Link-o-licious

Most of you have at least heard of the Knitting Olympics that are hosted by the Yarn Harlot. They coincide with the winter olympics and only happen every four years. I participated two years ago and didn't quite finish my project. (Although I did FINISH it eventually, a rareity round these parts.) For the summer olympics another group (Ravelry) is hosting the Ravelympics. Same idea....cast on a project during the opening ceremonies and finish before the closing ceremonies. No fair using already cast-on projects, it must be brand spanking new. So I had debated about joining in with this round and I intended on it, but I let life catch up with me a bit and now it's already been two days and I haven't cast on yet. I'm torn. I'd really like to start a project but I have done none of the legwork, ie. picking out a pattern/yarn, etc. I have plenty of yarn to choose from at home and books and books worth of patterns, so that's not the issue. But I'd need to figure out what is actually knit-able in 15 days. So what should it be?

A sweater? I have three of four that I'd really like to make that I already have yarn for, like the
Tangled yoke Cardigan, or the Hourglass Sweater (rav link), or Buttony, or Rusted Root. But I don't think knitting a whole sweater in 15 days is really that reasonable. I mean, maybe, if I had nothing else going on and it was a slow time of year at work. But I am going out of town, celebrating my hubby's bday, and work is c-r-a-z-y right now. I guess Rusted Root could be forced off the needles fast enough, but it would be a huge stretch of my abilites.

So maybe some socks?
There are so many choices. How am I supposed to choose from all those wonderful patterns? Plus there is the problem that all my sock needles are a little tied up at the moment.

Maybe I will just sit this one out. Hmm. I'll have to decide today if I'm going to so I actually have time to knit something. ::scratching head:: Tough decision.

Thank you all for your supportive comments about my jewelry! I really appreciate the advice. I think I will give Etsy the ol' college try, but it will take me a bit to get some stuff together and get the store up and running. I'm sure I will plan some big post to celebrate when I open my Etsy store for real. So keep your eyes peeled for a big party!

Not knitting!

A few weeks ago a friend of mine came over to make dinner with me. We went down to the downtown mall before shopping for the ingredients and happened to wander into a bead store. They had a cute display set up with ready-made pendants. I took one look and thought "I can make those!", so we each picked out a few cute focal beads and some leather and brought it home to be crafty. (Sorry for the blurry pics...not sure why my camera wouldn't cooperate.)

We mostly used accent beads that I had in my *ahem* sizeable bead stash. I don't know why I don't make jewelry more often. I think I lose my patience with all the tiny beads, but I have soooo many beads I really should do stuff like this more.

I wonder if I could post stuff like this in my Etsy store (if I ever get around to setting it up properly). What do you think? Would someone buy these? How much do you think I could ask without over or under selling? This is why I don't have an Etsy store....I wouldn't have a clue how much to charge for things.

I know that the cost of the materials should be some sort of factor in the price, but some things, like jewelry, are hard to calculate the cost. For instance, if you buy something in bulk, like a string of beads, how do you know exactly what the cost was in making one necklace?I really like the way this round green one came out, it's a shame there isn't a better picture of it. The stone is that cat's eye kind of stone, where the light hits it and makes little rings and lines in the stone. This brown one is one that my friend made. I really like her design. The flower is made of shell and the brown round beads are wood. Very beachy

So what do you think, do I have a promising future in jewelry-making? (Assuming I can learn to take better pictures, of course.) It certainly has a higher finished object ratio than my knitting does.

Birthday Boy

Last weekend we did a little celebrating around here.

We were in a bit of a hurry to have cake and ice cream before a certain wokaholic had to take off for one of his many jobs, so we may have iced the cake a bit soon, what do you think?

Galen didn't seem to mind though, as it was just as yummy with the icing all over the place as it would have been if it stayed put.

(Yes, I am doing bunny-ears in the background. It's fun to act like a kid sometimes!)

During every spare second my sister Morgan was doing that familiar knitting dance, the "Just a few more rows and your present will be done!" dance.

She didn't quite make it happen, but she got really, really close.

After dinner we went outside to play with one of Galen's new birthday toys. Water balloons! We started by playing the classic toss-and-catch-and-try-not-to-get-soaked game, which quickly dissolved into an all-out water balloon war in which Galen and I pretty much ganged up on Mom. She was completely drenched from the shoulders down! I managed to pop a big one right over Galen's head when he wasn't looking. I, however, managed to stay relatively dry. I got hit with a few stray balloons here and there, but none of them did very much damage.

Lots of fun had by all! Happy Birthday Galen!

Trying something new

Hello :)

My computer is still out of commission, but I managed to get ahold of some internet access. I've heard of other bloggers setting publish times for later so they can write a bunch at once and have it last them through the week. So I have decided to give it a whirl. So the blogs I line up for this week will NOT BE LIVE BLOGS. I am just letting you know so you don't get upset if I don't respond to comments right away. I am still computer-less (hopefully for not very much longer) but until I get my 'puter back it is very hard to find internet. Bear with me!

So while my computer is out of commission I have been a very busy bee, but in a very non-productive way.

I have lost track of everything I have read, but a few faves:

My Sister's Keeper- I'm actually not quite done with this one yet, but it's been an intriguing page-turner.

The Wednesday Letters-So heartwarming! Definitely a tear-jerker! The bonus is it is set in my region so I recognized a lot of the landmarks and settings.

Firefly Lane-an absolutely amazing story about two girls who become best friends and then grow up and go through life together. A must-read!

I've been going to the library at least once a week, sometimes two times. I could spend hours and hours in there, browsing through the stacks and stacks of books. I love to read. It used to be a joke when my husband and I first started dating , that I could devour a book faster than most people can parallel park a car. I do read fast, especially when I get involved in the story. I can sit down with the intention to read "just a few pages" and suddenly I'm halfway through the book and haven't noticed that the sun set, or that hours of passed. I'm also a very active reader. What I mean by that is, if something is funny, I laugh out loud. If something is sad, I cry. If something in the book starts to get scary I pull the covers up to my chin and keep my dog close by. My husband thinks I'm a nut when I am doing these things while reading. I will be laughing hysterically at something in my book and he comes into the room confused at what could possibly be so funny when the tv isn't on and I'm in the room alone.

So that's what I've been up to since I can't comment on your blogs or post on my own. Anyone have any other good book recommendations? Please post them in the comments!