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Dec 17, 2007
I Must Have Missed Thanksgiving I really don't know why I'm posting right now. Everything is a little fuzzy. There are hundreds of things I should be doing. The Lady is sitting in my living room, I'm working on that Cerelia from Spincerely still. Gotta pay bills. Fold laundry. Bake cookies. Finish a gift. *sigh* I haven't read blogs in ages (sorry guys!).Obviously, I posted that hat pattern. Glad that went over so well, I hope to see a few people knitting it on Ravelry. :)
Anyways, that's not what this post is about. Since my husband left, I haven't really had time to miss him. Right up until December. December is my favorite month. Yes, it's my birth month, but it's more than that. I love the Christmas season. There are fudge, cookies, lights, Christmas music and specials...it's a loving and warm time of the year. My husband and I met in November of 2003, we married three days before Christmas. Of that same year. Yep. I know. There were times we thought we wouldn't make it, and I wasn't really sure I'd miss him that much when he was gone. Sure, I'd hate being alone. But miss him so badly? Nah. Saturday will be our fourth  anniversary, and I miss him more than ever right now. The littlest things will make me tear up. Over the weekend I got my order from The Loopy Ewe and discovered I'd made it! I was a Loopy Groupie!! Now, I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but Sheri is doing a thing supporting Random Acts of Kindness this month. Go check out her blog if you haven't heard of it yet. Anyways, a few weeks ago Sheri emailed me to let me know that someone had donated a $25 Loopy credit as a RAK, and asked Sheri to find someone. Sheri had chosen me! That made me cry, I come from a small place, and live in a town where everyone is pretty much the same (all Marines and Marine wives). For most people here, your husband being deployed doesn't make you special at all. Civilians don't usually grasp the concept, and until you experience deployment...it's difficult to relate. He's far away from us, we can't call him, I can't ask him to come home, and war is scary.
 Right now, we are financially sound. We don't have a lot of money, but we have enough  to pay our bills. However, I don't have that many friends in my area. People here are difficult to rely on. And, of course, I try to choose my friends carefully. Mostly, I am depending on the kindness of knitters to help get me through all of this. Even though they cannot be here with me, just having someone to talk to helps. Thank you to all of you who are there for me during this difficult time. Even when I disappear for a bit, I'm still knitting, and still thinking about all of you. *hugs* Where would I be without knitters? Labels: blah, blogging, busy, family, friends, gratitude, knitters, Loopy Ewe, procrastinating, purchases, rambling, yarn 23:01 | | 
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Sep 14, 2007
The Long GoodbyeThis, my friends, is going to be a long post. So long in fact, that I am going to post all of the non-knitting related stuff elsewhere. Mr. Shad leaves tomorrow. :( And I am going to miss him, but that is all I will say here. If you really want to you can go read the other post.
 In knitting news, I did start Mad Color Weave with Amazonas. Actually, I started them later that evening. There were several "false starts", I couldn't decide which size to do, then I couldn't wrap my head around the pattern. It's funny because it's such a simple pattern. Could have something to do with using 3 needles instead of 4, ya think? All that is left now is the toe, then I can start the second sock. They are a little snug, but that can actually be a good thing. Thelonious has a tendency to sag a bit, and I hate that.
Even though we are still in full on summer swing (weather-wise) down here, my mind has already started to turn to sweaters, Christmas gifts, and other fall knits. Mr. Shad helped me choose between knitting the Luna Dress or the Somewhat Cowl. He said that the Luna Dress was too frumpy. :/ Whatever. Anyways, I'm okay with the Somewhat Cowl, actually the more I look at it the more I like it. I even ordered yarn for it, which Mr. Shad also picked out. He would pick olive drab. lol The color is called Fern, but it's actually much nicer in person than it looked online. I was having second thoughts at first. The original appears to be green as well, for some reason I kept thinking it was brown. Then again, certain shades of green and brown look almost the same. If you don't believe me, come over some time and I will show you my living room walls.
