wastin' away in margaritaville....

Today, I am hung over. Amy and I were going to have a nice night all to ourselves. Eat dinner and take time to relax and really talk things over. Martha comes over at 10:00 and tells us that we are going to a party with her... We really didn't want to but we ended up going. I don't drink very often and can go from sober to drunken fool in about 2 drinks. To make a short story from a fuzzy memory....I remember having a semi decent margarita and then a mini shot of raspberry vodka...(That is where my drink memory ends except for knowing that at one point I was drinking really gross wine that everyone else loved...I don't like wine unless it tastes like fruit) I, fortunately, (or not depending on the situation) can remember everything I do when I drink. I know that I DID NOT make a total ass of my self and that I actually held kind of decent conversations. I have a major hang over this morning and I have to go to work at the new salon to help put stuff up but I am really glad that I went because we got to see a few people that we hadn't talked to in about a year.

Last night I worked on my sisters gloves and I have the first one done up to fingers. I haven't ever done gloves before so I am excited about that. Some of the ladies from my SNB group are meeting to get coffee and knit this afternoon....lucky dogs... I think that I will bring my knitting along and if I get out of there early enough I will swing by to see if they are there...

Following Brookes ten things list I will leave you with ten things I have been for halloween:
1) a pumpkin
2) Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
3) A cheerleader
4) A car hop girl
5) a gypsy
6) Mimi from Drew Carey
7) Cat
8) A fairy
9) A 50's girl
10) A bumble bee ( this was my first halloween costume when I was 6 weeks old)

Happy Knitting and Happy Halloween.

too tired to knit.

I am so tired today. I didn't sleep well last night. Amy and I try not to have drama and if we do we really try not to bring our friends in to it. Why then do some people thrive on drama? Rather than going into a drawn out post I will just say this... If a guy is 26 years old, he should be able to A) live on his own B) make his own money C) not have to check in with his mom D) not have to lie to his mom about his girlfriend and E) Not have his mom calling to our house at 1:00 am looking for him because he is out with his girlfriend. UGGGHHHH!

I got a nice little package in the mail today. It was my yarn from Washington. (see my pet peeve today)... I can't wait to finish up that 2nd skein I am working on. I also went to Joann's on my way home today from Gary's salon. I know I should support my LYS but sometimes it is just easier to go to a closer place. (especially if it is for a pompom maker and size 17 needles) A pompom maker you ask? What is she going to make a with a pompom maker? Well, I am glad that you asked. I was looking through a swedish knitting site and found a pattern for a scarf that I like. This screams novelty scarf. (And what would christmas be if I didn't give someone something that is absolutely unneccessary?) I can't really read the pattern but it gave me a general idea for a scarf... I will also post the pattern for this as soon as I get it done up! I think that I want to make it more pompom-ey I am just trying to figure out how to string them on... I will take any and all suggestions!

Happy Knitting!

Matthew bringing out the cuteness factor  

Matthew as a big boy!  

let's give em something to talk about...

So, last night Amy and I tried to talk things out. It didn't go so well. We are both really emotional people but we deal with it such extremely different ways. Amy keeps everything bottled up nice and neat and I just spew out my emotions all the time. How frustrating. So, all day long today I was thinking about what I am going to do next. I came home today and we talked a little bit more. We are going to give it one more try... I don't know how well this will work but I think that we both know that this is the last shot at making a go of it.

I thought that I would finally post pictures of Matthew as I seem to talk an awful lot about him. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago. Hard to believe he is only 17 month old, huh?

I haven't gotten much knitting done. When I was at the part time job I had some time to browse through a magazine and there was a cute little pattern for a knit hat. I copied it down but I changed it to better suit my needs. So, when I get it fully completed I will pass on my version of the pattern.

just a little thanks for those who emailed me about this thing with Amy. It is so nice to know that I have so many friends to lean on...

Still waiting for... yarn from Washington, Stitch N Bitch Book...

Happy Knitting.

table for one please...

Amy and I got in tiff last night. It all started out with a simple question of "where do you see yourself in 5 years". It when down hill from there. It looks like we aren't going to be staying together. I know that we haven't been our best lately but I didn't think that it would be ending. I told her that I would be the one to move out but I don't know when. I have to get settled in my job first and actually be making some kind of money. She was okay with that. So, I have been feeling like shit all morning long, I knew that this was coming. That it was only a matter of time, I just didn't think that it was going to be last night. I feel relieved and scared and lonely and happy all at the same time. I just hurt so much inside because I still love her. The one thing that really frustrates me through all of this is that we never actually tried to make it better. Every time we would get in an argument we would make up and then just patch it over. I wish that we could have seen a therapist but Amy thinks that therapists are only out there to take your money and not help solve problems. Don't know what more to say about it... I just feel really shitty.

I know that I said I wouldn't get my personal life involved in this blog but I don't think that this one counts. It was too big. I need to get my mind off of that so I will tell you about knitting. I have been working on my zigzag scarf. I pulled the second skein apart to find the matching area to start with the old ball and I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked and looked and looked for about an hour and I couldn't find a semi decent join. It was the same dye lot but it just didn't match up. I found out on a website that even though it is the same dye lot doesn't mean that it is the same colorways. It does a gentle fade into new colors and I guess that it is really long. So, this second skein I have is a lot of red and fuschia and purple colors and the other one was mostly blues greens and yellows. Great huh?

This is a boring post...

Not much new on the knitting front. I finished up a skein on my zigzag scarf. I haven't added the new one in yet. It was really late and I want to try to match up the color fadings the best that I can. I read Illana's post yesterday about the different dye lot. I had that happen to me too! I know that I wrote this before but if a pattern says that it will use x amount of yards than I shouldn't have to buy4 times the amount to make the project! How is it that I finished one project and then added two more in to my Christmas list? It is for people that really mean a lot to me so I can't complain...too much :)

I get to watch Matthew today. I love that little guy. I think that he is going to end up like my cousin "Baby Scotty". He was the first baby to be born in the family for about 8 years and so even though he is 17 people refer to him still as "Baby Scotty". Soon after that came my other cousins and my neice and nephew. But it had been 12 years since there was a little baby. So everyone refers to Matthew as "little baby Matthew". Poor kid... I can see the complex forming already!

