Hollywood or bust..

Amy and I decided to have a fun new years eve this year, and we are spending it with a friend in Anaheim and then going to Hollywood for the evening. Last year we spent the night with me sleeping as I was sick as a dog!

I finished all my Christmas knitting it done last night. I used to love Noro Kureyon, and love knitting hats... but as of now... I am despising both!!! 7 hats in 8 days... ughhhh. No more hats... and right now... no more Noro... I thought I would never say that!

Oh.... my favorite Christmas gift I got of all... a ball winder... I also got a $25 joann's gift certificate... so if I plan correctly... with the coupons that i get from them... I can get a swift for $25 instead of the normal $70 price! YES!

I will post more later.... I am off to Chinatown... Maybe I can get some wonderful little trinkets....


Happy Knitting!

Wishing you the merriest...

I just want to send a quick message out to my dear readers - Have a very Merry Christmas! I know it is kinda late but the sentiment is still the same. May God (or what ever higher power you believe in) bless you. Have a wonderful day tomorrow !

Happy Knitting !

I didn't get asked by my secret pal - but don't want to face the wrath of the yarn yenta ;)

Here are mine -

1)oddest present - I think that would be a decoupage vase that has my name decoupaged all over it.

2) oddest present asked for - While not really odd - just not traditional - I have asked for a food processor, a food slicer and of course a ball winder and swift

3) oddest ever given - That goes this week - I am giving my girlfriend a hubcap - she bought a new car in July and then at the end of August someone crunched the front end of her in a parking lot and stole the hubcap. She has been continually saying for months now that she has to go and get a new hubcap (the insurance didn't cover that in the repair) So I am sick of hearing about it.... and ordered her a new one !

4)worst present - That would be from my cousin Debra - she gave me the south beach diet book one year and then the next year gave me a "how to find a man " book -- Mind you the extended family doesn't know that i have a girlfriend - *That is another story in itself!

Have a merry Christmas I will post of Christmas morning - if I remember to! Have a happy happy happy one !

Computer on the fritz...

Our computer went down the other week. I should have posted from work - but I didn't want to take a chance with it. I have been knitting my hands off - I have about 3 presents left to do - so hopefully I can get them all done! I will have pictures to post when I am done with it all.

Yesterday my sisters and I spent the afternoon baking - we made over 2000 cookies - those are all going to be delivered in the next few days. I have a few to send to my secret pal! I am sending her a Christmas theme package tomorrow and i hope that she likes it! Got lots of little goodies in there.


Happy knitting

I joined a gym this week. No real news to tell on that. I just had to do it. I was tired of looking at my fat butt getting fatter. These last few weeks for me has been a kind of rebirth. I had been letting myself go for a while, both mentally and physically. I got the mental part under control (or at least it is getting there) and now it is time for the physical part of me to get back under control. The surprising thing about this is that I had thought I would be quite sore after my first work out yesterday morning, but I was more tired from holding my nephew than spending an hour at the gym!

I am still knitting wash cloths. Nothing exciting about that. Sorry friends of the blog. Oh, I did finish a scarf the other day. It is really pretty. Didn't take me too long - It was knit on size 19's. Nothin' like instant gratification for me!


More later. Off to the gym and the grocery store. Have a good one! :)

Maggie ( my little pup) had 6 teeth pulled this morning. She is on a lot of pain meds right now. Although, the teeth were barely held in. Actually, they popped right out. YUCKKKKK! That is the one cool thing about having a vet in the family. I got to watch my sis do surgery on my dog. Not something that most people would want to see, but hey, it was pretty interesting to see.

I had a doctors appt this morning too... I had the day off of work, I just don't ever have the urge to go back in and work after a well woman exam.


I am knitting wash cloths right now. NO big Christmas knitting. Just a few for friends here and there.

Every year on my dad's side of the family (for as long as I can remember) we have celebrated Christmas together on Christmas Eve with tamales and ham rolls and pie and a millon other good things to eat. Then we opened presents and have a grand ol time. Well, this year we are changing things up a little bit. We are doing Christmas Eve on the 23rd this year and have decided NO PRESENTS. To be honest.. it is a heck of a lot cheaper this way. And i get to spend Christmas eve with Amy this year. I always felt bad about going with out her. (That is another story for another post). But this year I think we are going to sit and enjoy the light of the Christmas tree and have a quite night alone. Then run around like Crazy chickens on Christmas day... We always do! :)

I got a lot of what I was looking for on Black Friday. There were a few things I couldn't get my hands on, but oh well, such is life right?

More later


Happy Knitting

two weeks?

Okay it really doesn't seem like it has been almost two weeks since my last post! Work has been crazy and after sitting in front of a computer for about 9 hours a day the last thing I want to do is to sit in front of this one at home.

Knitting for me is going well. I am working on a few little things for Christmas. Nothing big to undertake. I am excited about being able to go to the Fiber Factory again. I haven't been there in a while.. money has been to tight... and it is best to avoid all temptations!

My sister's and I are going to do Day-After Thanksgiving shopping again this year. Last year was awesome. We hit the three big stores last year seperately at 6:00 am. I was chosen to go to Wal-mart to get a power wheels for my sister. I was in and out of there by 6:20. Then back to Best Buy to pick up my older sister and off we went to Circuit city to meet my middle sister. She was out of there by 6:45...(would have been earlier had the sales person in the stereo area told her that she needed to pay for the sirius units. So, by 12:00 we had hit 14 different stores... It was amazing...
The best part of it all is on Thanksgiving... when we eating pie and looking through the ads. We then cut the ads up and make pages of all the stores we need to hit to. Then we cut apart the ads and paste them into little "purchase books" . When we get all the pages pasted up we decide on priorities and decide which three big ones we need to go to first and where we will meet up at.. no big bulky ads to carry around, no forgetting what we want to buy!


Well, that is about it for know! Happy Knitting!

1. FIRST NAME? Rebecca
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? A girl in my sister's third grade class
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? today at the doctors office.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? On a good day. I get lazy though.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Chicken Salad
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would try to be but I would never call myself back.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I blog. I used to journal all the time, but I got lazy about it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Never
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? It depends on the mood I am in. I love gold old fashioned corn flakes though!
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not muscle strong. I used to be though. I am strong willed though.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Butter Pecan and Pecan Praline
14. SHOE SIZE? 10. My mom used to say " They put a better foundation on a church than they do an outhouse!".
5. RED OR PINK? I can go for both.. Hot pink though.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My lack of motivation.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom and dad
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I stole it so... who ever wants to answer it can go ahead
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Barefoot. Grey yoga pants and a black tank top.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? 3 tamales.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A jet flying by.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? burnt umber... Don't know why
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Mexican cooking vanilla.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Crystal and I texted Amy to come home soon. I miss her.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their shoulders
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Of course, she used to be my secret pal.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Homemade hot cocoa
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Cheerleading.
29. EYE COLOR? Blue.
30. HAT SIZE? 7
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? When I am not working. My eyes get too dry from staring at the computer.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Cheese Enchiladas.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?I don't watch scary movies. But I roll my eyes at cheesy endings.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter of course... that is... if you would call what we have here a winter.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs. I like kisses but hugs make me feel secure.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pecan Pie.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don't know!
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I really don't know about this.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? no books right now. No patience for them. I did read a few pages in That's a fact Jack at the bookstore.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? Don't have a mouse pad. The mouse works better on the hard desk.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? 3 episodes of the simpson's, The Family Guy and American Dad.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Matt and Logan and Sheyenne Laughing. Amy laughing! my mom's old answering machine. It was sung to the song : 10 Little Indian's
One little, two little, three little Dewey's
Been Outside in the Cow pooies
Can't come in cause we're cleaning our shoe-ies.
Please leave your name and number...
And Kim Jones, tooooooo....
WE can't come to the phone right now,
so please leave your name number and detailed message
And we'll get back to you as soon as we can
Thank's for your call.
Bye...
( It was this horribly long message and we would get messages all the time that were just laughter... or we would answer the phone and it would be some stranger saying... they wanted us to not answer cause they were trying to have their friend listen to the message....or we would have messages saying " Oh my gosh what number did I just call. Dang it I can't remember, that was hilarious!".
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Too old for me. I would say the beatles though.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? South Carolina
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I can remember where I got all my yarn and how much I paid for it.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Phoenix, Arizona
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? stolen from www.askatknits.blogspot.com


Happy Knittin!