 Okay, I must admit to something, I hate knitting those stupid Converse Booties. I  started another pair for a friend's baby, and nearly threw the yarn across the room. Why on earth did I make the toe so complicated and ridiculous?! Oh yeah, because it looks good. >.< Anyways, I ended up modifying the pattern so it could be done in the round. When I am through with all of my posting I will go add those alterations to the little pattern so that it can be done either way. Still a lot of ends to weave in, but at least there is no seaming. Finishing the second booty is part of my goal for today. Which includes: finishing the booties, finishing the first Amazonas sock, swatching for the Somewhat Cowl, and knitting at least 1 rep of the pattern on Goddess. Oh yeah, that. That's right, I haven't posted about Goddess in forever have I? Eh. Everything is pretty much done except the 5.5" of pattern at the end. Let me tell  you how much I loathe it. It is only 4 rows, and I'm lucky if I get half a rep done. I'm trying to do at least one a day, I should need about 13 total. Right now there are about 4 of them...so only 9 to go! If you don't see a FO post about Goddess in two weeks, start complaining. Apparently when I put things into hibernating they go in there for several months. Currently in hibernation (thanks for reminding me constantly Ravlery), I have the Uber-crop Raglan, Butterfly Headwrap, Harley Quinn, and the Martha/Nermal socks. I guess 4 out of 57 isn't bad, right? That leaves 47 things I have finished (4 in progress, and 2 frogged), including mom's top. If I can finish that I can finish anything. Once the cold starts to hit, I'll probably pull Harley Quinn back out, they are actually almost finished. Just gotta do the entrelac cuff on the second sock. Okay, now I am just rambling! Last up on the dockett today (I think), Flint Knits swapped me her copy of  Twinkle's Big City Knits for a skein of CTH Supersock in Yellow. I think I got the better end of that deal. :) This is why I love knitters though, we were just pondering sweaters together and I mention thinking about buying the book. She says, "Ah, I have that and can't use it! Would you like to swap?" Would I ever?! Oh, but what do I have to offer? A quick look over the stash tempted her gave her an idea of what she wanted. I would have given her my leftover Wollmeise Poison Nr. 5, but feel kind of badly about it only being half the skein (literally, it's 76g). Probably should have sent both. :D The Skating Sweater (see above links) is really calling to me. So much so that I have been looking into yarn for it, and actually agreed to buy some Cascade Magnum off of a fellow Raveler. In other news, this kind of upsets me. It's cool they mention knitting...but I don't want them encouraging others to fake it. :/ Okay, I am just ridiuclous.   Labels: alpaca, blah, blogging, booties, Goddess, gratitude, procrastinating, progress, purchases, rambling, Ravelry, socks, swaps, Wollmeise, yarn 09:10 | |
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Jul 28, 2007
Absence Makes the Needles Go FasterMy computer is still...problematic. It doesn't work right. So I keep using the old one, which is soooooo slow. I am impatient, so you can imagine that I just don't have the time to deal with it most days. This means, no I have not really been reading mail, blogs, or posting. Instead I fill my time with knitting. Except...I have nobody to share it with!! ACK! This will be a long post. Prepare yourselves.
I'll begin with the post I wanted to do immediately after my last one. That same day, in the mail I recieved this lovely stitch marker. Sunne sent it to me in  rememberance of my FIL. Her family has a tradition to give a seemingly normal object that can (in some way) create new things, so that the love you have for the person who has passed, becomes a part of this new thing. In this case, a stich marker, used in creating garments. Right now it's being used on something for one of the children. We'll get to that. First, I want to tell you how incredible this simple gift is. Whether or not Sunne knew any of this, I can't be sure. My heritage is a mystery to me. My parents and grandparents don't really seem to know anything about it either, or can't tell me. Or maybe won't. Because of that, I've always been obsessed with traditions and cultures with a proud/strong heritage. Tradition is important to me, and it fascinates me. To become a part of someone else's family tradition is truly touching. It makes me feel special, especially since Sunne has never met me, and we live across the country from one another. Thank you so much! I really appreciate this! Not only that but, well, it's supposed to be an angel's wing, but I've decided  in this case it's an eagle's wing. My FIL was a Harley man, and every time I look at the stitch marker, that is what it makes me think of. It's just the most perfect thing ever. Okay, I'm actually tearing up (out of gratitude, mind you), so it's time to move on. lol
The best thing about summer knits? They require very little yarn and time. Especially since the ones I've chosen this summer are done on larger needles. Most of the patterns I see for summer are done on size 5 or 6 needles. But so far, since I've been back, the needle range for my projects has been between 8 and 10.5. First there was Coachella. Then the Gracefully Gathered Halter and Boy Shorts from Knitting Lingerie Style. Both were finished in a matter of five days, total. Sleeping would probably help. :D Still need to put the elastic in the shorts, totally procrastinating on that, it's not the highlight of my life. I might not take pictures of me actually wearing the shorts. Then again, I might. Who knows.
