday Market Bag from MagKnits
Needles: US13, 10
Yarn: Sugar and Cream, 1 ball, Hot Orange

I modded the crap out of this thing.
1. CO 71 sts and knit it in the round
2. used the "distressed" two-strap mod (which I modded to fit my stitch count)
3. I just whipstitched the bottom closed.

I played with it a little bit (esp. in the handles) so that I could see if I could get this bag out of one ball. Seriously, I had less than 6" of yarn left. This ended up being about the size of an average grocery sack. I used it at the store and it worked just wonderfully.

I am hoping to churn out another one and I will be set for the most part. It will probably be multicolored though, since I think all I have is single balls of S&C.

This weekend we are off to the wonderfulness that is Family Reunion Weekend down in Fredericksburg, TX. Lots of wine, yarn, shopping, wine, family.....did I mention the wine?

See ya' Monday!

2007-07-23T15:22:00.000-05:00

I survived.....

.....but just barely. I didn't get to finish the book before I went to work Saturday morning (I am not as fast a reader as Trillian), but I did finish it when I got home. I would like to thank everyone who was nice and understanding to their booksellers and postmen this weekend. For the most part, the folks at our store were nice and behaved like good little first graders - wait your turn, stand in line, and no shouting (well, no angry shouting). Yeah, we had a few party poopers who felt they were more important than anyone else and acted like toddlers (they hadn't made it to first grade yet), but the nice people made up for it.

So, last week I decided that if I am going to make one of these....
I should get on it.
Pattern: Double-knit Bookscarf from pieKnits
Yarn: Lion Brand WoolEase in Cranberry and Gold
Needles: US5

Even if you don't want to me a nerd and have a HP Scarf Bookmark, I would suggest making one of these (in whatever colors you want) just to play with Double knitting. You are basically making a double-thickness knit fabric (aka flattened, fat i-cord), knitted flat, on two needles. I know Jennifer has used this technique on several of her projects, especially buttonbands. I really like it and will probably use it on my next cardigan. Of course, for there to be a next, there has to be a first, but I digress.

I have really gotten in a worsted-weight/big needle groove lately. I think that I needed a little Instant Gratification knitting. I have started a second Saturday Market Bag (which is halfway done) and a Pinwheel Baby Blanket. Socks and things are still getting knitted on. Don't worry, they aren't being neglected. I am fixing to turn the heel of Flaming Monkey #1. They have turned out much better, once I increased the stitch count.

On the tomato front, I have two tomatoes going strong, but nothing has come off of the plant yet. Hey, if these actually make it off of the vine, I will have doubled my produce yield over last year. That's good, right?

2007-07-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

The beginning of the LONG WEEKEND....

As some of you know, I have been working at Barnes and Noble for about 6 weeks now. Therefore, I will belong to a group of the most insane, overworked people this weekend. Others include employees of Borders, Hastings, independent booksellers, USPS and UPS. I will request for everyone to be nice to these people this weekend, 'cause it's going to be insane. Give your UPS Guy/Gal or USPS worker a cookie when they deliver your book on Saturday. Or maybe a popcicle, if it's hot....

On to the knitting.....

Our SnB is at the end of a Vacation Swap. The gist is that you tell your spoiler where you would like to go, and they put a package together to send you on a trip. My spoiler was Tasha, who did an AWESOME job.......so yeah, I dunno what's going on either. But it looks much better here. I got some Cider Moon yarn, which I have never tried, some yummy Ashland Bay top, stitchmarkers handmade by Ms. Tasha herself, some pasta and sauce (that has Cab Sav in it) and a bottle o' wine. That sounds like a HP recovery dinner if I ever heard of it: yarn, fiber, pasta and wine.

And before I forget, again, check out another quickie FO:Pattern: Kureyon Kozy from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Kureyon #40
Needles: US6
Size: Small (4-6 cups)
Notes: I have a Chantal 4-cup teapot and this thing is REALLY streached over the pot. I left it sitting on the pot, so it has streached a bit. When I do it again, I will probably make the larger size (6-8 cups).

2007-07-16T13:10:00.000-05:00

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
-Albie Einstein

Being the nerd that I am (and I couldn't come up with a better title), I start you with one of my favorite quotes.

Someone had made told a story about having a roommate that had a huge periodic table on their wall. To this I said, "....And?"/aside: How FREAKISHLY reflective is my old licence plate??

But there is something special about this one. The first summer I did research, they were replacing the periodic tables and I asked if I could have one of the old ones. This one is from 1962. This is what I think is cool (in my nerdy sorta way:Element #74....The original name of this element was Wolfram and was changed to what we now know as Tungsten. I thought that was cool, but I am a nerd, aren't I?

To continue the nerdiness, check out what my Becky brought me back from Poland:In the center there is a depression that holds a tealight. Looks really pretty when lit. Why is it nerdy? Because my BFF got it for me because it is not a "rock", it is a halite crystal....aka NaCl....aka rock salt! BTW, this is HUGE, around 6x6x4".

