And....scene!

What a Christmas! It was sooo nice to have a day off. Doug and I spent Christmas Eve with each other. We went to a candlelight service and then drove around looking at Christmas Lights, as is our annual tradition. We enjoy going out to the country where people are more liberal with their decorations and electric bills. Christmas morning we went to mom's to see what Santa had brought to us. My youngest sister and her husband came too and the four of us squished on the couch.

Heather and Chad....did you have a good Christmas?

After some fun family time and watching my youngest brother rip through the presents (his new toys are the envy of the family...we've all spent the past few days playing Guitar Hero III and the wii) we went back to our house to meet up with Doug's parents.

We enjoyed some more low-key unwrapping and then dinner. After dinner we moved the Christmas presents into the kitchen to be assembled. I have my own little cafe now!

Isn't that cute? The table has leaves on both sides that pull out so you could (squishily) accomodate six, but since it's just me and Doug, folds down to have a small cafe table for two. The new hutch is sooo awesome. I have been longing for some more counter and cabinent space since we remodeled the kitchen this summer. Now my kitchen is *almost* 100 percent done. We just have to finish painting the cabinents and install the new nobs and get a curtain rod. Then...it's on to the living room.

Some of you may remember this past April we lost our beloved dog King. Doug got the most wonderful Christmas present from his boss this year that has been a work in progress since April....he had a local artist do a colored pencil drawing of our dog.

I don't think the picture does it justice. It is absolutely breathtaking how lifelike it is. There is a bit of a funny story behind it though....the artist needed a picture to base the drawing on, but Bart didn't want to call me because he wanted it to be a surprise for me too. So he got in contact with Doug's mom who broke into my house one day and stole some pictures out of my scrapbook. She was telling me the story on Christmas morning about how she didn't know where I was or when I was coming home and she was sweating trying to get in and get out as quickly as possible.

It was a great Christmas all around.....now I get to relax. (as soon as i get the Christmas decorations taken down).

PS. I saved my sanity this year by only knitting two teensy weeny gifts this year....two dishcloths for my mother-in-law. I had momentary delusions of grandeur wherein I imagined giving handknit socks to my mother, grandmother, father-in-law, sister and hubby. Mittens for my other sister and her son....etc, the list goes on. Then I remembered last year and the embarrassment of giving half-finished knits still on the needles and the teasing I still get about the state of mom's other sock and decided I'd rather spend a few dollars at the mall than stress that much about anything. Maybe one day I won't work in retail at Christmas time and I can pull something like that off. Yeah.....right after I grow extra appendages to hold all those needles!

SP Thank you!

Thank you, thank you to my Secret Pal Kristan . She sent me the BEST stuff over the past few months. Here are the pics from my last package.

She sent me two balls of the cutest twist yarn...the color is really hard to pick up on camera correctly...it's mostly purple and green with other colors twisted in as well. She also sent a neat-o knitting book, about the history of knitting. There was a sock yarn pattern to match the yarn she sent, swedish fish (yum!), a "K" shaped ornament which we hung on the tree when we decorated it last week, a tape measure, and a pack of tissues. Then there are the two things that were my favorites of all the goodies I have received over the past few months. The first was the needle roll that will fit my circs. It's sooooo cute. It actually matches one that I made for my DPN's. The other item that was the most thoughtful thing I've ever received in a package was a small package of gourmet doggie treats for my dog, Chance. Thanks sooo much Kristan! I have loved opening up the packages the past few months, and I have loved every single thing you've sent. Thank you sooo much :)

In other news, this past Saturday my mom, Beth, and I had the bake-o-rama.

These cookies are "Spritz" cookies that I made using a cookie press. I had never used a cookie press before. It took some getting used to but I loved it once I got the hang of it. My least favorite part of making cookies is rolling them into balls and shaping them, so I lean toward drop style cookies or other things I don't have to mess with. That makes the press perfect...just stuff the dough in and poof! cookies in cute shapes. I didn't opt to ice these, just leaving them plain, but I think they came out really cute. All-in-all we made five different kinds of cookies, several dozen each. We ended up baking for about 8 hours....that's a long time to spend preparing dough and washing dishes. There is still one dough prepared and in my fridge that I will bake up tonight. I'll post pictures of that one when it's done....I got the recipe out of a magazine and the cookies should end up being really cute. It's just a basic sugar cookie recipe with peppermint extract that you form into uniform size balls. Once the cookies are cooled you brush them with melted white chocolate and then dip them in crushed candy canes. Yum!

I also owe you a picture of the aprons and the crazy story behind how the aprons came to be...but that's for next time.

Coming soon.....