 So, that was done. What next? I mean, I have no internet so I might as well start a new project. lol Actually, next I started the Ruched Camisole, also from KLS*. But well, Elizabeth, did you warn me about the Rowan Kidsilk Haze? It's SO freakin fiddly and difficult to work with. To get gauge I had to go from a size 9US to a  size 10.5US!! And I just wanted to rip it out every three second. Maybe if I double it, it would be easier? What do you all think? After my disaster with the Kidsilk, I ditched that idea for a time when I'm less stressed (which will be...when exactly?). At the LYS this past Tuesday, actually, it might have been Wednesday, I can't be sure. It's not important. Anyway, (it had to be Wednesday), I did some yarn substitution checking and pricing for several KLS projects. I badly wanted to buy some too, but resisted the urge. We don't have that much money right now. Instead I bought a baby sweater pattern ($4) and went home to my stash. Nolan's birthday is two weeks away, and there is some beautiful Blue Sky  Organic Cotton sitting in there. Actually, I'd been waiting for the LYS to get another shipment of patterns from Knitting Pure & Simple. The pattern had already been chosen for the yarn, she just ran out of them. lol When I found it there in the shop, I snatched it up. Can I just tell you how in love I am? With both the yarn and the pattern. If it weren't so expensive (rightly so) I would make myself something with the Organic Cotton. It's sooo soft. The color is beautiful. In this pattern too, it just looks so natural and perfect. Just wow. Then I found, amongst my sewing stash, these  adorable buttons. When this is done I want to do some nice wool sweaters (using this pattern) for Kyran and Heather too. They can all have the same button. It'll be cute. For Heather I might have to line it though, she has really sensitive skin. Mr. Shad stole my camera (again) so you'll have to deal with crappy webcam pictures of my progress. With all of that happy sounding stuff, I don't think I want to go into why I am mad today. But Mr. Shad owes me some yarn, some cute shoes, some lovin and maybe a pattern book. It depends on what bills we need to pay. lol *Knitting Lingerie Style will be KLS from this point on. I'm sick of typing it out all of the time, and I plan on doing a LOT of knitting from this book.Labels: finished object, frustration, Gracefully Gathered halter, gratitude, Knitting Lingerie Style, LYS, rambling, sweater, updating 17:09 | |
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May 14, 2007
Moms Rock!It is true. Everyone should know this, most of you are moms (and you all have moms). My husband must really appreciate me. I got a lot of goodies this year. Some of it I bought myself though. Well, my MIL complimented me on my clean house when she got in on Friday, that was more than enough to set the weekend off right. Mr. Shad gave me (I'm listing it all, because he gave me these things scattered throughout the weekend) a kitchen scale, a belt (my old one was dead), a sticker, flowers, a t-shirt, Bicenntenial Man, Jack, and What Dreams May Come. I gave (to myself), 2 and a half pounds of Alpaca, a ball winder, and finished my first Twisted Flowers sock. My MIL and father cooked breakfast Saturday morning. It was a fantastic weekend folks.
 The Twisted Flowers sock may end up twinless. I'm debating. The Koigu  wasn't making me happy, it's just too much money for the quality. Also, I messed up. I made the foot a bit short because I was getting impatient. So now part of the heel flap comes under my heel. It might not be a big deal really. Just not sure how I feel about it. The huge sweater also got a couple inches in. When I had the sock finished, and had spun everything I'd carded over the weekend...I realized there wasn't much else for me to knit. Today I started and attempt at this. Except...it'll look totally different because I'm trying it in some of my handspun. Hopefully I have enough. *sigh*  Hum, what else? My dad took lots of pics, forgot his wallet, and is still impressed with the fact that you can make "string" out of anything. lol Made cookies today. Plan on making peanut-butter pie for a potluck on Thursday. OH! And thank you to Carissa! She sent me a cute little sheepy card to thank me for some things and wish me a happy Mother's Day. Mr. Shad also bought himself a Wii. *rolls eyes* Labels: alpaca, ball winder, fiber, gifts, gratitude, Mother's Day, socks, Twisted Flower 15:51 | |
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Apr 26, 2007
Socks, Yarn, and Baseball Only four of you seemed to know who that was on the card. Which made drawing names kind of awkward, but really I didn't expect even that many to know! The winner was Sunne, you all might think I am partial, but if I had actually just chosen someone it would have been Beth. She is the Baseball Knitter. For your prize, I will dye a skein of yarn (it can be any weight) in the baseball team colors of your choosing. :D My hubby is a huge Red Sox fan, just so you all know, I had my best friend (did I mention that she was here visiting?) draw the names out of Kyran's Red Sox hat. Did you want to know who was on the card? I thought some of you might guess it, on a whim. Since it was, after all, the baby's namesake. Yep, it was none other than Nolan Ryan!
Today I tried Navajo plying, not sure if I did it right. But I felt like I really  needed to get that yarn off the bobbins and get started on something else. Wish I'd taken a picture of it before I washed it and hung it to dry. What I did get a pic of was the yarn that Sunne (who is my PRGE pal in case you missed that post) sent to me! Thanks! She has been amazing, she sent me an email while I was having that bad horrible weekend to let me know she had picked up some Koigu for me from this huge sale. It's very pretty purple-y, I think it says colorway 0805? My horrible web-cam picture doesn't do it justice.
So, I was fixing myself some pop-tarts and got a phone call. The caller ID had the LYS's phone number on it. Debbie was calling me to ask for some help. Apparently  there was a woman in there who was knitting a sock toe-up and had reached the point to turn the heel. However, Debbie had forgotten how to do a short-row heel!! Since my best friend is here visiting and Mr. Shad had a late flight, I decided to go over and help. See, I'm just not good at telling someone how to do something, I have to show them. I ended up staying for the whole heel (she was using Cascade Fixation and only had 48 total stitches), and I am fairly confident that she knew what she was doing by the time I left. Not sure she could do it on her own the next time. She was REALLY excited and offered to pay me. Now, the thing is that I had gone A) to help my friend and B) because it is something I really enjoy doing. I love to knit, I love the help/teach other people, I love socks, and it's something I'm generally good at. I didn't feel right accepting money, she insisted so I suggested that she buy me some yarn. Really, that made me feel much better. What I ended up choosing was Classic Elite Miracle in color 3332.
