Friday, June 29, 2007

I Have Ginormous Feet

**If you live near Cape Canaveral, FL and have kids, there will be a kids fishing clinic this weekend. It is free and the kids get a fishing pole, tackle box and lessons on how to fish. It is from 9am-12pm on Saturday June 30th at the Port Terminal #4. If you would like to come leave me a comment or email me and I will give you directions. I will be with my company volunteering there**

Well I wouldn’t exactly say they're ginormous, unless you compare them to my newly finished Freesia Sock. I couldn’t get the darn thing on my foot. I knew my gauge was a bit tight at first but I didn’t have the next size needle so I just knit then anyways. Up until I got to the heel I was able to squeeze it on so I thought I might be OK. I even went up a needle size for the heel. Oh well, I guess they will have to be given away.

Since I am not thrilled with the sizing I may not knit the match right away.

And as for my next project…Lotus Knits is having a contest. All you have to do to enter the contest is post a picture on your blog of your first finished knitted item or what you’re going to knit next that you have not cast on for yet and be sure to post the contest rules.

Then, email to lotusknits@gmail.com or leave a comment on her blog to let her know you've posted so she can come check out your blog! Be sure to let her know that you saw the contest on my blog so I can get another entry into the contest! I saw this contest over at Ewe Gotta Knit.

The very first thing I knit (besides a wonky swatch) is Zeeby’s bag from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: the Happy Hooker. I never did finish it but I worked on it last night. I chose that as a first project because it is 2 large panels of stockinette stitch, the very same reason it is still a WIP. :-) I am almost done with the 2nd panel then all I will have left is the bottom, strap and pocket.


My next project will be to get some socks on the needles cuz you always have to have a pair (or pairs) in the works. I am leaning towards my Alice’s Garden from White Willow's Etsy Shop. I just love the colors! Don’t know if I will use a pattern or just knit them plain toe-up but I will definitely pay attention to my gauge because I want these for me!

I don’t know how much knitting I will be able to do this weekend, but I hope to have a toe cast on at least.

What will you be doing this weekend?

-Michele-

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

One Down, One To Go (almost)

**If you live near Cape Canaveral, FL and have kids, there will be a kids fishing clinic this weekend. It is free and the kids get a fishing pole, tackle box and lessons on how to fish. It is from 9am-12pm on Saturday June 30th at the Port Terminal #4. If you would like to come leave me a comment or email me and I will give you directions. I will be with my company volunteering there**

I started the ribbing for the Freesia Sock last night but I think it is a bit short. I got a little nervous that I would run out of yarn so I started the ribbing.



Now that I am almost halfway through it and there seems to be yarn left I may rip back and make the leg longer. I was knitting at a tighter gauge that usual for socks so I used up more yarn. I am learning from my mistakes for sure.

I am almost done with the first Freesia Sock so I am trying to decide what to knit next. I want to do Child's First Sock but I don’t have Knitting Vintage Socks yet. I think I want to knit Monkey socks next. I don’t think I want to let myself cast on for another big project until I get a couple more things off the needles. I am close to finishing Zeeby’s bag and my Big Bad Baby Blanket….but I am bored with them both because they are mostly stockinette stitch. We’ll see. I think the Hourglass is calling to me…

I sewed on Sheldon’s legs last night but I think they look a little long for him. Maybe next time I will shorten them. He looks all nakey without his shell on!
Not much going on tonight so who knows, maybe the Freesia Sock will be finished!

-Michele-

Monday, June 25, 2007

Meet Sheldon...

Can you guess what these are?

That’s right…those are Sheldon’s legs. He is finally finished! Or at least he will be when I sew them on tonight.

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Grass and Green Apple

Needles: 3.25mm dpns and 3.5mm straights

Pattern: Sheldon from Knitty Winter 2006

Pattern Designer:

Date Finished: 6/25/2007

That is about the only knitting I did while on my anniversary vacation. It was awesome. I won’t bore you with all the pictures but you are welcome to see them on my Flickr set here. Also, we stayed in the Swan, not the Dolphin, and we were not able to go see the cool show. But we will be seeing Cirque Du Soleil' sometime soon since it is in Disney.

