Nuke Knitter

Thank You Niina

2008-10-03T11:56:00.002-05:00

I came home on Wednesday and Greg said "You got this crazy looking package from far away." I knew immediately who it was from, my secret pal, but not where. It was from Finland!

The package contained a lot of great stuff. Some yummy wool/bamboo yarn called Cloud, and some hand painted sock yarn called Mokka-sukka, a little change purse, a keychain, a mitten pattern book, and a trivet. I loved it all! Thank you Niina!

Kintting Funk

2008-09-26T20:00:00.002-05:00

I think I may be snapping out of my knitting funk. Here are the reasons:

It looks like it may be starting to get a little cooler here. (But, I don't want to jinx it.)
There are a lot of babies being built as we speak. I know of 4 future babies in need of cute clothes.
I love love love some of the new knitting books that are coming out. Custom Knits, want it. Alterknits Felt, love it. Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, need it.
Christmas is coming! I haven't started a single project!

Wish me luck!

A Big Thank You to My Secret Pal

2008-09-02T18:00:00.003-05:00

I got the cutest package in the mail today from my secret pal. It contained a beautiful lace scarf made out of Rowan Kid Silk Haze and a cute little sheep toy. I love it! Thank You So Much!!!

Montego Bay Scarf

2008-08-14T20:08:00.003-05:00

Great Package

2008-08-05T17:49:00.004-05:00

I got this great package from my Sock Yarn Swap from Your Stash spoiler merrygentlemen. She specially dyed the purple & green yarn for me!

We are going to Pennsylvania this weekend for Greg's birthday. That's almost 30 hours of knitting time round trip. If that doesn't jar me out of my knitting slump, I don't know what will.

AND, I finally finished my Montego Bay Scarf. I finished knitting it about a month ago, but didn't start putting fringe on it until sit'n'stitch on Friday (see, I couldn't even get myself knitting at sit'n'stitch). I finished the fringe last night & I love it! If it gets cool enough I may even wear it this weekend.

Knitting Rut

2008-07-27T20:34:00.003-05:00

I don't know why, but I'm in a complete knitting rut. I don't really have the desire to knit anything. I don't even have an urge to read about knitting. I barely knit during the car ride to and from Chicago. The only time I knit is during sit'n'stitches. All I want to do is veg on the couch. Do you think I have Mono?

Thank You Secret Pal!

2008-07-15T21:19:00.003-05:00

There was the best package waiting for me when I got back from Chicago on Sunday. Thank you so much Secret Pal! I love the yarn and the pattern. And, the way you placed the order through The Loopy Ewe...genius.Chicago was a lot of fun. Naturally, Cirque du Soleil was wonderful. We also got to hang out with friends and I got to see The Bean. I love The Bean!

Dear Secret Pal,

2008-07-07T19:46:00.001-05:00

I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet the last week or so. Work went crazy as soon as I came back and my doctor has put me on this medicine that is making me nauseous. So, all that I have wanted to do is veg on the couch. Plus, my husband actually had last weekend off! It was nice to spend relaxing time with him. (I know we just went to Cali., but it was a working trip for me.)

I haven't done much knitting. Nothing is really motivating me. However, we are going to Chicago this weekend to see Cirque Du Soleil! I plan on doing lots of knitting during the car ride.

Weekly Post

2008-06-22T09:46:00.004-05:00

The SP12 question for this week is:

As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

For me it was running around barefoot. As a kid I hated wearing shoes. I would walk around all summer without shoes if you let me. And I was just running around in the grass barefoot. We lived nest to my dad's store, so I was walking around on the hot blacktop and pebble and occasionally would have to avoid the still light cigarette butts that people would carelessly throw out their cars.

It's a little ironic that now I am a shoe addict. But, I still have a little bit of that still in me. The first thing I do when I get home is take my shoes off. They end up all over the house and Greg hates it.

Also, I am currently working on two things that aren't socks! (I know can you believe it.) My cousin had a new baby so I'm making the Lace Edge Cardigan from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby. I'm also working on the Montego Bay Scarf out of the lovely HandMaiden SeaSilk that doxietrek sent me. It is such a simple repeat, but I quickly learned that I can't drink and knit it, I end up screwing up and ripping out my progress the next morning.

I'm back, but my luggage isn't

2008-06-15T17:33:00.005-05:00

I'm back from a week long trip to Anaheim, CA. It was fun, but it was for work, so not as much fun as it could be. However, Greg & I were able to go to Disneyland for a day.

Some of the rides were just as fun as I remember them. Some of them not so much. Also, I was surprised at how often the rides breakdown. We were stuck on Splash Mountain for over 15 minutes and two other rides broke before we were able to ride them.

However, I am excited that I got to see the Haunted Mansion (much better than the one in Disney World) and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (that is one of those rides that for some reason I never got tot ride as a child). I didn't get to go on the Tea Cups because Greg said that the ride would make him sick...wuss.

Sad Sad Day

2008-06-06T16:40:00.002-05:00

Today is a sad day. We sold the Mini. I'm really going to miss it.

Secret Pal 12 Swap

2008-06-04T20:51:00.002-05:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like?
I’m a little bit on a sock bender right now. I can’t seem to get enough sock yarn! I love Dreams in Color Smooshy and Socks That Rock. I’m not a big fan of boulces and novelty yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Thanks to my last swap partner, I have needle holders for all my needles!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I’ve been knitting for 2+ years. I’m pretty adventurous, so I guess I consider myself advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No.

5. What’s your favorite scent?
Sandalwood, lavender, vanilla, peach, berry. I’m not a big fan of melon or water scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I love strawberry and peach flavored candies. I absolutely hate hate hate banana!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I make cards and rubberstamp. I don’t spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I listen to dance, hip-hop, pop, rock, classic blues. I’m not a big fan of country.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand?

I love purple, springy greens, blues and pinks. My favorite color combo is purple and lime green. I’m not a big fan of coral…it just doesn’t look right on me.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I’m married with no kids, but three idiot dogs.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I don't wear ponchos. I'm too short and curvy.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Circs in bamboo and woods, although I do have some addi turbos.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes, love them.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

1.5 years.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas and Halloween.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Lady head vases. I also collect wine. (If keeping it in your house for two days before you drink it is considered collecting.)

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don’t have any Cat Bordhi books and I think I want Eclectic Sole. (I have the Rivendell pattern; it is next in my queue.)

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn?

I haven’t done enterlac, yet.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I wear a size 7.

23. When is your birthday?

8/20

24. What’s your Ravelry ID?

pantoufle

All the stuff I need to post about but am to lazy to do so

2008-05-20T21:37:00.005-05:00

We bought a treadmill this weekend. We got a good deal at Sears ($1200 model on clearance for $600). Well, we (meaning Greg) had to go pick it up at the Sears warehouse in town. That involves following on of the Sears guys to the warehouse so that he can unlock it and get it out of the back (pretty high tech, huh). Greg schlepped it home and we managed to get it in the living room (with the help of our neighbor). It took Greg about 2 hours to put together. ( I tried to help at first, but I got upset with him not following directions and left in a snit.) After it was all put together Greg turned it on and it didn't work! The screen was back lit, but that's it. No beeping, no numbers, no pressing start and having the treadmill start up...nothing. Greg, being the good little handyman that he is, took it apart to see if he could troubleshoot it. No luck. He called customer service. They said that they could send someone out to look at it during the week (during work hours, naturally), but the guy would probably have to order a part and that would take another week or two. NO DICE!! We broke apart the treadmill and returned it Sears to exchange it for another one. Same routine about two hours later. But this time, the treadmill works! So we start it up and test it out. We raised the incline and lowered the incline. Or, I should say tried to lower the incline. We raised it level 12 and it wouldn't go back down. So, Greg took apart this treadmill to get to the bottom of the problem. He must of done something right because the incline went down and the treadmill works great now. (Ssh...Don't tell anyone I said that I don't want to jinx it.)

On another note, I got a great package from my Sock Yarn Swap from Your Stash partner, stabuluos! It really took the edge off dying the day before. I love the yarn, i can't believe she let it go from her stash. It's Knitting Notion Supermerino Supersock Yarn in Wildflower. yummy!

I'm dead

2008-05-16T21:24:00.004-05:00

My assassination came in the mail today. They are a great pair of socks, I'm just really bummed that I'm out so soon. Oh well, I guess it was just the luck of the draw.

My assassin emailed me last night so I knew that they were coming. But, when I was watching the postman today, I was still hoping for the best. No luck.

Socks of Death

2008-05-11T20:17:00.004-05:00

Sock Wars started on Friday and I've reached my goal! I have successfully finished my first pair of socks without being killed! I call them my Socks of Death #1. I was pretty lucky that my target had the same size feet as me. It made it a lot easier to measure foot length.

The pattern was a lot quicker than I thought it would be. The leg is only about 4 1/2 inches long. I was able to finish them even though I worked a full day on Friday, did the March of Dime Walk on Saturday morning and went to a Bunco game Saturday night. However, I did take the knitting to Bob Evans for breakfast this morning. (Greg was making fun of me for that.) I know a lot of people said that they had problems with the pattern, but I found it pretty easy to knit.

They are being sent on to Utah tomorrow morning.

Birthday Celebration

2008-05-04T22:08:00.006-05:00

On Friday we had a surprise birthday party for the owner of With Ewe in Mind, Maureen. We each made her a 10x10 inch square that we were going to combine into an afghan. When she opened them she kept on saying "Oh, a dishcloth. How nice." It took her a little while to catch on. Greg was in Kansas City last week for training. I told him that I wanted a present while he was away, so he stopped in a local yarn shop and bought me some yarn! Look how good of a job he did:

Oh, and a shout out to doxietrek, who sent me the best package last week for the Guilty Pleasure/Good Karma Swap!

