Mcknitter

Feeling Inspired

2010-07-13T21:36:00.010-04:00

I’m looking through all my old Flickr pictures and I am feeling inspired. I don’t know if it is the knitting and yarn that’s inspiring me or if it is the frame of mind I was in when I took the pictures. I remember being so at peace and happy. I have felt so overwhelmed lately that the moments of happiness I have are so refreshing. The pictures remind me of that feeling again. I love my life, but I am still getting used to keeping up with everything I did before but with a toddler in tow. There is always something to do, organize, clean, pick up. It never ends, but I am trying to get a routine of some sort and have some me time after Maddie goes to bed. (loving early bedtimes!) I am knitting more than I have in a while and I am dreaming about the next project like I used to but I have not had much success lately.

I wound my Claudia’s Handpainted in Chocolate Cherry for another shot at Nutkins but ripped it out after one repeat, again. I loved Angie’s but when I try I get ladders in between the pattern repeats. I immediately cast on for Undulating rib, wanting something with an all over pattern with the variegated yarn and they came out too big and were ripped out. Again, I cast on for a second shot at Jaywalkers (these came out waay to small) and surprisingly they were too big also. I have always had problems with knitting too tight so this is new to me. I have set the yarn aside and will decide if I will try again with it anytime soon. Maybe it does not want to be knit and I should go for something else. I started to cast on for a shawl with the latest addition, Wolle’s Yarn Creations Color Changing Cotton. (link picture) I realized two things very quickly. The yarn is not plied at all and I’m not sure I like that, and that I have no idea how to go about knitting a shawl. I always thought I could just go about following the pattern directions, but I just couldn’t work it out in my head. I will have to try this again when I have more time and a different yarn.

For now I am back to working on the 2nd pair of Monkeys in DIC Smooshy. The first is done and the second is at the heel flap. I have had a monster headache the past two days but have been able to get a lot done in the evening after Maddie goes to bed. I hope to finish them soon and I love the yarn.

Cannot believe she is a year old already :) Plans for this weekend: Painting the House…

Blog...What Blog?

2010-02-05T12:47:00.002-05:00

It has been over a year since I posted to the blog. I am still here and alive, if anyone still follows this. A lot has happened since the last post and I will spare you the long story. The details are that I had a baby in June 2009 named Madelyn, I lost 2 jobs, quit one job, but am working full time right now, the hubby also lost 2 jobs, quit one job and is working sort of part time, we started a home theater business about 8 months ago and we have been hanging in there. We are so thankful that we have each other and have a good Lord watching over us.

I have not been doing much crafting at all until recently. It took me about 6 months after Madelyn was born to knit anything. I am really surprised that I could go that long without my fingers twitching or losing my mind. I did do a lot of reading, especially in the beginning when it felt like I was nursing around the clock. Now that the new baby stuff is over and I am 3 months into a job that gets me home at a decent hour, we have gotten into a rhythm of sorts. I actually have some free time now. I still have Monkey Socks on the needles that I have worked on a little and I cast on for Evangeline gloves. My office is so cold! It feels good to be back into something I love to do so much. Hopefully I will be able to post more often now and get some pictures of my WIP’s up, as well as some yummy handspun that Angie spun for me recently. Thanks! And here is the new little one Madelyn Faith…Isn’t she cute! My Best work yet :)

Glad to be back and I hope you all have a great day!

My Kind Of Music

2008-09-12T08:04:00.002-04:00

Well I was going to wait until I had more pictures to write another post, but after seeing this on Angie's blog I had to. Just reading through the list put me right back in high school. More than just remembering the song, I get flashbacks from what I was doing when that particular song was playing. Sometimes it's kinda cool, then other times not so much. Some things shouldn't be remembered...I guess my taste in music is all over the place, as it is now. I did notice that the ones I didn't like I remember very well. I probably don't like them because they were very overplayed. I get kinda annoyed with that. I did cheat on a few by downloading the song because I really remember the title and can't think of the song. So here it is, and please don't hold me accountable for my song choices.

Here's what you do:

A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com

B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year

C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline or italicize your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about)

Top 100 Hits of 2003/Top 100 Songs of 2003
1. Crazy In Love, Beyoncé Knowles featuring Jay-Z
2. Hey Ya!, Outkast
3. Here Without You, 3 Doors Down
4. Baby Boy, Beyoncé Knowles featuring Sean Paul
5. ~~Miss Independent, Kelly Clarkson~~
6. Beautiful, Christina Aguilera
7. Rock Your Body, Justin Timberlake
8. Where Is The Love?, Black Eyed Peas featuring Justin Timberlake
9. When I'm Gone, 3 Doors Down
10. All I Have, Jennifer Lopez featuring LL Cool J
11. ~~Shake Ya Tailfeather, Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee~~
12. Unwell, Matchbox
13. Picture, Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow
14. In Da Club, 50 Cent
15. I'm With You, Avril Lavigne
16. Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
17. Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake
18. Can't Hold Us Down, Christina Aguilera featuring Lil' Kim
19. Harder To Breathe, Maroon 5
20. Why Don't You & I, Santana featuring Alex Band
21. Someday, Nickelback
22. Suga Suga Baby, Bush featuring Frankie J
23. Your Body Is A Wonderland, John Mayer
24. Are You Happy Now?, Michelle Branch
25. Landslide, Dixie Chicks
26. The Remedy (I Won't Worry), Jason Mraz
27. (There's Gotta Be) More To Life, Stacie Orrico
28. I Know What You Want, Busta Rhymes & Mariah Carey featuring The Flipmode Squad
29. It's My Life, No Doubt
30. Clocks, Coldplay
31. Stacy's Mom,Fountains Of Wayne
32. All The Things She Said, t.A.T.u.
33. ~~Bump Bump Bump, B2K & P. Diddy~~
34. Get Busy, Sean Paul
35. Rock Wit U (Awww Baby), Ashanti
36. If You're Not The One, Daniel Bedingfield
37. Headstrong, Trapt
38. Bright Lights, Matchbox 20
39. Fighter, Christina Aguilera
40. Perfect, Simple Plan
41. '03 Bonnie & Clyde, Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé Knowles
42. Mesmerize, Ja Rule featuring Ashanti
43. Intuition, Jewel
44. Ignition, R. Kelly
45. Drift Away, Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray
46. White Flag, Dido
47. Work It, Missy Elliott
48. Miss You, Aaliyah
49. Invisible, Clay Aiken
50. Senorita, Justin Timberlake
51. Addicted, Simple Plan
52. 21 Questions, 50 Cent featuring Nate Dogg
53. My Love Is Like…, Wo Mya
54. Don't Mess With My Man, Nivea
55. Angel, Amanda Perez
56. She Hates Me, Puddle Of Mudd
57. I Want You, Thalia featuring Fat Joe
58. Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love), JC Chasez
59. Girls & Boys, Good Charlotte
60. So Far Away, Staind
61. Swing, Swing, All-American Rejects
62. ~~Magic Stick, Lil' Kim featuring 50 Cent~~
63. Don't Wanna Try, Frankie
64. Sing For The Moment, Eminem
65. Hell Yeah, Ginuwine
66. Through The Rain, Mariah Carey
67. Breathe, Michelle Branch
68. ~~Right Thurr, Chingy~~
69. Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous, Good Charlotte
70. Calling All, Angels Train
71. Gossip Folks, Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris
72. P.I.M.P., 50 Cent
73. Air Force Ones, Nelly
74. I'm Glad, Jennifer Lopez
75. Low, Kelly Clarkson
76. I Drove All Night, Celine Dion
77. Into You, Fabolous featuring Tamia
78. Stuck, Stacie Orrico
79. So Yesterday, Hilary Duff
80. No Letting Go, Wayne Wonder
81. Stand Up, Ludacris featuring Shawnna
82. Big Yellow Taxi, Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton
83. Losing Grip, Avril Lavigne
84. Never Leave You, Lumidee
85. Why Can't I, Liz Phair
86. The Boys Of Summer, The Ataris
87. Bigger Than My Body, John Mayer
88. Get Low Lil', Jon & The Eastside Boyz
89. Running, No Doubt
90. Spin, Lifehouse
91. Something, Lasgo
92. Superman, Eminem
93. Pretty Baby, Vanessa Carlton
94. Come Into My World, Kylie Minogue
95. Me Against The Music, Britney Spears featuring Madonna
96. The Anthem, Good Charlotte
97. Deliverance, Bubba Sparxxx
98. Misunderstood, Bon Jovi
99. I'd Do Anything, Simple Plan
100. I Can Only Imagine, MercyMe

Long Overdue

2008-09-08T13:49:00.011-04:00

Wow…I can honestly say that I have not had the energy in me to blog. Blogging has been the last thing on my mind. Ever since mid-August, around the time TS Fay was here, my life has been turned upside down. I know I really don’t have a reason to complain because we are still alive and still have a roof over our heads and food on the table (if we had a table…nevermind). It just seems like everything happened at once and my mind is still trying to catch up. First of all, we got through the storm fine. My area did not flood (but unfortunately some of our friends did) but we discovered after the storm, when we thought it was over, that water had been seeping in through the concrete blocks and slab of the 2 bedrooms on the East side of the house. So that weekend we tore out carpet in one bedroom and were able to steam clean the other. Fortunately the room we tore up the carpet in was where I wanted wood floors anyways so it wasn’t a total loss. We will just have to live with the beautiful Terrazzo for a while. On the very same day that we discovered the water damage I had a “meeting” at work about my hours. As some of you may know, I had been cleaning the boss’s house for 10 hours a week to keep me at 40 hours. Well since it was widely known that I didn’t like doing it, I was told I was no longer going to and my hours were now cut to 30 hours. I even had the weekend to think about if I still wanted to work there. Gee Thanks… At least I still have a job, and I now get Fridays off. I am definitely keeping my options open for anything else. We can live with me working less hours but that pretty much stops our debt snowball. We are back to the minimums on everything. This sucks.

Well, I don’t want to dwell on all that, but speaking of our debt snowball, I got to see Dave Ramsey live in Tampa on Saturday. I had to drive alone and meet my boss there, but that’s another long story, and I did have a good time. He is so fun to watch. I even got to stop by Knit and Knibble to check it out and left with some pretty Colinette Jitterbug in Summer Berries. I also stopped by Knit & Stitch on Friday and grabbed some Dream in Color Smooshy in Nightwatch. Yarn always makes me feel better! I didn’t do a whole lot of knitting over the weekend, but since the hubby was out of town on business, I got a ton done around the house. I actually want to go home now knowing I can relax because I am caught up on housework, at least for now. It’s amazing what a clean house can do to my mood. I have been in a funk for a while so it really helped. I can’t believe that I have been so weird lately. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open at Knit night on Thursday. Joe from SWTC came by our knit night and gave us samples and we had a mini fashion show in the middle of Starbucks. It was a blast and he is fun to hang out with. It seemed like as soon as he left I was ready for bed.

I do have knitting to show off even though I have avoided blogging. I didn’t knit very much, but I did knit all day when my office was closed for the storm. I was able to finish the first Pomatomus sock and I am almost done with the ribbing on the second.

I love how the sock came out. I don’t know if it is the yarn, the pattern (Cookie A. is a genius), or both, but it looks amazing. I couldn’t wait to get started on the second sock. I also got around to reattaching the yarn on the Dream Swatch. It has been a year almost to the day since Diana ate the bamboo needle out of it. I forgot how much I like the yarn. I am using Lorna’s Laces Sport in Jeans. There are pictures here. I went through my knitting bag and decided to narrow down my WIP. I frogged the Boobholder since it was really small. I love the Malabrigo and would rather have something that I can wear. I also decided to put the Sweater Bag aside because it is just too hot to have all that in my lap. I decided that a sweater would be a whole lot better, I know I am weird. I cast on for Central Park Hoodie in Caron Simply Soft in a soft grey color. It is Acrylic, but it feels ok and I needed a bargain sweater. I think it will be perfect for when the weather does get a little cooler, whenever that is. I am only a few inches into the ribbing so nothing interesting to show.

That’s all I have for now so here’s the view I had while I was paying bills yesterday:

Isn’t she sweet!

Oh Crap...

2008-08-19T15:09:00.017-04:00

So I guess this storm is really coming for me. I have not been too worried about it since it was hitting land on the west coast and was likely to cross north of us but they changed the path today to cross right over my area. Now it isn’t a huge hurricane or anything but it can still do some damage. I really am only worried about the tornadoes that keep popping up along the coast and the risk of flooding. It has been raining non-stop since about 7:30 this morning. It still has a few hours before it gets to my area, but we have already had 5” of rain. I am glad we no longer live in Merritt Island, but we are still within a mile from the river. I got to stay home today (when the schools close, my office does too) but the hubby is out working. I am worried about him driving in the heavy rain and wind so I will pray he gets home safe.

In other news, we got to spend the weekend with T’s grandparents on the west coast. As usual I came home feeling like I inhaled a pack of cigarettes and had to febreeze everything that we took but we had a good time. By the way, spraying febreeze on yarn does get the smell out and doesn’t seem to harm the fabric. I wasn’t going to spend the whole weekend without anything to knit. I worked on the Pomatomus Sock over the weekend and am about to turn the heel today. I didn’t knit as much as I wanted to but I had a good reason. We decided to take Diana with us this time. Surprisingly she did great. Within minutes she was playing with the two poodle mixes and Chihuahua mix. The Chihuahua, Lucy, was only 9lbs the last time I saw her, but this time she weighed 13lbs! She looked like a little spotted sausage! I was so proud of her behaving so well. She didn’t even shred anything! We will definitely be taking her with us next time.

I have a couple of new skeins to show off today. The purple yarn is merino/cashmere/nylon sportweight blend that Alyson sent me. The color is Eleanor Rigby and it is gorgeous! It is such a pretty deep semi-solid purple. It even came with an amethyst and pearl zero marker, and boy it is soft. I could cuddle with this all day! The other skein is Crazy Monkey’s Monkey Toes Sock Yarn. The color is Clay Pit and it is superwash merino. I can’t believe that it was only $13 for 490yds! It is gorgeous! It was definitely an impulse buy but it was worth it!

Oh good, the hubby just called and said they sent everyone home early. Now I can stop worrying. When did I become such a worrier?

An Interview

2008-08-13T10:12:00.005-04:00

I saw this around the blogs and thought it was cute. I sat down to ask the hubby the questions while he was sitting at the computer after work. I should have known that the he would never answer me seriously. There was a lot of eye rolling, and “come on hun, just answer”.

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Hubby: That you don’t make me anything.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Hubby: That you don’t knit me socks.
Me: Hun, you’re feet are huge. Would you even wear them? Ok, ok, maybe soon.

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
Hubby: A Swatch
Me: Come on, I don’t even swatch most of the time. Seriously…
Hubby: Ok, the turtle.
Me: Do you even know his name? (stares blankly at me) It’s Sheldon.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Hubby: No. My hobbies cost more.
Me: Have I mentioned that I want a spinning wheel?

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Hubby: Duh, I just said mine cost more.
Me: Give me a break, I’m just asking the questions.

Me: What are your hobbies?
Hubby: (rolls eyes) You know this…Cars, audio…

Me: If we compared money spent on hobbies, who would win?
Hubby: You
Me: You have bought cars before. And your stuff is really expensive. We will get to your hobbies soon.

Me: Has my knitting in public ever embarrassed you?
Hubby: No, I think it’s funny.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Hubby: Worst weight?
Me: (laughs) You pay more attention than I thought, but no.

Me: Can you name another blog?
Hubby: Hmm…
Me: You can’t Google it, that’s cheating.
Hubby: Then no.

Me: Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
Hubby: No.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Hubby: Yes, to count stitches within an inch, and to gauge the size of the needle.
Me: Wow, close enough.

Me: Do you read my blog?
Hubby: Nope
Me: Do you even know the name of it?
Hubby: No. You don’t know the names of my car forums.
Me: Fair enough.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Hubby: How could I if I don’t read it?

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Hubby: Yes, and dinner would be on the table.
Me: I cook dinner! And do you really think I would actually clean if I didn’t knit? Yea right.

Me: Is there anything you would like to add in closing?
Hubby: No.

And for those of you that read to the end, I have a sneak peek at the boobholder in progress:

Bad Kitty

2008-08-11T15:12:00.009-04:00

Today started off just like every other Monday until I discovered that my keys were nowhere to be found. Turns out the hubby had them in his car and he was on the way to an appointment in Melbourne. So I called the boss and let them know I wouldn’t be in. Seems like I would have a nice day off right? Wrong, I had plenty to do, and most of it I could work on from here. So I have been working off and on today (not too hard though) and I figured out that while it is really cute, it is quite hard to work with a cat walking back and forth across the screen and occasionally stepping on the keyboard to be pet. This little kitty in question (Tipper) is in big trouble right now. Yesterday morning I found my Zune (a little 8G one we bought in July) in the bottom of the water dish. Apparently he wanted to play with the headphones and knocked it off the counter. Needless to say it’s not turning on. That means that most of my music is gone too since I use my work computer to sync it and I erase most of the stuff after as not to make the computer slow. I’m not too pleased with him right now, but then he curls up and goes to sleep, and this is my view. How can I stay mad at him?

So before I got to work this morning, I finally finished the soaker. It only took me a day to finish it, but I lost the pattern a little over a week ago so it was set aside. I do like how this came out, but it seemed so fiddly. There are just so many parts to it. I don’t know if I will make any more, or if I do, I don’t think I will do all the I-cord detail.

Baby Hat and Soaker Set
Yarn: Moda Dea Vision in Karma
Needles: 5.0mm Knit Picks Circular
Pattern: Baby Hat from Easy Baby Knits and Snapdragon Soaker
Date Finished: 8/11/2008

I also started a pair of socks since the Kindness socks were frogged. This is my Pagewood Farms Sock yarn that I got at the Orlando Needleworks Show last year. Hmm...I wonder if there is another one this year? I will have to check on that. I decided to knit the Pomatomus Socks since the Monkeys were such a big hit. Cookie A is a genius! They look gorgeous in this yarn since the color variations are very subtle. And if you noticed, the sock is on a wooden sock blocker. These came from Chappy’s Fiber Arts & Crafts. They did not have a beagle in the shop so after emailing the store, they were nice enough to draw one up and even send me a proof. I love them, although I didn’t expect them to be as large as they are. They fit my socks, but they just look smaller in pictures. So now I better get back to work (yea right).

Lots of Good News

2008-08-05T11:48:00.012-04:00

I know everyone is saying this, but can you believe that it’s August, and -gasp- less than 5 months until Christmas? Where has the year gone? I just realized that next month will be one year since we bought our house. We aren’t even finished painting yet. What have we done with our time? The only thing that has not been flying past us is our debt snowball. We have been working hard to pay off all debt except the house and thanks to a couple of bonuses (including a certain stimulus check) we think we can be debt free by the end of the year. That is huge for us! We have had debt since the day we decided to get married. We walked into the bank and got a loan to pay off, and therefore combine, our debt and have been there ever since. I have been getting so excited as the months pass. I am even more excited to be able to go see Dave Ramsey, the inspiration for all this, in September for his Total Money Makeover seminar. Sadly, the hubby just found out he will be out of town that day. He really wanted to see Dave too....