There was some free time yesterday so I reknit a pair of booties to give to Angela's niece. I got to see a picture last night of her and she is soo cute. I better stop talking about babies because I just got over baby fever and that is a sensitive subject around my house!


Well, off to go pick up Matthew... Happy Knitting...

The start of my Zig Zag Scarf. Cool Huh?  

Luck be a lady tonight...

Sometimes luck is on your side and it just feels so dang good! Last night I started on my ZigZag scarf using the Mexican Wave yarn by Euro Yarns. The pattern said that it used 4 skeins of some other kind of yarn but I thought that it seemed like a lot of yarn. Well, I had two of the Mexican Wave and I cast on. Well, I got a little ways through and I realized that I definitely needed more yarn.

I thought maybe someone from my local snb would have it in their stash but I didn't want to deplete anyone's stash for my own personal gain, so... I thought what the heck I might find it online...I called a little knitting shop up in Washington. I asked her if she had any and she did. The ultra coool and freaky thing about it... She only had 2 skeins left of that brand in the store and it was the same color AND lot that I needed!!!!!! I must be on someones good side today!

I can't wait to work on my scarf some more but I have life to attend to.

Grandpa's finished hat! 

One done too many more to go...

I finished my Grandpa's hat. It looks really really good. I must say that I am impressed with myself. I did change the pattern a little bit and ended up with 9 stitches on it instead of 6 to seam up. You really can't tell. I am just so glad that it looks good. My last attempt at a hat turned out to be a future purse project. Amy said that the hat looked kind of girly. It is knit in brown how girly can that be?!?!? You can judge for yourself and let me know. (once again it is not the greatest pictures but you get the idea)

I cast on for the ZigZag scarf today. I was thinking of giving it to Amber but I think that it is a little too Limey for her. I will decide when it is done, though.

I also found the fall surprise on knitty.com today. In a strange coincidence I learned that my friend Marie found out that her mom has breast cancer. Marie is the kind of person that can find the humor in everything so I think that for Christmas I am going to make her the Boobie Scarf and maybe the Shedir for her mom.... I just have to find the right yarn...

Probably won't be posting tomorrow as I have too much junk going on but... we'll see.
Happy Knitting

GRRRRR.

So, this morning I was up rather early and decided to work on the baby sweater that I have to have done by tomorrow. That isn't gonna happen. 2 reasons... I waited to long to knit it up, and even after I ripped out the booties that I made to match it. I don't have enough yarn to finish it. I have a whole side of the sweater left to do and I know that if I go with a different dye lot it will be super obvious. KNOW WHAT? I think that I am just going to rip it all out and call it quits. I am going to tell Angela that I will get her something when I can... maybe I will work on a blanket for the baby... don't know yet. I was originally thinking that I could re knit the slippers that I had originally done but I don't think that yarn that has been knit up three times will be so great to work with. Maybe I can do like 2 or 3 pair of slippers.

I restarted Kim's scarf the other day. I am just knitting it flat. I kept casting on too many stitches when it was in the round. I also don't like using dpn's for that long. At least I have a lot of tv knitting to do. I will probably be finished with Grandpa's hat tonight. I think that it looks pretty good. * a question to all those who read this... any suggestions on how to block a knit cap?

I also convinced Sheyenne for a different capelet pattern than the one she wanted. This one is going to be a lot easier...

On the note of being frustrated I am going to get off topic of knitting for a moment. I have said before that I have a million pet peeves but I think that one that just happened is in the top ten things that really piss me off. I hate hate hate hate when someone calls you chit chats for a little bit and then is like "could you do XXXX for me?" OOOOHH that makes me so mad. I mean don't you think that I know that you aren't calling to talk with me about general life and are only wanting something that is beneficial to you and you alone? Yes, I will admit that I have done this before, but I will not ask for something before saying... I actually called for a reason.... I know that this is so stupid for me to get upset over but it really makes me mad...

Will probably write more about my knitting escapades later tonight... Happy Knitting.

GRRRRR.

So, this morning I was up rather early and decided to work on the baby sweater that I have to have done by tomorrow. That isn't gonna happen. 2 reasons... I waited to long to knit it up, and even after I ripped out the booties that I made to match it. I don't have enough yarn to finish it. I have a whole side of the sweater left to do and I know that if I go with a different dye lot it will be super obvious. KNOW WHAT? I think that I am just going to rip it all out and call it quits. I am going to tell Angela that I will get her something when I can... maybe I will work on a blanket for the baby... don't know yet. I was originally thinking that I could re knit the slippers that I had originally done but I don't think that yarn that has been knit up three times will be so great to work with. Maybe I can do like 2 or 3 pair of slippers.

I restarted Kim's scarf the other day. I am just knitting it flat. I kept casting on too many stitches when it was in the round. I also don't like using dpn's for that long. At least I have a lot of tv knitting to do. I will probably be finished with Grandpa's hat tonight. I think that it looks pretty good. * a question to all those who read this... any suggestions on how to block a knit cap?

I also convinced Sheyenne for a different capelet pattern than the one she wanted. This one is going to be a lot easier...

On the note of being frustrated I am going to get off topic of knitting for a moment. I have said before that I have a million pet peeves but I think that one that just happened is in the top ten things that really piss me off. I hate hate hate hate when someone calls you chit chats for a little bit and then is like "could you do XXXX for me?" OOOOHH that makes me so mad. I mean don't you think that I know that you aren't calling to talk with me about general life and are only wanting something that is beneficial to you and you alone? Yes, I will admit that I have done this before, but I will not ask for something before saying... I actually called for a reason.... I know that this is so stupid for me to get upset over but it really makes me mad...

Will probably write more about my knitting escapades later tonight... Happy Knitting.

Sometimes you just gotta...

