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......

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.

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!

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....

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.