Anyways, I have lots of good news today. I decided to take a stab at Alyson’s contest and guess how many skeins she sent to The Loopy Ewe. I was the closest number so I won! I will be getting the prized skein of merino/cashmere/nylon sportweight yarn soon. Yay! Thanks Alyson! Congrats on the success of your shop!

As promised, I have another FO to show off. This is the Calorimetry, aka the Kitty Warmer:

Calorimetry II
Yarn: Patons SWS in Natural Earth
Needles: 5.0mm Knit Picks Circular
Pattern: Calorimetry from Knitty Winter 2006
Date Finished: 7/19/2008

I only cast on 100 stitches this time and it turned out a bit snug. It still fits, but I would like it a bit looser. Like I really have a need for it in Florida anyway. So after casting off I threw it on Tipper and it fit/s him perfectly as a little kitty warmer. He didn’t mind having it on, but Jessie was not having it. When Tipper came home I was a bit worried that he would not feel at home. Jessie wanted nothing to do with him and he was terrified of Diana. He would hiss at her, and she would just bark more at him. Since then everyone has become friends. He wrestles and plays with Jessie (all night!) and is tolerating Diana. Diana did learn what a real cat is made of though, since Tipper is not declawed.

I have decided to frog the Kindness socks after only a few rows past the ribbing, even after all the trouble it took to cast on. I really didn’t like my gauge on them since the yarn is so thin. Since I have 4 balls, maybe I can make a shawl or something. I have never done lace before so that will be something new. Instead of those socks, I cast on for the Boobholder in some Malabrigo that came from SimpleChaos on Ravelry. I don’t know how you get 13 sts/in in worsted weight so I think I will have to adjust the pattern to fit. This is after ripping out and starting over once already. I really like the color, Azul Profundo, but of course I have no pics yet. Last night I decided I need another sock project that I can bring around with me so I tried to wind some Pagewood Farms sock yarn. Tried is the key word…I guess I shouldn’t have started winding at 9:30pm because I was really tired. I thought it was going to be quick but the yarn kept tangling. It was too small around for my swift so I had it around 2 candle jars but it was a mess. I had to wind from the other end by hand and keep untangling it. I was finally done over an hour later. Now I have 2 equal center pull balls for some Pomatomus Socks. I have not been having good luck with new patterns lately so we’ll see how this goes.

Thursday night is knit night again with the newly formed “Brevard’s Coffee Shop Knitters” group. We decided to start a Ravelry group since we were all sending messages to each other trying to get on the same page. It seems like this turned into a weekly thing too. I really like meeting up with the girls. It’s always fun and interesting. Hopefully I will have some socks cast on by then!

Another Catch Up

2008-07-23T20:02:00.007-04:00

Again, it has been far too long since I’ve posted. It seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. I want to knit but I feel like I am not thrilled with what I have. I finished the Monkey socks back on the 11^th and to no surprise, they are my favorite socks so far.

Monkey Socks
Yarn: White Willow Superwash in Alice's Garden
Needles: 3.5mm Bamboo dpn's
Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A
Date Finished: 7/11/2008

They fit great, except for the extra long heel flap. I knit the flap how that pattern said but after trying them on the turn sits on the bottom of my foot. Since the flap is too long I only had to do 5 repeats on the foot. I also had a ton of yarn left over. Maybe I will have enough for some anklets, or a couple pairs of baby socks.

I also knit a baby hat the day after I finished them. It is for one of the several (and by several I mean like 6) babies on the way. This hat is out of some Moda-Dea Vision that I pocked up at AC Moore before they closed. I don’t usually knit with this stuff since it is part acrylic, but at half off it was good enough. Turns out I love the color. I loved it so much that I went back the day of closing and bought some more. I haven’t decided if I want to ad a pompom to the top. It is for a baby, and all babies have to be dressed in huge embarrassing pompoms once, right?

Baby Hat
Yarn: Moda-Dea Vision
Needles: 4.5mm KP Circulars
Pattern: Cotton and Wool Hats from Easy Baby Knits
Date Finished: 7/12/2008

So after that I cast on for the Socks of Kindness in Jojoland Melody and all was great until I noticed my KP circs were flaking metal off on the knitting and the tip was now rough. I was disappointed since I had just had one of my cables break, so I switched to the other circ I had in that size. Well that one was breaking at the join too and therefore snagging the yarn every round. I called KP and they sent me all the things that broke. I did get a few questions as to why I wanted 2 circs in the same size and I had only bought one but after I told them that my secret pal got it for me they just sent it out. While I waited I cast on for another Calorimetry in the Patons SWS that I had and finished it last Saturday. I don’t have pictures of the new sock or the Calorimetry though because it has been raining every afternoon.

I do have a picture of my new haircut. It has been two weeks now and I still love it! I thought it was a little bit too short at first, but I got used to it now. I was going to do color too, but I didn’t. Maybe in a couple of weeks when I go for a trim I will do it. So tomorrow is another Knit Night and I am excited. I love going to hang out with the girls talk all night.

The only other news I have is the newest member of the family. Meet Tipper:

He came home with the hubby on Monday. This is the picture from the SPCA but I will get some better ones soon. I thought that T didn’t want another cat, but he really just didn’t want a kitten. Tipper is 6 months old, younger than T wanted, but he is neutered and has all his shots. He is so playful and loving! It’s hard to finish this with him walking all over the keyboard trying to get me to pet him or trying to get the mouse on the screen. Sorry we didn’t want a kitten Angie!

Back in Action

2008-07-09T11:11:00.017-04:00

I really didn’t forget about the blog…ok maybe I did. But I’m back now and I have a lot going on. This week has been crazier than most because this is what happens every time someone is out of the office. And on top of that, there is a showing at my boss’s upscale hugeish house, and since he is the one out of town, I have to finish getting the house ready for the showing. Ugh…I’m dealing

In other news, I an almost finished with the second Monkey sock. Wait, I never posted about finishing the first one, did I? Wow, I’m behind. Well I finished the first one the night before we went to the Stitch N Pitch game because I didn’t want to do a toe in the car. I cast on for the second sock at the game and it has been going smoothly. I can’t say enough about how much I love this yarn and pattern. They are easily going to be my favorite pair so far. I was tempted to go for another pair of monkey’s right away, but instead I am going to knit Socks of Kindness in some Jojoland Melody. It’s not superwash but I love the long color changes. Here is the first sock finished:

Now about the Stitch N Pitch game. It was a blast! I did not see any Ravelers, but we still enjoyed ourselves. No pictures of the game (except one quite blurry one) because we just relaxed and had a good time. The bags they gave out were substantially better this time around (no fun fur!), and thanks to some generous people in front of us, we scored 2 more bags. They had grabbed the last of the bags that were not given out, about six of them, and gave us a couple. I had the idea to check back for more bags, but they beat me to it. I split everything between me and Angie, since she was not able to make it again this year. Between all the bags there were six skeins of yarn, 4 of which were Araucania Ranco sock yarn.

In store for me this week is a much needed haircut, it’s been almost a year, and another knit night. I really am excited to get my hair cut tonight. I am going to a friend of a friend, who is awesome, and I want to cut it short. I thought it was short last time, but I want it shorter, and will possibly add some highlights. We’ll see how it goes tonight. I am kinda vague on what I want so hopefully she will know what will look good on me. Tomorrow night is our knit night and I am hoping that the girls we met up with last week are going. All of the sudden there are knitters in the area! I had a blast knitting with them for a little while last Friday.

Well that’s all I have for now. I will leave you with a picture of T lighting some fireworks from the 4^th of July. He was so happy to buy some fireworks for the first time since we moved here. You can’t get these kinds of fireworks back in California!

Monkey Love

2008-06-17T16:32:00.008-04:00

Today has been a good mail day!! I got one of the yarns I traded for on Ravelry and I got my Zune case and armband. I really wanted to get that armband today before I go workout. I hate having to hold my Zune and I always drop it when I do. The yarn I got is Cherry Tree Hill in Life’s a Beach. I was so excited that someone wanted to trade that for my charcoal gray Alpaca Sox. I liked the alpaca yarn, but the color was not for me. And who am I kidding knitting alpaca socks in Florida? So I am very happy with my first trade on Ravelry. I also traded my Claudia’s Handpainted in Boot camp, but I haven’t received that yarn yet.

Last weekend was pretty good, as usual. I met up with Angie again, (what is it with us sneaking off every Saturday?) but this time it was to hand over a computer and grab lunch. We did have enough time to sit and knit while her son played in the mall and her hubby shopped. We even got to stop in AC Moore before heading off to the mall. I am glad we stopped in there. Since there are virtually no knitters/crafters in the Brevard County area, it is closing and they were having a big sale. Everything is still only 25% off but they had all the books 50% off. I got Easy Baby Knits for only $8. I will definitely be checking back to see how much they mark down everything.

The only think that I have been working on is the Monkey Sock. I can’t tell you how much I love this pattern. Now I realize why people knit it over and over again. I will definitely be knitting this again.

I have just turned the heel. I hope that I can finish this before Saturday. I don’t want to have to knit the toe at the game. I knit in public better when I don’t have to think too much about it. Oh yea, we got tickets to go to the Stitch N Pitch game on Saturday in Tampa. I am really happy we got to go again this year. It was a lot of fun last year. I even got the Ravelry name button but I don’t know if it will make it here in time. After the game the hubby and I are driving to his grandparents house for the night. He will be golfing on Sunday morning with his grandpa. His grandpa just amazes me…He is over 80 years old, just got both hips replaced, and has still never lost to T in golf. He got a 79 last week! This guy is never going to stop playing.

That’s all I have for now. I am going to try and get in a post before Saturday, but if not, Have A Good Weekend!

Weekend Recap

2008-06-10T15:55:00.010-04:00

Don’t you love it when you get to chat with an old friend and catch up? It really brightened my day :-) That was nice since it was so gloomy and rainy outside. At least we are getting some much needed rain, and the power didn’t go out at work this time.

So I saw the Flickr Meme on Alyson’s blog and had to do it too. It was pretty fun to see all the pictures that came up. I like how all these pictures look together. And you can click on the picture to see where they all came from on Flickr.

1. First Name: Michele

2. Favorite Food: sushi

3. High School: Arlington High School (a lot of weird things came up...)

4. Favorite Color: Purple

5. Celebrity Crush: Heath Ledger (so sad...)

6. Favorite Drink: Strawberry Margarita

7. Dream Vacation: Italy

8. Favorite Dessert: Creme Brulee (Yum!)

9. What do I want to be when I grow up: a good mom (that kid's great)

10. What do I love most in life: My God (then of course my husband)

11. One word to describe me: contemplative (i guess, let me think about that)

12. My Flickr Name: McKnitter (it's mine and it was the only pic)

Last weekend was a blast for me. I met up with Angie for some much needed knitting time at a coffee shop (…mmm…German Chocolate Latte…) and then I was off to the spa to get a manicure. It was a lot of fun, but I don’t know about it being worth it without the gift certificate. I mean, it’s just polish and pampering. I would definitely go back, but I would do one of their packages that include a massage. They are pretty reasonable and the spa environment was really relaxing. Maybe someday soon…after that I met up with Angie again for a move with the hubby’s and the kid. We saw Kung Fu Panda, and it was pretty funny. I secretly love kids movies. After that we had a Mexican dinner, and the hubby and I stopped by a sporting goods store to look around. He decided to enter a triathlon in September. This is the same hubby who sits on the couch every night to watch TV. I have no problem with him entering, and he will probably do pretty well, but I do have a problem when he does what he always does. He will get an idea in his head and want to go buy all the stuff for it and then never mention it again. I usually let him talk and say we can go look and he changes his mind before any damage is done. This time wasn’t bad, he only got some running shoes. I am just glad he didn’t want to buy a bike, and probably a pool if I let him. I hope he sticks with it. It will be good for us to get some exercise. We even joined a gym to get started. It’s been too long since we have been to the gym.

I don’t have an update on the knitting but I have something even better. New Yarn!!

I got these from Discontinued Brand name Yarns and I love the colors! I wanted to get some solid or semi-solid yarn for lacy socks and I stumbled across the site on one of the Ravelry forums. They don’t have a huge selection but what they have is really cheap. I got both of these for $11 each + shipping. It took a while but it was worth it. Now the question is, should I put these away for later, or cast on 2 more pairs rightthissecond?

Socks, Bags, and Dragon Eggs

2008-06-05T20:14:00.007-04:00

Wow, I have been in a fog lately… Last night at my bible study, I felt like I was about 10 minutes behind everyone else. I even went to bed right when I got home, at 9pm (which I never do unless I’m sick). I have been in such a fog, that I completely passed up my one-year blog anniversary. I had been blogging a whole year on May 10^th. Even thought I haven’t had much to say lately, I have had enough to say to last the whole year.

So when I had the presence of mind to knit this week, I knit on the Monkey socks and something new, but I’ll get to that.

I love how this is coming out. The yarn is gorgeous and the pattern brings out the best in it. I am in the 3^rd repeat, halfway through the leg. I think these will work pretty quickly.

The other thing I started is the Sweater Bag from Lion Brand. When Angie came back from Tennessee, she brought a ton of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick and gave me 9 skeins. 9 skeins is a ton! (Thanks Angie!!) I had this pattern in my queue in Ravelry for a while so I cast on and I am about halfway through the first repeat. It seems like a good amount has been completed but I have to do 4 repeats and a strap. I like working on it though because it’s fast, easy and you can see the cable pattern already. I don’t know what I am going to do when this thing is huge and it’s 90 outside (which it already is). For now, it’s ok.

Well, it’s almost the weekend again and we have a full weekend, again. We have a birthday party for my boss tomorrow night, I have a nail appt on Saturday, and a work party Saturday night. It will be fun for sure. I am especially excited about the nail appt. I won a gift certificate to a spa in Melbourne, and since I finally stopped biting my nails, I am getting a manicure, but not just any manicure. This one includes a hand/arm massage, some special lotion, and a wax dip. Too bad I can’t knit during it. (So if Angie or Traci want to hang out Saturday morningish, I will be in the area!)

That’s all for now, unless you noticed the eggs in the sidebar. Those are my dragons. I am totally geeky and thought the dragon eggs that Carin (from Lime&Violet) had on her blog were the coolest thing. So go click on mine to help them hatch. Please! And you can get your own here.

Is It Really June?

2008-06-01T16:18:00.009-04:00

Happy first day of Hurricane Season! (not) Yes, today is the day. It hardly seems like it’s June already. Just last week it was the first of the year. This year I am a little worried about hurricane season. In the past 2 years we have been here, we have only rented, and had all hand-me-down furniture. Not much to worry about, or stress about it we had to leave. This year we have our home, and some belongings that we actually bought for ourselves. It’s not the stuff I am worried about really, all that can be replaced. It’s that now we are responsible, scary. I hope this season is quiet, but before it even started we already had a tropical storm. Hopefully this part of the year will pass as quickly as the past 6 months.

In other news, I *finally* finished the Never-Ending Anastasia Socks. I really love these socks, except how long they took to knit. I guess I was just sick of the yarn and I got bored with the pattern after half of the first sock. It’s a great pattern but it’s a little too repetitious for me. There isn’t much you can do with this yarn since it is so fuzzy though. I am just glad they are done.

Yarn: Zen String Lotus Toes BFL

Needles: 3.0mm Knit Picks Circulars

Pattern: Anastasia Socks

Pattern Designer: Pepperknit

Date Finished: 5/30/2008

Well, this weekend is almost over, but it has been good. We spent Saturday shopping for work tools for T. I can probably go without standing around in hardware stores for a while. At least we got to stop at Joann’s and Michael’s while we were in Melbourne. I wanted to exchange the Patons SWS I bought last week since I got totally different dye lots. I don’t know what I was thinking but I tried to exchange them at Joann’s before I realized that I didn’t buy them there. So we went to Michaels and I decided to get different color this time.

Today we decided to grab breakfast after church and headed over to Cracker Barrel (miss it mom?) where we waited forever. At least I had the new Monkey sock to work on. Breakfast was good, but they took a really long time to bring the food and when mine was ready they figured out that the server ordered the wrong thing for T. So the manager came by to tell us that T’s order would be up as soon as they could, and they there would be no charge for the meals. Wow, usually they only would comp his meal. That made our day! So now it’s back home to relax a little and get ready for work again tomorrow.

Long Weekend

2008-05-26T11:12:00.008-04:00

Wow, it’s been a while. Since I last posted a lot has happened. Nothing particularly interesting, but stuff. Last weekend was T’s work party. The owners throw a huge yearly party for about 250+ people with food, drinks (yum, mai tai’s), Hula dancers, and celebs. Well not really celebs, but close enough. There was even a mermaid in the pool. Good times.

We had a great time, but not a good as some. We ended up driving T’s co-worker (and his puking wife) home since we lived nearby. Moving on…I got to hang out with Angie again on Saturday. Right after we picked up the money for the Mustang. Oh yea, we sold it FINALLY! I am so glad to have that gone! So Angie and I got to hang out at Panera for a couple hours while her boys went to see Speedracer. I’ll pass on that movie, thanks. We had a good time, and even got to run into Joann’s and Michaels after. I really wanted to pet the new Lion Brand Sock-Ease, but they didn’t have any yet. I did pick up some Patons SWS but I was a moron and didn’t look at the ball bands. I got two totally different dye lots.

So after we laid it all out I, figured put that there are a lot of events coming up. I wanted to try and make it to Stitch N’ Pitch this year in Tampa on June 21^st. We also wanted to try and throw an event together for Knit in Public Day on June 14^th (I know we’re slackers). Then there is blueberry picking in North Brevard, and of course SAFF is coming up, but we’ll see about that.

Now for an update on the Never-Ending Anastasia Sock:

I have turned the heel and am zipping through the leg, sort of. It is a little farther than this now since I took this on Saturday afternoon, but I have had other things on my mind too. Like This:

Yup, I frogged the Nutkins and switched them to Monkey’s. I liked the Nutkin Pattern, but on the foot it looked weird to me. It was all stretched and the purls between the pattern stitches looked like ladders. I really like how the monkey looks though. I loved the yarn and wanted to use it right away. Plus I really didn’t want to rip out the picot cast on.

So what are we doing for the long weekend? I am knitting a lot and cleaning a little less. T decided to mow the yard and when I stepped out to change the laundry this is what I saw:

This used to be the cat’s favorite tree to climb in. I know it was kinda dead, but I liked that tree. Shouldn’t landscaping be a mutual decision?? Ugh…

Blah

2008-05-13T16:41:00.008-04:00

The weekend’s over, back to work…But I did have a good one. I got to spend Saturday shopping with Angie. We hit up the book store, Joann’s, Target and even got to spend some time knitting while her son played in the Burger King playplace (after I crawled through to point the way to the slide). We had a great day, It’s been a while since I got to shop all day.

