Knit n' That

Love You Much Valentine Card Kit

2009-01-19T20:21:00.004-06:00

I know it seems like Christmas just ended and we've all finally got all of our decorations put away, but it is time to start thinking about Valentine's Day. This card kit is just the thing to get you going on all things Valentine.

Love You Much Card Kit ($15) includes:
All cardstock stamped, punched, cut and pre-scored
All designer series paper cut to size.
Envelopes for each card
Detailed instructions to make the 3 cards pictured above
** This is perfect for first time cardmakers as the only tools you will need to have are tape and scissors.
If you need this item shipped, there will be an additional $4.95 for priority mail shipping.

For the more advanced cardmaker I recommend the featured item – Love You Much Bundle ($41.48 until Jan 31st) a 20% savings from individual items. Those choosing this option will receive an email copy of the directions to make the cards above.
Bundle includes:
Love You Much Stamp Set
Heart to Heart punch
Candy Lane designer series paper
Price listed does not include tax and shipping.

Please note that the purchase of the Love You Much Bundle does not include any cardstock or inkpads used in the making of the cards pictured above. If you are interested in purchasing any of the cardstock and inkpads used, please contact me.

Contact me today at kelleycrafts@gmail.com to purchase your card kit and/or Love You Much Bundle. Prices are valid until January 31st, 2009.

Stampin' Up Inventory Blowout

2009-01-13T17:53:00.003-06:00

I admit that I'm a little late in getting this posted but I wanted to make sure that everyone knows about it and has a chance to get their orders placed before the promotion is over.

This is a first ever inventory blowout sale held by Stampin' Up. Getting retired, retired and some current products up to 50% off. Be sure to act fast, these prices are only available thru January 18th!

Click here to embiggen.

All retired/retiring items are available while supplies last, current products are available in limited quantity.

Visit my Stampin' Up website for contact information or to order online.

Country Living Holiday Collection

2008-12-08T12:50:00.002-06:00

Invite the warmth and coziness of the holidays into your home with Stampin' Up!'s Country Living Holiday Collection Stampin' Kit. This kit has everything you need to create beautiful handcrafted ornaments.

* Holiday Collection stamp set
* Die-cut chipboard and Designer Series paper
* Card stock
* Ribbon and cord
* Pretties Kit brads
* Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter
* Adhesives
* Classic Stampin' Spots

Create dazzling ornaments and memories that will last a lifetime! Contact me TODAY to place your order because this offer is only good through December 31, or while supplies last. To shop online, click here, be sure to click on the shop now button in the top right corner. Or, call or email me with your order.

Sorry for the silence

2008-12-08T12:25:00.004-06:00

So sorry about the long silence but November turned out to be very busy. We had a couple of dog fight issues with Aristotle. We drove to Texas for Thanksgiving and spent a week visiting with family and friends. (and totally realizing that we miss living there and really want to go back) We no sooner got home and I fell ill with what turned out to be bronchitis but felt like I was on my death bed.

But finally things are back to normal. The house is decorated and ready for Christmas and I'm in Christmas knitting mode.

I tried to finish as much as possible to take with me to Texas so save on shipping costs. All of the purchased gifts made the trip with us but only one handknit was ready to go in time. I made a pair of toeless socks for my mother.

She and my sister are easy to make socks for because we all have the same size foot. (which is why I'm modeling these socks) I really think mom is going to love these because she always says she breathes through her feet and is always cutting the toes off her socks.

I'm currently working on a pair of socks for my sister which will hopefully be done tonight or tomorrow. I'll have pictures of those as soon as they are done.

I've got a couple more posts to make today and tomorrow so be on the lookout.

Some Papercrafting updates

2008-11-11T11:49:00.005-06:00

I have been really bad about posting on a regular basis lately and I promise that will be one of my New Year's Resolutions! I must be a better blogger.

I really don't have all that much in the way of an update to the happenings of life, it's been mostly dull. I've been playing a lot of World of Warcraft lately. The only excitement around was last Friday when Aristotle got in a fight with one of his doggy friends. Nobody really knows what happened and the other dog-mommy insists that it just happens sometimes and we shouldn't worry. We still feel bad and insist on paying half of her vet bills.

So, there you have it, that's really the only exciting thing that has happened since the last time I posted. Let's get on to some papercrafting news.

If you remember my last post I mentioned that we went to a wedding in Sedona. It was a really lovely wedding of a dear knitting friend. I promised you I would post a picture of the gift I made for them, and I certainly don't want to disappoint! Without further ado, here is the set of Thank You cards and box I made.

She had a totally DIY wedding and it was beautiful. I just wanted to make sure that after it was all done that she could relax. So, I used her invitations as a starting point in figuring out a color scheme and set out to make the Thank You cards. In the end, I think it turned out great, the box fit all 40 cards and envelopes perfectly. The best part....she loved them! (and I did save her time just like I had hoped since she didn't have to make them herself)

In other news, my sister's birthday was November 7th. Since I'm no there to take her out to give her a gift, I sent along this card/gift card holder.

That's pretty much all I have for now...but get ready as there are some big plans for some virtual classes coming to my blog soon.

1st Annual Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-27T01:56:00.006-05:00

First let me say I am sorry that there hasn't been much posting going on around here lately, but I've been a little distracted. Not that it's all that good of a reason but the hubby and I have started playing World of Warcraft again. The last week hubby was off for vacation and since we couldn't afford to go anywhere we kind of holed up at home and played a lot of WoW.

Last weekend, to kick off vacation we initiated a new tradition in our household. Growing up my family never carved pumpkins and it just sounded like so much fun that we decided to start a new tradition. So while out shopping I found the perfect little pumpkin and this is what we came up with.....

Pre-carving drawing:

cleaning out the pumpkin:

(obviously NOT my favorite part and never again to be my job)

And finally, the end result:

And, the biggest reason I haven't been around this past week...the reason for the vacation...

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on Wednesday. And our 4th year together on Thursday.

~~~~

I promise not to be gone so long again. Next time I'll tell you about our trip to Sedona for a friend's wedding!

World Card Making Day 2008

2008-10-05T10:10:00.004-05:00

I'm posting a bit late I know (yesterday was World Card Making Day), I got sidetracked yesterday appliance shopping. But I didn't want any of you to miss out on taking advantage of this great deal from Stampin' Up.

This offer is only good until Oct. 11th, so don't let it pass you by. Online ordering is available through my website at www.kelleyerickson.stampinup.net Once there just click on the shop now button under my name in the top right corner, or give me a call and I'll be happy to help you.

I'll be back with pictures as soon as I figure out where my camera charger is hiding.

SP12 Final Package

2008-10-03T19:37:00.006-05:00

I got my final package this week from my SP12 partner Katja from Finland! Thank you so much! You have no idea how nice it was to get something fun in the mail with all this other stuff going on around the house.

Look at the picture on the box, isn't that pretty? It was kind of late at night when I took the photos so sorry about the flash.

And look at the goodies! I can't wait to try and find the perfect pattern to use with the yarns.

There are 2 skeins of Novita Luxus Wind and 2 skeins of Novita Malibu. Katja also sent along some Finnish candies that my husband is loving and some Finnish chocolate that I will have to share with him. Unfortunately I didn't get to the mail fast enough and so it sat in the mailbox melting until we got it. (nothing a short stint in the fridge can't fix!)

Thanks again Katja, you have been such a wonderful SP partner and I really do hope that we can continue our friendship!

