Drop One, Pick Up One!

2008-02-22T18:24:00.001-06:00

sockapalooooza 4

2007-08-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

Wow it has been months again since I last reported in on the blog. Seems to be a habit for me. I have a somewhat excuse this time. I was on vacation from May 26th to July 22nd. The kids and I took off for Minnesota to spend the summer. Since Ed works such long hours and the kids are young enough to enjoy it, I decided to spend the summer at my mom's house. We did a lot of sight seeing. It was great. It was a much needed break from this town and I missed all the flooding while I was gone. Nothing happened at our house.

On to Sockapalooooza treats. I sent my socks to my pal on Tuesday and she received them yesterday. From her blog it seems as though she enjoys them. I also received my socks today in the mail. They are wonderful. They are in colors I had been wanting to use for some time and just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

They fit great. My pal didn't let me know in the package who she was, but she did send a really nice Starbucks coffee mug with some tea from Indulgences by Michele in Graham, WA. It smells wonderful. Also included in the package was a skein of Austermann Step in a blue/grey colorway. I can't wait to use it for some monkey socks for me. Thank you again pal for the great gifties.

WoW Rap

2007-03-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

IPods and Socks!

2007-03-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy, busy!!!! I have been busy in life and in knitting. I have been making socks, socks, and more socks. First up are IPod Nano/mp3 socks. I will have these forsale in my Etsy shop. All but one are made from sock yarn which is machine wash and dry. The orange one is handspun yarn and 100% wool. The shop should be updated by this afternoon.

These socks are mine, mine, mine!!!! They are made using the Fast Florida Footie pattern. I think I found it on a blog about 2 years ago. These are made using my own handspun wool. The roving came from Spunky Eclectic. This is the second pair I have made from this pattern and I love them. They are not completed yet since I ran out of yarn. I had to spin some more. It is hanging in the bathroom drying right now.

In the mail this week I got received some roving that is an alpaca blend. So now I may have to join Crystal's KAL. By the way Crystal if you are reading this, congrats on the new wheel. You will love it and I can't wait to buy another one. I am thinking about the Ashford Joy. That way I can travel to the shop with it, if I ever make it to the shop again. LOL.

Well I am off to spend the morning updating the shop. Happy knitting everyone!

Where have I been?

2007-03-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? I really don't know where to start. I didn't even realize that I had been out of touch for over a month until my best friend called and said, "Where have you been girl?". There has been some knitting that has kept me busy, but mostly it was life in general that happened.

My first picture contains both life and knitting. Our wonderful dog Nala has had some major health issues for the last 4 weeks. She woke up one morning just howling and not feeling good in general, so I took her to the vet. We found out she has Cervical Disk Disease which is basically herniated disks. So we started a treatment for that. She was put on Prednizone and muscle relaxers. That helped her back but then she just stopped eating 2 weeks later. Along with that she started throwing up constantly. She became dehydrated and we had to put her in the hospital for 4 days. She came out in great shape fortunately. During the winter she started shaking a lot, so I made her a sweater thinking that would help. Come to find out she wasn't cold it was a sign of her bad back.

Next up we had to buy another vehicle. It was just too much to keep driving Ed to and from work and he couldn't use his motorcycle as much as we had hoped. Although we now know this was one of the toughest winters they have had in a long time. So we went and bought used car. It is a 2001 Chevy Blazer. We have had nothing but problems with it since we got it. So I spend about 2 to 3 days a week at the mechanics. On top of that we have been fighting with the car lot we bought if from about who should pay for what.

During the month on the 22nd of Feb. my baby had his 5th birthday. My MIL picked the following weekend to come and visit but didn't tell us until Thursday night that she would be arriving around 8pm on Friday. So we had a party at school for EJ's birthday and then took him out to dinner. Once he is in Kindergarten we will start having bday parties with kids and all.

On the knitting front I have quite a bit I have done but no pictures to show proof. First I did 2 store samples for Linda at The Tail Spinner. First was a bag out of Mango Moon recycled silk and second was kit for a crocheted shrug from Mango Moon. I enjoyed doing both of these projects. I also did a small project for Posey. I think I am still going to limit what I do for her. She is still as flaky as always. I knit 2, count them, 2 fun fur sweaters. One was a yoke pullover for my daughter and the other was a raglan cardigan for my niece. They just love these dang sweaters. As much as I hate knitting with fun fur how can I turn down 2 cute 6 year olds.

I also knit a pair of Jaywalkers for my mom. I made them with Wildfoote from Brown Sheep Company. The colorway was Gunsmoke. They turned out really nice. I enjoyed the yarn also. It is a nice yarn for a cheaper price. Not as cheap as Knit Picks, but still better than Opal or Trekking. I also made several fun fur hats and scarves for charity. A little bit of spinning has been happening too. I got a drum carder but haven't had much time to try it out.

So that is where I have been in the last month or so. I know I should keep everyone better informed but you know how life goes. I am sorry for all the people I have worried.

My first Meme

2007-02-01T10:25:00.001-06:00

I found this at the Year of the Alpaca KAL.
ALPACA KAL ALL ABOUT MEME:

1. I've been hooked on the needles since? I started crocheting 9 years ago when my husband left for Marine Corps boot camp. I taught myself to knit in July of 2005. I prefer the look of knit, but love the speed of crochet.

2. I'm still a virgin, but not for long: to intarsia, I just finally broke my cherry on fair isle, steeking and entralac this year.

3. She's crafty - she gets around...to : knitting, crochet, and spinning

She's crafty - she's always down...for: reading, bingo, watching movies

She's crafty - she's got a gripe...about : people who talk during movies and people who chew gum like a cow. Chewing is an odd pet peeve of mine anyway. I should do the 6 weird things meme too!

She's crafty - and she's just my type. What type of knitter are you? I'm a thrower who gifts much of it. I grudgingly swatch, happily finish, and usually only work on a couple of projects at once. I make most things for my kids or nieces.