I even was able to finish the cami on Sunday. It is a little snug, to say the least but I think it looks ok. I will probably only wear it over something though.

Since it is snug it is shorter than I wanted, even after adding an inch to the body. I only tied the gather in the front so it could be removable too.

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport

Needles: 4.0mm Knit Picks Circulars

Pattern: Ballet Camisole from MagKnits July 2006

Date Finished: 5/11/2008

Mods: Added 1 inch to the body and only tied the gather so it is removable.

Sorry if my heart isn’t in this post. I am kind of bummed about all the wildfires going on right now. The interstate is closed just about everyday and there are so many homes in danger. BTW, please keep Angie in your prayers, she is very close to one of the worst areas…

Broken Cars and Sick Dogs

2008-05-06T19:10:00.006-04:00

Man I think we jumped right through Spring and into summer. We are going to be in the 90's until next week. I am glad I work in an office all day. Since the women there are somewhat older than me, they keep it super cold in there. I even bring a sweater most days.

I can't believe that the Integra is finally gone from the carport, well sort of. T finished gutting it and saved what he could to sell so he chopped up the rest. This is what the yard looked like on Saturday, but it was amazingly all cleaned up by the time he was done. Now the car is a couple of large pieces of scrap metal in a pile. He even sold the engine, but he still has to ship it. Not bad, I thought that thing would never leave. I never knew you could actually chop a car in such little pieces.

Saturday morning we took Diana to the vet again. She had more skin allergy type rashes so now we are trying her on a hypoallergenic food to see if that's what she is allergic to. Hopefully that will fix it because she looks like she is in pain when she gets those rashes. She is on all kinds of meds now too. We have ear drops and cleaner, ointment for the rash, steroids, and antibiotics. And look, She's officially part of the family. We had to go pick up her prescription from Publix and they couldn't find it until I thought maybe they put it under Diana's name. I never would have thought they would put it under her name at the people pharmacy.

I thought I was much farther on the Anastasia Sock than I am now that I tried it on. I thought I was about ready to start the heel but I need to add another 1 to 1 ½ inches. Sigh...At least the cami seems to be moving along.

I think I am going to try and get a knit night together this weekend, either on Friday night or Saturday morning. T will be gone all day Saturday golfing so I think I need to get out too :-)

May Flowers

2008-05-01T18:26:00.009-04:00

How does that saying go... “April showers bring May flowers”? Well we didn't have much in the way of April showers but we did do some gardening. A friend of ours gave us a bunch of plants, whose names I have completely forgotten. I know that some of them are brumeliads, and we got two hibiscus bushes. I love the pink ones. I found that while I love the look of new plants, I don't really like the work of planting them. I would much rather sit in my chair with a sweet tea and some knitting and watch the hubby do it. He wasn't too thrilled with that idea so I pitched in. The yard doesn't look half bad, but it could use some grass.

While I have not been knitting a whole lot lately, I do manage to get in a little bit here and there. I have noticed that sometimes two days will go by without knitting a thing, but my hands do get a little shaky.

I have yet another update on the Cami and Anastasia Sock. I am not letting myself work on anything else until these two are done. They have taken long enough already.

The cami is past where you split for the arms and well into the lower back. If you click for a larger image you can see that my guage changes when I switch from knitting in the round to back and forth. I am not worried too much about it since any extra room will help in the chest area. I think that you won't be able to tell the difference once it is washed.

I haven't knit as much on the sock since it has turned into mostly car knitting. But still it grows ever so slowly.

The Never-Ending Sock:

As much as I despise this little sock now, will I like the finished pair? Or will I burn them...I think not. Burning them will only let them win.

So thats all I have for now. I had to make this quick since it's National Day of Prayer and we have a prayer service at my church. Do yourself a favor and say a little prayer today.

Have a good one!

What a Vacation!

2008-04-23T22:03:00.017-04:00

Wow, this is the first time since my mom came and left that I have had a minute to sit and write a post. I will warn you, this is probably going to be long. We have been busy! My mom got in on the 10^th at 10pm, great flight huh. They decided to go check out the Space Center on Friday and we showed them around Brevard county on the weekend. It was a lot of fun since my mom used to live here. She recognized a lot of he area. On Monday we drove out to Savannah, GA to look around. Savannah is beautiful!

We ate at Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady & Sons, on Monday night. We almost didn't get in though, just by chance they put 2 bar tables together and said they had an opening. The food was good, but the entertainment was better. Our poor server, Frances aka Gwen, worked for her money! She played along with our jokes and even called my mom's boss because she is such a big fan. Since Paula was not in town, she agreed to hold the sock for a picture.

On Tuesday, after staying in a nasty hotel in Garden City (Hotels.com had horrible customer service on these matters), we got on the bus for the Paula Deen tour. It was really interesting to learn how she got started. Did you know that she suffered from agoraphobia for 20 years? She even had her sons going around with a cooler selling the bag lunches for the Bag Lady. She really worked hard to get her business going with not much capital. The tour was great and I would highly recommend it, you get to see some great areas of Savannah. At the end of the tour we had lunch at Uncle Bubba's, Paula's brother. We had some awesome food there, and let me tell you, the oysters were great! He happened to be in the restaurant and was willing to meet all of us. First off, T asks him to do me a favor and he replies “I'm not taking my clothes off”. He must have thought we were crazy. I asked him to take some pictures with us and then asked him to hold the sock. We might have been ok after that but then my mom asked him to call her boss. After that he definitely must have thought we were crazy, but even after all that he was super nice to us.

We had a good time wandering around Savannah and left later that day. I have all the pictures here if you would like to see. The rest of the week was spent wandering around and eating, lots of eating. My favorite part had to be the air boat ride we went on. We were able to closer than I have ever been to some really big alligators. If it was not for the bars on the boat I would have freaked. We saw some turtles, a bald eagle (so beautiful!), and a really cool cypress swamp. We will be going on more air boat rides for sure. We even got to hold a baby alligator when we got back to the dock. Really fun...

I hardly got any knitting done since we were running around all week but we did spend some time at the beach so I knit a few rows there.

I did knit on the cami a bit too at knit night on Monday. I have now split for the arms. I should be done pretty soon here, but I know that I take forever to knit something. I saw how cute the little soakers turn out too so I think I make knit one after this. Something easy and quick.

I can't believe that it is almost the weekend. I think I need a vacation from my vacation! If you want to see all the vacation sets, they are on my Flickr page here.

Finally

2008-04-13T16:25:00.007-04:00

After waiting so long for my mom (or someone) to come visit us she's here. We picked her up at 10:30 Thursday night and she stays until next Saturday when we will drop her off at 6:30am. She picked great flights huh? So the first few days have been busy sightseeing. We went to the Cocoa Beach Pier for some music and lobster, went to the flea market (at her request), and they went to the Space Center. It seems like the days go by much faster and we seem more tired since they got here. I haven't really had any time for knitting even. But I will have more time soon. We decided to drive to Savannah, GA on Monday. We are taking the Paula Deen Tour and eating at the Lady and Sons restaurant. I am very excited to see the area, it will be beautiful.

Maybe on the drive there I can finish the Cami...I really am not that far now. I am about 1 ½ inches from binding off for the arms.

Since I have had it rolled up in a ziplock it is kind if wrinkled. I am trying to not roll it up anymore so it doesn't get so wrinkled. Since it is so big now I have been knitting on my second Anastasia sock in the car. It has taken me forever to knit these socks.

I thought I was getting faster at knitting but these have taken more than a month. I will be glad when they are done.

Well now I have to get back to figuring out what to do with Diana while we are out of town. We didn't even think about where to take her since we will be gone for 2 days. This is the first time we have left since adopting her, and we usually leave Jessie here with a bunch of food. We thought about friends but since it is such short notice I think we will board her at her vets office down the street. Hopefully, if it's not too late now.

I'm Still Here!

2008-03-31T13:29:00.012-04:00

Wow, it’s been a while since my last post, but that is totally not on purpose though. It just seems that between work, car shopping, keeping the house in order and keeping the hubby fed, any time free time I get is spent vegging. I actually went 3 days without touching the needles because I was so tired. One of those days I fell asleep after right after dinner and woke up about the time I go to bed. That was a productive evening. And now that my mom will be here in 2 weeks (where did the time go?) and we are having a housewarming party that week, I have been busy around the house. Plus I just haven’t felt much like blogging. I always think of cool things to blog about but what I sit at the computer my mind goes blank. Has that happened to anyone else?

I have been feeling better though, I knit quite a bit on the cami over the weekend. I was stuck at a house in Orlando “helping” the hubby with a side job. I really am not much help with hanging TV’s and all that but sometimes he does need a hand and we were going to look at a car out there anyways. So while I sat and waited all day I knit. It was a beautiful day and the house was on a golf course with a beautiful view. I just finished the 4th ball of yarn and attached the 5th and while I didn’t grab a picture this morning (woke up late) I will get one this afternoon. I just finished the increases and am knitting on to the armpits.

Progress stopped completely on the Nutkin sock.

I tried it on and did not at all like the look of the pattern slightly stretched. I will either rip and re-knit in plain stockinette or possibly start Monkeys with the picot-hemmed cast on that I did. I do like how the Anastasia socks look though. Being so close to having a pair has kept me knitting them, even though I am very tired of the yarn and pattern.

I will leave you with a picture of Jessie, who thinks she is an outdoor kitty. She whines at the door wanting out, but since she is declawed, she only gets supervised visits in the backyard. She actually climbed up to the board in the tree on her own. T was trying to get her to climb higher after a stick, she is so smarter than that, I hope.

Diana is also doing better. We were worried about her rash on her belly since after starting steroids and antibiotics it spread and got really red and sore looking. It healed and looks better than ever now. Maybe at her next check up in a couple of weeks we can walk out with a bill of less than $200…sheesh. By the way, my cousin had her baby last week. She was 2 weeks late but mom and baby are doing fine. Baby Elizabeth Grace was 9lbs 8oz. I seriously doubt that the newborn sized hat will fit that baby, but it's the thought that counts right?

Weekend Catch Up!

2008-03-17T13:51:00.015-04:00

Happy St. Patricks Day!! Have you seen this? funniest. video. ever. I'm glad I don't live in Alabama, not that Florida's much better :-)

What a weekend! We spent all day Saturday car shopping. Not my favorite way to spend a beautiful (and hot!) day. We were all over Brevard County and looked at a bunch of cars but we found one so I guess it was worth it. We bought a 2-door 97 Honda Accord. Its in great shape and we got a good deal on it. We still have enough left over to buy a 4-door car for me so we can get rid of the Mustang. We are one step closer to our goal!

On Sunday we met up with Angie and her family to go to the Warbird Air Show. It was ok, I don’t know about it being worth the $15 per person though. We had a good time and had a little barbecue with friends after. Nice end to the weekend.

I did end up starting the second never ending Anastasia sock but I also started Nutkin Socks with this:

This is White Willow Superwash Sock Yarn in Alice’s Garden. I got this about a year ago and I think this is the perfect color for Spring. It makes me smile to look at it. I wound it up and let it sit on my desk for a few days before I found a pattern. I am about 2 repeats in right now, but since the time changed I can’t get very good pictures in the morning now. I will get them tonight.

And since the recipient has the secret project, I can show pictures. They are the Evangeline Gloves from Magknits:

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Heather in Charcoal Heather

Needles: 5.0mm Knit Picks Circulars

Pattern: Evangeline from Magknits January 2008

Date Finished: 2/29/2008

I loved the pattern and will probably knit these for me soon. I won’t need anything this warm for a while though. I couldn’t believe that it was in the 80’s all weekend. I am not ready for the heat yet. I actually got sun burned on my shoulders at the air show! Come on, it’s barely Spring.

Have you noticed the pictures of Diana and Jessie in the sidebar? Can you tell they are spoiled? They even have their own webpage.I hope all this publicity doesn't go to their heads!

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Never-Ending Sock

2008-03-11T17:04:00.010-04:00

Our life is finally getting back to normal, sort of. The hubby got a rental yesterday since the insurance company decided that the other driver was at fault. They gave him a newer Chevy Silverado. Nice truck!! I would love to keep it, yeah right. They also gave him an offer on his car that was not far off from what we wanted, not bad. We still have some talking to do and now that we know a range we can really start looking for cars. We have a few in mind that have been sitting lots for over a month, since the last time we were looking. They are overpriced but we hope that they will want to get them off the lot and take cash.

I *finally* finished the never-ending Anastasia sock.

I am finally to the point in my knitting that my socks are fitting me very well. It took me a while to figure that out. I love the way this sock fits and looks. Still, I don’t think that is enough motivation to make me cast on for the second sock right away. Maybe...

I did pull out the sewing machine over the weekend too. I wanted to make a few little bags. I saw the picture that Valerie posted and loved the Box Bag tutorial from Drago[knit]fly. I have never sewn a zipper in before and failed miserably. I will try again though as soon as I get back in there. I definitely think this was an operator error the tutorial is great.

I got some great fabric at Joann’s a couple of weeks ago. I wanted something more like spring and I think I got it. I love how bright this bag is.

That’s all I have for now, but I think I will have some time tonight to cast on for a sock. :-)

The Worst Birthday Present Ever

2008-03-07T12:20:00.006-05:00

Today is the hubby’s 25^th birthday. This is what he got:

He was in an accident this morning, but he is fine. I wouldn’t say that his car is anywhere close to being fine though. He was not at fault so now is the fun of dealing with the insurance companies to try and get some money from his car. I am just glad he is ok. The car is probably totaled since the airbags deployed and there is pretty extensive front-end damage. He is pretty upset about this since out of all the cars he has owned, this was his favorite. Of course this was not his only present, he also got a set of speakers and an amp, and was in the process of building a custom box for the car. Ugh…

I am going to try and keep up with my posting but I have a feeling that our lives will be pretty hectic in the following weeks. If you would like so see the pictures you can see the set here. Now we’re off to find another car….

And The Winner Is...

2008-03-06T08:52:00.003-05:00

Thank you all so much for entering. I definitely got some good ideas for things to do around here. I know that my mom will have a blast. I am just so excited to see her again, it has been about a year since my last trip to California. Out of the almost 3 years that we have been in Florida, my mom is only the second person to come visit us.

So, after using a random number generator, the winner is Gnat from BarknKnit. Thanks for all the entries!!

While I have no knitting content today, I do have some news. T's cousin is pregnant and having a girl. I am happy for her but also a little worried. She only graduated from high school about a year ago and was working and going to college. I was really surprised to hear about this, I just never expected this from her. Since she has always been involved in school and sports, I thought that she would graduate from college and go out on her own before starting a family. I know that she will be taken care of because she has a family that loves her very much. She was not the first girl to have a baby young. About 2 years ago, another of T's cousins had a baby girl. Since she was the first young girl to get pregnant, everyone was shocked. Her grandfather actually didn't talk to her for most of the pregnancy because he was so disappointed. She is doing well and making a life with her fiance and little girl. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, I am used to this, it has happened a couple of times in my family too. My sister had a baby at 16, when I was 14. I grew up seeing how much more difficult her life was with the addition of a baby. We love my nephew and I would never think badly of him, but I think her life would be a lot different if she didn't have him so young. I have noticed that teen pregnancy is a cycle. My best friend in high school was pregnant our senior year but since she was in love, they tried for the baby. Her mother also had her when she was a senior in high school. I guess I am just on the fence on how to react to this. What do you think?

No More Stressing

2008-03-05T11:27:00.021-05:00

**Last day to enter the contest!! I will be drawing a winner tonight at 5pm**

The contest is going great. Thanks so much for the comments; they have had some great ideas. I think I need to start a list for us even after my mom is gone. I didn’t realize there is so much to see close to home.

I know I have been a little lagging with the posts, I just saw that I had 5 for February…Geez. Mostly it was because of work and my real estate class. My license expires for the first time this month and for the first renewal I had to complete a 45-hour class online. Well, I of course had to wait until the last minute to start and I barely finished the class part on the 29^th. I thought that I would be able to take the test more than once to get all the questions right (like the rest of the chapter tests) and I was wrong. I could only take it ONCE. After just skimming through the whole thing I knew I was not ready to take the test so I headed into my office Saturday morning and spend about 5 hours cramming and taking the test. I passed by three questions, three! That is so not like me. Usually I study for big tests and pass them with no problem. Boy am I glad that it is finally finished. I can’t believe how much I can stress myself out.

So after the test I went and picked up Bella for a trial run at my house. As soon as we let her into the back yard to sniff, Diana was going crazy inside. So we put them both on a leash and let them sniff each other. Of course Diana was scared of Bella because she is bigger so she barked at her and Bella barked back only scaring her more. After a while they started to get used to each other and I have no doubt that they would have been fine together, but it was Jessie that was the problem. Bella saw Jessie from the porch and wanted to chase her. Her barking had Jessie looking like she stuck her tongue in a toaster. Bella had never been around cats before and we were worried about how they would get along. Because of that, and that she had fleas, and some kind of skin issue on her back, we decided not to keep her. Plus, we would have had to get her spayed. I know that she will find a good home soon!

So this is what I wake up to just about every morning:

She is so spoiled!! She has to sleep under the covers and will dig under them if you don’t let her in and she likes to sleep late. When I get up she wakes up but she will go back to sleep until I am ready to leave for work. Then she comes out stretching and waits by the door to go outside. It’s getting to the point that I know what she wants. On cold evenings I will have a blanket over my legs so she will stare at me until I lift the blanket and let her lay with me. Lazy Dog!

I have been trying to finish up the projects that have been just sitting in the drawer lately. I almost finished the scrappy hat this weekend. All I have to do is pick up and knit 5 rows for the rolled brim.

I don’t really like how the gathered part at the top looks but it looks ok when it’s on. I am not thrilled with the end result but I am just happy it’s done. This on took a whole year!

The never-ending Anastasia Sock is close to being done. I am so tired of looking at this yarn, I really don’t think I will be casting on for the second sock right away.

At times I like how it looks, and other times I don’t want to touch it. I think I need to cast on for another sock with some spring colors in it. I can’t wait for Spring so my plumeria's will start blooming. I also finished the secret project, so I will show pictures as soon as I send off the package.

Contest Time!

2008-02-28T14:13:00.021-05:00

I just want to say a quick Thank You to the wonderful girls that I got to hang out with Monday night. It is so nice to be able to sit and talk about knitting (among other things) with other people that don’t think I am crazy for being obsessed. I had a blast and will definitely be back for more!

I am so excited since I recently found out that my mom would be visiting in mid April. You really don’t know how happy this makes me. I have seen my mom since we moved from California but she has yet to see me here in Florida. I am thrilled to death that she will be able to see our new house (in a somewhat close to being finished state) and meet our pets and get to hang out with me for a whole week. That’s where my contest comes in. Since she and my step dad will be here for a week with us, I would like to plan a few fun things to do. I know that I am blatantly fishing for comments, but oh well. I was surprised when I first saw that people were reading my blog so I really want to be surprised. The most comments that I have had on a post are 6. I really hope to get more than that. To enter:

Post a comment here, telling me something cool to do while on vacation. These can be Central Florida related or not. I just want some ideas for my mom and I to spend some time together. Btw, if you post about this on your blog, you'll get another entry. Just be sure to let me know in the comments.