~~~~
For those of you wondering about the house, have no fear, I will be making another post soon with all the updates.

Minor tragedy on the homefront

2008-09-24T01:42:00.005-05:00

The day seemed to be pretty normal, you could even say we were having a good day. Hubby is home for a couple of weeks rather than travelling so we have been enjoying our afternoons together. (he has to work on eastern time)

We had just gotten home from picking up a Craigslist find and were settling in for the evening getting ready to cook dinner and doing a bit of laundry. Hubby started dinner and went to take the trash out while I started some laundry. Hubby came in from the garage and as he rounded the corner into the living room he started yelling. The pot on the stove was on fire! He tried to put it out as I came running and he saw it wasn't going to stop he yelled for me to call 911.

Everyone is ok, we got all the animals out of the house and over to the neighbors but not before I freaked out. I was on the phone while he was searching for the animals and he couldn't find Ellie...thats when I freaked. I wouldn't know what to do if I'd lost one of the animals. As soon as I saw that she was ok I stopped crying and collected myself.

So what once looked like this:

Now looks like this: (angle is different)

and the oven is in the back yard for now

We were the talk of the neighborhood tonight, one family even brought out their grandmother in her wheelchair to stare at us. Talk about humiliating! Thankfully the neighbors were home to take the animals for us until the fire department left and we got a bit of initial clean up done. Tomorrow we start the heavy duty cleaning going through each room and washing EVERYTHING!

The firemen probably thought I was crazy because as soon as we walked back in the house I gasped...the first thing I thought was "damn, I have to repaint the whole kitchen!" To me it looks devastating, but I know it could have been so much worse. I just can't let myself think of if that had happened.

I'm still alive!!!

2008-09-17T02:05:00.004-05:00

I admit I've been a very bad blogger but I have been busy. And sadly tonight's post isn't going to be long, it's late and I haven't knit a single stitch today so I really want to do that before going to bed. In the interest of brevity, I'm going to bullet point what I've been doing since last post.

- Photographing and posting yarn to my Ravelry Stash (still not done but Flickr won't let me upload more until next month)

- Organizing said stash into something other than piles

- lots of jewelry making (mostly earrings)

- making lots of cards

- general cleaning, getting ready for MyMary who will be here next week!!!!! :)

- making loads of progress on my Gathered Pullover sweater (sadly no photos, soon though)

- a completed pair of Dunes of Tinfou socks, pictures to follow soon I promise

I'm sure there has been more but this is really all that I can think of at the moment. It's getting late so I'm going but I'll leave you with a few pictures of some cards I've made lately. These open up to a show a Ghiradelli Chocolate Square. If you are interested, they are $5 each or $12 for 3.

SP12 Question of the week #12

2008-09-03T00:15:00.002-05:00

I know I'm behind again but only by one week, I think the new question comes out tomorrow and hopefully I'll be back on track by then.

This weeks question:

I’m sure most of us have a proudest moment when it comes to knitting. A project or technique that you’ve tackled and completed beautifully. What is your proudest knitting moment??

And on the flip side? What is the one thing that you can’t get right? What is that one project that you’ve never been able to complete? Or that you did complete but then hid away instantly because it was too embarrassing?

So far my proudest moment had to be completing a pair of socks in just 4 days. I decided to push myself this year and try my hand at Sock Wars. After a rough start not being able to figure out parts of the pattern, I knit like the wind and was able to kill off 3 people before my assassin found me.

On the other side of that is my very first knit purse, which still is just an eyesore. I know what needs to be done to fix it but I'm not likely to do it. I'll probably keep it around as a reminder of my improvements.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm hoping to get a real post up sometime tomorrow complete with pictures since my USB port seems to finally be working. Look for a picture heavy post coming soon to a blog near you!

Catch up post - SP12 questions

2008-08-26T13:34:00.002-05:00

I've been bad the last few weeks about answering the SP12 questions so here I am doing a catch up post while being tortured with hiccups that won't go away.

Question #9 - Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?

It has never even occurred to me to enter anything in the fair so of course I've never done it. And now that I've been reading a few blogs and seen a few people entering their knitting in the fair it has me thinking. Maybe one day I will but it's still a ways off.

Question #10 - What Olympic event would best descibe your knitting/knitting style?

I honestly can't say since I don't watch the Olympics. Not to mention I haven't had nearly enough coffee to come up with a decent metaphor. Maybe cross country marathons because I can stay focused on one project if I put my mind to it.

Question #11 - What is the best thing you've ever received in the mail/post?

Anything that isn't a bill or junk mail!

4 Things Meme

2008-08-15T15:13:00.002-05:00

Four jobs I’ve had:

McDonald's Drive-thru girl
Receptionist for interior decorator from hell
Curves trainer
Nanny to my little Sunshine whom I miss every day

Four movies I can watch over and over:

The Princess Bride - there are just too many good lines in this movie
Grease - and don't even try to stop me from singing along
anything with "The Rock" in it because he's yummy!
Mary Poppins - again the singing along thing gets me every time

Four TV shows I love to watch:

HGTV's Design Star - because you never know when you'll see something you want to do in your own home

House - he ROCKS

How I Met Your Mother - they make me laugh

Boston Legal - again...they make me laugh

Four places I’ve been on vacation:

DisneyWorld - otherwise known as my honeymoon, we had a great time and would like to go back

France - this is definitely one to do again, I went when I was in high school. I want to do it over as an adult

Blue Eye, MO - hubby's family goes every year for family reunion, we go whenever we can. I've never had this much fun at my own family reunion!

Home - it's nice to be lazy around the house sometimes

Four favorite dishes:

Chili Cheeseburger - from Red Robin with 4 different cheeses

Chicken Bryan from Carraba's

Crab cakes with roumalade sauce

Fettucini Alfredo

Four Websites I visit daily:
Ravelry
Plurk
Stampin' Up!
My Bloglines

Four places I’d rather be:

Mary's house
Toronto
swimming in a HUGE yarn stash of my very own
Ireland

Blog Candy

2008-08-15T00:10:00.002-05:00

Darcy (aka the Knotty Knitter) and Leslie Wind are celebrating the addition of a new buy now button and Darcy's 200th blog post by offering a great give away. Leslie handcrafts these wonderful cable needle necklaces that are just pure genius...don't believe me? Then just click on over to Darcy's Knotty Knitter blog and check out the video on how easy they are to use. (and not lose)

SP12 Question of the week #8

2008-08-05T15:21:00.003-05:00

What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?

I don't really have a favorite supper for hot months. Granted I try to stay away from things like chili....unless it's on a burger or a hot dog. I've never been one to shy away from a food just because of the weather outside, if I am craving it, I eat it.

In which I show off cards

2008-07-31T04:39:00.003-05:00

It seems that very few people know that I am a Stampin' Up Demonstrator but I suppose that could be because I haven't shown off many of the cards and things that I've made. Well I'm going to put and end to that, this is not only a place for me to talk knitting but to talk about all of my crafting.