4. I'm dying to try: Noro, cherry hill, Mango moon, and spinning silk

5. I gravitate towards colors like: Black or neutral colors. I gravitate towards very bright colors for the kids.

6. My most cherished possession (kids, pets, family don't count) is: Yarn stash(hehe need you ask) seriously my spinning wheel and a tee shirt from the Labor Day Shootout 1996 which has an autograph of my friend Danny McMann. He died in a snowmobile accident 3 months later.

7. I'm stuck on an island, what am I reading? Janet Evanovich or Dean Koontz

8. If I were about to be executed and I was offered a last meal , I'd be dining on: Sushi

9. Music to knit by: Rascal Flatts

10. I have a crush on: Juan Pablo Montoya

11. Least favorite celeb: Paris Hilton
12. Choose:

Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp? Johnny

Madonna or Janet Jackson? Madonna

June Cleaver or Peg Bundy? June

Jackie or Marilyn? Jackie

Love or Money? Love

Brains or looks? Brains

Math or English? English

Cat or Dog? Cat

Leader or follower? Leader, although I prefer to be a follower I always end up being a leader.

Beer or Champagne? Beer

13. My favorite smell? Linda's yarn shop. The Tail Spinner

14. Not many people know this about me: I hate feet, but I love knitting socks.

15. My hidden talent is: that I am talentless!

If you're reading this then you are officially tagged.

Strangely accurate

2007-02-01T10:17:00.001-06:00

You Are Iris

You are an interesting blend of fun and wisdom.
You definitely make people think about themselves and their place in the world.
But they'll have fun doing it. You definitely epitomize laughter therapy.
You are a very enriching and entertaining friend!

What Color Purple Are You?

EEK!!! STEEKING!!

2007-01-29T09:53:00.000-06:00

I tackled the ever dreaded steeking and I kicked it's ASS! This was my first real venture into fair isle also. I wasn't surprised that the fair isle was easier than it looked, but the steeking surprised me. I was scared as hell of cutting my precious knitting. I just dove in head first, sewed my guide lines and cut away. It is a lot easier than it looks. There really was no worries once I got started and did it.

The sweater was made for a teddy bear Sophie got for Christmas. She made the bear at the generic build a bear shop. It turned out to be a little tight for her bear but she likes it anyway. The chart I used for the fair isle butterfly's was missing a few x's so 2 of my butterflies ended up with partial wings. I remembered to over stitch on one of them and not the other. The picture of the back of the sweater turned out a little blurry but you can at least get the idea. I also made a sweater for Sophie a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of it. It is just a basic top down raglan with fun fur around the collar, cuffs, and bottom. It looks really cute on her.

My next projects on my radar are socks for my mom, an EZ sweater for EJ, and another sweater for Sophie. I also completed 2 fun fur hats for charity. So I am now up to 9 items made from stash yarn. I am doing good with my New Years resolutions only 6 more items to go from my stash and I did the steeking and fair isle. I might just make them all.

This is not good!!!!

2007-01-17T00:31:00.000-06:00

Lawton Public School

Closed Wednesday

Once again the kids will be home from school again. So much for some quiet time. It is so icy outside that they can't even go outside and play. As if that isn't bad enough look at this:

not a good outlook for the weekend.

Hopefully I will have some pictures for you tomarrow. For now I will leave you with these images. They would seem like there is snow but don't be fooled it is all ice. It is so hard and compact, I have never seen it like this and I grew up in Minnesota.

grrrr!!!!!!

2007-01-16T08:59:00.000-06:00

This is what I woke up too!

Lawton Public School

Closed Tuesday

I do not want to stay home with the kids today. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I wanted quiet knitting time. I did get some spinning done last night. It is drying and I will post pictures later.

I want to be a bear

2007-01-14T11:31:00.000-06:00

Socks, Socks, Socks

2007-01-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

What have I been up too? Socks, that is what I have been doing. I knit a pair for my DS and 2 for my DD. Want to see pictures? Ok I can do that.

First up is the pair fro my DS. I did all of my socks toe up with a turkish CO and magic loop. This pair is Sock It To Me!Collection Esprit. I hated knitting them but love the final outcome. He loves them and wants to wear them every day. I guess that is a good thing.

Next up is my DD's first pair. These were made using some Lorna's Lace Shepard Sock yarn. The yarn is what I had left from a pair I had made for my mom last year.

This last pair is for a KAL that my old LYS was doing. Anybody can join the group from anywhere if you are interested. It is a Yahoo Group
Fiber Forever. Linda the owner of the LYS I used to frequent when I lived in NC is the moderator of this group. She is a great lady and will keep the group strickly fiber. None of that gossipy stuff that other groups tend to become. Our first project were these spinner socks. I did mine in some hand dyed, handspun yarn I had at home. This was to stay with my resolution to knit 15 stash items before buying yarn. I had a blast knitting these. They were super easy if you have knit socks in the past. I was doing fine until I got to the entrelac portion of the sock. It was then that I had a major blonde moment that my friend Crystal had to help me through. Once I figured out my brain fart it went off without a hitch. I will most likely be doing these again. My DD loves them and wouldn't let me block them before she started wearing them. They are suposed to be blocked so the triangles are more pronounced. Oh well.

Well with these 3 projects and the 2 previous projects, I am at 5 knitted items from my stash. Woo Hoo!!!! I am off to work on a sweater for my DD. (out of stash yarn ofcourse)

By the way, do you like the indoor/outdoor looking carpet that runs through out our house? I hate it.

First FO of 2007

2007-01-03T11:01:00.000-06:00

Up first we have a very nice Bejeweled. Done in a worsted weight red heart yarn. The pattern was altered a bit. I made it 22 sts wide as opposed to the 32 it asked for in the pattern. I think I like it better that way. I like the way it turned out considering the yarn I used. I hope Ms. Johnson will like it as much.