Okay, ya'll want some knitting? Check it out:Pattern: Retro Redux Shrug from Lace Style
Yarn: Lion Brand CottonEase (1.5 skeins in Lake)
Needles: US8, 9, 10, 10.5
Size: 42"

Notes: I LOVE THIS SHRUG!!! You just can't beat it. The stitch count stays the same for the entire length, you just change needle sizes. A interchangable set is priceless. There is ALOT of give in the length (cuff to cuff) so I would base any sizing on your arm circumference.

I think the yarn worked really well with this pattern. I wore this to work and after about 8 hours, it had stretched a bit and wasn't very "snug". But a washing AND drying took it back to normal.

When I do it again, I will keep the stitch count the same, but make it shorter. Like I said, there is alot of give in the length and I could easily afford to make it shorter.

2007-07-11T01:45:00.000-05:00

And it all goes to pot.....

Just so you know how things are going in this neck of the woods, we have skipper Destash - Round 2 and have moved straight on to Destash - Round 2.5. Ya'll get first dibbs, but is is going up on Destash probably Wednesday night. Check out the Flickr Set.

Just so you know, Destash - Round 3 will probably consist of my first born. :-P

Yes, lots of alcohol was involved, why do you ask?

2007-07-08T10:35:00.000-05:00

This house is clean.

Hi my name is Jennifer and I am a packrat. However, I have been told that I come by it honestly because my dad is also a packrat, along with his grandmother. See, it's not my fault! :-P

However, I had begun to get better about it, but it was like trying to push back the ocean when the tide is coming in. It was starting to progress from messy to dirty (trust me, there's a difference). I had fought with it for a long time to get everything back in order, but I was fighting a losing battle. I needed reinforcements.

Yep, I called my mom.

She came down a few weeks ago and we went hard core on my little apartment with all of it's "crap". We started with the worst, the living room. Why is it the worst? 'Cause that's where all the fibery goodness lives.....well, most of it. It was at this point I took EVERYTHING out of it's place and only put back what I really, really wanted and started a destash pile with the rest. This is the point where my non-knitty mommy said something that literally had be laughing for at least half an hour:

*Disclaimer: Please put down all beverages before proceeding*

"Yeah, you should get rid of some of it before it goes bad."

...and with a straight face.

Aren't you glad I made you put your beverage down?

Which finally brings us to my point. I have finally gotten my box 'o yarn photographed and "flickred" and it is now up for grabs in this flickr set. I am giving ya'll first dibs before I throw it up on Destash. This is Round One and I will be doing the same thing for Round Two. If we get to Round Three, you will know it's bad 'cause that's when we start on my Lorna's........*shudder*.....

Okay, so how about some pretty things?

Pattern: Amanda's Squatty Sidekick
Needles: Denise US10
Yarn: Paton's Merino Wool in Chestnut Brown and Retro
Mods: Again, did the 6" of i-cord on the handle, instead of 3".

This is the second one of these, this one done for my roomie who is moving out. I really got this felted and I like the fabric that came out, but it did make it a little small. Therefore, the next one I make I will probably make it bigger so that I can get it really felted. The next one for me will also have a zipper, instead of the clasp.

I have been going back and forth on if I like it or not. The varigated Patons felted wierd, but once I shaved it and looked at it some more, it's kinda starting to grow on me. The roomies outta town, so I don't know if she likes it or not.

Bezzie has been keeping us updated on the Great Potato Experiment. This got me to contemplate my current vegtable experiment - the tomato (not to be confused with the Tomato, which will happen at a later date). I am in an apartment that has a good size patio, but gets very little direct sun.

This makes growing things, especially veggies quite difficult. I had a tomato plant last year that I got one little tomato out of before it burned up. Since we have been having a bit of rain (read: flooding), the weather has been relatively mild, letting my plants grow, without needing water 2-3 times a day. The above picture was taken May 14. My tomato plant is on the far right. And here is is today:It has begun to take over!! It is even growing over the side of the railing to get more sun. The picture above is at about 9:30am and that is about the most amount of sun that gets to my patio. There are about a dozen blooms about and...WOO HOO!!! He's clocking in at about 1.5" right now and still going!

2007-07-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

What's that wet stuff falling from the sky?

All right, ya'll. This is crazy. When you think of Texas, what do you think of? Cactus, horses, dirt (especially if you have ever been to Lubbock), sun, sun, BLAZING SUN? Yeah, it's hot in Texas, especially in the summer.

I grew up in West Texas where there has been a drought for, what, 15 years? I know that there have been water restrictions for at least that long. (West Texas is basically the "desert" part of Texas, for you non-Texans.) I then moved to North(east) Texas to go to undergrad and I did encounter this mystical occurrence called "rain". They had a couple of weeks there where a nice shower was not unexpected. It was nice....stuff actually GREW!