I started teaching classes a couple of weeks ago and I'm really please with how well everyone did. None of my students had any experience with card making and they all did so well on their cards. I don't have pictures of their work but here are the cards we made.

As the weeks go by I'll be posting pictures of more of cards and projects, and will do my best to have a recipe for each item...however, it's already 2:45 AM here so you'll have to forgive me this time.

Actual Knitting Content!

2008-07-29T18:13:00.005-05:00

Ok, so I know I said I was going to make this post a couple of weeks ago but I'm a slacker. It isn't because I haven't been knitting (though I did take a break for about 3 weeks when I thought all my projects were cursed). So...for you today I have picture updates of 2 projects I've been working on.

First up, is the MS7 Shawl, which most people have long since completed and I am still working on. Truth be told, I was diligently working on this shawl through the first clues and then went on vacation back in April and didn't take it with me. (it's my first lace so naturally a quiet time knit) Next thing I know, it's been 3 months since I picked it up again.

Imbolc by Renee Leverington (rav link)

Remember the curse I mentioned? Well I think it all started with this shawl, I think it is mad at me for putting it down for so long. Anyway, I am back at it though slowly right now due to these Mystery Socks I've been working on.

Mystery Sock June 08 by Renee Leverington (rav link)

I have had to frog this sock 3 times but I think I've finally got it. They are going be very warm socks, they are done in a DK weight and the cable pattern makes for thick socks. I am loving how the colors are working together.

Well that's all for me, next up is going to be some card making I've been doing.

Favorite Things

2008-07-29T17:19:00.002-05:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it might be fun, play along if you like and post your favorite things on your blog.

Sport: hocky
Game: Phase 10 or Rummy
Color: these days teal and purple
Movie: Grease
Broadway play I have seen: Les Miserables
Broadway Musical I have seen: Phantom of the Opera
Song: Merideth Brooks "Bitch"
American city I have visited: New York City
Foreign city I have visited: Paris, France
Book: anything by Clive Barker, Stephen King, Gregory MacGuire, Ann Rice or Christopher Rice
Children's Book: Dr. Suess all the way
Classic television show: Family Ties
Recent television show: House
Actor: Tom Hanks
Actress: not sure
Perfume: almost anything in a pretty bottle
Food: Fettucini Alfredo
Dessert: caramel anything
Chain Restaurant: Chili's
Local Restaurant: Oregeno's
Car: still deciding
Condiment: Mayo
Kitchen Appliance: coffee pot
Home Appliance: my computer
Beauty Product: Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel by Bath & Body Works
Piece of clothing: swimsuit.....it's Arizona after all
HGTV Show: Design Star
Food Network show: don't know, rarely watch it
Author: see fave book above
Male Songwriter: Rob Thomas
Female Songwriter: unsure
Holiday: Christmas
Ballet I have seen: The Nutcracker
Disney character: Tinkerbell
Flower: Tiger Lily

Alcoholic drink: frozen strawberry margarita
Non-Alcoholic drink: caramel frappuccino
Magazine: Interweave Knits
Animated movie: Lion King

Television network miniseries: Band of Brothers
Season: Winter
Male vocalist: Rob Thomas

Female vocalist: don't know
Day of the week: Saturday
Household Chore: no such thing
Ice Cream: Dulce de Leche from Hagan Daaz
Candy: Nilla Cakesters
Artist: too much beauty to choose from

SP12 Question of the Week #6 & 7

2008-07-23T14:45:00.002-05:00

I completely forgot to post my answers to the question for last week so I'm going to do that today. And I promise to have some actual knitting content very very soon. I have been working on my knitting.

Questions #6
What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

I like to take small projects with me when I travel, socks or purses usually. I always seem to have a sock on the needles so it's pretty easy to decide what to take with me and I don't worry about not having enough because I like to try and plan a visit to a yarn store anyway so I will invariably come out with more yarn.

Questions #7

What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit?

Oh this is easy....my office, the couch or any Starbucks!

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?

Other than the necessities (scissors, etc.) natural light and a nice venti Caramel Frappucino make for the perfect setting.

Stampin' Up! Discounted Retiring Accessories

2008-07-21T12:02:00.002-05:00

July 21 - August 10 (or while supplies last!)
Get them now while you still can! Contact me to place an order!

Item #	Pg. #	Description	Regular Price	25% Off Price
109117	167	Pocket Notes assortment	$9.95	$7.46
110479	168	Jersey Shore Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
110699	168	East Coast Prep Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109159	169	Flowers For You Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
110273	169	Spring Fling Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
110748	170	Notebook Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109153	170	Porcelain Prints Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
110751	171	Azure Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109164	171	River Rock Prints Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109175	171	Almost Amethyst Prints Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109168	171	Groovy Guava Prints Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
109169	171	Close to Cocoa Prints Designer Series paper	$9.95	$7.46
110284	182	Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons	$10.95	$8.21
110285	182	Urban West Rub-Ons	$10.95	$8.21
110281	182	Cherished Memories Rub-Ons	$10.95	$8.21
109185	190	Jersey Ribbon Originals	$12.95	$9.71
109187	190	District Ribbon Originals	$12.95	$9.71
109189	190	Beachfront Ribbon Originals	$12.95	$9.71
110716	191	Wild Wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon	$7.95	$5.96
109062	191	River Rock double-stitched grosgrain ribbon	$8.95	$6.71

SP12 Question of the Week #5

2008-07-10T00:08:00.002-05:00

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
Well I can't say that I've ever really gone on a vacation outside of visiting family. Though I have to admit that DH's family reunion is pretty cool, they all get together for a week near Branson, MO for camping, fishing and fun. I don't suppose I have a favorite vacation location yet.

2) Where is one place you’d like to go?
I'd love to visit Ireland someday, it has always been a dream of mine.

What kind of coffee are you?

2008-07-08T16:53:00.001-05:00

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern

At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent

You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet

Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

They've certainly got me pegged, Frapps are my fave drink!

Want a housekeeper?

2008-07-08T15:50:00.002-05:00

I just saw this ad listed on Craigslist and haven't stopped laughing yet. Just the thought of it is keeping me in stitches.

Yes this is real why should only women do it !ladies i know you like a break from cleaning ,so why not have someone do it for you with a nice view any and all service avaliable. even windows and patios so if it sounds like something for you please contact me scheduling flexible if your married and dont want hubby to watch lol send details of what you need done and ill respond w/details to make it happen thanks email me at *******@yahoo.com

Too bad, hubby says I can't have one, the windows could use a good washing. Maybe this guy does lawn clean up too, the leaves are outta control and I'd LOVE to see the looks on my neighbors faces when they see a nude guy cleaning leaves out of my front yard.

SP12 Question of the Week #4

2008-07-02T19:08:00.002-05:00

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
2) What yarn do you never want to be without?**

I think I definitely need some basic Cascade 220 to make my stash more complete. I don't have any at the moment but would love to get some and keep it in my stash at all times. It makes for great felting. And also Noro yarns make a great stash staple in my mind. I just cast on with my last skein of Noro so it's going to be time to do some stashing soon. (right after that lottery win)

I never again want to be without lace yarn or sock yarn.