Sorry secret pal. I know I have been lousy about posting. I have been drained at work. I know that is a sorry excuse but it is the only one I have. After sitting in front of a computer, the last thing I want to do is to come home and sit in front of a computer. I will make a better effort and posting in the month of November.

I worked at the salon this weekend. I am dead tired from that. It is getting to the point where I don't like doing it anymore. If it wasn't for those few clients that I love with all my heart I wouldn't do it anymore.


I am working on a baby blanket for a friend of mine that is pregnant. It is done out of crochet squares. I think it is coming along nicely. I have some socks on the needles but I haven't really touched those lately. Too tired.

I am excited about going to the doctors office on the 5th. Nothing makes you appreciate a doctor more than not having health insurance for a year and a half! I figured it is my 27th year tune up... when I called in, the nurse asked what I needed done, my list was about 20 miles long of what needed to be done.

Well, I guess that is about it for today. Have a good weekend. Happy Knitting

I have had a crazy week. Work is going well. I have been having good days and bad days. Not much else to really talk about for that. Amy is going camping this weekend with my brother in law and my other brother in law is taking my nephews camping on the other side of the state. So, this weekend we are going to have a girls weekend.

I am going to hit Ikea and look at the junk. Not that I need anything from there, but hey I will always find something that I can't live with out.

I am working on socks right now. I am using the Lime and Violet colorway (see post below) and I really like how it is turning out.


This post is a short one cause I gotta get to bed. I went home sick on Monday and I have to make up my hours through flex time...so, waking up at 5:30 is not my idea of fun!

Happy Knitting

This that and not much else...

LIfe has been quite mundane for me these last few weeks. I haven't been able to find anyhting that I want to knit... I have tons of yarn, but no inspiration. All the patterns online I have seen a thousand times. I can't find anything motivating in my books and nothing in the magazines suit me.


I want to look at something and be inspired...and lately... nothin'....

Ah well that is life...

I am heading off to go clothes shopping. They sent down a memo for a new dress code last week and then gently reminded us that on friday that the dress code will be enforced on monday... Nice for them to do that on Pay day huh??? hmmmmm.


Off to shop
happy knitting

Secret Pal 9 questions

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

- - - I have lots of "favorite" yarns. It really depends on my mood though. Right now my favorites are handpainted...any weight any brand. I am really an open book for this part. I like to try new things. I am willing to pick up a skein just because I haven't used it before.There are very few yarns that I really dislike... I can find a project for any yarn.

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

- - - I have a needle case and a plastic bin for my circulars... but the real answer is that I store my needles in unfinished projects or on the guest bed/knitting pile!

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

- - - I have been knitting since I was bout 15. But realy got back into about 6 years ago. I am 27 now. I would consider myself to be an intermediate/advanced knitter... I can do it the complicated stuff... it is just the motivation to finish it. Bonus points for you pal if you can find my pattern in a book that is out! (By all means it is not complicated at all....just a fun little thing to do!)

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

- - - nope, unless you consider the ENTIRE patternworks catalog!

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
- - - like lots of smells, just no patchouli or lavender

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

- - - milk chocolate... I am kind of a chocolate snob... after working in a chocolate store for a while, you become quite the snooty one regarding chocolates.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
- - - I have a spinning wheel. I like to spin. Am I good at it, no, but I still like to do it. I like to sew some things.. I can embroider... but knitting is my passion.

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 just about everything. I like all types of music except for
R & B.... ugggghhh. I prefer harder alternative, though...underground punk... but I listen to country, and bluegrass, and classical. and rap...if it has a good bass to I will listen to it.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
- - - I jump around on my colors. Right now i am in a blue phase, but i can see that ending soon. I like warmer colors... more jewel tones than anything. I like pastels, but not my favorites... again I tend to go more toward jewel tones.

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

- - - I have a partner for 8 years. Her name is Amy. I have two cats (a sister and , brother... Pepper Ann and Moose) and a chihuahua (Maggie who is a true size chihuahua at a whopping 4.25 pounds) She is dang cute too! Not like most chihuahuas that people see! I promise!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
- - - I love scarves and mittens... although living in arizona I can't wear them that often... but oh. if it is 62 degrees out side you better believe I got a scarf on! Hats and ponchos... I look a little ridiculous in... So I don't bother...

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

-- Socks, I am really into lace right now. I am also fascinated with cables but don't really do them much.

13. What are you knitting right now?
- - - I am working on a pair of socks for socktoberfest and getting ready to start some Christmas knitting.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

- - - YESSSS!!!!!

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

dpns, or circs... bambo or Brittany needles. I really love the softness of them!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
- - GOD I WISH!!!!


17. How old is your oldest UFO?

5 years?????


18. What is your favorite holiday?

- - - Christmas and fourth of July and of course my birthday... which sometimes coincides with Grandparent's day

19. Is there anything that you collect?
- - - does yarn count as a collection? we kind have a thing for the simpson's and I love Choco-cat

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
- - - no books that I have, have have to have... no subscriptions. I pick up interweave all the time, though

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I have really really really been wanting to get my hands on some fairisle. Real life fairisle, but either the budget is too tight or I can't find a pattern that i want to do at that time or no one to wear a pattern that would fit.


22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am a sock knitter. I have two pair going right now. A plain one and a nice lacy rib pattern

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 09-10

Secret Pal if you want to know any more about me, just give me a line and I'll definitely answer the q's!


Happy Knitting

soaking in a warm bath

I would like that to be me right now. I am sore from being on my feet all day.. It is interesting how quickly you can adjust to sitting on the arse all day. But nope... I am sitting here typing... what is soaking you ask!?!?!?!?!?!?


Well it is my lovely Charlotte's Lace Shawl. I finished it this evening. The ends are woven in, and its sitting in a nice tub of warm water and waiting to be blocked. I am heading camping this weekend, so I might bring it along with me for some extra warmth.


I am having some problems deciding on a sock pattern. My heart wants me to work a pair of broadripples. They are my favorite sock, another part wants me to work some lovely lace socks and the other part of me just doesn't care right now. That is my focus this month. I am working on socks...


Well, socks and scarves. I am getting some Christmas scarves whipped up for a few of my friends. It's funny you know, there are people in my life where the only knitting I would do for them is quick and painless project. Then there are the other people who I would knit my death for... Interesting, huh?


Well, I think bath time is over.. I will get a picture of my shawl up as soon as I can.


Happy Knitting

yarn, yarn and more yarn and a book

Things that I love:


1) socks.... wearing them, pairing them, knitting them. So I jumped on the band wagon and threw myself atop a few projects containing socks... the first one:

Socktoberfest...



  



I have fallen in love with my nano... we have had this talk before right... well, in the course of it all I have become smitten with these two lovely ladies...

LIME AND VIOLET....

and have joined the Lime and violet knitalong...

you just have to pick up this skein of yarn







And just for giggles... I picked up this fab skein






The color is called milk and honey.. Doesn't it look delicious?

Here are two color ways that I am coveting...

the first one is just because it is so bright and peppy... how could you not love it?







It is called Earth Birth... a fitting name I think...


And here is my favorite... and if I hadn't placed my order before I saw it I would have picked this one up, too... but it will have to wait..








The colorway is Wild Things... It reminds me of the book "Where the Wild Things Are"
by Maurice Sendak.







I know this book by heart... not that it is a hard read or anything but when my now 15 year old nephew was little we would have to read this book to him all the time.. I think we went through like 6 copies of the book. I just know that we had to read it at least three times every night before he went to bed.

Matt, my youngest nephew loves this book too! He is three and we are on the second copy of this book.

Well, I think that about filled it up for the evening... tomorrow.. I will give you the rating of the movie Jackasss 2, and tell you about the spinning wheel working again!


Happy Knitting. :)


60% angora, 20% Merino, 20% Nylon Hand Dyed

color and colinette

I had to do it... I couldn't wait... I broke down and ended up coloring my own hair. I was sitting at work today and I realized that I hadn't had my hair colored since the beginning of May! This is an embarassment for a hairstylist. I had new growth of about 3 inches long... hideous! I couldn't foresee a time when I could get into the salon with one of the girls, so I just picked up the stuff from the beauty supply house and colored it myself. I just have to get my highlights done again, now... but ahh such is life...