And now we come to 2007 - The Year of The Rain. Holy crap guys....in the past 4 months, we have had maybe 7 days where it didn't rain. And I ain't talkin' that sissy rain either. I'm talking 3-4 inches in an hour. No where in my wildest dreams would I think that we would have a daily threat of flooding. It was just a few weeks ago when the Gainesville/Sherman areas flooded. That made the national news and it was about 30 miles from me.

Which brings me to my now daily observance:Freakin' 'Shrooms....fields of them all over. These also ain't sissy 'shrooms, these are Texas-Sized 'shrooms.And what pops up quicker than a 'shroom when it rains?A random FO!!

Pattern: Amanda's Squatty Sidekick
Yarn: Cascade 220 (Black) and Paton's Merino Wool (Bright Red)
Needles: Denise US10
CO: 7/1/07 BO: 7/3/07
Mods: I did 6" of i-cord on the handle, instead of three. Next time I will probably add another 2", just for me.
Striping: Of body, replace this for Rnds 12-26 (all K)
Rnd 12&13: Black
Rnd 14&15: Red
Rep rnds 12-15 two more times
Rnd25&26: Black
The button I just needle-felted....and I only stuck myself once!

The pattern states that you can knit it today and use it tomorrow and she ain't kiddin'! This was a super-quick knit. I knit on it in front of the TV for 2 nights (plus a little finishing on day three) and felted it the third day. It is a nice little knitting pick-me-up.

I have had some inquiries about Coachella. I did some mods and got back to the try-on point. I think it will work, but I have lost alot of love for this project. So, it has gone to the naughty corner until I am no longer frustrated with it. Hence, the nice, quick knit above.

2007-06-30T21:04:00.001-05:00

Post for the sake of a post.....

I realized the other day that I hadn't posted in a while and I began to wonder why. Yeah, that's because not much has happened, especially in my knitterly world.

The Flaming Monkeys now fit and are through their second repeat. If you ever need to adjust the stitch count a bit, I recommend adding a stitch on either end of the repeat and add another pattern row.

Ah...the Coachella....Coachella, Coachella, Coachella......Well, I got the the try on point in the pattern (which is AWESOME, btw) and, well, let's just say it was a "wardrobe malfunction" waiting to happen. If I bent over slightly, anyone could see down my shirt and a slight breeze would have sent the neckline, um, off-center. Now, don't misunderstand, I am not flaming the pattern. The pattern, especially the concept, is great. But how many knitters out there have actually picked up a pattern, knit it to "their size" and it actually fit? Yeah, I didn't think so.

So being the knitter I am, I frogged a ways, did some investigatory knitting, and did a little rewrite to make it fit ME! That is the ability of our kind - to take a pattern and adjust it to our needs. That's what I love about making you own stuff - you get to make it so it actually fits your body....this is of course assuming no intervention by the Knitting Goddesses, causing utter disorientation of a project. Their associates include Gauge Gnomes and Stash Pixies.

I am hoping to hit the try-on point again tomorrow, so I will know if my crazy plan has worked, or if there will be serious vexing going on. If it does work, I am taking good notes and will share my mods. If all goes well, I will probably be making more of these.

In non-knitting news, MovieBoy turned 24 yesterday and we had our traditional family outing today. For pretty much as long as I can remember (which actually isn't very long) we get together for dinner and a movie. Since my parents are up in OK this year, my bro and I got together with each other. For anyone interested, mine was last month and we saw Spiderman 3 and Shrek 3. Today we went and saw Live Free or Die Hard.

As with all sequels, and especially for one sooooo long after the others, I was afraid it would disappoint and ruin the whole thing. Such was not the case here. I was very pleasantly surprised. They could have done a really bad job, but in my opinion, I thought they did a great job. Action-packed and hilarious. I give it two needles up.

2007-06-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

Deja Vu

**Official Spoiler Warning: This post discusses the June RSC package. If you haven't gotten yours yet and don't want to be spoiled, come back later.**
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The Flaming Monkeys have hit a rough patch. After my two repeats, they got thrown on waste yarn and tried on. The lovely picot cuff (which I will SO be doing from now on) fit lovely, but the lace sections were holding on for dear life. Bummer....

After knittyboard consultation, I think what I am going to do is frog back the lace sections (obvious much?), throw in another repeat and go down a needle size. Yes, the added repeat adds on another 16 stitches (25% increase), but I hope that going down a needle size and my wonky gauge will even it all out.

Edit: Yeah, that's not gonna work 'cause then it would be all wonky at the instep. I don't think that far ahead. So, I think I am going to increase the number of sts in the repeat and adjust accordingly in the pattern.

I got my June RSC shipment the other day. First of all, LOVE the pattern, will definately be doing that. But during this time, I had the worst case of deja vu. It was insane...why, do you ask? Check it out:
On the left is my Lorna's Laces in Flames (aka the Flaming Monkeys) and on the right is the STR Lightweight in Firebird.