.....the official thank you for my SP. I was all set to do a big post with pictures and all but I left the info with her blog addy at home. :-( Sorry, SP!!! I did LOOOVVVVEEEE all the goodies though. You really know me well! I don't want to post the pics without a proper introduction to the person who's been spoiling me for the past few months, so next time. I'll try to get it up this weekend.

As we get closer to Christmas the store is getting busier and busier. It's good because it makes the days go by so quick, but bad because it can be so stressful. I'm ahead of the game though, all my Christmas shopping is done. (Notice I didn't say Christmas knitting. I'm good, but not that good.) Hubby and I put the tree up on Wednesday.

(Doug insisted that Chance help decorate and put the star on the top.) Now my house is filled with the wonderful aroma of pine needles. I am so happy to be done with the shopping so I can enjoy the rest of the season. I love putting on Christmas music while I knit, or watching the holiday specials on tv. Tomorrow my mom, Beth, and I are having bake-o-rama. We are going to bake tons of Christmas cookies all day long (or until we keel over from the sugar). I have a few recipes I want to try out from some magazines so I'm looking forward to that. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share. In true "I'm-so-crafty-I-must-be-sick" form Mom and I are making some cutesy holiday aprons for all the women in our family. We bought generic red aprons and are sewing Christmas trees to them using yo-yo's (the gathered circles of fabric). I am also writing down all the cookie recipes we are using and tying them up with a cute ribbon and a cookie cutter. Then we are sending those crafty things along with a tin of cookies out to the women in the family that live far away like both Grandmothers and my middle sister. Whew! I'd better get back to work on the aprons.....

...pictures when they are done.

Shop till you drop....

...and then work till you drop. That's how my day-after-Thanksgiving was. My mom, sisters, and I always wake up uber-early to hit the sales. I don't know how I've managed to be so lucky, but the last three years working at Target I've always closed or worked a mid-shift. This year we split up at the beginning, some of going to stand in line at Sears and some of at Wal-Mart. We all got in our lines at 4:30am and then joined up in line at Target at 5:45am. I always get weird looks from my unfortunate coworkers who are dealing with the crowds when they see me among the psycho shoppers. My dad calls this phenomenon "sports shopping". We aren't the gung-ho groups you see running down small children or anything, and we mostly go just for fun, although some of the deals are so incredible you'd have to be crazy not to get them. I love the fact that I can get all my Christmas shopping done in just about one day and then spend the rest of the season decorating, baking, and enjoying time with family. After we finished up with all the crazy shopping I had just enough time to change clothes and grab lunch before I had to go to work to clean up the madness.

Anyway....Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone! The past two weeks have been extremely crazy for me. My dad had a minor heart attack on Tues, Nov. 13th. He's fine now, taking it easy and resting a lot, trying to ease back into things. My sister came home from boot camp on emergency leave to be with the family, which was a blessing in disguise b/c that meant she got to spend Thanksgiving with us. Then my birthday was that Thursday, the 15th. Then we went into pre-Thanksgiving crazy-time with all the preparations. I always host Thanksgiving at my house for my whole family and Doug's parents. Usually it results in anywhere from 9-15 people eating. This year we only had 9, but still that's a lot of food to prepare. Suffice it to say I've been a mess the past two weeks.

Shortly after my birthday my friend Beth took me to see the Lipizzaner Stallions.

They were so elegant and regal. I'd never been to see them, but I recommend it to anyone who likes horses. Very entertaining!

Names, names

Just for fun....

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) = Shadow Civic
YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav. ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) = Cookie Snickerdoodle (I abbreviated Cookie for my two fave flavors of Cookies and Cream and Choc Chip Cookie Dough)
YOUR "FLY GIRL" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of last name) = KSny...which I have been called before as a nickname at work, believe it or not
YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) = Blue Dog
YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) = Ann Louisiana
YOUR STAR WASH NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) = Snyka
SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink, put "The" first) = The Green Margarita
STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) = Romance Skittles
WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names) = Jean Alan
PORN STAR NAME (name of first pet and name of first street you lived on): Shadow Lamb (I used the earliest street address I can remember....which was in fourth grade. I must have lived a million places before that but I can't remember the addresses.)

Knitting again

I have been knitting again finally. I recently went through a spell where it was difficult to get my hands motivated to knit. It happens every once in a while...usually on the heels of a particularly productive knitting spell. So I cast on for some socks....a little late for Soctoberfest, but what the hey.
These have no intended recipient as of yet, but Christmas is a-coming so we'll see. I'm trying to trick myself into some Christmas knitting this year. When I put a deadline on things they tend to fall to the bottom of the basket, so this year I am "just knitting" and if stuff is done by christmas, then Yay! If not, then oh well.