Next we have a nice pair of Fetching fingerless mitts from Knitty. I really enjoyed doing this pair. They are quick, easy, and nice to look at. The black does not show the cable as much as I would like but I wanted a more usefull color. I used Cascade 220. I really like using this yarn. These are for Ms. Cloud, EJ's other teacher.

These are 2 projects made from stash yarn. Now my dilema is whether or not they count towards my 15 projects from stash since they were started in 2006. It was the last week of 2006 and finished the first week of 2007. What do you think? Do I count them in my total for stash busting?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2007-01-01T11:23:00.000-06:00

First of all Happy Birthday to Cara!! She probably doesn't even know my little blog exists, but I read hers and I just wanted to say Happy Bday.

Believe it or not I have actual knitting content. I started a Bejeweled scarf before the actual knit a long started. It is for one of EJ's teachers. I did some stash busting and found a skein of Red Heart in forest green. I figured this was good enough for this teacher. Also my it helps me with my resolution to knit 15 items from my stash in 2007 before buying more yarn. Even if I did start it in 2006. I did not make it as wide as the pattern calls for (more for time then looks), but I like it skinnier. Here is the progress picture. Sorry for the shadowy picture. It was the only real sun I could find.
Seems as though I am always apologizing for my pictures.

I am glad to see 2006 go for so many reasons. The year started off with DH in Iraq. He made it home in April safe and sound. Then in May my Aunt La who was also my godmother passed away, DH left in July for 2 months for Recruiters school, we had to move from a place I loved to a place I really don't like in Sept., and let's just say life has not been fun at all since Sept. DH's job keeps him from home a lot. He works from 7:30am to around 10:00pm 6 days a week. He does get Sundays off but he is so tired he doesn't want to do much. Also in Aug. my mom had surgery, she had a hystorectomy and they removed everything since they found cancer. She had a tumor the size of a grapefruit they removed. She is doing fine now. In Dec. my brother in law accidentally shot himself in the stomach cleaning his rifle. It was a rifle equivalent to a M16. Luckily it was a through and through that missed everything. Unfortunately he ended up with an infection in the wound and they had to clean it out a second time, then when he finally was able to have stitches they got infected so they had to remove them and start packing the wound again. So far he is doing ok.

2006 did have a few high points. The first week of January I found a LYS that I just loved. The owner is so gracious and nice. I met many good friends going to her shop. That is what made moving away so hard. Also there is no LYS in my new town so it is going to be harder to meet more great friends. Anyway back to the good stuff. As I mentioned DH made it home safe in April, in May he bought me a spinning wheel. I love it, it is an Ashford Traditional. Linda(lys owner) gave me some great lessons and tips for using it and I have made some fabulous yarn. In June Ed made Staff Sergeant at work. If you are in the military you know how important this is, plus the extra money was great too. In Sept. when DH got home from school and we had to move I found out how great my friends really were. Debby was a saint and went to the Airport at the end of a Hurricane to pick Ed up for me, because we had TMO at our house packing our things. Then Linda gave me a great going away present of self dying sock yarn and roving with flash and silk in it. I have yet to use either. I am scared to mess up the roving since I am still an advanced beginner and I just haven't found the time to get my dying stuff out.

As for 2007, I am going to try my hand at Fair Isle with steeks. This scares me a little since I don't have anyone to help guide me with the process. Thankfully I have EZ and phone close at hand to call Linda. I also would like to work more on my spinning. I have discovered I am one who just wants to sit down and start spinning. I am not much for preparing the wool. I also plan on recording all of my finished projects. I am really bad at doing this. Once I finish one project I move straight to the next without writing anything down. Maybe I can actually keep up with my blog too. I sure hope so that way my friends in NC can keep up on what I am doing.

I hope you all have a happy and fruitful new year. As they say on Knitty Gritty, Knit On!!!!!

WTF

2006-12-30T23:08:00.000-06:00

I found this here and I hope she doesn't mind me borrowing it.Click to make bigger.

Knitting from stash crazyness

2006-12-30T13:10:00.000-06:00

So I had decided in November that one of my New Year Resolutions would be to knit at least 15 items from my stash in 2007 before I buy any more yarn. (fiber for spinning does not count since it is not technically yarn yet)I have no intentions of joining Wendy in her stash along. The reason I am posting this is to let all LYS owners know that they have nothing to worry about. There is one yarn store owner in particular that I am talking about, who has posted on her blog and in the comments at Wendy's blog.She seems to think that knit bloggers have the power to run her out of business. I feel as long as there are knitters there will be yarn bought, for what ever the purpose or reason. As for the stash along most of this yarn was bought from the LYS to begin with and it needs to be knit up eventually. I am also assuming (you know what happens when you assume) that you sell items other than yarn. Such as patterns for using the stash, needles for knitting the stash, stitch markers for marking the stash on the needles, and so forth and so on, you get the idea. These items all cost money also and need to be bought somewhere. On top of all this ranting by me, just think of how many resolutions get broken every year. Knitters are weak, we can't resist that new skein of handpainted yarn, or that nice new alpaca yarn you just got in. You may lose a few yarn sales but you will make up for it in pattern and needle sales I think. I am saying this because I just bought a pattern book, 2 addi turbos, and my last 2 skeins of yarn for 2006 from my LYS(technically she is 1600 miles away but she was my LYS owner when I lived in NC)to help me knit my stash. I also have plans for more patterns which I will need to buy later in the next month. Needless to say she won't lose any of my business and my stash was bought mostly from her anyway.

Now that I am done with that rant I don't have any actual knitting content today. I started a Bejeweled for one of EJ's teachers. I will take pictures before I gift it. I dinn't get his teachers gifts done before the holiday break so they will get them when we go back on the 3rd. The other teacher is getting a pair of fetching gloves from knitty. I used black cascade 220 for them and it doesn't show the detail as much as I would have liked. Pictures to come soon. I do have one picture to share with you today. The kids used thier xmas money to go to the generic build a bear store. They just love thier purchases to death. They sleep with them every night.
Sorry for the crappy picture, my picture taking skills are something to be desired. I am off to rest, we have been suffering from the flu here all week long.