How is it that there are times in your life when you feel like you are actually living it? I remember the first time that this happened to me. I was 17 and I was driving down McDowell Road in my 1970 VW bug. Her name was Heidi. It was spring and I just felt so alive and aware of my surroundings, nature and just life in general. I am feeling that way right now. Funny how 8 years later it is when I am sitting in front of a television and holding a knitted hat. I always wonder if this happpens because the person needs it to. I have just been plugging away in my own little pent up world for so long that I think that the forces around me decided I was to re-connect with the world.

I accomplished some really good things fortoday and I uncovered a few things that I really like about me. Some are silly little things but others go straight to my heart.

• I set a goal for myself to get up and to go work out this morning and I did it. I pushed myself out the door but I still went out.
• I remembered how nice the morning is when I am not rushing out the door
• My niece and nephews still hold one of the top spots in my heart
• My grandparent's, crotchety as the may be at any point in a visit with them, still see me for the most part as a grandCHILD and treat me as such... I found that it is quite endearing.
• I have the ability to clean a house within 20 minutes to make it decent for friend viewing
• I can make a damn good meal from scratch
• I can do the kitchener stitch

See, I had to get into knitting somehow!!!! Yep, I learned how to do the kitchener stitch today! I also learned the other day to make the provisional cast on. But I am more proud of the kitchener. I was working on my grandpa's hat and I came to the point where it had to be done. I was going to just do a three needle bind off but I told myself that I could do it and I did it!

On a smaller knitting front... I realized that I am getting really antsy about the new Stitch and Bitch book coming out. I had a dream last night that it came in the mail and that I was sent a DVD about the photo shoot for all the projects that were in the book. Unfortunately it was just a dream and I still haven't gotten the book, but... I did manage to dream up some really cute patterns. I drew them out awhile ago and they are kinda cute! I have this urge to email her and be like "WHERE IS MY FREAKIN' BOOK?!?!?!?" But I am going to be patient!

Happy Knitting...

When there is one problem there will be others...

I keep reading Brooke's Blog with her 100 things that people should know about her. It has gotten me thinking about who I am and what I stand for. It has also prompted me to make a list for myself. Probably won't share it but, it is nice to know that I have one going...

A friend from my SNB pondered about putting personal stuff on her knitting blog. I think that is perfectly acceptable. There are times when maybe it is on your mind and you want to know that someone is listening, but you just don't hav the voice to speak up about it. Totally understandable. I will let you all in on a little secret of mine... I have decided that I am going to run in a marathon this February. I don't know where this surge of interest came from but I am glad it did... I am going to get kind of personal here for a moment.... Those of you who know me know that I am overweight. Most people seem to think that I don't have any personal issues with my weight. Well, I do. I just am able to keep them very very very well hidden. They do at times pop up but it is usually around my closest of friends. I know where my weight issue comes from and I have just been to lazy to do something about it. I have been doing some reading up on things and I have decided that running is going to be the easiest thing for me to do. Yep it will start quite small but I will make it through this... I also figured that if I tell people what my plan is, it will be quite embarassing for me to not go through with my goal! I am going to post a link to running blog in a few days. You can read about more of my life there... On to knitting content now!

I have the cable almost done for my Grandpa's hat. It is only an 8 stitch repeat and is very easy to memorize. I love the brown that I picked for it. Last night I posted about the missing Fluted Banister sock. It has reappeared! Actually it was in my car the entire time. I carry a super huge purse and on Tuesday it had emptied out in the back of the Escape, I didn't notice at the time that my knitting fell out,and I chucked everything back in...well, long story short, while reaching underneath the passenger seat to look for the sock I had shoved it up into the open cavity of the seat.....I ripped out what I had done the other day as there isn't enough Koigu in that dye lot. I am using some purple Koigu to make the heels and toes. Illana had said that my Grandma is going to get some really nice socks... My Grandma is also going to get really expensive socks... I am looking at $32.00 for these socks...It's a good thing that I love her then! I also found 3 other problems in my knitting last night. 1) I messed up on the number of stitches I needed for Kim's gloves. I was just about to do the gusset for the thumb and realized that I never increased after making the cuff. So, that needs to be ripped out. 2) Kim's matching scarf was getting HUGE. I had used a 50 gram skein of yarn and only had 6 inches knit... That got ripped out! 3) I also realized that, NO, I don't have enough yarn to make a matching sweater and baby booties for Angela's niece! I read the label wrong on the yarn and I am about 100 yds short of what I need. The yarn is really old so I know that there isn't a dye lot for it anymore... Oh well, at least I have baby booties to give... or I could rip those out and knit them into the sweater... Don't know what to do about that yet... Well, it is past my bedtime and I am waking up early to start my running career. Happy Knitting.

I feel like I am out of my knitting world.

I took a part time temp job with Martha's dad the other day to help ease the load of some of the clients. He works in a two chair salon and the owner's husband passed away on Tuesday, so I am the shampoo girl for Friday and Saturday for the next two weeks. I really don't mind because it gives me some extra spending money. The only things that really bother all that much are that 1. I am giving up my last free Saturdays before I start working. (my work week will be tues thru sat) and 2. The clients are little Sun City ladies that only get their hair washed once a week at the salon. As soon as the water hits their hair you can smell every single thing that they have been doing over the last week. To get it clean you have to wash it at least 2 times. Most of the women I was washing 3 or 4 times. I won't go into any more detail, I will just say this... GROSS!

So, this working thing is really taking me away from my knitting. I don't know what to do about that. I have the back of the baby sweater done. I just need to do the front and the sleeves. I think that I will do that on Sunday. I have just been wanting mindless knitting. Or something that goes fast.

So, I have been working on Kim's gloves and scarf. The color is really pretty and I can't wait to see how they will turn out. I am doing the scarf on size 4 needles...(this is for you Jen... Why did I start the scarf on size 4 needles?!?!?!? Do I deserve this kind of torture?!?!) I got some brown yarn for my grandpa's hat the other night. I don't have the label with me but it is really nice. A superwash wool. (Illana....I broke down and started the cabling for the hat.....) I couldn't help myself. It was just sitting there calling my name out... I had to start it. I must say that I am glad that I did it looks really good! I am putting some pictures of it up. I haven't worked anymore on my Fluted Banister socks because the sock that I was working on is MIA. I have no idea where it is. It wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that the yarn was 10.75 for the skein and I have it on two brand new Addi Turbo's! Nice huh? So, I think that from now on I am going to place a "please contact if found" in all of my knitting bags I am now out like 35 bucks for that ONE sock!

