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

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!

Birthday Celebration

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.

Big Knitting Weekend

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!

Out of Town, Again

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

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.

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.

Stash-a-sash

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.

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.

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.

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.

Guess what showed up at my house today. Fourteen skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Angora!!!

Just like everyone else, my LYS had a sale yesterday. I picked up a few toys.I figured that I have made at least one pattern from every book I own, therefore I deserve a new book. Don't you agree?

I haven't made much progress with the hat I started yesterday, but here's an updated picture. I really like the subtleties of colorway transitions.

On a closing note, here is a picture of one of The Idiots. Her eyes are rolled into the back of her head, because I'm rubbing her neck. She's been very needy lately. It's very unlike her. I hope she's not feeling ill. After I took this picture we watched some of the Puppy Bowl on the web. She likes to watch animals on TV. She's the only one of the three that pays any attention.

Earlier in the week a storm came through, and the weathermen predicted 2-4 inches. We got a dusting. Last night the weatherman said we had a 50% chance of flurries. I went to bed around midnight and noticed a already dusting on the ground. When I woke up this morning, this is what I saw:

Two whole inches of white powder!! Of course most of it is gone already. I have completed my snow fill for the year. It can now become warm again.

I'm ready to knit Wicked. Here is a picture of the yarn. Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Truffle.

I'm taking a class in March at With Ewe in Mind. We are going to knit the"Wave Knitting Bag". I'm knitting in purple. Here's my yarn:

One last thing, (dinner is ready) I had a single skein of K1C2 Paintbox that I was going to use for a felted purse. Instead I decided to knit this hat. I've gotten about 5 rows done.

I'm back from CT. All in all it was a good trip. I got to see little Jack and spent some time with my family.
I brought Sesame with me to work on during the flights. However, I discovered that long knitting needles and packed flights don't work. I knit most of it while hanging out with my best friend and during the layovers in Detroit and Memphis. I almost finished the back. I'm much more happy with the color combination than I thought I would be.



I talked my mom into going to a yarnshop with me. They didn't have Cash Iroha #78, but they did have a lot of locally spun and dyed yarn. I picked uptwo skeins; Ellen Cooper's Yarn Sonnets in Ivory Rose (140 yd/3.25 oz), and a varigated blue yarn form Hopyard Spinnery (250yd /4 oz). Now I have to figure out what to make with them. If you have any suggestions please let me know.



Did you know that there is no tax on yarn in CT?