First brush fire

2008-06-27T02:58:00.004-05:00

and hopefully the last of the summer. A brush fire broke out yesterday about 20 miles from our home and was visible all over the valley. I tried to get first hand photos for all of you but when I got out there, my camera wouldn't work, I guess the battery is dead.

There are lots more photos here.

SP12 Question of the Week - 6/25

2008-06-25T14:53:00.002-05:00

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

Personally I don't think there is a perfect amount but in my dreams I have this much...in reality I have less than a quarter of that! But as soon as I win the lottery it's on baby!

Blog Readability

2008-06-25T14:33:00.002-05:00

Movie Reviews

I'm impressed with myself, I was expecting it to come back as maybe a first grade reading level. I never considered myself a great writer but apparently I could do worse.

SP12 Question of the Week - 6/20

2008-06-22T18:37:00.002-05:00

As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

I guess it would have to be no school. Long days of playing with friends and riding bikes around the neighborhood and getting sunburned. (not that that part was fun, just always happened)

I'm on restriction!

2008-06-18T11:35:00.002-05:00

Hubby put me on restriction a last week! I told him I was going to bring it here for my fellow knitters to discuss and try to explain to him why this is cruel and unusual. He has limited me to a total of 5 projects at one time...that I have purchased the yarn. Did you notice that very important bold I? That is my only loophole, I'm allowed to have as many projects as I want going or even in planning stages as long as I'm not the one who purchased the yarn.

This is cruel and unusual punishment for a stash whore like myself. I've been doing really well buying yarn with projects in mind for a while now, before I was just buying yarn because I thought it was pretty and then would end up with not enough to do the project that I finally decided on a year or so later.

What do you think? Is this something I should be ok with or is this cruel and unusual treatment that we should take to knitters court?

SP 12 Question of the Week - 6/13/08

2008-06-13T16:57:00.002-05:00

What is your favorite Summertime drink?

I'm going to say Starbucks' Caramel Frappuccino. Though seriously there is never a bad time for year for this drink, it's a year round fave of mine.

Other than that, I drink a lot more water during the summer but here in Arizona that's kind of a necessity.

He's home :)

2008-06-13T01:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, so he's been home since Sunday but I'm slow at posting. We went and picked up Aristotle Sunday afternoon and I've been spending all week getting to know him and letting him know that he has found his forever home.

Here are a few pictures of him...as you can see he is already getting comfortable with us as well.

In this last photo, Ellie is trying to figure out what he is doing upside down.

SP 12 Questionnaire

2008-06-09T12:26:00.003-05:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I have not found any fibers that I absolutely hate. I have had one skein of superwash merino that was just awful but that is an exception because most of my superwash merino has been really great. I'm always interested in trying new fibers or brands that I haven't tried before.

I am currently gathering yarn to work on 2 different afghans that are going to be long term projects. I'm making the Shelly Kang Sock Yarn Blankie and am always in need of leftover sock yarn. I'm also wanting to make the Lizard Ridge Afghan and have been hinting that I need lots of Noro Kureyon.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Right now I keep my needles in a giant coffee cup because I don't have anything else. I have a set of interchangeable circs that I keep in the case they came in.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting since 2003 I think. I took a class while I was living in New Jersey and then put the needles down again when I moved back to Texas. I picked it back up again in 2005 and have been nonstop ever since. I would consider myself intermediate because I love to do socks and am learning lace but have never done a sweater though there is at least 1 on the needles right now.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I do have a wishlist on Amazon list under my name and also I believe it can be looked up by my email address. I also have one at The Loopy Ewe and there is a link to that on my blog.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I think right now it is Japanese Cherry Blossom but I can't say that I have a definite favorite. I love all kinds of different scents. I'll have to think more about this one and get back to you.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

My favorite is caramel. I don't like fruit flavored candy very much and I really can't stand marshmellow.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I'm a craftoholic. I like to create my own jewelry, make cards, stamp, and scrapbook. I am still learning how to spin am so far am not very good at it. Someday I'd like to have a wheel but for now I use the one at my LYS when I am there.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I listen to everything except religious music. My listening style on my iPod upsets my husband because he can't understand how I can go from something soft to something techno. I just love the shuffle feature and refuse to put music into a bunch of categories.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

These days my favorites seem to be purple, teal, blue, green, pink and red. I've never met a color that I didn't like. (except maybe puke green or baby poo brown/green)

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have 1 cat (Shelby), 1 small dog (Ellie), 1 giant dog (Aristotle) and 1 wonderful husband (Jason).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Well I live in Phoenix so those things are unnecessary but I do have a small collection of scarves from when I first started knitting. And I do have plans to make a few hats...sun hats come in handy around here. I gave up ponchos a couple years ago.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

It seems I've always got a pair of socks going. And right now I'm signed up for more than one Shawl KAL. And I love to knit purses.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Currently on my needles are 2 pair of socks, 1 purse, 1 lace shawl, and 1 sweater that is hibernating because it is boring garter stitch.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Absolutely! What kind of crafty person doesn't?

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I don't have a preference really. I always use aluminum for my socks and I love addi turbos for lace. Other than that, I have dreams of having complete sets of KnitPicks Harmony interchangeables and Denise plastic interchangeables.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I do have a yarn winder but do not have a swift.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Probably 6 months. I've had a Noro purse just waiting for handles and seaming since January I think.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas - I love to be spoiled and since I collect snowmen, it is the only time they are displayed.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

snowmen, Jim Shore Tinkerbell figurines, antique tea cups, Precious Moments (non-religious only)

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Most books I'm hoping for are on my Amazon wishlist, I'd love get my hands on some Wollmeise and some Malabrigo sock yarn. I'm looking forward to increasing my collection of addi lace turbo needles, KnitPicks Harmony wood needles and Denise interchangeables.

I have subscriptions to Creative Knitting and Interweave Knits...but I'm a magazine collector so I buy several others at the bookstore whenever I can sneak them past my hubby.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I'd like to learn to do fair isle, intarsia and knit with beads.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

By now, you know I am. I wear a ladies size 6. Heel to toe measures: 8 inches. Circumference measures: 8.5 inches

23. When is your birthday?

April 26th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Ravelry ID is knitnthat

Update: Picture post

2008-06-03T12:07:00.011-05:00

I've been such a bad blogger and I haven't been posting many pictures. But I've finally got my camera and the cord so I can upload pictures. So....here is my picture post update on what's been going on around here in the last month or so.

The Scrapbook Retreat with MyMary:

That's MyMary!

And the Pomatomus Sock from hell:

The pattern is ok though I don't think I did it right, the yarn is horrid!

Mindless airplane knitting:

And then there's Sock Wars III:
My first weapons:

Unfortunately there are no pictures of my 2nd weapons, I forgot.
Third (and current) weapons:

Swap knitting:

Home Improvement:

Project Planning:

The teal is going to be the Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason.

And finally, meeting a new (soon to be) family member:

A new war is waging...

2008-05-12T19:39:00.002-05:00

and you don't want to be caught in the cross needles. Yes, that's right, I'm talking about Sock Wars III. I received my Top Secret Dossier on Friday with the name of my victim and am knitting my fingers off.