Penny ended up eating half of the Dark Chocolate bar with chili pepper in it. I was very upset. the Idiots are going to have to be retrained about getting food off the table and counters.

Never took the M-Train

2008-04-30T22:05:00.004-05:00

My friend just sent me this video and I absolutely have to post it here. It's called "M-Train" and it's about Georgia Tech students changing their majors to management. We also used to say that it was working on their "M-R-S" Degree.

By the way, my GT ID was gt4086a.

A whole lota shakin'

2008-04-20T12:55:00.010-05:00

I am such a bad blogger. So much has gone on since my last post. I keep on meaning to blog, but always find other things to do whenever I have the time. First, I went to see the Yarn Harlot in on April 9th Nashville. Totally rocked!
Here's me in the crowd (picture is from her website).

I finally finished my Pomatomus socks. They are totally worth the effort.

I am also working on two other pairs of socks. Anastasia in Creatively Dyed and some basics in Regia. Anastasia is the first sock I've done toe-

We had an earthquake in the region this weekend. (Hence, the title of this post.) Both the initial tremor (at 4:37 am) and the aftershock (at 10:15) woke me up. DH was working that night so I had to call him to confirm. There was lots of excitement on the news. They're still talking about it.

I started a swap on Ravelry this weekend. It's called the sock yarn swap from your stash. I know it's a long title, but I couldn't think of a witty name and this was the most descriptive. It filled up (actually overfilled) within 24 hours. And I though nobody would want to join.

The reason it overfilled was because I went antiquing with friends in Hazel, KY. It was Marra's birthday and that's what she wanted to do. It was A LOT of fun. I got some good finds.

Big Knitting Weekend

2008-03-30T14:57:00.008-06:00

It was a wet spring weekend and Greg was out of town, so I watched bad (and good) TV and knit away (when I didn't have a migraine). Last weekend I knit up a Debbie Bliss Baby Shrug and a pair of booties for a baby shower. I blocked the shrug and knew that there was no way that I'd get around to seaming it up, if I didn't bring it to Sit'n'Stitch on Friday and get some help. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Then while at Sit'n'Stitch I continued to work on my Pomatomus Socks. These things are easily kicking my ass! I've spent longer on this single sock then I have on any sing PAIR. It's not because the pattern is hard (it's actually pretty intuitive), but because I keep on making stupid mistakes (like slipped stitches or forgetting yarnovers) and having to rip back. Anyway, I still love them...

...but, they frustrated the hell out of me and I had to put them down for the weekend. Instead I started my Sock Yarn Blanket. A whole five squares. Until now I didn't realize that most of my socks are blue. Weird, considering that most of my stash is purple.

I joined the Guilty Pleasure/Good Karma Swap. In it you buy your partner high-end yarn and other little luxuries and the relieve the guilt by kitting for the Warm Woolies Charity. My downstream partner is Jacqui. Bought her yarn yesterday and I really think she's going to like it. I off course had to get free shipping so I ordered myself some Zen Yarn Garden Merino Tencel Sock Yarn in Orchid & Lilac. Bad yarn dieter, bad!. So, anyway, I knit up two and a half hats from leftover yarn (mostly Cascade 220). I'm loving all the bright colors. Do you think three is enough?

Oh, and I'm going to see The Yarn Harlot on April 9th. Don't hate!

Movie Quote MeMe

2008-03-16T07:36:00.005-06:00

I found this over at mooflower’s place. (Until I wrote this I didn’t know how many of my favorite quotes involved the F-bomb. Some of the movies were really hard to find clean quotes form.)

Here's the "rules".

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

1. Libido, inferiority complex, stinko, blotto, free love, bathtub gin, monkey glands, Karl Marx... is he one of the Marx Brothers?

2. ~~That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.~~ Dazed and Confused, Marissa in Savannah

3. He keeps putting his testicles all over me.

4. See this system here? This is Hi-Fi... high fidelity. What that means is that it's the highest quality fidelity.

5. ~~All I can see are millions of frogs with tiny crutches.~~ the Muppet Movie, fillyjonk

6. ~~By the time I grew up, there was thirty billion a year in cargo moving through Idlewild Airport and believe me, we tried to steal every bit of it.~~ GoodFellas, Mooflower

7. -I wrote a suicide note.
-You did?
-Yeah, right after I regained consciousness.

8. In a good shoe, I wear a size six, but a seven feels so good, I buy a size eight.

9. That'll never be me, that'll never be me. That'll never be, never be me. NO... NO, NEVER, NEVER, EVER. And don't you EVER THINK IT.

10. Yeah. I'm free every day. It's in the Constitution.

Visitors

2008-03-10T15:01:00.005-06:00

We've had a couple of visitors over the last two weeks. First we had a squirrel who fell all the way down our chimney and was stopped at the flue. Greg had to suit up in two pairs of leather work gloves, his work coat and safety glasses to go in there and fetch him out. I told him that he better not get bitten, because then we'd have to go to the emergency room and explain what happened. Here is a picture of the squirrel while it was behind the flue. I tried to get a picture of Greg holding it, but it was covered in soot and screaming bloody murder. Did you know squirrels can scream? I sure as hell didn't.

Then yesterday I came home and The Idiots were going nuts. I walk in the door and the phones ringing. It's one of our neighbors telling us that they had a lost dog show up in their garage. The thought to themselves "Selves, those people down the street have a few dogs, it must be there's." So they put in our backyard. Then they told me "Well, if it's not yours you can just let it go and hopefully it will find its way home." That's not going to happen. I've called a couple of vets and the Humane Society today and nobody has reported him missing. I wanted to take him to the Humane Society today but it closes at 3:30 (WTF?). Hopefully I'll be able to sneak out of work for a little bit tomorrow and bring him. There is absolutely no way we can keep him. Three is already WAY too much and he's a jumper.

Ice Day

2008-02-22T12:07:00.005-06:00

I'm going to back it up a bit. About a month ago, they started repainting and putting in new carpet in my usual office building. All those chemicals can trigger a migraine for me so I was relocated to a subcontractor's office. Well, we had another ice storm blow through yesterday. I tried to got o work, but the office I'm in was locked so I had to go back home. Aw shucks, a knitting day.See all that white stuff? It's not snow, it's sleet. The roads cleared up around noon, but then we had another round come in around 4 P.M.

We had sock club on Monday night, I'm making my first magic loop sock! I wouldn't have picked these colors for myself, but I like them.

I joined SOCK WARS III today. It starts May 9th. My goal is to take one person out before being eliminated.

Knitting ADD

2008-02-20T19:55:00.003-06:00

I'm totally having knitting ADD right now. Every time I work on a project I'm thinking about another project I want to work on. I'm making a pair of socks using the magic loop method and I'm thinking about how I want to work on Sahara. I work on Sahara and think about how I really really want to start a pair of socks in the Dreams In Color Smooshy that I bought a few weeks ago or how I really want to start Sara. I also have to frog my mom's Evangeline and restart them. I thought I'd be able to make them with a single skein, but ran out at the second thumb and the LYS doesn't have any more black Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.

Out of Town, Again

2008-02-17T12:15:00.010-06:00

I had to go out of town again this week. This time it was for a workshop in Oak Ridge. While I was gone we were hit with a pretty bad ice storm. I got back on Wednesday afternoon and here is what our back yard looked like:

However, we were pretty lucky. We had some extensive branch trimming done in the early winter and that really saved us. Our neighbors, not so lucky:

They has so many large tree limbs fall that they couldn't get out of their driveway. But, thankfully, no house damage.

While I was stuck in my hotel room, I just about completed (I didn't bring my sewing needles so, I couldn't kitchener the toe) what I'm calling my Not So Matching Socks. The colors pooled completey different on both socks. Don't you hate when that happens.

On Wednesday I had to stay in town until the late morning to hedge my bets against the winter weather. I stopped by The Yarn Haven and picked up some yummy All Things Heather superwash sock yarn in Empress.

I think I'm coming down with the flu that is going around. Greg had it three weeks ago and I didn't catch it, so i thought I was safe. But, now I'm starting to feel sick. Not a good sign.

Long Time

2008-02-03T12:39:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted. that is because I've been traveling and knitting. I went home to Connecticut two weeks ago. It was my mom's 60th birthday and my godson's 2nd. I made my godson, Jack, a puppy sweater from Roo Designs. I don't have finished sweater beacise I finished seaming it 15 minutes before the party. But, no stupid handknit present could compete with the ultimate in two year old fun. A Power Wheels four wheeler.

I didn't have a chance to visit any LYS, but since it takes over 8 hours to fly from Paducah and 8 hours back, I was able to work on some socks. Which for some reason my mom thought was very amusing.

Then this week i had to go to our corporate facitiy in Eastern Tennessee for training. While there I knit up a pair of Evangaline for my friend.

I was also able to stop into a couple of LYS (Yartiques and the Yarn Patch) and bought some great sock yarn.

creatively dyed yarns

Dream in Color

I have to go to Knoxville next week for a workshop. I hope to stop in at the store formerly known as Knit'n'Purl and Loopville.

American Idol

2008-01-16T18:05:00.000-06:00

This is my absolute favorite American Idol moment of last night! I walked around all day saying "You are sexyface...Thank you very much."

2008-01-05T12:03:00.000-06:00

Look at all the great yarn Greg got me for Christmas!