Alright, now I'm off to pick up Heather and hang out with my friend who is convinced I'm writing an essay. And this is one of my smaller posts!Labels: contest, gratitude, LYS, socks, wheel, yarn 15:05 | |
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Apr 23, 2007
You Spin Me Right RoundBaby, right round!
 Thanks everyone for all of the love! I'm feeling much better today. There will be no talk of the weekend, as I've decided it's in the past. I've moved on and so will my blog post. This post has a lot of info too! So pay attention. :) The goal was to saturate it with lots of happy, exciting pictures. I think I can do that.  First things first, my post title is not only a great song, but one I've been saving for the introduction of my wheel! She is (mostly) finished! Only a few things still need attaching, and the Mother-of-All is drying. I wanted to put the finish on it while it was on the wheel so that it didn't stick to the plastic. Let me introduce you, formally, to The Lady Amalthea (henceforth to be referred to as Lady A or just Amalthea). What do you all think of her? Kyran thinks she is just fantastic, of course, he also thought the rubber mallet I used on some of the more stubborn bits was fantastic.... lol  Next up, we have a mail call! Three packages today! Isn't that just wonderful? Now, in the spirit of spreading joy, and just plain fun, I'm having a blog contest. Contest closes at midnight  (EST) on Wednesday. Email me with the answers by that time. The question was inspired by the objects I used to hide personal information. No, it has nothing to do with Spider-man. Thought you had that one, huh? Can you tell me who is on that baseball card? Need a better look? Click on either picture for a (slightly) closer view. Packages were from (in the order I opened them) The Loopy Ewe, MeanBean, and Sunne. Sunne's package had something in it that is for my PRGE pal, so I can't really show you what was in it. Besides, the webcam wasn't having any part in taking pictures of something so small. *sigh* I definitely need a new cam. Something compact and all my own.  The package from The Loopy Ewe contained the Cherry Tree Hill yarn I ordered. I was  kind of...gun-shy about ordering it. Some of my blogging buddies had had bad experiences. But everyone seemed so in love with it, so I had to give it a try. It's funny, I still have not tried Lorna's Laces. I'm not really all that impressed with it. It's strange though, how some yarns seem to be right for certain patterns. Others are just pretty, and don't tell you anything specific. Like all of those yarns I was having trouble with, most of which I've had for awhile. Then today I get the CTH (Northern Lights) in the mail and immediately know that it was meant to be Anastasia. My next package was some socks from the MeanBean, ! We participated in a sock swap.  Remember the Hederas and my last blog contest? She may have taken awhile to knit these, but it was worth the wait. They are gorgeous! The funny thing? The right sock will fit both feet, but the left sock will fit only the left foot. Isn't that funny? I was worried at first because I put the peculiar sock on first, and was panicked that the socks did not fit! Then I switched the foot it was on and things were fine. lol The cuff is FANTASTIC, not sure how she did it but it's super cute. For the life of me I can't figure out how she did the toe. What kind of toe is that? Can you see Kyran's face? It made me laugh SO hard that I almost couldn't take the picture. How perfect. You would think he'd just unwrapped candy. I mean, I think they are great but he's two, normally socks don't excite a two year old. Actually, one thing from this weekend. On Saturday night, maybe it was whatever I  had, or the stress of the weekend, but I really wanted to spin. So I grabbed up my drop spindle and the bit of purple merino that Sunne sent to me in my last PRGE package. It's not enough to make anything with, but more than enough to sate the spinning bug. I took the sample and separated it into thirds and then each of those into half. Then, to help control the even-ness of the yarn, I predrafted each piece nice and thin. Really, it helped. P.S. Could I have possibly used more labels for this?Labels: babies, blogging, contest, gratitude, happiness, Lady A, PRGE, purchases, socks, spinning, wheel, yarn 16:20 | |
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Mar 14, 2007
Is it Sleepy Time Yet?Sorry, I meant to post this earlier and totally got sidetracked. My digital camera needs recharging so I took pics with my webcam, forgive them. I picked up some yarn for designs I have in my head. Lately I've been having designer dreams. Honestly. Gotta sketch out the one I had last night, it was pretty...unique. lol
 The cream (white) yarn is Universal Yarns Pace, for a pair of socks inspired by Cookie's Millicent (which I bought the pattern for!). I'm very excited about them. The black is going to be a cow-like bookmark for my Aunt Marcie. We both collect cows, and at least this way it is useful. I got some Bryspun 2.75mm needles, it's really the only sock needle size I don't have. Also, my LYS owner is awesome and let me borrow some 2.5mm Brittany needles.