I admit I had a rough start with the pattern, as many other warriors did. But I think I've finally gotten it..at least I've got something that I think is right and it's pretty so we are gonna go with it. There will be pictures but not today as I'm in the home stretch of completing my first sock. (and there is the fact that although my camera has arrived, I no longer remember what I did with the cord) The second sock should go much faster.

~~~~~~~~~

On another note, can someone tell me how I would go about responding to comments? I always enjoy getting emails from other bloggers to whom I have commented. But for the life of me, I can't figure out how to send my commenters emails and it is making me feel rude.

Caffeine Test

2008-05-08T17:18:00.001-05:00

I finally got my camera back so I'll be posting some actual knitting content soon. In the meantime....how much caffeine have you had today?

Created by OnePlusYou

Best laugh you'll ever get

2008-04-30T23:16:00.002-05:00

I was just listening to Brenda Dayne and nearly spit tea out of my nose when this song got going. This is not from the current episode of Cast On it is actually from Episode 9, but I'm just now starting from the beginning and listening to them all. For those of you that have already heard it, it's time you laugh again. For those that have never heard this...don't drink anything while you listen. And when you are done...don't forget to play it for your husband so he can laugh too.

The Harlot Singers

2008-04-14T15:18:00.002-05:00

As I'm sure everyone else has already seen these it's sort of silly that I'm posting them but just in case you didn't click those links on Stephanie's blog, here they are. You gotta listen because they are so funny!

And saving the best for last:

Just a little

2008-04-08T17:53:00.006-05:00

There really isn't much going on here, just working on the same few projects. I added the Pomatomus sock last week and now that I've finally got the pattern figured out I'm just about to start the heel of the first sock.

I know it is pretty short but I'm making them sport length because that is what the recipient likes to wear. And because I'm really hating the yarn. It feels very rough and scratchy and the swatch I washed didn't soften up...so I'm unhappy with it.

I've been doing just a bit of other crafting this week as well. I saw these on another blog and just had to have one.

As knitters we always need to be able to jot down changes to our projects, ideas for new designs ...or heck the grocery list. These started out just like the blue one in the back of the photo and now I think they are destined to go to swap partners.

I also made a few scissor charms to take with me since I'm going to a scrapbook retreat. We'll see if the ladies there think they are as cute as I do.

Imbolc (mystery shawl 7) is growing, I'm working on clue 3 now but almost done. The larger the chart got was starting to mess with my eyes and I kept messing up but I think I finally found a way to keep my place. And I'm so proud that I can at least listen to podcasts while I work on it so it's not as much of a quiet knit anymore. Sometimes silence is deafening.

Well that's all for me for today. I promise I'll be posting again before I leave next week.

Now I've seen it all

2008-04-04T12:15:00.002-05:00

If you haven't heard about the pregnant man take a look at the link. Mr Beatie used to be a female but had a sex change operation. He chose to keep his sex organs in hopes of having a child some day...and now he's made history.

ooo shiny moment

2008-03-31T01:21:00.004-05:00

That's what I had last week when I went to my LYS. I'd been drooling over some Malabrigo worsted in the Little Lovely colorway and finally couldn't take the pressure anymore. I bought 3 skeins and headed home to make myself a bag. And that is how this:

became this:

pattern: Booga Bag by Black Sheep Bags
yarn: Malabrigo worsted, Little Lovely colorway
needles: US 10.5

It actually only used ones skein and a very small portion of a second so I immediately cast on for a second bag. Naturally the second bag is going much slower than the first, it's been sitting around all weekend looking pretty but lonely. I'll definitely finish it up this week though.

There hasn't been enough progress on the Mystery Shawl to take a picture. If you click the link, you can tell the mystery has been revealed and I'm just a slacker. I'm already looking forward to the next mystery shawl which starts next week I think. Guess that means I need more laceweight.

Hubby, MIL and I spent yesterday at the Tempe Arts Festival and had a great time. I really don't do well with heat but I survived and it wasn't that bad. They were so impressed that I didn't drop dead after just a few minutes...but I did stop at the first booth I saw selling hats and got a wide brim hat for the day. (it'll come in handy during pool season too)

I picked up some really great artwork that I have sitting right in front of my computer. I don't know where to put it because I want to see it all the time, I just love all the colors!

See what I mean? All of the colors are just so bright and pretty. I wish I had remembered to pick up one of her business cards but alas, I didn't.

Long overdue knitting content

2008-03-24T19:13:00.005-05:00

It's not that I haven't been knitting...it's that I've been knitting feverishly. I finished my 9-5 socks for the Loopy Sock KAL on Ravelry. I'm impressed with myself that I started late and finished them before the April/May KAL. (that's knitalong for those of you that don't knit)

Aren't they great?! They are a very stretchy mock cable rib pattern that is very comfy on the foot. Please ignore the fact that my skin is just glaringly white, I'm not much of an outdoor kinda girl but I should get some color this summer.

Stats:
pattern: 9-5 Socks by Nicole Hindes
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in the Snapdragon colorway
Needles: 2.25mm

Also in the new knitting front is my very first lace project. Did I start with something small? Heck no, I jumped right in head first and am doing the Mystery Shawl 7 by Goddess Knits. I'm very late getting started on this one though, the final clue has already been posted and I just now finished clue #1. Nobody said I had to be Speedy Gonzales or anything so I'm not concerned. I cast on last Wednesday while hanging out at my LYS. I have never read a chart before so I needed someone to tell me how to do that.

I'm using Malabrigo lace for this in the Ibizo colorway and I LOVE it! It is definitely quiet time knitting though. No tv, no ipod, no husband talking...complete silence. Jason head out yesterday to catch a flight and I sat home in the silence all day working on my shawl.

And lastly...the knitting part has been done for over a month but I'm just now getting around to taking a picture.

Pattern: Large Cabled Handbag by The Woolie Ewe
Yarn: Noro Iro colorway forgotten
Needles: US 13

New Family Member

2008-03-13T19:28:00.003-05:00

-------------

What should I name our new addition? I found her today at Hobby Lobby and just couldn't pass her up, plus she was 50% off!

And that isn't all of the recent sheepish additions, take a look at these:

Does this make a collection??

Very Bad Blogger

2008-03-10T18:47:00.007-05:00

I've been really bad at keeping up with my blog lately...but that isn't news to all of you. I've been doing my knitting though and dealing with my ever fluctuating health issues. It is beginning to feel like I'll never get used to the medication and therefore I'll always have stomach issues that land me in bed at the drop of a hat.

Anyway, enough of that. I've finally finished the Simple Shrug and I hate it. Actually I really do like the yarn and it looks pretty but the fit is terrible and I can't imagine who it would fit properly. Oh, you want proof? Ok...

Not enough?? I tried it on a few other folks as well:

To recap, this is the Simple Shrug pattern that is on the ball band for Caron Simply Shadows yarn. The only real adjustment I made was to sleeve length and that obviously wasn't enough because the sleeves were too long on everyone who tried it on. The pattern calls for increasing every 5 rows until you have 100 stitches and I only increased every 5 rows until I reached 80 then increased every other row.

I finished my first 9-5 sock for my Loopy Sock KAL. As you can see, Ellie likes it as well.

I've got the second sock started but not that far along, nothing really to show.

Sally Melville called my name and I started her Opaque sweater. I don't have pictures but I promise to post some this week.

Enough of me for now, I'm home alone and I haven't knit all day! The horror!! (But I did get a couple of new books and magazines today, more on that tomorrow.)

Who knew...I'm gorgeous!