Remember to leave your email address in the comments so I will have a way to contact you for the prize. If there is no email address and your blog profile does not list one, the prize will go to the next random winner.

You have until 5pm on March 5^th to enter. I will be drawing a winner randomly that evening and announcing it on the 6^th.

So what will the prize be??

A cute pink and denim purse that I got a couple of years ago. It was a gift but I have never used it because it is a bit small for an every day purse. Included with the purse you will get a skein of Ewe-phoria Yarns Sock It To Me Superwash Yarn in Pacifica, and the pattern for River Valley Socks from Anni Designs. I hope you like the prizes….GOOD LUCK!

In other news, we are meeting a dog today. The tenant in one of the listings we have is moving out of the country and looking for a home for her dog Bella. She is a 2-year-old pure bred Boxer. I thought that this was kind of a big dog for us, but I grew up with German Shepherds so I am kind of used to big dogs. T loves Boxers and wanted one when we were first looking. In fact, his two favorite breeds are Boxers and Beagles. How weird that we may end up with both. I guess the only things that aren’t good is that she’s young, and not spayed since she was a pure bred. I really would want to get her spayed as soon as possible. She is even trained really well and crated in the daytime like Diana is. So she will be coming for a play date tonight to see how she is with Diana and Jessie. I am kind of worried about her with Jessie since she has not lived with a cat before. Another dog…I must be crazy!

Almost Friday!!

2008-02-21T11:56:00.008-05:00

Why does it seem like I have no time for posting lately? I am at the tail end of another very busy week and I am glad that it ends tomorrow. I know exactly what I will be doing this weekend: Cleaning (the house has been neglected the past week) and working on my real estate class. The real estate class is for sure the most important. It needs to be done by March and I am not even half way done. Why do I always wait until the last minute?? Since the hubby is working on Sat and we only get internet through his cell phone I will be heading into the office to use my work computer on Saturday. Maybe without any of the distractions that I usually have at home I can get it finished, then maybe a reward of sushi for lunch after…mmm…I don’t usually get to go to the sushi place here because T doesn’t like it. I have to wait until I have a day by myself to sneak away.

As usual for a busy week, I haven’t been knitting much. A row here and a row there but it just seems like nothing is progressing. Last night I was knitting by firelight though. We started a little fire in the BBQ and watched the lunar eclipse until bedtime. Really cool, the whole moon disappeared, then turned orange. I tried to get a picture but figured out that my camera doe not take good pictures at night with no tripod. We have a tripod but I was not about to dig it out. I was knitting on the Cami last night, it has been a while since I have showed picture of it. I think I am on the 4^thball of yarn now.

I am almost done with the increases and will start the armhole shaping soon. It feels like it is close to being done but it looks like I have so much more to do from the picture. I am close to finishing the secret project too, maybe I will finish by this weekend.

Diana’s vet visit went well, expensive but worth it of course. She got current on all her shots and vaccinations and the vet had a look at her belly. Turns out that she has a staph infection so she gave her some meds. It looks like it is helping but I don’t think it is a fix to the problem. She still will have sensitive skin when the meds are gone. I think it will just end up coming back. She has another appointment in a couple of weeks for a check up so we’ll see. We have to bring Jessie to the next appointment to get her all up to date too. She will not be happy about that one, she was labeled “will bite” at her last vet. She would never…

I haven’t forgot about my contest either. I have a pretty good idea for it and I am just waiting on the prize to get here. I should have it all ready by the next post. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

-Michele-

Can you guess what they’re doing??

2008-02-15T21:22:00.015-05:00

We decided to play hooky from work today and go to Sea World to finally use the passes we got for Christmas. It was a blast! It is so nice to be able to go to a park and leave when we want without feeling bad that we didn’t get our money’s worth. So yeah, the dolphins. They were trying to have some, uh, personal time. Ha, before I noticed T was trying to tell me what they were doing without making it obvious to the kids around. We also got to pet sting rays and dolphins, see little alligators, some manatees and the Believe show with Shamu. The show was amazing. The whales are so big and beautiful. You can see all the pictures in the set here.

Have you noticed all the contests lately? Everyone has been so generous! I entered a few and got lucky. I won the first prize in the contest over at Ridiculous Obsession.

This prize was over the top! I won Favorite Socks, which I have wanted forever, a cute Haiku Bag, a skein of Yarn Snob sock yarn and a skein of Sockatta sock yarn. Thanks LaVerna!! My hubby even tried to pass off the package as a Valentine’s gift when I got home yesterday. Since I have been lucky enough to win a couple of contests I am planning on having one of my own soon. Stay tuned!

I got another package in the mail last week too. I placed another order from Knit Picks. (I seem to be addicted to that site lately) I ordered More Sensational Knitted Socks and some Essential sock yarn. I looked at both of the Sensational Socks books but I liked the patterns in the second one better. I couldn’t believe that they were so much cheaper on Knit Picks than they were in the store. I probably should have checked Amazon too but I didn’t think of it at the time.

I have been getting back into my knitting lately but I have been working on all my WIP’s each a little bit. Not great for seeing the progress. The only thing I have worked on consistently is the secret project but obviously, I can’t show you that. I did knit on the Anastasia Sock while waiting around in Sea World though.

It is going pretty slow but I hope to have it done soon. I still like the sock so I think it’s the yarn that I’m sick of seeing. I may not knit the second right away, or at least cast on something new when this one is done. I have plenty to choose form now. :-)

Tomorrow we are taking Diana to the vet again. She is fine but she seems to have sensitive skin. Her belly gets really pink so we switched her to hypo-allergenic shampoo but she still is pink and now has a sore. We read her medical records and she has been given meds for this before. I don’t know why the foster home did not mention this. We just want to make sure that this is not bothering her. It’s always something with pets, isn’t it?

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

-Michele-

Still Alive and Well

2008-02-12T13:39:00.000-05:00

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. And where did January go? I am amazed that February is already half over… I have been so overwhelmed lately. We moved our office again last week and hopefully we will stay this time. We closed my company and moved our real estate team to another local company. Even though we only moved a couple of streets away, it seemed more complicated than our last move. On top of all that we have been car shopping. We thought we found the one, a really good deal on a VW Passat, but it just needed too much work to be worth it. So we are back to square one and keeping our eyes open for good deals. Since we are not in a rush to sell we can take our time.

So have I been knitting during all this? A little but nothing too exciting. Most days I have either been home too late to pull out the knitting or just too tired. I couldn’t believe that days went by without me touching the needles. But things are slowing down now so my routing is getting back to normal. I have worked on the Anastasia Sock mostly since it is my purse project.

That is a picture from last week (when I planned on blogging) but I haven’t had time to take new ones. I am a little farther up the leg now. I think I like knitting top down socks better. I seem to have trouble with my socks twisting while I knit them even if I keep my stitches straight. This one only twisted a little but that’s probably because it has the spiraling eyelets. Plus when I knit top down they seem to go by faster. I am working on the never-ending leg now…I also worked on the secret project, which should have been a quick knit but will take me longer as usual.

We had some friends over for dinner over the weekend and my friend asked me how my knitting was going. Weird since she has never showed interest in it before. I said it was fine and she said that she was trying to learn how to knit. I couldn’t believe what I heard, she probably should not have opened that door with me. I pulled her inside and asked her what she was knitting. She was knitting a washcloth with cotton yarn and metal needles. No wonder she was not feeling it. Needless to say I sent her home with some wool and bamboo needles. I think the wood will feel better on her hands and the wool will definitely give more than cotton. Besides, she said that she wants to knit a blanket to help her learn. If she likes the feel of the yarn and needles we are going to find her some nice wool for a blanket. It’s fun to corrupt people!

Well that’s all I have for now. I am jumping back into my knitting and hope to see some progress soon! Although I haven’t been feeling too great the past couple of days. Maybe I will get more done if I take a sick day or two :-)

-Michele-

Another Contest

2008-02-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

A busy end to a busy week (and month!) has prevented me from getting a whole lot done so no progress to show today. I plan to knit all weekend though. Well, maybe not all weekend. I have other things to do like laundry and cleaning. yeah right... :-)

There a bunch of contests going on though, and courtesy of Kris, here are a few:

LaVerna can't wait for Winter to be over.

The Spirit Trail has an awesome prize, really go see.

Purl Zen wants you to count the skeins. Beautiful stuff.

So go enter and be sure to mention that you saw it here. Good Luck all!

Blah.

2008-01-30T12:24:00.001-05:00

**If you want a chance to win some yarny goodness there is a contest over at My House of Wool. She hasn’t said what the prize but I’m sure it’ll be good! You have until Feb 4^th to enter, and make sure to mention that you saw it here!**

Bear with me if this post is a little lacking…Let me tell you, this has been quite a week…Today was going a little better than the last two because I thought it was Thursday. I was sadly mistaken and that kind of set the tone for today. Blah…I’m just going to grit my teeth and get through to the weekend. At least I have my yarn to squeeze. :-)

Speaking of yarn, I received my order from Ewe-Phoria Yarns a couple days ago. It is gorgeous! After hearing about the shop on L&V, I checked it out. This was more of an impulse buy, but I was so surprised at the prices in the shop that I had to order. This yarn is called Flamenco and is sort of a hot pink/maroon and dk purple/black. I love the pink and black combo almost as much as pink and brown.

I was able to turn the heel on the Anastasia sock on Sunday. I met up with Angie again while the boys went to see a movie. Turning a heel is hard while you are chatting! I had to keep stopping to count the stitches. I tried it on and it looks great. I thought it might be a tad small (again) but the negative ease is just enough to open up the eyelets. Nice. I will show it on the foot in the next progress shot.

While I was trying to get a picture of the sock Jessie insisted that she was more important. It took a couple of pictures to get one without her in it. But to make her feel better I got one of her too.

That’s about all I got, except that I am starting this tonight. I took a hint from Alyson since the recipient most likely reads my blog. Well it’s back to work now. Tonight is Knit Night but I probably won’t be going. There is just too much going on this week. Maybe next week?

-Michele-

Almost Friday...

2008-01-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

The hubby just called to say that he’s taking Diana to the vet. Apparently she didn’t eat her food today. Usually she eats her food when I put it down in the morning but today she didn’t so I stuck it in her crate with her and went on my way. Since she didn’t eat (and beagles never refuse food) he thinks she may have a tummy ache or something. I won’t know anything until they get back later. I hope it’s nothing major and she feels better soon.

I am still trudging along on the Anastasia Sock. The pattern is plain and predictable but still entertaining. I can knit it without paying attention and not make mistakes (usually). As of last night I am about an inch from starting the heel. I made it out to knit night last night so I got a bunch done there. I am surprised that I get so much knitting done between the talking. It is a bit of a drive for me but I am going to try and go more often than not.

Well, we are on the hunt for a car again. We are still following Dave Ramsey's plan and decided that in order for us to be debt free, we need to make a few sacrifices. We have decided to sell my 2001 Mustang (that we owe too much on) and buy a used car for cash. If I can find a late 90’s Honda I would be more than happy to drive that for a couple of years. A car’s a car and I’m tired of worrying about what I drive and what it says about me. A car is not a status symbol, it’s a debt symbol. If we sell the Mustang, we won’t have a car payment at all and can put the money we would have used for the payment toward other debts. We hope to have everything paid off but the house in less than 2 years. Then we could save up for a really good down payment (like ½ the price) for a newer car that we want. I am totally fine driving a used Accord until it dies though. The economy is really scaring me since I work in Real Estate so I want to cut down as many debts and payments as possible. So anyone want to buy a Mustang? Ha…

BTW, Can you believe it’s already Jan 24^th? Where did the month go? I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my nephew Joseph who is turning 9 today and also to Gail @ All Strung Out (who looks fabulous! Not a day over 39! :-)

-Michele-

Busy, Busy

2008-01-21T16:08:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or was everyone sick last weekend? I was one of the lucky ones so far. I heard some horror stories this morning. Yuck…

The weekend was very productive for us. We got a ton of stuff done around the house. As of now we only have a carport and storage room at our house. Since we moved from a place with a garage we had a ton of stuff left over. Slowly we have been sifting through it and threw away a ton but the storage/laundry room was still a mess. I was barely able to get in and do the laundry, not that I minded not being able to do a load once in a while. So over the weekend we sold some stuff, tossed some stuff and bought a few things to organize the small space we have. It looks so much nicer now. We are also almost finished cleaning and organizing the guest bedroom and office too. I didn’t get to finish painting the living room like I wanted to but I will get to it soon. This place is looking more like home everyday.

I did fit in some good knitting time too. I worked on the Anastasia sock and I have to say that it is turning out better than I thought. I like how the yarn is not pooling but it is really fuzzy. It’s probably because this yarn is 100% Superwash Wool and it has been knit and frogged several times.

I also started a wee little baby sock to go with the hat that I made for my cousin’s baby. I really don’t like little socks. They seem to be harder to knit that the regular size. I really don’t like the heel that I used. Definitely not my best work and that’s probably why they aren’t finished yet. I will probably rip back the heel and do it over again.

Now isn’t this yarn gorgeous? I recently won it at a contest over on Jennifer’s blog. The contest question was “If you could only knit one thing in 2008, what would it be?” I chose a Log Cabin Blanket because it would take me forever, probably the whole year, and would keep me entertained. The yarn I won is Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Sock Yarn. Beautiful. I love how deep the purple color is and that it’s more like a shaded solid than variegated yarn. This skein is huge too, 550 yards. I am thinking that I shouldn’t knit socks with it because of how much will be left over. I was thinking of maybe a Chevron Scarf? This color mixed with a lighter brown? What do you think? What color would make this “pop”? I haven’t had much experience with blending colors since most of my projects are only one color.

So that’s all I have for today. I have to go home and figure out what’s for dinner since the hubby just called and said that I never turned the crock-pot on this morning…Oy

-Michele-

**BTW I am returning the KP Total Tote. I just couldn't justify keeping it when I had the other one for so much cheaper.

Which One?

2008-01-16T15:34:00.001-05:00

So I finally got the Knit Picks Bag yesterday. They are completely identical. In my head I was still hoping that there was a reason that the Total Tote was so much more than the make up bag. Nope, no reason at all. After looking them over carefully, I really do like the make-up bag better. It’s probably because it is black and I always lean towards black. Com on, it goes with everything. I like that the Total Tote is suede but I can’t justify paying $20 more for suede. So the Total Tote is getting shipped back tomorrow. Now the question is, should I get store credit and go shopping or be a good girl and take the refund?

I hate being a complainer but I’ve got something on my mind. My job description is receptionist/assistant to the broker of my real estate company but I agreed to some time helping his wife out as part of my 40 a week of work. She has a mortgage business and a 6 month old and is a bit overwhelmed. So I go over to her house for about 3 hours 3 days a week. She told me that I would be helping her file, organize, make calls etc. Well the few times that I have been there I have cleaned most of the time. They have a 3000 sqft house and it is a pain to vacuum and mop and that has been at the top of my list every time I visit. I vacuum, mop, dust, clean bathrooms, iron, etc. I really hate cleaning too. I don’t mind pitching in but I don’t even vacuum my house 3 times a week! I don’t want to say anything because they are paying me for my time and they have done so much for us but I feel taken advantage of. I didn’t apply to be a housekeeper and think maybe they should hire one. Plus being there Monday, Wednesday and Friday and having an office meeting on Tuesday morning is really cutting into my work time. What do you think?

I haven’t had too much time for knitting these past couple of days but I got a few rows in on the Anastasia Sock. I really like how that pattern shows up with the yarn. Maybe I will actually finish the pair this time. I really want to get these done and get this yarn out of my stash!!

Tonight is Knit Night again at All Strung Out. I’m not sure if I am going yet. We’ll see! Hey Angie, when are we gonna get our knit night together, huh? Maybe when you feel better we'll talk about it again.

-Michele-

Not Feeling The Love

2008-01-14T12:28:00.001-05:00

I’m telling you the world just doesn’t like me right now…I made my way back to IKEA on Saturday to pick up our kitchen table that was out of stock the last time we were there and it was still out of stock. I wish that I could order it by phone then go pick it up but no, I have to keep checking in store. It is a little bit of a drive for me so I’m not happy about it. At least the hubby was in a cleaning sort of mood on Sunday. We got the guest bedroom all organized and clean and we are almost done with the office. When that’s done all I need to do is finish painting and I think we will be finally moved in!

I sort of have a new WIP. I am casting on for Anastasia Socks with the Zen String Purple Eater. This is the 3^rd pattern I am trying with this yarn. So far the patterns just haven’t been working out. This yarn just doesn’t like me. This is even the 3^rd time starting the Anastasia Sock since last week. The first time I dropped a stitch in the middle of a yarn over and I couldn't sort out the mess and this last time I got about 10 rows into the pattern and realized that I was supposed to knit on all odd rows…Rip! At least I didn’t have to rip it all the way out, just back to the toe and start over. I am determined to get this yarn knit before I start any other new socks now! Oh and for the Slippery Socks? Nice pattern but - Rip! It doesn’t show up very well on this yarn, too fuzzy.

And on to another complaint about Knit Picks. Well it’s not really about them but it involves them. I saw that Total Tote on their site and I was so excited about using the it to be my knitting bag/purse so I ordered it. After ordering it I searched around Ravelry on the Knit Picks Lovers thread and came across a post about the Total Tote. Well, I come to find out that JoAnn’s sells the exact same bag for $15 cheaper…bummer. Then I kept reading and saw “If you want to see it before you order it, check Walgreens. It’s their makeup bag.” I did check out Walgreens and there it was, priced at half of what I paid, and they had it in black (KP only had brown). So I bought the black one and I am going to wait until the order arrives to see which I like better. I have a feeling that the cheaper one will win me over. At least Knit Picks takes returns.

Oh and I did make it out to the Knit Night at All Strung Out last week. It was a blast. I am probably going to go this week too. Everyone was so nice and funny too!

-Michele-

Shoot Me, Please

2008-01-09T12:31:00.001-05:00

Wow, dog sitting is really kicking my ass. I was up from 3am to 5am last night while the older dog Bailey (she is at least 13yrs old…) panted, licked herself, and walked around with her nails on the wood floors. I can usually sleep through that stuff but I bugged me last night. So at about 6:30 I gave up and got my day started. Not bad though because I am usually up at about 7am. I let them out and saw how pretty the sunrise looked on the canal. I don’t ever get to see this because the sun is already up by 7am and my house doesn’t have a great view of it like this house does. Pretty huh?

I wanted this post to go up two days ago but my camera was completely dead and I had no idea where the charger was. Now that I found it I could get some pictures of my first FO of 2008. I *finally* finished the Sweet Baby Hat for my cousin. I finished in on Sunday afternoon but I will wait to send it off until I get a couple other things for her. I just love the cute little ties! I tied it on my cat’s head when I finished but she really didn’t like that.

