Yarny Goodness

My Knitpicks order came and I feel a bit like Cinderella- invited to the ball but having chores/knitting to do before I can go. More incentive to get my other projects done.

Here's the list of new additions:


Pewter Bulky Woll of the Andes for a hat

Essential in Brown (my first solid sock yarn)
Bare/Dyeable sock yarn in the wool and the new wool/nylon blend with specks in it

Wool of the Andes in the new Heather Purple color for the Sunrise Circle Jacket.


What was all that talk about a throw earlier? I have way too many projects as it is.

Mason-Dixon Inspiration

I got a copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting from the library and the Log Cabin Throws are calling my name. Like I need another long-term project. I have my Amazing Technicolor Throw that I haven't worked on for months. Backyard Leaves is collecting dust. I just love the geometric look of these. Maybe I should try something on a smaller scale. I could join in the resurgence of wash cloths and knit a Log Cabin inspired one. Hmm...off to the stash I go.

Ongoing knitting

Why is it that this pair of socks for hubby seems like it will never get done? It could be the extra stitches for a bigger foot, or the endless ribbing, or that I may have been burned out on socks (GASP). I don't know but I am eager to get them done in the next 2 weeks so I will have a new project for our car trip to Oregon (if the wildfires there get under control).

I did get some of the foot done last night. We "watched" The Benchwarmers. I have never honestly seen such a terrible movie so it gave me lots of knitting time. I had to divert my attention away from the movie somehow. We put in Old School after that to wash ourselves of the horrific movie vibe. Note to Adam Sandler and Rob Schnieder: Old School is how boys who can't grow up movies are done!



Dream Swatch is moving on too. I can't decide whether to use the whoel skein and have one very long scarf or to just make a normal length one and have another partially used skein in the stash. Oh the stash! I looked at it last night and told hubby not to let me buy any more yarn for anything other that a sweater becasue I have enough single skeins and sock yarns to last me for 10 years. UGH!

I did it!

Here is a little before and after of my new hair cut. Ahhh...much better!

BEFORE- Me at Stich 'N Pitch on Tuesday

AFTER- Friday after getting the haircut

Turning a Corner (or a heel)

I feel like I have finally turned a corner on the Slip Rib Socks for hubby. This morning I picked up stitches for the gusset and have them set to begin decreasing. 2 socks for a size 13 foot on 1 40" needle is really pushing it. I don't have much excess cord to work with but I was just so happy to make some progress. I always feel like once that part is done, I am on the home stretch.

The urge to cut my hair has been with me for a while but I didn't know how I wanted to have it cut. Last night we watched Scream 3 as I knit and I saw Jenny McCarthy's hair. Perfect. Shorter in a bob with layers. I was also leaning towards Rosario Dawson's hair in Clerks 2. They are probably the same cut, just different styles. Anyway, I have an appt. today to get it done. How it turns out- who knows? I will see what Jesse at Market Place Salon has to say.

Does it sag?

Looking at my Knitting Pattern a Day calendar and noticed today's lovely pattern is a knit one piece bathing suit. Why??? I have never understood the concept of a knit swim suit of any kind. Does it sag when it gets wet? Do things poke out that are normally kept out of sight in a regular suit? I think that is a project I will have to pass on for now (and probably forever). I know I have a ton of sock yarn but I would rather knit yet another Clapotis than embarrass myself and my family as a knit bathing beauty.

5 Things

5 Things always in my purse:
Cell phone
Wallet
iPod
Business Cards
Weight Watcher Journal (doesn't mean I always use it)

5 Things always in my wallet:
Drivers license
Debit card
Starbucks gift card
Insurance card
Credit Card

5 Things always in my refrigerator:
Marinated peppers/mushrooms, etc
Wine
Beer
Salad in a bag
Hubby's fruitcake from Xmas

5 Things always in my closet:
Jeans
Sweaters
Birkenstocks
Dresses I never wear
Pink Feather Boa (never wear it)

5 Things always in my car:
Cell Phone charger
Extra jacket
umbrella (never use that either. I am from Seattle)
Ice Scraper
flashlight

5 Things always on my desk (at home):
Yarn
Patterns
Calendar
useless papers
Printer

Crappy game, good yarn buys

Stitch n Pitch offered up some good yarn buys and a chance to visit local shop booths. In all about 12 booths were offering patterns, yarn and other goodies for sale. Common to most were the knitting needles that light up and the felted hedgehog. Both cute but not for me. I made off with a free skein of ribbon yarn, some Mariner colored sock yarn (I got the last one only a half an hour after the doors opened) and a Off the Cuff kit (perfect, since I have the pattern and no beads or yarn for it). Take a look...
I worked on my Dream Swatch Scarf for a bit until I noticed that the Blue Jays had scored without me even realizing it. Then I watched most of the rest of the game. I did make some progress though. It is a quick knit once I sit and work on it.