No, they are not the same (the STR has more pink), but it still threw me for a loop that they socks I just cast on were in the same colorway. Good part is that now I have double the colorway!!

Something else I cast on was Coachella from the new knitty.I am doing in in Lion Brand CottonEase in Lime on US6 and US8. I am super intrigued by the contruction of this top and had to make it. Plus, this is super quick. The above is about 2 nights worth of knitting and it's probably about 1/3 done. I am hoping to get it done and blocked before knit night on Tuesday.

BTW, if you aren't on Ravelry yet, be warned. It is the new knitting crack. No lie. If you are, come find me under yarnknita and maybe we can be cracked out together.

2007-06-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

WiP it Out!

...but they aren't coming out. :-P

I thought about photographing my current WiPs, but they haven't changed much since you last saw them, and that would just be boring. But, if you really want to know:

- The Flaming Monkeys have 2 repeats done. This is my purse knitting so it gets done, well, when it gets done.

- Lizzie's dress has gained about 3/4"...and that was alot of knitting. I am hoping that I will finish it before she grows out of it. No big worry...she is tall and skinny, traits that some of us/I weren't born with.

- The Larger that Life bag is hibernating for a bit because I am going to start a new crochet project, the Molly Weasley Sleeves.

I actually don't think that I have mentioned this, but I got a job at Barnes and Noble. It's hard, but fun in that lovely nerdy sort of way that is me. And at all bookstores everywhere, a nice little event is coming up: the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (BTW, if you have never seen the likes of a Harry Potter party, esp. at a B&N, and aren't doing anything late on July 20th, just drive by. It's insane.)

So, since I am employed again and have a nice, nerdy venue, I am hoping to have these done for the party. Yes, I will be working, but it will be fun, none the less.

Remind me of that July 21 when I am seriously cranky at 4am.

2007-06-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

Socks, socks, socks....

...'cause I couldn't come up with a better title. Granted, that's the majority of my post! Check 'em out!These were my Socktopia Socks from January. Yes, January. Leave me alone! There came a time when they were being very naughty sockies and got put in time-out for a while. I got into that rare "finishing phase" and decided to knock them out.

And when you cast something off.....
....you must cast on again. It's the law....look it up. And so I bring you, the Flaming Monkeys!! I decided to do a pair of Monkey socks in the Flames colorway. Did I choose that just so I can say I have flaming monkeys? I leave that for you to figure out on your own.

2007-06-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

WiP-It Wednesday

God, has it been a week? It's been a long week. All good, I assure you, just long. Here are my birdies!They are all grown up now and fly away when I try to take their picture, so this is the best I can get. I made several attempts, but it ended up with me running around my patio in my PJs, chasing a bird. God, I need a job....

Oh, wait, I HAVE ONE!!!! Yes, I finally have an income. I am now working at Barnes and Noble, which is just a little less dangerous than working in a yarn shop. It's a fun icome and I am glad that I can finally have one of those....not that being a dancing monkey-slave (chemistry grad student) wasn't a blast. My only slight frustration is that now I actually have to dress the part. For those not in the know, as a grad student I was lucky to go to school in pants that didn't have chemical holes in them.

Speaking of reading....and it being Wednesday....I've been

Reading this, this, and this.....

Watching....wait for the rental........

And here is what I have been WiP-ing:These are Squares 6-9 of my Larger than Life Bag. Yes, I did the first 5 in a day and these 4 in a week. I have a reason, but that's for later.

I got into a slight finishing kick, so I WiP-ed these out, which are now my travelling sock:These would be my January socks from Socktopia. I got a little distgruntled with them and they got put in time-out for a while. They are now in my purse and have become my travelling knitting. I have about 1.5" left before I start decreasing for the toe and they will be done.

And then I get to cast-on...and here I need some help. I have caught the knitting disease known as Ravelry. This has caused me to come down with a HUGE influx of ideas of projects that I must complete. I have narrowed my next sock project down to 2: Hedera and Monkey. Of course, these have been on my list, but they drastically moved to the head of the line when I saw all of the Monkeys done in Lorna's Laces and Tasha's Hederas in Claudia Handpaint.

Not to worry, these WILL EVENTUALLY get done, but I am having trouble deciding which one first. Here are some choices:

For Monkey:Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in (L-R) Argyle, Flames, Daffodil, Watercolor, and Amish.

For Hedera,Claudia Handpaint in (T-B) Purple Earth, Chocolate Cherry, and Ocean Depth.

Please leave a comment with a suggestion. You know I can't make a decision by myself! :-P

2007-06-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

OOOOOOOOOOOO-klahoma

First, I give you an obligatory birdie shot:I have come to adopt these little birdies, seeing as I don't really have to take care of them! It still amazes me that a bird made a nest and laid eggs in one of my hanging plants. My bonus: free fertilizer for my plant. So far, it is still contained in the pot, but we will see how long that lasts.

