Lots of Good News

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.