We both took off Friday and walked around both the Swan and Dolphin, and the Disney Boardwalk. It was such a nice day until the thunderclouds rolled in.

After it cleared up we sat by the pool with some mojitos and relaxed. We had dinner at Kimono’s and the hubby had sushi for the first time. He liked it but he had to use the kiddy chopsticks that are tied together on the top. We played some golf and some arcade games. It was wonderful. When we got back to our room we found champagne and strawberries a friend had sent to us. So nice!

(We ate two of them before I remembered to take a picture)

We had a great time. And when we were leaving someone was skywriting. I think it was for us…

After returning home Saturday we went to the movies and saw Knocked Up. That movie was so funny! I think we were the loudest in the theater. I definitely recommend seeing it.

I got some cool new stuff for my sewing collection too.

I haven’t figured out if I want to quilt yet, there is a lot to learn. I like the easy patterns in Sew Easy though. Love that sale table at Barnes and Noble.

How was everyone else’s weekend?

-Michele-

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The Home Stretch

Now that I am so close to finishing my first Freesia sock I am knitting like a mad man in the evenings. I think I probably got a couple inches done last night.

I love knitting my socks on dpn’s but after reading Kristin’s tutorial on Two Toe-Up Socks on one Circular Needle, I want to try it. I love the idea of knitting both of the socks at the same time but I have to get some circulars first. I have been reading about the Knit Picks Options for a while and so far everyone loves them. I have seen them reviewed everywhere, on blogs, in magazines, and in online articles. I love that you can get the full set for a reasonable price too. So as soon as I get my hands on some circulars I am trying socks on them.

Kitty Update:


Jessie is doing much better. Her tummy is almost all healed up. We have one final check up on Monday but I don’t see that we will have any future problems. Well, we might if Jessie doesn’t learn to start watching where she is running. We got her a laser pointer last week and she just goes nuts. As soon as we touch it she’s off and running but she doesn’t look where she’s going and often runs into the walls, corners, chairs, etc. She has not been hurt yet but from how hard she hits them she probably should have. We try to limit her laser pointer time now.

"Gotta get the dot!!"

Well I’m off for another mini vacation this weekend so there will be no post on Friday. I may get one in when we get back though. It is me and the Hubby’s 2nd anniversary on Monday June 25th so we’re headed to Disney World!! Well not exactly. We are going to stay in the Walt Disney World Dolphin on Friday night. I think we will be going to a fancy dinner and maybe a Cirque De Soleil type of show, I don’t know for sure. We are still trying to figure out what we want to do while we are out there. It will be a nice and romantic couple days away for us. Exciting!!

I hope everyone will have as much fun as I will!!

-Michele-

Monday, June 18, 2007

Mini Vacation

I’m back, not that I went anywhere though. I had a weekend filled with knitting, shopping, sewing, gardening and of course food. On Saturday morning I went to Cocoa Village to walk around and shop. I stopped in The Village Gourmet and Knit & Stitch and got a mini Cucina hand wash and lotion to go in my knitting bag, and some 2.75mm DPN’s.

There are a lot of cool little shops and restaurants in Cocoa Village. I stopped in Ossorio for an Italian cream soda and a Croissant bread pudding. It was delicious and refreshing to sit and people watch. I got some knitting done while I snacked too.

I worked on my Lantern Moon knock off needle case but I would rather not show pictures yet. It seems that I forgot how to measure since the piece for the large pocket ended up bigger that the whole case. But it is OK because I have a wonderful little thing called a seam ripper. :-)


I finally replanted my Plumeria’s on Sunday. They are too big for their pots and have started leaning. I decided to replant then in the ground by the front door. Since I would have 2 pots once they were replanted I bought some Lavender plants to fill them. I've been wanting to plant Lavender for a while. I just love the way they smell. My next project is to try and pull some of the weeds and grass from around the Plumeria’s. It was just too hot to do it yesterday.