I had a horrible day today. So, what is the best thing to do when life is crapola... buy yarn... I picked up some Colinette Parisienne. It is lovely.. not as lovely as my Kidsilk Haze... but it will do in a pinch :p



I am heading out tomorrow night to watch my niece's football game that she is cheering at. She asked me the other day if I wanted to and how could I pass down the opportunity to watch a Freshman Football Game???


Off to bed.. it was a long night.

interviews..

I have an interview set for Wednesday for another job. I said a little bit the other day that I was having job issues. I was truly excited about going to work for this company, but the completely misled me on what the job was and what I am doing.

When I was hired on I was told that I would be doing medical billing and in reality, I am a bill collector. What is the difference? In standard medical billing, I would be billing insurance companies and dealing with explanations of benefits and stuff like that. In bill collecting, I talk mostly to private payors who owe on their bill because of deductibles, co-pays, etc etc etc and try to collect money. So... There is a big difference... If I had wanted to be a bill collector, I would go to work at the phone co. again.


I am getting this feeling that I will never get my Charlotte's web shawl done. Every time I get into it, I end up having to back track a few rows to correct a mistake. I don't know why this pattern is getting to me so badly. Actually, it is one row that is killing me every time... AAARRRGGGHHH. I don't know what I can do to make this row better for me. Ugh. I will be really happy with it when I am done, I loved the colorways that I used and I know that this pattern is teaching me patience.




It looks like that is about it for now.

Happy Knitting.

web master

I am on my last two color ways with the Charlotte's Web Shawl. I am hoping to have it done by this weekend. It's all crunched up on a circular needle so I don't really know the true size of the thing.


I am having some job issues right now... I was a little misled when I was told what my position was and now what I am actually doing. But on the positive front, I have been playing phone tag with a woman from another job. So, we will see where that takes me.


Such is life... :)


Happy Knitting.

Lala Land

I finished my Lala scarf last night. I will get a pic up of it as soon as I can. It was a really quick and easy knit. The picot/loop edge was a little time consuming but pretty none the less. It definitely adds that touch that it needs. I am ready to cast on for another one today. I love this scaf... I am thinking about making it a little bit bigger, but I wanted to make it as the pattern was written before I started my own alterations to the pattern.

I am kitten sitting today. My sister spayed a cat the other day that was about 4 days away from giving birth and the owner didn't want to wait and didn't want the kittens. My sister wasn't go to just let them die. I love my sister for being like that. She has known that she wanted to be a vet since she was about 8 years old and she is living her dream.

These little kittens are so dang cute and tiny. There are only two of them that have made it through out of 5. But these little guys are piggy pigs. I will have Amy take a picture of them tomorrow when she is sitting for them.


happy knitting.

Great things that happened on September 10th!

Thought I would share with you some great things... big and small that happened on September the 10th...


General Interest
1981 : GUERNICA RETURNED TO SPAIN:
1608 : Smith to lead Jamestown
1813 : The Battle of Lake Erie
1977 : The guillotine falls silent

American Revolution
1776 : Nathan Hale volunteers to spy behind British lines

Automotive
1897 : First DWI arrest is made
1921 : Ayus Autobahn opens



1942 : FDR mandates gas rationing

Civil War
1861 : Engagement at Carnifex Ferry

Cold War
1989 : Hungary allows East Germans refugees to leave

Crime
1977 : Serial-killing couple meets

Disaster
1976 : Jets collide over Zagreb

Entertainment
1933 : Jimmy Durante's radio show debuts
1993 : X-Files premieres
1993 : Final episode of Late Night with David Letterman

Literary
1941 : Stephen Jay Gould is born

Old West
1881 : Tensions grow in Tombstone, Arizona, after a stage coach robbery

Presidential
1833 : Andrew Jackson shuts down Second Bank of the U.S.

Vietnam War
1963 : President Kennedy gets mixed signals
1964 : President Johnson sends signal to both North and South Vietnamese

Wall Street
1833 : Battle over the Bank
1984 : Mondale falls short
1992 : Tax cut proposal falls short

World War I
1919 : New York City parade honors U.S. soldiers from World War I

World War II
1940 : British War Cabinet reacts to the Blitz in kind


Phoenix, Arizona
1979 : Rebecca Lynne Dewey was born

goodbye summer...

My summer break is now over... I am back to the world of the employed!!!!!!!! yay!

I start on Tuesday and I can't wait. I get tons of benefits and lots of other good things about the job. The best part about it... I didn't even have to settle for what I was asking for pay. I told them and they said okay. That it was in their range. Whew.


I am off to try to work on my Lala Scarft. Kat had suggested the idea that we start a knitalong, soooo... it was officially started this morning...


www.lalaknitalong.blogspot.com

Tell your friends. I will try to get something posted on their this afternoon for it.
I am not really all that good with blog stuff, so I may have my nephew help me out a little bit with it. :)


Happy Knitting.

oh la la

After reading kat's post here about socks from the Knit Cafe book, I decided to check it out...


Well, thanks to my lovely stash of some Rowan Kidsilk Haze in these fab colors...




















I am going to turn it into this lovely little shawl/wrap.








I am in love with Kidsilk and have been trying and trying to find some patterns to work it in, but nothing really seems to work for it for me!


I had a couple of interviews today, so we will see how that goes. I had a really good first interview and an okay second interview. Two different companies. Both good options avail for me, so we shall see how it goes.





Happy Knitting!

The most wonderful time of the year?!?!

It's that time again... Christmas knitting.... I always say that I won't do it, but here I am ready to go again.

I was once asked if we give at Christmas time because we feel that it is the right thing to do? That we are in the giving season. But I think for most knitters the giving season is year round. I mean, how many socks, hats, scarves, gloves, purses, can you knit for yourself without A) feeling slightly selfish and B) looking kinda like a weirdo because you are decked out in a knitted ensemble. Hmmm.


I told Amy that I wasn't going to Christmas Knit. I made her promise not to let me do it, but here I am going behind her back and doing it anyways.... I guess that there could be worse things to do!


Here is my list:

Amy
Kim
Lindsay
Martha
Crystal
Amber
Austin
Matthew
Sheyenne
Pat
Liz
Nikki
Amy's Grandparents
My Grandparents
Michelle
Jenn

I don't think that this is too shabby of a list.... I am going to stick to pretty much easy stuff. I am kinda in a scarf mood lately. Leave it to me to be a few seasons behind right?


I have found a few patterns that I want to try out and I figured that this was as good of time as any!

Happy knitting.

a quiz

So, what is the best thing to do, when you have a limited income because one of the two in the relationship is currently jobless?

A) scrimp and save and buy all of your groceries at the 99 cent store
B) decide to claim yourself as non profit and stop paying taxes on anything
C) sell all of your earthly goods, because you see it as a sign to go granola
D) buy an new couch set


If you answered D then you are correct. It was kind of a whim, kind of a planned thing, but either way, we got a smokin deal on it. We got it at Biglots. They carry the Ashley furniture from last season, and because I am not a slave to the sofa fashion world, we got a smokin' deal. For the fab price of $755.00, we got a couch, loveseat and ottoman! Sweet huh?


Knitting is going well, I have gotten quite far on my Charlotte's lace shawl! I will have to get a pic of that up when I can!

Happy Knitting!

I'm walking in a spider web...

Okay, I was on row 90 something of my Charlotte's Web Shawl and found that I had made massive mistakes. So, being the person that I am I ripped it out from beginning. Why? Well, I had this one colorway that had this horrible pinky salmony color in it. Horrible! So, after getting two new balls fo koigu I started again. Only here I am, once again back tracking my knitting to figure out where I made my newest mistake at. ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH! But, I think it is only two rows back and that isn't too bad. I really think that I am going to try out running a "saver thread" through after each color section.


I wasd also gifted a ball of yarn today called margarita. Not my colors of true choice, but seeing how i am not one to turn down free yarn I snatched it up. I know a lovely little 5 year old that will think the colors are fabulous.