Not too much more to say. I am just tired and grumpy lately because I have to get up at 6:30 in the morning and I don't like that at all. I have some how become a night person and it was suiting me just fine. Oh well, I guess that the real world had to come sooner or later. Although I wish it were later.

Although this isn't knitting related it is Arizona related and I will leave you all with this question to ponder: Do custard cream pies help fight against the Iraq war and those supporting our President?

Still knitting away.

I decided that I should put some booties with the cardigan I am knitting. I know that I will have enough of the yarn, so I put the sweater down to make the booties. A very quick knit. I got the pattern from Baby Booties from Leisure Arts. I had the book for a while but I haven't done anything with it. I think that they turned out rather adorable. Now, I just have to finish that sweater...

I was able to go to Cotton Field's Quilt and Knit yesterday. It is a cute little store. Brooke from our SNB group had said that it is definitely a quilting shop with knitting as a side item. I totally agree with this. They do carry Rowan, although I think that it is a little pricier than Jessica Knits. I got some yarn for my sisters gloves and scarf. It is a wool and nylon blend. It is called Eroica. I am going to work on the gloves tonight at our meet up as the sweater is just too crazy to work with when I don't want to pay attention.

So, I am starting a part time job tomorrow. My friends dad works in a salon out in Sun City and it is just him and another person in the salon. Well, her husband past away yesterday and he wanted to know if I could go out there and ease some of the work load. I would be doing color and shampooing mostly. With a little bit of styling. I am excited about being able to help out. As I was hanging up the phone with Gary he said "don't forget your license". I love being able to hear that. *here is where I get off of the knitting content

* I am the kind of person who can't commit to anything. I dropped out of college more than once and went from semi decent job to semi decent job. I was finally convinced by my sisters and by Amy that I needed to go back to school. I did and let me tell you, this was the hardest thing for me to accomplish. On the day I graduated I was really crying my eyes out, not because I would miss the place but because I had finally committed to and accomplished something. I know that it seems silly to get so worked up about something but I do. :)

Off to work on my sweater.

Chirstmas presents are on hold

two things have happened over the evening... I messed up royally on my Grandpa's hat. I don't know what I did wrong but it looks like junk. I am going to rip it out later tonight. I had done the math retquired to get the cables to travel up the whole hat but as I was doing my decreases my math was incorrect and everything went down from there. I also got a call from Angela (one of my friends from school who I never get to spend enough time with) and she was going to be cutting my hair tonight. Well, that was cancelled because her niece Bella was born this morning. I am so excited for her brother and sister. They are really nice people and they are such good parents. So, I am going yet another week with out a hair cut and with this mop of hair I really need one... I can't be all that upset, I mean it it a baby! So, on that now Christmas presents are now on hold until I can get the sweater done for Bella that I started when I was in school and Angela told me she was going to have a niece. This was like 6 months ago! I couldn't find the pattern that I started the sweater with so I ripped that out and I am going to finish the one in Weekend Knitting that I started a while back.

I am going to Cotton Fields Quilt and Knit shop today. I need to get the yarn for Kim's gloves and since I am going out to her house it is on the way. I just hope that they have a semi decent selection of yarn being that it is originally a quilt shop.

On the non knitting front: I am excited about wearing a sweater today. I was thinking that maybe I would wear a t-shirt and get to wear a scarf, but I think that would be a little too much. For some reason people seem to think that colder weather means scarves. I guess that I am taking advantage of the fact that I could actually put on a sweater or scarf and not die of a heat stroke!
I am getting nervous about starting my job. All these fears and worries keep popping up in my head and I wonder if I am ready to work on clients. I know that I am, I just keep having these doubts.
Well, off to finish that baby sweater.

Little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I have been working on random projects for the last few days. I hate that. I can never commit just one project. I really need to learn how to do that. I think that I like to start something right away is because I am afraid I will forget about wanting to do it if I just leave it.
I got the heel turned on my fluted banister sock (I think that I said that the other day, but there is a picture of it now.) I am not too happy with the way my scanner depicts things. It makes this sock look like a nasty orange and yellow blob. It actually is quite pretty in person. I have also been working on a secret project for Jessica's birthday. You know the old saying, make sure you have enough yarn before you start a project. Well, I have learned that with some patterns (as in the one that I am doing) you need to make sure you have at least 3 times what they are saying that you need. Well, I bought some yarn and realized that it wasn't enough, I then went back to the store and they were out of the dye lot. I grabbed two more skeins and figured what the heck. I haven't started on one of the skeins with the new dye lot. I am kind of nervous that I will have a big dividing line of the dye lots. Oh well, if that happens I can always rip it out.

I am trying to get in as much knitting as possible as I start work pretty soon and I think that I might not be interested in knitting for the next few weeks.

Grandma's socks aka Fluted Banister socks 

Grandpa's hat 

My grandpa's hat. Will work on a better picture of it.  

This is my grandpa's hat for Christmas. I wanted to make him something more than just a plain ol' hat so I added a 6 stitch cable with a single twist. Actually, there are 4 cables on it. I know that the picture isn't too great but you can only do so much with a scanner and a something on circular needles. Once the hat is complete I will be able to zoom in on it and show a better picture. The only thing that I am regretting on this hat is that it isn't made from better yarn. The yarn is a wool blend but my grandma's socks are going to be from Koigu, so it makes the hat look kinda crappy. (maybe this is just my opinion)

This is the beginning of my shrug. I saw one like it in a store but it was all cream. I was originally going to knit it with horizontally but vertically is working out better. I thought that I had done my math right but I didn't and I would have been able to wrap it around me twice, I am not a petite or skinny girl, so this thing was huge! It rather mindless knitting. I am just knitting it with a 2 inch strip of St St and then 2 inch strip of garter and repeating with 2x2 ribbing on each end, to make it hug a little.