Happy 25th of Dec.

2006-12-25T18:57:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all. The video is for anyone who is a scrubs fan and has 10mins to spare.

10 Years Ago Today

2006-12-21T15:18:00.000-06:00

Do you remember what you were doing 10 years ago today? Unfortunately I do. That was the day one of my good friends died in a snowmobile accident. I will never forget where I was or what I was doing on that fatefull day.

This is a picture of Danny McMann(left) and John Archer taken in 1992 I think. Danny died on Dec. 21st, 1996. It was a very sad day for everyone whose life he had touched. He was a very happy, outgoing person, and a talented race car driver. I will never forget how great it was to be around him and how welcomed he let everyone feel. May he always be remembered and never forgotten. I know I will never forget. We love you Danny!

Christmas Knitting Pictures

2006-12-16T23:47:00.000-06:00

So as I go to take pictures of my knitting. I turn around and laying in the spot I just cleared for my items is this pain in the ass. Isn't it just like a cat to get in the middle of what ever your doing. When you want him to come to you, he just ignores you.
Well on to the knitting portion of the blog. This funky sweater is for my 5 yr. old niece. It was made from Wendy Jazz that I had gotten from Elann. I used 2 strands held together, one pink and one lavender. Sorry for the not so great pictures. I had bad lighting since it was 1:00am and also my camera sucks donkey ass.

These two pictures are for my 10 yr. old and 13 yr. old nieces. They asked for fuzzy wrist warmers. So I found this funky, fuzzy stuff at Hobby Lobby and after making the wrist warmers I had a shit ton of yarn left so I made them matching hats.

Last but not least we have a purse I made for my nieces 13th birthday on Monday. I used some thick and thin wool yarn I got on clearance at JoAnn's fabric.(did I mention that this suck ass town does not have a local yarn store?)I am not sure how noticable the cables on it are but, they are there. Once again the picture does not do the color any justice, but you get the gist of it right? I lined it with a gray satin material, which was a chore in itself. I am the worst sewer in the world. I am so bad that I have my hubby sew all buttons for me.

In the world of Monarque everyone is sick except Ed. Probably because he is never home. EJ had his christmas program last Thursday and it was so cute. He was the only one not singing and they wore these cute hats with a pipecleaner halo on the top. EJ played with the halo the whole time, bending it to look through the hole, hooking it on his chin and then turned the whole hat around backwards to make it all easier for him to do all of this. I do have it on video but I did not take any pictures. I have been selling some stuff at my etsy shop this week. 2 of the items were special order colors so I have been busy all weekend making fingerless mitts in Blue and White. As for Christmas knitting I have 2 scarves left to do for EJ's teachers and that is it. Explain to me how Sophie goes to school full day and only has one teacher and EJ goes to school for 2 1/2 hours and has 2 teachers. It's not fair because that just leads to extra holiday knitting for me. I will post progress pics as soon as I get the chance. Ed is off tomorrow so the chance of me using the computer that the camera is hooked up to is next to nil. He will be lost in the World of Warcraft all day.

Something to laugh about

2006-12-09T12:43:00.000-06:00

You have got to check this out. It made me laugh my ass off.

A meme?

2006-12-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

It's been suggested I post thisand then ping technorati(whatever that means!?!)to assess how fast we knit bloggers can spread the word and help a fellow grad student out. How can I not help out a student.

Just for you Kitty <3

2006-12-07T16:26:00.000-06:00

Once again it has been a coons age since I have written anything. So much has happened since the last time I posted. Where do I even begin. Well a short 2 months after my DH returned home from Iraq he left for 9 weeks of recruiter training in San Diego. Once he completed the training he returned home to North Carolina to help me pack the house, kids, and pets up and move to Lawton, OK where he is now the local Marine Corps Recruiter. (so if you are in Lawton or the surrounding area and want to join the Marines drop me a line.) The job sucks donkey ass!!!! He works 6 days a week from 7:30am to usually 9:30pm. Anyhooo you would think this would leave me with plenty of time for knitting a spinning. WRONG!!! It seems I am always running somewhere with either the kids or for DH. See we had to sell one of our cars since it wasn't worth making the move with it. So all we have is my Jeep and his motorcycle(which he stupidly left on one day at work and now has a dead battery) to get around in. It has not been fun going out late at night to pick him up. Luckily he does have a work vehicle during the day to use for his appointments and such. I have been knitting some. Most of it is secret knitting, I have been working for a designer and knitting up her patterns for Creative Knitting Magazine. Now that is a whole nother story for another day. Lets just say I probably won't be doing this for long. If there are any other designers out there looking for knitters stop looking and call me. The rest of my knitting has been hats, scarves, and purses for xmas presents for the family. I will try and take some pictures and post them before I mail off the packages. I have spun a little since being here. I worked on the rest of the tutti fruiti roving I dyed in a dyeing class before I left my LYS in Jacksonville. I think I will use this to make a shrug or something for my DD. Well off to make dinner for the dear kids of mine. Enjoy the evening, it is down right cold here today.

Once agian another 3 months flew by

2006-05-17T02:20:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy I haven't had time to keep up with the blog. I just want to do a quick report that I have completed my socks for my pal and sent them. I also have recieved mine. Woo Hoo I love them and the Yarn Harlot even held them at one point while being made. How cool is that? DH is back safe and sound from Iraq. I count my blessings for that. Sophie is now registered for Kindergarten in the fall. That is hard to believe. I will try to post pictures when I get back home. I am currently in Minnesota for a funeral and should be back by the end of the week. On the knitting front I have been able to complete 2 odessa's and a surprise jacket. Also a couple pairs of socks. Well it is late and I must get to bed. Happy knitting all.