Okay, back on topic. I spent the last several days at my parents house in Oklahoma, hence the title, but I must give some background. Growing up, we moved up and down the Midwest and at one point, spent 6 months living in Oklahoma. For me, that was 7 months too long. Oklahoma and I severely dislike eachother. Many things happened between us and at this point it's just a given.....until recently.

My parents go to Tulsa quite often and what does a knitter do in a new city? Find a yarn shop. Enter Oklahoma's peace offering to me: Loops, a yarn store. It is a wonderful shop on Utica square, which is a wonderful setup of shopping and dining...I recommend The Wild Fork, but I digress.

Back to Loops...I walked in and immediately knew I would like this place. They have beautiful yarn displays and a great amount of seating. Upon closer inspection, I saw all kinds of lovely yarns like Alchemy, Debbie Bliss, Rowan, Blue Sky Alpaca....and Koigu. Okay, you must understand something. I have never seen Koigu in a shop, only online and I have a lone skein that Momma Monkey lovingly gifted me. I seriously thought I was going to hyperventlate. So...much....pretty....yarn!!!

As my Mommy and I walked around and I began to check things out, she kept seeing things, and petty things and saying "Oohh, that's soft" and "Ah that's pretty!" Folks, this place will even effect the non-knitters. We almost left with some Panda Cotton that she picked out, but decided against it since she thought that I already had too much on my list, including her Clessedria socks. Practicality won out.

Unfortunately, I did not buy anything, but that is only because of my employment status. I guarentee you that had I a job, I would have done some SERIOUS damage. But don't worry, Loops folks, I will return.

2007-05-30T22:55:00.000-05:00

WIP-it Wednesday

Yeah, okay, I changed by Wednesday's a bit....I got to reading too slow. But I will hit you with a double-wammy of what I've been.....

Reading....for the 7 billionth time; the series is just SO GOOD!

Watching.....again, for the 7 billionth time; same reason

Drinking (Muscat Canelli).....okay, slight divergence.

Every year, I attend a family reunion in Fredericksburg, TX in July. We visit, do some shopping, and some of us have begun to do a hike up Enchanted Rock. We also do all of the wineries and I usually come home with 6-8 bottles of wine. I usually try to save it for a nice get-together or when I have had an especially good day. Since these tend to be far and inbetween, most of it is drank in May-July, usually the first one on my birthday. And then we start with a whole new batch of wine in August. So, there you go....

....and a WIP (work-in-progress)

During all of this West Wing watching (say that ten times fast), I did complete 5 of my 12 squares for my Larger than Life Bag.I am horribly off-gauge (adding about 3" length and width-wise), but it's a bag. Plus, by the time I figured it out, the square was already done with ends woven in. That just means I get to carry more crap!

P.S. My last birdie hatched, so all is well on that front. I haven't heard them that often, but I can hear just about as well as I can see. :-P

2007-05-28T16:21:00.000-05:00

New birdies!!

Well, most of my birdies have hatched.It may be hard to see, but I have it detailed here. You can only see two heads, but I have seen all four and then there is the late comer still in the egg. It is really cool to be able to really see then up close. The momma bird still comes around. I think it may be a finch.

Not much knitting to report. I have been spinning alot, with the rainy weather. I actually sat out on the porch today with a book. It was a nice rain that was calming. I can't do more than 2-4 rows of my Ene's scarf at one time, I have learned. Of coure, that ranges from 600-1200 stitches. I am still working out some math on the Clessedira socks, so those are still at the cuff.

My SnB and I are working on the Larger Than Life Bag from Interweave Crochet.

We are doing a bit of an acrylic swap for our squares. I have also put up my services as a sewer and zipper attachement expert for the lining. But I think it will be a great bag and wonderful project. It doesn't get much easier than a granny-ish-square.

2007-05-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

Birthday Blog!!

I have offically entered the second quarter of my existance (26).

Okay, my birthday was Tuesday, but I procrastinate....you know this. I also waited, hoping that the birdies would hatch, but then I wanted to get a picture of my Columbine plant flowering:

I spent my birthday with my brother (aka MovieMan). He took me out for dinner and a few movies. We had to wait for a while for the movie so we chatted. In plain sight, I had a bag 'o wool, which was for a felted bag I was working on. The bag had about 10 skeins of worsted weight that I was using double for said bag. He comments, "That's quite a bit of yarn there."

I laughed...well, on the inside. Then I took him to my bedroom and showed him my "real" stash.....well, the most used part that is:You can click here to see details.But I digress.....

We went to go see Shrek the Third and Spiderman 3. My reviews? Shrek was entertaining, but doesn't live up to the first two and could be rented with the same result. I will disclaim that I am not a comic reader, so I like Spiderman. It was good, but kind of long, but I think that they used it to tie everything up and therefore will be surprised if there is a fourth. It will be nice if they just leave it as is, but we will see if that actually happens.