2008-02-28T12:13:00.001-06:00

According to this website, I resemble these beautiful celebrities:

I got goodies!

2008-02-23T02:55:00.006-06:00

I love Ravelry! I signed up for the Knit It Forward swap and I was one of the very first to receive my package. My swap buddy is really on the ball.

The idea of this swap was not to knit for the other person but rather to pick a project for them and yarn to make it with. My partner did an awesome job, I definitely love to make bags and will be needing a market bag for the flea markets and farmers markets. And I've never used Louet Euroflax before so I'm really excited about that.

She also sent me skein of some beautiful alpaca yarn made in Missouri where she is from. Take a look at the handsome devil my yarn came from.

Eat your heart out ladies, Clancy the Studmuffin is in the house!

There were a few other goodies, but I'll let you check out the pix and see what they were. I'm sure you are all wondering what's kept me from my blog for so long. Well, in a word Ravelry.

Ok, ok..it's not entirely their fault I've been slacking here. I don't really have much of an excuse. When I'm not at my computer, I've been having a case of startitis. I've always been pretty good at finishing a project before starting another one, but I think those days are over. I'm graduating from knitter to Knitter. (see the difference there? it's huge) I've got a record 4 projects on my needles right now. (don't laugh, it's a record for me) Unfortunately I don't have pictures of all of them.

The shrug is still o the needles though I haven't been working on it much this week, I'm hoping to put a big dent in the endless rows of stockinette this weekend. I finished the first tube sock only to decide it's about 1 repeat too small for my taste, so rather than frog it, I'm casting on the second sock in a larger size. If I can avoid frogging I will, pretty sure I have enough yarn to make 2 pair. Maybe I'll save the smaller socks for Sunshine to grow into.

I've also got this great pair of 9 to 5 socks going. I'm loving how the colors are sort of spiraling as they change colors.

And since I don't have a pic of the purse I've been working on, here is a teaser. A pic of the yarn it's made of.

Now off to bed with me...and you too if you are still awake!

Happy Post Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T23:18:00.005-06:00

These are what greeted me when I woke up LATE yesterday morning. OL had placed them on the kitchen table with a card...and so started my treasure hunt around the house. Each note he left clued me in on where to go next. Along the way, I was asked out to dinner, found a brand new pink iPod Nano in my sock yarn stash, and found a great garnet ring. Does anyone wonder why I love that man?

As mentioned I got up late, that's because I spent 2 nights in a row up until all hours working on his surprise. I had no idea that it was going to take so long to trace, cut and glue everything.

So outside of all of these lovey dovey things, it's been a busy week. Tuesday was OL's birthday and we had to celebrate in style. We always joke that we are nothing but overgrown kids and it certainly showed at his party. His folks both called and asked what we were planning and since I had expected him to be out of town this week I hadn't planned anything. So a last minute party was created when they both wanted to come over. (it's the first time in years they've been close enough to spend his birthday with him) I headed over to the store and picked up some simple party supplies in the cutest puppy motif I've ever seen. His dad makes a mean cheesecake so I didn't worry about that and we had ourselves a nice little pizza party for the 34 year old birthday boy.

His favorite toy? Why this of course...

And in knitting news....
I have no pictures but there has been knitting. I've made some progress on the Simple Shrug but not much. I did finally find some more yarn to finish it with so I won't feel like I'm wasting my time on a project that can never be finished. I've finally cast on for my 9 to 5 socks for the Loopy KAL on Ravelry They have been a really great knit for car rides and I took them along for coffee with a fellow raveler.

There has also been purse knitting. I'm really excited about this one because it's the first time I've used Noro yarn. I'll have pics of everything soon, I promise!

It's alive!

2008-02-11T09:38:00.000-06:00

I finally got the camera all charged up again so I can post pics. I finished the first of my tube socks, only to find out that they are just a tad small. Thankfully, I have plenty of yarn left over to make a pair the correct size without frogging.

I've also made some progress on my Simple Shrug. I'm about 10" into the back so only 9-10" left to go.

There has also been spinning, thanks to Rabbitch. Unfortunately I don't have pics of the yarn, only the roving, but I'm sure you can imagine how lovely (and I use that term loosely) a first time spinners yarn turned out.

I'm using an Ashford Joy to spin with and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't quite gotten my rhythm yet but practice makes perfect. After I've got the hang of it, I'll have to start saving to get my own Ashford. For now, my LYS is graciously allowing me to try out all of theirs. I'm having a really hard time curbing the desire to buy tons of roving!

Addicted to blogging

2008-02-11T09:14:00.001-06:00

62%

How addicted are you?

Best laid plans

2008-02-08T22:59:00.000-06:00

Well I had such good intentions of showing you all my first completed tube sock but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I've got a couple of photos that are going to have to wait, the camera battery gave out on me just as I was about to upload to the computer.

This week has been lots of fun and it has also had it's sad parts. Monday was the first day of preschool for Sunshine. (the little girl I used to Nanny for)Her parents got a couple of pics of her in her school uniform along with a few from Christmas and her birthday that I missed since moving. I miss her so much that I just broke down in tears and OffLogic had to calm me down. If you are seeing this, I miss you Sunshine! Tell your momma to drown you in kisses and hugs for me!

Now, on to the fun part. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at my new LYS and had a blast. Tuesday I just hung out and knit all day with a group that meets there regularly. Wednesday's group has decided to have a First Wednesday Pot Luck and so I joined in the fun there as well. And I also learned to spin which I'm really looking forward to. I totally blame Rabbitch for the spinning though, as it was her comment "This time next year you'll either be dyeing wool or spinning. Trust me on this one" that planted the seed in my head. My first yarn is another pic you'll just have to wait for.

OffLogic is still home, he hasn't been sent out yet and it's starting to really get to him. He's never sat on the bench for this long with no work. Truth be told it's really starting to get to me as well...having him home doing nothing is getting really old. But as least next week we have fun things to look forward to. Tuesday is his birthday and though we don't have plans to do anything special, it will be fun to have him around for it. (not to mention Valentine's Day)

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T23:37:00.001-06:00

I'm more than a little bummed that I didn't get to vote today. I'm in Arizona so it certainly wasn't because today wasn't primaries day. No, I couldn't vote because I haven't been a registered voter in this county long enough. I registered to vote at the same time I got my drivers license but that was only 2 weeks ago.

But that's ok, I can go ahead and pledge my allegiances here for all to see!

Dolores banner is thanks to Panopticon.

I'm on Ravelry!

2008-02-03T13:50:00.000-06:00

I got my invite to Ravelry about a week ago and have been having so much fun there. There is so much to see and learn that I've been spending a fair amount of time there. Thanks to many of the projects I've seen there, my list of must-knits has gotten quite a bit longer and I've veered from my usual 1 knit project at a time. At the moment I only have these two started but that'll probably change today.

If I can drag myself away from the computer long enough I'll at least cast on for a cabled purse today with some Noro that I fell in love with a while back.

The sweater is on hold

2008-01-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

I got sidetracked from my sweater. It was probably something to do with not being able to find all of my needles combined with the hours of swatching I was looking at. So, a sock was born.

This is Araucania Ranco Multy yarn in color 309. Here is a better pic of the color:

The pattern, First time tube socks, is from the winter 07/spring 08 issue of Knitscene. It calls for worsted weight cotton and I'm using fingering weight 75% wool, 25% polyamide. Of course I didn't swatch like I should have, why would you think I would be so smart? I dove in head first making adjustments on the fly. I'm using 2.75mm needles and cast on as the instructions called for a large size. I'm just hoping that they actually fit me. If not...I'm way WAY ahead of schedule for my Christmas knitting!

Either way, I'm safe.

As a side note, I just saw this link on not a yarn snob's blog and felt I had to share it. She isn't kidding, it'll completely blow your mind.

What to do

2008-01-24T11:23:00.000-06:00

I went an entire evening without something to knit last night. I'm not kidding, I have NOTHING on my needles at the moment and it's really a problem for me. I had an adorable top picked out from the recent Knitscene and had chosen the perfect yarn from stash. My problem is, the pattern calls for a DK weight yarn and my stash yarn is fingering weight. Can this be done? How? I'm not that advanced of a knitter to just know which yarns can be substituted. So it seems that today I'll be doing a bit of swatching and a bit of researching for other patterns as well. My heart is set on using the stash yarn (Adrienne Vittadini Celia), the chosen pattern can wait for a different yarn if needed.

Overdue Christmas picture post

2008-01-20T14:03:00.000-06:00

I think I'm the last one in blogland to post pictures of my fiber related Christmas presents. We got home from my parent's house Christmas night and immediately packed away all of our presents for the moving truck the next morning. I've finally got all the new yarn unpacked and photographed.

The following 3 pictures are of yarn from my mom. I taught my sister to crochet several years ago so mom bought a bunch of yarn that we had to share, so this is my half. :

This pic doesn't show the colors right but the flash and I weren't getting along. The red is really much deeper.

And of course, Ellie got me some fibery goodness because she loves me so. She (I) caught the sale at The Loopy Ewe for Cherry Tree Hill and got 1 skein of each colorway.

Outside of taking pictures of my Christmas yarn haul, there has been a lot going on around here keeping me from posting. And none of it has been knitting! I've barely got the cuff and heel done on Jason's (henceforth known as OffLogic) second sock. Here's a peek at what we've been up to:
(before)
(after)
(after discovering the other color was too light and looked like a little girl's bedroom)
And we are finally done, just waiting delivery of the entertainment center now.

Another FO

2008-01-13T23:43:00.000-06:00

But not pics of it.

My MIL visited us in Texas last summer and asked that I make her a scarf, she even found some yarn in my stash that she loved. Naturally I told her I'd be happy to do it and it wouldn't take long. Well around comes October and we visit her here in Arizona (we were here to house hunt) and I didn't have her scarf. I thought about making it but Jason said it would be ok to wait and make it a Christmas gift. Let's make a long story short.....I started the scarf on Friday night, and finished weaving in the ends in the car on the way to her house Saturday night. She loves it!

Now all I have to do is see if she'll model it for me so I can get a picture.

In other news, I finally got started on the 2nd sock for Jason. Since the first got packed away (on the blocker) I had to send him out to the garage to find it so I could measure the cuff. I'm not far off from starting the heel, hopefully tomorrow.

A New Hobby

2008-01-08T22:33:00.001-06:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

just pics

2008-01-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

Today's post is just a couple of pics of some great finds we made last night at Hobby Lobby. Knitting has been very hard to do while watching tv lately due to the lack of lamps so we went in search last night. We were about to go home when I insisted on stopping at Hobby Lobby, and I'm glad we did.
The shades have GOT to be changed but that's easier to do than finding lamps we like. Thankfully, I can knit at night again.

After finding the lamps we stumbled into the 66% off isle and found this little gem to hang by the garage door.

A little behind schedule

2008-01-07T14:04:00.000-06:00

Ok so it's the new year and I am (as usual) a little late in getting my New Year's resolutions written down. I don't know why but I never even start thinking about them until New Year's day and then I spend a lot of time thinking about them and trying to make sure that I am not going to be over-doing it by making these impossible goals for myself.

I think I've finally gotten it down to something that is doable (at least for a while):

1. Make at least 2 posts a week to my blog
2. Continue to eat smaller meals more often during the day. (this makes the doc happy)
3. Walk for at least 15 minutes a day (also makes doc happy)
4. Complete 1 FO per month
5. Make at least 1 sweater or t-shirt this year

Naturally those aren't all of the goals that I have but they are the only ones that I'm willing to write down and try to stick with. The rest of them are sort of brownie point type goals that I can be pleasantly surprised with if I reach them this year.

On the home front:

We finally uncovered the island in the kitchen long enough for me to take this photo of the pot rack that my dad hung while they were still here. Pay no attention to the random vases and candlesticks on top of the cabinets, they are just there until something better comes along.

A dear friend (and fellow blogger) is a scrapper and loves flowers. I've been telling her about these fans in the guest bedrooms of our new home. This picture is for her...
The previous owners had 2 adorable little girls and these fans went perfectly with the decor of their rooms. I, however, will be taking these fans down and replacing them. Hopefully these will sell on Craigslist.

On the knitting front:

I have officially (and finally) completed the first FO of 2008. No need to post a pic, they are another pair of Fetching mitts, this time in a lovely pale pink. I've now made 3 pair of these, one right after another. This last pair seemed to take forever but there hasn't been much time to work on them with the move and ensuing unpacking fun that we've been having over here.

We made it to Arizona!

2008-01-03T23:53:00.000-06:00

We arrived around 4:30pm on the 28th and actually got the truck completely unloaded. (which meant we were still unloading after dark but that's nothing new, we loaded in the dark too) Mom and Dad stayed with us over the weekend and helped move a few boxes and a bit of furniture around. Dad hurt his back pretty badly the weekend before so he was in pretty bad shape all weekend.

But just look at what Mom and I got finished! I've been looking forward to painting my laundry room teal ever since we were out here in October and I saw it in a model home that we walked through.
So far that is the only room that I've gotten painted, but I have the paint for the guest bedroom ready to go. We haven't decided on a color scheme for our living room or master bedroom yet so we aren't doing anything in those rooms right now. I think next up is going to be painting an accent wall in the kitchen.

Jason's Mom got us patio furniture as a house-warming present and we are starting to get that put together as well. Right now the patio is covered in empty boxes and the chairs that we've already got together. Every morning I sit and enjoy the silence of the neighborhood while I look at this.....

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T23:48:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, this will be my last post until we get into our new house. With any luck, we will have the office (and my computer) set up by next weekend but no promises.

I'll be picking up the U-Haul truck on Wednesday morning and we head out of town on Thursday. I hope Arizona is ready for us!

Very Funny Email

2007-12-23T17:29:00.000-06:00

I just got this and had to share it with all of you.....

Yesterday I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my dog
and was about to check out.

A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had? So since
I'm retired, with little to do, I told her that no I didn't have a dog, and
that I was starting the Purina Diet again. I explained that I probably
shouldn't be going back on this diet because I'd ended up in the hospital
last time, although I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive
care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it