I did pick up a really really cool Denise Schmidt quilt book on Friday with some cute gift ideas in it. I love these "Dis-Cards". They are really simple and relatively quick to make. I think I will make a few sets of them for stocking stuffers or swaps or something. In case you can't tell, that's fabric quilted onto cardstock.

And, finally, pictures of my spinning attempts.

The ladies that taught me called this stuff "beast" because it's cheap and readily available. I kept thinking of Milwaukee's Best, which we called "Beast" in college for the same reason. Anyway, I'm still pretty rocky at this. My yarn is very "thick and thin" in quality and very fuzzy too, as you can see. But I like the way sometimes the yarn is all white, sometimes all black, and sometimes a twist of both. I have a bunch of roving in pretty blues and purples I will spin when I get more consistent. I think I have enough of the blues/purples to make a hat. Let's just hope I can spin it all before it gets warm again!

Bad Little Blogger

I have been such a bad blogger lately. I know I neglected to post 4 times in the month of October. Plus, I haven't updated my Ravelry notebook in about 40 billion years. There are projects on there that have been ripped out, projects that have been completed (ok, so not completed, but closer to being completed) and I still have not added my stash of yarn and books. Ugh. Not having internet at home really sucks. It takes a considerable amount of motivation to drag my laptop out to go sit in a crowded restaurant in an uncomfortable chair and relax. I really really really want to get internet at home again. I'm trying to convince my hubby. His thought on the subject is if I can get it for free at Panera and other local hot spots, why bother to pay for it? The end result is me not blogging regularly and not getting my email until three days after someone sent it. Snail mail would reach me faster people!

So....enough about me griping. This week was pretty good. On Tuesday I got a lovely surprise at work.

Everyone at work kept asking if it was my birthday, anniversary, etc. Nope, I just have a great husband. :) They were "just because" flowers. Now, I can hear you all groaning in that "that's so sweet it makes me sick" kind of way. This is an out of the ordinary occurance. I actually had people at work ask me what he did, or if we had a fight. First of all, way to put a negative spin on the highlight of my week, thanks, and second of all, how is it any of your business??

That night when I got home the good surprises kept on going when I opened my mailbox to find this:

Thanks Secret Pal! She sent me two skeins of some yummy Crystal Palace yarn in colors that just scream my name. A pair of super-cute knitting needles. I don't know if you can read them, but they say "I *heart* Knitting" with a cute little cat on them. She also sent a cute notepad, some stickers, a candle, and a yummy bath fizzy. Thanks so much SP! I can't wait to cast on for my hat! It's so funny that you suggested that's what I do with the yarn because I was just searching my stash yesterday for some suitable hat yarn. Thanks :)

Celebration

Just a quick post this time. I'm super-busy this week, training for my new position at work.

Last week my sister left for boot camp, take 2. Before she left we decided to do a big joint birthday party. Mom's bday was Oct 15, Heather's (my sis) is Nov 5 and mine is Nov 15. So we cooked a nice dinner and had a yummy ice cream cake.

It was a blast and it was nice to be able to celebrate with Heather before she left.

Sorry this is such a measly post, lots to do, lots to do.

Tour de Quilt

I know, I know...what a bad blogger I've been. Over a week and a half with no updates. Well. Now I'm getting my payback and I have sooo much to update on and not enough patience/time to get it all in one post.

This past weekend my mom, brother, and I went on the Tour de Quilt, an event put on by central Va quilt shops. It's really an ingenious idea, increases their business and makes us feel spoiled all at once. I actually stumbled upon this year's Tour by mistake. My sister Heather was getting ready to leave for Boot Camp, part 2 and we drove past my local quilt store (LQS?). I decided to stop in and browse and wow....it was hoppin'. The Tour consists of 10 shops and their is a central theme or challenge to the tour. This year the challenge was involving a new fabric line of 30 different fabrics. Each shop had to design a quilt using a central medallion and the new fabrics. Each shop also offered three of the fabrics cut into 1/3 yard pieces in a little bundle, so if you went to all 10 shops you would have all thirty fabrics, and supposedly enough to do one of the quilt tops. Each shop also gave a free black and white rough copy of the pattern to each person. There were door prizes and snacks at each shop. I figured that my sis would be bored by all the crafty humdrum because she usually starts complaining the moment I get within sniffing distance of any yarn fumes, but much to my surprise she said she was inspired. When she returns from BCT we are going to take a quilting class together. I was caught off guard at the first store so I don't have a picture of their quilt, but it was quite lovely.