I also received Charmed Knits from my super friend, Kerry. Being a knitter and big HP fan, it was a must have. My thoughts....I like having this book. It's kindof like Interweave's 25 Favorite Socks: I could look through all back issues of IK, but it is awfully nice having them all in one place. After much searching of the internet, I could probably found everything in CK. However, I will pose a question to those reading: Which Molly Weasley Sleeves to you prefer? The CK or Fruitcats'? I have been leaning toward the Friutcats pattern, but I haven't really found anyone who has done the CK one. I would appreciate any comments since if I get a job at a bookstore (akaBN), I will probably make this to wear July 21. Plus, I have loved it since the second I saw it in the theater.

I also received a wonderful subscription to IK and VK from my Mommy and Daddy. Saves me from having to stalk my B&N for them to put it out. BTW, Daddy had Lasik today. He's doing okay so far, but I haven't heard how well he is seeing. He had trifocals and couldn't ever get the script right. I feel I am headed that way myself. I got bifocals at 16 and was surprised I didn't get trifocals at my last visit.

Allright, I'll quit rambling....for now......:-)

2007-05-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Home, home on the range......

All knitters have said it at least 100 times in their lifetime - "I wish I had more time to knit." I probably said it everyday during school, but I will share a quick story. You guys know I ramble.....

When I got Kerry knitting, we made it a habit to bring our knitting to Friday seminar and we would sit in the back and knit. This is where guest speakers, and some professors, would come to talk about their research and what not. This was perfectly acceptable, as long as we were quiet knida thing. Hey, at least we weren't snoring like Tom. :-P Anyway, we got to our seats and got sitchiated (that's Texan) and got clickin' away when one of our profs, who we currently had a class with, commented that we never come and knit in his class. Now, being the smart-ass I am and knowing sarcasm when I hear it, I made the comment along the lines of, "well, I would if you would let me." But, I digress.....

Since I have been home, when I am not job hunting that is, I figured, hey, I will get a TON of knitting done. And I have....too much. I have gotten to the hand cramping point of knitting. It REALLY SUCKS!!! I have gone through the project progression of my lacy Ene's Shawl, to patterned socks, to plain socks, to scarves on a US6, and finally to a felted bag pattern on 10.5. Oh woe is me....

And now, because you don't know how REALLY weird I am, I submit the circulating meme....

7 Weird Things About ME!

1. I cannot sleep with any door open in my bedroom. The main door, bathroom door, and closet door must all be shut. It just bugs me, I don't know why.

2. Where I am going to graduate school is the 20th school I have attended in my life. We moved around a bit. Went from Texas to Kansas to Nebraska to Oklahoma and (thankfully) back to Texas.

3. I have a "thing" for pajamas. I think it comes from living in the coed dorms for 3 years (yes, I lived in a girl dorm for a year. (shudder) WAY too much concentrated estrogen). In a five drawer chest, two drawers contain just PJs - one for tops, one for bottoms.

4. I learned to walk on my toes and did it consistantly until I was about 13, when they threatened that they were going to have to cut my Achilles tendon so I could walk flat-footed. GENERALLY speaking, I finally stopped 2-3 years ago, but I still do it from time to time. Don't ever, EVER let your kids do it....gets painful later on.

5. I didn't have (much less SEE) a Starbucks until I was 18. I remember going to college and everyone being amazed that I had never had Starbucks. I came from a little West Texas town that didn't mave much, but two years later, a town about 45 miles away got one and it was exciting.

6. The first poker tournement I played in I got 2nd place. My dad was excited for me, until I asked him the order of the hands again. He was bewildered on how I got second place without knowing the order of the hands. I know them now....I think. :-P

7. I have never seen any of the Godfather movies and I am a movie freak. It's not that I am against them, I have just never had the opprotunity.

2007-05-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

A little birdie told me......

Guess what I found when watering my plants today

My lovely patio....in my first hanging basket (a purple Wandering Jew, if interested) was this..........a bird's nest with five eggs. I am not sure what kind they are....the eggs are white with black spots. If anyone has a clue of the kind of bird they are, I would be interested. I haven't been able to see the momma bird; she is usually hidden by the plant or flies away when I open the patio door.

I have never had a nest in a hanging basket before. I will now be careful in my watering, but I am guessing if it hasn't bothered the bird by now....I am just amazed....like on American Idol tonight....I am speechless......

2007-05-15T23:17:00.000-05:00

Swap Goodies!!

My lovely SnB (aka knitting group), DFW Chicks With Sticks, is having a nice dishcloth/stitchmarker swap. Yesterday, I received and lovely bunch of goodies.

Enclosed was a lovely dragonfly washcloth, two Tribbles (which were immediately used to wash Dirty Roomie's dishes), a fun pen, magnetic notepad (immediately used to tell said Roomie to clean her own freakin' dishes), some yummy chamomile tea (needed after dish incident), a super cute notions bag, and said stitch markers.

When the box came, I noticed the return addy (DFW CWS) and excitedly knew what it was. What puzzled me, however, was the FRAGILE marking on the box. I got intrigued. I opened the box to find two layers of bubble wrap (yes, I popped them and yes, I have the pleasability of a five year old) and a multitude of very pretty tissue paper (yes, I saved it! It was perfectly good!).....and this......