So now I’m off to fine some fabric to make a baby blanket to go with the hat. I may even stop by the knit night at All Stung Out in Cocoa Beach. I am all alone tonight so why not?

-Michele-

A New Year, A New Start

2008-01-04T14:59:00.001-05:00

**If you want to skip all the New Years reflections stuff there is knitting content at the end :-)**

Everyone always has profound things to say about New Years. I like to think of the New Year as a new start to get it right this time. When I look back there are always things that I might have done differently if I got the chance. For this year I don’t want to make resolutions. It seems like when you label it a resolution you are one step closer to failing. I always say that I want to get in shape or be a better person in some way. So this year I want to set some realistic goals for myself that are not just because of the New Year and will be ongoing beyond 2008. So here are my goals:

As always, try to eat healthier and shed a few pounds. I am contemplating joining Weight Watchers Online. I have joined before and like the points system. I will incorporate my morning walk with Diana and try to get out more.
The hubby and I are going to continue the process of becoming debt free with FPU. We finished the class in November and have been trying to get everything except our house paid off. We have paid off a couple of things but I don’t want to get discouraged because the last couple things take a while to pay off. Dave Ramsey is really motivating so I have been downloading his podcasts and listening to them whenever I need some encouragement.
I need to get organized; the clutter is driving me crazy. Since we moved we haven’t been able to get everything in its place yet. We still have some painting to finish too. I really want to get the house and my desk at work organized. The work part won’t be too hard since my office is moving again. We are closing the business and moving our real estate “team” to another company nearby. It’s just to cut out the overhead costs for the owners.
I would like to spend more quality date time with the hubby. Now that we have been married a couple years the baby conversation has popped up. We are going to wait a little while more but I want to enjoy the time we have as a couple while we wait since I know how hard it is to get out with a baby. Usually we just hang out at home together (and there’s nothing wrong with that) but I want to get out more.
Lastly, I need to focus. I have a bad problem of getting distracted while I am working on something. If I really focus it gets done so much faster. I procrastinate a lot too so the combo really leaves me stressing about little things that definitely don’t need to be stressed about.

Wow, that turned out long but I needed to get it out, mostly for me. If I have it documented somewhere I can’t let myself off the hook. They’re pretty common goals but they are what I need in my life right now.

I haven’t been knitting as much as want lately but my wrist has been hurting a lot. I cleaned one of our rentals out last weekend for some extra cash and I think I may have hurt it then. It definitely feels better by now but it really limited my knitting for a couple of days. Plus the past couple of days have been COLD. The heater in my house needs to be fixed but it hasn’t been high on my list since we live in Florida. So we have no heat right now but we just bundle up. I couldn’t believe that I was too cold to knit. I would rather have my hands under the blanket so no knitting for the past two days.

When I did get knitting in I worked on the Baby hat some more. I keep telling myself I need to finish it soon. Hats usually take me no time to knit. I don’t think I will be starting any hats in fingering weight again. Geez…

So now that it is 2008 I realized that I have been knitting for a little over a year and crocheting a little longer than that but I definitely prefer knitting over crocheting. I never documented the first projects like I do now but I managed to get pictures of most of them. So out of all the knitting I have to say that I don't really have a favorite project. I have learned that I love to knit socks though. I always have to have a pair on the needles now.

Well that’s all I have for now. I will be spending the next week dog sitting again so I will have lots of time to knit. We’ll see how that goes…

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year!!

-Michele-

Long Relaxing Weekends

2007-12-27T16:50:00.001-05:00

Christmas went by uneventful in my house. Since we decided to sponsor a family this year instead of buying gifts for ourselves we didn’t have much going on. We were lazy and watched marathons of “A Christmas Story” on TV in our jammies. It was great. At about 4pm I decided that I wanted to make a big Christmas dinner only to discover that the only grocery store open on Christmas closed at 3pm, so we had spaghetti for dinner. Even though we didn’t have a big Christmas we still had a good time. I even got to hear from my sister. She hasn’t been the easiest person to keep in touch with because her life is crazy right now so I was glad to hear from her and my nephew. I was really surprised to hear she sent me something too. I felt bad for not sending my nephew anything this year, but because I don’t get to hear from him much I have no idea what he is into or where I would even send it. I’m just glad I was able to talk to all my family but the holidays always make me sad that I am not with them.

I had Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after off from work so I had plenty of knitting time. I mainly worked on the Ballet Cami and the Sweet Baby Hat.

This is the status of the Cami with our new pet. He is the Webkinz Beagle that I got for the hubby. He loves beagles. I just finished the second skein and have attached the third. It is going by really fast now. I finished the decreases and am doing the increases until I get to the armholes.

I really need to try to work on the hat more because I need to finish it but it seems like it is taking forever. I think it is because it is with fingering weight yarn. Usually hats don’t take me any time at all but this is the first time I am using this light weight of a yarn.

I am supposed to get my Options needles today since I was not able to pick them up over the weekend. I forgot that we were closed for three days when I had them sent to my office so I had to wait. They actually shipped pretty fast for Knit Picks but they happened to get here on Saturday and the post office holds the mail for my office until we are open again. I went to try and pick them up but the stupid post office said I wasn’t on the list. There is no list!! There are like 5 people in the office and we are all like family. I seriously doubt that the owners would care who picked up the mail but they still wouldn’t let me take it. So I will get them today along with the package from my sister. I am not too worried about what case comes with the set anymore because I found someone on Ravelry that would be willing to trade is she gets that black case that I wanted. She actually wants the cheap plastic case. At least it will work out for both of us.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!!

-Michele-

Time To Slooow Down

2007-12-19T16:21:00.000-05:00

Wow, this post was supposed to go up a couple days ago. I hate when I get too busy to sit back and enjoy myself. Yesterday while driving home I noticed how beautiful the sunset was. I couldn’t remember when the last time I noticed the sunset. I really need to slow down and enjoy life! So I decided not to do the dishes and enjoy my evening off. I knit and listened to a few podcasts (the stupid satellite was not working again and I had no TV) while Diana glued herself to me. She must have been cold because she would not leave my side. She slept next to me with her head on my lap all evening. It has been getting colder and I finally got to wear my Fetching the other morning. They kept my cozy!

I got my yarn I ordered from The Loopy Ewe a couple days ago. I jumped in on the Cherry Tree Hill sale colors. I got “Sweet Potato Pie” and it is gorgeous!! It even came with a cute calendar from Romney Ridge Farm that was all about sheep. That went right up next to my desk. Now my office really thinks I’m weird. I am also waiting for a package from Knit Picks. I finally broke down and ordered a set of Options needles with my Christmas money (thanks mommy!). I have wanted them for about a year but just had not ordered them for one reason or another. So finally I put it in my cart on Monday and went to pay for it yesterday. It was gone from my cart and when I looked for it I found out they no longer offer the set in the zipper case. Now it comes in a cheap vinyl case and they kept it the same price. I was so disappointed! I even called them to see if I could still order it with the zipper case and all they said was “I guess you waited too long”. That was mean…So I still ordered it but I wasn’t too happy about it. I still want the other case but it is $20.00. Maybe next time I order from them I will add it in to get the free shipping…Geez…

I do have some knitting for you today. I have been working on the Ballet Cami since I didn’t have a sock to work on for a couple days. I finished my first skein of yarn and already have attached the second. This is working up pretty quick now.

I also started another sock but I’m not sure I like it yet. The yarn is Zen String Lotus Toes in Purple Eater and the pattern is Slippery Socks. I think they yarn might b to fuzzy for the pattern to show up. I am not very far but I may rip it back and knit a plain jane sock with this yarn.

This was the yarn that was in the purple eater sock I frogged recently. I like the yarn but I doesn’t seem to like me much…

So that’s all I have going on right now (well not all I have but all that I feel like working on). I decided not to do any Christmas knitting this year. It is only my 2^nd Christmas knitting and I don’t think I am fast enough to finish projects in time and with all the extra stuff we are trying to do this month it really wasn’t possible. So I got off the hook and got to enjoy my knitting this month! I have the night off tonight too so I will be cleaning and knitting to Christmas carols. I love this time of year :-)

-Michele-

This Stinks

2007-12-13T15:34:00.001-05:00

For the first time ever, I ordered some destash yarn. I got it from someone on Ravelry and I was so excited I couldn’t wait. The thought of buying perfectly good yarn at prices lower than new was something new for me. I got the yarn yesterday and while it is gorgeous something is a little off. It smells…not particularly bad, but it definitely has a smell to it. Almost like there was perfume sprayed on it. If it was a scent that I liked I might not have minded too much. I almost went and bought the other skein of AmiAmi that she lad listed but something told me to wait. Now the yarn is just fine but the smell made me rethink buying the second skein. Last night I sprayed it with febreeze and let it dry (I have done this with yarn before with nothing bad happening) and it still smells. I set it away from my stash (as not to contaminate the rest) and am going to let it air out. What else can I do?

So I finally have a FO for you. The Striped Socks are finally done and they MATCH! Here they are in all their glory:

Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes

Needles: 3.0mm Knit Picks Circulars

Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern (Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles)

Pattern Designer: Cat Bordhi

Date Finished: 12/11/2007

I love them. I don’t know if I will eventually give them away, but for now they are mine. All mine! I haven’t cast on any new socks yet so I need to get on that. I will cast on at work tonight.

I got to pick up our Christmas cards yesterday. They turned out great. I used the picture of Diana with Santa for the card. I love that it was so easy and cheap to do. All I need to do now is address them and stamp them with these cute knitted stamps I found:

Ha, those are too cute. So I found out today that we might be getting another dog temporarily. Someone that the hubby works with had a Beagle that he couldn’t keep. Now T isn’t the only one in his office that works with the Beagle Rescue so we weren’t the only ones pissed when he gave the dog to the SPCA. The Beagle Rescue really wanted him. So they are going to go get him and might have already found him a home in New York. While he is waiting to go to New York he needs a foster home. He shouldn’t be woth us very long at all, they just need to get him out of the SPCA shelter. Poor guy, his whole world is getting turned upside down right now.

So it will be more chaos at my house for a while. I’m just glad that my time working at the store is almost over. Then things will calm down for us. I can’t wait…

-Michele-

Only 13 Days Left...

2007-12-11T16:59:00.001-05:00

It seems like I have had no time for blogging lately…

Finally I had a somewhat normal weekend. I worked all day Saturday but the hubby and I were home on Sunday, together. It felt weird after all this time of us not being home at the same time. So to use the valuable time we had together, I met up with Angie. No, I’m not that mean, he came too :-) We both needed to get out for a while. It was nice to sit and chat for a while. I stopped by AC Moore too and got some craft stuff for my little sister and I on Thursday. Sunday night the hubby and I made it out to Merritt Island for a show called “The Living Christmas Tree.” They had a floor to ceiling fiber optic tree on the wall with people in each level singing Christmas carols and other songs. There was even a 7-year-old girl that sang the anthem. Wow could she sing…it was great.

Sunday before we left for the show I finally got the hubby to finish my new swift. Now I don’t have to use my feet to unwind yarn anymore. :-) I got the pattern for the swift here. It cost a whole lot less to make it than I would have spent if I bought one from a craft store. The wood for 2 of them was only a little over $10. Nice huh? Now all I need is a ball winder. For now I am perfectly content winding by hand.

I am almost finished woth the second Striped Sock.I have one more repeat to go then I start the toe. I have decided that the next sock will be Slippery Socks. Can you believe that the designer is a teenager?? She is so talented. I also decided to frog the Purple Eater Sock. I don’t know why but they were twisted at the toe. I have not touched it in months because it has been bugging me. So they are getting frogged and are becoming Sippery Socks.

I got started on the Baby Hat for my cousin and I really like how its turning out. It is slow going though since it is in fingering weight yarn. I am using Louet Gems Fingering in Crabapple Blossom. It’s the same yarn as the bootie but I don’t know if I will be making another bootie. I hope to have this hat finished by Christmas but it’s ok if it’s not. She is not due until March.

So it’s back to work in the mall tonight for me. At least I work across the way from barnies so I can grab coffee. They have a great Pumpkin Spice Latte.

-Michele-

Winter Is Here, Kind Of

2007-12-06T14:14:00.001-05:00

**As I read the last post I realized that I sounded like a jerk. It’s not that I don’t like knitting for other people, I just don’t like being asked to knit for money. I love to knit gifts, almost all the things I knit get given away. Just wanted to clear that up…**

It’s finally starting to feel like the holidays around here. Even though its still 80 in December, we had the Christmas music playing all week. It’s actually starting to feel a bit cooler today. We even got to take Diana to see Santa in the mall. When I heard that there was a “Bring your dog to see Santa day” we had to go get her. She was so happy to be around all the other dogs and people. I am using the picture to make our Christmas cards. We still haven't put up any Christmas lights on the house. I have the feeling that we won't get them up since we are both working all the time now. It's ok, I have my tree up.

I am feeling so blah today. I am really tired and achy. I hope I’m not getting sick. I haven’t touched my knitting in days because I have been working on getting a mailout done for work. I was addressing, stamping and stuffing 900 letters. Not fun…I will be working tonight so I should get some knitting in.

The only thing that I managed to finish in the last couple days was the first bootie. I don’t like it. It seems small. I decided to knit a hat out of the rest of the yarn and if I have enough I will knit the bigger size booties. If the yarn is close I will frog the first bootie too.

I felt like such a fraud last night. I was shopping at the mall and found a gorgeous hand knit sweater. It wasn’t too thick to wear in our 80 winter (is will get cooler soon) and it was on sale. I bought it, what a shame. It’s even made of acrylic. I know…but it would have taken me forever to knit that, not to mention that I have never knit a sweater before. It was cheaper than if I had bought all the yarn to make it and was a beautiful color so I caved. And I call myself a knitter…

BTW, Did you see they the new Knitty and MagKnits are up??

-Michele-

What Are Your Handknits Worth?

2007-12-03T17:07:00.001-05:00

Well I didn’t get as much done as I thought I would. It was surprisingly really busy at the store this weekend. I am starting to not like working there. I knew that I wouldn’t see the hubby a whole lot but now it’s starting to get to me. I will be better when I am done dog sitting and am back home. So I didn’t finish the baby booties but I did get to work on the Striped Sock.

I am done with the gusset decreases and am working to finish this soon. I got another offer on the Sock. Seems handknit socks are hard to come by. A friends wants to buy them but I didn’t giver her an answer. After all this time I am kinda attached to them. Besides what price would I sell them for? How much is my time really worth? Probably more than she’s willing to pay for a pair of socks. I have had multiple offers to knit things for other people too. I never know just how to answer the usual “Ooh can you knit (blank) for me? I’ll pay you and buy the yarn!” I don’t want to commit my time since I get bored easily and don’t finish things. What if I took too long? Somehow I think I would get bored if it turned into “work”. Yea, I’m not ready to capitalize on the hobby yet.

I got another amazing package from my now revealed secret Pal. Her name is Melissa. I am so happy that she got me as a Pal, she was too good to me! This package had some beautiful roving from Smoky Mountain Fibers (so soft!!), a handknit ornament for my tree, the River Ripple Socks pattern from her LYS, some yummy chocolate, soap, candles and sticky notes. She really does know me pretty well. All 3 of the packages were much appreciated. I can’t wait to start spinning that fiber. Thanks Melissa!! It has been fun!

I really have to get going. I have to find the last few things to throw in my SP Package. I was so busy that it’s going out a few days late. I hope she won’t mind!

-Michele-

No Time To Post!

2007-11-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

Well this is definitely going to be a quickie post. I have just a few minutes before I head over to my friends house for her Cookie Lee party. Pretty stuff!! It will be a lot of fun.

I have a few progress pictures to show you:

I have finished the heel and am now on the gusset decreases. I love this part of the sock because the rest is all down hill. I should have this finished up in no time. I haven’t put too much thought into what sock I will knit after this so I guess I better get down to it.

I also casted on for the Saartje’s Booties at work last night. It was so low that I almost got the whole thing done. I hope to have both done by the end of the weekend. These are going to be for my cousin Renee’s baby that is due in March. I am using Lout Gems Fingering in Crabapple Blossom. I love this color!!

So that’s all for now. I have been oogling this for my next big project, after Ballet Cami is done. I won a skein of Merino Oro in a contest a while back.

-Michele-

And We're Back

2007-11-27T16:55:00.001-05:00

PS. Make sure to drop by Alyson’s blog for her destah to save Bitty sale. She needs the funds to help her poor little dog who had surgery. She has some great stuff and awesome prices.

Wow, I thought that after 4 days off I could get back to work as usual. Not the way it happened. I was trying to post yesterday but it was crazy. I am staying at my boss’s house again to watch the dogs since they are out of town so I have been running back and forth from my house to theirs. We live a little farther now that we moved. I don’t really sleep all that well at their house either (their dog is old and LOUD) so I haven’t been feeling great. Despite all that and the extra job I managed to cast on for Ballet Cami.

I just finished the ribbing and am about to start the body. I think I will knit a few rows before I start the decreasing to give it a little longer length. The last thing I need is a top that shows a little skin :-) I have been knitting like crazy lately and it has a lot to do with the new job. Aside from the day after Thanksgiving it has been dead! That’s good for me I guess. The last time I worked I knit the heel flap for the second striped sock and read a bunch in my book. It’s nice to have all that time to knit and read but the time does pass really slowly. It’s ok, I keep telling myself it’s just till Christmas.

So about the Striped Sock…I figured out that it’s pretty hard to take a picture of a sock when I have not knit the gusset. Can you believe that both the sock and cami pictures were on the same table? The light does weird things sometimes. So it’s back to work tonight so I should get pretty far with the knitting. We’ll see how busy it gets.

-Michele-

Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

Well this will just be a quickie post to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. We will be heading to a friends house for the afternoon. Mostly all of our family is in California so we will not get to see them this year. It’s ok because we have plenty of new family here :-)

I remembered to get a picture of the second Striped sock this time. I hope to be at least to the heel by Monday. I won’t be posting on Friday since I will be working. The hubby and I know someone who sets up a store in the mall from now until Christmas and she needed some more workers so we jumped to help. We will be working evenings and weekends. The hours kinda suck but its ok, it’s only until Christmas and it will bring some extra cash. So I will be stuck at the mall the day after Thanksgiving…

So bye until Monday! Have a good weekend!

-Michele-

New Yarn!