Mom and Galen (my bro) came with me to the other shops on Saturday and Sunday. Galen was put in charge of the scavenger hunt that was part of the Tour and really got into it, racing around the shops looking for clues. The first shop we visited was That Little Quilt Shop in Madison.

That is their entry in the cometition. And this is my new project that I must. make. right. now.

I just bought the pattern for it, not the fabric, because I do have some restraint. Never mind the fact that I bought a bundle of the new fabrics at each shop we went too. And never mind that I got completely caught up in yo-yo makers and Christmas projects at another shop. But that's neither here nor there, right? So, anyway.....

After Madison we went to Patchwork Plus in Dayton, Va which is just outside of Harrisonburg.

Next up was Rachel's Quilt Patch in Staunton, Va. If you live in Staunton, I have nothing but respect for you. Every time I go to Staunton I get miserably lost. The fact that 250 snakes through the city and changes street names about a dozen time is ridiculous. Add that to the fact that downtown Staunton is nothing but one way streets, and whew. What a nightmare. This shop is built in an old railroad station. The whole atmosphere just screams quaint and is everything a quilt shop should be. Mom actually won a prize here but she didn't get in touch with the shop today before they closed so we don't know yet what she actually won. After stopping at Wright's for some yummy drive-in we went home.

On Day 2 we started in Midlothian, just southwest of Richmond.

After that we drove into Richmond to Quilting Adventures.

This shop has the whole "get the consumer at their weakest moment" thing down to a T. They actually had a table set up where someone was doing demo's of all their "make your life easier" products. Plus, they have a rewards program. You know, those little scanny things that you put on your keys that all grocery stores use now? They have one FOR THEIR QUILTING STORE! If that's not genius I don't know what is. (You hear that LYS? Rewards program!) It's not like a punch card that you will use or will expire. It goes on your keys and you never have to think about it again except to have the cashier scan your keys that are already on the counter as you try to exit the store without any more fabric making its way into your hands. Needless to say, Mom and I left that store with our pocketbooks significantly lighter.

Last on the stop was The Quilt Man in Ashland (just north of Richmond)

We only made it to seven of the ten stores, but next year we will plan better to make it to all of them. At each store you got your passport stamped and you could be entered into certain drawings based on the number of stores you visited. It was so neat to see how each shop turned the fabrics into totally different quilts.

Has anyone else seen this trailer ? This looks to be equal parts horrifying and funny. It's probably one of those movies that will have you laughing through your tears, if you know what I mean. It kinda makes me think about where my yarn is coming from though.

For those of you who play on Ravelry, check out the new marching band group I started. I went to the annual Charlottesville Cavalcade this weekend, which is a marching band competition for local high schools. I was involved in my HS's marching band all four years and love to go see them compete. They did very well, took home a couple of second places.

In Knitting news....
I picked up a bad habit today. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet, but I bought a drop spindle and some roving today. Yikes! This is so addicting. My yarn is so thick and thin and slubby and wonderful.

I also caught some sort of virus last week and the sudden desire to....SEAM!


Before everyone starts sending me unfinished projects to seam up, let me say. I suck at seaming. I only seamed one square before I gave up. It is such tedious work. So then I knit a few more squares.I have done zero knitting on the things that matter, like Christmas presents and charity projects, but have been whipping out miters like my life depends on it. Figures, huh?

SP Contest #3

Ok, shameless flashing....

I have the best yarn storage ever. When we moved into our house last year Doug built me this neat-o shelving thing that I helped him design. I separated my yarn by color in each cubby, the only exception being sock yarn...that gets its own.

This picture is a wee bit old. Some of the yarn here has actually been used or traded and more has been added to the collection. But for the most part, this is the stash. You'd think that with all this yarn I have I wouldn't need to buy any more, right?

Nope. Bought more sock yarn just today, and going to a yarn sale next Thursday.

Ugh.

I have a problem.

Back from vacay!

::Yawn:: What a relaxing week of laying on the beach and sunning myself with gentle breezes and palm trees.

Just kidding!

Doug and I took the week off to work on the kitchen. We discovered a *ahem* small water issue under the sink and set to fixing it. First we had to tear up all the damaged and moldy cabinents, walls, and floor. On day two of our vacation my kitchen looked like this:

Throughout the week we have installed floors, drywall, fixed the leak, and painted. Still to go....installing the cabinents and counters and then moving all my kitchen things back into the kitchen and out of the living room. Seriously, even my fridge is in the living room.

I say "we" but I didn't do that much. It was mostly Doug and his dad doing all the work, while my mom, Doug's mom and I went upstairs to the yarn room to craft and be yarny.