Regretfully I must pull myself from competition

2006-02-25T09:17:00.000-06:00

Do to a recent rash of the flu around our house I must pull myself from competition. Last week after Valentines Day I got really sick and couldn't move for like 5 days. In the middle of this a week ago friday my DD also became sick with the flu. She started throwing up friday night and did not stop until sunday morning. Needless to say there was not much time for knitting. So here we are a week and a half later finally feeling better. I have only one competed pair of socks and no pictures of it. I am pretty sure I will not be able to complete 2 more pairs by tomarrow. So I will gracefully pull myself from competition and continue cheering on the other knitletes. Thank you, Rhonda

We interupt this Olympics............

2006-02-13T20:18:00.000-06:00

With some finished Jaywalkers!!!!!!!! Yea!!!

Sorry for my lack of picture taking. These are very washed out. I used Trampoline Stretch by Skacel. Almost 2 skeins and ofcourse I don't need to mention where the pattern came from I am sure. I have not blocked them yet, but they look pretty good. I don't like the way the verigation looks with these. If I do them again it will definately be with some self striping yarn. I loved the ease of the pattern though.

Now that I am done with those, on to Olympic knitting. I got some done on Friday and Saturday. These are the toe up, ribbed socks. I am using Trekking XXL in color 106. I really like knitting with this yarn.

I haven't completely decided what my other two colors will be for my next socks but here are a few of my choices. I think I am using the Magic Stripes for my DD's socks, because she really likes the colors. I guess I will let you know when I get to the last ones.

Am I a good or bad influence on my children?

2006-02-09T15:09:00.000-06:00

So we took a trip to Sam's Club today and this is what we picked out:
My Kids:
Goldfish
Strawberries
Banana's
Apple's
Go-Gurt

Me:
Hershey's Kissables
Jellybeans
Fun Dip
Membership renewal
1.00 donation to the Children's Miracle Network

Apparently I need to follow my kids lead and not the other way around. In my defense, they had already picked all the good stuff so I got to chose the junk food! Anyway, I will hopefully have some knitting content for you tomarrow. I have been lazy and not downloaded any pictures lately and who wants to read about knitting without the pictures?

Well DH did it again

2006-02-03T13:34:00.000-06:00

I got 2 more boxes in the mail today from Things Remembered. They are presents for Valentines Day. (sorry no pics today). I will definitely show off my gifts as soon as I open them. I can't believe he found the time to do this for me.

In knitting news, I joined one more KAL. I plan on knitting Odessa. Grumperina just keeps coming up with all of these great patterns that I can't resist making. My plan is to cast on for this after the Olympics since I am still working on the Jaywalkers and need to get those done before the 10th preferably. I also have a kitty pi on the needles that I work on intermittently. I also worked on my spinning a bit yesterday and hopefully this evening will get to plying it. Which means that tomarrow should have some good knitting pics. I have to start preparing for my SuperBowl knitting. My SuperBowl knitting will consist of finishing some WIP's and maybe a little barbie knitting.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

One of my Fave poems as a child was.....

2006-02-02T11:59:00.000-06:00

BOA CONSTRICTOR
I'm being eaten by a Boa Constrictor,
A Boa Constrictor,
A Boa Constrictor.
I'm being eaten by a Boa Constrictor,
And I don't like it one bit.

Whadaya know, it's nibblin' my toe.
Oh gee, it's up to my knee.
Oh fiddle, it's up to my middle.
Oh heck, it's up to my neck.
Oh dread, it's mm-mm-mm-mm...

Shel Silverstein

poetry reading for grace's poppies poetry along.

Olympic helps and tips

2006-02-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

If you haven't been to Beadlizards site today you have to go check it out. She has a lot of great tips to warm up for the olympics. Can you beleive all the hype with this? I love it. My training has constisted of checking out yarns and books so far. I think I have an idea which patterns I am going to use, but I am still deciding on some different yarns. Sorry there are no pics today. I have been really busy these last couple days. Also please forgive me for yesterdays pics. I was in a hurry.

Best hubby ever and Jaywalker update

2006-01-31T17:43:00.000-06:00

I have the best hubby ever. Even though he is off fighting a war in Iraq he had time to get me some anniversary presents. They arrived unexpectedly in the mail today. I can not wait to open them. Unfortunately our Anniversary isn't until the 19th of Feb. On the knitting front I haven't been doing a whole lot. This is where I am on the Jaywalkers. I am not sure about the colorway but I do like the pattern.

What Death Will You Die?

2006-01-28T12:26:00.000-06:00

You will swallow some tacks. You are a little
weird, maybe not so much in a good way. Buy a
yellow tie and wear it on your head.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
brought to you by

Jackpot at LYS

2006-01-28T10:35:00.000-06:00

So I went to the lys yesterday and spent my children's inheritance. I got 2 pair of addi turbo's size 4 and 5, some Cascade sassy stripes for barbie clothes, 2 sock books, a swift, and some other spin off magazines that are not pictured. Oh yeah add some stitch holders to that too. I already put them in my project bag. I decided I wanted to splurge for once, that is where the turbo's come in. What a great pair of needles, I just love them.

In knitting news I have been working on some barbie clothes. I have been having some difficulty with the sweaters. On the first one(the raglan) I totally did a good job on gauge and the construction of the pieces. I even blocked it and everything. The problem was seaming. I am a terrible sewer. I really need some seaming lessons. Now on the second one I knit it top down. I did a gauge swatch that was perfect and started knitting. I totally followed the pattern and even added an extra row to be on the safe side that it would be long enough. As you can see I really messed it up somewhere. It was suppose to be long sleeve not 3/4 or 1/2 sleeve and it also was not suppose to be a belly shirt. Now the skirt on the other hand turned out perfect. There was a hat to match the skirt but dd lost it in the shuffle before I could get pictures taken. I had fun doing these but I am back to the drawing board when it comes to the tops.

I have been working a little on the jaywalkers but not enough to post a progress picture. I will have that by Monday I am guessing. Well off to work my new swift and progress on the jaywalkers. Everyone have a nice weekend.