I saw Molly from PurlyGirls and looked avidly for others from the group but they must have been a few sections away. So many knitters. I think we and the Blue Jay fans out numbered the die-hard M's fans by far.

BTW, M's lost.

Play Ball!

Tonight is Stitch n Pitch. I went last year and while the game was good, I really didn't knit that much and the little knitting nuances they plugged into the game got to me (the first pitch thrown was with a ball of yarn, player's names on the big screen in a cross-stitch font, etc). Hubby asked if we were going again this year. I wasn't really planning on it but $15 are cheap seats and we have only gone to 1 game so far this year. So i have my Dream Swatch packed and ready to go tonight with a group from a LYS, none of whom I have met. Could be interesting. Maybe the Mariner Moose will throw more yarn into the crowd.

Last night I went to 2 classes at the gym: Latin Spice and striptease workout. They were good. It made me realize how much I miss dance classes. The instructor like to watch himself in the mirror a little too much. He would randomly start dancing on his own, looking in the mirror and then apologize for getting off track. I made me wonder if he does that at home in the mirror.

Damn you Knit Picks!

It looks like Knitpicks has come out with a whole bunch of new fall yarns. I spent 4 hours on Saturday added and deleting things to my cart, looking up patterns I have been wanted to knit and overthinking every potential purchase. Finally, I narrowed it down to some of the new heathered Wool of the Andes for the Sunrise Circle Jacket, 2 of the new dye-able sock yarns, some Essential for socks and a bulky Wool of the Andes to make the cables hat from One Skein. I ordered enough to get free shipping but not enough to break the bank. Still, my stash stares me in the face every day and now it is growing bigger.

In an effort to reduce the stash, here is my project roll call and updates:


Dishcloth- Easy and brainless knitting








Dream Swatch- I started this on the plane and will bring it to the Mariners' Stitch n' Pitch tomorrow night.











Hubby's socks- I have made it to the heel flap and an about half way done.

Not shown- Backyard Leaves- not much to see here. I haven't worked much on it lately.

Four projects at once!!! That is a record for me.

Back from Vegas

Holy shit I am tired. I guess Vegas will do that to you. Your body clock works differently there. The conference was good and I did get some great ideas but I also had time to run around with hubby. Mudwrestling, Hooters casino, topless showgirls...Is there a theme here? Here is the fun we had that had nothing to do with mud, orange shorts or rhinestones.

I got some knitting done on the plane but only started one Dream Swatch. Pics soon. Tomorrow is our company picnic and I have to get to the site at 8am to help set up. Time to get some rest before the mayham starts.

Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!

I am leaving for 4 days in Vegas. Some work, some play, some drinking, some gaming. I have really overpacked and have 2-3 outfits per day. One for the Conference and one for fun. I get a back of the house tour of the Rio and hubby and I always find something interesting to see there so I have no doubts it will be a good time.

I will post again next week with my airplane knitting progress. Have a good one!

update: Risking major burnout and project boredom, I am bringing 2 Dream Swatch projects with me. One with sock yarn and another using the just dyed yarn for a scarf. I will let you know how it goes.

How I spent my Saturday

My original plans fell through since someone didn't want to pick up their son at noon because it wasn't convienent for her and asked if we could drop him off at 8pm instead, even though it is her weekend. I can bitch all day about that but on the good side, it saved us money since I was going to go shopping and I got a chance to dye this...

Wilton dyes again. I am really starting to like these. I tried to do something more like Koigu. There are 219 yds of worsted there and I keep leaning towards making something felted but I relaly like this colorway and might not want to blur the look by felting. Another Twitterpated? no. A scarf? I have enough for now. I guess this yarn will be waiting for the perfect project along with the other yarn in my stash.

I am only about 2" away from starting the heel flaps on the socks and I cannot wait!

Good Chunk

Finally, after too many days of only knitting one or 2 rows, I sat down this morning and knit for half an hour straight. I feel like I accomplished some progress on the ribbed socks and caught up on some cheesy TV!

What's in a name?

The meme posted on Zonda's site caught my eye:

YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME(grandfather/grandmother on your father's side, your favorite sweet/lolly):
Dominica Jellybelly

YOUR FLY GIRL/GUY NAME(first initial of first name followed by "izzle", first two or three letters of your last name followed by "dizzle"):
Lizzle Mudizzle

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME(favourite color, favourite animal):
Pink Fish

YOUR STAR WARS NAME(first 3 letters of your name- last 3 letters of mother's maiden name, first 3 letters of your pet's name repeated twice):
Lynkin Nonnon

YOUR SUPERHERO NAME("The", your favourite color, the automobile you drive):
The Pink CRV

Tag you're it!