Kathy (my MIL) and I worked on our ongoing quilt for a while before my mom made me own up to all my WIPs. I guiltily pulled each item one by one out of the basket offering meek explanations on whe each one was still unfinished. Mom was ruthless and gave me goals and even took home items that were a lot cause to frog herself because I couldn't bear to do it, namely my lone jaywalker sock in my own hand-dyed yarn that is just a hair too tight to fit over my instep. She also took to frogging a tank top that I had started before I knew better than to knit with yucky acrylic and a blanket square in an intarsia pattern that wasn't ment to be. We decided that I must finish my Fetching mitts for my sister for a Christmas present and the lone fair isle mitten that is almost done but too small for anyone will be a wall decoration/Christmas ornament.

So....since I have all these WIP dredged up again and now they have intended recipients and deadlines (Christmas mostly) do I work on them? Nope. I have rediscovered mitered squares. Over the course of my vacation I knit 5 individual miters. First I finished the brown background ones.

Then I started some with a navy background.

(Not pictured is a navy/light pink I finished on the last day)

Then, I apparently got a wild hair up my you-know-what and went on a breif seaming streak.

Seriously, who gets the desire to seam?? Now, before I start getting tons of parcels from you all with pieces needing to get seamed, hold your horses. I suck at seaming. I guess as I seam up all these miters I will get better. I think I will practice some more though, because I just have the two fronts left to knit of Central Park and it's looking like the most wearable knit ever. I would hate to screw that all up with some wonky seams.

100th Post

Yay for me...this is my 100th post. I am so happy to be a part of this community. :)

I got my first Secret Pal package in the mail yeseterday, and it was sooooo goodie-licious!

There was a wonderful scent eminating from the package and when I opened it I found out why...there was a wonderful-smelling Yankee Candle Co. Macintosh and Peach candle (Yum!!), a travel pack of ginger peach tea that I can't wait to try and some yummy lip gloss. There was also all kinds of cute stationary stuff. Some cute notecards featuring a monkey wearing a scarf and a little notepad with a sheep complete with cute pens and pencils. I'm always on the look out for new stationary to write to my sister who is in boot camp. I've been writing about 2-3 letters a week. Top all that off with two skeins of SWTC Bamboo!

Thanks SP!

Does anyone have any project ideas for this yarn? I have always wanted to try it but I'm fresh out of ideas.

No new knitting around here. I have been pretty lethargic in the knitting arena. I just got a new porch swing and the weather is starting to cool down from the beastly hot temps it has been so I've been thinking tweedy sweaters, cables, and turtlenecks. I still haven't finished my Central Park Hoodie from last winter, but I'm close. That is top of the list. I'm going to make my "want" list soon. I really hope to turn out at least 3-4 new sweaters this year and I have some pretty specific ideas. (Have you seen the twisted yoke cardigan from Eunny in the latest Interweave Knits? Wow.)

In the meantime, we've been trying to squeak the last little bit of summer activities around here. Last week Doug and I took Chad (my sis's new husband) camping and kayaking.

I like that pic a lot. The colors are so neat. After camping we decided to go shooting. Doug is a true-blooded country boy. Guns, hunting, trucks, country music....that's his stuff. When we moved in together there was a great debate about guns in the house. We ended up compromising. They could stay if they were contained...so we got a gun cabinent. All of Doug's friends have always been a little apalled that I have never shot a gun before. So last Wednesday I finally gave in. The guys were shooting clay pigeons with shotguns. I gave that a try and ouch....the recoil gave me a bruise the size of a half dollar. Will not be doing that againg. But Doug also brought along his handguns.I actually have pretty decent aim, apparently. Doug was very proud and showed off my target sheet to everyone.I, of course, will be scrapbooking the target if I can figure out how to make it fit in my 12x12. :)

random knits

I don't have the energy for a real post so I'll just give you a little sneak peak at what I've been working on... my first fair isle! It's a mitten-in-progress although it's turning out to be too small for me! AACK! I'm NOT ripping it back....it's too pretty. I might just use it as a decoration or something, you never know. It's from the Knit Mittens! book and I'm using Knitpicks Palette.

Also, blast from the past....



Somehow my Pomatamus sock jumped back on my neeles. I haven't gotten too much further on it, but the yarn is so extra-squishy and wonderful I might just finish it this go-round!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Kim for the 8 Random Things meme. Here are the rules:

- Players write a post describing eight random facts about themselves.

- They then “tag” eight bloggers to write similar posts, including the rules.

- The players then leave a comment on blogs they've tagged to tell them about the meme.