I'm trying not to spend money. But it's just not working. I think once I get my tattoo and my wheel I'll be satisfied. Mr. Shad is just not moving fast enough! I need his help with the design of my tattoo, the bum. There are many plans for my PRGE pal right now, I am excited by all of them. We can't talk about that here though. Though I really don't think my pal reads the blog, at least she's never commented on it. Still, I don't wanna jinx it.
Cookie's website is up. I already bought three of the patterns. And I am wanting to do Millicent badly (I'm talking staring at the pattern right now bad), but I want to do it in the Louet Gems Pearl. Now, $30 isn't actually bad for a pair of socks, considering that's what I spent on Suzanne. Except I am trying to save money to spend on my pal. Now I am sleepy and can't remember much of anything that I meant to post about. *sigh*
Oh, I'm forgetting something. That's right, my rant about how I hate my current birth control. It's making me rather depressed lately, and very insecure about my body. Which is actually out of character for me, I tend to not care much at all about how I look. Also it makes my visitor well, extremely unpredictable, I can't even call it a "monthly" visitor anymore! Bleh. Now I am going to knit on my sock or sleep. Night!Labels: blah, blogging, gratitude, purchases, rambling, sleep, yarn 20:59 | |
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Mar 12, 2007
Composition on Knitbloggingcom·po·si·tion [kom-puh-zish-uhn]
–noun 1. the act of combining parts or elements to form a whole.
2. the resulting state or product.
3. manner of being composed; structure: This painting has an orderly composition.
4. makeup; constitution: His moral composition was impeccable.
5. an aggregate material formed from two or more substances: a composition of silver and tin.
6. a short essay written as a school exercise.
7. the act or process of producing a literary work.
8. an academic course for teaching the techniques of clear, expository writing.
9. the art of putting words and sentences together in accordance with the rules of grammar and rhetoric.
10. a piece of music.
11. the art of composing music.
12. Fine Arts. the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole.
13. Grammar. the formation of compounds or derivatives: the composition of “aircraft” from “air” and “craft.”
14. a settlement by mutual agreement.
15. an agreement or compromise, esp. one by which a creditor or group of creditors accepts partial payment from a debtor.
16. a sum of money so paid.
17. Printing.
a. the setting up of type for printing.
b. Also called pagination. the makeup of pages for printing.
18. Mathematics. the process of making a composite function of two given functions.
That is quite a definition, however, in this case I'm using (loosely) the ninth definition (which I underlined for you). Be gentle, I wrote this very early in the morning. Also, it contains personal information that is hard for me to share. There is no knitting content in this post, so just don't read it if you aren't interested.
Where do I begin? I've said it before, but have never fully expressed my love of the knitblogging community. My husband took the good computer with him over the weekend and I though, "Well, good. Now I'll really get some knitting done". I had no idea what effect being with that link to the internet would be like.
First, a bit of background, to understand better my response to the community blogging provides. When I first moved to North Carolina, two and a half years ago, I was very lonely. We had one child, no cable or local television, one care and I was miles away from everything familiar. Things were not very good, it's rough to be a young mother married to a Marine. Ask anyone who's done it. Moreover, the therapists were telling me I had hypo-manic-depression, my husband and I were going through marital counseling after only six months of marriage...I had never felt so alone in my whole life. At one point I was so desperate that I attempted suicide, it's hard for me to talk about even today. Still, as I stated previously, I want to tell you all of this so that you can see what all of you and knitting have meant to me. This was all in the summer of 2004.
There is about a year gap between "the bad time" and the point when I began to knit. In that time my marriage progressed, we had a second child, I got a job...things were looking up. My husband was always supportive of my creativity and love of crafts, he was always encouraging me to look outside of myself and find friends. With time I made friends who had similar interests to mine and became less closed off. Life was getting into a comfortable, happy groove. Shortly after Heather's second birthday and Kyran's first, we received some unexpected news.
I was pregnant again.
You can imagine how we felt. My body doesn't handle pregnancy well, not to mention the negative effects the hormones have on my already unstable emotions. As Justin likes to put it, I get psycho. lol At any rate I felt a real depression coming on. I was looking for any way to distract myself. Most of my free time was spent aimlessly surfing the internet. Even though I was doing "something" it often felt like nothing and was boring. On one of these occasions I turned up a picture of this ultra cute knitted hat...with kitty ears! Which I now know to be the Kittyville hat, of course. Having ever been the crafty type I said to myself, "Self, you can make this!" Thus began my introduction to knitting. My first attempt (a pair of legwarmers in Lion Brand Homespun) came out a miserable and hideous failure. I've since thrown them away, even though I am the sentimental type, they were depressing me.