Lots of Ribbing

I have made some progress on the socks for Hubby. I have about 4-5" done on the cuff. Problem is his foot is so freaking big that the cuff should be about 9 inches! That is alot of ribbing. Lately I have only been able to manage a few rows before getting bored with it.

Meanwhile, I have this yarn staring at me every time I sit down at my computer.
"knit me" But I can't start another sock project now.

I am heading to Vegas next week for work and Hubby is tagging along for fun. I will have most nights and 2 days to play so I am so ready to go! What to bring on the plane? I think the socks are too much to handle. 2 balls of yarn, twisting and tangling on a plane is not a good thing. Another scarf? Oh wait! I think it might be the Dream Swatch Head Wrap from Knit and Tonic! Perfect.

Obsessive?

Am I really that obsessive? I used to not go a day without knitting. I would constantly think about the next project, the perfect yarn, the projects I was working and how they would turn out. I still think about those things more than I probably should (esp. at work) but I now have a new obsession. One I never thought I would have...going to the gym.

Honestly, I dreaded it for so long but about a month ago we joined a new one and each got 5 personal trainer sessions. Yesterday was my first day without a visit to the gym in about a week and a half and I missed it. We went to a movie and I sat there thinking about how I could be on the ellipical. We are going out for hubby's b-day tonight and I am squeezing in a workout between work and dinner. Nevermind I have gained 3lbs since I started working out (that's muscle right?) I have found a new thing to occupy my time. Don't worry though- I am thinking about the socks I have on the needles at home as I am writing this.

Twitterpated

As promised, here is a picture of my nearly finished Twitterpated and the fabric that will become the lining. I haven't found any straps yet- Joann's didn't seem to have any that would work. Here are the details:

Twitterpated from Zephyr Style

Yarn: Cotton-ease

Needles: Denise size 7

I also have my KSKS pal's package ready to go. Here is what I am sending off; 2 skeins of Trekking, a Chibi, a row counter, soem patterns and of course, the bag. I hope my pal enjoys it!

Plugging Away

Not too much to report here. My KSKS package is just about ready to go! I found a few more patterns last night and have eveything in a pile.

I worked a bit on the socks last night while watching America's Got Talent. First of all, I cannot believe I was actually watching it and second- Hasselhoff cracks me up. Ever since his crying stint on American Idol, I am seeing him in a different light. He is getting older and really has no rhythm. I used to think he was cute during the Knight Rider days but now it is kind of funny to watch him be hip.

My other summer guily pleasure is My Life on the D-List. Kathy Griffin has never really done much for me but this show is funny. I even had hubby watching it last night.

More knitting pics and news this weekend- I promise.

Funky 4th

I have never been big on the 4th of July. I used to hide in the car when we would light off fireworks outside our house. I get nervous around people lighting them off so with hubby at work, yesterday was really like any other day off for me- except for the large amount of so bad its good tv I watched. It started with 4 back to back episodes of The Girls Next Door on E! I secretly would love to visit the Playboy mansion and how entertaining are 3 blondes discussing Barbara Walters, birthday parties and college classes vs a photo shoot? The whole blond thing hit a pinacle with Dirty Love- a movie written by and starring Jenny McCarthy. OMG!! This was a terrible movie but I did catch myself laughing. There are some of the worst and dirtiest jokes in it and Carmen Electra cracked me up. - Wow, I just noticed how much silcone I saw on TV yesterday!

Anyway-I got some knitting in too. I finished knitting Twitterpated and just need to line it and find a strap. I also worked on the socks and Backyard Leaves. Both sections at once is so much easier to deal with.

Starting and Finishing

So I finished the headband project and right now it looks like a giant strip of bacon. Since I don't really want a big piece of pork product in my hair, I have scratched the pattern idea and moved on for now. Maybe later the inspiration will come to me.

I did finished my bag for the Knit Sock Kit Swap and I am pretty proud of it considering my lack of sewing skills. I took a class in 3rd grade but could not even get my checkerboard square pillow to have the same size squares. ( Like a good mom and dad, it is still displayed in my paren's bedroom) Take a look! I hop my pal likes it. I have all the stuff ready to go just need to pack it all up. I may wait a few days before sending it off.

I have started on another pair of socks. These are for hubby. I have relucant to knit him a pair for his size 13 feet but I am using the guides in the Sensational Knitted Socks so these should fit him well. Mesa from Knitpicks, originally for another Clapotis but I think I have enough...at least for now.