The beginning of my shrug.3 strands of laceweight alpaca...soft and yummy. 

I got to work on my fluted banister socks last night and I turned the heel. I decided to try a new heel pattern and I think that I like it. Very simple and easy. It is called the German Strap Heel. I love that I don't have to count anymore when I turn heels, on most heels you can turn right before you reach the little space.

I have also decided that I have to knit up from my stash for Christmas presents. Pat is going to get a scarf made from Soysilk. It is just a plain garter stitch scarf on size 1o 1/2 needles then every 5th stitch I am going to be dropping it all the way down to give it a little more lacy effect. I am not too sure about the color way. I bought it a while ago and now that i look at it I wonder what made me buy it...I personally don't think that it is the prettiest but I am pretty sure that Pat will like the colors.

I also have some Brown Encore that I am going to make for a hat for my Grandpa. My grandma is getting the Fluted Banister socks. I wanted to make my Grandparents something more but, I don't know how many times presents that have been bought at Chirstmas have been at their yearly yard sale in May.

I have some arcylic yarn, I think that it is called Mexico that I want to use up, but I don't know what to make out of it or who to make it for. I am thinking about this pattern but for who...

I also got to work on my shrug...which all you poncho wearers out there is the new poncho. Also up next... the capelet... I think that I like these better than poncho's because they are more figure flattering and faster to knit. I will try to post a picture of my shrug sooner or later. I wanted to get a little more done on it. I have all day to knit and I can't wait...

Awwweeessoommee

We got to go to the Pink Floyd laser show last night. I am not really into that kind of music, but it was fun. Martha was able to snag free tickets from her work and asked us if we wanted to go and hey a free ticket is a free ticket! I discovered a few things when we were there last night. 1) I can totally zone out loud music if I want to. I was able to just close my eyes and think about knitting...Okay this zoning out may have been helped a little by the fact that I have been listening to Amy's band play every Sunday for the last 5 months. It was probably also helped by the cloud of pot smoke that was hovering above the stadium! Which brings me to discovery number 2) If people smoke pot at a concert, you would think that they would invest in some better stuff as it is going to be smelled by the masses. Not that I am some kind of weed expert, or even smoke it for that matter, but geez if those who don't smoke have to be smelling all night it should at least be somewhat decent!

Yesterday was actually kind of filled with stuff to do... we went to see Team America . This movie is not for a prude or upright citizen. This movie is rated R and for good reason...there were some parts in the movie that kind of took me off gaurd but it was really freakin' funny.
A small review: if you are a Toby Kieth fan...don't see the movie... If you think that actors in hollywood are doing a great deed by protesting the war in Iraq don't see this movie...If you love South Park and think that Trey Parker is a creative genius you will love this movie... Since I think none of these... I enjoyed the movie, but am glad I paid early bird price!

So, about knitting: I saw a cute little piece of knitting at Torrid. It was cream colored shrug done in garter stitch and stockinette stitch rows. I was looking at it and was like... I can sooo make that... I grabbed it off the rack and sat down while Martha tried clothes on and started counting and deciphering what I needed to do... It had 10 rows st st and 10 rows garter st. So last night I took my measurements, made a gauge swatch and cast on. I am using some baby alpaca that I had laying around from the pi shawl that just wasn't going to happen. I am using 3 strands held together that are all different colors. It looks pretty good. I have 4 rows done, but I am hoping to get more done this weekend.
I finished Liz's scarf yesterday and I got to work a little more on my Fluted Banister. I am almost ready to turn the heel! Yay.

FO and what's up next

I finished my Satchel last night. I wish that I had a digi to show it but only have the scanner and because it is just as big as the scanner ya gotta wait. I am not too sure how much I like it. It is kind of big and just lays there. I know that I need to put card board in the bottom to support it before I add the lining but I am not too sure about the sides. It also took me a while to find out what I wanted to do for the closures on it, but I decided to get some D-rings and I knit up some I-cord last night to hold it closed. I was going to try to explain the closure I decided to do but it just sounded weird no matter how I worded it. So, you will all just have to wait and see the finished product.

I ripped out Liz's scarf last night. I messed up on it horribly. (See Wednesday's Post) I was just going to leave it and then realized that I shouldn't because I hate it when people have obvious mistakes in their work and leave it. (more about that later) So, I after ripping it out, I planted myself in front of the T.V. watched Law & Order ( I am a total junky...I will switch back and forth between L&O SVU and regular L&O) and re knit the scarf. I have about 6 - 9 inches left to knit. I wanted to knit more but my pinkie started cramping. I have short tendons in my pinkies and they don't go straight or curve up very well so after knitting for a while my hands start to cramp.

I need to get yarn for my sister's gloves and I think that I am going to do a matching scarf for her too. So, I can go to Jessica Knits today or I can go to Cotton Field's quilt and knit tomorrow. I think that I will probably hold out for Cotton Field's as haven't been there before and I am going that way anyways for my niece's party. I still haven't decided what yarn I am going to get I just know that it will be hot pink.

I am also on a path to self improvement. I have read that if you write down things that bother you they will seem trivial and unimportant. There is a new link on my side bar that is all my pet peeves. Or as a dear friend says "My Petty Peeves". I am letting you know in advance... There is a whole lot of them.... Have a happy knitting day...

Here comes trouble...

I get to watch my nephew Matthew today. He is 16 months old but thinks that he is a 5 year old. He is such a good baby. I love watching him. I never have any problems with him. My sister did warn me that the last few days he hasn't been wanting to take naps....'cause he thinks he's a big boy.