6 Skeins of Cascade Nikki

2 Skeins of Koigu KPPPM

1 Skein of Trekking Pro Natura

2 Skeins of Jade Sapphire Cashmere!!

I made out like a bandit. I'm still on my yarn diet, but I did buy yarn to make my godson the cutest little puppy sweater for his 2nd birthday. It's my first intarsia project and I'm having a surprisingly rough time with it. I had to rip the puppy out once and I'm thinking about doing it again.

Here's a picture of him and his baby cousin in the matching elf caps I made for them.

Life's Soundtrack

2007-12-16T21:33:00.000-06:00

I got this meme from Lorenzo's blog and had to do it. However, after I did it Greg & I decided that it is missing one song; the strut song. Doesn't everyone need a strut song?

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here’s how it works:
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that’s playing
5. new question — press the next button
6. don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

opening credits:
"Brand New Key"- Melanie

waking up:
"Brown Sugar" - D'Angleo

first day at school:
"Evangeline" - Mathew Sweet

falling in love:
"Relax" - Frankie Goes To Hollywood (I don't know if this would be love or lust)

breaking up:
"Seven Nation Army" - White Stripes

prom:
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" - McFadden & Whitehead (for some reason this song kind of does remind me of prom)

life’s okay:
"Somebody's On my Mind" - Billie Holiday

mental breakdown:
"Lost In The K-Hole" - The Chemical Brothers (Very Appropriate)

driving:
"Big RailRoad Blues" - Grateful Dead

flashback:
"You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate

getting back together:
"Music is the Victim" - Scissor Sisters

wedding:
"Dig Your Own Hole" - The Chemical Brothers

birth of child:
"The Stomp" - Ol' Dirty Bastard (not very appropriate)

final battle:
"It Can't Come Quickly Enough" - Scissor Sisters

death scene:
"Piece of My Heart" - Janis Joplin

end credits:
"Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" - Paul Simon

I'm really loving both of my credits. I think they really suit me.

Wine

2007-12-15T23:32:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to say that I drank my SP's wine this week and it was wonderful. It truly was like a Riesling, with wonderful apple tones. We drank it accompanying some Jamaican Jerk Chicken I made. Sweet with spicy was the perfect combination. Thanks so much!

Thank You Again Secret Pal!!

2007-12-04T22:09:00.000-06:00

I received my final SP11 Package on Friday. It had the most absolute perfect gift combination inside; wine and yarn!!! My Secret Pal was WineMakersSister. She is so creative that it makes me envious.

The package contained two beautiful skeins of yarn from the Great Adirondack Yarn Co., some Eucalan, Interweave Felts (that I've been flipping through every time I went to the LYS, but couldn't bring myself to buy), and a bottle of wine from her family vineyard. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm on the tough two weeks of the South Beach Diet right now, but as soon as it's over, I cracking that baby open.

So, I got the package Friday and it's taken me this long to post because over the weekend we did this:

By that evening we had already had this:

I blame the Idiots.

Also, I put together 100 of these little suckers. They are goody bags with candy and toys that we are selling at work to raise money for Angel Tree.

Also, we went to see a sneak preview of The Golden Compass. It wasn't that great. We hadn't read the books and the movie is pretty choppy.

Yeah

2007-11-28T19:17:00.001-06:00

Since I haven't posted in a while here are some things going on:

I'm going to see Seinfeld!! He's coming to Paducah Jan. 10 & I got tickets!!!
My dogs had fleas. But, don't fear I caught it and was able to treat it before we had an infestation. They would never have gotten them, but I order my flea meds from Australia & there was a problem with the shipment, which caused a big delay.
I'm finishing up another fan bag for a another friend's birthday. All I have to do is sew on the handles and do a lining, but I am so demotivated right now. I'm thinking of giving it to her late.

New Addition to the World of Knitting

2007-11-11T20:21:00.000-06:00

Please welcome Courtney to the Wonderful World of Knitting! I went to her house this weekend and taught her how to knit. She is knitting a scarf out of hot pink wool (and doing quite well, I might add). She had a couple of tough patches, and wonky rows. But, who doesn't?

Also, Greg came home Saturday night!! He wanted to see how the new swift works. I think he enjoyed winding the yarn by the look on his face.

Christmas Resolution

2007-11-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

I have a Christmas resolution. No more yarn purchases until after Christmas (with one exception for the purse I'm knitting for a friend's birthday). I have too many Christmas gifts I need to knit.

Also, I need to poll all the knitters out there. For my birthday my mom got me a $100 gift certificate to Webs. (Thanks Mom!) Should I wait until there is a sweater or something I really want to knit and use the certificate then OR should I buy myself a blocking board, which I want but don't want to spend $90?

HELP!

Thanks

Knittin' On

2007-11-04T14:11:00.000-06:00

Now that I got the Modern Romance done, I've turned into a crazy knitter. I finished one project I'm not going to talk about here (Hi, Mom!) and the November sock club socks! This is the first sock club pair I've finished since the first pair in June. They are made out of Frog Tree Chunky Alpaca and are just perfect for keeping my toes warm in the cooler weather. They are especially useful this week since Greg in Michigan for training.

With Ewe in Mind had their Christmas Open House today and I went a little crazy. Look at all the stuff I bought:

Most of this stuff is for birthday and Christmas gifts. But, if you notice, there is a swift. I finally got the swift that I wanted for my birthday. I'm so excited! It's taking all that I have not to wind up all the skeins in my stash.
One last note: I'm going to go see the Last Comic Standing Tour tonight. I'm so excited that my friend Jessica was able to go with me. I've been so looking forward to it and with Greg having to leave for Michigan today, I thought I was going to have to sell my tickets.

Sock It To Me Socks!

2007-10-27T08:56:00.000-05:00

I finally finished my Sock It To Me Swap Socks. I'm almost a month late, but they are done. I had the worst case of second sockitis. I think it's because if you drop a stitch in the pattern, you essentially have to rip the whole thing out and start over. And, since I felt so bad about not working on the sock, I really haven't been knitting. I made a chemo cap for charity and two baby hats for a baby shower, but that's it. Know I can start back up in full force. (And, I'm ready!) Ravelry has really gotten me re-motivated to knit!

The Socks are Modern Romance from The Sock Calendar knit with Schaefer Yarn's Anne.

Ravelry

2007-10-20T12:43:00.000-05:00

I finally have had time to play on Ravelry and I'm totally hooked. I've added a whole buch of FOs, WIPs and stuff I want to make. If you want to check me out, my username is pantoufle.
Now I just have to finish that second sock.

SP11 Contest #4

2007-10-17T17:50:00.000-05:00

I'm finally doing one of the SP contests. I've been so stressed out about work, planning and taking a vacation, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off that I haven't been a very good blogger. (And, yes, I have received complaints.)

So, like most people, the very first thing I knit was a scarf. A new LYS opened in Knoxville and I decided that now was the time to learn to knit. I went there signed up for a class and with the help of the owner picked out a skein of Noro Kueryon. The class was on Tuesday, on Friday I was back at the shop ready to buy more yarn. That's when I learned that I was an extremely fast knitter. (Plus it makes me believe that wither my grandmother or a family friend taught me to knit when I was very young and I've completely forgot about it...same thing happened with ice skating, weird.)

So, anyway, here's the scarf:

Here's a hole:

The last thing I've made isn't too exciting knitting wise, but is a good thing to knit. It's a chemo cap made out of some of my leftover yarn. My LYS has charity sit'n'stitches with the last one being chemo caps. They will be donated to a local hospital.

How Ive improved my knitting? Well, by leaps and bounds. I am not afraid of any stitch or pattern. I've learned how to knit socks, lace, in the round (circs and dpns) and most importantly, I've learned how to correct mistakes!

Thank You Secret Pal

2007-10-17T17:46:00.000-05:00

So, I got a great package form my SP11 Secret Pal. I totally love it. I got some great purple (how does she know) Berroco Ultra Alpaca, a beautiful bag (that will soon have a project in it), a candle that I want to drink (Margarita how appropriate), and a tea assortment.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I'm back

2007-10-15T21:17:00.000-05:00

I'm back from Puerto Rico. It was exactly what both of us needed.

Vacation

2007-10-04T18:32:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Over a month, I can't believe it. Everything has been crazy. Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow for a much need vacation. Greg & I are spending five days in Puerto Rico! I plan on not doing much. (But, I am bringing knitting.)

Sick

2007-09-03T17:40:00.001-05:00

I've come down with a nasty cold and have been recuperating all Labor Day Weekend. I've been so sock that I haven't even knit much. But, I have been knitting on and off the last couple of weeks and have some pictures to post.

I'm almost done with my first Sock It to Me Swap sock. I fretted a lot about whether this pattern was going to workout or not, but I think it will.

And, I started my first ever toe-up sock. I think it's too big and I'm going to have to rip it out.

Also, this week, I got a new chandelier for the dining room. It was $99 ($119 with shipping) from greatchandeliers.com. It came in pieces and had to be put together and one of the bobeches (the little cups that go under the lights) was too big (they are sending us another). But for that price it is totally worth it.

Time to catch up/Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

2007-08-24T14:28:00.001-05:00

So, I've been so busy this week, too, and it's time to catch up. First things first. I want to send a big THANK YOU to my Secret Pal 11 Secret Pal. You totally rock! Thanks for the stitch markers on my birthday and for sending my first package early to cheer me up.

Now, the other order of business to finally post my SP11 Questionnaire. (I know it seems weird because I've already received such cool packages, but the rules are the rules.)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like to knit with almost all fibers. I'm not a big fan of some of the acrylics-the stuff grandma used to make us stuff out of.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have two needle holders, one for my straights and one for circs. I'm still trying to figure out a better way for my dpns.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for almost a year an a half. I am intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
no5. What's your favorite scent?
sandalwood, lavender and vanilla. I'm not a big fan of melon.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I like strawberry flavored things. I really really hate banana flavored stuff. I'm going on a diet so PLEASE no more candy.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I don't spin. I do rubber stamping and card making (but not so much lately).