Off to try to get my scarf corrected. Don't feel to much like telling of the job hunt, to lame to talk about it today... :)


Happy Knitting!

Crapotis

I had one of those throw it to the ground I am done with knitting moments the other day. I was not able to get the jaywalker socks right. I was always having one extra stitch, then I would have to go back and couldn't figure out where the heck the problem was.

My CRAP-otis is sitting in my knitting bag, because some how i ended up with more stithces and rows that I needed for a drop stitch, which, by the way, I've dropped 8 rows of that so far. I have yet to have the patience to take that back, I mean how do you pick up dropped stitches that are all they way down. Do I even dare to try that?


I also was covered in webds the other day, from this lovely little number I some how added an extra stitch once again. So, I was half way unknitting my rows of mistakes and after dropping stitch after stitch after stitch, I said screw it and threw it on the ground mid row. It is still there this morning. I know that i need to go pick it up but dang it... i am just too proud right now.

Laundry is on my list of things to do today. I thought that not having a job would me be more motivating for me to clean the apartment, but nope, I am perfectly content to sit on the couch and watch the t.v.

On the job front, a guy from the staffing agency and I are playing phone tag. He has said that he has a couple of things for me, so we will see how that goes.
I also got a call from my old boss at Western. He had told me of a position open for what I was doing with another company and that he would give the guy my name.

So, we will see where that leads me. I am kinda enjoying this little vacation though.

Happy Knitting

Love Loss.

After haveing two wonderful months at my job, the company that bought ours out decided that it didn't need all of us. In a company of about 250 they took around 35. I of course was not one of those lucky people.I am trying to make the best of this and am seeing it as a motivator to get my house clean and what not. I have applied to what seems like a million jobs these last few days. So, hopefully I will learn something in the next few weeks.


And of course, how life always works that way, I come home, check my mail and I have a present from my secret pal! It was filled with lots of fab goodies... I got some lovely
Regia sock yarn in this colorway








I love this color! I have socks already in mind to make it. My secret pal wanted to know if I liked Regia and yes yes yes I do... I prefer that over every other yarn type for socks. Maybe it is the part German in me... who knows!

I also got this little bad boy...







I am super excited about this cause I was going to head to the store this weekend to buy some more!

The box was filled with lots more goodies... a yummy lime smelling candle.. It is lit right now! Powerful and great smelling! Some lip balm, a great eyemask, a little carryall sack, a notepad with fruit on it, tres cute and its going on the fridge, and a cool bookmark...

Ooooh. I also got to find out who my secret pal is...

www.purse-ho.com

Thank you Pal! I loved everything I got from you! I will get pics of those socks up when i get to working on them!

Off to work on junk around the house. Happy Knitting

A pea in the iPod.

Wooo hooo.

I had been having a really craptastic week and my dear love decided to make my weekend with this lovely little present.









I am the proud new owner of a Nano. Love it love it love it. Work was a breeze today with this little guy in hand...


I am working on Clapotis. I started dropping stitches the other day, but as usual Becky style I got called into socks. It always happens that way doesn't it?

I want to finish Clapotis though. It is calling me... :)

I am getting ready to send a package out to my secret pal. She loved the last one that I had sent to her, so I hope that this one is going to go off rather well. I have a few more things that I want to add to it, but that has to wait for payday friday! Of course, being from Arizona I have to send her a cactus. I know that a lot of people think that they won't be able to grow a cactus outside of the state but my mom's aunt who lived in Iowa had the best method of watering the plant. She would watch the weather and if it rained in Arizona, then she watered the cactus. If not, it didn't get watered. The last I heard a few months back it was still growing strong and it was brought back to Iowa in the 70's.
Pretty Nifty huh?

Well, that is pretty much it for today. I have to get to bed. I have a long day tomorrow. Well, not quite that long, I do have my Nano to keep me entertained!

Happy Knitting.

I am heavily working on clapotis. I am a few rows short of getting to the dropping part... I know I know what the heck am I doing sitting here typing on the computer when I am that close right?????????????

Truth is... I am exhausted. I went over and did a friends hair tonight...actually, it was hers, her husbands and the two boys hair...after working all day... I am poooped and I want to be able to throughly enjoy what I am going to do!


Maggiel, my chihuahua, has been clinging to me like nobody's business lately, so her and I are meeting my brother in law tomorrow and I get to watch my nephew while he does
ninjitsu practice.

If you happen to really look through the site.... he is so not that crazy about it... he keeps telling me that I should do it but I keep telling him nah.... Matt (my nephew) loves it cause daddy is a ninja and that is cool....


I picked up a copy of this book the other day







I have a ton of people in my life that are getting ready to pop out kids and I want something easy to do...


Well that is about it for today... Happy Knitting :)

Sorry for such a late post. I have been going through a little hecticness at work this last few weeks. The wonderful company that I was to finally feel settled at, has massive issues right now. I am not feeling too much of going into the details so I will just pass over the junk.


I have decided to jump on the clapotis band wagon, yep, I know it is a litte behind, but hey, a girl has to do it once right? I have some Beautiful Noro Silk Garden that I am using for it...






Of course the computer never does justice to the beautiful color.

I am also getting ready to start making Amy some socks. She has decided that she doesn't really want a sweater anymore right now, so I can at least give her socks...
Plain Vanilla (okay plain grey socks) but still its knitting...


I will post more later...I have promised to do laundry and clean up my yarn mess.

Since U Been Gone....

I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert last night. Mostly out of a charity case for my sister, who didn't want to be ditched by a group of 13 year olds. And of course, she was right, the minute they got there, they booked it. I thought the concert was going to be quite, well American Idol-fantastic.... But the girl can sing! I am not sure how many people out there are really into her pop music, but the concert aspect was awesome.

For those who haven't been to Cricket Pavillion, it is a total train wreck of a place for a concert. It is outdoors, the seat are horrible and it has a huge lawn area, but if you don't sit in just the right place for the lawn area you can't see squat of the concert. Luckily, we got a pretty good seat in the lawn section.


There was this little pad thing sitting out in the lawn area that hadn't been there before and most people thought that it was for cameras or something, but during her last two songs, she actually came to the lawn area and sang. It was pretty cool. My niece was having a heart attack because she was like 10 feet away from her with her friends. All in all, a pretty good concert.

I am tired and ready to go back to bed, but alas, work calls... I was going to hit some overtime in but not today, I am tooooo sleepy. :(

Happy Knitting. More to report Later.

honey, I am home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It doesn't matter how well you know someone. There is nothing like being in the comfort of your own home. I mean lived with my sister just a few months back but how quickly I adjusted to living on my own again. I think that most of it was the long drive to and from work every day. I would leave the house at about 5:45 and not get home til about
7:30 every night.

My niece is coming over on Sunday and I am going to use her as cheap labor. She wants money and I want a clean house, so we have come to an agreement that she is going to come over and clean up my apartment on Monday while I am at work and I am going to come home to a clean kitchen, bathrooms and vacuumed floor! YAY!!!!

This week the Yarn Harlot is coming to Phoenix, and I am going to be there! I bought her books the week they came out and have devoured them all! I can't wait!

I bought a book today that is quite cute. It is all knitted toys. Tres Cute.

Have a great weekend and Happy Knitting!

mi casa es su casa

I am house sitting again for my sister. She is lounging in the warm sun of Hawaii.
And here I am stuck in Phoenix with 115 degree weather and a heat advisory. Although, I do get to swim in her pool, so I guess that it makes up for it.

Amy and I have had a pretty expensive day today. On Tuesday, she went to take the Escape in to get it ready for emissions. It had been doing this chugging thing for a little while and she figured that it better be taken care of before it was emissions time. Well, it turns out that it was the computer and it was going to cost about 1500 bucks to fix. Her brother in law, who is rather car savvy told her it would be better in the long run for her to get a new car. So, today she is the proud owner of a new NEW new Ford Fusion. Wait, what is that you say.... Yes I did talk a few months back about an Amy getting a fusion. Yes... my sister and my girlfriend, same named, have the same car. Anyway, she got a pretty good deal on it and we got more for the trade in on the Escape than we thought that we would so it works out in the end.