SOCKAPALOOOZA 3!!!!!!!

2006-01-23T23:22:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to be in this round of the sockapaloooza. I missed out on the last one and was so jealous looking at all of the great socks that got passed around. This will also fall perfectly with the knitting olympics. Since I am on the USA Sock Knitters Team I can kill 2 birds with one stone. Can't ask for more than that. In other news, my order from Hello Yarn came today. I got a spindle kit. It has some really nice looking fiber that I can't wait to spin up. I also ordered some more fiber from a place that Marnie McLean bought some from. I can't remember the name right now but I will post a picture and a link as soon as it arrives. I will also post some knitting related pictures tomarrow. Right now I am blocking a barbie sweater I made today and I also have some wrist warmers to show off and a scarf. Well of to bed, more to come tomarrow.

Jaywalker update

2006-01-19T10:17:00.000-06:00

So far so good. The pattern is going smooth and I love the way this pattern makes verigated yarn look. Although I think my niece will end up with this pair of socks. I am not sure the colors are right for me.

I haven't gotten very far on my Jaywalkers since I have been working on my spinning and plying. The green is a mix of corriedale(the mint color) and Mohair. They were small 1 oz. nests of fleese to practice with. The purplish burgandy one is all corriedale and kool-aide dyed. They are my second and third attempts at spinning. Not too bad if I say so myself. Although I am not sure what to do with these small amounts of yarn?

Not another KAL!!!

2006-01-17T15:31:00.000-06:00

Ok call me crazy but I just joined the Knitting Olympics over on Yarn Harlot's website. I decided I would complete 3 pairs of regular size socks for this event. I am not sure how this is going to go but I am sure going to try. Now I am switch events if I can find a decent sweater pattern to use my Katia Denim yarn I got from Elann the other day. I have never done a sweater before. The closest I have gotten was a one skein wonder. Does that even count?

So now I have joined 2 KAL's this week. DH must get home soon to put an end to my insanity. Before you know it I will be in every KAL in blog land. Although I have always wanted to be an Olympian and the Jaywalkers are just too cool to pass up. Especially with all of my newly acquired sock yarn. Tomarrow I will post my progress on my Jaywalkers. I have not knit on them since Sunday. I had to finish my mom's xmas socks first and then last night I tried my hand at spinning again. The spinning turned out very nice, it was the plying that hosed me all up. I will get the hang of all of this soon. So I am off to work on the jaywalkers and look for progress pics either tomarrow or the next day.

Once again long time no write!! Must put an end to that!!

2006-01-15T09:36:00.000-06:00

I must put an end to this long time no posting crap. I have been busy but, not that busy that I can't drop a line every now and again. Oddly enough I read all the blogs in my sidebar nearly everyday and also read others from other bloggers sidelines but just don't post on mine. Now how do I expect people to drop by if I am lazy and don't write. Sooooo......My new years resolution (albiet a little late) is ......... Blog at least 3 times a week and eventually move it up to everyday. Lets see if I can stick to that or just be a stick in the mud.

Now that being said lets move on to knitting fun. Just because I have been a stick in the mud on post doesn't mean I have been a stick in the mud on knitting. Here are just a few things I have been working on.
>

I learned last weekend how to spin(sorta). This was my first attempt. Sorry for the bad picture. I am no good a photography and I also need a new camera. I am really enjoying the spinning though. My poor hubby is going to come home and be attacked by all the fiber and yarn we have in the house now.

Next we move on to my recent purchases from Elann. Just look at all of that sock yarn. Can you guess what will be keeping me busy? You guessed it.....SOCKS!!!!

Since the socks are going to be coming in plenty. Can you also guess which pattern I have picked out for them??? You guessed it again.....JAYWALKERS!!!!!

Here is a picture of my progress with the Jaywalkers. I do enjoy this pattern very much. All the stripy goodness and ease of the pattern. This is one bandwagon I am glad I jumped on. After seeing all of the wonderful Jaywalkers of other blogers how could you not.

I also have been busy recycling more yarn. I found a sale at our local Salvation Army shop and got around 20 sweaters for only 10.00. That means lots of ripping is coming my way. Here are a few I have done already. The blue one I have started knitting into a garter stitch scarf for one of my nieces and will make a hat and probably some mittens to go with it.

Long time no write!!??

2005-12-06T08:18:00.000-06:00

Well it has been a very busy 2 months here. The month of October didn't get much written about it because we were preparing for DH to leave on his MEU. November didn't get much either because I was busy keeping the kids busy when Daddy left on the 3rd of November. Now life is getting back to a somewhat normal schedual. Sunday my comp crashed so I had to start everything from scratch. Fortunately I saved all my pictures about a week ago so I didn't lose any. Yesterday I put up the Christmas tree and decorated. I will have pictures soon, I promise. I just have to get everything loaded back on to the computer. I took the kids out to lunch yesterday and missed my UPS man. He is never here before 6pm any other day but yesterday he came at 1:00pm. So I missed getting my Dell DJ. I was so looking forward to that. I want to be able to listen to my audio books while I am at the gym. It makes the treadmill go that much faster. Not quite sure where DH is at right now other than he is on the USS Carter Hall. You can check out the deployment map here http://www.usmc.mil/22ndmeu/. They are usually much further ahead of the star that is on the map. You guessed it, they are headed straight for Iraq. Not sure where in country they will end up, but no matter where it is, it is not good. Well off to do laundry and wait for the UPS man. I am not leaving until he brings me my new toy!!

Finally Knitting Pictures

2005-10-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

I finally have a knitting picture. This is a rag to riches purse I did this weekend. What I did was take an old cammie blouse of my DH's and cut it into 1/2 inch strips. I took size 15 needles and co 25 stitches. I then used knit stitch and went until it was as wide as I would like when folded in half length wise. I then cast off and seamed the sides with single crochet. I used I-cord to make the handle. I made the cell phone cozie from a pattern I found at Bernat (I believe). I still need to find a button for the cozie and find a way to fasten the purse closed. I am then going to sell this at All Fired Up. I still don't know what price to list it as either. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Whaa Hooo!!! SSGT soon!!!