1) I don't have internet at home. I love to blog and read blogs and play on ravelry and order yarn online and bank online, and yet I do all this remotely. FYI-lots of local fast food restaurants are starting to offere free WiFi but you would not believe the weird looks you get when you set up camp in a McDonald's.

2)I must be one of the few knitters out there that is not productive while watching tv or movies. I never sit down to watch tv without my knitting in hand, but unless my husband is playing video games I don't get anything done. I'm too easily distracted. I will knit one or two rows and get totally obsorbed in the tv until the commercials.

3)I am deathly afraid of anything that flies and buzzes like bees, wasps, hornets, etc. I realize that this isn't that odd, but my fear is totally irrational. We have a problem with hornets buzzing around our porch light at night and if I see them out there I will not leave the house. Period. There is no amount of consoling, rationalizing, or sweet talking that will get me out of the house if I see a buzzing thing.

4)I'm not that fond of spiders either. When Doug and I first moved in together we lived in a tiny cabin way out in the woods. There were spiders galore. I hate them, but I don't like to kill them either. Yet I can't stand the thought of letting them get away because then they are just somewhere around me. I used to turn coffee cups upside down over them so they couldn't go anywhere but I didn't have to kill them. When Doug came home he'd have to pick up lots of little coffee cups. Our living room looked like a war zone.



*halfway there! It's so hard to think of things about yourself that others might think are unusual...to me they are just normal, me.



5)I have really blonde moments all the time, but I am a generally intelligent person. Like the other day I was eating fruits and cheese snacks with my mom and sister. There were strawberries and a container that I read as "whipped cream". Yum, right? So I eagerly dipped my strawberry in the creamy white substance while my mom and sis exchanged a strange look. Yuck. Not whipped cream....whipped cream cheese. Not at all the same thing. I do stuff like that all the time.

6)I wear the same jewelry every day, despite the fact I have a pretty extensive collection of stuff. I very very very rarely switch it up, only if there is some sort of occasion. So what do I wear everyday? Simple silver hoops, my fossil watch with a little bit of bling, my wedding band and engagement ring (of course!), a few hair elastics on my wrist, and my Tiffany knock-off necklace (it looks like their popular bracelet with the exaggerated chain and heart pendant).

7)I am an avid list maker. I make lists of everything. Lists of things to do, grocery store lists, etc, the ususal, but also lists of things I want to do, make, see. I have a Christmas card list, a birthday card list, lists of my cds and my yarn, lists of things that I should do around the house, lists of bills. I buy a 4" spiral notebook to keep in my purse with all my lists and I go through one about monthly. Sick, right? I think my husband has always held out hope that I'd grow out of this phase, but recently I discovered an old scrapbook I had from the first grade. On the back cover, in my first grader sprawl was a list of babysitters and a list of friends. I think he was a little disappointed.

8)I go through chick lit books like candy. The really good intelligent books take me a little longer to get through, but you give me a Nora Roberts novel or something by the Little Red Dress Press and I'll be handing it back to you the next day commenting on the ending. It doesn't matter how many pages it is, I can't put the damn things down. I go through spells where I read a lot and then I just don't for a very long time. I'm in a spell right now. I've already read three this week. It's actually very detrimental to everything else that I'm supposed to do, like housework, sleep and knit. Nothing gets done.

So there you have it, my "weird" 8 things.

I think this one has been around blogland a few times. So if you are reading my blog and you have not been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged! Leave me a comment if you are now tagged so I can read your 8 things, or however many you come up with!

Christmas in August and Secret Pal Stuff

I have begun the laborous task of picking out my Christmas knitting projects for this year. Based on the low success rate of last year I am trying not to go overboard. I also picked out a project for the side....a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. No pics today, so I will do an update later with some teasers. For now though, more questionnaires!


1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
Hmm... I've recently become addicted to my chart keeper from Knitpicks, I don't know what I did without it. Other than that...I have a little sock bag from Trek that I carry around with my smaller projects like my socks. It's getting a little worn, but I love it.
2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If so, how much and what type of project?
Of course! I tend to take several projects. I have a problem packing for trips anyway, always take way too much clothes. I try to take smaller projects, like socks or mitered squares, but I take a few different ones in case I get bored. Also, I always take all the yarn I have for the project b/c I always overestimate the amount I will get done.
3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
Jamaica, baby! Negril is a small fishing village on the western most tip of the island. It is the most peaceful, romantic spot I have ever come across.
4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
I can't pick just one. I love all the "Yarn Girls'" books and I want to get their newest one, Knits for all Seasons. I have also picked up Favorite Knitted Socks several times and can't bring myself to get it just yet. I think I'm going to acquire that one soon though b/c I want to make the Embossed Leaves Socks.
5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
No, I'd like to.
6. If you could only knit with 1 color for the rest of your life, what color would that be?
Geez. I guess it would be blue? I like that blue can be so many different shades and remind you of so many different things-the sky, the ocean, etc.
7. If you were far into a project and then noticed a mistake near the beginning what would you do?
It depends on how much interest I have in the project. If it's something that is fun to knit and I wouldn't mind doing it again I would rip back, but more than likely I would try to find a way to mask it and live with it. Call it a "design feature".
8. Where is the most unsual spot you've ever knit?
In a barber shop? In a church? I don't think knitting anywhere is really that unusual. At least not for me, my knitting goes Everywhere with me.