In about a month we are going to head over to Anaheim, CA. She has a pal that lives over there and we are going to invade her apartment. I am also going to get myself a lovely little birthday present at that time too! We will be passing by the Coach outlet and I have decided that I am going to work overtime and get my self a two or three seasons passed Coach purse.... I have always wanted one and I figured that I could get it if I work over time. Also, if I get it at the outlet, I can't go and have buyers remorse and return it. It will be mine forever.

It also looks like we are going to hit Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend. I know, I know what am I thinking. But hey, I will have a three day weekend and an extra paycheck that week, so I am willing to go and do it. There are a few of us going so hopefully that will make the rates of the rooms a wee bit cheaper.

Secret Pal, I have started knitting up the yarn you gave me. I love it. Thank you so much for thinking of me and sending me something I have wanted to try out. I like the pattern that you sent out too, although, I am waiting to use that on another yarn I have sitting in my stash!

I am working a few secret small projects to give to a couple of friends that read this so I can't really talk too much about them. I can say, though, that they are way cool!

I hope that everyone has a good week

Happy Knitting.

wooo hoooo!

A big fat thank you goes out to my secret pal. I was going to try to get some photos up but of course I dug into everything and well, it isn't very pretty to take a picture of a half used bar of soap and a dirty washcloth.... Okay


I made this sound horrible but my sercret pal sent me a super yummy smelling bar of soap Lemongrass. I could smell it outside the package. and a hand knit washcloth to go with it and this fabulous ball of yarn from fiesta yarns in a color way called quince. She also included a pattern to go with it!

Thanks again secret pal. I will post more later but I gotta hit the sack. work is coming super early tomorrow.

wedding bell blues? Nope not me!

Well, they did it. My friend who never thought she was going to be married, tied the knot last night. She was a beautifull blushing bride. For all the craziness that it was befor hand, it went pretty smoothly during the ceremony and the reception. The only real misshap of the night was my dress strap breaking! Of course, with the dress how it was I didn't have any thing holding me up so when I went to hug a friend I hadn't seen in a while, I almost gave him a full show. Thankfully someone had a safety pin! But of course the night wore on!


So, I picked up a few items at the Fiber Factory sale. *(AMY I REALLY DIDN'T SPEND ALL THAT MUCH ON IT and it was a super deal!!!!) A skein of allhemp 6 to play with, a couple of skeins of Debbie Bliss silk and a skein of silk kaalund to send to my secret pal.

Speaking of secret pals... I am sorry... I was just told today that I was sent a package. My office left a note on my door and when I read my comments I saw that you had asked if I received anything.. I haven't been home when they are open so I will get it as soon as possible. I am soooo excited about getting it! YAY!!!!! I will post pics of it when I open it! I can't wait!


I am off to bed. I was too tired to finish this the day I wrote it, I had to save it in draft and complete it on monday. I wish you all a happy independence day... this is my favorite of all holidays!

Happy Knitting~

bachelorette bust...

Last night we had my pals bachelorette party. What was to be a fun night out for the girls ended up being a regular night at a game place. A few of us had tried to convince her to go to other places but she really wanted to go to Jillian's. (A game place with a restaurant and bowling alley and club.)

Five of us started the night at the restuarant and when I sat down to the table that the waitress had moved up, there was a used bandaid on the table. AAAAAAAHHHH!!! DISTGUSTING I KNOW!!!!!! We got our drinks for free and I got my dessert for free ( I was going to be one of the DD's)

We went up to the game place upstairs and about 20 minutes into playing skeeball and other games like that one of the girls had to go home cause her boyfriend locked his keys in their car. She didn't drive so one of the other girls took her home and five were down to three. Well, about an hour after that the Bride says that she is bored and wants to go home. Still sick with a horrible cold, I thought it was a good call!

I saw my grandma today. She is getting kind of senile, it is kind of depressing. My nephews just had their birthdays and she gave all of us birthday cards, because she couldn't remember when anyones birthday was. She forgot who we were a couple of times and didn't remember who Matt was half the time. My grandpa is going deaf and between the two of them it was a tiring morning.

I came home and took a nap. I don't know when I am going to get rid of this cold. It has been raging on strong. I just want to feel good again. : (

I was working on some arm warmers but I am not too crazy about them. I am thinking about ripping them out. I have one about 1/2 way done but I think that I found something better than armwarmers to knit.... HMMMMMM...


Here I was trying not to have a blah and sad post and yet, here it was.. I promise the next time I write it will be a little more upbeat!

Happy Knitting.

knitting and other stuff.

I got hit with the update your blog email. Sorry about that... secret pal especially...

I have been down with a horrid cold/sinus infection. And of course I can't do anything about it but sit here and suffer. No insurance means no meds... My Dr. charges about 120.00 bucks a visit.


I think that this cold thing is Karma. Just about two weeks ago Amy and I were having a lovely little discussion on federally paid health insurance. She said that yeah we would have to pay a little more in taxes but we would be able to be seen when we needed with out the fear of a visit costing us an arm and a leg. In my then healthy mind, body and voice, I said, " Well, I see where you are coming from, but what about healthy people like me, I shouldn't have to pay out my butt for other people's sicknesses"!

IT IS KARMA!!!!

The FIBER FACTORY is having it's first ever inventory sale and don't you know who is going to be there on the first night... THIS GIRL! I only wish that I could take off early from work to go... ahhh that would be heaven... So, withe me saying this... we all know who is going to be breaking their no yarn buying policy. (Amy, I know that you read this some times, so please forgive me for what i am going to do on Tuesday... I know that you understand!)

Well, I have to head to work this morning... I am just working on soem socks and some arm warmers for my super duper mega cold office... Will post more about that later..

Sorry about such a crappy post last week. I didn't mean to sound so blech... Happy Day and happy knitting!

There is really not too much to post about. Work is going well. I am actually starting to understand things a little bit better now.

Knitting is going pretty good too! I am working on a few projects (of course!). I ripped out a purse that I had knit from a pattern of my own design. I wasn't that crazy about the pattern and it was Noro. You can't waste that stuff!
I am almost finished with it. I have the handle left to do and then to sew it up. I am also working on a shawlette and some socks.

I had a really bad day today so I am going to keep this post short. I don't want to go into a rant about bad things and I am afraid I will do that! I will try to post later.


Happy Knitting!

I want the comfy chair...

day 2 of my new job is going well. I am getting my feet wet still. I hate the chair that I am in. It is so dang uncomfortable. Most of the people around me have these horribly comfortable chairs and it feels like I am sitting on a rock. I think that when I am there for more than 2 days I will say something about getting a better chair. My cubicle is at the edge of an open walkway, so I am free for everyone to see. I understand my positioning, I will eventually have to walk around to see people and people will come and see me but it does kind of suck having yourself out in the open like that. The worst part...it is right by a VP's office. So I really can't goof off at all. Not like I would have the chance. We are so backlogged from only having one person doing the job it is not even remotely funny.


Stash reduction

Phase 1:

ORGANIZATION

I am almost organized with everything. I have my yarn sorted out by colors and then also by weights. mostly my sock, lace and novelty yarns are seperated. I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the week. I stopped counting how much yarn I have. It was making me sick to my stomach. I think I am going to list a few things on ebay or else make a lot of stuff on size 19 needles.


Okay before anyone starts to think that knitting isn't about the process for me, they are quite wrong. I just have horrible start-itis. I will find that if something isn't working out quite how I expected then I a) leave it and move on or b) rip it out and move on.
Socks will always be there for me as process knitting. I can not find anything more pleasurable to knit than a pair of socks.

I will leave on that happy little note..

Happy Knitting

box office...

Well, I had my first day at Western Medical.
It went fairly smoothly, the person that was to train me was out sick today so, I got taught some basic stuff and worked on this and that. I got a good half hour of knitting time in today at lunch. I forgot what it is like to get a real lunch. A girl could get used to this kind of thing.

Okay, so I did something that I said I wasn't gonna do. I bought some yarn. It just kind of happened. But seriously, that is the last skein I am buying for a while. I mean it. I can't help it if I get stuff given to me though. That is far beyond my control.

Amy put me up to a challenge. She told me that if I work up 75% of my stash I can get this as a fabulous prize....







So, I have to do a count up of what I have over the next couple of days. She is getting tired of computer room being covered in yarn. I can't really blame her, it is getting to be a lovely little wreck.