2005-09-21T11:12:00.000-05:00

Yippee!!!!!! DH just found out he is Staff Select. This means he will pick up Staff Sergeant soon. I am so excited for him. He has been waiting about 5 months for this. He said with his number it probably won't be until June of next year but at least he is select. In other news, nothing else is new. I am still working on the mini sweater(aka boobholder). I promise to have pics soon, I just have to get the camera back up and running. The cat knocked it off the shelf and now it needs to be fixed. More to come later.

What a long month

2005-09-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

What a long month!!!!! I can't beleive it has been over a month since I have posted. I have been so busy. My DH came home on the 31st of Aug. and we spent some time together to only find out that he probably will have to leave for Hurricane Releif. Fortunately they have not sent him yet but the possibility is still there. He is still slated to leave around the first of November for Iraq but there is rumor that he will be going to Africa instead. I sure hope that rumor is true. I don't have any pictures today but I will at least update you on what has been going on. I have been crocheting for the store like crazy. The hats and the ponchos are a big hit. I am still working on a boob holder for my niece. I am making it with long sleeves and not sure how to go about doing the sleeves but so far so good. I went grocery shopping on Thursday and was so proud of myself. I bought 195.00 worth of items for 50.00. That was so cool. I got 10 boxes of toaster strudel for .50 a box. Gotta love double coupons at Harris Teeter. I do so much better with the sales at the store and coupons that I save more shopping in town than at the commissary. I never thought that was possible. Thank goodness I found http://www.thegrocerygame.com. You have to check it out. DH put up a clothesline in the backyard for me finally. It only took 3 yrs to do it. Well we survived Hurricane Ophelia. Lets hope that is the only storm we have this year. We were far enought inland to not be affected. We just had lots of rain and some wind. Well I am off to put the kids in bed. DH is in Virgina today for work and will hopefully be home sometime late tonight. Hopefully I will have some knitting pics for you soon.

Stash Adders!!!

2005-08-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

I got my first box from Smileys Yarnsin the mail. Yippee!!!!!Isn't it all pretty. I also ordered 2 Susan Bates circulars (not pictured). I am not sure what to do with it all, but I am sure I will come up with something. Now I say first box because the second this arrived I turned on the puter, typed in the webpage, and went right on to order another boxfull of yarn. I also have a half FO. I got one sock done so far. I put the second one on hold so I could start the Boob holderfor my niece. She wants it in hot pink like I used for the hats. It is going pretty quick so I am hoping to have it done for her by the start of school in September. I didn't take any progress pictures yet though. Well off to start my day with the rugrats. (only 2 more weeks till Daddy is home!)

Has it been that long?!

2005-08-11T06:16:00.000-05:00

Well lets see........What have I been up too????? DH left for a 3 week deployment this week. It is all in prep to leave in Nov. for a 6 month float to Iraq. Not looking forward to that. But more on that at a later date. I will have 6 months of griping when it happens. So I helped him pack this last weekend and said goodbye to him on Monday. I crocheted 5 ponchos, 4 catnip mice(knit these from SnB nation), and 2 hats in the past week. 2 ponchos and the hats were special orders. I have sold around 100.00 dollars worth of stuff so far. Yay me!! I unfortunately don't have pictures of that. I do have a picture of a kitty bed I knit. .I used a frogged wool sweater I got for a quarter at a yard sale. It felted down really nice. One of the better finds on recycled yarn so far. I am working on a pair of socks for myself again. I am using Lion Brands Micro Spun and they are sooooo soft. I am using the same pattern as before so they will be shorty socks. I actually ordered some sock yarn from Smileys Yarns and am looking forward to using that for socks in the future. Well I am off to start my day with the kids. I wish they would sleep later in the morning. Hehehe!

Promised Pictures!

2005-07-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

Well here are the pictures I promised. I am showing off the newborn hats on my DD's well loved doll Ally.
DS wanted to be seen too. So here is DS in all his glory.
.This hat is displaying the colors of the signature clothing line"Jayne Wayne Gear". I have made several in these colors along with the headband featured on Ally also.

Here is DD in all her glory also. She wanted to have a matching hat to go with Ally's. So here you are.

Here are two of the sweaters I bought and reused the yarn. I am not sure what to make with it. I think with the brown I am going to do a OSW.

HP Quote

2005-07-30T11:04:00.000-05:00

"Oh, there you are, Albus," he said. "You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"
"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines," said Dumbledore. "I do love knitting patterns......"
From Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

I thought you would all get a kick out of this. I have been busy crocheting for the shop this week so that is why there is no posting. I will have some pics of my crocheting for you later today I hope. I was able to complete one project for me this week and that was theOne Skein Wonder. I just love it. I already wore it and it is being washed as I write. I will also try and get a pic of that today too. I also picked up a couple wool sweaters and a cashmier sweater to unravel today at yard sales. I spent a whopping 2.00 for 4 sweaters and easily got 40.00 worth of yarn out them. Some of it will be great for moreOSW's. I just love that pattern. I might try one with long sleeves or 3/4 sleeves.

I get to sell my stuff!!!

2005-07-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

I am so happy today. I got a call from Roxanne who runs "All Fired Up" (the store that sells MCW stuff). She was really excited to put my hats and ponchos in the store. I have to start making more in various colors tonight and have them to the store by the end of the week. I can't wait. I have been waiting for a place to sell my items for a long time. Well I am off to work on some hats. I will try and post pictures of the stuff before I send it to the store and also once it is on display at the store. Wish me luck!