.......a lovely wind chime. It is gorgeous to look at and sounds wonderful. It has been appropriately displayed here and will hopefully ward off drunken college students....or at least annoy their hangover!

Super big THANK YOU to my secret person!!!

2007-05-13T21:40:00.000-05:00

Fin!

He is done........-ish. He still needs buttons, but that is a minor detail. He is knitted, blocked, seamed, and buttonbanded. I love making up words. Here's some specs:

Pattern: Knit Toddler Hoodie by Bernat
Yarn: Bernat CottonTots in Blue
Needles: US6
Notes: I made the 12 month size. It says you need 3 skeins for all sizes. I used only about 1/4 of the third, mainly for the buttonband and 1/3 of the hood. I did use another yarn (#3 crochet cotton in blue) to sew it up because I didn't want to add bulk. I really liked the way it turned out that way. I think the seams were much prettier than they would have been.

I would also like to wish everyone a Happy Mommy Day!! Here are some Mommies........well, except for me that is. This is my mom, my mom's mom, my mom's mom's mom, and me. Okay, me, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. This was taken Christmas '05 and I am sure there will be one taken in '07...we are a picture family. There is the old adage that you always end up like your mother. Well, we have all ended up that way: none of us can see, we all gamble, drink wine, and live forever.

My lovely Granny still gambles and celebrated her 92nd birthday in March and is still as fiesty as ever. She makes the best kolaches EVER!!

My wonderful Memaw is wonderfully spirited and is still quite sane after having the four childeren that she did. My aunt still believe that there are leapruchans that live in the carpet and will eat your toes if you get out of bed. My mom and my aunt were so mean.....

Which brings in my Mommy who puts up with alot from my brother and I. She was always the greatest mom whether she was staying at home or working. She makes the best peanut brittle (it's really more art than science). She will always be remembered for Sigourney Weaver...you had to be there.

Yes, we are all our mother's daughters.

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

My To-Do List

We all have it. The big, long list of projects that we want to do. It usually ends up being a very scarey and daunting list. I have a PostIt program on my computer and I created a "post-it" of my knitting projects that I wanted to do. I thought it would be a good reminder, especially to reference when I would be yarn shopping online. After five minutes of listing, I am surprise that the program didn't crash.

A few have yarn already purchased for them, but most of them are still only in my head. Some are quite outside the price range, but those have been specially earmarked as "sale seekers." Some have come from fellow blogger's creation and some have just inspired me.

Here are some of the projects closer to the top of the list (in no particular order)

Hourglass Sweater from LMKG - Check out Leigh's
Scarlet Woman Sleeveless Tank
Icarus Shawl - From IK; It will someday come out of severe timeout
Fetching for ME!!!
Josephine Jacket - I loved it the minute I saw it
Tubey - Ditto, plus a nice little something for us big sholdered gals out there.
Molly Weasley Sleeves - Yes, I will have them done for the movie, book, and I am that big a nerd.
Ene's Scarf - Cast on, but Kerry has kidnapped my book! j/k, I just left it.
Chevron Scarf - Yes, I have been carried by Manda and Tasha
Katheryn Hepburn Cardigan - From Lace Style

...And, my current Holy Grail Sweater.....drool......

This is just a tiny sampling mind you....oh, what's that you say??? No sock patterns??? Oh, yeah, that's only because I want to make them all. There is a reason I have a Lorna's Only drawer in my stash storage.

As to the knitting front, Jayson's hoodie is almost done knitting. I think it is going to be really cute and his mom is going to have to bring him from Virginia so I can see him! All of everyone's children is enjoying their handknits, which makes Auntie Jen very happy. My biggest customer?? My second cousin, once removed.

I have alot of family...ALOT....on both sides. I have always considered everyone aunts/uncles and cousins....and when my cousins had babies they were "little cousins". My "aunt" did a little research on who is technically what and I though I would share it. (all is in reference to me)

My Dad's first cousin (his aunt's daughter) - my first cousin, once removed "S"
Daughter of "S" - my second cousin "J"
Son of "J" - my second cousin, once removed "N"

Get it? Get a glass of wine, it helps.

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Mommy Day!!

2007-05-03T22:46:00.000-05:00

All the time in the world to knit....

So, I have come to a conclusion. If you wait a while between bloggings, you have a ton to talk about. Needless to say, this will be a long post, so grab a glass of wine, a comfy chair, and join me in my ramblings.

First of all, I want to give a WOO HOO to Bezzie for getting a job up there is Jersey. Congrats! Now, if you are done with it, send that job mojo over this way. Speaking of moving away from the great state of Texas, we wish farewell to Manda, whose in my SnB. We met via the RSC and she pointed me to my SnB, to which I will be eternally grateful.