I am just finishing up the seaming on my satchel. I worked a little more on it last night but the yarn is such a pain to get the needle in and out of. My goal is to finish it up by tonight. Last night a few of us from my SnB group went to the Lux coffee bar. It was okay. Brooke had said that you need to have something easy to work on when you are in there as the lighting isn't too great. I think she is right....Although, I was able to mess up on a garter stitch scarf...and I don't know anything that is easier than that...maybe I need to work more on my knitting than my talking. I think that if I go with knitting a purse for Jessica's present I will do this pattern. But probably not the lining on the inside and I think that I will do it out of the lionbrand Incredible or some other ribbon yarn. To make it a little more fancy....maybe with some silk lining. I can probably get that pretty cheap in the remanants bin and Joann's or somewhere.

So much for my knitting career

Well, I had planned to just spend the rest of my days lounging around the house and knitting my life away, but it looks like that isn't going to happen as I am re-entering the working world! I got the call today. She said I had really great references and was excited about me starting. The only thing is that the salon is closed for remodeling right now and it re-opens on November 1st.

So this means that I have to get my toosh in gear and get Christmas presents done. I just can't decide on what to knit Jessica or my Grandpa. So, I have started a poll for my grandpa and it will run until the end of next week. I don't have any patterns picked out so, if you see something that looks cool or is a surefire pattern just leave me a comment. I am also running a poll for Jessica's presnt. I need something quick and easy. Same goes here. It will run until the end of next week and if you have any suggestions then let me know in the comments section!

Speaking of Christmas presents. I finished the knitting on my Satchel and I have the front part seamed up. I am seaming the back up but the yarn is a tweedy like yarn and so it is hard to get my needle in there to seam. I have to kind of pull it apart to see between the stitches to seam. I hope to have it done being sewn up by tonight. I won't worry too much about the lining as my sister is going to have to help me with it 'cause I can't sew for crap.

I will let you all know more about my new job, just being lazy...

Interview for today postponed

I had a 2nd interview for today but it was postponed. She called me this morning and told me that a few things had come up and wasn't able to be in town for the rest of the week. Julie told me that she would call me sometime next week to reschedule. I am kind of disappointed but also relieved. I had so much stuff going on in the last few days that I haven't been able to even breathe!

Someone from our Snb group has a link on her site that has 100 things you should know about her. I am going to do a spin off on that at do 20 things I like about knitting... I always get asked "why do you knit" Well here are some of my answers

1. It relaxes me
2. How cool is it to know that you made something?
3. There is really cool yarn out there now
4. There is no limit on what you can make
5. Turning the heel on a sock
6. Do a shawl pattern that is based on pi...which leads me to...
7. Knowing that Mrs. Loy's high school math class was actually good for something!
8. Designing your own patterns
9. If it looks like crap you can just rip it out and still have workable materials
10. What would I blog about?
11. When I give a hand knit gift to someone, my hands have touched every single inch of it
12. With every stitch I am connecting with women and men of my ancestry
13. Entertainment value and I have something to show for my money
14. I like that I hate to purl and if I knit backwards I don't have to do it
15. The friends I have made
16. That eureka moment when you learn how to actually knit and it looks good
17. That people will stop and admire what you are doing
18. I have convinced my friends to let me knit when we go to a place like Denny's or 5 & Diner
19. When I talk about my "stash" I know that I talking about yarn...most others don't ;)
20. Knowing that some day I can pass on the craft to my future child!

satchel not finished and job interview

I didn't make my goal of having the knitting done on my satchel by the 10th. I have about 6 more inches left to knit! I am hoping to get it done by tomorrow. I wasn't able to do very much knitting today. I had to go to an interview and then had to go out to my sister's for a little bit.

The interview: I think that this is the salon that I want to go to. It is called The Ends and the owner is sooo nice. She said that she just has to check out my references but she offered me a tentative position. The commission would be 40-60. Me 40 Her 60. And that is about average. My interview was an hour and a half long! I hope that everything goes well with my references and my work history. I felt like such a tool though, because I didn't think that I would have to do an application so I left all my work adress and such at home. So, I had to call her back with the phone numbers but she was okay with that. She told me that she should have let me know that I would need to fill one out. I will talk more about it later.... OH another cool thing. We started talking about me knitting and she asked if I would teach her some day! She has the Stitch and Bitch book, yarn and needles, but just can't get the hang of it. Cool huh?!?!?

I am going to be taking some things off of my side bar for a while. Mostly to motivate me to get my Christmas knitting done. I feel like there is so much ahead of me and I won't be able to get it done in time. In the mean time, I am also waiting for the Stitch and Bitch nation to come out. It is released on Nov. 4th but we are supposed to be getting them earlier. That is frustrating!
Well, off to finish my satchel...

a day in the life of me...

Friday night;
I have a bedtime ritual of working on at least two crossword puzzles, on my stomach and then half way through the third one going to sleep. I was leaning up to turn off the bed side light when I realized it was wet on the side of the bed. The first thought that went through my mind was that Pepper Ann, my cat, had decided that she was mad at me and peed on the bed She has done this before on my towels and pants but never this far.... I then moved over a little more and nope she wasn't mad at me at all. My bed had started leaking. I have a water/regular bed. You know it looks like a regular bed but inside the case is a waterbed mattress with some kind of support foam thing inside. Well, I pulled the sheets off and soaked up all the water and then realized that the water plug had just come loose. I tossed the others in the washer and put new sheets on and dozed off....

Saturday:
My sister was supposed to come over at 11:00 so that we could go to the goodwill stores to find my nieces outfit for her 80's party. I was supposed to go to a chihuahua meet up at 10 am but because Kim was going to be here only an hour later I didn't go. Maggie is only 4 1/4 lbs so when she is around other dogs they seem to see her as a chew toy! Matthew my nephew thinks she is a cat. Anyways, Kim then calls me at 10 am and says that she is going to be here at noon! ARRGHHH. Why couldn't she call earlier? This is something that I shouldn't be upset at right? WRONG! My family was always late, wherever and whenever we had to be somewhere. It got so bad that people would tell us that things were an hour later than they really wher because my mom would sit and read and wait until the VERY last minute, scramble to get her clothes on and then drive like the wind to get somewhere...Okay this is my mom we are talking about... driving like the wind meant going 5 miles over the speed limit! Needless to say, I am a stickler about being on time. My sister Kim on the other hand has inherited my mothers sense of timing. Granted this is only with family but still it makes me mad!
Well she gets here and we go shopping...found my nieces outfit and off we go back to my apartment where her husband and Logan (my 13 year old nephew) are at with Amy. What was supposed to be a two hour stay at my place turns into a 8 hour stay.
Well, I go to bed later that night and then I get woken up around 3 in the morning.
Sunday:
I turn over and reach over to the side of my bed and it is wet again. Uggghhh, I think that I will just leave it be. The water hasn't hit me yet. I fall back asleep.
5 am:
I am now completely soaked in water! I change out of my pajamas and see the sleeping bags on the top shelf. I am wayyy to tired to deal with this.... I crawl inside the sleeping bag and I feel something down at the bottom. I rip it off of me and then open it up only to find that it is a stick thing from when Amy and I went camping... Back to sleep I go....