I have the best of both worlds because I have 2 people to wish a Happy Fathers Day to. I got to talk to my Dad and Stepfather Rudy. My Dad and my nephew Joseph were fishing without me! Joseph is 8 and loves to fish. I miss them both a lot so maybe they will come visit soon. Rudy and my Mom were heading out to LA to visit my Mom’s Aunt Elva. I Miss her too. I hope I can make it out to California to visit again soon.


I got a lot finished on the Freesia Sock. I am now well into the leg. I followed Wendy’s pattern and was a bit confused at first but not surprisingly it all worked out and I have a beautiful heel. I got the 2.75mm DPN’s so I could go up a needle size for the leg. I thought it might be too tight if I didn’t.




Since it was Sunday, we had a nice big grilled dinner. We had top sirloin steaks, grilled onions and asparagus and fried noodles. Just what I was craving.

And no, I did not eat that entire plate. I loaded the plate up for the picture. :-)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

-Michele-

Thursday, June 14, 2007

People are reading my blog?!

I have to admit, I did not touch my Freesia sock last night. I got this great idea to try and make a needle case like the ones Lantern Moon has. I know that I have only ever sewed 2 bags but I am willing to try. I still have a bunch of fabric from the drawstring bags so I tried to make a pattern for myself. I finished the outside and top flap last night and I have to say it looks pretty good. I may not show any pictures until I decide if I like it though. I got pretty crazy with the pattern and measurements so we’ll see.

I do have some new Freesia Picture from two nights ago. I started on the heel and have to say that I am thoroughly confused. I am following Wendy's pattern and I don’t exactly know where this is going. I am leaving it in Wendy’s hands. I have faith that in the end I will have a nice heel. It doesn’t look like I started it in the pictures, but I did.

And no I don’t have clown feet even though it may look rather large right now. I wear a size 8 1/2 - 9 most of the time. It will look more proportioned when I am on the leg.

I have an odd question…Did anyone else feel a bit weird when they first discovered that other people are reading their blog?

I have had a couple of comments by the same people and had a nice email exchange with Patti (who happens to be the first blog I started reading) and Dee, and it all feels a bit odd. I know that I started this blog fully aware that others may read it but I didn’t expect that anyone actually would. (besides my mom and aunt) So thanks guys for being interested in my ramblings!!

Did today seem unusually slow to anyone else? I need a nap…

-Michele-

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Knitter and Now Quilter?

Thanks for all the well wishes for Jessie. She is doing great. Yesterday I took her to Collins Animal Hospital (They are so nice!) for a second opinion and the doctor said that she was infected. He gave me antibiotics and told me how to clean her up so she should be all healed in about a week. She already looked better this morning.

We got to see the shuttle launch on Friday evening. It was awesome from the water. With all the rushing out the door to get a good spot I forgot my camera. I was so mad at myself that I couldn’t get any pictures. I am trying to get some from friends that had cameras though. It seemed a lot louder from the water than it is from land. Did anyone else think so?

I also got a nice package from my Mom and Aunt Martha on Friday.
I couldn’t believe they bought me a sewing machine. Thank you guys!! I have been wanting one for a while. This one is so cool! It is a Brother ES2000. It is so easy to use and I have already started making some little drawstring bags that I saw on the Happy Things Blog.


I just love the way they came out and they were really easy too. Now that I know that I can sew straight lines I want to try and make a quilt. I know it will take some time to gather the fabric and plan it out. Oh, and learn how to do it, but I know I can and it will be fun.

Sadly Sheldon is still without legs, But I had so many other things to play with over the weekend. I did make it to the heel on the Freesia sock last night. I hope to have it finished and be on the leg tonight. More pictures of it tomorrow. I don’t know if I like how it is going yet, but I am not the type of person who likes to rip back something I have worked hard on. We’ll see how it goes.

Have an awesome Tuesday!! It looks like it is going to storm in a minute here.

-Michele-