Now, had it not been for my discovery of The Tail Spinner, I might have given up entirely. But I was not to be thwarted. In March of 2006 I walked into my first yarn shop, and a part of me has never left. It was awkward at first, I felt a little uncomfortable and afraid to be laughed out of the shop on account of my age. Though I had never felt reserved before about going into a craft shop. The owner, Linda, was kind and helped me to get my bearings. She set me up with the materials for making my first hat. I am still of the opinion that hats are better first projects than scarves, however that's not what I'm writing about here.
Being the internet junk I am, I Googled many things knitting related: patterns, techniques, actually that was how I found The Tail Spinner. So, it only seemed natural to begin a blog. Never did I realize how big this would all become for me. Knitting is the best drug in the world, and yarn junkies are some of the coolest people out there.
Many of you have never me me "in real life", still I feel that you might know me better than some of the people who have. We are all so different, different paths, homes, personalities, this one overlapping interest is enough for us to reach out to one another. In knitting, we have a common bond. I feel as if I could call you up to get together for coffee or tea (though I drink neither), or perhaps we might take our kids to the park for a play date. My knitblogging friends feel more real to me than the "friends" who live around the corner. People that I don't even bother to call, despite that my husband was gone for five days and I was alone with all three children. Our community is strong. We help one another out with knitting problems, support and encourage each other in our knitting ambitions. I've received many comments and emails of praise and inspiriting words when I've felt down. You are all so kind, I look forward to checking my bloglines every day and reading your updates. Some day I do hope to meet some of you in person, maybe we could get a slice of pizza? Without my internet, I felt truly lonely again. The knitblogging community has helped me to connect with people and given me friends. A new sense of self worth that I could find previously has been instilled by those of you who take time out of your day to read what I write here. It might sound silly to some, but not me.
What am I trying to say? Simply that I appreciate each and ever one of you, you all mean something to me. I consider you my friends, even if this is our only correspondence. Thank you for reading my blogs, hopefully I am as good a knitblogging friend to all of you as you are to me.Labels: blogging, gratitude, life, rambling, reflections, writing 11:01 | |
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Mar 5, 2007
Fog and Socks The fog is in my brain. I, like just about everyone else in blogland, am sick. My family is sick. Heather was home 3 days last week, man I thought I'd lose my mind. Nolan just started the coughing/runny nose thing yesterday. *sigh* Everyone is drugged up, including DH who seriously should have stayed home today. Whatever.
So, I've not been knitting today. Last night I finished the first Monkey sock. I guess later on I'll CO for the second one, my body just isn't into it right now. But I want to do it soon before I forget what I did the first time around. For example:  I did an Eye of Partridge heel. I really like how it turned out. Having never done one before (to find out how I googled eye of partridge heel, lol, the link to the directions is above) I was a little worried about how it would look. But, I liked the way it seemed to display the colors in other people's socks. What do you guys think? Had some difficulties taking the pictures for this. See, the shoes that I wanted to use, well I wear a size 8. These shoes are a size 6.5 (US), and I don't even know what I was thinking when I bought them. Except maybe that they are cute. The picture of the shoe hanging off my foot is my absolute favorite! It's kind of fitting (or not? lol), who needs shoes that fit when you've got great socks? If you absolutely love the shoes, or know someone who would love them, and happen to wear a size 6.5 email me. They are free to a good home. The shoes have found a home!
The only thing that even might be not pleasing is the slight pooling around the heel/gusset area. Still, it's not a big deal. Just adds character.
 A little fiber to cheer us up? I don't know about you, but it always makes me  feel better. This came in the mail for me today from my blogging buddy Ann-marie, she has an etsy shop too. There's some yarn there similar to the Suzanne that I might snatch up if nobody jumps on it. I'm thinking a Newsboy cap and some wristwarmers (or legwarmers?), probably striped with some solid Cascade 220. Hmm.... Labels: blah, gratitude, happiness, knitting, progress, socks, yarn 16:14 | |
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Feb 23, 2007
The Unthinkable Has HappenedI have nothing to say really. That's so strange for me. Or more appropriately, I have nothing to really blog about. I started the sweater for my LYS, but I wanted to ask the owner a question before I got too far into, so I put it aside. Still working on the sock, but you've already seen how it looks...no new pics until it's done. I don't really need to make the other foot thong this minute as my best friend won't be here until the 22nd of March.
Mostly I've been thinking about shiny new projects. What do you think of a nice slouchy hat? They're doing a KAL over on craftster. I can stash-bust the leftovers from Wicked and I have a full skein of light blue Cascade 220 too. Spirals made hers out of brown and blue Cascade 220, so I'm seeing how much she ended up using. I think I'll need a new circ tho...My Denise 16" is awkward to work with. I could put little cabled crossovers on it, then it'll REALLY match Wicked. How hot would that be? Of course, I could always scoop up the last skein of #2448, then it would really match. But I kinda wanna stash-bust. Originally I was going to make a newsboy cap (which I have a feeling is a similar pattern) but then I won this from Anne-marie. So now I'm thinking Newsboy Cap might look better in this. Hm...or maybe I should do it the other way around?! Argh...so befuddled. What do you think?! Quick, make my decisions for me so I can run to the yarn shop right now and buy a new circular. lol
I wasn't going to post this, but this is what I got honestly and on the first try. So:
| Your Blog Should Be Purple | 
You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything.