2007-11-19T17:17:00.001-05:00

So Angie and I made it to the Orlando Needleworks Show on Saturday. Even though both of us haven’t been feeling 100% lately we had a blast. I was not going to miss it just because I couldn’t breathe the night before. My sister has lived with severe asthma her whole life but I was told that I had slight asthma. But that was a long time ago and I haven’t used an inhaler in like 5 years. So there I was, the night before the Needleworks Show gasping for breath, well it wasn’t that bad but I was definitely not comfortable. I ended up being fine but I really was not going to let that stop me from going. The Show was pretty good (compared to the last one we went to…) and it had quite a few booths. We oogled and squeed over yarn. I swear we were separated at birth or something. Every time I grabbed a skein she was looking at the same one. We did buy a bunch considering we’re almost always broke. I got a skein of Pagewood Farms Hand Dyed Sock Yarn in Bird of Paradise and some pretty fall looking Roving from…(dang I don’t have the name with me, but I’ll get it!) we even made it over to Sip N Knit to sop some more. I got a skein of Araucania Ranco Multi Sock Yarn in the blue-purple color. Both of the yarns are gorgeous!!! I can’t wait to spin up the roving too. I thought I lost my drop spindle but I found it after tearing apart my knitting areas. We did not make it to IKEA but we did drive by the exit. That whole area was packed! There was no way we were making it in there.

I finished the Striped Sock on Friday but didn’t get to post about it yet. The toe came out great. This was the first time I grafted a toe in fingering weight yarn. I started the 2^nd sock right away but I haven’t got very far into it.

I finally finished Fetching over the weekend. I don’t know why it took me so long. I knit the first one back in February and never thought twice about the 2nd one. Since it is getting cooler here I had the urge to just finish them. I was surprised that it only took me a day to knit it. The first one took me a couple of days. Maybe I am just getting better at this?

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Needles: 4.5mm Bamboo Dpn’s

Pattern: Fetching (Knitty Summer 2006)

Pattern Designer: Cheryl Niamath

Date Finished: 11/18/2007

Now that I have been finishing things up around here I can cast on for Ballet Cami. Maybe this week? We’ll see…

-Michele-

Happy IKEA Day!

2007-11-14T15:49:00.001-05:00

Today was the grand opening of IKEA and it should be a holiday. Or we should have had the day off at least :-) It is a definitely a big deal to us. I was so excited when I first heard about it. Now I want to go really really bad. Hey maybe I will get to pop in there when I am in Orlando on Saturday? I don’t have any idea if we will even be close to it but what does that matter? Did you know that they have free childcare and cheap meals? Crazy…

I am going to drone on again about the Striped Sock. I was not home until late the past 2 nights so I have only knit about an inch. But as you can see I am ready for the toe. I am dying to have this thing finished!! I have already had someone stake a claim on them. My mom emailed me that if they're are too small (like the Horcrux Socks) she will take them off my hands. How sweet of her! I haven’t decided if they fit me yet. I can get them on but they are a bit snug…

In other news…I think I am going to throw my Zune against a wall. Well it’s not the Zune’s fault, it’s the makers’. Yes its all Microsoft’s fault…Ha that capitalized all on its own…do you think its because I am typing in Word? This is all a conspiracy. Anyways, today they released an update for the Zune software so I did what it told me and I downloaded it. Little did I know that it would completely screw up my entire library. All of my songs are posted now on the wrong albums. Carrie Underwood is listed on Timbalands album and so on. I logged on to Zune’s website to see if there is tech support or something and I came across the tech support forum filled with annoyed customers and a little tutorial on how to fix the problem (that they knew about yesterday but did not fix or at least remove the update!!) but I couldn’t figure it out. I even uninstalled the whole thing and reloaded it but the stupid CD looks for updates before installing. Conspiracy!! At least I did not have my actual Zune hooked up to the computer when all this went down so it is safe for now. I hope they fix this quick!! All I need is another thing to not work around here…ugh

-Michele-

I'm All Over The Place

2007-11-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

I did not have one thing planned for this weekend. I wanted to knit, finish unpacking the last few boxes, clean house and all that. Well let’s just say I was BORED. Saturday I did get that last box unpacked in the living room. We cleaned up our room too and got a new fan (this time with a light) and it looks good. Now only the guest bedroom and office are a wreck. I will get to them. After we moved our furniture ended up shifting around and now it seems like I don’t have enough to go around. I badly need a medicine cabinet/cupboard in the master bath and maybe a dresser for our room. We got rid of the big ugly thing we had but we never actually had a bedroom set so now we have our stuff in the old drawers stacked on an old coffee table. Sounds worse than it looks but it works for now. I don’t have any furniture besides a bed in the guest room so I’ll probably be looking for a dresser in there too. The office…well lets just say that it’s a catch all for the stuff that doesn’t have a home yet. It is the office/craft room/storage closet. I really need to organize in there but I have been waiting until we pick up a desk that came from my old office. At least the living room and our room look decent right now. I’m sure that was more than you needed to know about our house right now.

So after all that I wanted to get out on Sunday. I talked the hubby into going to the Volusia County Fair. It was nice. We got to eat, see the exhibits, eat some more, see the animals (no sheep or other fiber animals though), eat and see a concert. Did I mention we ate? The food was awesome of course. We had the typical fair type food, hot dogs and corn dogs, popcorn, lemonade and a turkey leg for the hubby. We even finished it off with a funnel cake. I don’t have any pictures so you will have to imagine how good it was, although I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that. Man I love the fair. I hope I walked off at least half of those calories while we were there.

I did get a bunch done on the Striped Sock on the way. I am about an inch away from starting the toe. My goal for having it done by the weekend was not met, but that’s ok. It makes it seem like my foot is huge but it is only slightly huge. I wear a size 9-10 shoe so the foot seems to take forever! I have tried it on so far and I like how it looks.

I got to finish up the gauge swatch for the Ballet Cami this weekend too. I washed it and dried it to see how much the gauge changed. I got gauge after it was dried but the gauge listed was after drying too so I think I’m good. I think I will cast on as soon as the First Striped Sock is done. The one on the left is before washing and the right is after.

I will leave you with a video from Diana’s walk this morning. This is sort of a test to see how the video looks. It’s kinda blurry because I recorded it on my phone while we were walking. Diana is so sidetracked while she is walking. I swear her nose never leaves the floor. Now I understand why you can’t let a beagle off the leash. Geez…this post was all over the place!

-Michele-

I'm a Loopy Groupie!

2007-11-09T15:34:00.001-05:00

I finally got to the order that puts me into the Loopy Groupies. I was excited to receive the package because I knew it would have something special but I didn’t know how special!! I ordered one skein of Louet Gems in Shamrock for Saartje booties. Sheri also sent me a large Loopy tote bag and two skeins of Lorna's Laces in Motherlode. That yarn is gorgeous!! I don’t know why I never noticed it before. Sheri really outdid herself on this one. Wow. It was nice to get all the goodies.

I went to meet my Little Sister today but there was a big misunderstanding. She was at an elementary school in Satellite Beach and for some reason BBBS thought I wanted to go to that school. Its about an hour away from my work so I couldn’t go there. So they are searching for another Little for me. I wonder if she was as disappointed as me. I really wanted to meet her!

I’m still trudging along on the Striped sock. I am almost halfway through the foot now. At least the ribbing on the top of the foot is keeping it interesting. I want to have it done by this weekend but that’s asking a lot of me. We’ll see.

Well its time for me to head home for the day. I don’t think I will be answering any emails this weekend. I think our laptop is biting the dust. It won’t turn on right now. We have only had it 2 years…how long do laptops last? I really don’t want to have to buy another one so soon but it doesn’t look good… :-(

Have a good weekend, and happy knitting!

-Michele-

Good News!

2007-11-07T14:26:00.001-05:00

I have a Little!! I got the call today that Big Brothers Big Sisters found me a Little Sister. Her name is Alexis and she is in 2^nd grade. I am excited and nervous to meet her. I get to meet her on Friday and since we will be meeting during her lunch/recess time I can bring my lunch too and we can go out and play after we work on school stuff.

I just remembered today that my real estate license is expiring in March 2008. I was trying to sign up for my post license course that I have to complete but the only class openings were not going to work for me time wise and they are in Orlando and Kissimmee. Those are both pretty far for me since the class is from 6-10pm on a Friday, all day Saturday and Sunday for two weekends in a row. I was getting really worried that I would not get my class done in time. I checked one other school that my boss used for her license and they have an online course that I can complete at home. That’s 45 hours that I won’t have to sit in a classroom. I was amazed, and it’s like $60 cheaper. That’s awesome!! So I’m all signed up and ready to go.

I worked some more on the Striped Sock. I hope to have it done by the end of the week. I hope I don’t end up wearing 1 ½ socks to the Needleworks show.

If you noticed, there was something new in that picture. I was trying to be good so I cast on a swatch for the Ballet Cami. I'm even going to wash it :-) The yarn was leftover Shine Sport from Sheldon. So far I like how soft the yarn is. The swatch is still small but it looks like it will drape nicely. I plan on making the Cami sort of big. I want a snug top but not really snug like the pattern suggests. I don’t think me wearing a top with negative ease will help anyone. I am going to make it longer too. I want it hip length. Is this a lot to hope for in my first top?

I am glad I didn't sign up for NaBloPoMo because I seem to be having a hard time making this thing interesting lately.

-Michele-

Race For The Finish

2007-11-05T17:14:00.001-05:00

Angie and I really need to get this knit night thingy together. We met up again on Saturday and enjoyed 4 precious uninterrupted hours with coffee and knitting. I know it has been 2 weekends in a row but it was awesome. If we get the night set up I will have something to look forward to. And we are always so indecisive, having a set time and place will fix that. I have to say that this is the quickest I have ever received yarn from Knit Picks. We were able to open it and oogle it on Saturday. It came in less than a week! That has to be a record or something. So now I have the yarn for the Ballet Camisole in my possession but I have not cast on. I am being
loyal to my Striped Sock in order to have it finished. The yarn is beautiful and it is calling my name…I even got the Knit Picks Options tips and cable that I am dying to try…I really need to finish at least one sock before I jump in on that. Geez, I am already making excuses for myself.

BTW, did you see that the new MagKnits is out? There are some really cute patterns like this. and this.

I did get a lot done on the Striped Sock over the weekend. It seems like top down socks go faster that toe up. Hmmm…well I am past the heel now and racing toward finish line. I think they will be a bit snug but ok. I am slowly but surely talking myself out of sticking to a pattern. I need to stray a little to get them to fit better. I think my ankles are huge or something.

I did manage to snag a quick picture as proof that Diana and Jessie are getting along now. They both decided that they wanted to lie on the couch and sleep. Right as I was taking this Diana decided to come see what I was doing. They like to pretend that they don’t like each other but they do…

Wow, today seemed way more boring than most Mondays…Was it because of the time change? Blame the boring post on it too :-)

-Michele-

Contest

2007-11-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie post to let you all know about a contest that Cass is having over at Shut Up, I'm Counting.

Be sure to mention that you saw it here for another entry!!

Stupid People

2007-11-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

County workers suck. I am sorry if you happen to work for Brevard County but everyone I’ve dealt with just sucks. We have to hook up to the sewer at my office by the end of October (I know that was yesterday) and we have to get permits to do that. I called the County and got the septic permit. They told me to go to the City of Cocoa for the Building permit. I set this up and even got the City to rush it for us so we can start today. I showed up at the County (which is not very close to my office) to pick up permit #1 and rushed over to the City to get permit #2. The City, at 4:30pm, decided that they will not give it to me because we are county jurisdiction. I told them I was just there and they told me to come here and they said tough. Does anyone know how to do their job?? So there I am at 4:30 the day before we start work with no permit. I hate dealing with them…

Now that I have dumped all that on you I can go on. Since the City is right near my LYS, I popped in to get some needles to go in my Pal’s 2^nd package. Time is against me on that too, but it will get out by Saturday. She is getting some gorgeous yarn (that I almost kept for myself), stitch markers, needles, and a notebook. The Yarn is from White Willow’s shop and is called Sugar Berry.

I have been working a lot on the Striped Sock too. I am almost to the heel flap now. It may be a little tight; I have to learn to adjust my size because apparently I knit really tight. I like it though and I am determined to have them finished by Nov 17^th. Well at least one…would I look weird wearing one hand knit sock to the Needleworks Show?

I finally got a new purse this week. It has been a couple years. A friend of mine was in New York last week and had a list of people, including me, to find purses for. Can you believe they have Coach for $30?? It is a really, really good knock off. I love it. It makes me feel all rich and stuff…while I buy cheap yarn because I am broke…Ha

I hope everyone had a good night trick or treating last night. We had fun, we sat at the neighbors house and handed out candy. We did not have many kids at all. I was surprised because I always see kids in our neighborhood. Weird…We did see some …interesting…costumes and some really cute ones. One kid that came up with his parents couldn’t have been older that 1 ½. He really didn’t get what to do. Pick up candy, put it in bucket…He looked like he was having fun though. I can’t wait until we have kids and we can dress them up all cute!! Yea right...I have a hard enough of a time with the dog! Kids are going to have to wait.

-Michele-

Weekend Knitting

2007-10-29T16:54:00.000-04:00

So far so good…Diana hasn’t eaten anything else yet. edit: I Spoke too soon. Now she ate a box of tea light candles and my tube of conditioner that was almost gone. I guess we need to finish unpacking so there aren’t boxes of stuff lying around that she can get into. :-(

I got to meet up with Angie again on Saturday. I had to replace the needles that Diana ate and I had to get Angie the money for our joint order on Knit Picks (to get the free shipping) we had just placed. Good excuse to sit for a couple hours and knit, right? Angie was able to find a babysitter for J so we were able to stay a while. It was nice to just grab some lunch and chat. Angie said it pretty well today, its not all the time that we are able to get together because we live so far. It seems like we’re trying to get a knit night together though. We figured out that the Panera in The Avenues is pretty much half way for both of us. There is an AC Moore there too for when we need cheap yarn, and you know we need good cheap yarn since we are now in the “Broke Ass Knitters Club.” Angie is starting the Ravelry group after we were joking about being broke all the time. Ha.

I cast on for another sock on Saturday morning. I tried to cast on with 2 circulars but it wasn't working out for me so I tried magic loop with the 32" circular that my pal got me. Much easier, especially that trying to show Angie the problem I was having fixed it. I never did figure out what I was doing wrong but it works now. Since I was trying something new I didn't want to use one of my favorite yarns so I used some I got a while ago. It was from when I first wanted to knit socks. I was in a craft store and saw the yarn, Lion Brand Magic Stripes I think. It was really weird because I knew Angie had socks on the needles with the same yarn but when we compared them they are the same colorway and the exact same pattern too. It really was funny to compare them. Apparently I have to finish mine by November 17th for the Orlando Needleworks Show so we can wear matching hand knit socks. I know, we're geeks. As Lime & Violet would say...I'm waving my geek flag. Ha. I have been listening to a lot of L&V lately since I got my Zune. I downloaded a bunch of old episodes and have been catching up.

I have to get back to knitting on those socks!!

-Michele-

Random Thursday

2007-10-25T16:45:00.001-04:00

Today was definitely a long day for me. I was running errands for work for a while. One of the things I did today was my interview for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I decided to volunteer there. I will be paired up with a child and I will spend an hour a week at their school helping them with school work and just being a friend. I am really excited to get started but I have to wait 4-6 weeks for my background check. Why does it have to take this long? Of course if it was my child I would want it to take every bit of 4-6 weeks. So sometime in the near future I will be paired up with my “little”

I have learned that dogs will eat anything. Last night while relaxing and knitting the hubby noticed that Diana was really quiet. Not barking at the cat or jumping on us, but quiet. I looked at my feet where she was and she was finishing off the bamboo knitting needle she was eating. She ate two of my needles, stolen right out of the bag by my feet. She couldn’t just eat two of the same size though. She ate on of each size that I needed for the Scrappy Hat and the Dream Swatch Scarf. She ate one of them she ate right out of my Dream Swatch. She shredded the end of it trying to get it out. I didn’t think she could actually consume the wood but all I found was the tip. At least I know that not floating around inside of her. I will have to remember not to leave my knitting out now. I had to unravel a few rows back on the Dream Swatch to save it but it is ok.

I am getting ready to mail off my most recent FO. On the drive to Islamorada I cast on for Calorimetry and finished it up before we got back. It was a quick knit and turned out great. I really thought about keeping it until I tried it on for the picture. I could not wait to get that thing off my head. It is cooling off here but not enough for that. I don’t think it will ever be cool enough for a wool head wrap in FL. It will find a good home with a friend of mine in MA.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Needles: 5.0mm straights

Pattern: Calorimetry (Knitty Winter 2006)

Pattern Designer: Kathryn Schoendorf

Date Finished: 10/21/2007

Hopefully I will be casting on for a Ballet Camisole soon. Angie and I are both knitting it. We are ordering our yarn this weekend and will have it soon, hopefully. We are ordering Shine Sport from Knit Picks and we all know how long their shipping takes. Until then, I will probably cast on for a pair of socks. Probably with circular needles.

Its about time to go home for me. Got to go see what the dog got into now :-)

-Michele-

Getting Back In The Groove

2007-10-23T16:38:00.001-04:00

Why does it always seem like when you get back from a vacation things are crazier than when you left them? It seems like I am barley keeping afloat these days. It’s nothing extremely important but its all the little things that I never seem to have time for. I have piles of stuff to do.

Even though the stuff is all still here, we were able to forget it all while on vacation. I was perfect. Great weather, relaxing, and knitting…We stayed in a little cottage on the beach in Islamorada. Every morning and every evening we sat in the chairs on the beach enjoying the views and the breeze. We went with some friends as the “babysitters” since they were there for a wedding. Even the baby loved the breeze. He was so mellow in those times sitting on the beach. We had fun, ate too much food, relaxed by the pool. We even got to eat dinner on the beach at the Lorelei. It was everything a vacation is supposed to be. Except that we didn’t get out on the water. One of our friends did bring a boat but we were not there the days they did go fishing. Oh well, we said that we have to plan another mini vacation and drive all the way to Key West. We thought about driving there the last day we stayed but everyone told us that it wasn’t a good time because of Fantasy Fest. It would have taken us forever to get there and it would have been packed.

I worked on the Scrappy Hat while there. Since we were baby sitting I had to have something that I could stop mid-row and tend to the little one. He is not crawling yet and is really an easy baby compared to most so it was nice. Knitting on the beach is so relaxing. It would have been more relaxing if it weren’t for the coconuts we heard dropping around us off the trees. You have to be careful where you sit. We brought a bunch back to plant in the yard. If you plant the coconuts they will sprout and grow into coconut palms. Back to the knitting…The Scrappy hat is about 17 inches now. Just about big enough to fit around my head. Just a little farther and I can sew it all up. I did manage to finish the Horcrux socks before I left but did not get a chance to post about them. They look great and will get shipped off soon.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran

Needles: 5.0mm Dpns

Pattern: Horcrux Socks (worsted weight)

Pattern Designer: Susan Lawrence

Date Finished: 10/17/2007

I will have another FO tomorrow. I casted on for it on the drive South and finished it before we got home. Pretty nice huh. I will have details and pictures tomorrow.

As if I didn’t have too much going on already, we decided to add to it. Meet Diana. She is the newest addition to the family. She is a 2yr old Beagle that we rescued from Ziggy Beagle Rescue in Palm Bay, FL. She is a sweetheart! She is already making her self at home with us. Turns out that she is afraid of cats and Jessie is afraid of dogs. It definitely was funny when they first saw each other and Diana almost went through the screen door to get away from the cat and Jessie was hissing and puffed up. They are getting better now. Jessie has to be the boss and pick on Diana and Diana likes to tease Jessie to make her hiss. She sneaks up on her on the couch. It really is funny. They will be friends soon though. It definitely has been an improvement from when they first met!