Christmas is coming and I gotta get faster.

I finished the second piece of my satchel and started on the third pice. I have about 2 inches done but I swear that this thing is never going to be finished. I can't to get finished with the knitting, because I love to seam things togther. I am pretty good at the mattress seam and like to do it. Not too shabby with the three needle bind off either. I got some yarn today for Amber's scarf but I am not too sure about it. I knit up a sample and I wasn't too impressed with it. maybe I will do more black and less fur. I have to knit up the scarves on bigger needles as I know that I won't have that much time to do it later on. Speaking of which....

I have two interviews for next week at two really awesome salons, so I guess it was a good thing that I passed on the other position. For one of the interviews we are meeting at Mama Java's, mmmmm.

Well, I am off to work on my satchel again. I am starting to really dislike this thing...

back to the hunt.

Well, I had some time to think it all over last night and I don't think that I am going to be taking the position at Cameleon. The two biggest draw backs are a) I have to shell out sooo much money for a haircolor. b) I am only being hired on a 30 day trial. What happens, if after 30 days I decide that I am not happy there. I am out 600 bucks in hair color and I am on the job search again. I found some salons online last night that I want to check out. There are a few that I definitely want to apply at.

I only have 11" done on my satchel back piece. This thing is taking FOREVER to knit. I am really going to try to have it done by the 10th of October but I am not sure if I can get it done that quickly. I know that I won't get the lining or seaming done but I at least want to have all the knitting done on it.

We went to lunch with one of Amy's co-workers yesterday and she is a crocheter. She was telling me that she made a blanket in about 3 days. Granted, she is on medical leave right now but, 3 DAYS?!??! I have to learn how to crochet!

Just a quick note: Thanks to all of you to have been so supportive of my interview process and cheering me on. It is greatly appreciated.

got called from the salon today.

I got a call a little bit ago from Becky, the manager at the salon where I had my interview. We talked about the hair that I did and then she offered me a position. The thing is, I am not sure if I am going to take it. As I was working on Martha's hair, I really thought that maybe I did have a lot more learning left to do and that I should be an assistant. I was told that if I accepted I would be on a 30 day trial to see how I fit with the other stylists and my clientele. I expected that. But there are a couple of things that I just can't seem to get past. The first one is that she told me that just coming right out of school left little to be desired and that when I wasn't taking clients I should watch Tiffany (the other girl that checked my work) to get some pointers and such, and help her out if needed ( basically, be a mini assistant). The other thing that I have an issue with, is that to get an Aveda color starter set it is going to cost $600.00! I know that if I really wanted to work at that salon I could use a different color set until I got more money together and use a cheaper color line but I am not sure if I want to hassle with that.
We talked a some more about what my hours would be and I could basically set my own hours, obviously working on Fridays and Saturdays but I could work days if I wanted which is nice. I asked her if I could have a few days to decide on it and that I would let her know by Friday afternoon. I am going to sleep on it tonight and then check and see what else is out there.

Getting felt up...

I tried my first attempt at making felted coasters last night. I used a little Corningware bowl for the circular pattern. I think that they turned out semi decent. Not good enough for me to send off as presents, but they are getting there.

I think that I need to make the following changes: 1) more roving. They are kind of flimsy. 2) I need to get a sushi mat to roll them. I used a flour sack towel and all it did was soak up the moisure which made it fuzzy. 3) I am going to throw these in the washer to see how that turns out. I already have them pretty well felted and I think that this will help them tighten up a little bit.

This way is definitely going to be the method I use for Christmas presents. I did both of this in about 10 minutes. I know that if I set a whole day off to make them, they would all be done! I am also including a new/ modified list for some christmas present for people that I didn't really think about but have to give to:

Pat: Soy silk scarf. (going to be knit of 15's so it will go faster)
Liz: Thick and chunky warm weather scarf (no pattern yet)
Amber: A green scarf... yarn with lots of foo foo.

Still trying to get my satchel done. I have 5" done on the back piece, only 16" left to do. Then 15" more for the front piece. I get to knit all day, so I am really excited!

My first attempt at felted coaster made from roving. I think I have more work to do.  

My interview and Christmas Ramblings

I had my interview earlier today. Martha's hair came out really great. There were a couple of things that I would do differently but it wouldn't have been anything a client would have noticed. Just the perfectionist in me.(How is it that this doesn't work with cleaning the house???) Anyways, the main person that interviewd me said that she really liked it and was at first a little unsure about how the coloring was going to turn out, but she said she was impressed. COOL HUH? The other girl that looked everything over wasn't so talkative. She was doing a little more detailed look into the highlights and how they blended and layed. All that she said was "It looks good". Becky told me that she needed to talk to the store owner and then would give me a call in a couple of days to let me know either way. So, now the wait begins.

Christmas Ramblings:

I have decided to go another route for my felted coasters. I think that this method is going to be a lot quicker. Too much to write down the method so see it here. I was doing some math and realized that I would have to knit up at least 40 coasters to be done in time. I really don't think that I can knit that fast. If I do it with felting then I can do at least 1 set a night, maybe more. I think that roving will be cheaper than buying all that yarn, too!
The thing is with Christmas is that I get so Martha Stewart. I become the present wrapping maniac. (I get that from my dad; he used to get out the yard stick and double sided tape and everything.) I love finding new and different ways to wrap presents every year. I will leave you with some tried and true Christmas ideas for those who already in the spirit. The first one is my favorite as it totally invokes the feeling of a Winter Wonderland and the second always gets the question of "How did you DO that?". Check out C and D on the page!