You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey.
You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say. |
Labels: blah, blogging, decisions, gratitude, KAL, procrastinating 10:33 | |
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Feb 19, 2007
Doo Wha DiddyI don't know what that's about. Generally I'm feeling pretty ill. Not sure if I've got something or if I just had too much fun over the weekend. Went out to a club with a couple of my friends and had a BLAST! Though I felt really awful that my one friend paid for everything.
 Mostly I've been plugging away on Wicked. I can see the finish line and can't wait to have it ready for wearing! Last night I attached the pocket, bound off the sweater, wove in any ends that I had (which were few due to the use of the spit splice!), and started the right sleeve. The sleeve proved to be a real pain, first I picked up 6 sts, which would have been great for the ribbing pattern, but I wanted to decrease a few out. After decreasing to the original number (54) I realized, hmm, 54 is NOT divisible by 4, go figure. So, I tinked and just knit around instead of the doing the extra decrease. There's not going to be enough leftovers to do much with, that's what I get for knitting a couple of extra inches. Oh well, not a hugely big deal.
The socks have made a tiny bit of progress, not as much as I would like, I really need to turn the heel. They should still get done before February is over though. Even if it is a ridiculously short month. The mitts are still waiting on replacement needles. Until then I've been toying with the idea of casting on something ultra simple, like the fulled belt I was going to do. It doesn't get much easier than that.
My LYS got in a BUNCH of new yarn this weekend. I was SO excited. The owner gave me the yarn and pattern for the project she wants me to do. It's about $125 worth of  yarn, so she said that 25 of that is for paying off my spinning class, which leaves me $100 to play with. Do you have any idea what I could do with $100 in a yarn shop?! Gee I'm happy I decided to ditch that Knit-from-your-stash idea. lol There were also a couple of free patterns that were going to be coming in! I really hope she gets this in, excuse the camera phone pic, I didn't think to bring in my camera. One of her fellow Red Hat members also brought in a couple of vintage pattern books. Mostly it was just funny and interesting to see. But there were a couple of patterns that actually caught my eye. My absolute favorite was a simple ribbed cardigan, the thing about it is they have the zipper placed just slightly off center. It amazes me how something so simple can look so cute. It very much appeals to my "slightly off center" fashion sense. lol I'm hoping she'll make a copy of it  for me. I'm thinking simple black, it will go with everything. That's for later though. Right now I have to concentrate on the patterns I'm doing, and the knitting I'll be doing for my LYS owner.
I think I can show pics of that on here...I mean it's not a new pattern or anything. She just wants to showcase a new yarn. It's bulky weight yarn, so hopefully it'll knit up fairly fast. I was hoping to get back to my grey raglan before April, that's probably not going to happen though. Well, I bought a couple skeins of Project Spectrum worthy yarns. Some Cascade 220 in a linen grey-ish color that I will use to supplement/match my own pink/white/brown handspun. It matches up  pretty well. Still no real goal or idea for that though. I still say it's a bit scratchy for armwarmers. The white is Saucy Sport yarn for some cute little beach foot thongs that I want to make for my best friend before she comes up. Which is near the end of March. She has offered to let me and Justin use her apartment for a week while she watches the kids so we can kinda...get away for a bit. We've never had any time alone with each other.
Alright, that's enough (more than) for one post don't you think?Labels: gratitude, ideas, knitting, life, LYS, planning, progress, project spectrum, purchases, Wicked 13:28 | |
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Feb 15, 2007
Reasons to SmileAlright, I think I'm done whining. I'll just email Brittany and have them send me more replacements. I just feel bad needing replacements again so soon. It's a different size and all...maybe I'm just weird? Until then, the first pair of  Endpaper mitts will be put aside. They'll still be done well within the blue/white/grey months. Although I might not finish in time for Fair Isle February. That's been a really great KAL, everyone is friendly and they've done some beautiful colorwork!
Anyways, to cheer myself up, I bought a swift! Yay! Actually, my dad told me he'd pay for it, since he didn't feel like making one. lol We got paid last night, so I also paid for my IK subscription, I can't wait to get the spring issue. :)
Even better than buying things for myself, check out what came in the mail for me today!! A gift from my friend Ann-marie,  the one who wrote the I Dreamed of Africa sock pattern. She sent me a great package with a lavendar sachet, some wildflower seeds, and (best of all) some yarn that she hand dyed! Isn't it pretty? Normally I don't like pink, but I love the way this looks. Maybe it's the brown in it that calls to me. Now I just have to figure out what to make with it.... Maybe something simple? haha That would be so out of the ordinary for me. How about Knitty's straight laced socks?