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like everything except country & bluegrass.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love purple but like almost all colors except coral.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married with 3 dog (The Idiots).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats, fingerless gloves...no ponchos. I'm short and curvy.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Right now I'm on a bag and sock kick. But, has been over 100 degrees here for the past few weeks.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Socks for my sock it to me partner and a felted bag from the Sally Mellvile color book.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I typically use my bamboo circs. and exclusively knot with wood needles. I'm trying to build up my collection of sock sized dpns.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I got a yarn winder for my birthday and the swift will be ordered soon.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
about 6 months. Sesame from Magknits

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas and Halloween. I like to decorate.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
lady head vases, Steiff teddy bears, wine

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I would like the Interweave special felting magazine. Plus I would really like these patterns here.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Enterlac.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I'm a size 7 shoe and my measurements are: Length of foot: 9.75" Circumference of ball of foot: 8.5"

23. When is your birthday?
8/20

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Yes I just got on 2 weeks ago but have been too busy to upload anything. My ID is pantoufle.

Also, here is the market bag I finished for a friend this morning.

Busy Busy Busy

2007-08-18T07:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in while because I've been busy busy busy! In the last two weeks I have:

Traveled to St. Louis for Stitch'n'Pitch - fun but almost too hot to knit. Over 100 degrees at a night game. There was a lot of butt sweat.

Flown to Richmond,VA for a girls weekend with my college girlies. We did a lot of shopping and I spent way too much money. Also, I really wasn't able to do a whole bunch of knitting while flying this time.

Organized a Make Your Own Sundae fundraiser at work.

Attended the Paducah Newcomers' Group Wine and Cheese Social to kick off our season. As the publicity chair I had to bring a dessert. I knew in advance that there was no way in hell that I would be able to make something, so I told them I would bring those mini frozen eclairs that are SO addictive.

Hosted a Lia Sophia party at my house.

Then, on Tuesday, Greg let me know that he is taking me on a surprise birthday weekend starting today. I'm super excited, but I had to scurry around to find a sub for Bunco on Saturday.

By the way, I turn 29 for the 2nd time on Monday. This is how I feel:

Pictures

2007-08-05T18:28:00.001-05:00

I found the usb cable for my camera. Here are the pictures of the bag.

No pictures

2007-08-03T18:43:00.000-05:00

So, I've knit a few thing recently, including a bag from "Bags; A Knitter's Dozen", that came out real well. Unfortunately my computer will not read my memory stick. I will post again when I have some pictures.
Also, I'm going to Stitch'N'Pitch at the Cardinals game next Monday. They expect to have ~1000 knitters and friends there. It will be on ESPN so watch for us.

Movin' on Up!

2007-07-28T20:26:00.001-05:00

Found you!
You signed up on June 12, 2007
You are #8546 on the list.
1547 people are ahead of you in line.
12567 people are behind you in line.
32% of the list has been invited so far

ITE IV

2007-07-20T16:25:00.001-05:00

I got my tote today and I love it. Plus look at all the goodies. Thanks Sarah!!

Since my downstream partner has received the tote I made, I'm going to go ahead and post it here. I'm a little disappointed in it. I feel like I've done much better work. I think I need to put down and step away from the Rowan Felted book for now. This is the second bag I've made from it that I haven't loved. I guess the bag looks alright, but you know when you have something completely different in your mind and it doesn't turn out exactly the way you wanted it to? But, I shouldn't complain, at least this one was usable and my partner seems to like it.

By the way, The Police concert in Louisville last weekend totally rocked. My husband & I both agreed that it was totally worth the money and the travel. They were so good that my husband kept on saying "I cant believe they are live."

HSKS Quidditch Round 2

2007-07-13T17:43:00.000-05:00

1. What did Mrs. Weasley make to eat the first night that Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place?

stew

2. When the children are de-Doxying the curtains what lunch does Mrs. Weasley say she will bring them?

sandwiches

3. When Hermione arranges to meet Rita Skeeter in "The Three Broomsticks", what is Luna Lovegood eating?

cocktail onion

4. The wizard bank Gringotts is located hundreds of miles below London, deep under the Underground. Due to this, what does Hagrid say you are mostly likely to die of even if you manage to break into one of the vaults?

Hunger

5. True or False: In "Sorcerer's Stone", when asked by Harry what the difference is between stalagmites and stalactites, Hagrid's answer is: "A stalactite grows down from the ceiling. A stalagmite grows up from the floor."

false

6. In "Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry meets Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, at the Leaky Cauldron when getting off the Knight Bus. Fudge takes him inside and sits him down to have a "chat" with him about blowing up his aunt Marge. Fudge says that everything has been repaired and that the Dursleys are prepared to take him back next summer on what condition?

That he spend Christmas and Easter holidays at Hogwarts

7. In "Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry spends time every day gazing longingly at his dream broom, the Firebolt. The first day he ever saw it, Harry overheard the owner of Quality Quidditch Supplies telling everyone that which National Quidditch team had just placed an order for seven of them

Irish International Side

8. When Harry is hiding under the table in the three broomsticks what drink does Flitwick order?

cherry syrup and soda (with an umbrella)

9. How much do Fred and George bet on Ireland winning and Krum getting the Snitch (Ignore the 5 Galleons for the fake wand)?

37 galleons, 15 sickles, 3 knuts

10. How much does a journey on the Knight Bus (without toothbrush or chocolate) from Magnolia Crescent to London cost?

11 sickles

Fountain from the Ministry of Magic

Quidditch World Cup Campsite

Diagon Alley

The Knight Bus

Flourish & Blotts

States I've visited

2007-07-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

I did the "How may states have you visited map" tonight. I haven't done one in years. All I have to say is that I have to make a trip out west. I only counted states where I've spent the night or did day trips. There are a few states that I've driven through (multiple times) and didn't count (West Virginia, Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi). I think that based on this map, I really need to go visit my friend in New Orleans.

2007-07-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

HSKS Quidditch Answers

I've been pretty bad about participating in the HSKS 2 contests. So, I'm posting my answers before the snitch is found.

1) Harry & Ron

2) Mr. Weasly

3) ?

4) Sr. Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington

5) Firenze

6) Ravenclaw

7) green

8) silver
9) 11

10) Hinkypucks

Here are my images

Mrs. Dursley

Whomping Willow

Cornelius Fidge

Buckbeak

Emma Watson

Sock it To Me Sock Swap Questionnaire

2007-07-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.)
Show size:7 length length: If I step on a measuring tape the distance between my heel and tip of toes is 8.5"
How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)
A little over a year. I'm intermediate and very adventurous.
What is your favorite color? Your least favorite color?
Favorite color: purple Least favorite: coral
Do you have a favorite fiber? What type?
No, I like everything that doesn't itch.
Do you have any allergies to certain fibers?
I'm allergic to fun fur
Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.)
no
What techniques, if any, would you like to learn?
I haven't done lace, yet.
Do you have a sweet tooth? What are your favorite snacks?
I like both strawberry and grape flavored candies and dark chocolate. I hate hate hate banana flavored anything!!
What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.)
Married with no children (yet) but Three Idiots.
Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood?
I like them all as long as they're wood (right now I'm loving Lantern Moon).
Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit?
I like felted purses. Felting hides a lot of flaws.
Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try?
There are a couple of patterns a few posts down that I really want (fish and bugs...good stash user-uppers.)
Do you like to read? What are you reading currently?
I'm trying to slog through Time's All Time 100 Novels (actually since 1923) and not in order. I'm about to finish my 23st book (American Pastoral). I have 24 (The Adventures of Auggie March) & 25 (Ubik) waiting in the wings but I keep on getting distracted by chick-lit. It is summer after all.
Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.)
Not really, I have an iPod but rarely listen to it. My husbands car has Sirius and that's what we listen to most of the time.
What kind of music do you listen to?
Techno, Dance, Grateful Dead, Phish, Wu-Tang, 50 Cent, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, Etta James (pretty eclectic, I know...I don't like country or bluegrass.)
Is there anything you collect?
lady head vases, steiff teddy bears
What are your hobbies, aside from knitting?
Rubberstamping, card making
Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs?
Yes, click on the SP link below and you can see them.
Do you have a favorite scent?
My current favorite is sandalwood
When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL.)
8/20/77...Soon to be 29 for the 2nd time.

I'm back and I've got presents!

2007-07-06T18:02:00.000-05:00

I'm back from Boston and I've got presents! My SP10 package arrived on Monday and I love it! Thanks Erin! There were Twizzlers, too but they're gone (my husband wasn't home to stop me when the package came). Oh, and cute little pumpkin stichmarkers that accidentally got left downstairs when I took the picture.

Then, today, my Spring Felted Bag Exchange bag arrived!! I love it! My husband said that he wished it looked manly so he could steal it. Thanks Kim!! (By the ways, I still have some Twizzlers left from the first package that are hidden somewhere in the house. )

When I was in Boston I met up with my mom in Northampton for a day of shopping. I dragged her into Webs and OMG it was yarn heaven! I was totally awestruck by all that yarn. I was so overwhelmed that I only picked up a few thing...some blue sky alpaca organic cotton, some rowan handknit cotton and some other yarn to make my mom a shawl (the yarn is downstairs and I can't remember it's very long Italian name).

Still in Boston; Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionarre

2007-06-27T18:04:00.000-05:00

1.What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?
Ravenclaw
2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars?
I like all the bamboos regardless of brand.
3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
I’m open to anything; I’m always looking for new sock needles.
4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?
The movie, blue and silver
5. Do you have any allergies?
Pine nuts and Burt’s Bees Chapstick

What to knit, What to knit...