works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry and that the food is nutritionally
complete so I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that
practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story).

Horrified , she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food
poisoned me. I told her no; that I had just stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish
Setter's ass and a car hit both of us.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack, he was
laughing so hard!

WAL-MART won't let me shop there anymore.

Isn't it Fetching...

2007-12-20T10:01:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Fetching
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Color: 300007

Admittedly this post is coming to you late since I finished these on Monday morning but I've been spending a lot of time this week with my neighbor doing some scrapbooking. Right after finishing these I headed across the street to see if Mary could help me make a Knitting Journal and that, of course, led to shopping (because you have to have all the proper materials) and we've spent the rest of the week scrapping. Until finally last night, I taught her to knit!

Welcome to the dark side Mary!

This is great...

2007-12-17T10:09:00.000-06:00

I just saw this at Mason-Dixon and had to share it with all of you.

Let the Countdown Begin!

2007-12-16T10:47:00.000-06:00

Jason and I are moving to Arizona in just 11 short days. That means that not only are we getting ready for Christmas - buying presents, knitting and beading - we are also packing.

Friday was my last day at work. I am/was a nanny to and adorable ray of sunshine, Tootie. She is almost 2 years old, walking or running everywhere, getting into everything, and just generally being a toddler. She is still learning to talk and 2 weeks ago said she loved me for the very first time and I cried myself to sleep knowing how much I'm going to miss her.

Yesterday I packed up my closet, shoes and all. Let me tell you, packing the clothes was really no big deal, most of it doesn't fit me anyway or still has the tags on it so unpacking is going to be like shopping! But packing up all my shoes was HARD to do! It was a bit like shoe shopping at first because I got to see so many of them that I didn't remember I had, but I didn't get to try them on. After that was done, I did what any other shoe addicted woman would do - I went right out and bought 2 more pair!! :)

I'm not sure what we are packing today, Jason has already started though. (hopefully I can hide so I won't have to anything but knit, I'm a better supervisor than packer) Don't get me wrong, I do my part, but packing overwhelms me and I kind of panic. Jason is really good at just making a list of what needs to be done by when and he can stick to it...so it kind of works out. I just pack up whatever he tells me or rather, he asks me what I'm keeping and then he packs it or I throw it out.

I am really excited about the move, it's going to be my first time as a homeowner. I'm already decorating it in my mind. I can't wait to get there and start really making it ours. Of course I'll post pics along the way so you can all make the journey from madness to "home" with me! But until that day comes...

we countdown!

Finally finished the first sock!

2007-12-15T10:21:00.000-06:00

Well it took a week longer than I had planned, but I kitchnered the toe last night and blocked sock #1.
Edit: This is not actually my first pair of socks ever, they are my 3rd (still not many). This is just the first of this pair.Hubby tried it on last night before I blocked it and it looked a tad big which has me a little concerned. I made the overall foot length 1/4" shorter than his foot hoping that it would make his sock fit better. I thought I did the same for the toe as well but seeing as I didn't atually measure that part, that may be longer than the 2" I was guessing. Doesn't matter, he likes them...now to see if he is actually going to wear them (when I finish the 2nd) somewhere other than around the house! I have a feeling he is getting 1 sock for Christmas because I'm just not sure I can finish the other one in time.

I've now moved on to a pair of Fetching mitts for my sister. I've never made mitts before and never done cables before so this ought to be fun. I'm using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I'll post pics when I actually have something to show, but for now I'm off to do my very first cable cast on.

Missed Goal

2007-12-11T09:12:00.001-06:00

Since there have been no pics, you can imagine I didn't meet my goal of having the first sock done by Sunday. It was actually kind of sad. I crawled into bed tired as could be but then couldn't sleep for that sock haunting me...so I got up and worked on it until 3am. On Sunday we went and decorated my mother's house for Christmas. When we got home, I pulled out the knitting and just couldn't do it, my hands hurt too much. (seems I was holding the dpns with a death grip the night before)

To make a long story short, I finally finished turning the heel last night and with luck I'll get a good portion of the foot done today. No more goals of finishing the sock today...I'm just not fast enough yet.

I'll post pics when it is finally done.

First WIP pic

2007-12-08T22:06:00.000-06:00

Just remember that I'm a relatively new knitter, I still haven't mastered knitting while doing anything else...except listening to the tv.
This is the beginning of a pair of socks for my husband. They are a very simple 2x2 rib. He generally prefers crew socks so the cuff doesn't need to be much longer than it already is, but I'm going for a more dress sock look. The yarn is Trekking in color #1603.

Wish me luck on finishing this first sock tomorrow!

Pay It Forward/ Random Acts of Kindness

2007-12-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

I have been participating in Sheri's RAK month and having so much fun. Last night while catching up on some blog reading, I noticed that Knitting Linguist is participating in the Pay It Forward Exchange and I just had to get in on it. She is not the first I've seen participating but I'd been on the fence as to whether or not I'm capable of joining in. (being such a new knitter and all) Well, last night I decided to just do it already...so why don't you come join me!

“It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I will now Pay It Forward to you THREE, I wonder who you will be?! Please, be a PIF! You will enjoy it just as much as we do!”

And, remember…you have 6 months to get your gifts done! Come on, you know you would love to be one of my angels. Then, one day, but you don’t know when….you will get a gift that I have made especially for YOU!

Please remember, you don’t have to knit or crochet to participate, anyone who can make a nice handmade gift is welcome to join.

I'm looking forward to seeing who will be my angels!

Now I'm off to do the nasty mundane things like pay bills and such before I can spend the rest of my day knitting.

Recent FOs

2007-12-06T19:10:00.001-06:00

I'm a couple of days late posting these but Tuesday ran away from me, I was having just too much fun doing nothing. Then yesterday when I got the camera out to take photos, the silly thing just died after snapping the pics. Seems I hadn't charged the battery since Thanksgiving...that'll happen.

Anyway, here are a couple of Loopy scarves I finished over the Thanksgiving weekend.

That is my precious Ellie, she is my baby. You'll see a lot of her as she is always nearby to protect me from anything and everything. :)

The scarves are all Trendsetter Yarns Segue. A pretty nice yarn to work with but I am kind of glad that I don't have to make any more just yet. These were a very quick knit even for a beginner like me, they only took a few hours each.

I also finished a shrug I was making for my sister for Christmas.
The blue is Lion Brand Wool-Ease with just a touch of a novelty yarn at the cuffs for color. This photo makes it look like the arms are different lengths but I promise that isn't the case, the whole thing was made in one piece and then sewn together to make the arm holes. BTW, that is me having such a bad hair day, I won't post the picture of the front.

Introduction

2007-12-03T18:02:00.000-06:00

I would like to take just a moment to introduce myself. I am very new to blogs in general, I've only been reading them for about a month or so. But I've been wanting to start my own almost from the beginning.

I am a relatively new knitter, I learned about 6 years ago but have only avidly been relearning for the past 2 years. I still consider myself very new but I am loving everything that I try.

Since I am starting this blog in the middle of holiday knitting season I will post a couple of my FOs and WIP tomorrow.