I think I'm a bit burnt out on knitting. Or I was. I'm going to try to knit on Wicked tonight until I reach the end of my second ball of yarn, which really isn't  all that far away. Speaking of Wicked, I took some photos of the progress for you all. I realized that I hadn't taken a picture of it for inches. lol It's like 10.5 or 11" by now. Which is when I'm supposed to start the ribbing, except I have a longish torso (can't you tell in the picture?) and plan to knit an extra inch or two. Definitely doing this pattern again, maybe with a different stitch pattern on the collar and sleeves? Or some stripes? Fair-isle? Intarsia? The possibilities are endless. I do want to see if I can find a way to make the neck wider, maybe it's just me but I like open necklines on sweaters.Labels: gratitude, happiness, knitting, progress, project spectrum, purchases, Wicked, yarn 16:28 | |
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Jan 21, 2007
DoublemintDon't ask, just go with it.
 So, this was a busy weekend and I feel I haven't posted much. Probably because Justin was home Friday and yesterday. Playing WoW. *sigh* Anyway, I've got tons of fun for you all.
Let's see, Friday I did finally finish off the yarn for my raglan. But I bought more on Saturday. hehe Yeah, I got a $40 check from a bond or something that my church had given to me as a kid. Actually, I ended up not paying for the yarn as Justin had my card. Silly buttons. Besides, it's not like I'm never going back there. So, on Friday I decided to swatch and start my Endpaper Mitts, well I wasn't liking the way the Lorna's Laces was looking with the KP. The dark spots were way too dark and blended slightly, making the whole thing look wonky. So, I was searching the shop and getting frustrated because the only sock yarn she had the I could use was the Fortissima Socka (previously used for Knucks) and I do NOT like this stuff. It's not comfortable to knit with. My LYS owner was watching me wander around with my face all screwed up, so she decided to assist. She asked what  other yarn I was using for the mitts, and I told her KnitPicks. Which I know isn't encouraging, but I am a young mother of three, single-income, money is tight. Besides, we just went over how her sock yarn collection disappointed me.
She picked out an enticing yarn on one of the big cones, I'm guessing it's for weaving usually, but it'll work. And, the kicker, I asked how much she was going to charge me for it, she said "Let's just call it a bribe." hehehe Alright, alright, I get the hint! lol Linda is awesome, seriously. If you are ever anywhere close to Richlands, NC you should check out her shop. There's a button in my sidebar.
Whew. I'm tired. Last night I went to Greeneville with my buddy Tyler and some of his friends. They're leaving for Iraq next weekend, I'm gonna miss Ty. :( We went out dancing. Anyways, while I was waiting on him I worked on my mitts some more. My decision for them went something like this, why cast on 60 sts to knit a swatch if the mitt itself only needs 56?! The cuff is the same for every size, so I figure I  can just put a lifeline in and if it doesn't fit, rip back and go up a size. Of course, I forgot to put in the lifeline. Silly me. Casting on was hell too, I did it about 4 or 5 times before Justin convinced me to put it down. We played WoW, my characters name is Raglan. hahaha Such a dork. Now I've done one whole rep of the 10 row pattern. It looks beautiful, except for where the joins are. Those spots look awkward. Gotta figure out what I'm doing and how to fix it.
My replacement needles finally got here, and I picked up the last ball of yarn needed for my Harley Quinn socks, so I have WIPs to finish. Before I get more involved with those mitts I mean. My swap socks need to be finished, so they can get done before PS really gets started. Harley Quinn could squeak in, but I think I'll finish them before Feb without any problems. The sweater and mitts are very well suited to ProjSpec though, so I can wait until February til work on them more if need be. Do you like the glorified paper towel roll my replacement needles came in? Cute right. lol Eh, they were free, whose complaining?
I'm forgetting something, I know I am. If I remember, I'll let you know.Labels: gratitude, knitting, LYS, project spectrum, socks, yarn 15:55 | |
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Jan 18, 2007
Why I love BloggersThere is more to this post than I am posting now, have to run and pick up Heather, but for now check this out.
Okay, a little background on this. Deborah was my secret pal from SP8, which as you all know is far gone. Anyway, I'd been knitting this for her since about mid-July. I hate scarves, but this went all over with me, most of the progress was done while I was in the hospital with Nolan. At some point I ran out of yarn. *sigh* And I knew I would not finish in time. So I gave her some other things. It had a magical theme because the scarf was supposed to be there, but no scarf. :( You saw when I finished the scarf, oh last week. lol I was very upset, I hate being late, or overdue. I felt horrible. Still, she was more than appreciative and not only blogged about it but emailed me to express her gratitude! Which is just awesome.
Knit-bloggers are some of the most amazing, awesome people in the world. :) It's nice to have someone to chat with and to indulge in the guilty pleasures of knitting with. Thank you guys!Labels: blogging, gratitude, knitters 16:57 | |
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