Sry so long :(

2005-07-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. We have been busy with the kids this weekend. On Friday DH had a "mandatory fun day" at work. We all went to Onslow Beach for that. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves. They had a park for them, a giant bouncy thing they could jump in, and the beach. When we finally made it over to the beach we were in the water about 40 minutes and thunderstorm started up. So we had to leave the beach. We felt so bad for the kids that we went back again today. We spent about 2 hours playing in the water, making sandcastles, and collecting shells. The kids loved it.

Anyway enough about the family, on to why we are really here. This is what has been keeping me busy.

I finally found some sock yarn at Handcock Fabrics. I found out that they recently started to stock Lion Brand yarn again so I headed on over and there it was. Magic Stripes! I was so happy that I bought one skein and rushed right home to try it out. So I made these shorty socks. The angle of the picture does not do my ankles justice. The look obscenely huge. I also made this catnip mouse from Stitch N' Bitch Nation for our new kitty. We have been slowly introducing the new kitty to the dog. So far so good. Nala just wants to play with Killer Kitty but Killer doesn't get that idea so Nala has a lot of scratches on her nose. Not a mark on Killer Kitty though. So here is a quick pic to show you what they look like.

Not exactly the clearest picture but you get the idea. Sorry for the mess, I didn't feel like picking up after the kids. Well I am off to figure out my next project. I just purchased a pattern for a one skein shrug so maybe that will be next. Also my DH wants a pair of shorty socks in white so maybe I will start that. I could just finish the socks I started for DD. I think I will just read my new copy of Stitch N' Bitch: The Knitters Handbook. Well nighty night, it is getting late for me.

LYS disappointment :(

2005-07-20T08:19:00.000-05:00

I am using blue to type this today, because that is how I feel. We only have 2 LYS's in our town. A very, very, very, very, (did I mention very?) small Michael's and a Super Walmart. Now for the disappointing part. They don't carry anything good in them. They have the regular acrylic yarn such as red heart and carron. They also have bernat and lion brand items, but not thier whole selection. I want to knit socks with self patterning yarn and we have none in our LYS. Not even lion brands color magic. I also have seen several cute patterns that call for yarn I had only heard of in other peoples blogs or pattern books. Now ofcourse I have searched the internet and found these yarns. So the problem is you ask? I only have a limited budget to purchase yarn (contrary to popular beleif, the military does not pay well) so I usually can't purchase enough at one time to complete a project. Also I have a patients problem, I can't make myself wait and save up. If I have yarn money in my budget I am out buying yarn instantly to start a project. So I am usually stuck with the basic yarn or fun fur type stuff.

So all this being said, I figured out what I am going to go to school for next year when I start at the community college. Small business!! I am going to open a yarn shop in town. It is going to hold a Stitch n Bitch session and classes to learn knitting and crocheting and the whole works. Now that my bitch session is done I am going to start knitting so I can post some pictures later today.

Fabric Hat Finished

2005-07-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well I have finished the dreaded fabric hat. Here is my DD modeling it. Appearently I have been spending too much time knitting and not getting my DD's hair cut. Oh well, there is a project for today. It is not as big as I would have liked because I miss calculated on the yardage of fabric. When I went back to purchase some more it was sold out. In one picture I have the brim rolled as it should be and in the other the brim is straight down. I like it better without it rolled.

I got my Boye Needle Master in the mail yesterday and am already working on a new hat. I was so excited to see the mailman with the package that I think I scared him. I haven't gotten much further on my socks for DD, but my new hat is about a third of the way done. I will be back later today with updates I hope. Off to get my SUV inspected, so I should be able to get some KIP done on DD's socks. Wish me luck on passing my inspection, the SUV isn't in as great as shape as it used to be. (maybe I will steal DH's new truck! now there is an idea).

The Fabric Hat

2005-07-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

Here is the picture of the fabric hat I have been working on. It looks better in person than it does in the picture. I don't like how it is all frayed so bad already. I obviously picked the wrong type of material but, I am forging on with it. Hopefully the FO will look much better. I will post a picture when I have it done. I am using size 10 needles which I made myself from dowels and a pattern that came with a fabric kit to make hats. It is all stockinette stitch except the brim, which is a garter stitch. It is a real easy pattern. So like I said I hope the FO looks better than the WIP. Heres keeping my fingers crossed.

My WIP's

2005-07-17T11:47:00.000-05:00

I will try and post some pictures of my WIP later today. DH is busy on the computer that the camera is attached to. Right now I am knitting a pair of socks for my DD in a lime green color. I am still working on the ribbing on the first sock. I am doing a k1,p1 ribbing down to the heal. It is going pretty good so far since they are only my third project since I started knitting.

My other WIP is a rolled brim hat that I am making out of fabric strips. This is turning out to be quite the project. I think I picked out the wrong type of fabric to use because it is fraying way too much. I am going to keep going with it and see what the outcome will be. That way I will always have a "this is my first fabric project" project.

I recently bought a Needlemaster from Ebay and am waiting for it to arrive. I can't wait. I want to do more in the round projects. Especially hats.

I have been crocheting a lot lately. We have a small store here that is run by Marine Corps Wives and they sell items made by MCW's to help them out and give them a place to display thier wares. I have submitted some stuff to the store to sell(mostly hats and ponchos) and am waiting to see how it goes. I plan on making some wizard scarves to sell since Harry Potter is the big thing right now.

Well I am off to watch the NASCAR race. I will try and get those pictures posted this afternoon. TTFN

My First Post

2005-07-16T22:59:00.000-05:00

This is my first post on my new blog. My blog will be mostly about my life that centers around knitting and crocheting. I will post pictures of my WIP and my UFO's and FO's. I just received my new copy of SnB Nation(stitch n bitch nation). I am so excited. I am still wating for the first book. I taught myself to crochet about 8 yrs ago when my husband joined the Marine Corps and left for bootcamp. I recently taught myself to knit about a month ago and loving it. I have done mostly squares for Warm Up America and some socks. I love doing the socks and working in the round. Well it is getting late tonight so I am going to head to bed and work more on this tomarrow. Goodnight and happy crafting!