Ketchup

Even though it's only been five days since my last post there has been a lot of stuff going on.

First the knitting. My sockapalooza pal received her socks last week safe and sound and they fit perfectly! I was so nervous the entire time that they wouldn't fit properly and she would have to work miracles to them or something like that. But apparently I am a genius sock-knitter and can knit socks for feet that are not present! Woo-hoo! So glad you liked them, Deb ! My socks have not arrived yet, but I have faith they will be here soon.

Next, the big family news. For those of you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that a few months back I announced my sisters engagement and posted some pics of potential wedding and bridesmaid dresses. What I didn't announce was last month they decided to postpone the wedding until spring for financial reasons. Then, two weeks ago she decided to join the Army Reserves. She leaves for boot camp on Wednesday, Aug 15. This past Monday I got a phone call from my sister asking what I was doing on Saturday. "Nothing," I replied. "Good," she said, "because I have some plans for you." Turns out that this is what she had planned.

It was a beautiful wedding and you never would have been able to tell we threw it together in four days. We had a flower girl, a ring bearer, matching dresses, a cake, a church, the works. Heather looked absolutely beautiful in her dress and Chad was just as handsome in his tux. We even had time to throw together a bachelorette party. It just so happened that the Chippendales were in town the night before the wedding so my mom, the other bridesmaid, and my other sister all took her out for a "Last Night Out". Of course, me being so crafty had to make these shirts for the wedding party. Iron-on letters from Jo Ann's. They were even on clearance!

It was such a great weekend. I'm just so sad to see her go on Wednesday. She won't be back until January 10th-ish. Good luck Heather!

SP11 Questionaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I really don't like the novelty yarns or acrylic. I am currently enamored with squishy merinos such as Aurora 8, etc.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have two handmade needle rolls, one for straights and one for DPN's, but I just keep my circs in their original bags in a stack.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I taught myself to knit using a do-it-yourself knitting instruction book about three years ago. I would consider myself to be intermediate, but a little towards the advanced side of it.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? nope, sorry
5. What's your favorite scent?6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I have a huge sweet tooth. I like skittles and other chewey fruity candies like that, like Dots and Jujyfruits.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? My biggest hobby other than knitting is scrapbooking, but I've also recently gotten into sewing. Just little things though, like purses and aprons, etc.
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 of music, and I also like discovering new music. I know everyone says that, but seriously I'm all over the board. I'm listening to my ipod now and I have country next to reggae next to pop next to hip hop next to bluegrass.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I don't think there are any colors I don't like, just ones I don't use as often, but I think every color has it's place. Like I wouldn't expect to see a fair isle winter hat in bright carribean colors, you know?
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have one loving pit bull, who is 5 years old and is my baby. I am also married and we will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary in September.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? yes to all but the ponchos. I did the whole poncho thing a few years ago when they were all the craze, but I'm over it.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I really like to knit in general. I hardly ever finish projects...I'm more of a process knitter, but I do get such a rush when I do finish a project. I like to knit socks and small things like mitered squares.
13. What are you knitting right now? I have a mitered square afghan in progress (from mason dixon knitting), a few different pairs of socks, a felted bag, and the central park hoodie that is soooo close to being done, among other things.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I don't think you can find a knitter who doesn't!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? No to plastic, yuck. I go back and forth on the straights/circs debate, it depends on if I want the knitting to be portable or not. I really like the slickness of metal needles, particularly the addis and the knitpicks needles. There is a case to be made for bamboo as well though....
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? yes i do
17. How old is your oldest UFO? Can I plead the fifth here? It's too embarrasing.
18. What is your favorite holiday? I love Thanksgiving. Our whole family gets together for a big feast, and it's usually at my house so I get to play hostess. It's also the last day of normalness before all the crazy retail shopping starts, and since I work at Target it's the last day to act like a human being until after Christmas.
19. Is there anything that you collect? Umm....I have a pretty huge movie collection. I used to collect shot glasses, but my collection got too big and now it's just in boxes. Yarn, needles, patterns, books, the norm.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? The new "Yarn Girls" book, Patterns for All Seasons looks really good, and I love their other books. I don't subscribe to any mags, but I love Interweave and Vougue Kntting.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? YES! I am dying to try a fair isle kit. I've been toying around with a mitten with a snowflake motif, but I'm not terribly happy with it. The guage is off, I'm not too excited about the pattern, and the yarn I picked is a little splitty. I am really loving the process though, and I'd like try something a little more involved like a hat. I also really love the mitten pattern that Eunny has on her blog that is so popular. I can't remember the name of it, but it's really cute.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yep. I likey the socks. I'm a size 6 1/2 shoe. My foot is pretty normal, not too high arches or anything like that.
23. When is your birthday? November 15
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Just got my invite today!! My ID is "knittykaren".