The only disclaimer that she put on this challenge was that it had to all finished. No little half projects here and there... they had to be done. So, here is my game plan.

A) yarn that I know that I won't use and I am holding on to for whatever reason I don't know is going to be sent to nursing homes or the goodwill.

b) yarn that I am willing to part with for cash will be done as such

c) yarn that I will give to my sister or friends will be sent out

d) all the rest I will take inventory of that and work on getting that knit up.

See my little slyness here. I am getting rid a lot of it with little or no effort on my part... [insert evil laugh here] MWWAAAAHHHHH

well off to do the dishes. I can't see my countertop!

Happy KNitting

ouch!

I am recovering from a lovely little sunburn from Tueday. Sheyenne (my niece) was over and we went out to the pool. I haven't had real sun exposure in about 5 years so I was a little tender when we went back in. Not that I was horribly pastey but I after learning that skin cancer runs really bad in our family I decided it was better to not be in the sun all the time.

I have decided on my next knitting project. I am going to work on a lace shawl. It is from the knitting calender 2006. The South Slocan shawl. The pattern calls for dk weight but I think that i'm going to knit in lace weight. I have the yarn, and it needs to be knit up.

I really have to go through my yarn this weekend. I have so dang much of it. It just keeps piling up. MOre and more and more and more and more. Amy asked me if I had bought any more yarn since we have moved back in together and I could lie. I just said well... a few skeins. But here is the list of yarn that has entered the house since I have...

10 skeins of blue skye alpaca chunky (20.00 total)
5 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca DK weight (20.00 total)
2 skeins of misc red multi wool (3.00 total)
6 skeins of Eros all multi color (I GOT THESE FOR A DOLLAR EACH!!!!)
12 skeins of Brown Sheep sport weight wool ( I GOT THESE FOR A DOLLAR EACH!!!!)
2 skeins cascade fixation ( I splurged on these)
1 skein of hand dyed cotton lace weight ( a splurge as well)
1 skein of lace weight green yarn ( on sale but forgot the price)
10 skeins of knit one crochet too 18 karat ( 20.00 total)
5 skeins of Ironstone Fun wool in (20.00 total for that one)
2 skeins of Ironstore Super Rayon Chenille (10.00 total)
2 skeins of Berroco Foliage ( 3.00 total)
6 skeins of some tape like stuff that i got a for a buck each

and 4 skeins to send over to my secret pal.

Okay So I have a serious yarn buying problem. I have made a vow that i am not going to get anymore yarn...(unless it is a smokin deal!!!) until I have at least these skeins listed above knit up. Man I gotta get working!!!!!!!!!
This won't do much for my previous stash but it will cut it down a bit... I have overflowed on my yarn stash once again... GRRR> How does this always happen to me? I do knit. But maybe I am buying more than I am knitting. I realized the other day that i have a yarn buying problem when a friend went to open up the little cubby between my two front seats and said... there is yarn in here... I without blinking said... "
"yea cause Amy would freak if she saw that I got more yarn!" Mind you there are 10 skeins in the trunk of the car being hidden as well in a dark bag.

I remeber when I was working at Macy's and I would get women in who would pay for their items in cash or partly on cards so that there SO's didn't find out. Or ask for them in multiple bags so they didn't have to bring in stuff all at once.

I HAVE BECOME THE WOMEN THAT I PITIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully this weekend I can get this all under control and live a happy yarn life.

I think that I am going to be working up a lot of scarves over the next few weeks... and purses too!

Happy knitting my friend...

I had Martha's bridal shower today. It seemed to go pretty good. The only thing that really was bad about it was that half of the bridal party didn't show up to it. One of the girls had to work. That is understandable. But the other one... I don't know. I doubt I will ever know about that one.


I have hit a full knitting slump. It seems that I do this around this time of year. I wonder why that is. Hmmmm. I have been getting a great plethora of yarn though... Which I still have to go through and clean out some things. I think that in a couple of weekends I will have my neice over to go through it all with me.

I didn't go and get the Koigu. I wanted to but since I really didn't have the time to get over there I just said forget about it.


Ahh well... that is life ... I am going to try and get a few pics of the shower up tomorrow.
I hope that life is going good for anyone who reads this...

Happy Knitting

say hello to the newly employed

I got a job offer on Wednesday and I took it. They also offered more than I was expecting, too. So that was a total bonus! I start on June 5th, and am looking forward to it. I have decided to stay working at the salon on every other Saturday. Don't know how well that will work, but hey, I will give it a try.

Had my niece's gradution today. Man does the school know how to make it quick. We were in and out of there in about an hour and 10 minutes for 150 kids. Not too shabby.


I have to send off a little something to my secret pal tomorrow. I know that she is probably waiting for something...


Happy Knitting

Finishing up the last few hours of my house sitting. Actually, the housesitting is over, I am just waiting til Amy gets off work to head back home. She and I only took 1 car out over the weekend and she had to work today.

I have a dilemma. I had a horrible experience at a certain yarn store and had told myself that I wouldn't go back there, but then they have Koigu on sale for 25 percent off. I feel that if I go I would be letting my morals down, but then again where do you find Koigu for 25% off? Oh, what to do what to do.

I have to finish getting all the junk together for Martha's bridal shower. I hope that it goes off well. We will see though.

Tomorrow Amy and I are doing a little bit of housecleaning and some dumping of material goods. We had been talking the last couple of days about getting rid of material posessions but we both know that we couldn't do that with everything. So, we both decided that we will rid ourselves of a few things at a time. Tomorrow, I am getting rid of some home decor that is just sitting in boxes, yarn (actually I am going to crochet it up and donate the squares to charity), and a lot of the clothes in my closet. Amy said that she is going to get rid of computer stuff, like games and cd's that she doesn't need anymore, clothes and books.

I think that is a good start for us. It seems lately that we have both been wanting to find a bigger meaning in our lives. Amy says that it isn't religion, cause she has had that and it didn't give her any answers. I personally think that we need to find our spiritual selves. But more on that later.


happy knitting.

My job interview went rather well. I haven't heard anything back from them yet. I hope that I get a position. I really need it. Hopefully they will call me on Monday or Tuesday. We will see, though.

I am house-sitting for my middle sister this weekend. I am in charge of watching two greyhounds, a great dane puppy that is 8 months old, 3 cats, a cow and two alpacas. I brought my little Maggie along with me to enjoy the time. It is so funny how a little 4 pound chihuahua with no teeth can whoop a great dane that weighs about 90 lbs into submission. Ellie knows that Maggie is the boss. No doubt about it.

I am working on a bag from the one skein book. I wanted something that I could get done over the weekend and it looks as though I will have it done...


I will post more later.

Happy Knitting

I have a job interview on Thursday. I am not too sure how well it will go for me. It is for a medical supply place. I am not crazy about the job, but I will stick to it. I mean Amy and I can always use the extra cash so it is better that way.

I am heading off to my sister's house today. I am helping her and my niece get a school project done. She is like all the rest of us Dewey girls. Procrastinators. She decided that she wanted to do a quilt for her extra credit project.. Although I don't know why they named it extra credit when the whole class was required to turn something in.. but anyways, she decided she wanted to work on a quilt and it has to be on the planet mars. I helped yesterday with getting it to look pretty good. We found some tye-dye fabric that looksquite Mars-esque. We just have to finish sewing it up tonight, and sew on the stars.


More to type later.

I headed off to a new yarn store today. The owner was quite nice. Not much inventory there yet, but they are building on it. It was kind of hodgepodged together with cabinets and shelves but definitely cute.

Didn't do too much today, I wasn't in the mood. I am not normally the kind of person who gets all depressive about holidays and junk, but this Mother's day was hard on me for some reason. I know i have mentioned this one before, but will remind and update for the new readers out there. Both my parents have passed away. My dad passed nearly 10 years ago and my mom passed just over 6 years ago.