2007-06-22T18:30:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for a conference in Boston tomorrow and I don't know what to bring with me. It needs to be something that I can easily fit in my laptop bag. Since all the projects I am working on right now are quite big, I'm at a loss for ideas. Any suggestions?

I finished my SFBE (Spring Felted Bag Exchange) bag this week. I wasn't able to fix it. It's very cute, but completely impractical. You can cinch the front, but the back gaps open. Here are some pictures (in black & white because she certainly has color preferences).

I decided to make my old standby the One Skein clutch in her favorite color. I'm going to include in the package and hopefully she won't hate me.

By the way, what do you think of our brand new fence? It's a godsend when it comes to The Idiots.

Finally finished bag

2007-06-17T19:13:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the stained glass bag. I attached the handles and sewed in the liner today. Here are the pictures.

Also, after surgery, refelting, and blocking, I think I made my SFBE bag passable. I'll post pictures when I'm through.

Stuff I Want

2007-06-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Dear Person who has me as a spoilee in any of the swaps I'm enrolled in,

I try to never ask for gifts. I'm always happy with what is sent to me. But, I found two patterns that I totally want. Both of which will help me reduce my half stash. The first is from CraftyAlien.com. Check out these cute bugs.

The second is from Fiberspace. I totally love these felted fish. I could make them out of any color my little heart desires.

So, if you're looking for stuff to get me and are coming up at a loss, I'm totally digging these.

Bad Bag

2007-06-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Spring Felted Bag Exchange Spoilee,

I am so sorry. You're bag has not turned out well. It looks very cute but, is completely non-functioning. The front and back flop around and there is no way anything can be stored in it. I brought it to Sit'nStitch last Friday and all the knitters hemmed-and-hawed about it. We came to the consensus that the Rowan pattern book placed the bag in such a way that the flaws couldn't be seen. We discussed various options for ways to easily fix the flaws, everybody had an opinion. However, I believe that it has come to the ultimate option; knitting surgery. I will be performing the surgery today. If this last resort fails, I still have two skeins of the main color and about a half of skein of accent color to make a new bag.

Apologetically,

Kristan

Virtual Vacation Swap

2007-06-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?
I don't know if there's any state that stands out. I LOVE the Florida Keys and got married in Key West two years ago.
2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?
I would love to go on a safari in Africa (preferably a country not currently having civil unrest), or go to Fiji or Java and stay in one of the resorts where your hut is over the water. As for reasons, they are both things I've never done before. I dislike zoos because I pick up on all the nervous behavior of the animals (pacing, attacking windows). I want to see them in their natural environment.
3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?
I driven the entire Eastern seaboard of the US (from Key West, FL to Maine). I driven into Canada but, only for day trips.
4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?
Nope, but I'm trying to convince my husband to take a vacation in Belize this fall.
5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?
It was my wedding/honeymoon in Key West. We rented a one bedroom house with it's own pool. We lazed around most days, went snorkeling, ate excellent food, and swam in the pool every night.
6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain.
We just moved to Kentucky in September. But, we have gone to Mammoth Cave, which is touristy.
7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker?
All three. Beach, museum, then amusements.
8. What's your favorite type of yarn?
I like most yarn. Right now I'm fascinated by the bamboos.
9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?
Fun Fur.
10. What items do you like to knit/crochet?
I like to knit everything. However, I have fully decided if I like socks that need to be handwashed.
11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation?
I like to bring stuff on circs when I fly. I can do just about anything in the car.
12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet?
rubber stamping, card making, wine drinking (yes, that is a craft)
13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)
Burt's Bees chapstick, pine nuts, and penicillin (Not that I expected you to send me pine nuts or penicillin.)
14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?
My favorite color is purple. My favorite color combo is purple and lime green. I look horrid in corals.
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?
Hard question...I think both and sometimes at the same time.
16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?
I hate all things banana and I'm not a big fan of melon scents.

Nut and Bee, I love you

2007-06-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

I ordered the cutest knitting related stationary a few weeks ago and it came in yesterday. I originally ordered it to send to spoilees but, it's all so cute that I don't want to part with any of it. And the best part was that they were super nice. They sent me an email letting me know that my order was coming in two parts and included a letter in the order with free stickers!This is my favorite one and it's about to be discontinued.

Anyway, all this cuteness is from nutandbee.com. If you decide to order something from them, please put in 10CZ18 in the comments box. They'll give me voucher good for 10% of your order.

Roses

2007-06-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of the rose bush in the backyard that I had to beg Greg not to cut down. Pretty pale pink roses that smell wonderful.
Just so all of you out there know, it is NOT a good idea to try to stage a picture of your yarn in the rose bush. It just doesn't work. Trust me.

Addison's blanket

2007-06-02T20:01:00.001-05:00

I've taken a break from bags and started knitting a baby blanket for a coworker. She's having a girl and the baby is going to be named Addison. I had a whole bunch of Crystal Palace yarn leftover form the last baby blanket so, I'm trying to use it up. I'm using the bath mat pattern from Knit 2 Together. I'm pretty happy with it and will probably knit it again, although in a single color. The pattern in knit in the round so the picture isn't really doing it justice.

Also, I've signed up for a whole bunch of swaps and exchanges recently. I'm totally sicked because I'm in this Hello Kitty Swap on Swap-bot and both my partners are from outside the US. One woman is an American living in Okinawa (score on the Sanrio loot!). And, I've signed up for the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap. I hope I get a quilter because I do live in the Quilt Capital of USA (or is it the world?).

Bags, Bags, Everywhere

2007-06-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

First, I have to say a big THANK YOU to my Spring Felted Bag Exchange Secret Pal!!! I got the coolest package in the mail today. It had two back issues of Vogue Knitting, a cute little peridot cupcake, a mini sock keychain, and some of my favorite candy. The candy was promptly given to my husband to hide because I have absolutely no will power over strawberry Twizzlers. He hides it and doles it out to me in normal human increments. Seriously, I once ate so many strawberry Twizzlers in one sitting that I vomited. That's how much I love them.

Last weekend I finished knitting my bag for the SFBE. I finished sewing it up last night and it's ready to be felted. We have A LOT of laundry to do so it probably won't get felted until tomorrow. I really really wish I could post a picture of it; I'm kinda proud of it. I'll be sure to take a picture before I send it off. Today I went to Hancock's (the legendary Hancock's of Paducah, not the chain) to buy a lining for the stained glass felted purse. That place is so amazing, I was totally overwhelmed by choices. But, I think I picked one that suits it. I'll post pictures once I get the bag together.

Also, I bought all the yarn for my International Tote Exchange IV purse. I'm having the handles special ordered, so I should have them in a few weeks. I'm really liking the color combination. From looking at my person's blog, she seems to be into brighter colors. I hope she likes it.

Stash-a-sash

2007-05-28T13:31:00.000-05:00

Last night I got a bug up my but and organized my stash. I went through the house and picked up all the wayward balls and needles. I'm surprised that my whole stash fit in a single tub. Organizing my stash left me with a question. What should I do with all my half balls of yarn? You know, the ones you have leftover after a project. You don't have anything to make with them, but you can't bear to throw them out. I know I'll be taking a couple of them to classes in the near future (a short row class, an edging class, and a crochet for knitters class) and I'll probably use the sugar'n'cream making washcloths and soap socks. But, other than that I'm stumped. (And no, I will not knit the rug from One Skein.) What do you do with your half stash?

I finally got around to frogging my Mud Flap Girl Tank. It's been kicking around for almost a year and had so much dust and dog hair on it I had to wash it first.

Also, I noticed that I haven't posted any pictures of The Idiots lately. Here's a cute one that I took while walking up the stairs yesterday.

My Kniting Weekend Continues

2007-05-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

I just took the stained glass bag out of the washing machine. I debated about whether to dry it on something circle or to let it dry flat. I chose to put it on a wicker trash basket for now.

The handles got all twisted up in the wash so, I'm going to have to redo them.

Also, I'm over halfway finished with my Spring Felted Bag Exchange bag. It's looking pretty good. I wish I could post a picture but, I don't want to give away who my partner is.

The upstairs AC is broken again. My husband is refusing to believe it but, it's been running constantly and is 82 F upstairs. I think we have a coolant leak. I hope it's not in a place that will make it expensive to repair. We've had enough problems with the upstairs AC as it is.

I found a new favorite blog. Miss.Supafly is one of my swap-bot partners and her blog is full of stuff I want. Plus, she likes So you Think You Can Dance.

Spring Felted Bag Exchange Contest #2

2007-05-25T17:11:00.000-05:00

Go visit some blogs for people who are participating in this swap. Find THREE people that you have something in common with - BESIDES the fact that you knit ;)Make a post linking to those 3 blogs, and tell what it is you have in common with the person on that blog!

Kristine B : She seems to have as much of a shoe fetish as I do. When I saw her May 15th post, I totally wished I could have reached through the screen and snagged all 5 pairs.

Laurie C : She hates raw tomatoes, but loves them in dishes like salsa and sauce, just like me. Raw tomatoes are one of those foods I've always wanted to like but didn't. Same with Cadbury Cream Eggs...when I was little I would buy one every year hoping to like it.

Deb : She has rubbed off on one of her coworkers. I have a male coworker who learned how to knot because of me. Also, before I knit, I got all my girlfriends into stamping in a MAJOR way.