This past weekend, we celebrated my Memaw's birthday. She and her daughter drove up from San Angelo, picked up another daughter and granddaughter (me!) in DFW, and we drove up to my parent's house in OK. For those of you who know my family won't find this odd. My mother sent us a wonderful itenerary containing mostly casinos and winerys. It was nice.

For those interested, I'm gonna talk a bit about OK wine. I have gone to quite a few winerys in TX and there is the grocery store wines. Yes, I would tell a difference between the two, but I never realizes how different wine could be until I went to OK. In all fairness, we think that they didn't "legalize" the selling of state whine until 2000 because that's when everyone said they started selling.

Of the four winerys we went to, they were all very light bodied, compared to TX wines. In general, the wines were much more fruity, where TX wines are more "oakey". I am also curious about the alcohol content of the wines. I know that all beer has a lower alcohol content than all the other states. Yes, Coors Light in OK has less alcohol that Coors Light in TX. I have been known to drink port and no one had a port wine. In TX at least, it is actually considered a liquor (which cannot be sold on Sunday) because it has a much higher alcohol content than regular wine. In OK, I was offered a couple of "port-like" wines, but no port.

KNITTING KNITTING KNITTING....okay, we have relatively gotten past the wine part and are progressing to the knitting portion of the entertainment for the evening. Almost, because when I was checking out the winerys, I noticed that one of them had sheep.....SHEEP!!! My mind raced with the possibilities of handspun and roving. Check'em out!

And here we have the Hospitality Mule:

He checked my knitting credentials and made sure that I was certified to take sheep pictures. We had a nice conversation. Sadly, these were not "wool" sheep. They are bred specifically for meat. So sad....

n the knitting progress, I have drastically updated my progress column. I have deleted projects that have gone to the wayside or the frog pond...but I promise to show pics when/if I finish.

I have added Jayden's Hoodie which is a Bernat pattern that I have fallen in love with (search for Knitted Hoodie). I love it because it just falls off the needles and the only thing that requires concentration are the sleeves (but a sticky helps that). I recommend this to anyone who knits for the young ones. This is being knit for Jayden, who was born this weekend at an almost 9 lbs, which is normal for our family. Because of this, I tend to knit a 12 month size for our babies. If it doesn't fit now, it will eventually, probably in 3 months. Anyway, I was waiting to post until this was done, however, the sleeve has hit the black hole of knitting. I didn't want to tempt fate.

In the car this weekend, I finished a stripe and a half on my HP scarf. I am determined to have this done in time for the movie/book. It will probably be my focus after the hoodie is done (1.5 sleeves, hood, and seeming left). Lucky have I so much time to knit....

2007-04-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

The things you learn from day to day.....

1. Even a laptop can drastically heat up your bedroom.

Small vent...it's midnight...I have been trying to get the bloggin' done since 9pm. To get a pattern, I ended up needing to update my Acrobat Reader. No big thing, right? Yeah, I tried to update and it lasted for almost 1.5 hours before crashing. Grumble....so, I just reinstalled the whole thing and finished doing my stuff to get ready to blog (uploading pics on flickr, looking up urls, etc.) So, when your computer has been running full on for three hours, it gets a bit warm.

To others, this would mean, eh, I'll blog tomorrow. NOT ME!!! I am bound and determined to get another glass of sherry and blog on! And here I will pose my random question of the day:

Does anyone else have computer knitting? I have a small basket of idiot knitting by my computer just in case of the above. Needless to say, I have another stripe on my HP scarf. Just wondering if I was the only crazy one....

My big acheivement the past week was that I spun and plied the oz of BFL that came with my wheel.

I ended up with about 600 yd of 2 ply, sport weight and it came out super yummy. Here's a better pic. I was really excited about how it came out. It was originally destined to be a Mary Lyle/Opal Handpainted Shawl, but I don't think I have enough. Well see....

2. The only people who aren't crazy for feeling that inanimate objects "speak" to them are fiber folks.

Alot of knitters talk about how a pattern isn't working for them or something keeps coming out wrong. Most of the time, this is the yarn talking to the knitter saying, "I don't want to be this. Make me into something else." Novice knitters don't know this voice and trudge on 10-15 times before giving up. The seasoned knitter learns to respect the yarn and turn it into what it wants.

Several people have asked me if I have named my wheel. I didn't have one picked out, so I figured I would just wait. While I was spinning a few days ago, a name jumped to my mind, it was weird. It is not a name of anyone I know or aspire to know (Ask me about my fish Josh, Donna, Jed, Leo, CJ, Sam and Toby. BTW, don't name a fish Toby...they die immediately). I took this to be my wheel "speaking to me" and telling me her name.....Bethany.

This weekend I am off to a family wedding this weekend, my third cousin, I think. Trust me, our family is closer than it looks. My grandmother and her sisters/sister-in-law bring all the family together for every family event, or just a weekend. So, those super cute little ones I routinely knit for? Yeah, my fourth cousins.

3. People should learn when to know that they are rambling on their blog.