Well I guess this post couldn’t get any longer. If you want to see all the pictures from the trip you can see the set here.

-Michele-

A Weekend Outdoors

2007-10-15T17:09:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I found out that I could walk 5K without passing out. Ha, really it wasn’t bad at all. Makes me want to walk more…

My company participated in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk this year. Angie even made it out and walked with us. It was a good time but I think there were more strollers than people there. We tried to raise a bunch of money and considering all the things going on in everyone’s personal lives right now, we did really well. I even got a T-shirt Angie did really well considering that I told her two days before the walk. You see, I have been distracted lately =). And it really did make me want to walk more. We will be participating in the walk again next year so hopefully we will be more prepared.

After the walk we had the great idea (as did everyone else that walked) to head over to Panera for lunch. It was a sea of pink…We managed to grab a few tables anyways and we all had a good time. After the crowds cleared Angie and I sat for a while to knit and talk. Her son is really well behaved. He of course wanted to be the center of attention but come on, he’s 3. He didn’t terrorize the place or anything, only stared at the people in the booth behind us. Maybe he was trying to play peek-a-boo with them.

Sunday was full of yard work. We had turned into the people that don’t mow their lawn so I bugged the hubby to go out with me and work on it. He mowed both the front and back and I pulled weeds. It looks a whole lot better now, at least until Wednesday when it will be a foot tall again. I did manage to squeeze in some knitting time. I am almost done with the second Horcrux Sock.

I will definitely be done with this by the time we leave for vacation. Yup, we leave on Thursday for Islamorada. It will be a blast. It doesn’t hurt that I will have about 5 hours of knitting time on the drive. Hopefully I can get a bunch done. I haven’t decided what I am bringing yet though.

I am trying to get back to posting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so I will have one more post before we leave. Hopefully it will have a FO!

-Michele-

She Did It Again

2007-10-11T17:40:00.001-04:00

My pal outdid herself, again! I got my 2^ndpackage from my Secret Pal and it is awesome!! This has been an exciting few weeks for me. It seems like every time I post I have a new package to share. This package left me speechless, for about 2 seconds, and then I (talking a million miles a minute) told the hubby all about Yarn Pirate and why it is soo cool. He was not impressed. That’s right, I said Yarn Pirate. Did I mention my pal is the best?

My package not only had a skein of Yarn Pirate in the Calamity colorway, but also had Wendy’s Loopy Laces pattern, some beautiful stitch markers from Blumes Accessories, Some yummy smelling candles and a goody bag from her kids. Seeing as it was my birthday they got me a goody bag for my party. Sweet =)

I can’t wait to try out some of the cool yarn I have acquired lately but you probably won’t see them for a while. You see I am pretty new to sock knitting. I am only on my 2nd and 3rd pairs now and only one have really fit me. I am still getting the hang of sizing so I don’t want to use the really cool yarns until I am better at it. I still may frog the Jaywalker sock because it won’t fit over my big foot. I will get better at it soon and then I will try the cool yarns.

I am turning the heel on the Horcrux sock now and I should be on the foot by tonight. I put the instep stitches on waste yarn like the pattern said but I really don’t think that was necessary. That just means that I will have the extra step of picking all those stitches back up later. Probably shouldn’t have done that…It’s ok, as I have stated, I’m still learning. Next will be circulars for my socks. As soon as these are done I am casting on another pair. I didn’t forget about the Purple Eater sock though, I am just not thrilled with it.

Time to go now and finish my heel and watch Grey’s tonight.

-Michele-

Birthday Prizes

2007-10-09T16:49:00.001-04:00

Well, I went and chopped off all my hair but it turned out great. It seems so short to me but it really isn’t that short. It is just past my shoulders now and I am loving the length. It is a big difference from before though.

I donated a little over 10 inches. Looking at the ponytail in my hand after cutting it was hard. Especially we had to do the color before the rest of the cut was finished. I got red highlights that really look natural. They sort of match the natural highlights I have. I played with the colors a bit to make the highlights stand out in this picture though.

Overall, I love it. We got to celebrate this weekend too. On Saturday I went out with the hubby and a friend of mine for a couple of drinks and dinner. We had a great time. I love that he really doesn’t like shellfish because he got the surf n turf and gave me the lobster tail. Yum! I will always accept that. He has no idea…

I finally got to work on the Horcrux Socks. I thought I wouldn’t get to knit all month. It has just been one thing after another right now. It’s hard to get anything done on a daily basis. I will have some days off coming up to catch up and relax. And I get to take a day off for my birthday (which was yesterday). I haven’t decided when that will be but it will be soon. I am about to start turning the heel now though. Hopefully then it will finish up pretty quickly.

Yesterday the hubby surprised me with a birthday present. I didn’t think he was going to get me anything since we went out for a nice dinner and I got a house too :-) He got me a Zune! It is so cool. I am already spending all my time customizing it. Now I can have all my music and podcasts on it. It can also keep pictures to show off my projects to anyone who may want to see them. Thanks Hun!!

That’s all for now. It’s been so busy lately that it’s hard to sit down and blog about it all. I sit here and think, “Where do I begin?” I’ll keep trying to get knitting done and keep trying to entertain you guys in the process. Heh, no need to tell me how entertaining I am, I know. (yeah right)

-Michele-

I Need A Change

2007-10-04T17:13:00.000-04:00

It’s October 4^th and I haven’t touched the Horcrux Sock yet this month. I have been busy almost every day and I don’t see an end in sight. I will definitely have some great uninterrupted knitting time on the drive to The Keys in a couple weeks. We are leaving on Oct. 18^th. I can’t wait…

I have an updated picture of the Horcrux sock but it is from the last time I knit on it. I am about halfway through the pattern part of the leg now.

I seem to have a birthday coming up also…I got a lovely early present from my mom on Monday. I don’t know if I was supposed to open it or not but I did. It was awesome!! She knows me so well!

I got a crème brulee set that I had to bake with that night (Yummy!), some of my favorite Warm Vanilla Sugar stuff from Bath and Body Works, a beautiful pink sapphire Journey necklace and a beautiful amethyst necklace and bracelet.

This stuff was perfect! I only wish my mom was close by and we could go out and celebrate together. I miss you!

Another early present for my birthday will be tomorrow. I am finally getting my hair done. I have not cut it or changed the style in years. For any of you who have had the pleasure of meeting me will have noticed my long dark hair. It’s as far down as my butt now. It’s the thing I get the most compliments about. (not that I get a ton of them anyways…) I mean strangers have come up to me in stores and tell me how beautiful it is. I am going to chop it off and donate the hair. I am just so tired of all the work it is to have long hair. Let someone else who really needs it deal with it :-) I mean that in the nicest way possible. I will be cutting it a little longer than my shoulders and coloring it. Nothing dramatic, just playing off my natural colors. It is a huge deal for me since I have been trying to grow it out since high school but I feel like I need a change. It’s just hair, it will grow back anyway.

I will have before and after pictures in the next post for those of you who are interested. And hopefully knitting progress pictures.

-Michele-

What do you mean it’s October!?

2007-10-01T16:27:00.000-04:00

Wow, I couldn’t believe it until I wrote the date for the first time today. It’s really October. Where did September go? And for that matter, where did 2007 go? It seem that every year goes by faster than the last. And to give you an idea of how crazy it is around here, I uploaded the pictures for this post on Friday but have not had time to post.

We are almost all moved in. There are just a few more boxes left that were stored in the other bedroom and out of sight for another day. It is really starting to look like home now. Since we had beautiful weather this weekend we were able to open up the house also. We have the perfect amount of windows to get a good breeze going through the house. It was nice.

I finished the first Horcrux Sock on Thursday evening and moved right on to the second sock. I figured out that they’re just a bit too small for my feet so they will be a gift now. I like this pattern so much that the knowledge that they do not fit me did not even stop me from casting on for the second sock.

I am a little farther along than this picture shows since this was from last Thursday, but you get the idea. The second sock is going smoothly and looks great. I can’t wait for this to be done so I can ship them off to the lucky recipient.

I also got some more Debbie Bliss on sale at my LYS and found out that it will not be on sale any longer after Saturday. I was a little disappointed because I thought were going to have it on sale until it sold out because they are not going to carry it any longer. They decided to purchase a few of the colors for the store again, so no more sale. Too bad…At least I got a bunch while it was on sale. I can’t seem to locate my cable to pull the pictures off my camera but I got 2 balls in black. Maybe another pair of Horcrux…

I also got a great early birthday present form my mom today. It was Awesome!!! It will have to wait for the next post because it’s raining now and that’s no good for pictures :-)

I hope everyone else had a good weekend!

-Michele-

My Pal Rocks!

2007-09-25T16:41:00.001-04:00

Well we got everything moved over to the new house. That’s a start right?? We still have a long way to go before we are moved in though…a long way. I took yesterday off to try and get unpacked and I only got the kitchen done. At least now we can eat. It was so nice to finally spend a night in our new home. It seems sort of like a weight has been lifted off of us. Now we have accomplished something that we have been wanting for so long.

While we were trying to finish up the painting on Saturday I got my first piece of mail at the new house. I got a package from my Pal and she is the best pal ever!! That so did not help with trying to finish the painting. She so spoiled me.

I got some awesome Tofutsies yarn, 2 Knit Picks circular needles, “Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles” (perfect!), a beautiful washcloth, some yummy dark chocolate (that I had to eat right away), and a cool notebook. I don’t know how, but she just knew what to get me. Maybe it had to do with my questionnaire, maybe not. How did she know that I almost bought that exact yarn last week but decided last minute to put it back?? Maybe she spying on me…from Indiana… Thanks Pal!!! You’re the best!

I was able to fit in knitting time here and there. I definitely used all my time off yesterday for unpacking though. (yeah right…) I have realized that the hubby now pays attention to my knitting. When he got home yesterday he commented on how far I got on the sock, when I was supposed to be unpacking all day. Busted! I really didn’t think he ever looked. I am almost halfway done with the first Horcrux Sock. It is looking lovely!

I will have to knit these again soon. I love this pattern. I think that whenever I need a quick FO to bring up my spirits this will be it. Hopefully I will have this sock done in the next day or two and I will be casting on for the second right away. I have not decided if these will be a gift or if I will keep them.

Well I should get back to work now, We have a ton to do!

-Michele-

Take A Deep Breath...

2007-09-19T16:40:00.001-04:00

Now that I think about it, moving into the new house the same week that office is moving probably was not a great idea. I thought it would be ok but I am about to pull my hair out! Since my office is only about 10 people and I am the owner’s assistant, I got to make a lot of the calls to switch everything over. After spending well over an hour on the phone with our phone company last night and most of the morning today I just want to go home. At least we will be finished with the move on Friday.

Even though we have been really busy I have been knitting a little. I have been switching projects every week or so. It makes the progress go by slower than if I was only working on one exclusively, but it makes it more interesting for me. I picked up the Horcrux socks again. I don’t know what was wrong with me but I just could not get that pattern. Now that I am into it I realize how simple it was. I am about halfway through with the leg now. They are going by pretty quickly because I am using worsted weight yarn. I really like how the pattern is turning out.

I know that this is a blurry picture but you can see how that pattern looks. I might have to knit these again.

Hopefully we won’t be too stressed out from all the moving. We are only part way packed and I rented a truck for Sunday. If we can at least get the big stuff in I will be happy.

-Michele-

Busy Weekend

2007-09-17T14:06:00.001-04:00

Where do I start? We were so busy all weekend! I finally got to get together for a nice dinner on Friday with some friends. It was nice to see them and to see how big there son is getting. He is the cutest baby ever but he is such a chunk!! I just love to pinch his thighs! :-)

Then on Saturday Angie and I got to hang out and go to the Fiber-In. We spent all of 15 min there. It was so not what we were expecting. I thought it was going to be an event with things going on. All that was there were about 10 tables of people selling yarn. I’m not saying that’s bad, I love to wander and look but I thought there was going to be a little more happening there. We didn’t stay long. We did get to buy some drop spindles though. We both really want to learn to spin and this seemed like a good place to start.

I really liked it and thought it was a lot of fun. Now I don’t think it will ever replace knitting for me but it is definitely sparked my interest. After we left the Fiber-In we headed over to Cocoa Village so Angie’s son could play in the park for a while. While we watched him we got to try out the spindles. I think we got a good start before we left. This is Angie trying to get the hang of it.

When we were leaving the weirdest thing happened. A guy brought a monkey to the park. That’s right, a monkey. He was really cute too. (the monkey, that is) As we started walking that way to get a better view and head to the kitting store the guy walks off shaking his head. By now people had seen him and were heading his way too. He sat down on a bench with the monkey ad grunted every time someone walked by and looked. Well come on dude, if you bring a monkey to the park you will get curious people. Duh…it’s not like you brought a dog or something. I got a picture from down the way and we scooted by him pretty quickly. I don’t know if we were more worried about him biting or the monkey…

Well after all that I went home and practiced on the spindle. I finished all the fiber that came with it and was very pleased. I have my very own little skein of handspun yarn. It’s so pretty!!

Sunday was all work for us. We spent an ungodly amount of money at Home Depot and got to work painting. We are almost done with the living room and I LOVE the color!! I can’t wait until it’s finished and we can move in. We figured out that Jessie is a Scardy Cat too. Every time we start moving things around she hides. This time I found her hiding in the purple bathroom. She’s sweet even if she is a scardy cat!

I think I need a weekend after the weekend. ;-)

-Michele-

The American Dream

2007-09-14T11:03:00.001-04:00

Well We did it...

We are officially Homeowners. We are thrilled. There are lots of pictures of the new house here.

I will have more knitting and Fiber-In pictures soon.

Have a great weekend!

-Michele-

Heels and Toes

2007-09-10T16:28:00.001-04:00

It’s been a while since I last posted. We have just been so busy with everything. We are closing on Friday (YAY!!) so it will only get busier. We are also moving offices at work on the 21^st too. I don’t think I will ever want to move again. We have started packing but we can stay in our place until the 30^th. That works out great for us to paint and work on the house before we move in. Exciting!!

I finally got back to knitting this weekend too. I have been working on the Purple Eater Sock again and just finished turning the heel. I am very happy with how it turned out.

I think that I am done with short row heels for good now. I really want to change from short row toes too. I liked them at first but they just aren’t as pretty as other toes I have seen. I am going to try knitting socks on two circular needles next so I will probably try a new toe. I really don’t want to admit it but I don’t think I will knit the second Purple Eater sock yet. I like the yarn but I am tired of it! I want to start a new color. Then maybe I will get back to it.

I feel like I have been neglecting my secret pal. I still read her blog when she posts and leave her nice comments but I have not sent her anything. I keep telling myself to remember to pick up a little something to send her but we will get really busy and it gets pushed to next week. I finally sat down and planned out what I will send her. I will post a picture as soon as I get the package together. I don’t think that it will ruin the surprise because she can’t possibly know my blog. She is really new to blogging and my blog isn’t hugely popular. I doubt she’s ever heard of me. Good for me because I get to show off the goodies.

I am thrilled that we have absolutely nothing planned for tonight. Only a little knitting, a little packing and sleep! I didn't realize how much yarn I had until I tried to pack it. I started with a medium size bag and had to move to the ginormous bag. Wow...it's not all pretty yarn though. I still have a lot of the cheap acrylic from before I knew there was better.

-Michele-

Funny Story

2007-09-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

I have had a couple of comments about us buying a house. Seems that it was a surprise that we already found a house. It’s funny really. We found the house before we knew we were buying.

I know the owner of the house and when I heard that they were lowering the price to “dirt cheap” we went to see it. We fell in love with it. It is just right for us. A cozy 3 bedroom/2 bath house with great yards.

After seeing the house we talked with the mortgage company in my office and found out that we could afford the house so we decided to buy. That took all of 5 days (including one very long weekend of waiting) From there it was back and forth to get all the info together and finalize our little list of renovations before we move in. We close in Mid Sept and will be in the house before October. Yippee! If you want to see more pictures there is a set here.

And since we know the owners we are free to go in the house to dream as often as we please. I was extremely excited to find out that the huge tree in the backyard is in fact an avocado tree. Yum! We love avocados and there are a bunch on the tree!!

They are huge! Bigger than my hand!! My mom is so jealous of my new tree :-) We also got to meet the neighbor. He’s nice, and he told us about the yummy orange tree that someone planted in the easement behind our houses. Cool! We were able to get my lovely Plumeria’s moved this weekend too. They look a little wilted but I think they will be ok.

I did work on my sock but in the rush this morning I forgot it at home. So no picture yet. I started the gusset increases and hopefully will turn the heel soon! I also knit on the dream swatch too. I like the pattern but it seems like it will never end!

I hope that everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend!

-Michele-

I need a break!

2007-08-31T15:00:00.001-04:00

I have probably only knit 2 rows all week. We have been so busy with the new house that we are home late almost every night. We have spent more hours at Home Depot than I care to count. We decided to remodel a bit before moving in so all we have been doing is going to the house and making our lists. Hopefully we will be done with the work and all moved in before the end of September. Since this is our first house we have never had to pick out all the little details. Just the paint alone is hard. There are so many choices. This is only part of what we have looked at so far:

The two rows of knitting that I did get to last night were on the Dream Swatch. It was dug up out of the WIP drawer and I don’t know why I ever put it away. I forgot how much I loved this yarn! It is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in the Jeans colorway. Again it was from The Loopy Ewe.

Isn’t it pretty? I love how soft the yarn is!

So I hope to get some real knitting time in this weekend. I have only a couple of things to get done. We are kind of on hold until inspections can be done on the house on Tuesday so it seems to be pretty laid back for us. Probably some furniture shopping and more hours spent at Home Depot. Ah, the life of the homeowner… it’s expensive!

Have a good weekend!!

-Michele-

Rough Week

2007-08-28T14:08:00.001-04:00

Well the past 5 days have been rough to say the least. I think that the hubby and I have been trough the whole range of emotions and back again. It has been exciting and full of worry. We have learned some hard truths (some I didn’t want to admit) and learned how much we are loved. Finally after all of this we have come to a decision…WE ARE BUYING OUR FIRST HOUSE!! Is it this hard for everyone the first time?? It was definitely a tough decision but we feel it’s the right one for us.