Yay! Let the spoiling begin!

Argh...

So there is good news and there is bad. The good is that I have finished sock number one of my sockapalooza socks!

The bad news is.....

I'm more than a little mifed about this. These are (were) my brand new fancy-pants ebony sock needles from Lantern Moon (? I think ?). They are called Sox Stix and come in a fancy silk drawstring bag. I paid a hefty price for these sleek little needles. When I first starting using them I immediately didn't care for them. I think they aren't pointy enough...it's hard to get into the stitches on my ssk, and other stitches. But....they sure did show off my sock yarn beautifully. It made it super easy to see the light colored yarn compared to how it looks against my old standby bamboo needles. Plus, they just felt nicer against my hands. Sleeker, smoother, finer. Yet, I wasn't even done with the ribbing of sock #2 before one of them snapped in half. Now, admittedly I hold my needles pretty tightly and usually all of my bamboo needles warp eventually. But c'mon....they can't even make it through a whole pair of socks? Not worth the money! I am going to try to return them this weekend, but the store where I bought them is one of those stores. You know the ones....they probably will turn their noses up at me when I show them the broken DPN.

Sigh....

All is well though, I've got my trusty bamboo needles.

Just for fun....a high school meme.

1. Who was your best friend? Depended on the day.....

2. What sports did you play? Only the ones they made us play in gym

3. What kind of car did you drive? Acura Integra Hatchback

4. It’s Friday night, where were you? Either at a football game or a movie theater

5. Were you a party animal? not really

6. Were you considered a flirt? Lil' bit.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Marching band all four years, choir for two years

8. Were you a nerd? welll....I was in band for four years...so what do you think?

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? nope

10. Can you sing the fight song? only hum the melody, but I still remember the flag routine

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. Thomas (band) and Mr. Parks (science)

12. School mascot? a patriot

13. Did you go to Prom? yes

14. If you could go back and do it over, would you? why would I want to revisit that?

15. What do you remember most about graduation? people not being given their diplomas becasue they tossed beach balls

16. Where were you on senior skip day? I can't remember....probably working or chilling with my friends somewhere

17. Did you have a job your senior year? yep, in a coffee shop

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? subway

19. Have you gained weight since then? yep

20. What did you do after graduation? went to college

21. Who was your Senior prom date? Niall

22. Are you going / did you go to your 10 year reunion? it's next year so we will see

23. Who was your home room teacher? Mrs. Hunt

24. Who will repost this after you? anyone who wants to

Ha....that was kinda fun to do. I haven't thought about some of those people in ages.

This past weekend I traveled to Baltimore to visit my husband who was there on business. My sister went with me and we also met up with hubby's cousin who was coincidentally also there on business. I, of course, dragged the whole crew to a local yarn shop.

They had the cutest open/closed sign.

I didn't buy anything, but I did get a business card so I can go online and order a kit for a super cute top they are putting on the web in August. This shop is a teaching shop, so they have very little inventory but what they do have is delicious.

After the brief yarn quest we all went to the Baltimore Aquarium. I'd been once before in grade school, but they have remodeled quite a bit since then. Hubby and his cousin had never been so it was good times for all. We missed the dolphin show, but did actually get to see the dolphins through their viewing window in the tank.

They were so cute. They swam around in pairs, like little lovebirds. My favorite of all the critters? This one. I wouldn't want him for a pet, but the way he was just perched in the tree watching us was hard to resist.

He is a "Waxy Monkey Frog". I'm not making that up.

Beware of this one....

We had a blast. It's time to get my nose to the grindstone though. I have a whole second sock to cast on and finish to get in the mail by Aug 3rd!! Wish me luck!