Blogger is making me mad...

I don't know if it is blogger's site or if it my computer (although,it is a relatively new computer with a lot of processing) but I can't seem to post anything and it takes forever for me to update my template.
I finished the gusset on the satchel last night. I am starting on the body of it. My goal is to get the knitting part of the satchel done by the 10th. Don't know if that will happen or not but I am really going to try. I am going to knit some leg warmers for my neice for her birthday party. She is going to be 12 and is going to have and 80's party. Her mom is super excited about it. My sister was my dressing maven when I was younger.
Most of my memories of my childhood are of my middle sister and I dressing up in Kim's clothes and then, of course, getting into trouble. My favorite memory of these times is when we got into Kim's white face makeup. My sister was one of the "MOD's" in high school. She used to wear fishnets, long john's, long skirts, and oversized tops. Think the Cure not Madonna. So, she used to have this white clown make-up, (I still remember that it was from an Avon Halloween kit!!!) that she would put on to make herself even paler. She is a redhead, how much lighter can you get? Well, one day my sister Amy, her friend Summer and I decided that we were going to play "China Dolls" and we slathered ourselves with the white face paint, made bed sheet Kimono's and then found some of my mom's 60's music to dance to. We had just gotten the dance down when Kim came home. We were so busted. I think that we were grounded for a month!
I have my interview today and I am getting nervous. I hope that Martha's hair turns out okay. It is a "practical" interview so I have to do a hair cut and a hightlight/weave on her.
I will post more about this later on.

knitting and knitting and knitting

I have been working on my satchel. Actually, the gusset and strap for the satchel. It has to be 95" long. I have about 56" done. This thing just never seems to end. It doesn't help that it is only 16 sts across, so I have to keep turning back and forth all the time.That seems to really take up a lot of time. The satchel is from the Holiday Issue 2004 for Family Circle Easy Knitting. I am going to be adding a seperate list for holiday knit presents. I think that they are going to be regular bars as I don't want to give away what they are! I did a little more work on my Fluted Banister socks. I really like this pattern. I think that the next time I knit this up again it is going to be on a solid or a nearly solid. I still have to get a poll up for Kim's glove yarn. I just need to find a site that has them all with the colors seperately. Off to find percent bars....

Made some waves

My making waves socks are done. These socks were a pain in the rear to make. I think that it had to do with A) The yarn I used kept splaying apart. Lang Bebe.... Blue Multi and B) I was using the Susan Bates Quicksilver and the points on them were a killer! I tend to push off with my index finger when I am doing a knit stitch and the needles just kept pushing in and pushing in.

I got to work a little more on my Flapper scarf today. I found out that the dye wasn't set in too well. I washed my hands and then picked it up and everywhere my hands were still wet they turned a nice shade of gray.Yummy!

I think that on Wednesday of next week I am going to take a tour of our yarn shops and really check them all out. I will post more about this later.

My finished "Making Waves" socks. (Click on the picture to see the cabling better.) I don't think that I will be doing these socks again. They were a pain!  

Amy's hat. With a few alteration's this will be my Poof Bag.  

My Fluted Banister socks. Once again the colors don't look nearly as nice as they really are.  

This doesn't really give the flapper scarf any justice. The beads are beautiful.  

New pictures and knit out

I had a ton of fun at our first knit out. There were a lot more people than I had expected to show up. I think that we should definitely do "First Friday's" again. Of course, I didn't get too much knitting done as I kept yapping on and on too much with friends.

I put up some new pictures. I wish that the color was better than it really it. I really like knitting the Fluted Banister socks. They are turning out much nicer than I had expected. I think that these are going to end up as a present for Amy's aunt Caren. But, who knows.
I have also come up with a couple of new ideas for Christmas presents for Amy's and my grandparents. I am going to knit them a set of felted placemats and coasters. I know that Amy's G and G will be a lot easier to pick the colors for as they live in Oklahoma and are totally into the southwest motif. ( This brings me to a rant...I hate hate hate Southwestern Motifs. Howling coyotes with bandanas? Yep, I definitely see that every day! Oh and Native American women with tribal garb holding a swaddled baby on their back?!?!?! It is sooooo stereotypical! aaarrggghhh!)
Anyways, back to the original topic. I figured that I could do that for the Grandparents and then for all my aunts and uncles I was thinking about doing a set of felted coasters for them. Not too sure what all their house designs are so I was going to play it safe and make them in Christmas colors. Less yarn to buy, too!
I have also been wanting this book for one stinkin' pattern. The Poof bag. Well, last night I knit Amy a hat and it turned out rather pumpkin like when it is sitting there. I think that I am going to knit this pattern on bigger needles with wool, add some yarn overs to thread an I-cord in it and voila, I have the pattern I wanted!
Well, I need to get some sleep.

Gone Knittin'

Well, I am moving my blog over here officially. I have learned that I can just copy and paste everything from my old blog and change the date to the time I originally wrote it. It will take a little while but I am so excited to be able to have pics up. The only thing that I am not too crazy about is that I have to learn some basic html. Maybe someone wants to give me some pointers???

I finished my poncho this morning. I re did the seams and I decided that the beads on the bottom just wouldn't cut it. I just have to dye it but can't decide what color. I am thinking a forest green but will decide later.

Today is the knit out for Phoenix and I can't wait to go. I had some housework to take care of this morning, and Amy has to be at work at 12:30 so I won't be there until 1:00.

I was able to start and finish Amy's hat last night. She had been asking me to knit her a hat for about a year now but I was just lazy about getting it done. This means that I can work on whatever I want at the knit out today! I told Amy that I would knit her hat today but since that is out of the way I have smooth knitting ahead. (now to decide what to bring with me)

I will write more later today after the knit out. Hope to see some of you there.