I am happy to say that the Big Bad Baby Blanket is done!!! I am *so* relieved to have that off the needles. Do you ever get that feeling when something has been taking too long to knit? I felt like I needed to finish it. Now that it’s done I really want to cast on for a new sock…But I feel like I have to at least finish the first Purple Eater sock first, or else I would never finish it. Well If I turn the heel soon, it shouldn’t take me that long to finish it. I envy the people that finish a pair a week…

Yarn: Baby Acrylic (I wanted it to be washable…)

Needles: 5.0 mm Bamboo Circulars

Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket from “Stitch ‘N Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook” by Debbie Stoller

Pattern Designer: Lisa Shobhana Mason

Date Finished: 8/26/2007

Overall I liked how that blanket turned out. The design is pretty but it is *really* boring to knit. I mean really boring. I thought that the seed stitch border and switching from knit to purl half way across would keep me from just falling asleep, but no. I think the yarn is ok…I could have probably used some superwash wool so it could be washed but at the time I was just learning to knit and I didn’t know if I would even finish it. I didn’t want to buy all that wool and not finish it. I do like the colors a lot too. Would I knit it again? Not on my life.

I may have some more baby knits in the near future…And no they are not for me. I just found out that my cousin is pregnant. Yay!! Now I can fit in some more easy baby knits.

Wish us luck!!

-Michele-

Drama...Ugh...

2007-08-24T16:27:00.001-04:00

Why does having family have to include drama? I love my family but I would be a lot happier (and less worried) if everyone was settled, happy and taken care of. I won’t get into all the details now but it just ruined my day…

I don’t have ay progress on the Big Bad Baby Blanket. I have not touched it since the last post. I WILL have it done by Monday though. That’s a promise. I like it but I want it done now! I am about to start the border tonight so I can definitely have it done.

Since I have no progress on the blanket I will update you on the never-ending Scrappy Hat. Instead of 65% done I am now back to 50% done. I stopped measuring it in the hopes that it would grow faster that way. I have been knitting on it when I don’t feel like taking a sock with me. The blanket has not gotten too big for car knitting so it’s either the hat of the sock. I measured it this morning since it looks to have grown a bit. It is officially 11 inches. I thought that I have to be close to being done. Nope.

The pattern says 21 inches…I am halfway again. I am starting to not like this hat. I am seriously thinking of frogging it…but the thought of all the time I put into it. I have 2 skeins of the Kona Bay Wool that I am using. I really don’t want to break into the other skein though. I was hoping to use it for Calorimetry for a friend of mine. What to do…What to do… The top picture is the last progress picture I took and the bottom is from this morning. It’s hard to tell unless you look at them together. :- )

What would you do??

We still have nothing planned for the weekend…Good! I want to knit a lot, sew a little and maybe bake. Well maybe not bake, I wouldn’t want the hubby to roast in the August heat.

Have a Good Weekend!

-Michele-

Stupid Measuring Tape...

2007-08-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

I finally got my pal’s info for SP11. It was hiding all this time in my spam folder. She sounds lovely and we have a lot in common. I can’t wait to start the spoiling.

I have been knitting on the Big Bad Baby Blanket the past few days and I am really close to finishing it. I guess I am a little late because the baby it was originally for was born in March. It’s ok, I will keep it for us. I just have a few more rows until I start the border.

I am almost done but I was ready to throw it against the wall last night. I measured it to see if I was ready to start the border and the bottom square was 11”. The top square was at 10.5” so I only needed 1/2” more to go. After knitting all night I measures again and the bottom was 11.5” and the top was still 10.5” How does that work?? I just gave up for the night so hopefully it will cooperate and I can start the border tonight.

I am excited to say that we don’t have a thing planned yet for this weekend. All I want to do is relax with my knitting and a cold glass of cucumber water. If you have not tried that you should. I read about it on a blog somewhere, I guess they serve it in spas. Just put a few cucumber slices in your ice water. Yum! It definitely gets me drinking more water. Geez, it’s only Wednesday and I a already dreaming of the weekend.

Well back to work for me…

-Michele-

Wow, What a Weekend!

2007-08-21T15:02:00.000-04:00

It felt so nice to be back sleeping in my bed after what seemed like forever. We had not been home since the 11th.

Stitch N Pitch was awesome!! We had all the muggles saying “Why are there so many people knitting??” Maybe they should have looked at the big screen that said that tonight is Stitch N Pitch night. Duh…It was a blast. I met a few really nice people and got to finally meet Patti. I have been reading her blog forever so it was great to finally get to say hi. She gave me a Ravelry button too. We also got to get our picture taken. It will appear in the SNP gallery here when they get it up. The lady taking our picture asked where the hubby’s knitting was. It took me all of 2 seconds to whip out another project and have him hold it. It was great. He had to be one of the only Indians fans in our section…He said if he caught a Rays homerun ball he’d throw it back… whatever, I just came to knit!

We also got an awesome bag, perfect for knitting projects on the go. It had a copy of Interweave Knits, and Knit.1, some Susan bates dpn’s, a weird two sided crochet hook (Anyone know what that’s for??), and some fun fur yarn. Pretty cool stuff…if you like fun fur. It was great. And the Indians won so the hubby was happy. If you would like to see more pictures you can view my flickr set here.

I worked on my sock during the game and I really got far. I am almost ready to turn the heel now. I got a few comments about the yarn when we were at the game. It is Zen String Lotus Toes in Purple Eater and I got it from The Loopy Ewe. It is so soft but the twist isn’t very tight so It starts to unwind while I am knitting. I still love it.

I also finished the baby hat on Friday. It turned out so cute! I think I will knit up some booties to go with it. I don’t care if it’s done with cheap Acrylic, it still looks good and is soft. At least it’s machine washable.

Yarn: Baby Acrylic in Baby Blue
Pattern: Rolled Brim Hat with Top Knot
Pattern Designer: Laurie Longinotti from KnitList
Date Finished: 8/17/07

Well that’s all for now. This was supposed to get posted yesterday but I have been super busy at work. I guess I should be actually working at work than posting. :-)

-Michele-

Did Someone Say Yarn??

2007-08-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

Oh Yea, I got yarn for you.

I finally got my yarn from Knit Picks yesterday. I ordered more of the Memories sock yarn that was on sale. It is 100% Merino Wool and it is nice! The one on the left is Cape Cod and on the right is Rocky Mountain Dusk. I love these colors!

I loved how that yarn knitted up in my Memories Socks.

I also got some Peaches & Cream cotton yarn. I plan on making some Ballband Dishcloths as soon as I get my hands on a copy of Mason Dixon Knitting. The colors are Orange Sherbert and Shades of Green. I don’t really like orange but I love this light shade with the yellow. Yum! (I love how it looks like I got a ton of yarn but I really didn’t spend that much money!)

I am almost done with the baby hat. I moved it on to dpn’s so I can start the decreases. I guess it’s good that I started in blue because I just found out that the mom-to-be is having a boy. Great! I should have it done this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend…What projects to bring!? We are going to the grandparents tomorrow morning so I have to bring a lot of WIP’s to show off, Grandma Bea is crafty too. Then what do I want to knit at the game? I think I am bringing my Scrappy Hat (it’s been sitting in the bottom of the drawer way too long) and the Purple Eater Sock. Oh, and we found out that Grandpa is having a hip replacement surgery in 2 weeks. Not good since he loves to golf several times a week. Hopefully this will make him golf with less pain in the future. The hubby will get to golf with him on Sunday because he probably won’t be golfing for a while.

We are almost done dog/house sitting and it sure was fun. Their little dog Rusty is so funny! He follows me around everywhere. I mean if I get up to go in the next room he’s there, go back to the den, he’s there. He’s so needy, but I love him! As soon as we get in bed he digs to get under the covers too. The bigger dog is Bailey. She is older, but she still tries to follow me too. (only for her it’s for food) I’m gonna miss these guys!

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!! BTW, I still haven't got the name of my Pal for SP11. Anyone else have that problem?? My Pal already emailed me...

-Michele-

Baby Love

2007-08-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

I am so excited for the Stitch N’ Pitch game this weekend. I am looking forward to meeting some of the people I only know by blog. I am hoping that I will get my SP11 pal today too! I am too excited!

I have been working on nothing but the baby hat since Sunday. I am starting to get my knitting mojo back though. Maybe its because I am really close to finishing this little hat. I love baby knits, they are so quick and easy. Nothing gets me going like a FO.

I miss my little girl since we haven’t been home for a while. At least the hubby goes by to feed her and love on her. I need my kitty kisses.

That’s all for now. Hopefully I will have pictures of new yarn soon!! I have been waiting *forever* And I am so not thrilled about this. Even though it will not come near us, it seems like the season is moving now…

-Michele-

Adventures in Fishing

2007-08-13T16:53:00.001-04:00

Wow…that needed to be a 3 day weekend. I am pooped. The hubby and I are watching a friend's dogs for the week while they are out of town. Oh and a perk is that we get to stay here:

Beautiful house! (worth about 1.25 million, but who's counting?) Last night we were fishing off of the dock with some live shrimp and I caught a fish.

This is a big deal for me because fishing for me consisted of me handing the pole to my dad to bait it and when I caught something it went back to dad to deal with the fish. So me and my non-fisherman hubby are sitting there trying to bait a hook with live shrimp (Did you know they jump!?) and get it into the water. Hilarious. As soon as my bait hit the water I got a bite. I screamed for him to go get the camera while I reeled it in.

My hook was barley on the fish so as soon as it was out of the water it came off and fell on the grass. Now he’s trying to get a picture and I am trying to get the fish back in the water and the fish is flipping around. I can only imagine what the neighbors across the canal thought of this… At least we had a friend with us. This was the heron that wanted our shrimp. He was getting a little too close. Even though it was kinda icky, we had a blast.

I did a bit of knitting and a bit of sewing over the weekend. I made a couple more drawstring bags on Saturday. I just love these for on the go knitting and they are so quick and easy.

I also started a baby hat to test out the Knit Picks Circular Needles. I knew that I would love them! This is just in some baby acrylic that I had lying around. You know, the stash from before you knew there was better yarn out there. : -) I have a lot of that. The pattern is for a rolled brim baby hat with a topknot. If it turns out ok it will go to someone my mom knows that is expecting

That’s all for now. I haven’t been knitting nearly as much as I have wanted to lately. Life is too busy sometimes…: -)

-Michele-

Upcoming Events

2007-08-08T17:04:00.001-04:00

I get so excited when I get new yarn. This is Knit Picks Memories in Yukon. I liked knitting with this on the Memories Socks and they had it on sale. In fact I just ordered some more. Can’t beat $3 a skein!

I have been really busy lately so I have not been getting much done in the way of knitting. I have been working on the Purple Eater and noticed that I haven’t posted on my progress lately. It’s just going to be a simple toe-up sock though, nothing special.

It seems like there are a ton of fiber related events happening in central Florida soon. I have been trying to keep track of it all so I will list it here.

August 18, 1007 Stitch N’ Pitch @ Tampa Devil Rays Game

September 14-16, 2007 Florida Fiber-In in @ Hampton Inn/Courtyard Cocoa Beach

November 16-17, 2007 Orlando Needlework Show @ Orange County Convention Center

February 21-23, 2008 Sewing and Quilt Expo @ Tampa Convention Center

As of now I have tickets to the Stitch N’ Pitch and I am going to the Fiber-In and Needleworks show. We’ll see if I can go to the Sewing Expo. I really want my mom and aunt to go too!

Let me know if you are going to any of these. There are already little groups meeting up at most of them.

Time to go home! Have a great afternoon!

-Michele-

SP 11 Questionaire

2007-08-06T12:26:00.000-04:00

It’s almost time for SP11. I filled out the questionnaire for my pal. I haven’t got my pal yet and I can’t wait! I will give you fair warning, there is no knitting content ahead. I was super busy this weekend and got maybe 2 rows in. Well, enjoy! And feel free to email me if you have any questions!

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

**I like to knit with Claudia Handpainted for socks. After only a couple of pairs I like it the best. I also like Knit Picks Shine and Swish Superwash. I haven’t tried very many yarns yet. I love the soft merino’s for socks. I haven’t met a fiber I don’t like, except maybe Acrylic. But it always has its place!

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

**I have all my straight’s in a vase on my bookshelf but I store the ones I am using in a drawstring bag with the project.

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

**I learned to crochet when I was little but it never caught on. I learned to knit about a year ago and it has become my obsession. I wanted to learn but it just wasn’t working until my hubby’s aunt showed me. Then it all clicked. I think I am intermediate, I have a lot to learn!

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

**Yes, I love to read! You can find it here.

5. What's your favorite scent?

**I like to wear body sprays from Bath & Body Works like Warm Vanilla Sugar and I love Victoria's Secret perfumes.

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

**I like dark chocolate and sour candy. Either that or desserts. I love to bake or cook.

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

**I don’t spin but I want to learn. I also like to sew, and cook and I used to scrapbook.

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 all kinds. I mostly listed to Today’s Hits, Classic Rock, and 80’s. Any type of file works for me.

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

**Really anything as long as they look good together. I love purple and green, especially together. I don’t really like orange though, unless its in a good color combo.

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

**I am married but no kids yet. I have one cat, Jessie and a rabbit, Lenny.

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

**I do wear scarves, mittens/gloves. I like poncho’s but I have never owned one. Hats? Well, it would have to be kind of big to fit me, I have very thick hair!

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

**I love to knit socks. Other than that I knit a little bit of everything. I have knit purses, gloves, scarves, a baby blanket. I am now starting to get into sweaters and tops.

13. What are you knitting right now?

** I always have socks to take with me. Other than that same as above. There is a WIP section on the side bar with progress pictures of what’s on the needles now.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

**Of course! I love to think that someone spent all that time and care just for me.

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

**I usually use Bamboo straights, but I like the Knit Picks Circulars.

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

**Nope. I wind by hand : -)

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

**9 months, not too bad!

18. What is your favorite holiday?

**My fave holiday would have to be Christmas. Everyone is so cheery! As for my fave time of year, that’s Spring. I always feel so refreshed.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

**I guess I’m starting to collect sock yarn! I also have every book by Nicholas Sparks. He’s my fave author.

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

**Well, where do I start! I have my book list at amazon here. I have been dying to try Duet Sock Yarn, Yarn Pirate, Yarntini and Wollmiese. I set my hopes high huh! I want to get a set of Knit Picks Options needles and I really want to try Nancy Bush sock patterns. I don’t have subscriptions to any mags but I pick up Knit Simple fairly often.

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

** I am dying to learn Magic Loop and try 2 socks on 2 circulars. I also want to try my hand at lace.

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

**Why yes I am. My foot is a whopping 9 in around, and 9.5 in long. I wear a size 9 shoe : -)

23. When is your birthday?

**My birthday is October 8

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

**Yup I’m in! My ID is Micjones

I hope this gives you a clue to who I am. Have a good day!!

-Michele-

Rock On!!

2007-08-04T15:37:00.000-04:00

Apparently I rock. Angie over at Stomping Through Mudpuddles nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger. I am flattered! I have only had a blog for a couple of months and someone thinks I'm cool!! Now I have to nominate 5 more people.

There are so many blogs that I read so it's hard to choose!

Angie- I don't know if this is cheating but girl you rock! Even though we did just meet a few weeks ago I feel like we have been friends forever. You are an amazing woman, mother and wife! I can't wait to tear up the town with you, knitting needles in hand!!

Alyson- Girl, you sure do keep me entertained! From your crazy pets to your knitting husband, you have it all. We have never met before but maybe we will someday! You even got to meet the Yarn Harlot! Too cool!

Sheri- The Yarn Connoisseur. I can't believe how fast The Loopy Ewe has become a worldwide addiction! You are awesome and take such good care of all of your Loopy Groupies! Happy one year anniversary!

Patti- Your blog was the first that I ever read, before I even had a blog. I would enjoy reading about all the places you would go since you are in the same area as I am. It was so nice to see another knitter in Florida. You really inspired me to get out there and find the other knitters.

Kris- I just recently added your blog to my blogroll and I love it! Again it's nice to see another knitter in my area. Thanks so much for helping me answer my knitting questions!

Now I'm off to a friends for a BBQ. Its been a busy week. At least the hubby got to relax and golf this morning. He scored an 88, his lowest ever!! I am so proud of him!

-Michele-

A Tropical Paradise Awaits Me

2007-08-03T16:56:00.001-04:00

Thanks for the well wishes. You guys really cheered me up! I am in a much better mood today. After reading my last post I decided to do something about my funk, so I got up and cleaned the house up and even baked a cheesecake. We were going to a friend’s house for dinner and I can’t show up empty handed! I’m sure my better mood also has something to do with us going to The Keys in Oct.

Um…Yea that definitely helps!! We were at my Boss’s house last night and they let me in on what the “details” of my job include. They have to go to a wedding there in Oct and wanted to know if the hubby and I can come along and help keep an eye on their 3 month old. He’s a sweetheart and I’m totally not worried about that. So cool!! We are so excited. We will be staying in a beach house in Islamorada. We have never been there but have been planning to go.

So I finally got my email for Secret Pal 11 signups and I’m in! I can’t wait. There is also a contest going on to design a button. I have never made a button before but I decided to give it a shot. What do you think?

I happen to like the one on the bottom. In the backround of the first button is Alice’s Garden from White Willow. The button on the bottom features my first Jaywalker sock. Love those colors!

I have not touched my knitting since the last post. I have been busy. I will probably work some more on the Big Bad Baby Blanket and Purple Eater sock this weekend. I don't know if I want to continue with the Horcrux Socks. I haven't decided if I like worsted weight socks yet.

And to leave you with a smile on your face I have a picture of Jessie.

She was trying to sleep and I was trying to take her picture.

Have a great weekend!!

-Michele-

Funky Cole Medina

2007-08-01T18:51:00.000-04:00

Ugh. I am in a funk.

I don't usually complain but this has been going on for close to a month and it's not like me. I usually try to keep myself in some type of a schedule. If I don't have a designated day for things, they seem to pile up on me. I usually clean and do laundry on the weekends and try to cook every night. Seeing as we don't have any kids this is not hard to keep up with. But lately I haven't wanted to do anything. I haven't really cleaned the house in over 3 weeks. My house is not a pig sty, we clean up but I haven't really cleaned. Saturday comes around and the laundry doesn't get done. I end up doing just what we need for Monday. I still have been cooking most nights but it's really hard to think of something to make. And I love to cook. Even my knitting's lagging. I am still knitting but I just don't feel like it as much as I used to. I also dread going to work. Well, it's not that bad, I do love my job. It just seems so hard to get anything done while I'm there. I feel bad that I am there all day and have been pushing things to the side on my desk. All I have been wanting to do is read. I still love to lay in a warm bed all morning and read a good book. But what to read...

Now I am not going to bore you with my complaints any more. I started the Horcrux Sock again. I got the ribbing done and am on the pattern part again.

I don't seem to have any problem buying anything lately though ;-) My newest acquisition would be the Knit Picks Circulars that I got today. I wanted to try them out to see if I like them. I have heard so any good things about them. I can't wait until I can get my hands on a set of Knit Picks Options needles.

Oh, I almost forgot. I think I have an alligator nest in my backyard. We have heard them the last few nights and they are loud. They have a cry that sounds kind of like a squeak but deeper. I am freaking out! We don't live on the water with a dock and all that but we do live on a canal. The canal is at the end of our backyard. I am worried and wonder if I should call animal control. If there are babies there is a mama near by...

Well I hope everyone else is having a better day than me!

-Michele-