Speaking of stamping, this week I went to a Stampin' Up party. It's the first one I've been to in years. I bought a catalog and was very surprised at how much they have changed. There were only 2 sets still in the catalog that I own AND both of them are about to be retired. Anyway, here's a picture of the three cards I made:

I should have taken the picture outside, but I'm lazy. Have I mentioned that I have a four day weekend? Don't hate. I'm going to do knothing but knit.

I'm almost done with the Stained Glass Fan Bag. All I have to do is add the handles, felt, and add a lining.

Spring Felted Bag Exchange Contest #2

2007-05-22T22:38:00.000-05:00

Where's your favorite place to knit or crochet? Describe (or show!) us where you sit and how you most enjoy your craft!

This corner of my couch. I was going to tidy it up, but I figured I should show how it normally looks when I'm done knitting.

What I've been doing this week

2007-05-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

This week we had a house guest, my FIL. I'm not going to say much about it except, I've had a VERY rough week at work. All. I wanted to do when I got home everyday was sit on the couch, knit, and watch my shows. This is hard to do when there is already someone sitting there watching FOX news (which is weird since he is a Democrat). Anyway, I finally got to do that last night and how much did Grey's rock?!? Plus, The Office; Total Genius.

Anyway, I've been working on this bag. I'm knitting for a coworker's birthday and I absolutely love it. I thought it would be super technical with a whole bunch of short rows (I'm afraid of short rows), but it's not. I'm using Noro Kureyon in #95.

Spring Felted Bag Exchange Contest #2

2007-05-12T12:15:00.000-05:00

Where you live, what signifies the beginning of Spring? A favorite flower blooming? Snowmelt? Pollen (Cough cough, gak, here in ATL, thanks) Post something up describing how you knew 'Spring had Sprung' for you!

Well, it used to be allergies. Especially when I lived in South Carolina, when allergy season started at the end of January. But, luckily, since I moved to Kentucky, my allergies have gone away (knock on wood). Everyone, including doctors, say that pine pollen (the yucky yellow stuff that coats everything) is not what people are allergic to, it's all the other pollen that occurs at the same time. But, I've read medical articles that state that if you are allergic to pine nuts, you're allergic to pine pollen. Even though you can't breath it in, in coats your nose and your skin. Now that I've had my first allergy free season, I believe that this is true with me.

Now, after that aside, the other sign that Spring has sprung, is my urging to start putting the top down on my convertible. I love my Mini!

St. Louis and a Leak!

2007-05-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I usually post on the weekends, but this weekend Greg & I went to St. Louis to see Cirque du Soleil. The whole weekend was decadent and wonderful!!

We went to the Arch Saturday day. No one ever told us about how you get up there. I mean, we knew there was a tram and all, but no one ever told us about the 4 ft. tall doors and the super small pods that are supposed to fit five people. Here's a picture of Greg standing next to the door. He's 6'2", the steel door is not.

I have some pictures of the view from the top, but they aren't very impressive considering the windows were all smudged up from face grease from everyone pressing their faces all over them. However, the exterior of the arch is super impressive to two engineers.

I came home today and immediately saw this:

My immediate thought was that one of the Idiots got bored and chewed up some drywall. (Trust me, it's happened before.) Then I looked up.

A backed up AC drain line had caused a leak and the ceiling had collapsed. Wonderful. Good thing we were planning on replacing the floors AND Greg has next week off so he can fix the drywall.

I'm about to go to a Newcomer's meeting where everyone brings a salad. I'm bringing Tarragon Chicken Salad.

Tarragon Chicken Salad

2 c diced cooked chicken (I usually boil)
1 c green grapes, halved
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped almonds
1 c mayo
1 T dried tarragon

Combine all ingredients

Spring Felted Bag Exchange Contest #2

2007-05-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

Although I got all the questions right for contest #1, I lost due to luck (my name was not randomly generated in the top 2). So, I'm going to try my damnedest to win contest #2.
The first question is:
How did you get interested in felting? Did you learn it from someone, see a bag you liked? Just want to try something new? If you have a picture of your first project, please include it!

I got started felting because when I told my mom that learned how to knit, she said that she wanted a felted bag. The first felted project I made was the striped tote in One Skein. Here's a picture of the completed bag:

Here's a picture of my husband wearing the pre-felted bag (Shhh!...Don't tell him that it is posted here since he explicitly asked me not to post it. But, he is so cute, I couldn't resist.)

2007-04-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

I got a lot done on Sahara today at Sit'N'Stitch. I'm about half way to where I was when I frogged it yesterday. However, the most exciting news is I'm got tickets to see The Police in Louisville on July 14th! I'm so excited, my husband is mildly amused.
I also have a huge painful zit on the side of my nose. It just popped up today and is very deep. Ouch.

2007-04-28T18:12:00.000-05:00

I am know frogging Sahara for a second time. I finally got to the part where you can try it on and it's too damn small! I usually knit a large, but this time with all the talk in the pattern about the sweater have a large amount of ease, I decided to try a medium. Nope, I should have knit a large.

My husband mailed the second package for my Secret Pal today while I worked at our Relay for Life yard sale. I hope she likes it.

2007-04-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

I also joined International Tote Exchange IV. (I'm becoming such an exchange whore.) I figured I should post my questionnaire here, since I always seem to forget or add something to each one.

1. Name and blogger handle: Kristan "aka" Pantoufle
2. Blog URL (if applicable): http://nukeknitter.blogspot.com/
3. Do you want a purse that is felted/not felted/surprise me: surprise me.
4. Color/fiber likes and dislikes: I like all colors except coral (although I do like peaches). My favorite color combo is purple and lime green. I'm not much of a fun fur girl.
5. Do you tend to be dressy or casual? Casual. I would like something that can fit my wallet and other necessary things. I really don't have much use for small evening bags.
6. Prefer a pal who lives in the USA or international? Either is OK with me. USA is easier, but I'm intrigued about the prospect of getting items that aren't available here.
7. Miscellaneous info (anything you want to tell your pal): I have three dogs and am a non-smoker. I love candy that is strawberry or peach flavored. I hate banana flavored anything. I just recently knit my first pair of socks, but I'm trying not to become addicted. I'm severely allergic to pine nuts (not that I ever expected anyone to send them to me) and Burt's Bee's chapstick makes my lips swell out to two sizes too big (and not in a sexy Angelina Jolie way..more like the entire right or left side or half of each).

2007-04-23T19:47:00.000-05:00

Spring Felted Bag Exchange

1. How long have you been knitting or crocheting? How did you learn?
I've been knitting for about a year. I learned by taking a class at a LYS when I lived in Knoxville.

2. What are your favorite yarns to knit\crochet felted bags with?
Reynolds Lopi, KnitPicks Wool of the Andes

3. What are your favorite needles to knit\crochet with?
My bamboo interchangeable circs from Webs (now discontinued)

4. What are the last 3 bags you knitted\crocheted (include URL for Yahoo! or flickr album or your blog if you have them!)? You can also link to patterns if you don't have pictures of your finished objects!
Wave bag and two clutches

5. Do you carry the bags that you make, give them as gifts, or both?
Both. My standard gift is the felted clutch from One Skein.

6. What is your favorite felted bag that you have made for yourself?
The wave bag.

7. What are your favorite colors? Do you like bags in these colors or choose other colors?
I like purple. But, I'm not locked in. The only color I don't like is coral because I look absolutely horrible in it.

8. Chocolate: White, Milk, Dark, or not so much?
DARK!

9. Coffee, Tea, or Milk?
Tea

10. Do you prefer sweet or salty treats? What kinds?
I like both.

11. If you went into Bath and Body Works and could only come out with one item, what would it be and what would it smell like?
I'm not the biggest fan of B&BW. I worked at the Body Shop in college and you hear about how bad the lotion is for your skin. That being said, I do buy their home scents. I like their candles and wallflowers. Since it's spring, I would probably buy Sun Ripened Raspberry or another fruity scent. I really don't like melon or cucumber scents.

12. Do you enjoy any other crafts or hobbies? Do you collect anything?
I make my own cards and collect lady head vases.

13. Are there any bag patterns you have not yet knit, but hope to someday?
There is, but I think I may make it for this swap.

14. What is currently OTN (on the needles) for you?
A lightweight sweater, a baby blanket and a baby hat.

15. What is your most recent finished object before that?
Another baby blanket

16. What's cutest: Puppies, Piggies or Pixies?
Puppies, definitely puppies.
17. Do you enjoy reading? Books, Magazines, or both?
Both.

18. Do you have any children? (kid-kind or pet-kind apply!)
I have three dogs, collectively known as The Idiots.

19. What are some of your favorite yarns for other projects?
Noro Cash Iroha, all the new bamboo stuff,

20. And for the final question, one I see debated all over: Novelty Yarn: Love it! Hate it! or It depends!
It's not my favorite, but it can be cute for a scarf

Also, check out my SP 10 questionnaire.

2007-04-22T10:42:00.000-05:00

The sock passed this morning!!!!

Now I will post this:

2007-04-21T21:30:00.000-05:00

Update on the Idiot: She hasn't passed the blockage, yet. However, the vomiting has stopped, she has more energy, and she is eating. If something doesn't come out of her tomorrow, then my husband will take her back to the vet on Monday.

I got my ~~SWTC~~ DiscontinuedBrandNameYarn.com Bamboo this week! It's so pretty. I don't think I would have chosen this color in the store, but I like it. The color is actually a little more rich than in the picture.

The washcloth that I knit a few months ago for my husband is starting to look a little ragged. I had some variegated pink Sugar'N'Cream lying around, so I knit this:

It is technically a washcloth that I knit for myself that will stay in the shower and he can use if he needs to. This is because heaven forbid that he actually own anything pink.