My mom had a very complicated death. She did die suddenly in her sleep but she went through a lot of medical problems for about 7 months before she died. It started a few years before hand. She stepped on a nail while outside and while not normally a really big issue for most people, she had diabetes. My mom was a little bit overweight but she was taking care of herself, her diabetes was under control and had no other really main problems. But as with a disease like that the small little wound on her foot became a full blown ulcer in the matter of two months. She was working with the doctor to try and get it healed but it wasn't healing and it was seeming to get worse. The doctors thought that it was mostly beacause there was something on the nail. It ended up being that they decided to amputate. She lost all five of her toes and a little bit of her foot. It was a little strange to see but she was still able to walk and drive and do most things. But unfortunately the doctor missed some of the infection and it festered. But it didn't show itself outside at least not yet. It worked its litte heart out on the inside slowly working up the my mom's leg and when my mom went to the hospital one October for a violent case of the flu, it worsened. Not to go into a lot of details, but the wound came back to the open and by the time the doctors really took a look at it it had gone almost to her knee.

She spent the next few weeks in and out of the hospital and then 2 days after thanksgiving in 1999, my aunt saw her leg and took her to the emergency room. (again not going into too much detail) they had her leg cut from the end of her foot up to her knee. She stayed like that for over a month before they worked on it. Becauase all the tissues had dried out they had to amputate. It was heartbreaking but my mom was strong. She never let it affect her. She worked hard at rehab and was ready to take on life again. Unfortunately the wound wasn't, she had to start going to hyperbaric treatments every day for 6 weeks. To heal the wound from the inside out. My mom passed away sometime in the middle of the night the day before her last treatment. She had the appointment later that afternoon to get fitted for a prosthetic. It was quite sudden. The death certificate says that it was from heart failure but we never found out for sure. There was an issue about getting an autopsy done but it didn't matter. my sisters and I could have fought for one but one of my uncles told us that we had to think about what our mom would want us to do. We all decided that it wasn't worth it. That our mom's memory was more important to us than a sheet of paper.

I hope that I didn't make this too much of a depressing post. I was just having a hard time this Mother's day. I don't know where it came from but I had to get it out. I will leave with this fab photo of my mom. It was her senior year in high school. I love this picture of her. She looks so young and sweet. I really look like her in this photo.

Not too much to really report today. I am on my weekend today. The nice thing about being a hairstylist is having Monday's off. I get to have a full day of peace and quiet and be able to go to stores with out fighting the usual weekend crowd. I woke up quite early and got my grocery shopping done in about 30 minutes. We hadn't done actual grocery shopping in about a week or so and the cupboards were looking rather bare!

TOd ay is housecleaning day. It is also the day that i wish that I could afford a house cleaner. How two people can make so much clutter is beyond me! I have knitting strewn all across the guest bed, the couch, next to the couch, on the kitchen table, on the counter, and then my bead stuff in the corner on the dining room. Amy has her music all over the place. CD's lying here and there, a bass by the door, an amp in the living room and cords all over the place. The best thing about this that we pick up after ourselves most of the time. I can't imagine what the place would look like if we didn't.

Sometime this week I have to go out and get some shoes for this





Martha is getting married on July 1st and since she doesn't care what our shoes look like we have decided on getting silver. We think that they would look best with it! I didn't really want such a high heel on it but I don't want to have to pay to get the dress altered. The only part that didn't really fit on it was the length and I thought with a higher heel I could get away with it. Here are my choices so far.










We shall see, we shall see. I might get them on and fall on my face! That would be hilarious!

I guess that is enough here. I have to get the house cleaned cause I told Amy that I would type here paper up for her. So she doesn't have to do it and 10:00 tonight

Happy knitting

Answers... I got your stinkin' answers....

So,I realized that this title seemed a little silly but i don't really care all that much. I like it so it sticks. I have decided to join the SP 8. Golly..I know I was out of the knitting world for a little while, but it didn't seem like that much time had passed to make it 8! Ah well, time flies when you are marooned in Fabulous Rainbow Valley... I really need to get a picture of that up for people to really see how far out I really was from the Phoenix area. But here I am rambling... let me get back on topic....

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

I really don't have too many "favorites". I like a good wool, a good rayon and even a good acrylic. I have no real particular tastes.I will work with things when I need them to work and always willing to try something new. Something that I have wanted to try out is a boucle but haven't gotten round to that. The only thing that I really don't like is yarn that has a little bit of glitter in it and it isn't soft!


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

My sister and I made a few needle holders a while back and I love them. I keep my circulars in CD case and also a plastic Rubbermaid bin (when I have them torn out of the CD case)

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

I have been knitting since I was 15. So we are going on 12 years... I would have to say that I am intermediately advanced. I like the idea of working on hard projects and have great momentum but go quickly under when I make my first mistake.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope... I have a wishlist that goes on in my head but its not really anything too big.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I am better at telling you what I dislike... I ABHORE the smell of Patouchli. UUUGGGHHH! I am not very fond of Lavender. There is too long a back story to expalain either... And Vanilla i am rather picky about.. I just mostly don't like sugary sweet vanilla... as in Bath and Body Works type. Though you can't go wrong withe citrus scents for me. Lemon, lime, tangerine... like them all.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I am a super choco-holic. Milk, that is. I would say I am more of a chocolate snob than a yarn snob!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do spin. I haven't done it in a while but i have a wheel and I do like to spin. I am also into beading and cards. I am an all around general crafter. At Christmas time, I try to make all of my presents for people. A little ambitious but, I try..

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

I am not really a music person. I listen to music all day at work, so I tend to tune it out. If i had to decide on something, I prefer punk, jazz (more funky than bluesy) and I must admit that I am an NPR addict and a Howard Stern Junkie... I went out and got satellite for my car when he moved to Sirius.


9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like everything. I am really fond of purples and blues and reds. I am not really too fond of oranges or anything "burnt something or other". WHile i like yellows I can't wear the color so I stick to giving it to others.


10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have a partner of over 7 years. There will be a time when we get "hitched" but not anytime soon. We just moved back in together after a 2 month split and 7 months of living seperarely. I have two cats. Pepper Ann and Moose. American short hair and a teeny tiny Chihuahua named Maggie who is about 14 years old.

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

I wear scarves and mittens, but no hats or ponchos. I just look way to wormy.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like to knit socks. I taught myself and fell in love. I also like to knit lace scarves. I get into purse binges and that is all I will knit for a while. I like to felt too!

13. What are you knitting right now?
Ohhh.. I knew this one was coming... here is the list... 2 pairs of socks, 3 scarves, a baby sweater, a shawl on size 11 needles, a couple of baby hats that need to be seemed and a few purses that have to be felted and lined.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? YOU BETCHAA!!!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo circs and short straights. I prefer the Casein straight needles

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? ahh I only wish but I like to wind so skeins aren't a bother to me!

17. How did you learn to knit? My mom taught me after she couldn't get me to learn crochet. I let it sit for awhile and then I decided to take a class and after about 10 minutes into the class I remembered everything and realized that i wasted 60 bucks!

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

I don't really know. I have a few socks from a couple of years back that i ended up not liking and haven't done the second one.

19. What is your favorite holiday? Fourth of July!

20. Is there anything that you collect? Oh, you want besides yarn... not much really. I have a friend who has started getting me German books. NOne of them are of real value but they are kind of cool. I also have started to develop this thing for sushi paraphanelia.

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

No mag subs. I don't know of any real things I have have have to get. I talk about them as I see them. I know that there are a few patterns here and there that i want to try out but then I forget to link them and then forget about them until a few weeks later. Something that i haven't gotten around to getting for myself is enough lace weight yarn to do a lace shawl.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I want to do some fairisle but haven't gotten round to do it. Something that really intrigues me are Latvian Mittens but I tried to do gloves once and couldn't master the thumb gussett so that is putting me off a little bit... I am really intrigued by fancy colorwork.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am a slave to socks. I don't even know how many I have knit anymore. I wear a womens US 9.5 to 10. (Huge feet I know, I know!)

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) The birthday is September 10th!


So, I hope that I got everthing down on this one. I have a lovely little story to tell of my day of woe when I went to the Needler's Nest sale on Sunday. But i will get to that later....

Happy Knitting

Happy Pigs in a Blanket Day!

Today was National Pigs in a Blanket Day and of course, that is what we had for dinner. I devoured mine.. Yummmmm! Amy on the other hand, had eaten too much bean dip earlier and hers are still waiting to be eaten. I have a couple extra for Matt to eat tomorrow when he comes over. I am hoping that they will re-heat decently. If not, I don't think that he will notice.. he is 3 afterall!


I remembered that Needler's Nest is having a sale this Sunday on yarn and i will be there when the doors open!







I mis-estimeated one of my paychecks and have a little extra spending cash this weekend! I think that I will be taking my sister with me. I don't know how much she will enjoy it, but I am slowly getting her into better yarn... she is mostly making dog toys but is sprinkling a few good baby items in there.... In time, In time.... i must have patience!

I finished up my Debby Ware hat, but don't have anything to put on the top of it and Amy says that it looks like a Pagoda... I just need a baby head to try it on...


Happy Knitting

Girl you better work it.

So, I had a really depressing day at work today. Don't want to go into too many details but it was pretty crappy and confirmed that being a hairstylist is not the job that I want to do right now. I have been getting a lot of crap from both sides about what I should do. Here is what is happening.

I have bills that I have to pay and with what I am bringing in right now, our money is stretched tightly. I still can afford to do some fun things and make a purchase here and there but it is still tight. Thank goodness for "tip" money. That isn't allocated in the bills so that is my fun money! But the desire to own a house is strong and while I really don't have that many problems living in an apartment I want to live in a house. To have something that is my own and not just see my money go down the drain. And to own a house one day in my life I need to have a steady income and not one that goes up and down by season, month or even week. Frustrating.

But on the other side I have those little bees in my ear telling me not to leave the hairstyling world. That I need to give it a little longer, that I am doing really well in the year that I have been there. and that what happens when and if I want to start doing hair again. I am back right where I started. With a struggling clientele base and little money coming in.

And what about my clients???? Could i just leave them high and dry? Well, no I can't but i think that most of my clients will understand and that they would want me to do what is best for me. And those that don't understand well, screw them! Okay that isn't quite so nice but hey... I says what I feels.

So here I am on this. Stuck in the middle. I know that some of this hesitation to leave is my boss. When he can't get his way, he throws a huge fat fit. It is all about him or nothing at all. I have seen other girls leave and what they have had to go through while they are doing their last two weeks and it was hell for them. He rode their butts all the time and gave them crap about how they were selfish and blah blah blah... My sister and I were talking about all this and she had some good advice for me...

1) We all need to think about our tomorrow but if you can't get through your today then there will be no tomorrow. True enough dear sister!

2) You can have Dan ride your ass for two weeks and then you are done with it. Or you can come home to Amy and have her getting on you about your job and money until God knows when. Which one would I rather deal with???? Hmmm food for thought.....


No knitting to report. I have been to bleh to want to knit!

Does the sweater curse apply to girlfriends?

I have decided to take on the "dreaded sweater challenge". Amy wants me to knit her a sweater and I have agreed. After picking and choosing for a while I have settled on Jesse's Flames from Stitch N' Bitch Nation. I am going to do it in shades of grey. That is Amy's favorite color. The first sweater choice was going to be Leo from knitty but size 3 needles and grey yarn seemed to be leaving me a bit well... unenthusiatic!

I hope that it turns out well. I had told her on her Birthday that I would knit a sweater for her...but we had to decide on the design. Design chosen, yarn chosen, all is well in the world... okay not the entire world, but at least in my world of sitting in front of the computer typing out this post...


I drove down to Needler's Nest today and stumbled across these two lovely little patterns.








I have bene wanting them for a while and was going to order them off the Debby Ware site but aha for me I got them with no shipping cost! I also picked upa little more yarn for the hats. Will get that up later...
Happy Knitting

what's on my needles

I must say that having been gone so long I didn't think that anyone still read my blog. But imagine my surprise to read two comments!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! I have been reading up on everyone elses.

To answer questions:


1) yep I am still knittin'. I haven't been very creative lately. I am just working on purses and junk like that. I haven't had real motivation. During Christmas my sister and I under took crocheting an afghan for my grandma. Of course we decided that 400 squares wasn't too much to crochet with two people working on it. Let me tell you. The only time it won't be too many squares is when you have to make less than 10. I don't think that i ever want to see another skein of mauve, rose, cream or burgandy yarn ever again!!!!!!!!
The closest yarn store to me didn't have much of a selection so I used up a lot of my stash. I have been getting a lot of really nice 1 or 2 skeins at a time and figuring out what to do with it. I knit a baby blanket. Actually I knit the Big Bad Baby Blanket from SNB The Knitter's Handbook. It was really nice... but then I got something on it and had to wash it. The label said it could machine wash and dry and of course me being so trusting, I ended up having a stroller rectangle!
Speaking of the 1 or 2 skeins of yarn. I have decided that I am no longer doing "Christmas Knitting". I have been working on things through out and have decided that I am going to just have an open house one night and have my friends pick and choose what they want.
I knit up the Leaf Cravat from one of the old Interweave issues. It turned out rather nice. I usually don't want to knit something twice... (you think I would learn this by now and do both socks at the same time...) but this goes into the definitely will knit again pile. Mind you, I only have two other patterns that I will do that with. The first one is broadripple sock pattern and the second one is a drop stitch scarf pattern!

Question 2: I am living closer to downtown. I am living near 19th and Thunderbird. Okay, I know that really isn't close but when you are living in Buckeye... This is a heck of a lot closer. I did see on the calendar about knitting on Thursdays, unfortunately I am working Thursday nights. One of these days I am hoping to be able to get off earlier and join... AAHHH other knitters.... that would be a dream come true!!!!!


So what do I have in progress right now... the better question is what am I not working on? In true Knifty Knitter fashion I have more projects that I can handle. I am finishing up the Edgar scarf from Fall Knitty. The Friend of last post about Roller Derby is wanting a purse, and of course because I can't just whip something together and call it done I have decided to chart out the roller derby logo and knit it up. The only problem is that I can't seem to get it to look right. Grrr!

What else? There is a purse that is needing to be finished and felted because I found this wonderful fabric that has playing cards and pin up girls on it and I was still in my Vegas mood. So I had to cast on right away for it! Then there are ideas that are just sitting on my head. I have a pattern idea that I think I might send in to Knitty if I can get it right. I just started really thinking about it a few weeks ago and haven't given too much real thought to it. Then there is a purse that I fell in love with and thought it would look so much better if it was knitted.... no casting on for that one yet, though. I know where my limits are.


I am watching my nephew on Tuesday nights now. My sister and her husband are taking two of their dogs to obedience class. I am so okay with this! After living with him for so long I get kind of lonely. Although I do enjoy being able to watch something other than Nickelodeon until 8:00 at night. Off to do laundry. That seemed to never quit in my life.


Happy Knitting

back again...

Hey all I am back on the interneting world again. let's fill in these last 6 months of my life... where do I start? I don't really know, so I'll go with whatever comes up.

Amy and I moved back in together in March. It is kind of strange. But a lot better. We were seeing a therapist for a little while but it was quite obvious that she was one sided and was favoring Amy. Amy even noticed this so we ditched her. But the relationship has been going well. We have both been working hard to try to talk to the other one, making sure that we have time to spend with each other and that we just don't go off into the other room. It gets a little frustrating sometimes but that is all relationships. I think that we needed this to happen in order for us to get our heads straight.

I am working at Savant still. The hair industry is not as promising as it seemed when was in school. While I am getting a lot of return clients I'm not really getting a lot of new clients in and becuase I need a steady paycheck I am applying for other positions. I had an interview with South West Trading Company as a customer service rep. I don't know how well the interview went but they said that they would call me by the end of the week to let me know. So... we shall see where that goes.

My little nephew is turning three this June and that is making me feel quite old. My neice is graduating 8th grade but what makes me feel even older is that in June my oldest nephew is going to be turning 15!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That makes me feel super duper old.

A pal of mine is trying to get me into roller derby. (YEP the real thing) and I am still debating on it. the good thing about it is that I need to get health insurance before I start so I have a reason to get out of doing it right now.

We have to go and by a table set this weekend. We had been putting it off, but we invited people over for dinner on Saturday and we realized that we don't have enough chairs for everyone to sit in... Nice...

Okay, so now that i have no reason not to blog. I will make a better goal at it. I will hold my contest once again in a few months.... I will keep my promise on that one.


Happy Knitting