Also, my boss's birthday on Friday. I made some carrot cake cupcakes that I adapted from a couple of different recipes. I'm posting the before and after picture of the first dozen. (Notice how one cupcake is missing. I had to taste one to make sure that they were edible...yeah, that's it. It was for the good of my coworkers.)

Better For You Carrot Cake Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup no sugar added applesauce

1/3 cup oil

4 cup grated carrots

3/4 cup walnuts

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

8 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

dash of salt

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Mix together sugar and eggs until thick and pale. Stir in applesauce and oil then gradually add the flour mixture. Fold in carrots and walnuts. Bake at 350 for ~25 minutes. Check with toothpick.

For cream cheese frosting, beat together powdered sugar, vanilla, cream cheese and salt until smooth.

2007-04-20T23:52:00.000-05:00

Another day, another drama. Our St. Bernard has been acting sick the last few days. Vomiting, lethargic, not pooping. She has a penchant for socks, so I took her to the vet. Sure enough, he thinks she has an intestinal blockage. He gave me some medicine, told me to watch her closely and call him with an update in the morning. He said we are now the No. 1 patient on his worry list. If she starts to show any sign of distress we have to take her in for emergency surgery.

I was supposed to do the MS Walk tomorrow, but now I'll probably have to stay home to keep an eye on the Idiot. When I got home from Sit'N'Stitch tonight she seemed to have more energy and has been staring at her food bowl. Hopefully that's a good sign and she'll pass the sock tomorrow. Also, she doesn't want the other Idiots around her. But, the Rotten Idiot keeps her eyes and ears clean. (I know it sounds gross but it really is quite cute when you see it.) Know she has eye boogers that she keeps on depositing on my pants when I massage behind her ears.

When I realized she might have a sock stuck in her the first thing I though of was the pair I knit last week. But, I found both of them under the bed. Wouldn't that have been a tragedy...to have your first pair of knit socks cause your dog to have emergency surgery?

Oh, and I had to rip out everything I knit on Sahara (typical) because somehow I accidentally lost a stitch at the provisional cast on row. The expert at the S'N'S tried to help me save it, but there was also something funky going on a few rows lower.

2007-04-15T18:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I got all the little project thinks done this weekend. I finished the i-cord edging on the baby blanket and weaved in all the edges. I hate to say it, but I think my husband was right today when he told me that I needed to block it. (I can't believe he retained what blocking is. I know I told him about it awhile ago, but I would think that piece of information would have been replaced with the engine stats for the new BMW models or something.) Anyway, I have a lot of yarn left over so I'm going to do another baby blanket int he same yarn. But I'm going to use the Bath Mat pattern from Knit 2 Together. That way I won't have to clean up any edges.

I also knit and washed gauge swatches for Sahara. Size 6 needles were right on the money. I'm so excited. I keep on reading ahead on the directions and getting so confused. I just have to take it one step at a time.

ALSO...I found this great deal at DiscontinuedBrandNameYarn.com. I bought 10 Skeins of SWTC Bamboo for $50!!! I don't know what I'm going to do with it (but I'm going to love it). Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Gotta go TaeBo.

2007-04-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

I finished the second sock this morning. I had to wake up early and wait for the cable guy who should be here sometime between 8 and 12. It is now 10:30. I hope he doesn't show. I wanted to sleep the whole day away, but that plan is now shot.

This weekend I'm going to take care of all the little knitting things. Swatch for Sahara, put an edge on the baby blanket. Speaking of swatching, I think I learned my lesson with Wicked. I swatched it without washing. The sweater fit really nice when I knit it. Then I threw it in the washing machine because of all the dog hair and the run in the front where I had to pick up a dropped stitch. When I took it out to block, it increased by almost to sizes! The neck is huge. I'm going to try to rewash today and throw it in the dryer. Hopefully it will shrink some. Wish me luck!

2007-04-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

I got three unsolicited compliments on the wave bag today! I also got a lot of questions about the socks I'm knitting while I was at the doctor's office. I love unsolicited compliments. I like to reply "Thanks, I made it."

Anyway, I tried a new recipe for Easter. It turned out pretty well, so I thought I would post it here.

Apple Glazed Turkey Breast
Bone-In Turkey Breast Sized to Fit Crock Pot (I used a 5.5 lb)
kosher salt & pepper
4-6 apples peeled, cored, and quartered
1/4 cup apple cider
3 T brown sugar
1 t ground ginger

Rub turkey with salt and pepper. Place apples on bottom of crock pot. Place turkey on top of apples. Combine rest of ingredients and pour over turkey. Cook on low for ~12 hrs. Baste occasionally.

After it was done, I took some of the drippings and added 3-4 T of flour to make a quick gravy. (More flour will make it thicker.)

My husband recoomends that the next time I make it I stuff the cavity with an onion.

2007-04-08T21:26:00.000-05:00

So, I finally did it. I learned how to knit socks! I broke down at Sit'n'Stitch Friday night. Just a simple ribbed sock. What could it hurt? I'm not even in love with the color or the yarn, I was told that it is a good yarn to start off with. I'm not going to become a sock addict, right? Right?We went to Mammoth Cave today. It's the longest cave in the world. It has over 370 miles of known caves. We took a 4 mile tour. It kicked my butt. The description said that it was physically demanding and they weren't joking. The first part of the trail, I was like OK, I'm in shape, this is like a brisk stroll. Then, after lunch the "demanding" part hit. It was all up the stirs, down the stairs, up the stairs, up the stairs, up the stairs , down the stairs, up the stairs... I definitely got my cardio on. And, I totally blame my windedness on dehydration (yeah, that's it, dehydration).

This is one of the entrances to the cave.

This is a cool pictures of stalactites. They've put new lighting in the caves which makes pictures a lot easier to take. If you were there, you would say that they looked very alien like.

And, of course, since it was a 3 hour drive each way, I brought the socks. Here is a picture of the first time I tried it on. (I'm so happy I had a pedicure.)

And, here's a completed picture. Finished with 20 minutes to spare. (Notice the White Castle cups. My husband has this weird obsession with White Castle. Every time we pass one on a trip we have to stop. Then I have to put up with White Castle gas for the rest of the trip.)

2007-04-03T20:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of the finished wave bag. Somehow the yarn managed to wiggle it's way out of the weave in on the handles. I'll trim it off one it dries. I think I attached the handles incorrectly. Such is life.

My trainer cancelled on me today. I see her again tomorrow.

2007-04-02T21:25:00.000-05:00

Although very hectic, Chicago was a lot of fun. We got to see Greg's mom before she flew out to California. After many discussion we all decided that it was better for us to not fly out next weekend. We are going to wait a few weeks after all the hubbub has calmed down and we will be needed more.

I got a lot of the baby blanket done. I love the Crystal Palace yarn. It is so soft and the colorways are so pretty. I just wish the edges were cleaner. I'm thinking about doing a single crochet edge.

It is so beautiful here right now. However, they are calling for it to drop down to the 50's on Wednesday and continue on until Easter. Here's a pretty picture, before all the pretty dogwoods freeze.

I felted the wave bag tonight. It's currently drying out in the bathroom sink. I'll lay it out to dry tomorrow morning and if my trainer doesn't kill me, I'll post a picture in the evening.

2007-03-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

We just found out that Greg's sister's husband has passed away. They don't know what happened. He went to sleep and didn't wake up. He was 35. We are still going to the wedding in Chicago, but may fly to California next week. I'll know more tonight when we see his mom.

2007-03-29T21:14:00.000-06:00

My first session with the personal trainer completely kicked my ass! My legs feel like Jello. I've almost fallen a few times while going down the stairs. The workout felt good though. I just hope I'm not hobbling all weekend in Chicago.

My Goshen arrived! My Goshen arrived! It wasn't exactly what I was thinking it would be, but after thinking about it, it is what I should have expected. I don't know why I expected it to be silky (like SWTC bamboo) when it's primarily cotton. All in all, I think it will make a nice sweater. I plan on starting Sahara on Monday.

I finished the clutch for my friend today. I have some comparison pics with my last clutch. I wish the pictures were better, but it was dark out by the time I finished it.

I also made her a quick little birthday card. After looking at the picture, I should really add a little more. Oh well, too late now.

2007-03-28T20:25:00.000-06:00

Last night I went to a bookclub for the first time. We read Fast Food Nation. It was really good and I highly recommend it. I've decided that I'm going to buy more stuff locally. The is a decision based jointly on the book and my overall hatred of WalMart. I just wish Paducah had a little more to offer. We have a bakery (which I've been to), a fish market and a meat shop (both of which I haven't been to). I've been trying to support all local business (esp. my LYS), but it's harder to do with produce. There's even a whole Eat Local Challenge. I don't think I'll be doing the one in April because of the lack of locally grown produce in the area. But, I may do the next one. It looks like September.
My SP got her gift the other day and she loved it!!! I saw that she posted the pictures when I first got up in the morning. I urgently called my husband upstairs. He ran up all freaked out because he thought something was wrong. I was (and still am) so excited!
I have my first session with a personal trainer tomorrow. Wish me luck. I'm sure she's going to kick my ass and I'm going to be sore all weekend. I tried to finish Wicked so I could wear it to work tomorrow. I'm so exhausted that i must go to sleep. I'm only six stupid rows short. Poop.

2007-03-27T21:32:00.000-06:00

While I'm Chicago this weekend, I'm going to have breakfast with one of my dear friends. It's her birthday weekend, so of course I'm going to make here a felted clutch. I'm pretty busy this week, but I managed to work on it last night and finished it today during lunch. Here is a finished picture. It's knit out of Reynold's Lopi.

I felted it and it turned into Grimace. (You know, it's kind of hard to take pictures in my kitchen that conceal the mess.)

This is what was left in my washing machine.

Now, this clutch was made with the exact same pattern as this one. They look like two completely different patterns. The tan one is much smaller and more square. This one is larger and more trapezoidal. They were knit with the same needles and felted for roughly the same amount of time (2 cycles). I knew they would be different but not so different. My theory is that the difference occurs because the KnitPicks yarn is 3 ply and the Lopi is single ply. I don't know what else is could be. Once it dries, I'll take a picture of them together.

PS...I love my washing machine for felting. If I leave the lid open then the washer stops after agitation. This allows me to walk away and do something and not have to concentrate on the felting. It also lets me reset the cycle from the beginning so I conserve water.

2007-03-25T20:17:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a yarn buying weekend. Since Thursday night I have bought 20 skeins of yarn in five different types. I bought the Goshen for Sahara and some sock yarn for my SP from Webs and 10 skeins of different Crystal Palace yarn at my LYS. I bought eight of those skeins to knit this blanket for a friend who's having a baby shower at the end of April. They decided they aren't going to know the sex. I hope these colors work.

The other skeins of Crystal Palace are for my SP. I hopes she likes them. I really wish I could post pictures of the package and handmade card I sent my SP on Saturday. I'm very proud of it. I promise to post pics after the exchange is over.

I finally finished the first sleeve of Wicked today. Now, you might remember that I started the sleeve last week. Well, I finished a long sleeve this morning an tried it on. It looked horrible! The sleeve had no shaping. I followed the instructions, which don't say anything about shaping. I really should have known better and shaped anyway. I guess the the sleeve was OK, but with the sweater being so fitted, it looked weird with a straight long sleeve. I didn't want to redo the entire sleeve (I'm ready to be done with the sweater already) so, I decided to make the short sleeve version. Here's a picture of the finished sleeve.For good measure, here's a picture of one of The Idiots sleeping on her newly washed dog bed.

2007-03-22T20:27:00.000-06:00

I don't have much to say. I ordered Valley Yarn's Goshen in green apple for Sahara. We watched Stranger Than Fiction tonight. I really liked it.

2007-03-21T20:56:00.000-06:00

It is ungodly warm in my house right now. It was a warm day here; almost 80! After our last two gas bills from the winter, I'm reluctant to turn on the air conditioner. All I want is a nice month with low utilities; no high gas bill from heating the house, and no high electric bill for cooling the house. I think I'm going to have to turn on the air, though, because it is 79 upstairs.

Sahara won the Sexy Knitters Club nomination. I'm so going to knit it. I need to pick a nice cool yarn. I think it will make a nice spring/summer work sweater with a little simple cami underneath. Does anyone recommend a yarn? Tilli Thomas Pure & Simple is WAY too expensive.

Also, I think I've decided to frog the Mud Flap Girl (from SnB Nation) that I started last summer. I'm going to use the black Cotton Fleece to make Sizzle. I'll get a lot more wear out of it.

2007-03-19T20:24:00.000-06:00

I have a dirty little secret. I totally suck at armholes. Every time I knit in the round I end up with at least one gaping hole in the armhole. If I knit bottom up, I end up with holes on both sides of the Kitchener stitching. With Wicked being top down, I thought "Well, self, I'll just pick up a stitch, and that should close off what will obviously be a hole." Nope, wrong. See evidence.

I'll just have to do what I always do and go in during finishing and retrace the loops and pull tight. Maybe on the the other sleeve I'll try picking up three stitches. Yeah, that might work. But, I'll have to remember to get rid of them so I don't have one sleeve wider than the other. I bet you I'll forget.

2007-03-18T19:48:00.000-06:00

I completed almost all of the wave bag today. All I have left is the handles which we are starting in class next Monday. It is absolutely huge! A toddler could fit in it. Now I have to figure out what to do with all the left over yarn. I'm thinking some purple felted bowls.

I also finally finished the body of Wicked. It got put on hold for dishcloths and such. Now all I have to do is all sleeves. I'm thinking 3/4 length.

I'm also really pleased with the neck. I have some problems with the neck of the hourglass I knit a couple of months ago. The hourglass really looks better with no undershirt, but the neck is just way to big. I've been searching for a lacy strap tank top that will cover my bra straps, but I haven't found one I've liked, yet.

The audit on my program starts tomorrow; wish me luck.

2007-03-17T21:31:00.000-06:00

No St. Patrick's Day for me. I was so excited this year because it was on a Saturday, but my husband is working nights this weekend. I never get to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Not growing up less than two hours away from both NYC and Boston. Not going to Savannah when I was college in Atlanta, or living in South Carolina. Now, I'm close to Chicago & I bet I'll never get to see them dye the river green. Poor me. End of pity party.
I'm currently blocking the pocket of Wicked. I could post a picture but, I'll wait until tomorrow, when I have the pocket on the sweater.
For some reason I have his overwhelming desire to knit lace. I can't figure out why. Maybe it's the Irish in me.
Oh, Sexy Knitters Club posted the poll for what to knit next. I can't decide what to vote for. I really like four or five of the patterns.

2007-03-16T20:53:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, Spring has left KY for the time being. The temperature has dropped back to the 50's. I'm back to being cold. I worked on my wave bag tonight, but I didn't make much progress. It's not worth taking a picture.
Georgia Tech lost to UNLV by one point today. One measly point! I guess that's what you get when the easiest major at the school is Management. When everyone is required to take Calculus, it is hard to attract the big stupid dumb jocks (not that every student athlete is a dumb jock) that a lot of schools get.
I am going to post this weekend, but I have to let you know right know that next week is going to be hell for me. The two programs I manage are being audited. I'm not looking forward to it.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Tomorrow I'm going to block the pocket for Wicked.

2007-03-14T20:58:00.000-06:00

I had the Wave Bag class on Monday. As of five minutes ago, I have all the colors in the bag. I have decided that I'm not the biggest fan of carrying colors along the back of my work. It makes my hands cramp.

Here's a closeup of the more subtle color change at the top.

I went to a Newcomer's meeting at the Quilt Museum. The quilts they had there were awesome. I've never seen anything that detailed. I'll have to go at another time, when I can browse at my own leisure. The only thing that sucked was that you can't touch anything, just like any other museum, but you want to touch things more there. All that texture and all.

2007-03-11T18:34:00.000-06:00

A combination of a crazy work week, and beautiful weather has kept me away from the blog. Spring is starting in the KY.

We went to Nashville yesterday to see 300 in IMAX. My husband has been talking bout the movie for 2 months. I surprisingly liked it (although I did have to turn my head for some of the gore...I could never go into the medical profession). Then we went and "pet" the stingrays. For an extra $2 you could feed them. So we bought some dead fishies. When you hold up the fish for them, they come up the side of the tank and eat them. One of them was pretty excited and flapped his wing sending a wave of fish water right in my face! I was drenched. It reminded me of the time when we went to Sea World when I was little and a walrus spit on my dad. My family must have some weird nasty marine animal curse.

Anyway, here is a picture of one of the Idiots eating peanut butter off his face. we had most of the windows in the house open today and they barked until their hearts' content.

I finished the bottom of the wave bag today. I brought for the drive to Nashville. I started knitting it in the round, while the whole time saying to myself (and others), "Self, this doesn't look right. When we got home last night, I looked a little more closely at the pattern and realized that the bottom is knit flat. I'm an idiot.

2007-03-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

I actually got some knitting done this weekend. I finished the last washcloth for my MIL. I was actually on time! I even stamped her (a simple) card. The package went out today. Much better than the Christmas presents that weren't mailed until mid-January. I had some tension problems in the last washcloth. I hope after a few uses, washes, and dries, they will be undetectable.

I also got quite a bit done on Wicked. I started the pocket tonight. I only got 19 rounds done before I had to fully immerse myself in Heroes.

We are driving to Nashville this weekend to see 300 in IMAX. I'll surely get a lot of knitting done then. Plus, I think there is Sit'n'Stitch on Friday night. I think it's going to be a wild and crazy knitting weekend.

2007-03-03T22:59:00.000-06:00

Tonight I went to trivia night at the Elks club in support of the United Way. It was a lot of fun. We came in 4th, with perfect scores in both the plants/trees and movie categories. We were done in by sports and geography.
So, last night I met one of the couples that we were going to trivia with for the first time (he works with my DH). The woman said that the last trivia night they went to was at the Catholic school. She said that she won a nun statue that reminded her of Mother Theresa and how odd that was. I looked at her a busted out laughing because it obviously had to be a statue of Mary. And I couldn't stop laughing. Now I feel bad. I don't know, I grew up in a predominately Catholic family (my father's side who I grew up with, although I went to the church my mother went to) in town that is primarily Italian with the other big nationalities being Puerto Rican, Irish, and Polish. (I'm, two of those...guess which?) So, for some reason, the lack of knowledge of the Catholic church in the south still baffles me. I know some people who believe that it is a cult.
Please tell me I should stop feeling bad for having a laugh at this poor girl's expense.

2007-03-02T21:08:00.000-06:00

No knitting today. We had to go to a retirement party at the casino. Apparently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was there for some reason (he had requested the room we were in, but DH's company had already booked it and have dropped a lot of dough there in the past year). There also was a Pat Green concert. So, it was ungodly crowded and smoky. Gross. They won't let anyone smoke in the banquet/concert rooms/restaurants, but will let them smoke outside in the hotel hallway. I hate it. Every time I went to use the restroom there would be a pack of women standing around smoking. I thought to myself...what is this high school?

2007-03-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

Fourth washcloth complete, woohoo!
My hourglass is dry. I'm going to wear it tomorrow night out to dinner. I hope I don't spill anything on it.